The Brave One Page #5

Ballistic tests have linked

last night's shooting...

...with the shooting from the market

and the shooting from the subway, so...

Are you saying...? Are you saying the

same gun was used in all three shootings?

Well, that seems to be the case.

Detective.

Sources are saying the witness

can provide a description...

...but has refused to talk.

- I'm sorry, can you repeat that?

Has the witness refused

to provide a description?

No, the witness is awake...

...and she is coherent, and we will be

interviewing her shortly.

Now, thank you, that's everything.

Chief.

Please, everybody, please.

That's all the information

we're prepared to release.

Thank you very much.

Hey.

- You handled yourself really well back there.

- I tried.

So, what, is this guy

becoming an obsession with you?

No, my interest is in you.

Why me?

Well, because you seem like a good man,

you know? Like a good cop.

Yeah, well, ain't nobody

doing my job for me.

You heard my show.

Yeah.

You gotta think every one of those

reporters in that room...

...is gonna sensationalize this.

But not you.

You're better than that.

How can you tell?

Your show.

- My show?

- Yeah.

You see, my wife...

...she didn't listen to it.

- No?

I did.

Well, you don't fit our audience profile.

- Yeah, and you don't fit your voice either.

- I don't?

No, you're a whole lot cuter

and about 100 pounds lighter.

How's the girl doing?

She's pretty banged up.

Yeah, but we'll know more tomorrow.

Well...

I hope she's all right.

Yeah.

- Hi.

- Hey.

You see those pictures

of the subway thing?

- Gross.

- They shot another one last night.

- Some pervert.

- Who will they go for next, Donald Trump?

- No, that's incitement.

- And justified.

- Wish he'd take care of my ex.

- You think that's funny?

I suppose you think

lethal injection's funny too.

- Funny like strange, or funny "ha, ha"?

- You're sick, you know that?

You're all sick.

I'm thinking about opening up your show.

I want you to take phone-ins.

- On what?

- You heard them.

You mean the shootings?

The vigilante thing?

- You really think that that's appropriate?

- Why not?

Well, I thought you said

you didn't like that kind of thing.

I don't. But you're good at it.

- How am I good at it?

- You're a survivor.

- I'm not asking you to personalize it.

- Oh, you're not?

No more than you already have.

" The essential American soul is hard...

...isolate, stoic, and a killer.

It has never yet melted."

I quote that from D.H. Lawrence...

...because someone

is playing God out there...

...killing in the name of justice,

in this...

...the safest big city in the world.

And because I've been asked today to do

something that we've never done before:

Take calls from our listeners

on the subject.

This is a new departure for us but

we wanna hear from you...

...so call 212-165-9990.

First caller. Hi, you're on the air.

As far as I'm concerned,

he's doing us a favor.

And why is that?

Because no matter what

the media tells us...

... crimes are being committed,

and he's cleaning it up.

And you think

he has the right to do that.

- Well, yeah.

- Next caller. You're on the air.

You're talking about murder.

The death penalty without a trial.

The vigilante is just like the people

he's killing. He should be in jail.

Well, maybe he will. Next caller.

You're on the air.

It's less about what he's doing

than how it makes us feel.

There's not a person I know...

... doesn't get a jolt of

pleasure when they hear...

- Pleasure?

- Yeah, revenge makes us feel good.

That's why we have war,

why we got the death...

- Next caller, you're on the air.

- I think it's good for New York.

I mean, this city

was turning into Disneyland.

- We're getting our street cred back.

- Next caller. You're on the air.

What is wrong with our society, that this

kind of thing can even get on radio?

Revenge, murder, vigilante killings?

Hasn't the whole Iraqi debacle

taught us anything?

"Waste the bad guys, bring them on."

I've been a fan of yours.

I can't even believe you're...

Neither can I. You're on the air.

I wonder if the vigilante has a girlfriend

because there's something sexy about...

- Sexy?

- Yeah, completely.

And if he's listening, my number is 2...

- You're on the line.

- This is the vigilante calling.

I'm the man that takes care of business.

That chick can have...

- I need to talk to someone.

- Ma'am, can I help you?

Yeah.

I need to talk to someone

about a homicide.

Names?

Erica Bain.

She was the victim?

No. She wasn't the victim.

She was the...

- She's...

- No "Erica Bain" under homicide.

- Well, maybe there should be. You know?

- Pardon me?

Nothing.

You gonna give me

some Radiohead too?

F***ing woman!

Are you a mommy?

You're a whore, right?

Erica?

Is that you?

- Because I could not stop for Death...

- Erica?

... he kindly stopped for me.

Erica?

The carriage held but just ourselves.

And Immortality.

Erica?

Mercer.

Hey, it's me, Erica.

I know.

- Is everything okay?

- Yeah, I...

I just wanted to talk and l...

For some reason, I thought of you.

Okay.

What's going on?

What do you do when you can't sleep?

- Nothing.

- Isn't that hard?

To do nothing?

Well, you sort of get used to it.

Erica?

Well, come on, what's happening?

Talk to me.

Did you sleep better

when your wife was beside you?

I know I did.

I couldn't feel my body unless his arms

were wrapped around me.

Yeah, well, my wife, she used to...

... flip through the night.

So I called her a mackerel.

I guess that's not the worst thing

in the world to wake up to.

Hey, you want me to stay on the phone

with you until you go to sleep?

No.

You've been good to me.

Sleep tight.

Yeah.

How late?

Look, I'm not busting your balls. You

told me it'd be there and it better be.

Why do you think you can hurt people?

- What?

- Just do damage and walk away.

Don't you know what you leave behind?

- Do I know you?

- Do you think about it?

Does it keep you up at night?

- Does it haunt you?

- Excuse me?

Because it haunts me.

Are you one of them

press paparazzo freaks?

You got a f***ing camera there?

You can't take my f***ing picture.

You're gonna come to my f***ing place

and take my f***ing picture?

You f***!

- You a f***ing cop?

- You wish.

Well, it looks like he fell from up there.

Cause of death could be the fall.

It could be the crowbar stuck in his skull.

I'd say 50-50 either way.

Sh*t.

Maybe 70-30.

I mean, come on, man. How many people

wanted this prick dead? Besides us?

Too many.

The problem is he knew all of them.

He wouldn't let anybody

get this close to him.

You think someone did us a favor?

Maybe we should put him on the payroll.

What, like someone think

they're doing our job for us?

Saying, "Hey, New York's finest,

I'm gonna send you a little message.

This is how it's done."

- Get a shot right there.

- Officer!

Here we go. All right, I'll be back.

Erica, are you okay? Oh, my God.

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