[A man walks into a church]

[Ray and Father Behan are standing at the door of the choir loft while women walk past]

Behan: Tis a miracle, surely. We've never had so many people wantin' to join our choir. You've done a fine thing, Raymond.

Ray: Ah, think nothin' of it, Father. I just pulled out my little black book, made a few calls and they were happy to oblige. Oh, Ursula, thanks for coming.

Woman: Yeah, yeah, take a hike.

[Fraser in the front row of the choir loft. Women crowd around him.]

Ursula: Out of my way. Hi, Benton.

Woman: This is my chair. I sit here every week.

Woman next to Fraser: Well, this week it's mine.

Another woman: Would you like to try my pitchpipe?

Fraser: Oh, well, thank you kindly for the offer but, um -

Yet another woman: Didn't I see you at the single's dance the other night?

Fraser: Actually, I'm not part of this congregation. My friend and I just stopped by to pay Father Behan a visit. Or so I thought.

[Fraser turns around, looking for Ray, and accidentally bumps a woman]

Fraser: Sorry.

[Fraser sees Ray give him a big "thumbs up" sign]

Father Behan: He did volunteer for this, didn't he?

Ray: Oh, absolutely, Father. You know how it is with Mounties. Any excuse to burst into song.

Choir mistress: All right, ladies. And Constable Fraser. Turn to hymn 498. [thank you to Catherine who sent the name of the hymn to us: "O Perfect Love"]

[Organ music]

[Cut to the man in the church. He pulls out a handful of spare change, sighs and puts the money back into his pocket.]

Ray: Oh God.

[Frannie is pushing women out of the way as she moves towards Fraser]

Ray: Sorry, Father. [for swearing in church]

Behan: That is your sister, isn't it?

Ray: Uh, yes, it is, Father.

Behan [looking heavenward]: Oh, God.

[Frannie successfully shoves her way next to Fraser]

Frannie: Oh, Benton! So you sing too?

Fraser: Uh...so I'm told.

Frannie: How nice. [to woman next to Fraser]: Move it or lose your foot.

[Two men are the church pews]

Tommy: I'm only asking for the same terms your father gave me.

Zuko: My father was a very generous man. I'm sure he's in heaven.

Zuko: Look at this. [flexing his hand] We're playing pickup, I have the ball, some real estate broker charges me and practically breaks my arm.

Tommy: We go back a long way. I've been doing business with your family for forty years. I make good every time. This isn't right.

Zuko: Are you accusing me of being unjust, Tommy?

Tommy: No, no.

Zuko: Good. Because I would hate to think that I had failed to earn your respect.

Tommy: I'll take the deal. Deal's fine.

Zuko: Yeah, if that's what you want.

[The two men walk down the aisle. They pass the first man kneeling in a pew.]

Zuko: Wanna shoot some baskets on Saturday?

Tommy: Me?

Zuko: Yeah, you.

Tommy: Okay, Mr. Zuko.

[First man watches as Zuko puts money into the poor box. Choir sings.]

Frannie [talking through the music]: So I was having my nails done the other day when it hits me like a ton of bricks. This guy is never going to come to you, Francesca. Nothing that good ever comes to you. The way I see it is - you want the best, you gotta take it. [Fraser sings louder] So I say to myself, 'Ask him out.' To which I reply, 'What if it goes badly?' I mean, 'What if we go out to dinner and I have like food stuck between my teeth or something and he turns off to me?' So then I say, 'Ask him out for drinks.' But then I remember - he's a Mountie, stupid. He doesn't drink. I mean sure it's dark in the movie theater and everything, but you know, there could be people around and......yada yada. So the way I see it is, why do we have to play these games? I mean, we're both adults. We both know what we want. So...

[Music stops]

Frannie: You wanna have sex?

[Shocked stares. Crashing organ chord. A commotion down in the church.]

Woman: Help! Thief! Thief!

Fraser: Oh, darn. [to Frannie] Uh, excuse me.

[Fraser leaps over the edge of the choir loft, lands in the aisle, and runs out the door of the church, saluting an elderly lady on the way out]

Frannie [to woman looking at her]: He had an appointment.

[Fraser stands on the steps of the church, looking for the man, who is nowhere to be seen.]

[At the precinct. Fraser seated by Ray's desk, examining a small box.]

Ray: Will you forget about it, Benny? Father Behan said there was less than forty bucks in there. If you want, I'll give him the money right out of my own pocket.

Fraser: Look at the gouge marks around the hinges, Ray.

Ray: No.

Fraser: You see he loosened the fittings before he pried the lid.

Ray: Okay, forty bucks and a new poor box.

Fraser: Judging by the striations in the wood, I'd say must have used some specialized tool.

Ray: Benny, It's a three dollar lock and a ten dollar box. What do you want to do, call in Scotland Yard?

