The New Centurions Page #5

to make a buck.

Doing bottom-of-the-barrel jobs

that nobody else wants.

And a creep like you

is gonna hassle them?

All right, you call lmmigration.

You go right ahead.

I'll call the Health Department, the Rat

Catchers and Building and Safety.

And if that doesn't work, I'll come

back and I'll beat the sh*t out of you.

You'll wish to God

you'd never seen me.

Hey, take it easy.

Listen, I played two and a half hours

of handball.

I ran three or four laps.

I'm getting myself in terrific shape.

Yeah, you are.

- How do you like it on the desk?

- Oh, I've just had it.

I mean, it's hardly fascinating.

It's so boring.

All I do is tell everybody

how I got shot.

Yeah, they all want to be reassured

that it couldn't happen to them.

- And they want you to reassure them.

- Right.

Oh, you'll be back on patrol soon,

anyway.

I hope so.

It'll sure be good

to get back on the streets.

But after Andy retires,

it won't be the same.

I'll probably transfer

to the Vice Squad.

I wish you well.

One-A-58, roger on the call.

Man,

I hate these damn silent alarms.

I wonder why this early.

There's not much money in the till

at this hour.

Around here, man,

cats will burn you down for $ 10.

Wait a minute.

What do you want?

What's in the bag?

Freeze or your head's coming off.

Cool it. Cool it.

Out of my way.

Hold it. Stay back there.

Let me go.

Get out of the way.

Get an ambulance.

Only natural. Everybody's scared.

I'm not scared.

I'm not scared.

If we can have the attention

of the Wright brothers...

...maybe we can get down to work.

Before I read the crimes...

...I wanna give you a report

on the supervisors' meeting today.

Here's another goddamn interpretation

from our Supreme Court.

Something about only the room

that you arrest the guy in...

...being under his control.

Don't ask me what it means.

Just pick up a copy

of the new rules...

...and get somebody who's smarter

than I am to explain it to you.

- Thanks for everything, sergeant.

- Andy.

You're in trouble.

Good luck.

- Good luck, Andy.

- Don't catch too many fish.

Good luck.

- Adis, wetback.

- Adis, Andy.

- Take care of yourself.

- Good luck.

- We're gonna miss you.

- Take care, Andy.

I didn't think you'd really pull the pin,

Andrew.

Well, you know,

25 years is enough, Whitey.

Yeah, once you pull that pin, Andy,

you gotta let her go.

Blow up in your face.

I'm gonna live with my daughter.

She gonna have a baby.

Congratulations, Grandpa.

That's great.

You guys gotta come and see me,

meet the family.

- Sure.

- Sure.

Read the crimes, sergeant,

before I start bawling.

This goddamn Kilvinski is gonna

make me cry with all this goodbye sh*t.

I don't have to stay around here

and take all this abuse.

Had a kind of interesting homicide

this afternoon.

Some dude told his old lady

she was a bum...

...so she shot him twice.

He fell off the porch

and broke his leg...

...and she polished him off

with a kitchen knife.

- Hey, sarge.

- What?

Maybe she was a bum lady.

I'm glad I'm out of it.

We're through. We're finished.

You know that, don't you?

Hey, come on, Andy,

you know better than that.

No, I don't. Not anymore.

We can't hold the line anymore.

Yeah, but, you know,

things change.

People change. Last year, everybody's

screaming about lack of freedom.

This year, they're screaming

about lack of control.

Yeah, but something else

is happening this time.

The don'ts.

The don'ts are dying.

First, the vice laws die, and then the

misdemeanors and then the felonies.

Easy to get rid of crime.

All you do is change the laws.

No law against selling dope,

dope's not a crime.

No law against robbing banks,

bang, ain't no bank robber.

Fighting crime is getting very easy.

Well, let the a**holes change the laws

and get rid of crime.

They can't get rid of evil.

Laws change, people don't.

Never get rid of evil, never.

It sounds like all these years,

you've been trying to bust the devil.

Oh, the public don't understand.

Lawyers, judges don't understand.

They only see the criminals.

We see the victims.

We know what crime does to people.

We see them like nobody else does.

Yeah, you're right.

Maybe you can't change people,

but you can help them.

Maybe not much,

maybe it's a losing battle.

Maybe they don't like us,

but I think they need us.

I think they always have.

I mean, even the Romans

had the centurions to keep the peace.

And they were unsupported,

unhonored, disliked, just like us.

But they held the line, for a while...

...until Rome was finally overrun

by barbarians.

Yeah.

Well, here's to the new centurions.

Let's hope they do a better job

than the old ones.

You must be Feller, huh?

Fehler.

- Phillips.

- Hi.

- Simeone.

- Hi.

- Ranatti.

- How are you?

Good to have you.

- You already met Gant.

- Right.

I was briefing him on the chicken sh*t

expense allowance we get here.

Gant, Sgt. Anders wanted me to talk

to you about that Ruby Castle bust.

He still thinks you

and Ranatti exaggerated your report.

You don't think I'd perjure myself,

do you? How about you, Ranatti?

Hell, we're the only ones to ever have

a case against Ruby Castle.

If Anders don't buy it, screw him.

Just because he's bucking to be

the youngest captain...

...even if it kills us.

Sergeant Anders.

Roy Fehler. Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

- Welcome aboard, Fehler.

- Thank you.

Be seated.

Tonight, we work trash patrol.

- Oh, not again.

- Oh, no, not again.

All right, knock it off.

Let's move out.

What a pain in the ass.

I forgot, I wore my good clothes.

What's the matter? Either way,

you go home smelling like garbage.

Fehler, now you can tell your friends

you're a G-man.

But don't tell them

the G is for garbage.

Did you find something, Fehler?

- Oh, yeah, as a matter of fact, I did.

- Go on.

A corned beef on rye, a blueberry

cheese blintz and a Tampax.

Did you guys find anything?

Did you find anything, Gant?

Garbage, garbage.

Dirty, rotten, stinking,

lousy, filthy garbage.

All right, all right.

I realize that trash night

is a dirty job.

But I have it on good authority

that this trash...

...came from one of the biggest

bookie organizations in this city.

We're bound to find

some betting markers here.

Now, keep looking, men.

Nobody said

that police work was easy.

This could be the big break

I'm looking for.

This could be bigger than all of us.

Well, let me warn you about fruits.

They can look like anybody.

Big manly guys with wives and kids,

good jobs.

Or they can be professional men,

or even cops.

When they find out you're the law,

those sons of b*tches come uncorked.

So get the cuffs on them fast.

I say don't get yourself hurt

for a lousy misdemeanor pinch...

...that don't mean a damn in court,

anyway.

You know

what the average fruit gets?

- No.

- About a $50 fine and that's it.

So, what am I supposed to do?

Just walk around the lake?

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes