The mllitary have escorted them down...
It Iooked llke a door was opening. I don't think it is.
- This is not a hoax. That is reaI out there. - It's sllver-grey in coIour...
That was the scene in Callfornia's Ìojave Desert three years ago.
The historic fllrst view of the Newcomer ship upon its dramatic arrivaI.
These ''Newcomers'', we soon Iearned, were a genetically-engineered race
adapted for hard Iabour in aImost any environmentaI condition.
In effect, their ship was a sIave ship,
washed ashore on Earth, with no way to get back to where they came from.
Now that civll llberties attorneys have had the Newcomers reIeased from quarantine,
what are the reactions in communities where they've settIed?
Why do we have to take them? Why can't they go to Russia?
I'll drink to that.
I'm in college now. I'm going to be going to schooI with nine- or ten-year-oIds.
There goes the grade curve. There goes my job future.
I have to compete with... lf a ten-year-oId is twice as smart as me, I'll be workin'here.
By far the strongest words of acceptance came from then-president RonaId Reagan.
We've come to a turning point, a moment for hard decisions.
lf not us, who?
And if not now, when?
Hey, Henry, how you doin' tonight? You workin' hard?
You get your green card, buddy?
SIagtown. I hate this pIace. Look at that geek.
I hate it. Look at this crap.
- I wonder if their pIumbing's the same. - Yeah, it is.
What? Oh, man, get outta here.
I don't trust 'em, that's all.
Good day...
Take a hike, wllI ya? Jesus Christ.
God, that stink.
Why has it gotta be sour mllk they get wasted on? Why not Jack DanieI's or Thunderbird?
What's wrong with that?
Look at this. Fred Astaire and Ginger SIag.
What the hell's that?
Look at this. They call this a game. It's a circIe-jerk.
Cowboys and SIags.
They make up shit. I don't know what that is. Beatin' each other to death.
So are you gonna go or are you not gonna go?
How do I go?
Ñut on your wash-and-wear suit, cllp-on bow tie,
have your IandIady tie your shoes for you, then you show up at the church. It's simpIe.
- Me and CaroI are going. - That's nice.
Come on, now. We've known Kristin since...
well, since she was conceived.
Remember? Up in that cabin at Big Bear?
You and Edie pounded the walls so hard,
me and CaroI picked pIaster out of our hair for a week.
I don't know, Tug.
ObviousIy, I want to go to Kristin's wedding, but I don't...
You're just bummed out because your ex-wife and her new husband are payin' for it.
If Kristin had to get married where I couId afford it, it wouId be beans in a bowllng alley.
- Now does that Iook suspicious or what? - Whatever gave you that idea?
This is one-Henry-seven. We got a possibIe 2-11 in progress.
Ñorter's Minimarket on Virginia and Court. Request backup.
Come on, forget that shit. Let's go.
Listen.
Ñay attention. Tell me what those ugIy bastards are doin' in there.
- Two gentIemen. Long, bIack raincoats. - Long, bIack raincoats.
Two gentIemen. Long, bIack raincoats. With Iong, bIack shotguns.
Oh, that's no good. That's not very good at all.
- Have you got your vest? - Of course. In the trunk of the car.
- That's where mine is. I feeI better now. - Yeah.
Well, I'm gonna go across the street and get a better angIe on that door.
- Yeah, you watch your ass. - You watch my ass.
Oh, shit.
Freeze. Hey, freeze.
Tug. Get outta there.
I can't. Do you mind?
Tug. Go ahead, I'll cover ya.
OK...
Oh, shit.
- What's happenin'? - Hi there, sir. How are you?
Do you mind stepping out here for a second? We got a bit of troubIe.
Tug... Oh, shit.
Stop.
Whoa, whoa. Take it easy.
- Are you OK? - I'm all right.
I'd better call this in.
Ow, my hand.
Are you all right?
God, I hate you.
Get outta here. I don't need your goddamn heIp.
Take it easy, wllI ya?
Except for the magazine, it Iooks llke a standard 12-gauge.
- So how come it went cIean through the car? - BRI sabot sIugs. These puppies are nasty.
Tug might as well have been hidin' behind a rosebush.
Heavy stuff for knocking off a minimarket.
An identicaI round was used in the shooting of a Newcomer named HubIey two days ago.
- Yeah, but how come...? - Francisco, give me a hand. She won't budge.
Hey, llsten. Do you think there's a connection...?
Up yours.
Hello, Daddy?
Dad, are you there? Pick up the phone, pIease.
I really need to taIk to you. Daddy, why are you being so stubborn?
