eyes.
her. eyes.
her eyes. she can't.
she can't. close her eyes.
her eyes. that's how they were. open like that. you see?
when i found my wife and child dead, my little girl's eyes were open. the last thing she saw of this earth were the faces of the men who took her life. can you understand that?
can you? really? you?
no? you married? children?
my daughter was ten. i married late in life.
you, mr. price? married? kids?
facts? those men are guilty. both of them. you know they are.
maybe you just haven't tried hard * enough.
in return for immunity. so he gets away with it.
yes. it counts for half. don't reward one of the men who murdered my family. please.
ah. i see my mistake. i came for justice. instead i got a system.
sorry. my fault.
can't speak?
tetrototoxin. fascinating stuff. it paralyzes you, but leaves all other neurological functions intact.
that means you can't move. or talk. but you can see. hear. feel. that last one's important. feel. you can feel everything. got some other items here. drugs to revive you in case you pass out. stuff like that.
wearing off a little. no worries.
oh. these. don't want you bleeding out. this will take a while.
teeth. balls. fingers. maybe toes. eyelids. in case you insist on shutting your eyes.
earlier on the phone? i said i'd get you out? you asked me what it would cost? well.
we'll start with an arm and a leg. go from there.
i've been waiting to say that line * for years. but it wasn't very funny, was it? no. played much better in my head. maybe it's my delivery.
gosh. my heart's beating. you? *
yes.
counselor.
why so formal? we go way back. call me benson. or ben.
so. maybe you can explain what this is all about.
detective?
dunnigan. i thought i'd made it clear i would only speak to the gentleman across the table from me.
darby? i knew about ames, of course. i've been following the news about his horribly botched execution. but darby too? quite a coincidence.
are you going to continue to insist on being part of this conversation?
fine. far be it from me to be rude.
i didn't know i had one. it's 150 acres, uncultivated. the other day i found a creek i never knew i had. hunters trespass all the time. you going to try to pin the dead deer on me too?
it occurs to me that an even moderately clever person could try to frame me for the murder simply by killing him on my property. one of darby's drug rivals? that's an unsavory world. a jury would have to weigh that possibility. what else you got?
that's odd. see, if i were to do such a thing, i'd probably wear something so i couldn't be identified. some kind of mask maybe. but you say it's actually me on the video? did the camera capture my good side? *
no trouble here, detective, we're fine. thank you, though.
your daughter is, what, ten now? that's a wonderful age. my daughter was always so busy at that age, so interested, so into everything. jumping around. i called her "bean," she jumped around so much.
i am sorry, nick, that your daughter experienced that. you're right. that video should not have arrived that way. the person who sent it should have thought twice.
unless there's hard evidence tying me to these crimes -- forensic or otherwise -- why am i here? why are we having this conversation?
it's not about what you know. it's about what you can prove in court. your words. like when you called it a justice system. you know the thing about a system, nick? any system can be played.
clarence darby did. and i'm much smarter than he was. or you.
that's it, that's what i want! that fire in the belly! that's what i wanted ten years ago! do it, nick! bury me!
or. set me free.
did i stutter? make your case. or. shake my hand on the courthouse steps and send me on my way. i'll even make it easy on you. i will confess, how's that?
let's start tomorrow after a good night's sleep. we'll all be fresh and rested.
i admit i expected something more modern. that jail downtown? *
right. prison crowding. it's a problem.
we'll get to that. first, what i'd really like to talk about is the cot in my cell. it's lumpy. hardly any padding? steel springs? very uncomfortable?
start with things i haven't done. like get any sleep last night. i said let's begin today fresh and * rested. you recall my words? *
a bed in my cell.
yes, please. one of those sleep- matic adjustables. those are best. *
that would be nice.
i'm sure they have a wrench. *
let me get this straight. you're going to let a bed prevent this confession from taking place.
my daughter can't have nightmares, because she died with clarence * darby's breath in her face. you * gave him a reduced sentence and his * freedom. all i want is a good night's sleep.
switching the drugs was easy.
i hacked the fedex database, diverted the package to me, made the switch, sent the package on. it's automated tracking numbers moving millions of packages daily. nobody's questioning who receives what, or why.
get a phone company uniform, hack the prison database, schedule an official visit. they'll wave you through the gate, like they did me. it's simple if you know how things work. it's a system. you learn how it works. you play it. any system.
score.
* hey, you like music?
i could tell. i love music. all of * it. it's like air in my lungs. so the thing about clarence darby is, i want my record collection and player brought to me. the vinyl discs as well as cds.
how about my ipod and speaker dock?
i appreciate your compromise.
i took his fingers with a bolt cutter. his toes with a pair of tin snips. his balls with a hacksaw.
his penis with a box cutter. his skin with a filet knife. his teeth with pliers. his eyes. for those i used my fingers. check the video i made. all that will match up. i kept him alive for an hour, give or take. time it.
what now?
how about a signing bonus? the small concessions you've made so far have kept my cooperation flowing. why not give me a reward for signing?
don't be such a hard-ass, nick. i don't want much. just a good meal. the food here? sucks. no offense.
there's a place in town on halston. la traviata. ever been? *
you know it, don't you, nick? *
they cater. tonight, at 7 p.m., i * would like my meal delivered to my cell from la traviata. with nice silverware, crisp linens.
why not?
c'mon, nick. we've just started bargaining. you haven't even heard what i'm offering yet.
miss lowell? is your laptop still on? would you please do a search?
