Oh, I love it.
Being back in Oakland again.
Hey, what do you say
I take you on a little tour?
We got plenty of time for sightseeing.
Let's get there first.
Well, let me at least
show you my old b*at, huh?
Your old b*at isn't gonna disappear
in ten minutes.
Not after years.
Fifteen years.
Boy, it's great being back,
seeing Captain Friend and Frank
and Joe and all the guys.
Who ever said
you can't go home again?
Thomas Wolfe.
Who's Thomas Wolfe?
Your assignment?
No, he's the guy who said
you can't go home again.
Not very bright, was he?
G-O-N-Z-A-L-E-S.
Don't you people
have enough Gonzaleses?
Okay, that's--
Corner.
You know what I think
you ought to do?
I think you ought to reach
for the ceiling one hand at a time.
- Mark Gordon. Son of a g*n.
- Hey, Frank, how are you?
Oh, God, it's great to see you.
You could have called.
Well, I didn't know
I was gonna be in town until yesterday.
- How's Martha?
- She's great.
She'll be dying to see you.
And you wouldn't believe Kevin.
He's on the football team now.
Can't wait to see him.
Want you to meet a friend,
Jonathan Smith. Frank Lawler.
- Hi.
- Pleasure to meet you.
You've got quite a fan in this guy.
Right here is the best partner
any cop ever had.
We had some fine times,
that's a fact.
Not like nowadays,
half the force is out with the blue flu.
Got scum like this
walking the streets. Richard?
Put this w*tback in the cage,
will you?
Please, please give me a break.
I didn't do nothing. Please.
Tell that to the judge, Paco.
Come on.
Let's go on over to Sherlock's,
get ourselves a couple of cold ones.
What's with the blue flu?
It's the same old story.
Everybody wants protection
but nobody wants to pay for it.
If I didn't have only eight months to go
till my pension,
I might be coming down
with something myself.
One good thing
happened out of all of this.
I'm going out on patrol again
tomorrow.
First time in five years.
I wish I could be with you.
That's not a half-bad idea, Gordon.
Captain Friend.
- How are you?
- Good to see you, Mark.
You weren't serious right now.
- You're still in the police reserves?
- Yes, sir.
Then we can call you up
in an emergency.
When half my men are out
pretending to be sick
and the bad guys
are about to take over my precinct,
that's an emergency.
You mean, Frank and I
will be together again?
For a couple days
until we get this thing settled.
Hey, you and me together again,
huh?
And, Frank,
I don't wanna hear about
any judge-and-jury stuff out there.
No, sir.
I'm not kidding with you.
I heard you, okay?
All right, I'll see you both in uniform
Well, partner,
let's go have that beer.
All right.
Jonathan,
you're gonna love Sherlock's.
It's the safest place in Oakland.
There's always a cop
on the premises.
Why don't you two go ahead,
I've got an appointment.
We have an assignment?
I thought we'd go to Frank's for dinner.
That's all right. Go ahead.
I'll meet you at the motel.
What do you mean
"an assignment"?
Do you work for some big outfit?
The biggest.
Oh, Mrs. Neal.
I'm Jonathan Smith.
I'm from Watch Deck.
This is my resume.
You were looking for a security guard,
weren't you?
Yes, we do need a security guard.
The old one quit a week ago,
what with this blue flu and all.
But...
But we've never had
a white security guard at Piedmont.
It's a dangerous enough job
for a black guard.
Yeah, well, maybe it's time
you started to integrate.
Oh, you remind me a lot
of my late husband, Mr. Smith.
He was always seeing
the bright side.
Does that mean I have the job?
Well, I have to get dinner ready now
for my two boys
but come back in an hour
and we'll fill out the paperwork.
I will have had time to talk
to the Tenants' Association by then.
Fine, thank you.
I'll see you in about an hour.
Hey, hey, hey, slow down.
Mr. Smith, this is my youngest son,
Julius.
How you doing, Julius?
Well, what's the matter with you,
cat got your tongue?
You the police?
Well, sort of.
I'm gonna be the new security guard,
I hope.
You'll have to understand,
Mr. Smith.
The only white folks come down here
seem to be with the police.
Do you got a g*n?
Why? Am I gonna need one?
Around here, you do.
Boy, I gotta tell you,
I mean, I thought it was all over.
Then all of a sudden,
this guy jumps off the roof
on the two closest guys.
After that, it was almost a fair fight.
Right, we kicked their black butts
across the pier and back.
Two of them got booked
in the hospital.