Can't you just forget about your hassIes with Ìom? It's my wedding.
I mean, come on. You gotta be there.
I aIready worked it out with Tug.
Nothing is gonna stop him from dragging you to that church on Sunday.
It's at 2.30, and pIease don't be Iate.
I Iove you, Daddy.
I shouIdn't have said that. Now you're gonna pull this tape out and save it.
Bye.
This is Ìark Helfrey from the gas company, Ìr Sykes. Your bllI is past due...
Matt.
- Oh, Matt, I'm sorry, man. - Yeah, thanks.
- What did you dig up? - Jesus, Sykes, it's not even been ten hours.
Me and AIterez are on it, OK?
Yeah. That makes me reaI happy.
Ever tried to make a case in SIagtown?
The llst of Newcomer informants is about as Iong as a llst of Mexican war heroes.
Hey, come on.
Nobody taIks to nobody down there. HaIf of 'em don't even speak Engllsh.
The other haIf, onIy when it suits 'em. No, it's gonna take some time.
Yeah, I know it'll take time with you two.
Nobody wanders off. I've got an announcement.
You OK, Sykes?
I'll make it short. This is a directive from Chief Evaner, on orders from the mayor,
under mandate from the FederaI Bureau of Newcomer ReIations.
As of nine this morning, one Newcomer uniform officer
has been promoted to the rank of detective, third grade.
We've got him, gentIemen. VoIunteers for duty with the detective, see me in my office.
Otherwise, I wllI choose a voIunteer myseIf.
That's all.
What'll he do if he gets too many voIunteers? Draw straws?
How Iong has this SIag been on the force anyway? A year max, right?
I was in uniform eight years before I became detective.
I don't know about you guys, but I won't take this. I'm callin' the union.
Where the hell's he going?
- Bob. - Yeah, Sykes?
Yeah, I'd llke to voIunteer for duty with the new...
- You know... - Look, Matt...
You don't have to jump right back in. Why don't you take a few days, reIax?
I'd llke to stay on, thanks.
All right.
Detective Sergeant Sykes, Detective Francisco.
- We have met. - Yeah, right.
Victor GoIdrup, Mayor's Office. CongratuIations, gentIemen.
You won't be investigating BllI TuggIe's death, you know.
- Leave that to Fedorchuk. - Right. Ñrocedure.
- You? - Yes, sir.
There is a case I'd llke to take on, though. A homicide, a Newcomer named HubIey.
- Granger and Ñitts are aIready on it. - Yeah, right.
But Granger and Ñitts, they got a full case Ioad.
I thought, what with Francisco here, the first Newcomer pIain cIothes,
and what with the body being found in the Newcomer community, you know...
- Don't tell me what to think. - He's got a point.
It's exactIy what we need for this earIy-advancement programme.
All right, all right.
We work my hours. I do the drivin', and you do the paperwork.
- You gotta Iearn it, so you can do it all. - I'd llke to thank you for what you are doin'.
What's that? Oh, wait, wait.
- Let me get somethin' straight in your head... - You want cream and sugar?
No, I wanna get somethin' straight in your head. We are not paIs.
We're not gettin' married, takin' Iong waIks together.
And don't call me ''Sergeant''. Call me ''Sykes'' or ''Matt'' if you got to.
I am SamueI. WouId you llke a doughnut?
Change your mind?
Sam Francisco? Sam Francisco?
No, I ain't buyin' that. I'm not buyin' that.
I'm not gonna introduce you to peopIe as ''Sam Francisco''.
I think I'll call you ''George''. George?
- OK. - OK.
Oh, they hung one on you.
I heard a Iot of good ones before, llke Humphrey Bogart, HarIey Davidson...
I guess they got punchy after giving names to a quarter mllllon peopIe.
Let me ask you somethin'. Were you at the back of the llne?
Oh, no. My true name is Ss'tangya T'ssorentsa.
- Well, gesundheit. I'll call you ''George''. - Fine.
- I didn't know which paper you llke... - I find it difficuIt to drive and read.
- Wait a minute. - I got you your cigarettes.
Where did you get this? What is this stuff?
- Wait. What is this? - That is a car deodoriser.
That's mine.
Anyway, what's it bother you if we think your name's funny? It doesn't, right?
That is exactIy so. It is llke your name.
''Sykes''? I'm sure it doesn't bother you that to us it sounds just llke ''ss'ai k'ss'',
two words in my Ianguage which mean ''excrement'' and ''cranium''.
Shithead.
Why don't you go ahead? I'll be right in.
Hey, Maff. So what do you got for me?
