KILLER INSTINCT

*****

Natalie: (on answering machine) Hi, it's Nat. Were we a good boy, Nick, and did we do as the Doctor ordered? Cuz if you keep up that sunbed routine, I guarantee people will be asking you 'which way to the beach?' And of course, I don't have to tell you to stay away from the blood.... Real food, Nick, you want real food, but then I don't have to tell you this. I know you obey my every command.

Cohen: Anything, Natalie?
Natalie: Well, there's not much doubt--he was strangled. I place the TOD between eleven and eleven-forty.
Cohen: You bagged the glove?
Natalie: Yeah, what was left of it. Definitely a surgical glove.
Cohen: It looks like we have a repeater. (Sees Schanke pull up) Is that who I think it is?
Natalie: I think it's who you think it is.
Cohen: It's his day off.
Natalie: He's enthusiastic?
Cohen: He's staining his nose brown.
Natalie: Yeah.

Schanke: All right, fill me in. I got here as fast as I could.
Officer: Schanke, what are you doing here? It's your day of, isn't it?
Schanke: Gee, you know, I wasn't aware that 'day off' meant complete abandonment of our, uh, oath to serve and protect. Or that it meant that I stop being a cop or turn off my police radio. As if for twenty-four hours I could forget exactly who I am or what I've dedicated my whole life to. ??? at the dome, Saturday, section 28, okay? Hey, next time, let me know a little bit earlier and I'll spring for some box seats, okay?

Nick: Nice speech. Think the Captain heard you?
Schanke: I thought we had agreed that we were gonna let me look good for a change. You know, new precinct, fresh start. How's my showing up on my day off going to look good if uh, everyone's doing it?
Nick: Are these supposed to be elephant or reindeer?
Schanke: Hardy har.
Natalie: Hey, aren't you guys supposed to have the day off?
Schanke: See? 'You guys'. Plural. I should have stayed in bed.
Nick: I uh, we just came by to see what was happening.
Natalie: Well, you certainly can pick 'em. You ah, you remember a couple of weeks ago? John Doe under the pier?
Nick: Strangled, right? No prints?
Schanke: Same deal here?
Natalie: Found a piece of surgical glove.
Cohen: We got a few unsolveds on the books just like this last couple of years. Victims always low-end--petty street sheets, dealers.
Nick: Someone doing their civil duty.
Cohen: Who knows. We've got guests coming.
Schanke: Great. IA.
Cohen: Rogers and Wilkinson. This must be my night.
Natalie: And my cue to get out of here.
Schanke: Internal Affairs. That means they think--
Nick: They think a cop did it.
Schanke: Oh man, that is a prescription for a case of the willies. I mean, it could be a guy we know, or a lady we know. The Captain wouldn't make anyone think twice before opening a door. On the other hand, maybe opening a door for her wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Around 1228-1229, probably.

Nick: Where are you? Why have you left me like this?
LaCroix: I haven't left you Nicolas.
Nick: I'm looking, but I can't see you.
LaCroix: Then stop using your eyes.

Cohen: Detective Knight? Are you all right, or are you just...communing with the cosmos?
Nick: No, I uh... Excuse me, I was just thinking.
Schanke: About the case. He was thinking about the case. You see, when you get to know us, Captain, you'll understand that we eat, sleep, and breathe this stuff.
Cohen: Frankly, I'd prefer you kept your bodily functions out of this. And anyway, Schanke, excessive overtime doesn't impress me. Solved cases do.
Schanke: Right, of course. What do those guys from IA say, Captain?
Cohen: Nothing I want to repeat just now. Oh, and Schanke, nice deer.
Schanke: No, no, no. No, no, no, they're moose....

Janette: Nicolas.... It's been weeks.
Nick: It's been months, actually.
Janette: Months yet. Then I'm even more upset with you. (She takes his watch off) That's what you get for living in mortal time. Oh la la...look, it's engraved. 'To Nick, a man who has all the time in the world, from Natalie'. How sweet.
Nick: What if I was to tell you I missed you?
Janette: I wouldn't believe you. Oh, Nicolas, you're more mortal now than ever. I can see it in your eyes and I barely felt you when you came in. So you're not here to see me. Why are you here?
Nick: Someone has been looking for me. One of us. It's faint, but I feel it. It's hanging back, waiting. I thought maybe....
Janette: Yes, I felt something too.
Nick: Do you know who it is?
Janette: No. Not this time, I don't know why. Maybe it's another vampire with a conscience, and he's feeling terribly guilty about all of the people that he's killed, and so now he's looking for a mentor....
Nick: Don't mock me.
Janette: Somebody has to. Ecoute. [Listen.] Nicolas, these lives we make for ourselves are playthings.
Nick: Are they?
Janette: Of course. Mortals age and we outgrow them. Eventually, we all must move on.
Nick: And what if we take these lives seriously?
Janette: Then we get hurt, Nicolas. You know that. We get hurt.