Fraser: Given the angle of insertion, I'd say he is probably right handed.

Ray: You see, now that is the break that we needed. Let's go nail the right-handed bastard.

Fraser: Now you'll notice this rough indentation in the wood made when the lid was pried open.

Ray: No, I won't.

Fraser: Indicates the implement had a curved head and a sharp point. You know, it rather brings to mind a hook used for sock-eyed salmon.

Ray: Hey Elaine! Get me a list of all the salmon fisheries in the greater metropolitan area, will ya?

Elaine: What?

Fraser: Never mind, Elaine, I believe Ray was just mocking me.

Ray: Yes, I was.

Fraser: We're not looking for a hook, Ray, I was referring to the shape of the implement's head. Now the distance from the mark to the rear indicates that the implement was at least six inches long, with sufficient heft to loosen the hinges. Aha.

Ray: No, okay, no "ahas," no "uh-huhs," no "interestings," no "look at this Ray" because I'm not gonna look.

[Fraser touches the box and tastes his finger]

Fraser: Left a waxy residue.

Ray: Fraser, this is a petty theft, ok, we'll fill in a form, if I can find the damn thing, and if someone returns the money, we'll take it back to the church.

Fraser: Oh, I'm not interested in the money, Ray, I'm after the thief.

Welch [walks up]: St Michael's. Somebody robbed the poor box. Look into it.

Ray: I'm already on it sir, and I even found some waxy residue.

[Fraser looks at Ray. Ray winces.]

Welch: Seems a prominent member of the congregation thinks we're not going to pay attention to the theft due to the small amount of money involved.

Fraser: Detective Vecchio was just pointing out the basic injustice of that, sir.

Welsh [looking at Fraser]: I have to ask you this. Don't you have a job of your own?

Fraser: Oh, yes sir. But I had the early shift this morning.

Welsh: And you have nothing better to do with your life than hang around here and help us solve crimes?

Fraser: No, sir.

Welsh: All right, start with this concerned citizen.

[Ray looks at the file that Welch handed him]

Ray: Frank Zuko? We're running errands for Frank Zuko now?

Welsh: You have evidence to put Mr. Zuko behind bars, detective?

Ray: No sir.

Welsh: Because if you do, there's a pack of feds who would love to have that information passed on to them.

Ray: I realize that, sir.

Welsh: You want the papers getting the impression we don't care enough about certain communities to pay attention to their concerns?

Ray: No sir.

Welsh: Go show the flag.

Welsh [to Fraser]: Any movies, dates, anything like that?

Fraser: I recently joined a choir, sir.

Welch: That's good. [walks away]

Fraser: This Mr. Zuko, he's an acquaintance of yours?

Ray: Yeah, you could say we were acquainted.

[Large residential home. Ray and Fraser ring the doorbell. Zuko opens the door.]

Ray: Detective Vecchio, twenty-seventh.

Zuko: Ray, good to see you.

Fraser: Benton Fraser, RMCP.

Zuko: Come on in.

[Ray and Fraser enter]

Zuko: You know, it's a great old neighborhood. One of the last, I mean. I'd hate to see that kind of a criminal element creep in. You know when my father was...well, we all know what my father was. But. But one thing you could say for the man, he made sure the neighborhood was safe.

[Small girl sitting at a desk, drawing]

Daughter: I made you a picture, Daddy.

Zuko: Let me see, honey. Oh that's beautiful. Why don't you run and show Mommy, okay?

[Girl leaves]

Ray: Out of respect for your little girl I don't say anything. But let's not start reminiscing about the good old days of extortion and intimidation, okay Frankie?

Zuko: PR's not your strong suit, is it, Detective?

Ray: I've just got a couple of questions. How much money did you put in the poor box?

Zuko: I don't know. A hundred, I guess.

Ray: The man at the assembly, you got a description?

Zuko: Nope. Barely noticed him.

Ray: You know, it just blows my mind. How one guy can pull off a heist of this magnitude.

Zuko: You know, I'm ignoring your tone because we have a history. But don't push it. This may seem penny anti to you, Vecchio, but somebody did commit a crime here.

Ray: You figure a guy who stole, what, a hundred and forty bucks is a serious threat to the community and should be prosecuted?

Zuko: What's the matter with you, Ray? Huh? Your mother doesn't live in this community? Your sisters don't walk home past that church every night? You think some guy who robs the church is going to think twice about mugging the women in your family? Or mine?

Ray: Let's not compare your family and mine, okay Frankie, 'cause we don't walk down the same block.

Fraser: Um. I'm sure Detective Vecchio shares your concerns, Mr. Zuko, after all, as you just pointed out, this is his neighborhood, too.

Zuko: Canadian, right?

Fraser: Yes.

