Miami Vice s03e19 Episode Script

Red Tape

[Chuckling.]
Come on, man.
Get some bones in your wrist.
[Chuckling.]
All right.
All right.
There you go.
Jim McMahon ain't got nothin'on you.
That's right.
[Continues Chuckling.]
Man, where are these dudes? [Continues, Indistinct.]
Ah, man.
5:15 in the a.
m.
This is damn indecent.
[Groans.]
Hey, no lie, man.
Camille and I were about this far away from the promised land.
[Grunts.]
[Sighs.]
My beeper went off.
[Chuckles.]
If you're having trouble covering the territory, buddy, I know a good plastic surgeon.
So where are these guys? [Grunts.]
Right in front of the defenders.
Am I a star, or am I a star? Oh, man, give me a break.
Rico, Sonny— Glad y'all could get here.
We don't usually get up this early, boys, to come to the circus.
Oh.
[Tubbs.]
So these are the guys that won "officer of the month"? Twice this year.
[Speaking Spanish.]
Rico, do you remember when the guys that won "cop of the month" didn't look like extras from jane Fonda's Workout? Ah.
Oh, that's amazing that guys your age can remember back that far.
[Crockett Laughing.]
Come on, man.
Give us a break.
We've got a little emergency practice after the T.
C.
B.
Here.
[Tubbs.]
Yeah, speaking of taking care of business, where's your search warrant? You see, gentlemen, when you serve a warrant on our turf, it is customary, standard operating procedure for you to get local accompaniment.
That's right.
With your rep you're gonna tell us about standard operating procedure.
That's right, buddy.
We got the gold badges.
You don't.
Okay.
I can dig that.
Come the end of next month, we'll both be wearing gold.
We're taking the sergeants exam on the 25th.
You're kidding.
That's pretty quick.
Can't get any quicker.
Nine days, 36 months out of the old academia.
[Crockett.]
Well, I gotta tell ya, they must be changing the standards for gold shields around here.
They're givin' 'em to guys that bust guys for stealin' ghetto blasters.
Ghetto blasters? Yeah.
Items described as three portable stereos, commonly known as ghetto blasters, valued at 600 bucks.
Gentlemen, this is embarrassing.
[Laughing.]
Yeah.
Well, this may look like a nickel-and-dime bust on paper, but our street sources say that the parole-slippin' sucker in that apartment witnessed the DeLaCruz shooting.
We think he can pin some heavy characters.
No kiddin'.
Let's stop shootin' the breeze and go on up there and get him.
Take Rico with you.
Hey.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Let me see that.
[Sighs.]
"Premises in the corner apartment facing west on the third floor.
" Come on, buddy.
You know my knee's been givin' me a little problem lately.
What do you say, huh? Heads.
[Chuckling.]
You know, they say a good, brisk walk is very healthy for you.
Yeah.
Do it for Camille.
Go get 'em.
[Laughing.]
Workin' overtime.
?? [Man Singing Pop.]
?? [Continues.]
?? [Continues.]
?? [Continues.]
At least they got taste, huh? South Dade Vice.
Open up.
This one's on me, partner.
?? [Continues.]
Eddie? Go get help.
[Shouts.]
Eddie! Go get help! I got him.
Hang on, Eddie.
Damn it.
Damn it.
I'm okay, Bobby.
Okay.
Okay.
Damn it.
[Sighs.]
?? [Ends.]
Damn it.
Damn it! [Chattering.]
[Crockett.]
What we had was, uh— [Siren Wails.]
I was stationed down here.
I positioned myself out here.
My partner, Trumbull and Diaz were upstairs.
I heard an explosion.
I went up the stairs.
Trumbull was down.
[Chattering.]
[Crockett.]
That's when they called everybody in.
There were no suspects in the house.
Vic Varnell, Special Investigations.
How's Trumbull look? I don't think he's gonna make it.
Where are we? Third floor.
You're gonna need some stitches.
It ain't right, man.
What happened ain't right.
These the two who saw it? He wants to make a statement.
He's got a real bad cut.
He's a little shaky.
Well, take him to the hospital.
I'll talk to him later.
Come on, man.
[Groans.]
[Castillo.]