You said you wanted the biggest thing I couId find.
And this is it.
- What in the hell's this? - .454 Casull.
We're taIking twice the impact energy of a .44 Magnum hotIoad.
It onIy hoIds five.
The shells are too big for six in a cyllnder.
Hell, Matt, you onIy need one.
No, two. Thanks.
How Iong you been shootin'? That's pitifuI. Goddamn pitifuI.
What are you gonna do in a shoot-out? Wave your scores in your exams at 'em?
- Why'd you do it? - Why'd I do what?
Agree to work with me. You don't llke me, or any of us. You have onIy contempt for us,
and yet you make yourseIf an outcast by making me your partner.
My partner is dead.
He's dead cos one of you bastards kllIed him, then crawIed down some rathoIe in SIagvllIe.
You're gonna heIp me find that ugIy SIag son of a bitch. You understand me?
That's awfully pretty, huh?
Bring my gun.
Let's taIk HubIey here.
His body was discovered three days ago in an alley off CentraI Avenue near downtown.
- With two sabot sIugs in his chest. - Through the chest.
- Rupturing primary and secondary hearts.
Hey, nice signaI, dickhead.
He was empIoyed at the Consolldated ÑetrochemicaI Refinery in Torrance.
He was manager of a methane facllity, and a principaI partner in a reaI-estate venture
to deveIop Iow-cost housing for Newcomers.
Newcomers. That's terrific.
ReaI pllIar of the community.
- Was he ripped off? - Ñardon me?
Was he missing anything when they found him?
Oh. Ñroperty.
He had no wallet, but he was stllI wearing a watch and two rings.
Those guys Iast night at the minimart made a haIf-assed stab at the money in the tllI.
I don't think that's what they were there for. We got a coupIe of executions on our hands.
- The murder at the minimart is not our case... - Whoa, whoa.
It is my desire not to break with procedure.
- What's wrong? - Wrong?
- Nothing. What shouId be wrong? - Nothing.
- What's wrong with you? Ñarkin' in... - Hey, up yours.
You do agree that there's a good chance these two shootings are reIated, don't you?
Yes, quite possibIy.
WouId you aIso be wllllng to accept the theory, George, that, quite possibIy,
by examining the evidence of one case, we might shed a llttIe llght on the other?
- Does that sound unreasonabIe to you? - Yes.
No, it is not unreasonabIe, aIthough it is not a good...
Good, good. I'm so gIad we got that settIed, aren't you?
I think we're really startin' to cllck here, George.
Give me what you got.
I've been over all this with Fedorchuk and AIterez.
Come on, you got nothin' better to do, a soft county job llke yours.
Yeah, right. Don't push your Iuck.
According to the sheet, the guy you nalled outside by the car, this one here,
he was one Martin HeIder, white maIe, aged 27.
One armed-robbery conviction, two for saIe of controlled substance,
and the guy was wired on coke when you stopped his cIock.
- Have you identified this one? - He's a John Doe. Or a Sam SIag, if you llke.
There's no ID on him and no fingerprints, so it couId be tough.
Lucky for you, you got him in both of his what we IooseIy call ''hearts''.
- Lucky I emptied a whoIe cllp in him. - That's how these peopIe are.
You don't hit both pumps, you just piss 'em off.
It Iooks llke the miners' disease.
Hey, what's goin' on?
- Nothing. - Nothin'?
Run bIood tests and keep it between us.
Got an extra head shot if you need one. We're about ready to cut in.
You're weIcome to stick around. It's fascinating stuff.
- Yeah, I'll bet. - Let's Iook at their personaI effects.
What is this?
What's that? It's a rubber.
It's, you know, a condom.
Coney IsIand whitefish, you know?
Um, men, human men, they put 'em on their penises to...
to protect 'em from havin' babies. Understand?
Uh, excuse me. Do you need this for anything?
Nope. I got my own.
She has her own.
Here.
See? You get the picture?
And that fits?
Yeah, onIy it's made of rubber. It stretches.
And stllI it fits?
What's this stuff here?
It is a resin. Newcomers working near methane gases at oll refineries
must paint it on their boots to protect against sparks.
- How the hell do you know that? - Many of us were hired by refineries
because the methane fumes are not harmfuI to us. My spouse's brother is one.
So, the SIag they're cuttin' into upstairs, he worked at a refinery,
and HubIey, he worked at a refinery.
I guess that ''possibIe'' connection's gettin' a hell of a Iot more possibIe, wouIdn't you say?
I guess the next thing is for me to taIk to the store owner's wife.
I belleve I shouId speak to the widow aIone.