I wanna tell you,
if it wasn't for your father,
I wouldn't be here today.
Hey, hey, hey, come on,
you saved my behind enough times.
I ought to thank you
for giving me the chance
to teach those jungle bunnies
a lesson.
I speared one today in practise, Dad.
Got him real good.
Kevin, football is a game,
not an organised race riot.
Was he a half black or a full black?
All right, now for the really big news.
Here's to the best team that ever rolled
out of the th Street Station.
Let's hope we still got it, buddy.
What do you mean, "still got it"?
Captain Friend called me up
from the reserves
because of this blue-flu thing.
You promised me that
you wouldn't go back on patrol duty.
I don't have a choice, hon.
With this blue-flu thing,
we're operating at half-strength.
All right.
- May the force be with you.
- Okay.
Okay.
Is she all right?
Oh, she's fine.
Hey, Julius.
You know that guy, Julius?
Sure, he's the new security.
Hi, Mr. Smith.
- How are you doing, pal?
- Doing fine.
Hey, you boys are out a little late
on a school night, aren't you?
You're not our parents.
I know, if I was, you'd be inside
doing your homework.
Yeah? Well, like I said, you ain't.
sh**ting baskets
beats homework any day.
There's time for both.
You take care, Julius.
There are a lot of signs in Chinese
around here now, isn't there?
The Chinks own all the markets
down here now.
They come in with paper bags
full of cash,
they buy up all the best locations.
Hell, they're even up
in my neighbourhood.
It's a free country.
Yeah, for now.
Don't kid yourself, partner.
Things have changed
since you and I walked this b*at.
Hey, why don't we stop
at the barber shop?
- For what?
- To see Joe.
- We always stopped to see Joe.
- We're patrolling the neighbourhood.
We're supposed to be keeping
a high profile, not giving high-fives.
Come on, it's only gonna take
a minute. I wanna say hi.
All right, whatever you say.
I want to be happy
But I can't be happy
Till I make you happy too
I want to be happy
But I can't be happy
Till I make you happy too
Life's really worth giving
When you are mirth giving
Why can't I give some to you?
Hey, yeah.
Hey, man, how are you doing?
Bless me,
if it ain't the ghost of Mark Gordon.
Hey, aren't you the man who gave me
a tip on a horse one time
called Inside Moves, huh?
The only horse to ever finish first
without a jockey at Bay Meadows.
What happened to your hair?
I thought you were a barber.
- Looks like you ate it.
- Hey, stop that.
- You remember Jerome?
- Hey, Jerome. Sure I do.
- How's it going?
- Good.
- All right.
- I thought you retired
about years ago.
Yeah, so did I.
I stopped by to see Frank,
the next thing I know, they drafted me
because of this blue-flu outbreak.
I heard they were scraping
the bottom of the barrel.
Let's get out of here, Mark.
Hey, come on, Frank,
what are you doing?
I mean, these are old friends here.
That's your problem. Come on.
You're supposed to be working,
remember?
Hey, look, pal, I'll come by
and see you later, all right?
Yeah, good to see you.
Right, bye-bye.
There aren't many fish
living near this pier.
What makes you say that?
Me and Albert, we fish here a lot.
Oh, I thought Albert
didn't like fishing.
He likes fishing.
He just don't like fishing
with white folks.
But you don't feel that way?
Sometimes I do.
Why?
Because your brother feels that way?
I suppose.
Well, you're gonna meet
an awful lot of people in your life.
Some of them you're gonna like
and some of them you're not.
But it shouldn't have anything to do
with what colour they are.
I was thinking
if maybe we catch a fish,
maybe you could come to dinner
at our house.
I'd like that very much.
Let's see if we can catch one, huh?
You boys having trouble
getting into your car?
This ain't our car.
We was just checking it out.
Checking it out?
Checking it out to steal
is what you were doing, right?
- We didn't touch this.
- Watch your mouth.
Hey, Frank, come on. Take it easy.
You've been off the streets
too long, partner.
All right, you two, b*at it.
I said, b*at it.
Not you.
Hey,
look what we got here.
If I'm not mistaken,
this is the tool a person could use
to break into a car.
- That's my tool, man.
- No, man, that's your ticket to jail.
I didn't do nothing.
Tell it to the judge, punk.
I didn't do nothing.
I sure like having my son
bring home dinner like this.
Fish is good for you, right, Mama?
Oh, you bet it is.
Mrs. Neal?
Yes?
Your son was arrested today
on suspicion of car theft.
I didn't do nothing.
Jonathan, what are you doing here?