Keep the press away from him.
Detective Varnell, Detective Tubbs.
[Varnell.]
You all right to talk? Talk.
Can't you see? It's all in the floor, man, just like that Broward cop that walked into a room full of ether 10 days ago.
Okay.
Come on, pal.
Take it easy.
Easy? Just like that Broward cop? How about that cop in Hialeah? Or the cops in Coconut Grove that ended up serving search warrants on empty warehouses? Let's talk about what happened here.
Because officially they are still listed as three separate incidents on three unrelated occasions.
Yeah, different cases, different suspects, with the same result.
They all knew that the cops were comin'.
And that's one of the possibilities that I'm here to investigate.
Let me lay a flash on you.
Somebody is leaking information on our search warrants! Let's take this someplace else.
Come on.
[Chattering.]
[Diaz.]
Eddie's gonna be okay? Don't worry about him.
Let's get you out of here.
Any leads on the bombing? We hear your partner's in critical condition.
Do you feel lucky? Back off! Lucky? I'll tell you who's lucky— whoever set my partner up.
He's lucky I haven't started looking for him yet.
Did you get that? [Switek.]
Okay.
Glenn Mclntyre, S.
I.
D.
Hey, thanks for your help.
There's another one of your guys upstairs.
All right.
[Siren Wails, Fades.]
All warrants except the sealed warrants that come out of the grand jury are processed through the computer.
So anyone who has access to a Justice Department terminal, from a janitor to a judge, can access that information.
Well, then you better get to work, man.
in theJustice Building! Why don't we just call the bad guys and tell them to take a couple of months off so we can close down the force and conduct interviews? Now, can we talk about what happened here today? Yeah, well, what happened here today means that you gotta be crazy to work as a cop! And I am not crazy! I was, uh, on my way to my witness just for the, uh— [Tubbs.]
We're overworked, underbudgeted, understaffed, and now we got to wear targets on our chest! For all we know, the damn winos know who the hell we arel Rico.
Ease up, man.
Tell me you don't understand what I'm talkin' about.
I hear you.
I hear you.
Well, I'll tell you one thing, Jack.
They'd have jumped on this like white on rice in New York.
They'd have never let this leak get this far.
Never.
S.
I.
D.
's handling the leak, Rico.
End of discussion.
Well, until S.
I.
D.
Finishes their investigation, I'm not workin'.
'Cause nobody's gonna scrape this body off this pavement or off of some dealer's doorstep! Nobody! [Castillo.]
Go home, Rico.
Get cleaned up.
File a report.
Be back in my office by 4:00 p.
m.
Pick up your new assignment.
- Or what? - Or take a suspension.
Well, I'll do you one better.
I'd rather be playing the lottery in New York City than Russian roulette in Miami.
I quit.
[Badge Clatters.]
Eddie Trumbull— he didn't make it out of surgery.
[Sighs.]
Look.
Just subtract the loan from the balance and give me what's left.
For the third time, people with outstanding loans must see loan officers.
That's standard procedure, which I wouldn't have to grow old telling you if you'd read the forms posted in the display case.
Dig.
I am leaving this job, I am leaving this town, and I don't have time for "standard procedure".
[Scoffs.]
And I don't have time for your life story.
Read the procedure.
Next.
So this is your display case? I want my damn money! And I want it now! Sure.
Uh— Uh— l-I'll call bookkeeping my-myself.
Uh, get security right away.
[Diaz.]
If Eddie knew what was behind that door this morning and one of us still had to go through it, Eddie would've made sure it was him.
It's just the kind of guy he was, you know? He didn't deserve to die sold-out.
No one does.
Lieutenant, I just got a strange phone call from downtown.
They say they're holding one of your detectives on assault— a Ricardo Tubbs.
Get in touch with my office.
Contact a Detective Crockett.
Get him down there as soon as possible.
Thank you.
And we were gonna be sergeants together.
We were gonna go for the gold.
You made reputations to be proud of.
The best you can do for him is to maintain yours.
I gotta find who did this to him.
Let us take care of that.
[Phone Rings.]
Judge Robb's office.
[Man.]
Is Martha out to lunch yet? Soon.
How are things? Everything went fine.
I'm counting the money right now.
