Hammett Page #7

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It's certainly more fun than most.

The streets get swept, the garbage

gets picked up and the graft gets paid.

But the politicians don't really

run this town. They never have.

They ran it because they had

the money, and now you run it

because you've got the money...

and you run it

to suit yourselves.

Going too fast for ya? You buy

the power, you trade it and you sell it.

And you know what? When you die,

your pictures will go up on that wall...

with all the others, and not one of ya...

not a single one of ya...

ever had to scramble

for one lousy vote.

And maybe that's why i don't see

the mayor here or the d.a.

Just the cops, the crooks

and the big rich... and me.

And that's what

i wanna know. Why me?

Because, sir, the person who has

what we wish to buy insists upon it.

So what if i do make

your buyback for ya? What then?

- What's in it for me?

- Well, mr. Hammett, we've finally

come to the essence of things.

You will find us, sir,

most generous.

- Money, huh? To hell with your money!

- Indeed, sir.

I want two things:

First, i want my story back.

It might not be much, but it's mine.

It's what i do, and i want it back!

And second... and this is the most

important thing... i wanna be let alone.

So what's the blackmailer asking?

A million?

- [Hagedorn] one million dollars.

- [Hammett chuckles]

- That's a lot of dough. Where and when?

- In one hour's time, sir.

Your authorization, credentials

and instructions are in this envelope.

Only one other thing:

After i get the million bucks...

what's to prevent me

from taking the next boat out?

Your good judgment and the high value

you place on your own life.

That's what i figured.

Have a nice evening, gents.

[Man]

One hundred times $ 10,000.

Sign here.

First day?

Here i am, 34 years old, and the only

two people i can trust in the world...

are a librarian

with a smart mouth...

and a would-be bomb thrower!

You got two you can trust. You got

two more than most people, hammett.

What do you got

in the bag there, huh?

- Money, and a lot of it.

- Oh?

- What are we doin'? A buyback?

- That's right.

- Oh. How much?

- A million!

- You're shittin' me.

Oh, pardon me, lady. Pardon me.

- Eli.

Watch the road, eli.

Oh, rich people.

What are the rich going to buy back

for a million bucks?

Their reputations.

- I get to come?

- You stay put.

- I'll wait there.

If i hear a shot or a yell...

- or even a splash.

Or even a splash,

i yell for the operator...

scream for the d.a.

And get the hell outta here.

- I hope you know what you're doing.

- Don't we all?

[Snickering]

- Hello, crystal.

- Stop right there, hammett.

Put the valise down

and open it.

I hope i haven't

kept you waiting.

Now move backward five steps

and put your hands behind your neck.

- The negatives.

- The widow callaghan

really did kill her husband.

Dashiell hammett.

Still the "one floor up"

and same detective.

Yes, she killed him.

I made her jealous... very jealous.

It wasn't difficult.

- You and he were sorta

stuck on each other, huh?

- We were lovers.

The blackmail scheme was callaghan's.

He was broke, so he and i cooked it up.

And salt. Nice alibi you got

for yourself at the mission house too.

I also like the way you fix the cops.

You're good, all right.

By the time callaghan

was killed, i'd already acquired

some... influence, let's say.

And the dead chinese girl with

the thick ankles they tried...

to palm off on me at the morgue,

you did that too, didn't you?

I needed a day or so

with no interruptions.

She was a useful pawn, i suppose.

There are millions and millions

more like her in china... and me.

I wouldn't bet on it.

I think you're one of a kind.

- I'll take those negatives now,

if you don't mind.

- Close the valise as you do so.

You are bad,

aren't you, sister?

- Evil clean through.

How does it feel? Really feel?

- Evil?

What is evil?

Show it to me.

My parents sold me

when i was nine for $5,000.

I turned my first trick

with a caucasian at 11.

At 17, i am a millionaire!

Wonder what i'll be when i'm 21.

- Dead.

- [Clicks tongue] you think so?

Positively.

You are most late, mr. Ryan.

I thought i was right on time.

How are ya, kid?

Hello, ryan.

What are you, her new pimp?

More like a partner.

Right, sweetheart?

I knew you'd gone sour, ryan,

but i didn't think you'd gone

simple. She'll eat you alive.

You're not really gonna trust our little

mademoiselle butterfly here, are you?

Who wouldn't trust a face like that?

We're partners!

- I always trust my partners,

remember? Up to a point.

- [Gun cocking]

Don't drop it. Just toss it

over the side so i can hear the splash.

[Water splashing]

Here's your story, kid.

My part of the deal.

I had to pay a lot

to get it back from fong...

more than it's worth.

I even read it again.

I still don't like it!

It needs a better ending!

How 'bout this?

"The old bird pulls off a grand slam

and leaves town with a million bucks."

[Chuckles] and you thought

my life was over, hammett.

It's just beginning.

You want something real

to write about? Write about this!

[Pay phone dinging]

Operator, this is an emergency.

Get me the district attorney's

office, please.

Thank you.

Not just yet, little lady.

"He needed one hand for the money

and the other for the gun.

He wasn't good enough

to handle both."

I read it too, hammett.

I liked the ending.

- Swell.

- Was he a friend or what?

- Yeah. He was a friend.

- He was good.

He broke in from nowhere,

tracked me down...

figured it all out

and cut himself in.

- He was good.

- He was the best in his heyday.

- Maybe you didn't know him too well.

- Maybe i didn't know him at all.

Take his place, hammett.

Come with me.

You could be my bodyguard

and biographer...

my lover, my lapdog.

Don't be a simp. I'm gonna

give it to you and i'm gonna

give it to ya straight.

You don't really think

they're gonna let you waltz, do ya?

Oh, you might get to berlin

or constantinople...

maybe even hong kong,

wherever you're going.

But one day you'll turn

the wrong corner and... wham!

Curtains! ...no more crystal.

You see what i mean? You're going

up against $ 100, $200, $300 million.

You're going up against

the powerhouse, angel. The big steam.

I can beat them.

Sure. Like hell.

I'll show you

i can beat them.

[Footsteps departing rapidly]

No grand slam, jimmy.

Ya lost it all.

Everything.

Everything except your nerve.

[Seagull squawking]

[Typewriter keys clicking]

It's okay, eli.

- Messenger boys!

- Let's have the negatives, hammett.

[Chattering, indistinct]

Well, now you and the little lady can

make all the phone calls you want to.

Ryan's lying in the middle

of the dock, shot dead.

She gave 'im the works.

Well, we'll get somebody

to sweep 'im.

I'll take care of him, samuel.

[Woman laughing]

It's not like any one

of your stories, is it?

Never is like a story.

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