Zuko: Well then you do understand. I mean you come from one of those nice clean cities where they have no graffiti, no garbage on the streets, and people treat each other with respect. Right?

Fraser: Well yes, I suppose so. Although it's been my experience that many people live their lives thinking that they're respected only to discover they've been merely feared. And fears can be overcome. We will find the thief.

Zuko: Thank you, Constable. I'd be very grateful if you did.

Fraser: Ray?

Zuko: You still play basketball, Ray? You oughta come down to the gym on Saturday. Work off some of that pasta.

Ray: I don't think so, Frankie.

[Ray and Fraser exit the house and walk back to the Riv]

Ray: His father Carl ran the extortion racket for over thirty years on this side of town.

Fraser: You think he's like his father.

Ray: Is he more legit than his father? He can afford to be. When I went to school with Frank, we used to play pick-up basketball together. There was this one kid, Marco Matroni, couldn't make a basket to save his life. No matter whose side he was on he always managed to lose the game, and Frank didn't like losing. So one day, a couple of Frank's buddies held him down while Frank drilled a basketball in his face for about a half-hour. Marco just lay there choking on his blood. He never came near a court again.

Fraser: You know, we had a schoolyard bully in Toktoyaktuk once. Sometimes at night I can still remember him coming into the classroom swinging that otter over his head. There was no just reasoning with him.

Ray: And I thought we had nothing in common.

Fraser: Bindlestitch.

Ray: You know, you've gotta stop swearing in Eskimo.

Fraser: No, bindlestitch is a tool used by a shoemaker for lifting laces off the leather. He used a bindlestitch and the waxy residue - shoe polish.

Ray: You're making this up, aren't you?

Fraser: No.

[Inside Zuko house]

Charlie: We've been all through the neighborhood and we don't find anything.

Zuko: Follow him. He'll find the guy.

[Ray and Fraser walk down a street]

Ray: So we're not really tracking a criminal, what we're really tracking is Pinocchio's dad.

Fraser: Guippeto was a woodcarver, Ray.

Ray: He was not!

Fraser: Well, yes, that's how he made Pinocchio, out of wood.

Ray: Then who was the shoemaker?

Fraser: I have no idea.

Ray: Sure you do, the brothers Grimm, the poor old shoemaker who can't feed his wife, little elves help him make shoes -

[Ray and Fraser stop in front of a closed shoe repair shop]

Fraser: There's very little dust in the windows. They can't have been out of business for long.

Ray: I swear I remember reading about shoes made by elves.

Fraser: Heavy machinery is still here. If he intended to open a new shop, he would have taken it with him. My guess is he didn't have that option. He took what he could carry with him.

Ray: You mean to tell me that you have no recollection of shoe-related elf stories?

Fraser: Ray, I would tell you if I did.

[they enter a shop next door, which sells suggestive lingerie]

Fraser: Hello?

Saleswoman: Be right out.

Fraser [to mannequin]: Excuse me, I, uh -

[Fraser bumps into another mannequin]

Fraser: Ray, maybe you should conduct this interview.

Ray: It's molded plastic, Benny. It's not going to lunge out at you.

Fraser: You mean this? Well, if you think I'm embarrassed, you're sorely mistaken.

Ray: Oh yeah, that's why you're turning the color of your uniform.

Fraser: Don't be ridiculous. It's just hot in here, that's all.

Saleswoman: Can I help you?

Fraser: Ah, yes ma'am.

Saleswoman: Nice boots.

Fraser: Thank you. My name is Constable Fraser and this is Detective Vecchio. We would like to ask you a question that is unrelated to either underwear or breasts.

Ray: Ah, yes we would. Do you know who used to run the shoe repair next door?

Saleswoman: Yeah, Joey, nice guy.

Ray: Yeah, does he have a last name?

Saleswoman: I think it started with a P. He used to come in here for coffee sometimes. Sort of sweet and shy. Which personally I find very sexy [looking at Fraser]

Ray: Yeah, do you know what happened to him?

Saleswoman: Yeah, he went out of business for long.

Ray: I swear I remember reading about shoes made by elves.

Fraser: Heavy machinery is still here. If he intended to open a new shop, he would have taken it with him. My guess is he didn't have that option. He took what he could carry with him.

Ray: You mean to tell me that you have no recollection of shoe-related elf stories?

Fraser: Ray, I would tell you if I did.

[they enter a shop next door, which sells suggestive lingerie]

Fraser: Hello?

Saleswoman: Be right out.

Fraser [to mannequin]: Excuse me, I, uh -

[Fraser bumps into another mannequin]

Fraser: Ray, maybe you should conduct this interview.

Ray: It's molded plastic, Benny. It's not going to lunge out at you.

Fraser: You mean this? Well, if you think I'm embarrassed, you're sorely mistaken.