Listen, I want you to pull the file on a Vice cop, okay? It's Ricardo Tubbs.
T-U-B-B-S.
The one they busted? What are you talking about? It's all over the department.
He freaked out in the credit union.
Took three guys to bring him downtown.
- When? - Hold on.
You're gonna make me look bad, working through lunch.
Who's working? I just wanna use the WATS line.
[Chuckles.]
Bye.
- Okay.
What's happening? - Uh, never mind.
Listen.
Just pull his file and give me all the case numbers of any mug shots or records he might've requested lately.
Okay, you got that? I got it.
What's happening? I'll tell you later.
Listen, this one is too good to be true.
[Chuckling.]
I'll talk to you.
[Typing.]
I just wanted my money.
[Crockett.]
I'll lend you the money.
I don't want you to lend me the money.
I want exactly what the department owes me.
To do what? To go back to New York.
[Scoffs.]
What are you gonna do in New York, man? Work.
Yeah.
I'll work, man.
I'll work as a P.
I.
, join a security agency and maybe play the numbers.
What the hell difference does it make what I do? Makes a lot of difference to me.
You're my partner.
I don't have any partner anymore.
I'm out.
O-U-T, out! And until this damn department gets its act together, you should be out too! Rico, why don't you just take a week off? Come on.
I don't need a week.
Don't patronize me, Sonny.
Listen, buddy.
There ain't nobody patronizing you.
You can't even see what you're doing.
It's simple.
I've had it.
I want my money and my book.
If the department doesn't give me what they owe me— If they don't cough it up, I'll get it off the street.
Let me tell you something, pal.
You start dealing with loan sharks, and Castillo will do more than suspend you.
Who's Castillo? Are you gonna bust me? Huh? You gonna bust me? Well, bust me now or else I'm out of here.
[Sighs.]
Three years.
That guy's been my partner for three years.
When a guy goes over the edge, sometimes trying to help just, uh, pushes him further.
I think this guy's gotta come back on his own, if he goes back at all.
?? [Whistling.]
What are you doing? [Chuckles.]
You're a trained observer, right? What's that supposed to mean? Why don't you just take care of the six inches in front of your own nose? Yeah, well, uh, Tubbs, that's not the way it works.
Don't you think I wanted to roll over when Larry got whacked? Hell, I wanted to get out of this pit more than anybody.
But I'm still here.
I just thought if you needed somebody to lean on— Fine.
Just consider yourself leaned on.
Hey, Rico.
Rico.
[Sighs.]
?? [Man Singing Pop.]
[Chattering.]
Rico, everybody's gonna think you're trying to set 'em up.
Kevin, that's why I need your help.
[Sighs.]
Hey, you can just— just put the word out.
[Scoffs.]
Then I'll have a better chance.
Tell them—Tell them that I'll give 'em back double their juice.
They can have it at the end of the month.
[Inhales Sharply.]
[Sighs.]
"Hello.
I got an ex-cop who wants to borrow.
No, I'm not on medication.
" Geez.
Rough morning, huh? ?? [Continues.]
I was there.
Glenn Mclntyre.
You work Special Investigations? Yeah.
What are you drinking? Look, man, if you're here to check on why I'm moving— No, man.
Not me.
No.
I mean, uh, that's someone else's assignment.
Look, if it means anything, I understand how you feel.
I do.
I mean, that could've been you going through that door this morning.
Then you turn around and you ask the department to back you up— what do they do? What do they always do, huh? They hide behind bureaucracy.
They cover their butts in red tape.
That ain't right.
See, for all the risks you guys take, there ought to be a little more reward, right? Why are you laying this rap on me, man? ?? [Continues.]
I hear you want out.
Now, if that's true, there's a way to do it.
You better take your S.
I.
D.
Game somewhere else.
This ain't no game.
Line was busy.
I'll check back with you later.
You better stay out of my face! ?? [Continues.]
Later.
?? [Continues.]
?? [Ends.]
[Shouts, Indistinct.]
Don't play with me, sucker! Hey— Hey— Come on.
Easy.
I'm on the edge.
Easy, okay? Nobody's playing.
Nobody's playing.
What were you talkin' about in there? [Shouts.]