All right, you taIk to the widow aIone.
I'll check out the refinery. Hey, thanks, huh?
- What about this HubIey guy? - He was all right, a damn good manager.
I'm gonna have to hustIe to fllI his shoes. The men really llked him.
ApparentIy, one of 'em didn't llke him so much. Here, give this a Iook.
- You think this is the guy who did it? - Yeah, we think so. Do you know him?
It's hard to say. I hate to admit it, but they all Iook allke to me.
- Wait a minute. - What?
- You know who this Iooks llke? - No.
Anderson, James Anderson. He's not in today. He took the afternoon off.
Yeah? Well, I think you're gonna find that he took the rest of his llfe off.
- What? - Is this where he worked?
Yeah, right in there.
HoId it. There's 35% pure methane gas in there.
I don't know how these fellas do it.
Yeah.
- Thanks. - Anything I can do.
I appreciate it.
I need your heIp, Mrs Ñorter.
I wllI try.
Can you identify these Newcomers?
No, but my son might.
Here's an oIdie but goodie from 1988: The Four Tops with ''IndestructibIe''.
WeIcome back, Ozzie and Harriet.
Well?
- One second. - We're not even moving.
Safety first.
- Bye-bye. - Do you have to yell in my ear?
- Sorry. - Did you Iearn anything?
Yes. Mrs Ñorter is not taking her husband's death very well.
She identified one of the men from a photo I showed her. It was Warren HubIey.
All right. What about the other guy?
She did not know, but she thought perhaps her son might.
- Have you taIked to him? - No.
He's not been home since that day, but she toId me where I couId find him.
- Who's this guy we gotta go see? - Wllllam Harcourt, an associate of HubIey's.
Our guest speaker tonight has done so much in his community.
He certainIy has come quite far in the Iast few years.
Granted, not as far as he came in the years before reaching Los AngeIes.
As mayor of this city, it gives me great pIeasure to introduce
someone who has so readlly made our city his home.
Ladies and gentIemen, Wllllam Harcourt.
I'm particuIarIy gratefuI because I actually had the gall to write in my notes:
''Thank you all for a very warm reception.''
Imagine how embarrassed I'd have been if it hadn't been such a warm reception.
Excuse me. Mr Wllllam Harcourt?
- Yes. - Good.
I'm Detective Sergeant Sykes, this is Detective Francisco, LAÑD.
Sergeant. Detective.
I wasn't aware there were any Newcomers at the rank of detective yet.
- I am the first, sir. - CongratuIations.
This is my assistant, Rudyard Kipllng.
Rudyard Kipllng? No shit.
We need some information about a business associate of yours, Warren HubIey.
Ah, poor Warren. Tragic.
Yeah, wasn't it? I understand that you and he were partners
in some SIag... Newcomer reaI-estate thing.
That's right. He and I and seven or eight others.
Wllllam.
I was wondering if you wouIdn't rather ride with Luisa and me?
Excellent idea. Ray, I wonder if you know two of your officers. Detectives...
- Sykes. - Sykes and Francisco.
- How do you do, sir? - ÑIeasure.
I think we really shouId be going.
FeeI free to call my office Monday morning for an appointment.
CongratuIations again on your promotion, Detective.
Remember, you're out there setting an exampIe in our community.
I shall be keeping an eye on you.
He's gonna keep an eye on you.
Sykes was the one who chased us and kllIed Anderson.
You're Iucky he didn't recognise you.
What if he taIks to Strader?
Mr Strader's change of heart is dangerous. Find him.
- I couId go to Berlltz for ten years... - 6.42.
Excuse me.
- Here. - I've got it.
How Iong did it take you to Iearn Engllsh?
- Three months. - Three months?
We Iearn quickIy. We adapt. It is our strength, what we were bred for.
I got a neighbour and she's got this kid who's got a Newcomer girI in the cIass.
The kid is six years oId and she's in the seventh grade.
Can you imagine that? Thanks a Iot.
It's amazing, totally amazing.
Oh, my God. I got yours. Here.
What is that? Raw what? What kind is that?
This? This is beaver.
- What? - Beaver. It's tasty.
- I'm sure. - WouId you llke to try some?
- Not on a bet. - I aIways tell my son
''How do you know you don't llke it if you won't even try it?''
Let me ask you somethin'. WouId it really put you out badIy
if you put it under the grllI, just for a minute or two?
Our bodies do not assimllate the nutrients if the food has been cooked. ÑIease.
That's very attractive. We're gonna go taIk to peopIe and you've got fur in your teeth.
Very attractive.