Ray: Oh yeah, that's why you're turning the color of your uniform.

Fraser: Don't be ridiculous. It's just hot in here, that's all.

Saleswoman: Can I help you?

Fraser: Ah, yes ma'am.

Saleswoman: Nice boots.

Fraser: Thank you. My name is Constable Fraser and this is Detective Vecchio. We would like to ask you a question that is unrelated to either underwear or breasts.

Ray: Ah, yes we would. Do you know who used to run the shoe repair next door?

Saleswoman: Yeah, Joey, nice guy.

Ray: Yeah, does he have a last name?

Saleswoman: I think it started with a P. He used to come in here for coffee sometimes. Sort of sweet and shy. Which personally I find very sexy [looking at Fraser]

Ray: Yeah, do you know what happened to him?

Saleswoman: Yeah, he went out of business about six months ago. It was too bad. He came in about two weeks before that to get something for his wife. He had it all picked out but he didn't have the cash, so we worked out a deal. I don't think his wife liked the camisole. She left him and took the kid. Real sad.

Ray: You know where he is now?

Saleswoman: Girl who works here said she saw him going into one of those cheap hotels over on Diversity.

Fraser: Is she here?

Saleswoman: No, she's on vacation. [looking at Fraser] Anything else I can do for you?

Fraser: Yes, you said that you did a deal for the camisole?

Saleswoman: Yeah, yeah, he made me this. [she unties her blouse and reveals a black leather corset]

Fraser: May I, uh...

Saleswoman: Be my guest.

[Fraser leans into her chest and examines the corset from a few inches range]

Fraser: [muttering] Ah, yes, it's very beautiful...leather. Thank you kindly, ma'am.

Saleswoman: You're very welcome.

Ray: How do you get away with that?

Fraser: With what?

Ray: You know damn well with what.

[Ray and Fraser exit to the street]

Fraser: Handstitched. Very delicate work.

Ray: Yeah, it had quality written all over it.

[Fraser and Ray stop, turn around, and walk in the opposite direction. They had been walking the wrong way.]

[Frannie rushes into lingerie store]

Frannie: I'll take it. But I'll need it altered for tonight.

Clerk: Oh, I don't know. We're kinda backed up right now.

Frannie: Look, I'll pay anything, understand? This is worth any amount of money.

[Fraser and Ray get out of the Riv]

Fraser: Well, we know he took his tools. He's bartered his services once, chances are he's still doing it.

Ray: So now what? We go up and down Diversity until we find Cinderella with freshly soled shoes?

Fraser: Yes.

[Fraser and Ray stare at a sign for a boarding house]

Ray: Great.

[Inside the boarding house]

Old lady: You want to see my shoes?

Fraser: Well, yes ma'am, if you wouldn't mind.

Old lady: Why should I mind, it's best offer I've had in years.

Fraser [to old lady]: Very nice, very nice indeed. [to Ray] Machine made, not recently repaired.

Fraser: Thank you kindly.

[View of stocking feet]

Woman[speaking in a man's voice]: You're welcome.

[Various scenes of Fraser looking at people's shoes. One old lady hits Ray in the head with a newspaper as he tugs at her shoes.]

[Fraser and Ray on the street]

Ray: She's all yours.

Fraser: What Ray, you don't want...all right.

[older woman is on her hands and knees, cleaning]

Fraser: No, please, ma'am, stay just where you are. [examines her shoes]

Woman [walking down a hallway]: He moved in a few months ago. He a friend of yours?

Fraser: Ah, no, but I'm familiar with his work.

Woman: Mr. Paducci, you have callers.

[silence]

Woman: I'm sure he's in there.

Fraser: Will you open it, please ma'am?

[Woman opens door. The room is empty but the window is wide open.]

Fraser: Thank you kindly. [He steps onto the window sill] [shouting] Ray! [back to the woman] I'll see myself out.

[Fraser jumps down from the second story, landing in an alley. He chases Joey. The Riv pulls up. Ray jumps out.]

Ray: Ok, freeze! Up against the wall!

[Ray pats down Joey and comes up with a pointed implement]

Ray: Spindlebint, I presume.

[In the precinct]

Elaine: [holding bindlestitch] Rumplestiltskin. Didn't he use one of these?

Louis: No, dwarfs don't make shoes, they hide under bridges.

Huey: Those are trolls.

Elaine: So who made shoes?

Huey: Glinda, the good witch in the Wizard of Oz.

Louis: No, that was magic, they were slippers, not shoes.

Elaine: I always wanted a pair of ruby slippers. I used to try on my mother's high heeled shoes and stand in front of the mirror, clicking my heels together, saying "There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home."

Louis: Me too. [Elaine and Huey look at him] What? Well, I wanted to be the tin man but when I dressed up as tin man, my sister dressed up as Dorothy. I almost never played with my sister. [looking elsewhere] What? Oh yeah, coming.