william. baxter. reynolds.
march of '06.
detectives dunnigan and garza will like this offer, nick. it'll clear one of their department's missing- persons files. and it'll solve them their third homicide this week.
how do you think i located clarence darby after he got out of jail and legally changed his name? reynolds told me -- though it took some * convincing. *
you want the location of the body? tonight, 7 p.m., i get my meal * delivered to my cell from la traviata.
gps position is as follows.
rack of lamb?
the guards will think me gauche.
aims his remote. music for dining. clyde glances back at * dwight, who's poised and tense.
i suppose if i don't share, you'll beat the shit out of me. make me squeal like a piggy. that sort of thing.
i wonder what the little people are eating tonight?
i claim self-defense.
and, again, you'll have to prove that in court. as i've said before.  . make your case. or set me free.
you see, nick? that man is pissed! that's what i'm talking about! no deals, no compromise! you see?
it would seem that way.
i'm seeing fire in your belly, nick. i like it. keep going. this is our deal, after all.
wake up, blind man! it's been exactly that since i watched him shake clarence darby's hand on the steps of the hall of justice ten years ago! the hall of justice!
that's the spirit, yes! it's on you now, nick. it's your game to lose. just don't screw up. you do, they'll scapegoat you. that's * how the justice system works. * good call, sam. making me disappear was a bad idea. you couldn't have handled the blowback.
see how insane you think this is. you're going to release me from this place with all charges dropped within twenty four hours.
or i start killing everybody.
clock's running, nick.
you're up early. trouble sleeping?
amazing, isn't it? how primal that is. that pull? what a man is capable of when it comes to his family? *
good night, nick.
is it casual friday? i've never seen you not wear a tie.
i want a phone in my cell. if i'm conducting my own defense, it would be useful. also in case you and i need to be in touch, nick.
your twenty four hours are about up. in return for the phone, i'll extend you another twelve hours.
how many more people die while you stand around dithering? how many do you get killed before my point starts sinking in?
i've been waiting for my explanation for ten years. so far.  . nobody's fucking bothered!
if it hasn't dawned on you, this is a war. as in any war, there will be collateral damage. the question, as always, is how much damage you're willing to take before you withdraw.
do it. it would be decisive. stupid, but decisive. can you handle the blowback, detective? the "shit like that?"
i like rules. i've wanted you to follow them from the start. like the one that says you prosecute a man who murders my family. so. rules. a phone buys you another twelve hours. but if you haven't cut my deal and let me go by the deadline.
i'll kill someone in this room.
eenie. meenie. miney. moe.
my mother. told me. to pick. a person. and that. person. is.
interesting location you've chosen.
for what? a talk? or.  maybe you've decided to take detective dunnigan's advice.
you have some kind of signal worked out? you scratch your nose and blam, i'm a goner?
might solve all your problems. what's stopping you? afraid of the blowback?
ah. nice. good one.
mercy. right.
i think we've come a little too far for that, haven't we, nick? i mean, what do i say? sorry, my bad? which way to the execution chamber?
yeah, but. we're in the flow of this now. you cry havoc, you let slip the dogs of war, you go with * it. you don't just stop because * someone says hey wait. by then the dogs are dragging you.
i'd say you're making progress. you should have, you know. prosecuted both.
with your head held high. and without any blame from me.
but she's okay -- good. miss lowell is a fine young woman. oh, hey. your wife and little girl get out of town all right?
just a guess. it's what i would do. get 'em out, make sure they're safe. c'mon. like i'd ever have hurt them anyway.
there are limits. even in war. i may be many things, nick. but i'm not clarence darby. i'm not rupert ames. i'm not that kind of monster.
not the kind who'd hurt your wife and child. christ, look at me. mine were my salvation -- then they were killed -- and all i had left was this. life without them in this fucking charnel-house world.
it hurt to lose them, didn't it? your family. even knowing they'd come back.
imagine knowing they wouldn't.
good. i envy you. for me, knowing * mine won't come back is the only thing that's crowded my thoughts for ten years. if i could take a rusty knife and cut out that part of my brain, i would.
counselor. i have no doubt, as we stand here, that you really believe that. i wish i could. are we done? you gonna scratch your nose, or can i go?
hey. some legal team from the mayor * showed up here this morning. i hear * you're off the case. told you they'd * scapegoat you, didn't i? nick? you there? *
say you find a guy with a bad cocaine problem. hungry ex-wives. greedy mistress. heavy gambling debts. *
say that guy's a veterinarian. you * hand him a million in cash, he'll * do what you ask. especially if he's * looking to blow town for good.
you own the vet, you own the dog. explosive wasn't even that big. stuff i use, it didn't have to be. hidden in plain sight. that's my specialty. haven't you figured that out yet?
what's next for you? mulling career options? i suppose law is out.
fair enough. i'll miss you nick. it was a good dance.
just warming up. this is clausewitz shit, my friend. total war.
i'm gonna pull the whole thing down. i will topple the gleaming pillars and drag the whole fucking diseased, corrupt temple down on my head. stay tuned. it'll be biblical.
ted. had to get that vacation in. visited my sister in the keys.
hey, what's all that hoopla at the main entrance?
i'll stay out of their way.
imagine mine.
that's how you play. make the other guy think it's his idea. you came to talk, so talk.
but it happened. and here we are.
you want to hold hands? what's your point?
if i don't? what are you offering?
i'm willing to listen.
i'm sorry.
well played.