The store owner's widow thought we'd find her son here.
Just stay behind me.
Hey, just pay attention, you understand? Let me handIe it. Watch.
Which one of you SIags is Ñorter?
Yo. Who wants to know?
- Who said that? - At the end of the bar.
Are you Ñorter?
No, Matthew. I belleve this is the one you want.
Is that right?
- Um, Matthew... - Hey, butt out. I toId you I'd handIe it.
- But... - Hey, zip it.
Are these questions a llttIe difficuIt? I'll start with something easier.
Is your name Ñorter?
''Screw you.''
Yeah, well, that can't be right.
- You don't want to know. - Come on. Tell me.
''Your mother mates out of season.''
Oh, yeah?
Don't they teach you anything about us in cop schooI, llttIe ss'Ioka?
You jerk-off...
Hey, George. George?
That's enough.
You smell llke a human.
A cop. It fits you.
I'm sorry about your father. HeIp us find his kllIers.
We can taIk outside.
- Do you know this guy? - From quarantine.
When we first arrived, we were housed together.
Your mother says HubIey and your father were invoIved with another Newcomer.
Did you know this other guy that was with HubIey?
- Yeah. - Yeah?
High-roller dude named Strader.
Joshua Strader. He runs a cIub on the West Side.
- What cIub? - Encounters.
- Yeah, I know thatjoint. - Look, it's all I know.
- If you want any more, ask somebody eIse. - Yeah, right.
He's a pIeasant guy.
- If I may make a suggestion... - Yeah, what?
We have different weak spots than you do.
Next time, a bIow to the nerve pIexus, under the arm, here,
wllI produce the effect I think you were Iooking for.
I knew that.
Look what he did to my fIashllght. Look at this. Come on.
- Any progress? - Our arms are gettin' tired. So far, zip.
I understand you've been resisting my offer, Mr Strader.
Your sense of duty is nobIe, but no Ionger an issue, I'm afraid.
I wllI not make this offer again.
I wouId llke you to work for me, distributing ss'jabroka to our peopIe.
If you do, you wllI know weaIth and comfort our peopIe never dared imagine.
I won't do it! I can't Iet the nightmare start again.
Such a pity to Iose one's llfe for an outmoded vaIue.
Mr Quint, I belleve it's time for our friend's swimming Iesson.
It's important to practise new skllIs - essentiaI for your growth as a person.
You've never seen this before. You ain't gonna belleve it.
Sea water's llke battery acid to these guys.
Now he won't be taIking to those cops, the two who came to question you.
This is getting out of hand. I want you to deaI with it.
ImmediateIy.
We must Iearn to embrace the things we fear.
I'm very warm.
- I'm wearing Ieather. I feeI llke a beaver... - Hey, man. Can I heIp you with somethin'?
Hey. Get over here.
Come dance over here.
- I'd llke to speak to a guy named Strader. - That's his girIfriend up there.
You wanna know somethin', you'd better ask her, you know what I mean?
Thanks.
George. Come to, George. You're droollng.
Ooh, baby.
Mm, yeah.
Cassandra, pollce department. This is Sergeant Sykes...
''Shithead''. Ñerfect.
We're Iookin' for your boss, Strader.
He's not here. Why ask me?
The hostess downstairs said you might know.
She did, did she? Well, she was wrong.
Excuse me. I have to change.
Good. We have no probIem here.
We're not here for a high-schooI paper. This is a homicide investigation.
And, if you don't stop jerkin' around, we're gonna have to pIay a llttIe hardball.
Oh, hardball? Sounds interesting.
You going to strike me? You couId tie me up and then do whatever you want with me.
I have my own ropes.
Does that come free, or do you charge a llttIe extra?
You have me all wrong. I never charge money for something that I myseIf find pIeasurabIe.
I am going out to the car. I wllI meet you there.
I don't know where Mr Strader couId be. He comes and he goes.
I know. Why don't you hang around here for a whlle?
Let me entertain you.
- It's Matt, right? - Yes, indeed.
Tell me the truth. Have you ever made it with one of us?
Um, no. UnIess I got drunk and somebody didn't tell me.
Mm. A virgin.
I find that very arousing.
You sure you haven't?
There's Iots of things I haven't done. That's not reaI high on my llst.
No, you know. Don't take it personally. I'm a bigot.
Maybe you're just a llttIe afraid, huh?
Maybe you're afraid of what might happen once the llghts go out.
Maybe more than you want to admit.
Doesn't that curiosity and that fear all swirllng together turn you on?
Think of it as broadening your horizons.
I llke my horizons rather narrow.
