Forever Knight (1992) s03e01 Episode Script

Black Buddha (1)

[JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING.]
That voodoo black magic [MOANING.]
Is in your eyes [MOANING.]
You weave that mystery So well That voodoo that you do [PANTING.]
[CLICKING.]
Has me hypnotized I'm already [YELLS.]
Under your spell [MOANING.]
The night is so warm And the moon is so high A soft breeze floats in From the sea [BOTH PANTING.]
That voodoo black magic [MOANING LOUDLY.]
Is in the air Whenever you're close To me [.]
Is that for me? If you promise not to open it till you're airborne.
You're so sweet.
[.]
NARRATOR: He was brought across in 1228.
Preyed on humans for their blood.
Now he wants to be mortal again to repay society for his sins to emerge from his world of darkness from his endless forever night.
[GROWLS.]
Mommy, wait! Mommy! [CROWD CLAMORING.]
You have to leave.
I told you, no.
There's no escaping.
Do you understand what I'm saying? I brought this on.
You can't believe that.
You don't know.
WOMAN: Yes.
I did this.
I deserve to die, Nicholas-- I am the Buddha.
He said the second deck, didn't he? Station six.
Station six.
[GROWLING.]
--will be moved to Alberta this evening along with crucial evidence regarding the deadly courthouse bombing in Edmonton this past July.
Dollard, apprehended last week in Toronto-- [PHONE RINGING.]
Knight.
Yeah, it was just on the news.
Oh, wear the good suit, Schank.
You can expect some press out at the airport.
No, don't worry about them.
I'll drop in, see if they need anything.
Maybe Myra will want to fool around a little.
It's a joke, Schank! It's a joke, okay? Joke.
Uh, yeah.
Yeah.
No, I think we can all survive a week without you.
Just give me a call when you get there, okay? [SIGHS.]
LAMBERT: All I'm saying is, if you want results, you have to follow the rules.
KNIGHT: What if the rules aren't working? Gotta give them time.
Four years-- Is an eye-blink to you.
I can barely get raw hamburger down.
See? You couldn't even do that when we first started.
Hold that thing up for me, will you? Subject's jaundice and excessive bilirubin indicate liver failure due to accute cirrhosis.
[CLICKS.]
Now, this guy drank himself into an early grave.
You really want a shot at mortality? You gotta give it a chance.
Don't give up on me, Nick.
Well, maybe if I spent a little less time in morgues.
Or just stood a little farther away from the table, thank you.
[PHONE RINGING.]
Lambert.
Yeah, he's here.
It's Joe Reese.
From Castle Frank? Yeah, he's taking over for Cohen while she and Schank are out of town.
Yeah? REESE: This is a deal for me, okay? I don't want to blow it.
Why me? Because you collared the bomber, because last week you were all over the 5:00 news, and because I want to keep her safe on my watch.
And you're without a partner for an entire week and can you please tell me why it is you guys can afford a new paint job every six months while we can't get urinal deodorizers? Look, the bottom line is that you could have been on your way to Edmonton tonight and Schanke would have pulled the job.
Well, maybe not, but you get my point.
Her father's on the police commission.
Which I wasn't gonna bring up, but since you did, yes, he is.
And if I want to get a job like this permanently, I'm going to need his support.
Which is why I assigned his precious daughter to a bona fide hero during the one week I'm here and why you're gonna do everything in your power to make sure she stays in one piece.
Understood? [SIGHS.]
Hey.
If she weren't any good, she'd still be in blues.
Kid's got a head on her shoulders.
Disciplined, feet on the ground.
Detective Vetter? Oh, gosh, I'm sorry.
Sorry.
I guess I'm just more of a day person.
VETTER: All I'm trying to say is I didn't ask for this.
I mean, I know what you're thinking.
I wasn't thinking.
Yes, you were.
Don't try to deny it.
Everyone thinks it-- The academy, the streets.
It's like I have this big neon sign over my head: Commissioner's daughter, proceed with extreme caution.
They really allow you to drive this fossil? I won't tell anyone if you don't.
See? My point exactly.
Captain Hillshafer estimates arrival at 11:07, Mountain Daylight Time.
I am my own person with my own talents, and who my father is-- Has nothing to do with where you are in your career.
No, I'm not gonna say that.
We both know it's a lie.
I'd just like to be-- Judged on your own merit? Exactly.
Thank you.
Sorry.
I just had to get that off my chest.
No problem.
So where are we going? Uh, nowhere in particular.
I just thought we'd drive around and get acquainted.