LaCroix: Wake up Nicolas. Wake up to what you are. You've been asleep far too long.

Nick's answering machine: This is Nick Knight. I'm not in, or I'm asleep. Leave a message. Don't take it personally.
Schanke: Wakey, wakey, wakey, Nicky boy. Rise and shine. You're missing out on all the action.
Nick: (Picks up the phone) Where are you, Schanke?
Schanke: Where do you think I am? I came in early to see if I could be of any assistance to my fellow officers. And I also got some scoop on the IA investigation.
Nick: Huh?
Schanke: Hello? Were you sleepwalking last night? The strangling? Listen to this--rumour has it, it's a guy in our precinct. This morning, a jogger found a detachable hood of a PD range shell near the scene.
Nick: Oh right, Schank, if I was a killer cop, that's exactly what I'd do. Wear department issue gear to my murders. Maybe, drive away from the bodies with the siren on, just in case somebody missed me?
Schanke: Are you finished, cuz I got more. It just so happens that all of the cases they're tying this guy into occurred within spitting distance of the 96th.
Nick: Yeah, well it's more, but not much more. On the other hand, IA's never been known for its creative thinking.
Schanke: When are you coming in?
Nick: Soon. I've got a couple errands to run first.
Schanke: You sound kind of uh...kind of funny, kind of spacey.
Nick: Do I? No, I just misplaced my watch, that's all.
Schanke: You know what it is? It's old age setting in, buddy. It happens to the best of us.
Nick: Yeah. Well, I'll see you in a little, okay?
Schanke: Ba-bye.

Schanke: Thanks. Do you like cappuccino? Because I was just down at Buckstars, and I ordered their cinnamon chocolate...unbelievable...and uh, they gave me two by mistake, so, viola. Enjoy.
Cohen: Uh, Detective?
Schanke: Yes?
Cohen: Is it decaf?
Schanke: No. Is that a problem, because I can just, you know, run back and get you...
Cohen: That won't be necessary.
Schanke: Okay. Officer 1: Hey Schanke, want to wash my car, too?
Officer 2: Walk dogs?
Officer 3: How about mowing my lawn?
Schanke: Haha...funny.

Cohen: Lipensky. Go find Rogers and Wilkinson. We just got an anonymous tip.

Rogers (IA): Freeze! Police, freeze!
Nick: It's Knight. He's got to be close by.
Wilkinson (IA): I got him. Check that way.
Nick: It's too late. She's already gone.
Rogers: (finding Nick's watch in the victim's hand) Detective Knight. Put your gun on the ground, and place your hands on your head.
Nick: What?
Rogers: Do it!
Wilkinson I didn't see anything.
Nick: What the hell is going on?
Rogers: You lose a watch, Detective? You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to council. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you by the courts on your behalf....

LaCroix: (laughing (with an 'Oh dear...' in there) from a roof top) Nicholas....

Rogers: Okay, the nights of March 5th and 17th, where were you?
Nick's Council: He's already answered that.
Nick: At home.
Rogers: And no one can corroborate this?
Nick: No, I live alone.
Wilkinson: But you weren't at home the entire night of the 17th, were you? You were at the scene of a murder.
Nick: I went over to find out what happened.
Rogers: Yet, you didn't drive your car. You were on foot when you arrived.
Nick: I ran over. I live nearby.
Wilkinson: How did you know that the murder had happened?
Nick: I could hear it.
Rogers: You must have great hearing.

Schanke: This isn't happening. I'm telling you, this isn't happening.
Cop: Hard to believe?
Schanke: Try impossible. I rode a lot of miles with that guy in there, and I'm telling you this is a terrible mistake!

Nick's Council: Judge hasn't set bail yet, so....
Nick: Don't hold your breath.
Nick's Council: Yeah. Well, in any case, I'll be back tomorrow morning and we'll start working on a defense. Try and get some rest.