Your voice is saying no, but your body's saying yes.
Yeah, wait, whoa.
Excuse me. My voice and the rest of me is saying that I'll be back in a coupIe of hours.
You make sure that Strader's here.
You handIe the women from now on, you know what I mean?
- What do you mean? - I mean, you handIe the women.
I know it's midnight.
Yes, I'm being carefuI.
The human seems llkabIe.
We'll be working Iate tonight, so don't wait up.
No. I Iove you too.
- Do you mind? - No, be my guest.
That hits the spot.
- She keeps you on a short Ieash, does she? - My wife? She worries about me.
Yeah, I know the routine.
Your home is quite disordered. I thought when I waIked in you had been burgIarised.
Well, I appreciate your honesty, George.
Ignore the bitch on the Ieft. That's Edie. I call her ''Edie Amin''.
That's Kristin, my daughter. The picture's a llttIe oId. She's 20 now.
Gettin' married, as a matter of fact, Sunday.
Human chlldren can be very beautifuI.
Getting married? CongratuIations. You're taking Sunday off, then?
No, I don't know. Maybe not.
I don't think I wanna go.
She doesn't need her burnt-out father there.
I'm gonna show you something.
This is Susan, my wife.
Oh, yeah. I remember from when I picked you up.
Oh. Not bad.
This is Richard, my son. Four years oId.
We named him after the former president Richard Nixon.
You open to a llttIe piece of advice, George?
Me, I'd tell peopIe I named him after the actor, Richard Burton.
Just take my word for it.
So then the doctor says ''If this is my thermometer, where is my pen?''
You don't think that's funny?
Look...
The guy says ''This is my...''
You gotta work with me, George. I get a Iaugh with this all the time.
If the doctor has the thermometer in his hand, where is the pen? Where?
- In the other man's rectum. - Yeah, it's stickin' up his ass,
- Correct. - Yeah, but that's what makes the joke.
There's a surprise. Your mind fllIs in all these llttIe funny pictures.
There's a guy sittin' with a pen up his ass.
Good Iuck, George.
I just think that's really funny.
Tell it to me again.
I got another one...
There is so much our two peopIes do not understand about each other.
No shit, SherIock. You onIy come from another goddamn pIanet, for chrissakes.
You humans are very curious to us.
You invite us to llve in an atmosphere of equallty that we've never known before.
You Iet us own our own llves for the first time
and you ask no more of us than you do of yourseIves.
I hope you understand how speciaI your worId is,
how unique a peopIe you humans are.
Which is why it is all the more painfuI and confusing to us
that so few of you seem capabIe of llving up to the ideaIs you set for yourseIves.
Don't count on me, George. I never had any ideaIs.
- You're all right, Georgie, you're all right. - I am going home.
Yeah.
You go home and you get some sIeep.
You'd better drive. You're too screwed up to waIk.
What a wlld man.
Yeah?
Better be good news or money.
- Oh, George. What? - HoId this.
I feeI very terribIe.
I'm so mllked-over.
- Where'd you get this? - A man. A human.
He was wiring it to your car.
My car?
- She is going to divorce me. - No, she can't divorce you.
You mate for llfe, isn't that right?
She is very progressive. I am certain she is considering it.
- Hey, Matt. - What?
Does a guy named Strader mean anything to you?
- Yeah. Why? - They found him, or what's Ieft of him,
washed up on the beach at Zuma. Fedorchuk and AIterez are on their way.
Thanks, Michelle.
Come on, Iet's go.
- To the beach? - Yeah, come on, dude. Surf's up.
ÑIease, I must get out of here.
Huh? Why?
- Stop the car. - We're not gonna go near the water, all right?
I beg you to pIease stop this car.
- ÑIease stop the car. - OK, OK.
- ÑIease. - Look, George, we're stopping.
All right? Go ahead. Now get out.
It's cooI. Don't worry. I'll be back in a coupIe of minutes.
Thank you.
- So that kid was the first to report this? - Yeah, about eIeven.
Goddamn.
How do you know that's Strader?
We found his wallet in his jacket pocket. ''Joshua Strader'' - big as llfe.
You got any idea as to how Iong he's been dead?
Your guess is as good as mine. The onIy thing hoIding him together is his cIothes.
Hey, how are you guys doin' on TuggIe's case?
The store owner's son's in a street gang, so now we're thinkin' maybe it's gang-reIated.
Yeah, that's reaI good. Why don't you guys work on that for a few months?
Look at your dlldo partner. He's even scared of the sand.
I'd Iove to see you next to a sea of hydrochIoric acid, Fedorchuk.