Keep me out of harm's way? I didn't say that.
You didn't have to.
We're almost at the airport.
My subconscious must be working overtime.
So why didn't you go? You made the collar? Schank made it too.
No, no, no.
They said Dollard would have gotten away.
That you somehow beat his car to the end of the block and forced him into a wall.
Well, the guy panicked.
I got lucky.
[LAUGHS.]
So you gave up a week in Alberta.
I hate to fly.
MAN [OVER RADIO.]
: DC-9, Flight 173 [BEEPS.]
[MUSIC BOX PLAYING.]
MAN: What's that? [LAUGHING.]
Oh.
MAN [OVER RADIO.]
: L-1011-173 in a holding pattern.
I heard that you were, um, allergic to the daylight.
Phototropic or something? Yeah.
So why the convertible? MAN [OVER RADIO.]
: Do you copy? We copy that, Pearson, climbing through 14,000 feet.
Ten-four, 14,000-- Oh, my God! Call it in.
Oh, my God.
Tracy, call it in.
[.]
[SIRENS WAILING IN DISTANCE.]
Oh, my God.
[BABY CRYING.]
VETTER: No one could have Nick? What is it? [CRYING CONTINUES.]
What's there? I can take her.
That's okay.
Poor thing.
[WHISPERING.]
Schanke.
Schank.
[SIRENS WAILING.]
VETTER: My partner got her out.
I don't know how he lifted that thing.
REESE: Yeah.
I heard of things like that.
Pretty incredible.
I could have gone instead.
You know that's not true.
If I hadn't caught him, if he had-- If he'd gotten away-- Nick, you can't blame yourself.
You can't.
You know, Schank had a dream last week.
He dreamt his own death.
He was standing naked at the end of a bowling alley, and Myra was at the other end holding a big ball.
Myra.
I sent someone over to the house when we got word.
I have to go see her as well.
What am I gonna tell her? That the plane went down.
KNIGHT: There was an explosion.
We saw it.
We saw an explosion in the air.
It could have been a lot of things.
They're not sure.
You can't assume there's a connection to the bomber.
For what it's worth, things like this never make sense.
We're all gonna die, one way or another.
It's inevitable.
I sincerely hope you're right.
You can ride with me.
[SIGHS.]
[INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER.]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
[STRING QUARTET PLAYING.]
Aren't you being a little irresponsible? Excuse me? Traveling in such high profile among mortals.
A lion in our midst.
I thought your kind was more discreet.
My kind? Don't be coy.
I know what you are.
Then you should know to stay away.
I have a fascination for danger and the occult.
[GASPS.]
Claire Gibson.
Nicholas De Brabant.
I need your help.
[SIRENS WAILING.]
[ENGINE STARTS.]
CLAIRE: It is said that great destruction and death follows anyone who removes it from the temple of Khan.
I think that is the standard curse they place on anything of value.
I paid $2 million for it.
And the curse does not bother you? Well, that is why I'm traveling on the safest ship afloat.
And I believe that my days of owning the Buddha are coming to an end.
No, no.
It's yours, Mr.
De Brabant.
I don't understand.
The true value of the Buddha is not its jewels.
It has the power to grant one wish.
I know that sounds foolish, but each owner has had one spectacular dream come true.
Napoleon owned it.
Louis Philippe.
I bought it from an opium lord who virtually owns Hong Kong.
He had a severely crippled daughter.
She walks perfectly now.
You must have one wish, Mr.
De Brabant.
You must have something you've wanted more than anything in the world.
I do.
But why would you give this to me? I adore life, people, laughter, my youth.
You are my wish, Nicholas.
The Buddha has delivered you to me.
When we reach New York, I will step off the Titanic immortal.
You think both of her parents are here? Who's that? The baby.
You think she lost both of them? I suppose we'll know pretty soon.
Captain! He just blinked.
I think he's alive.
He's stone cold, Tracy.
There's no pulse.
No, I saw-- I saw-- Look, I think we've both seen enough for tonight.
Now let's go.
REESE: Tracy.
LACROIX: Who knows the pain of death better? He who gasps his final breath, or those of us who must breathe the foul air of his decomposition? Which bears the greater burden? The cold bones of the dead man in his coffin, or the spine of the pallbearer carrying his load? No one knows this burden better than we, dear listener.
We who have seen so many pass.
I see you sagging, laden, and yet I have to ask is it grief that weighs so heavily on your shoulders, or is it that "should've, would've, could've" fool's game called guilt? You weave that mystery So well KNIGHT: Was it a bomb, yes or no? Maybe.