[Huey and Elaine look at each other]

[Joey, Fraser and Ray at Ray's desk.]

Joey: It's nothing fancy you know, but I'm making a living. And one day these wise guys come to see me, say I'm not paying my neighborhood association dues. Fifty bucks a week, I mean, maybe that doesn't sound like much, but I've got overhead, an apartment, a wife who likes to go out [he stops for a moment, looks down] Anyway, six months later, it's up to sixty-five, then eighty-five, then a hundred...

Ray: Did they threaten you?

Joey: Who's to threaten? I'm not stupid. Anyway, pretty soon I can't afford to pay the phone, the utilities, I fall behind on the rent. So I go to Zuko and I tell him I need some relief. He says to me, the payments are strictly voluntary. I get back to my place and the front window's broken. Five months later I'm on the street, and my wife - I can't blame her. So when I saw Zuko stick that hundred in the box, all I could think was that's my money. I just wanted some of that back. That's fair, isn't it?

Ray: Maybe. But it's also against the law.

Fraser: Could you identify these men?

Ray: Ah. You know Benny, there's nothing illegal about a voluntary neighborhood association. I've been down that path too many times.

Joey: I just wasn't brave enough to do something, you know? [Ray flinches] He took my business, he took my family. Man, he took my life. I shoulda done something. I shoulda done something.

[Ray and Fraser in the church with Father Behan]

Behan: Joey Paducci. I don't know him.

Ray: Frank Zuko does.

Behan: Him I know. It's a sin to wish people ill and I don't, but if I do, I confess it.

Ray: Father, Paducci's being arraigned. If you don't come down and sign a complaint it's not gonna stick.

Behan: Why would I want to do a thing like that?

Ray: Because he stole from the church.

Behan: You said he was destitute, didn't you?

Ray: Yes, but that doesn't have anything to do with anything.

Behan: Well, then, who do you think poor boxes are for?

[Inside a confession booth]

Frannie: Forgive me, Father, for what I am about to do.

Priest [sighs]: This isn't about the Mountie again, is it?

Frannie: I know, I know, but this time, I'm gonna do it.

Priest: Franchesca, I can't keep forgiving you in advance for something that never happens.

[Ray and Fraser walking down the hallway towards Fraser's apartment]

Ray: The safest place for him right now is exactly where he is, behind bars.

Fraser: Well, I don't think we can keep a man in jail without charges, Ray. [to neighbors] Mr. Mustafi, Mr. Campbell.

Ray: Yeah, well if he's out on the street Zuko's coming after him and I know Zuko. He needs to make an example out of Joey.

[Dief lying in the hall]

Ray: Do you always leave your door wide open?

[Ray and Fraser enter Fraser's apartment. It has been decorated in a modern and expensive style. Movers are milling about.]

Fraser: Excuse me, can you tell me what is going on?

Woman: Yeah, I made a few decisions in your absence, if you want anything moved around, speak now or forever hold your peace.

Fraser: I'm sorry, I think there's been some kind of mistake. I didn't order any furniture.

Woman [reading from clipboard]: Fraser, Benton, that you?

Fraser: Yes.

Woman: You live at 221 West Racine, apartment 3J?

Fraser: Yes, but you see, I didn't -

Woman: You want to make a decision about this credenza, we're on the clock.

Ray: I really like your style, Benny.

Fraser: It's not my style, Ray, it's Zuko's.

Woman: [to movers] The credenza goes there. [to Fraser] Tip's taken care of. Enjoy.

Ray [on cell phone]: Phil, it's Vecchio. Where's Joey Paducci? [pause] Oh, great. [closes phone] He was bailed out over an hour ago. He's definitely a dead man.

Fraser: I'd be grateful. Zuko's words.

[Zuko and several other men are finishing a basketball game on an indoor court]

Zuko: Kenny, come on Kenny.

[Kenny hesitates]

Zuko: Come on, I'll spot you three. [Zuko shoots a basket]. Three one.

[Kenny and Zuko play. Zuko hits Kenny hard and knocks him down. Zuko scores.]

Zuko: Didn't foul you, did I?

Kenny: No.

Zuko: Three two.

[Fraser enters]

Zuko: Hey, Constable Fraser. Care to shoot some hoop?

Fraser: Oh, no, no. I'm afraid I would scuff the floor.

Zuko: The floor? Forget the floor. Here, shoot.

[Zuko throws ball to Fraser. Fraser catches it, closes his eyes, holds up a finger to test the wind, opens his eyes, bounces the ball once,

shoots, scores.]

Zuko: Hit the showers, Kenny.

Kenny: See you Tuesday.

[Fraser removes hat and jacket and place them on a chair]

Zuko: Come on Constable. I'll tell you what, you get the first shot.