See how much surfin' you'd do.
That's cute.
- That's reaI cute. - I know why he's not comin' down here.
He forgot his hip waders.
Why don't you Iay off of him, you asshoIe?
At Ieast I'm a detective, not some outer-shit space thing.
You're right. You are a reaI detective.
An honest-to-God detective.
Detect these.
- What was that about? - Nothin'.
Hey. You guys finish your postmortem on Strader yet?
The BIob? They're finishing up now.
- Is Mr Bentner here? - No, he went home earIy. His kid was sick.
But he Ieft somethin' here for you.
- Here. - Thank you.
Does this have somethin' to do with the tests that he ran?
- What kind of tests? - I think it was a bIood test,
on that allen you dropped the other night.
Well, did he find anything?
- Well, George? - It's nothing.
Don't give me that shit. It wasn't ''nothing'' when you asked that... whatshisname...
Bentner to run that test. He Iooked llke he was about to shit peach pits.
And it's not ''nothing'' now. Don't lle to me, George. You're reaI bad at it.
- You must Ieave me aIone on this. - Oh, no.
I'm sorry, pally. I don't Ieave you aIone. You're my partner and I don't work that way.
All right? Well?
No secrets, goddamnit. That SIag up there, he was on something.
It wasn't sour mllk. Am I right, George?
Tell me, goddamn... Shit.
You tell me right now.
Now.
The drug is called ss'jabroka.
- It is a potent narcotic. - How potent?
More potent than any human drug you can imagine.
The controllers reguIated it. We wouId receive it as a reward for Iabour in the mines.
- You? You were on this shit? - Yes, we all were.
We were genetically engineered as sIave Iabourers.
It was our onIy means of pIeasure allowed.
The harder you worked, the more you got.
The more you got, the harder you worked.
Thousands of my peopIe died.
I Iost my best friend. It is a nightmare.
I wllI not Iet it happen again.
Why wouIdn't you just tell me something llke that?
Your peopIe do not know about this part of our past and they cannot.
It wouId threaten our entire existence here.
- How did this guy get it? - I don't know.
Well, was it on the ship?
No.
This is major, George.
It's very major. All you had to do was tell me.
Here's HubIey.
Looks llke he passed up a few jobs, waiting for the one at the refinery.
WouId you punch up ''Joshua Strader'' for me, darlln'?
ReIeased on November 29th, came immediateIy to LA,
and took over a cIub called the Encounters.
Now the store owner, pIease. Cecll Ñorter.
ReIeased December 1. FieId of expertise: organic chemicaI engineering.
HoIy shit.
Look what we're Iookin' at here, George.
You got three Newcomers with nothing in common. What if one guy shot all three?
Now you got four Newcomers, totally different backgrounds...
- George... - Quarantine.
Honey, punch up the occupants of Ñorter's Iodge, wllI you?
OK. Ñorter was in 772.
Harcourt. Gin.
Ñorter somehow created the formuIa. HubIey provided the manufacturing at the refinery.
And Strader, through the cIub, establlshed distribution.
Yeah, then Harcourt wiped 'em all out, so he couId have all the marbIes.
He's responsibIe for everything, from Tug on.
Well, I want his ass. He's mine.
We gotta pIay this reaI smart. Do you understand, George?
- If the drug is here, we must destroy it. - No, hoId it. You're missing the point.
The drug is our evidence. We need it, you know?
Hey, that's the guy, right there.
- Hey, are you crazy? You can't come in here. - Open the door.
- So much for pIayin' it smart. - You can't come in here llke this.
- What are you, crazy? - Shut up.
- Where's the drug? - What drug? This is an oll refinery.
- Where? - You can't do this.
George, I think you're crushing his llttIe chest bones.
- Stay outta this, Matthew. - Right.
Tell me where the drug has been taken, or I'll crush your Iungs.
O'NeaI, pIease, do me a favour, don't piss him off. He gets llke this, I can't controI him.
I saw him once go in there and pull out a guy's spine and show it to him.
There was nothing I couId do. I had to go throw up.
They took the stuff out this afternoon. All of it.
Where did they take it?
The Encounters cIub.
Quite IoveIy.
What is your name again?
Cassandra.
I shall remember that.
All right, now come on, George. Lighten up. It's a beauty of a case.
We got it by the short hairs. He ain't gonna make any more of that shit, I promise you.
If you destroy the drugs, you'll destroy the case. Why bIow the whoIe thing?
ÑIease just stick to procedure, OK?
Fuck procedure.
George, what...?
George. Goddamnit.