The crash site is closed to us.
It's RCMP, TSB, FBI, FAA.
You want to know what I know, turn on the evening news.
If it's a bomb? Then someone wanted Dollard's mouth shut.
Yeah, an accomplice.
Yes, I know that.
The press knows that.
We're getting reamed for moving him on public transportation.
But it doesn't change a damn thing.
We're out of the investigation.
Does this office have a door or not? Oh, Nick, cut me some slack here.
I know I'm new at this, but listen to me just a little, huh? We're too close to it here, Nick.
I said, take the week off, and I meant it.
Everybody needs time, Nick.
You especially.
Now, come on.
Just let the other guys do it.
Is Tracy in? I gave her a couple of days.
At least she's got the good sense to stay home.
WOMAN [ON TV.]
: No one has stepped forward to identify the baby girl, the disaster's single story of hope, which now seems to be taking a tragic turn.
MAN [ON TV.]
: And now it's time for the sports It's a closed area, ma'am.
That's fine.
Closed area, sir.
I need to see an ID.
KNIGHT: Metro Police.
Closed to Metro, sorry.
How'd she get in? Well, she's with the police commission.
So am I.
[HEART BEATING.]
I knew that, sir.
Please, go right ahead.
Would this be Tracy "I-Never-Use-My-Father" Vetter? I was just-- Look, I just wanted to see what was going on with the baby.
Maybe help locate the relatives, something.
How'd you get in? A few well-chosen words.
LAMBERT: This is not the best place for either one of you.
How are Myra and Jenny? Holding up.
They're strong.
Um, why are these over to the side? Those are the ones that we can't find.
The two women were seated over the wing, probably incinerated.
Valdez, we don't know much about him, other than he was in his 20s and on the plane.
And we haven't found his body.
Yet.
We're the last ones out.
LAMBERT: Hey, Trace, you coming? Um, guys? Um, I think I dropped my keys back there.
Go on ahead.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Well, that Mountie is kind of cute.
You think that's why she went back? That would be the only thing that could get me to go back in there.
Oh, God.
Why would somebody do this? Then it was a bomb? Yeah.
Yeah, it was a bomb.
Hi, I left something in there.
I'll be right back.
Sure.
I'll be outside if you need me.
[.]
[PLASTIC RUSTLING.]
Freeze! Metro Police! MAN: You guys, you guys really say that, don't you? Like, "freeze!" Like, what's that game kids play? Statue? Slowly turn around with your hands where I can see them.
I'm afraid that's gonna be impossible.
I lost one in the crash.
LAMBERT: I've heard of it.
When they did that television special on the Titanic.
It's believed to be in the ship's safe.
That's where it belongs.
They're putting the women and children off on boats.
You have to go now.
It's sinking, isn't it? Well, they say the ship's unsinkable.
If it were, then they would not be putting people off.
The men are not leaving? There aren't enough lifeboats.
Then this is it.
The wish.
The curse.
You can't believe that.
No? I should believe that vampires exist? That crippled girls can walk? That Napoleon can become emperor but deny his Waterloo? The ship is unsinkable, but it is going down.
What are the chances of that happening? How can you think this is an accident? Oh, no, no.
This is the work of the Buddha.
LAMBERT: And now you believe her? Maybe if it wasn't a bomb.
The Buddha didn't plant the bomb, Nick.
But I did.
If I hadn't caught Dollard, he wouldn't have been on the plane, or been targeted and all those people-- This is a pretty, black rock with big jewels glued to it, and I am not gonna believe that it had anything to do with the Titanic or those people that I was piecing together today, and you can't buy into that nonsense.
But you do, don't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't still have it.
And if you didn't still have it and didn't still believe in it, then the wish you wanted from it wouldn't come true.
That's it, isn't it? You know what, Nick? I'm tired.
I'm gonna go home now.
Natalie.
You don't understand.
I thought you were the wish that the Buddha granted.
I thought your work, what we were doing-- Well, that makes me feel fabulous.
The Buddha is working its magic through me? That sends thrills right up my spine.
Natalie, please-- Stop it, Nick.
You wanna believe in black magic, that's fine.
It probably goes with the territory, but us poor mortals have to live in the real world.
Now, that may not always be pleasant, but it is the only thing we've got.
I can still bring you across.
There's time.
What would you do, Nicholas? Would you want 1000 deaths on your head? Would you want to live forever carrying that kind of burden? [.]
Your hand.
You're awake.
Your face.
You scream.
Don't, and let's try to begin a sentence with another word.
My gun.