Natalie: Nick.
Nick: I hope this isn't my pre-execution examination, Nat.
Natalie: Would you settle for a DNA test?
Nick: DNA? You got a sample off the last victim?
Natalie: Yep. The girl had fingernails. I managed to get just enough skin to do the test. I know, I know, I can't send a sample of your tissue to the lab because there'd be a team of medical researchers down here so fast it would make your head spin.
Nick: So we can't do it.
Natalie: No...but we can pretend to, can't we? The real question is, who is trying to set you up? Another cop?
Nick: Another vampire. For days, I've felt someone watching me, waiting for something. That's the only way the watch could have been stolen from my place.
Natalie: But why would another vampire want to....
Nick: I don't know. Maybe he had a.... Lifestyle prejudice.

LaCroix: Do you feel her blood surge in your veins, Nicholas? It is an experience unsurpassed by any other. Revel in you newfound power, in the gift I have given you. Immortality, that's what all men want, isn't it? Be glad I made you what you are.
Nick: What am I?
LaCroix: My protégé.
Nick: Your slave.
LaCroix: Then I, too, am your slave. For I am bound to you now. Promised to you as your eternal teacher, that I may let you know all there is to know about what you are. Leave your mortal life behind, Nicholas. You can never go back there now. Soon, you will not want to.

Nick: It's as if someone wants me to move on, Nat. Wants to force me out of this life, my job, my friends. Look, I know if I don't regain mortality, I'm going to have to leave eventually, but I'm not ready, not now. I'm not ready to give it up.
Natalie: You won't have to. Not if I have anything to do with it.

Schanke: (Taking the remote from an officer) Having fun? (Taking a vase from Rogers) If you don't mind...are you in charge of the search here, or should I bring my daughter's class for a tour while we're at it? I mean, come on. Geez. This is a world class collection of artifacts, meticulously displayed.

Cop #1: You're not going to believe this. He's got a sunbed up there.
Schanke: He's got a sunbed?
Rogers: I thought he was allergic to the sun or something?
Schanke: Well, he is. I'm-I'm sure there's a logical explanation for this and...look, Knight does have his eccentric side, but that still doesn't make him-
Cop #2: Hey, does anyone know why this guy would have blood in his refrigerator?
Schanke: Blood?
Rogers: Yeah, blood.
Schanke: Blood?

Grace: Hi...I thought I wasn't going to see you until tonight?
Natalie: Yeah, well, I didn't want to lose another day before sending in the samples for the DNA workup.
Grace: How's he doing?
Natalie: Oh...anxious to get out. Did you get the other samples for the double blind.
Grace: Yeah. Give me Nick's and I'll package them up and get them right out.
Natalie: Three, right? You know, Grace, I think we should take one more just to be sure. After what happened last month, I would hate to risk the delay that a contaminated sample would cause.
Grace: Well, if you think so.
Natalie: Perfect timing, Jeff?
Grace: Jeff.
Natalie: Jeff.
Grace: What time is it?
Jeff: It's about 4:18.
Natalie: We found that the ambush approach works best in these cases. It's just going to sting a little bit.
Jeff: You're taking a sample?
Natalie: Uh-huh.
Jeff: What for?
Natalie: Nick's DNA test.
Jeff: Nick's DNA test? Oww.
Natalie: There we go. It is done. It is over, and you were very stoic.
Grace: Your contribution to justice will be remembered.
Natalie: (handing him a bandaid) Thanks.
Jeff: That's okay, then.
Grace: (reaching for the sample) Here.
Natalie: No, no...no, I'll do it. Uh...why don't you go and check on the...the Johansson PC boost? Grace: Sure?
Natalie: Yep.

Schanke: They tell me you're not eating.
Nick: Uh, jail doesn't do much for my appetite, Schank.
Schanke: No. But they say it's been a few days and that you're barely touching thing.
Nick: Natalie smuggles some stuff in now and then.
Schanke: Great. You know, if you want, I could uh, zap in some souvlaki for you?
Nick: No thanks, Schank.
Schanke: Did you know that there was blood in your refrigerator? I told the guys that there was a perfectly good explanation for it, and I've been trying, you know, to come up with one.
Nick: Cow's blood. I use it as a paint thickener. Old European technique. Use it to thicken my oils.
Schanke: Well there it is. I knew there had to be an explanation for it, it's just.... Well, I didn't doubt you or anything, but you know, it's blood. Paint thickener, well, there it is.

Schanke: You okay?

Nick: Come back!

Nick: Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine.
Schanke: Well. I guess I got to run. I got double the workload now, without you. This is going to blow over, you know that. The DNA test is going to come in any day now, and boom, you're out of here. It's just that, well, for me, it can't come too soon, huh? So...hang in there, partner.
Nick: Thanks.