[Zuko and Fraser talk as they play]

Zuko: You like the furniture?

Fraser: Well, there is quite a lot of it.

Zuko: You need a bigger apartment.

Fraser: No, I don't think so. As a matter of fact, that is one of the things I came down here to talk to you about. You see, as a police officer I'm forbidden to accept gifts.

Zuko: Really?

Fraser: Yes.

Zuko: The officers I know never mentioned that. I just wanted to show my gratitude.

Fraser: No. I understand. I understand. It's just that even if I were able to accept such a gift, it might end up reflecting badly on you.

Zuko: On me?

Fraser: Oh yes. You see, some people might get the mistaken impression that you wanted Mr. Paducci found for your own purposes, and that I had somehow aided you in that endeavor.

Zuko: I don't think anyone can read that into it. But hey, if it bothers you, don't keep it. Donate it to your favorite charity.

Fraser: Well, I'm afraid that would be against the regulations as well.

Zuko: You're a hard man to thank, Constable.

Fraser: Father Behan is dropping the charges against Paducci.

Zuko: Oh, I guess today is Mr. Paducci's lucky day.

Fraser: Isn't it? As a matter of fact, before Detective Vecchio could drop the charges against him, Mr. Padduchi's bail was posted anonymously through an attorney.

Zuko: I love this neighborhood. So many good Samaritans. Next basket wins.

[Fraser scores]

Zuko: No, foul!

Fraser: Um, actually I don't think that was a -

Zuko: Charlie?

Charlie [head in newspaper]: He fouled you, Mr. Zuko.

Zuko: Best ref in Chicago.

[Zuko rushes the basket and hits Fraser hard, knocking him down. Zuko scores.]

Zuko: Game. Nice try Constable.

Fraser: Mr. Paducci is prepared to make restitution. That satisfies the church.

Zuko: Constable. You're aware of who I am, aren't you?

Fraser: Well, if by that you mean have I heard the stories...yes.

Zuko: Yeah, well, let's say they're all true. Something you probably haven't heard...is that I really do love this neighborhood. And when somebody hurts this community, they hurt me.

Fraser: By that logic, you could say if someone hurt Mr. Paducci, they hurt me.

Zuko: Well then, you would be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Fraser: I see logic is not one of your hobbies.

Zuko: Thanks for the game, Constable.

Fraser: Good day.

[Ray and Joey in Joey's apartment]

Ray: I used to buy gumballs over there. Big fat ones for a nickel apiece. Now my nephew buys them for a buck fifty.

Joey: The price of doing business. Welcome to Mr. Zuko's neighborhood.

[Knock at the door. Ray approaches door with his gun drawn.]

Fraser's voice: It's me, Ray.

[Fraser enters]

Ray: What did I say? Was he swinging an otter over his head or what?

Fraser: You were right, Ray. There wasn't much reasoning with him.

Joey: Well, I've always wanted to see New York.

Ray: Yeah, well you can forget about it. If Zuko's got a contract out on you, he's going to have this neighborhood sealed up tighter than a drum. You'll be lucky to make downtown Chicago alive.

Joey: So what am I supposed to do? Stay here and wait 'til he comes and kills me?

[silence]

Ray: Jimmy Menudo! His sister was in a hit-and-run accident down on the south side! I caught the driver! Let's hope he's got a good memory.

[Bus station with many empty buses]

Jimmy: I got a 946 going nonstop to Philadelphia, how's that?

Ray: That's great, Jimmy, thanks.

Jimmy: Ray, it's nothing, we put him on board with the packages, everybody knows you can't board a bus here, you gotta go downtown. So you [to Joey] just get in the john, and you stay there until you reach Philadelphia.

Joey: Thanks Ray.

[Joey walks away]

Ray: He'll be ok. [Ray and Fraser walk away] Thank God I remembered Jimmy, huh?

Fraser [seeing Jimmy in the distance, getting into a car]: I thought you said he worked all night.

Ray: He does.

[Jimmy's car drives away]

Ray: Menudo!

[Ray and Fraser run back]

Ray: Oh, no!

[Charlie and other men in a car]

Charlie [into radio]: Go!

[Men get out of car carrying guns and run towards buses]

Charlie: Son-of-a-

[Joey gets to the open door of a bus. The bus driver raises a gun and shoots. Joey blocks the bullets with his suitcase. Joey crawls underneath the bus]

Fraser: Joey!

Thug [to another thug]: Take the shoemaker!

[Inside the bus station, Fraser dodges bullets in pursuit of a gunman. Outside among the buses, Ray looks for Joey.]

[In pursuit, Fraser crashes through a glass door, sustaining minor cuts on his face. He runs down a hallway and stops. Charlie and two men are there. Two more men appear behind Fraser.]