Excellent.
You stole my car.
What a screaming fun ride it is.
You pick this bucket out? Why? This your parents' car? As a matter of fact, I did.
Dual air bags, ABS.
Bet it gets great mileage.
Who the hell are you? Javier Vachon.
Tracy Vetter, Metro Police, checked your ID.
Good.
Then you know why you're driving us both downtown.
We are downtown.
Or is that cop-speak again? You talking about the station? Queen and Spadina.
We don't want to do that.
We don't? No.
You're gonna take me to the Salvation Army for clothes, back to your place to clean up, then we'll say buenas noches and you're gonna forget you ever saw me.
You're full of it, Vachon.
Well, what if I could tell you something about the crash? LACROIX: There was a young man with a suitcase of guilt that weighed his immortal life down.
He just couldn't see all it took to get free was to drop it and get out of town.
[BAND PLAYING ROCK MUSIC.]
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY.]
I thought that the whole time.
See you later.
That's right.
Where's Janette? Who? Janette.
Well Like the changes? Sex is back.
We have a strip on Friday night.
Where's Janette? I broadcast from a little booth in the back.
It's really quite convenient.
Where, Lacroix? Really does pay to keep in touch, Nicholas.
It must be at least a month.
I don't know.
She wanted it that way.
She thought it would be easier to leave without saying goodbye.
She's gone? It was her time.
She'd been here 20 years.
Said it was getting stagnant.
Been there, done that.
Sold me the club for a song.
Don't go searching.
She doesn't want to be found.
Somewhere down the line, your paths will cross again.
You know that.
That's the way it always is.
What you should be thinking about now is yourself.
Look at the life you're living.
Look at your recent losses.
What is there still to hold you here? The worst thing we can do is to stay beyond our time.
That's when we feel the burden of immortality.
Friends aging, dying, our world changing and we remaining the same.
That's when the loneliness sets in.
Janette knew it was her time, Nicholas.
Maybe it's yours too.
This time I'll light the sea on fire This time I hate the darkness [WATER RUNNING.]
[WATER STOPS.]
Missed a smudge in the corner.
[NERVOUS CHUCKLE.]
I should take you to the hospital, get someone to look at those.
Actually, everything's healing up quite nicely.
Toss me that shirt? You were in the crash.
I saw you getting away last night.
Three people are unaccounted for: two women seated over the wing and a 25-year-old Toronto man.
No known means of support.
Do I look like a slacker to you? [CHUCKLES.]
What you are I have no idea.
But I'll bet you're a dead ringer for J.
D.
Valdez.
Good choice of words, Trace.
But Valdez died in the crash.
You're running from something.
You can't help.
I'm a cop.
My point exactly.
Not bad, Tracy Vetter.
You were gonna tell me something about the crash.
No time.
I have to go.
This isn't making sense.
Doesn't have to.
How will I find you? It's too dangerous.
Don't try.
I'll come to you, all right? Vachon.
Don't.
Thanks for the shower.
[DOOR OPENS.]
KAREN [ON TAPE.]
: We copy that, Pearson, 1-8-7 through 2-7-0, climbing through 14,000 feet.
[CLICKS OFF.]
One more time.
[CLICKS ON.]
KAREN: We copy that, Pearson, 1-8-7 through 2-7-0, climbing through 14,000 feet.
Knight, that's enough.
[CLICKS OFF.]
He's got better things to do.
Congratulations, captain.
Oh, thanks.
It would feel a lot better Well, you know.
Yeah.
Listen to this.
There's music in the background.
It's tinny, like a music box or something.
Back it up one more time.
[CLICKS ON.]
KAREN: We copy that, Pearson.
1-8-7 through 2-7-0, climbing through 14,000 feet.
Knight, the feds have been all over this tape.
It's a waste of time.
Reese-- Enough, okay? Maybe Cohen would let you go off on tangents, but I'm not.
Taxpayers pay for this.
I'm not going to have this guy logging hours on a dead issue that's out of our jurisdiction, clear? Clear.
What are you here for, anyway? You're supposed to be off.
Yeah, I just thought I'd clean out Schanke's desk before the funeral.
[.]
De Brabant.
Enter.
Uh, no, no, no.
No, thank you, sir.
No, I couldn't have done it without your support.
Oh, yes, sir.
Yes, I'll make sure she stays out of trouble.
Yeah, you know I will.
Thank you, sir.
Well, so I suck up.
Everybody sucks up.
That's how you get ahead in this world.
Captain, this is from the commissioner.
Put in a little effort, and it all comes back to you.