What were you talkin' about? I was talkin' about retiring in four months with six figures in the bank, okay? Hmm? Are you wired? I'm not wired.
Look, if you're not interested, fine.
Okay? I'll leave right now.
You'll never see me again.
How do I know I can trust you? How can I trust you, huh? Huh? You give the information to me, you get the money from me.
It's real simple.
It's real businesslike.
Vice info, you get a premium.
There's even room for your partner.
Forget about him.
He'd never do it.
That's fine.
There's more for you and me then.
So when do we start? When you're ready.
I'm ready.
I've been ready.
[Chuckling.]
You and me are gonna be great together, you know that? Let's go.
Needless to say, until Detective Varnell completes his investigation, you're prohibited to speak to the press.
[Switek.]
I realize it's supposed to be business as usual, but are there any special precautions being taken so the county doesn't run out of body bags? Both the bomb squad and the lab have set a second shift on 24-hour call.
Don't hesitate to use them.
D.
E.
A.
Agent Ayres will be temporarily assigned to fill the gap here at O.
C.
B.
He'll be identified through Tubbs's badge.
What's Tubbs's official status? Suspended pending dismissal.
That'll be all.
[Scoffs.]
That's nice, huh? The bomb squad gets a little O.
T.
, and we're walking into booby traps every other warrant.
[Castillo.]
Detective, do you have a comment? No, sir.
My office, gentlemen.
[Sighs.]
Sit.
So, I've heard some good things about you from my people.
Yeah? Well, I got something for you that's even better than I got them— a Vice cop.
I'm not just talkin' about warrants.
I'm talkin' about all the paper in your file.
Every piece of the puzzle.
Don't sell me, show me.
Should be no problem.
Good.
Do it.
And if he comes through, I'll meet him.
Meet him? What for? I can bring you the information.
I'm a businessman, Mclntyre.
I've got questions to ask him that you don't need to hear.
Mr.
Avilla, all due respect, he may not want to meet you.
Show me he is what you say he is, then bring him to me, and you can both name your price.
All right.
I'll work on it.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Man, I can get this kind of garbage myself.
Wait a minute.
You asked for information on search warrants, and that's it.
No, no, no.
This ain't gonna make it.
Look, I just made a deal with someone who can give us the kind of cash we were talking about and more.
In one shot.
But I need something very special from you.
Who's the contact? Onofrio Avilla.
[Both Chuckle.]
Wow.
I need all the paper Vice has on him.
That's a lot of paper, man.
Can't handle it? Oh, I can handle it if it's worth it.
Hey, come on.
I brought you in on this.
Now I'm telling you, it's worth it.
Just make sure that the money's green.
[Chuckling.]
[Woman.]
Glenn, I don't like it.
[Mclntyre.]
Everything is under control.
That's not what I'm talking about.
The cop they killed yesterday— [Sighs.]
Vicky— I thought the one in Broward was a mistake, but I don't think so anymore.
I have no control over these people, the way they do things.
I'm not blaming you— They're not Boy Scouts.
They're very serious people, Vick.
But I can't go on like this forever.
How would you rather go on living? Would you rather me go out there for some getting pension in 20 years for some sorry 60%? Or maybe you'd rather see me get buried with a flag on my chest.
Is that what you want? I thought you wanted to make it.
I do.
But there's gotta be another way.
Then you give it to me.
Tell me what to do.
'Cause waiting 25 years for a gold watch is not gonna make it.
If you want somethin' in this life, you gotta take it.
Nobody gives you nothin'.
Nothing's for free.
Besides, who knows how many times that Tubbs guy could have bought it workin' undercover? Then he asks for help, and what do they do? They suspend him.
That's not right.
Glenn, I just don't think I can do this forever.
Come here.
You're not gonna have to.
I just lined up a piece of business with a major dealer.
He can give us the kind of cash we were talkin' about.
[Sighs.]
We will be set.
And you can be there if you want to be.
[Giggling.]
You know I want it.
You do? Then relax.
Everything's gonna be fine.
We're this close.
This close.
Hey, Rico.
Hey, Bobby.
What are you doing here? [Sighs.]
Couldn't sleep.
I, uh, decided to do my supplemental on yesterday morning.