Charlie: Got a message for you from Mr. Zuko.

Fraser: I take it this message is not in writing.

[Outside, Ray and thugs look for Joey. Joey is crawling under the buses. Ray jumps on top of the buses and runs on the roofs. ]

[Thugs hold Fraser and beat him while Charlie watches]

[Ray jumps down on a thug just before the thug can shoot Joey. Ray and Joey run into the station.]

[Thugs drop Fraser on the floor and walk away. Charlie pulls a handgun and points it at Fraser.]

Charlie: Here's the message.

[Fraser swings his left leg and rolls sideways, kicking Charlie and knocking him off balance. Charlie drops the gun. Ray and Joey appear. Charlie exits. Ray and Joey kneel beside Fraser.]

Ray: Benny, you okay?

[The precinct. Fraser shirtless leaning back in a chair. Elaine holding a swab and a bottle of alcohol.]

Elaine: How many of them were there?

Fraser: More than were necessary.

[Elaine touches the swab to Fraser's cut lip]

Fraser: Ah-

Elaine: That hurt, didn't it?

Fraser: Yes, quite a bit.

Elaine: Sorry.

Fraser: Get any prints off the handgun?

Fraser: No.

Elaine: Does this hurt?

Fraser: Yes. Yes. Yes.

Elaine: How about this? [touching his right shoulder]

Fraser: No. That's an old scar.

Elaine: How'd you get it?

Fraser: I'd rather not say. . .Someone struck me with a sea otter.

Elaine: I guess that's what happens in a country with gun control.

Fraser: Oh, I believe he shot the otter first.

Elaine: That's just cruel.

[Elaine is leaning very close to Fraser. Both seem slightly dazed.]

Fraser: Uh yes, but you see, strictly speaking he did adhere to the law because swinging a live otter is illegal in the Territories.

Elaine: Ah.

Fraser: Indeed.

Elaine: So there's nothing the police could do about it?

Fraser: No. Although they did, uh, change the law, after that, uh, incident.

Elaine: Good thing.

Fraser: It's a very good thing.

[Elaine moves away. Fraser looks glassy-eyed.]

[Welsh and Huey talking]

Welsh: Any line on the shooter?

Ray: Got Paducci going over mug shots now sir.

Welsh: What about the guys that roughed Fraser up?

Ray: They're probably halfway to California by now.

Welsh: Really like to tie Zuko to this.

Ray: What about protective custody for Paducci?

Welsh: State's attorney isn't going to do it. There's no indictment against Zuko, and if we lock the shoemaker up we'll have to keep him in solitary confinement for the rest of his life. Leave him on the street under surveillance, and we eat up the entire district's budget in thirty days. All Zuko has to do is wait. Ya know, I hate to say it, but Mr. Paducci had the right idea.

Ray: Look, we can't just throw him back on the street.

Welsh: All right, I'll shuffle some paperwork. We'll keep him in holding for forty-eight hours.

Ray: All right. Thanks, Lieutenant.

[Ray and Fraser watch Joey flip through mug shots]

Ray: Anything?

Joey: Nah.

Fraser: Protective custody?

Ray: 48 hours in holding.

Fraser: What do you want to do?

Joey: You guys know anyone with a place in the islands?

Ray: [walks to vending machine] Here, you wanna cup of coffee?

Fraser: No, thanks, Ray.

Ray: How 'bout a cup of tea?

Fraser: No.

Ray: Hot chocolate?

Fraser: No, I'm fine, Ray.

[Ray hits vending matching hard, comes back and sits next to Fraser. Ray hangs his head and clenches his hands. Fraser stares at him.]

Ray: Marco Matroni. The kid Zuko worked over with the basketball? Two guys held him down while Zuko dribbled the ball all over his face. I'm talking like this thing happed twenty years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday. [Ray stops for a few seconds] So the kid hits the concrete, right? And he looks up at me with those eyes. Those eyes that say help me. Call the cops. Do something. I just stood there while Zuko rearranged his face. I didn't try to stop it. I didn't say a word. When I got home that night, I felt like I was eighty years old. I shoulda done something, Benny.

[Zuko and two bodyguards are shooting baskets at the indoor court. Ray enters. Ray holds his suit jacket away from his torso, showing that he is not carrying his gun. ]

Ray: Come on Frankie whadda ya say? You and me, one on one.

Zuko: Oh is that so Ray?

Ray: Yeah, come on -- you and me.

Zuko: You think you can take me?

Ray: Hey I don't think Frankie, I know. I'm gonna kick your ass.

Zuko: Go get me a cappuchino, eh?

Ray: Yeah, go on and get yourself a cappuchino too boys. We're gonna be a while.

[Ray pats one man on the back as he follows them to the door. After the bodyguards exit, Ray bolts the door.]