I was just having dinner.
I work for Mrs. Neal.
Listen, the juvenile court will contact
you first thing in the morning.
All right.
Go and wash up.
Your brother caught us a fish
for dinner.
I ain't eating with him.
You're eating with whoever
your brother and I invite to this house.
You can't make me.
You can't make me do nothing.
Is there anything else, officer?
No, ma'am.
Maybe you should go
with your friend.
Thanks for the fish, Julius.
What are you doing down here,
Smith?
I work down here, Frank.
I'm the new security guard
for the housing project.
I didn't know you worked here.
I could've got you a job on the docks,
instead of keeping the peace
in little Nairobi here.
I'm doing fine.
Suit yourself. Let's go, partner.
You want us to drop you off
at the motel?
I'd rather walk.
Hey, Mark, let's go.
Hey, you're back early. I thought you
were gonna stop off at Sherlock's.
I didn't feel like it tonight.
You know, he's one of my best friends,
Jonathan.
When he says things,
he doesn't mean it.
It's not him, he's not like that.
You know,
maybe the job's getting to him.
Look, I'm not trying
to make excuses for him.
Yes, you are.
All right, so, what if I am?
Frank's my friend.
He's a good cop.
I'm gonna take a shower.
You know, Jonathan,
this morning,
I couldn't wait to get this uniform on.
Now I can't wait to get out of it.
Albert?
Why don't you help your brother
with the cleaning?
The Sugar Man
don't do no housework.
Yes.
Oh, yes, officer.
He won't?
Thank you, officer.
Thank you very much.
Goodbye.
That was the juvenile court clerk,
Albert.
- They're not going to press charges.
- Yes, the Sugar Man.
Too bad for the chump police.
They said
they had insufficient evidence.
Yeah, well, they got insufficient brains
is what they got.
And that includes Julius' friend,
Smith.
Mr. Smith has never done anything
to hurt you.
He's white,
that's good enough for me.
The way you and Julius kiss up to him
makes me think
you're both gonna end up like Papa.
What do you mean,
"End up like Papa"?
I mean,
Papa was the white man's fool.
Everybody knows that.
Your father was no man's fool.
He was a good Marine.
If he was a good Marine,
why'd he die?
Honey, he d*ed for his country.
He d*ed for some fake white politician,
Mama, and you know it.
Don't you ever say that.
Don't you ever say nothing
to hurt your father's memory.
That's the last time you hit me,
Mama.
You hear?
What do you want?
Mrs. Gault in Apartment B.
She says there's a snake in her toilet.
Well, that'll be about the tenth one
this year.
Problem is,
nobody else can see them but her.
Come on, Julius,
let's go get us a new rap sound.
Can we get the new LL Cool J?
We'll get whatever you like.
You be back by dinner.
Yes, Mama.
Are you all right?
I can't seem to reach him.
He just gets further
and further away.
It's not easy for you
being both mother and father.
Sometimes I feel like Albert does.
I feel that no matter what I do,
nothing will change.
That's when I feel like maybe my
husband did die for the wrong country.
I don't think Ron
would like to hear you talk like that.
Ron?
How did you know
my husband's name?
It's hard to spend any time
around Julius
and not hear about his father.
Julius was only
when Ron was sent off
to the Middle East.
He's a lot like his father.
Sometimes,
I feel that Albert will change him.
Albert has so much hate.
That'll be Mrs. Gault
and her invisible snake.
I'll see to her.
Well, well.
Looks like we just found ourselves
a drug dealer
or maybe a pimp.
Come on, Frank,
it's just a guy coming out of a house.
Hey, good buddy, open your eyes.
A spade in this neighbourhood
with a car like that, dressed like that.
He's no Supreme Court justice.
I'll run a check on his licence.
Suit yourself.
I'm gonna go have a little talk with him.
Nice car you got there.
I like it.
I suppose you got proof
of ownership.
It's in the glove compartment.
You're not looking in any compartment.
Not without me looking first.
What are you doing?
This is outrageous.
You came out of a rock house,
didn't you?
I just come
from my mother's house.
Frank.
This car is registered
to a Jonas Barnes, Orinda.
If you look in my pocket,
you'll see that that's my name.
Take out your wallet, sir.
And your licence.
"Jonas Barnes. Orinda, California."
The picture ID's him, Frank.
Look, sir, we're sorry.
Look, my friend here is a little antsy
because of the blue-flu situation.
You and your partner
haven't heard the last of this.
Oh, yeah? Be sure
you get my badge number right.