Schanke: It's paint thickener!
Cop: You serious?
Schanke: Yeah, paint thickener. It makes sense to me.

Janette: Nicolas. You didn't know it was me?
Nick: How did you get in here?
Janette: Mon cher, have you forgetting everything about being a vampire?
Nick: Someone might have seen you.
Janette: They didn't, or at least they won't remember that they did.
Nick: What do you want?
Janette: I have come to escort you back to your senses. I want you to leave with me.
Nick: Who sent you?
Janette: The Community sent me.
Nick: Someone is forcing me out.
Janette: I don't know who it is Nicolas, but it's done. You cannot stay here. You and this case are jeopardizing all of us. They've been through your apartment, they are digging into your past. This is far too dangerous to continue.
Nick: I swear, Janette, if you know anything about who's doing this....
Janette: Don't think this hurts me too. Mon cher, Nicolas, how many years might it be before we see each other again, how many decades? I was almost beginning to grow fond of this morality, of this particular incarnation as a vampire cop.
Nick: All right. Go on.

Nick's Council: Nick.
Nick: What is it?
Nick's Council: The DA's going to move you tomorrow morning to a maximum security lock-up.
Nick: I thought we agreed to wait for the DNA results?
Nick's Council: They came in an hour ago.
Schanke: Nick, your test was a positive match.

Nick: (being taken outside after dawn to security truck) Cover my head. You've got to keep my head covered. Are you sure Dr. Lambert hasn't tried to contact me?

Natalie: (on the phone) What? Oh my God. When?
Grace: What is it?
Natalie: Oh my God, this is all my fault. Yes. Yeah, yeah, thank you for telling me.
Grace: What's happened?
Natalie: Everything. Oh my God. Grace, Grace, what's Jeff's last name?
Grace: Morris.
Natalie: Morris. M-O-R-R-I-S. Dammit, why isn't it here?
Grace: He quit. Three days ago. He'd be uh...listed under former employees.

Schanke: I'm telling you the truth, he hasn't contacted me. I have no idea where he is.
Cohen: Concealing a suspected felon is serious business, Detective. I'm sure I don't have to remind you of that, or what's at stake for you if you forget it.

Nick: Time to come out, whoever you are....

Natalie: Schank, I've got to talk to you, it's urgent.
Natalie: Are you okay?
Schanke: No, I'm not okay, I made a terrible mistake. Look, is there some where we could talk?
Natalie: Yeah. Yeah, over here.

Schanke: You what?
Natalie: I had to. It seemed like the only way. I mean, if the lab got hold of a real tissue sample of Nick's, well, that could be the end of his career.
Schanke: Wow! Wow! I knew his sun allergy was serious, but I didn't know it was that serious. What did you call it again? Hemo-lolotolo..
Natalie: ...papsia.
Schanke: Papsia.
Natalie: I mean, that-that's why he has the sunbed. UV treatments for vitamin D deficiency. His skin never tans.
Schanke: Right, right. And you're sure this is the guy?
Natalie: Not only am I positive about the test, it makes perfect sense. All of the victims were drug dealers, right?
Schanke: Right.
Natalie: Well, Jeff's bother OD'd. He died about a year ago. I did the autopsy.
Schanke: You?
Natalie: Yeah.
Schanke: So our man was here when his brother came in. That must have been enough to send him over the edge. What about the watch?
Natalie: Well, Nick thinks it was planted. I mean, why he picked Nick.... Will you help?
Schanke: Oh no, no...man, man if I get caught. I just got to stay clear of this. I cannot do this, Natalie.
Natalie: His address is here. I'm pretty sure he doesn't know what's going on.
Schanke: Okay.

LaCroix: Listen, Nicholas. Ecoute Nicolas. Ecoute.
Nick: Come back! Come back to me.
LaCroix: What?
Nick: Where are you?
LaCroix: Let it come to you.
Nick: Oh yes...I felt it.
LaCroix: Then follow it. Follow the vibration. It is the force that joins us, that makes us what we are. Just listen....

Nick: What kind of trick is this? A mortal!

Schanke: Freeze! Nick? What are you doing here?
Rogers: Schanke, Knight, this is Rogers, Internal Affairs. Come out of there, keep your hands on top of your head.