Ray: We go back a long way you and me Frankie. And we got some unfinished business to attend to. You remember Marco Matroni?

Zuko: Who?

Ray: Junior High. You bounced a ball off his face until it was mush.

Zuko: Oh yeah. Marco. I remember Marco. God! We had some good times, eh? Poor old Marco. You know, I heard his family moved away now.

Ray: Yeah, you know I heard that too. You know even then you owned the neighborhood, Frankie. And even then you were a coward.

Zuko: Me? I'm not the one who stood around and watched his friend get his face get beaten in.

Ray: You know you're right Frankie. I just stood there.

[Ray punches Zuko, knocking him down]

Zuko: You just got yourself dead, my friend.

Ray: Is that so? Then how come I'm not the one who's bleeding on the floor, huh? You want a piece of me? [Ray picks Frankie up off the floor and throws him against the wall] Come on. Take your best shot. Come on, you're a big man Frankie, come on.

Zuko: You think your badge is gonna protect you? You're not that smart are you?

Ray: You see a badge? I ain't wearing no badge, Frankie. It's just you and me. My hands are behind my back. Come on take your best shot. Some on.

Zuko: No no.

Ray: How about my belt. You can use my belt. [Ray pulls off his belt] Wrap it around your fist and you can hit me with it. Come on.

Zuko: No, no.

Ray: Hit me with it. Come on!

Zuko: How long you think you have to live, man? You think you'll last the night?

Ray: Nobody in here but you and me. But I see that door and only one of us is walking out of it.

Zuko: You're crazy.

[Zuko gets up and Ray punches him]

Ray: I'm not crazy. All right? I'm not crazy. I finally got smart. I should have done this to you twenty years ago. Now get up, you little worm.

Zuko: You got a problem, ok man?

Ray: No, you got a problem. You got a problem cause you're going one on one with a guy you got 20 pounds on and there ain't nobody to hold you down. All you got is your guts, man. Which means you got nothing. Last chance. Go ahead.

Zuko: Go to hell.

Ray: I don't think so.

Zuko: You're not going to walk very far.

Ray: Down the block's far enough, cuz. You know, I'm going to enjoy telling this story. It's the kind of story that people like to tell over and over again.

Zuko: Yeah, like somebody's going to believe you.

Ray: Check your face. Everybody's going to believe me. You know it's going to be pretty hard to instill fear in people when they're laughing at ya. Of course...I could just as easily forget about it. You see 'cause I've got one of those memories. I can remember things that happened twenty years ago and sometimes I can forget what I had for breakfast.

[Ray walks towards the door]

Zuko: Don't.

Ray: Don't what? Don't tell? Is that what you want? You want to make a deal with me? All right, here's the deal. You call off the hit on Joey Paducci. You let him open up a shop and you leave him alone. You do that and this never happened. It's just between you, me and the basketball.

Zuko: You go to hell.

Ray: You go to what? Did you tell me to go to hell? Is that what you said? That's a shame, cuz. Cause this deal is only good till I get to the door.

[Ray walks towards the door]

Zuko: Deal.

Ray: Why should I trust you?

Zuko: I give you my word.

Ray: And I give you mine.

Zuko: I didn't say nothing about you being safe.

Ray: I didn't ask for that.

[Ray exits]

[Zuko notices Charlie standing at the rail of the second floor balcony]

Zuko: What are you looking at?

Charlie: [smiles faintly]Nothing.

[Charlie exits]

[Ray gets into the Riv. Fraser hands Ray his gun.]

Fraser: How are you?

Ray: Scared to death.

Fraser: It's probably wise.

[Ray in his pajamas. He looks at his gun lying on a bedside table. He picks up the gun, looks at it, and finally puts it away in a drawer and locks the drawer. He lies down on the bed, looking at the key in his hands.]

[Fraser is reading his father's journals]

Fraser Sr's voice: When I took him in, his eyes were pure hatred. As the door to the prison slammed shut behind me, I can still hear his voice and the words he spit out at me, 'I'll find you, Fraser, if it's the last thing I do. I'll track you down and kill you wherever you go.' That night in my cabin I lay there and thought about fear and what it does to a man. How it eats his insides out and takes the best from him. I listen to the wind make the ice flows creak outside, and the wolves bay, and a thousand other sounds of the winter night. And as I listen to my heart beat, I released the fear inside me, little by little, until it was no longer there. And then I closed my eyes and slept soundly until morning.

[Fraser puts the journal down. He picks up a clear plastic package containing a new door lock, looks at it, then tosses it to the floor. He blows out the lantern. The room darkens. He lies down stiffly. The door opens and Frannie steps in. She drops her coat and underneath she

is wearing the leather corset.]

Frannie: Don't be afraid.

[Fraser sits up with an apprehensive look.]

End