Yeah.
How're you handling that? I don't know.
I guess it's put me through some changes.
Yeah, that's understandable.
I hear you're goin' through some changes too.
Well, nothing I can't handle.
You're really gonna bag it? Yeah, not a day too soon.
What you got there? It's a case file.
Something I gotta sign off.
Well, look.
Before you sign off for good, man, I gotta tell you something.
Backin' out is a weak play.
I think you're doing the wrong thing.
Yeah? Well, who are you to judge me? Teenybopper tryin' to cowboy your way up to the top of the ladder.
Man, I was working the New York streets when you were buying corsages for the prom.
Maybe so.
But I been around long enough to scope someone sneaking out the back door! Call it anything you like.
I've been shot.
And I been let down one too many times.
The last thing I need is some punk cop in my face! Yeah, punk.
You're the punk! Eddie died a better cop than you ever could've been! [Grunts.]
The entire file as promised.
Just give me my money, man.
We'll make the exchange of the goods tomorrow morning, Tubbs.
In that case, you might want to know about a particular warehouse that Avilla owns on Canal Street.
- What about it? - Vice is gonna hit it tomorrow morning.
Good.
That's a nice piece of icing.
- That icing's not free.
- You'll get paid, Tubbs.
Don't get pushy.
Hey, look.
Don't tell me how to play the game, Mclntyre.
I need the cash, man.
[Line Clicks, Dial Tone.]
[Handset Settles In Cradle.]
[Engine Starts.]
[Whispering.]
There he is.
[Vehicle Approaching.]
Relax.
Hold.
Let's do it.
Here we go.
[Creaking.]
[Gunshot.]
Go! Go! Go! Your boss and I are about to do some serious business.
[Engine Starts.]
Get an ambulance.
Move! This is the third in a series of police ambushes in the past two weeks, which Channel 9 sources suggest ties to high-level corruption in the police department itself.
Get those cameras out of here.
[Man.]
Okay, folks.
It's all over.
[Chattering.]
[Man.]
Come on.
Come on.
Sir? [Gina.]
Are you all right? [Groans.]
I'll be fine, which is more than I can say for whoever measured the powder in those blanks.
Quit your complaining.
Rico didn't give Mclntyre the file until 1:00 a.
m.
And then the bomb squad waited all night for Avilla's men to finish before they could get in and rerig the gun.
[Groans.]
As long as it gets us the wiretaps.
The prosecutor's trying to get us the okay from the grand jury as we speak.
What about the warrant Tubbs signed on Mclntyre? Should be in the central computer for his source to pick up on it by this evening.
We're just waiting for Rico to tell us where Mclntyre wants him to meet tonight.
So, what do you do for an encore? I sit on Mclntyre and hope he doesn't burn our surveillance before his source tips him about Tubbs's warrant.
Just lie down.
You're supposed to be wounded.
Oh, yeah.
Say, you wouldn't want to grant a dying man's last request? [Sighs.]
[Woman.]
Stay tuned to WRQE for further updates on the shotgun slaying of a policeman on 28th Street in South Miami.
And now back to more hits.
[Ringing.]
Yeah.
[Mclntyre.]
We got to talk now.
Our deal was for tonight.
You bring my money.
I know what our deal was.
Everything's changed.
Nothing's changed, Mclntyre.
You listen to me.
This whole thing is coming together right now.
It's on their terms.
You understand? We only got one shot at this.
Play ball with me, and you're gonna be out of here with everything you need by this evening, all right? You gotta give me more time.
I got some other things I gotta do.
Cancel them.
I'm on my way.
?? [Rock On Stereo.]
[Engine Starts.]
Assistant State Attorney Kaplan's here.
Grand jury authorized the taps on Mclntyre's apartment and his car phone.
- Who knows? - Grand jury, me, your investigative team.
- I'm on my way to the phone company now.
- What about Ayres? Oh, he's fine.
He said he's got plenty of time to get his squad together to back up tonight's meet with Mclntyre and Tubbs.
Just make sure nobody moves until they're positive that they have Mclntyre's source.
That means they have something specific on taps or that they actually witness an exchange of information.
Oh, I made it very clear.