Nick: I didn't kill anyone, Schanke.
Schanke: I know. It was him, right? The guy that just got away?
Nick: It was?
Schanke: You must have known that he was the one Natalie switched your sample with. Isn't that why you're here? Cohen: Knight, Schanke. This is Captain Cohen. It's time to go home.
Schanke: Great, this is getting better by the minute.

Schanke: Oh, pulease, don't go strange on me.
Cohen: Knight, Schanke.
Nick: Let's go.
Schanke: Okay. Morris must have known a way out. Come on, let's go.

Schanke: Look's clear. Where'd he go?
Nick: Let's try the old distillery.
Schanke: No, I'll take care of him. You get out of here. It's you they want, not me.

Nick: Now I've got you!

LaCroix: Nicholas, I knew you still had it in you. Well, you must have had some idea it was me.

LaCroix: You didn't actually believe that you had killed me, did you? I'm much too old and powerful for that.

Nick: What am I?
LaCroix: My protégé.
Nick: Your slave.

Nick: LaCroix, it was you, all along.
LaCroix: With a little help from my new friend. He was perfectly convenient. I'll I had to do was plant your watch, and lead you to him.

LaCroix: Your sham of a mortal life is ruined, Nicholas. Like the unicorn, it is the stuff of fiction.

Schanke: Okay Jeff. Come out, come out, wherever you are....

LaCroix: It's time to move on. To reinvent yourself.
Nick: With you?
LaCroix: I've decided to take you back, to give you a second chance.
Nick: The only second chance I want is the one I've given myself.
LaCroix: The only anything you get, is what *I* give you. I *made* you.
Nick: What you made, was a mistake.

Schanke: I know you're in here, Jeff, I'm coming after you. I'm just here to help you, Jeff, that's all. Look, Jeff, I know things have been rough for you, but this is only making things worse.

Schanke: Come on buddy, this is no way to spend a Friday night. You should be out watching a ball game.

Schanke: I know what you've been through, but what you're doing, isn't going to bring your brother back from the dead. That just doesn't happen in real life.
Jeff: I was only trying to help. There were too many of them. Every night more. Old men, young girls, boys. They look so help less lying there.
Schanke: I know. I've seen 'em too.

Jeff: In bags. In bags! I saw my brother...I saw my brother in a body bag.

Schanke: Jeff, come on, buddy.
Jeff: I had to kill them. I had to stop it! I couldn't take it anymore.
Schanke: I don't want this to end ugly, and neither do you. There's a lot of crap in this world, but that's what we have to face, you and me. We have to. That's all the only choice we got.
Jeff: No it's not.
Schanke: Jeff, you're not going to find any answers that way. Come on, buddy.

Schanke: Put the gun down and we'll talk all this out. Nothing's going to happen to you.

Schanke: Now you did what you had to do. Your brother knows that. It's done, pal. Just put down the gun, and we'll work this out.
Jeff: I was only trying to help.
Schanke: I know.
Cohen: Keep it right there.
Schanke: Captain, my man, here, is just about all used up. I'll take him outside if that's okay. Come 'ere.
Cohen: Nice work.
Schanke: Easy now, Jeff. Everything's going to be all right.

Cohen: By the way, Schanke, where's your partner?
Schanke: Nick? Geez, I don't know. I haven't seen him all night.

LaCroix: Where's the lasting value, Nicholas? Blink, and they'll all be ghosts. Blink, and they'll all be gone.

Cohen: And you didn't suspect Morris until the double blind?
Natalie: Right. The DNA test. Right. I mean, I-I guess I just thought he was nervous.
Schanke: Nervous?
Natalie: Nervous.
Schanke: Nervous.
Cohen: Just thought he was nervous. And then you accidentally mislabeled the samples?
Natalie: Look, I-I...I don't know how it happened.
Cohen: And this doesn't strike you as a huge coincidence? Maybe Morris did it? Switched the samples.
Schanke: Yes, of course, why didn't we think of that. You know, Captain, you're really....
Cohen: Can it, Schanke. Well, I guess it doesn't matter. He's confessed and pleaded. I just don't want to be kept in the dark because a cop wants to do a little grandstanding.
Schanke: Grandstanding?
Nick: Uh, Captain, I really think....
Cohen: As for you, Knight, I think you are very lucky...to have such good friends. Appreciate them, Knight, it's what makes life worth living.
Nick: My thoughts exactly.

Nick: Janette.
Janette: You felt me.
Nick: Yes.
Janette: That's very good, Nicolas.
Nick: Is it?
Janette: The threads of our connection have strengthened lately. That can mean only one thing.
Nick: LaCroix has returned.