You can read, can't you, Sambo?
Well, you can't win them all,
huh, partner?
Frank, what's happened to you?
What do you mean,
what's happened to me?
You used to stop a suspect
because of what he was doing,
not because of the colour
of his skin.
Hey, hey, hey,
don't lecture me on being a cop.
I am not trying to lecture you,
I'm trying to talk some sense to you.
This is not a police state,
this is America.
Yeah?
Then what's he doing here?
How you doing, fellas?
Do you like rap music, Mr. Smith?
To be honest with you,
I don't know very much about it.
It goes like this:
That's Mr. Smith
Guard our house
Keeps the bad guys out
Man, he ain't into it.
White folks don't care about rap.
Albert, there's an auto-repair shop
near here.
I was talking to the owner.
His mechanic quit.
He's looking for a trainee.
I thought you might be interested.
I told you,
I don't work for no white man.
Yeah, well, I didn't say
whether he was white or black.
Fact of the matter is he's black.
Where did you say the place is?
I might check it out.
Got the address.
th and Main, near the train station.
I can find it.
Yeah, well, later.
You know, Albert's not really so bad.
You know what he said about you
not digging rap music,
I could tell,
he was just blowing smoke.
You could tell, could you?
You got soul, I can tell.
I could tell it's time for you
to get home, start on your schoolwork.
Yeah.
You've got a pretty good soul yourself,
Julius.
Excuse me.
Thank you.
Way too fast, swing and a miss.
- Right, all right.
- Okay.
That's okay.
Well, at least we get
to see the final three innings.
You know, it's a lucky thing that
Jonas Barnes turned out to be legit.
No thanks to you, partner.
Come on. Give me a break, will you?
Three out of four times,
a shine like that
- turns out be a pimp or a pusher.
- Yeah.
It's all right. It's all right.
Let me get this, all right?
- I'll clean it up.
- No, you've done enough for me
in these last couple of weeks, all right?
Just let me clean it up.
Just let me do it.
Jose Canseco will lead off
against Mark Williamson
in this seventh inning.
The right-handers,
Williamson and--
Want-- Settling things down
where the left-handers couldn't do it.
I get so tired of that talk.
I hoped that he'd finish
out his years on the desk.
What's happened to him?
I wish I knew.
I don't know. The years on the street,
something snapped.
He hates anyone who isn't white.
In the car, at the mall,
even watching television.
He's always saying something
and now Kevin is imitating him,
except I know
that kind of prejudice sticks.
It's passed on
from one generation to the next.
I know.
I've talked to him about it
but he doesn't admit there's a problem.
If you could somehow
get him back on the desk.
This work slowdown
should only last for a few more days.
I'm scared, Mark.
Every time he walks out that door,
I'm scared of what will happen.
I'll go clean up the mess.
Help! He's coming out!
He's trying to k*ll me.
He's trying to k*ll me.
All right, lady, I'm coming.
- Hey, Mark. Mark, take it easy.
- Take it easy?
- Somebody's trying to k*ll her.
- No, they're not, that's Mrs. Gault.
She thinks there's a snake
in her toilet.
A snake in her toilet?
That's right.
All right, I'll go calm her down.
You know, if you use it right,
this uniform works wonders.
All right, lady, lady, lady,
just calm yourself, calm yourself.
I'm Officer Gordon.
Oh, thank God, you're here.
They don't believe me.
There's a big snake in my toilet.
I haven't gone to the bathroom
in five days.
You gotta believe me.
Yeah, I'll take care of it.
- All right, you just lead the way here.
- Please, come on. Come on.
Yes.
And I've been telling the landlady
and every time she come here,
that old big snake
done hid down the toilet
and they say I'm crazy.
But, officer, I've seen him.
Well, of course you have.
In there.
I done slammed the seat down
on his head.
Oh, that was good.
That was very good.
Now, what I'm gonna do is,
I'm gonna go over
and I'm gonna lift that lid
and you can tell me if you see a snake.
You think I'm crazy?
No, I didn't say that.
I'm a police officer.
All I want is the facts, ma'am.
Don't be talking
like no Dragnet show.
Just lift the seat.
Okay.
Now do you see a snake?
I do not see a snake.
But I've seen him officer,
he's in there.
Of course you did.
You seen him. You seen him.
Hallelujah, I'm not crazy.
It happens all the time.
People try to keep them as pets
and they get into the pipes
and move from one place to another.
They're nothing to be scared of.
Oh, hey, I know that.
I'm a police officer, you know.