If we have to grab Mclntyre before we know who's leaking his information, we're gonna have to let him cop a plea and give up his source, and nobody wants to do that.
Lieutenant, our only problem is that Mclntyre's arrest warrant— [Phone Rings.]
Is already in the computer system.
Which means if Mclntyre's already heard from his source, Tubbs's cover is blown.
Tubbs knew the plan from the start.
It's the only piece of information we knew.
It might draw the attention of the leak.
[Handset Settles In Cradle.]
Tubbs is on line two.
You're on the speakerphone.
In the room with me is Assistant State Attorney Kaplan.
He brought some information.
[Tubbs.]
Mclntyre moved the meet up.
He's on his way here right now.
Listen.
They had to release the warrant last night.
There might be a possibility that he knows.
Do you think you've been made? I don't think so.
Seems like he wanted to talk more business.
I tried to put him off, but I thought he might get suspicious.
Let Tubbs pop Mclntyre, hold him until the backup gets there.
Look, if I pop him, his leak is gonna dive so deep that we'll never find him.
So we'll let Mclntyre make a deal.
It's the best we got.
Forget it.
What kind of deal did those dead cops get? No deals.
That's what this thing is all about.
Lieutenant, even if Mclntyre hasn't heard from his source yet and Tubbs is with him when he finds out, Tubbs is gone, Lieutenant.
Gone! He's here, Lieutenant.
You're there.
It's your call.
Just find that leak.
See if Crockett can get to Tubbs on time.
Put on a loose tail.
Let me know the moment your taps are on.
Let's go.
What? [Tapping Keys.]
Damn it! - You've been made, sport.
- [Hammer Cocks.]
Oy, man.
Kill him.
I'm a suspect, you jerk! I'm the first one they're gonna pin it on.
Avilla's gotta handle this.
You're going down, Mclntyre.
No matter what you do, you're going down.
Shut up! - Anything yet? - No.
They're still trying to run down Mclntyre's car.
Castillo's on the horn with Switek now.
Can you reach Mclntyre's car phone? [Switek.]
It went out of range right after I heard him get the call from his girl.
- [Castillo.]
How long? - [Switek.]
Well, I'm working on a booster transmitter now.
But even if I get through to him, it's gonna take me a couple of hours to triangulate his location.
- Keep me posted.
- Right.
Can I speak to you outside? I know my lieutenant's not gonna give you a deal up front, but I know if you do anything that can be helpful— I just want my lawyer.
She just wants her lawyer.
Great.
?? [Man Singing Soft Rock.]
Stay with him.
?? [Continues.]
[No Audible Dialogue.]
?? [Continues.]
[No Audible Dialogue.]
[No Audible Dialogue.]
Yeah.
Patch me into Vice— Detective Crockett.
It's an emergency.
[Phone Rings.]
Crockett.
This is Diaz.
- I found the leak.
- Where are you? About a mile past Kendall on the Intercoastal.
It's Tubbs and Mclntyre, man.
Come and get the bodies.
Diaz, w— [Engine Revs, Tires Screech.]
?? [Continues.]
Yeah.
I need every piece of backup you can get.
Out.
Tubbs, you pig! [Gunshots Continue.]
Freeze! [Grunts.]
[Siren Wailing.]
?? [Continues.]
[Sirens Wailing.]
?? [Continues.]
Bobby, man.
Look, I didn't go over.
[Straining.]
Get your— Get your dirty hands off me.
Bobby.
Freeze.
Put it down, Mac.
[Chuckling.]
Who you kidding? - [Shouts.]
- [Gunshot.]
?? [Continues.]
?? [Ends.]
[Helicopter Approaching.]
[Police Radio, Indistinct.]
Take as much time off as necessary.
Well, man, I just can't get used to it.
Cops selling each other out.
[Sighs.]
You gotta try and think of it as just another assignment.
'Cause in the end, that's all it is.
The world keeps turning.
Yeah, maybe.
Sometimes I don't know what kind of world I'm protecting anymore.
Try and remember.
We won this round.
Perhaps.
You know the worst part of it? Bobby died thinkin' I sold him and Eddie out.
[Sighs.]
You have to believe he heard you, man.
Excuse me.
For you and Eddie.

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