What's this mean? Too many changes, captain.
Not enough coming back.
It's time to resign and move on.
[.]
Chocolate? They're from your father.
My father hates chocolates.
Says acts like a germ collector in the throat.
You're not supposed to be in until Monday.
If you're worried about my mental state, you should put me to work.
I'm going stir crazy.
What's this? A guy who was on the plane.
Best we can do on an address is a condemned church.
Guess it'll have to do.
You're not going there.
I'll just gonna swing by and say a prayer.
At least have someone go with you.
I'm off duty, and my partner resigned.
It's nothing, captain, really.
"J.
D.
Valdez.
" [PIANO PLAYING.]
So you were just gonna leave? It's been better that way in the past.
I had to find out from a desk sergeant.
Do you have any idea how that makes me feel? [.]
There are people here who care about you.
Who love and depend on you.
I just killed my friends.
Right.
Of course.
So you're running because you think that you are cursed.
Because you think that you are some kind of a Black Buddha.
Yes.
Well, you're not.
Oh, there is a Black Buddha, I firmly believe that, and he did kill Schanke and all those other people as sure as I'm standing here, but you are not that man.
And he's out there.
He's crazy, and he will probably kill again.
Oh, wait a minute.
That won't matter to you, will it? Because you will be off starting a new life, somewhere, feeling sorry for yourself.
Running.
Natalie-- No, no.
You know what? I don't want to hear it.
This isn't a debate.
I don't-- I don't even know why I bothered to come.
This was, uh-- This was wrong.
I'm sorry.
I guess I just expected more from you, Nick.
Hello? Anybody there? Anyone there? Vachon? Hello? Hello-- [IN SPANISH.]
I'm a police officer.
[GUN COCKS.]
Step back or I'll shoot.
[GUNSHOT.]
Oh, my God.
My God.
[IN SPANISH.]
[PHONE RINGING.]
[BEEPS.]
Knight.
Look, I'm sorry to bother you, but I got a question.
Look, uh, "J.
D.
Valdez.
" Does that ring a bell? [BEEPS.]
He's a victim of the plane crash.
Can't find the body.
[EXPLOSION.]
What was that? It was out my window.
About two blocks from here.
It's the 23rd precinct.
Are you sure? [BEEPS.]
[MUSIC BOX PLAYING.]
What was that? What? The music, where's it coming from? Uh, candy box.
Who gives a damn? What about the explosion? [SOFTLY.]
What the heck? Don't touch the box.
What? Don't touch it! Nick, I-I-I-- I've got my hand on a piece.
Don't move it, Reese.
Vacate the building and call in the bomb squad.
Now.
[N SPANISH.]
Bill, get everyone on the south side, keep the back alley clear.
WOMAN: Twenty-third, Lansdowne, Queen Street, they've all been hit.
Bomb squad's disarming one at Davenport right now.
KNIGHT: Okay, get out.
Clear that alley! We're on it.
[MUSIC BOX PLAYING.]
How'd you get over here? We just got off the phone.
I flew.
Say that again.
What are you doing? We're gonna trade places.
The hell we are.
The bomb unit's-- All tied up.
And we don't know how these things are set off.
Why should you do this? It was addressed to me.
Because you have a wife and two kids.
Because this is something I have to do.
[HEART BEATING.]
I think you understand, don't you? Yes, I do.
I've got it now.
Stand up and get outta here.
[PHONE RINGING.]
Knight, I-- I've got it.
Go.
Go! [IN SPANISH.]
I don't know where he is.
I don't know.
[CROWD CLAMORING.]
[SIRENS WAILING.]
[BEEPS.]
LAMBERT: What's going on? What the hell is--? What is it? What's going on? It's a bomb.
Knight's got it in my office.
Nick! We can't just leave him--! [MUSIC BOX PLAYING.]
[WOMAN SCREAMS.]
I wish I could make you forget this, Tracy.
I can't.
I won't.
I know.
LAMBERT: What are you going to do with it? Take it back out to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean where it belongs.
You don't believe it's magic? I didn't say that.
But blaming this statue isn't going to bring Schanke back, or help me catch a killer.
You were right.
It's time to get on with my life.
Still.
A lot of expensive rocks to just throw away.
Don't tempt me.
WOMAN [ON TV.]
: On a positive note, Baby Doe, as she's been called, has a family.
Her name is Mary Ellen Martin and her father, an Alberta oil worker, was not on the flight.
Peter Martin only learned of the tragedy this morning at his remote oil rig.
That should make Tracy happy.
[.]

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