My second one today.
He's just a baby.
I've got a -footer back here,
wait till you feel
the weight of this one,
he could swallow a goat.
Goat.
Look, I gotta be going.
I got, you know, people to protect.
Where have you been, Albert?
I know you weren't at church
this morning.
I had some appointments.
Oh, speaking of appointments.
A Mr. Holmes called here
a while back.
Said you were supposed to see him
about a mechanic's job.
I ain't working for no sl*ve wages.
Everybody's gotta start somewhere.
But once you get experience, there's
good money to be made fixing cars.
There's more money to be made
stealing them.
What's happened to you?
What did I do wrong
to make you hate so?
You don't get it, Mama, do you?
You still don't get it.
Don't get what?
It's a w*r, Mama.
It's us against them.
And they ain't gonna get me.
Albert.
I told you, Mama,
you keep your hands off me.
Mama. Mama.
Mr. Smith.
Mr. Smith, come quick.
- Julius, what's wrong?
- My mama's hurt.
All right, let's go.
Good afternoon, may I help you?
No, we're just looking.
Hey, this is a grocery store,
not a jewellery mart.
Look quick.
I've got a in progress
at San Pablo Avenue.
Repeat, a in progress
at San Pablo.
Unit responding.
- That's Wong's market.
- Let's go.
Okay, boys.
Party's over.
Police on the way.
Maybe next time, you'll try
somebody else's neighbourhood.
Hey, Sugar,
we gotta make tracks, man.
- Homeboy just called the police.
- He didn't call nobody.
Hey, I'm getting out of here.
If you leave now, man,
you get nothing.
Hey, man, if I stay,
I got less than nothing.
That's right,
run home to your mamas!
I'll take the back,
you go around the front.
Hold it, hotshot.
You hold real still.
Why, if it isn't the Cadillac man.
I had a feeling we'd meet again.
Wong is in the back on the floor
and he's hurt pretty bad.
I'll take the boy to the car
and call an ambulance.
You stay with Wong.
All right, over the hood.
- What are you doing?
- Taking off your cuffs.
For what, man?
I'm being a nice guy
and giving you a break.
Take off.
No.
I said, take off.
So you can sh**t me? No way.
Suit yourself.
No!
He went for my g*n, partner.
You saw it. He went for my g*n.
I cuffed him, Frank.
Where are the cuffs?
You saw what de did to Wong.
That black scum
could have k*lled him.
It was self-defence.
You saw it.
You saw it
and that's the way
I'm gonna report it.
I only have eight months to go
till my pension.
I'm not gonna lose my pension
over that black piece of trash.
Remember, Mark.
I'm the one who saved your life.
Yeah, Frank, I remember.
I'll call the ambulance.
According to the preliminary medical
examiner's report, the suspect...
The victim
was pretty badly beaten up.
I tried to cuff him.
He att*cked me.
I hit him with my stick.
He got it away from me.
I had to sh**t him.
Do you have anything else to say?
It's all in the report, sir.
How about you, Gordon?
Yes, sir?
Do you have anything to add?
When I arrested the suspect,
I cuffed him.
The next thing I saw--
The next time I saw him,
when Frank had sh*t him,
the cuffs were off.
What are you talking about?
I'm talking about the truth, Frank.
You can't do this to me.
That kid was scum.
He didn't deserve to live.
- I saved your life!
- Frank, stop it!
He was worthless.
He didn't deserve to live.
Put him in a holding cell
until I can get I.A.D.
I'm sorry.
I'm so terribly, terribly sorry.
We both knew it would happen.
Kevin,
your father was the best partner
I ever had.
Believe me.
Is that why you turned him in?
Kevin.
Kevin, I just told the truth.
I didn't make up what happened.
You ruined my dad.
You ruined his life for some n*gg*r.
I won't let hate destroy your life
the way it destroyed your father's.
No one in this world
loves Frank Lawler more than I do
but if his life is ruined,
if his career is ruined,
it's ruined because he's a r*cist.
It wasn't Mark who k*lled that boy.
It wasn't Captain Friend,
it was your father.
It was his hatred
and now, that hatred has got to stop.
Julius?
He's here.
I changed my mind.
I don't wanna speak to him.
Julius, listen to me.
You've lost a brother
and that boy has lost a father.
Two people who hated each other
without even knowing each other.
Does that make sense to you, son?
No.
Then talk to him.
Give him a chance to know you.
Give yourself a chance to know him.
That's the only way
the hatred's gonna stop.
I'm Kevin.
I'm Julius.