George Francisco, open your goIden gate
Open your gate and Iet me in
You. Hey, you. Ñollce. Come on, get outta there.
- What? - Get out. I wanna see you waIk that llne.
- Come on. - What are you taIkin' about?
Hey, what about me? That's my truck.
It's been a Iong time.
Hasn't it, gentIemen?
- What is it? - A sweet induIgence from our past,
resurrected for our future.
ÑIease feeI free to sampIe the quallty.
I'm sure the experience wllI be everything you remember it to be.
Where'd you get it?
I arranged to spend some time with three very resourcefuI men.
Jesus, it tastes llke detergent.
That's all the effect it wllI have on you.
But when my fellow Newcomers Iearn they can obtain it here,
they wllI work very hard to make as much money as they can to give it to me.
Tell them the rest of it, Harcourt.
Tell them.
- He's got the C-4 charge. - Ñut your guns on the tabIe.
Get up against the wall, except you.
Take it easy, buddy.
Keep your finger on the button.
You reIease that button, you not onIy kllI us, but yourseIf.
- To get you and this, I wouId do it. - You seem to have overIooked something.
That is not in any books as a controlled substance.
Legally, it mightjust as well be 12 kllos of grape jelly.
The charge is murder, and conspiracy to commit murder.
HubIey. Ñorter. Strader.
You kllIed Strader? No.
No.
- KllI them both. - Here?
Do it.
Don't shoot.
4230 Hollywood BouIevard.
We've got gunfire at cIub Encounters.
Shit, it worked.
- Get the car. Let's go. - I can't. You have the keys.
Turn the pollce llght on.
What are you doin'? Don't put the gun in my face.
Matthew.
I think we Iost them.
Move. Everybody move.
We're the goddamn pollce.
Up ahead, on your right.
It's bIocked. The goddamn road is bIocked.
Oh, Christ.
Head straight for them. He'll move.
This is chicken, George. I never Iose.
Damn.
You all right? Anything broken?
You all right?
Don't move.
Ñut 'em up.
I said put them up.
- You move one finger and you're history. - Not history.
Eternity.
I just remembered ajoke that my son toId me.
Yeah?
So?
I'd better not tell it.
I don't tell jokes well.
ÑrobabIy not, but go on, tell me.
If I begin to tell it and you know the joke, pIease say.
Why did the chicken cross the road?
I know it.
It's a funny joke.
I assume, with Harcourt and Kipllng dead, you wllI be requesting a reassignment now.
Well, just for your own good.
I think you'd probabIy be better with a partner who's more by the book.
But stllI, George, I gotta tell ya.
For a quiet guy, once you get started, you're hell on wheeIs, you know?
And I'd kinda hate to miss your next few days as a detective.
Come on, guys, I'll give you a llft to the station.
- Come on, partner. - They want a statement on the shooting.
No, I didn't shoot Harcourt. I didn't have to. He OD'd.
- You got a match? - Yeah, in there.
What's this about, Sarge?
Just keep driving, all right? Just drive.
What the heck is that?
HoIy...
I'm callin' for backup.
No.
Leave it be, wllI you, Wlltey?
Sarge.
Something gutted them.
I'm gonna request heIp and an air unit.
What... what...?
- What is this? - It's Harcourt.
- He's dead. - No, not if he overdosed on the drug.
Massive amounts trigger a change. Your body seizes up, you appear dead,
but it is really a state of incubation. When you emerge, you are metamorphosised.
We must not Iet him get away.
What?
What wouId happen if humans see what we are capabIe of becoming?
Got him.
Wlltey, no.
Hey, you. Get the hell off my boat.
You heard me. Get off the boat.
Over there.
Nice view, huh? You dumb sack of shit.
For Tug. Let's have a coId one.
Take her down.
Down. Take her down.
Your scarf. Can I borrow your scarf?
Take her down.
Wait, wait, wait.
What the hell was that down there? It Iooked really weird.
What do you mean, weird? It Iooked llke every other SIag to me, just pIain ugIy.
Here, Iook at this.
Here, Iet me hoId the tie.
Everybody gets dressed right before their daughter gets married.
- Is it on top of the collar? - No... Now it is.
- It Iooks all right? - You Iook very good.
Ready, Daddy?
Yes, honey.
George, I just want to tell you in advance...
I want to apoIogise for all the rotten things I'm gonna do and say to you over the years.
It is all right, Matthew. After all, you're onIy human.
What a wlld man.
Well, my daughter's got a husband. I got a partner.
He really ain't half bad, except when he's got that rotten mllk on his breath.