THE FIX

*****

Natalie: This is good.
Nick: Thank you.
Natalie: So...how are you feeling?
Nick: Well, it's the first time I've given blood.

Natalie: (Holding up two bags of blood) Well, here I go.
Nick: Good luck.

Cohen: You okay?
Schanke: He's the last person on earth I pegged for a suicide.
Cohen: Isn't that Berman from Internal Affairs?
Schanke: Yeah. First one on the scene. He's really taking charge.
Cohen: That's odd.
Schanke: What? Fred Berman, the original control freak, is taking charge?
Cohen: No, Berman, first on the scene of a homicide.
Schanke: Suicide.
Cohen: Right.
Natalie: (Walking up) Whoa, that is quite a sight.
(Schanke starts for where Natalie came from, only to be stopped by Natalie)
Natalie: Oh no, Schank, Schank. You don't want to remember him like that.
Schanke: You're right. It's not my investigation. I'm going back to the shop. (He leaves)
Cohen: (calling after him) Schanke....

Schanke: He wasn't suicidal.
Berman: Well your diagnosis doesn't quite jive with the fact that he just decapitated himself with his own gun, does it? (Hands a piece of paper to Cohen) Keep it, it's a copy.
Cohen: Suicide note. Didn't leave us much to go on.
Berman: Well, Sykes was never much for paperwork, was he?
Schanke: He was a good cop.
Berman: Guess again, Detective. Jimmy Vinetti's been lining his pocket for years.
Nick: Dead cops are much easier to slander, aren't they?
Berman: Sykes was dirty. I've got the evidence. Look, your bowling buddy fed himself a hollow point cause he couldn't do the stretch.
Schanke: He had the best bunko record in this precinct three years running. He was hard working and decent.
Berman: Somebody tell his wife. She took his kids and moved to Nova Scotia four months ago cause she couldn't take the beatings anymore.
Schanke: Come on.
Berman: Sykes' profile from the department shrink. (Gives Cohen a folder) I think, ah...yeah, unbalanced was the nicest word she used.
Schanke: You might be selling buy I ain't buying. Excuse me captain. (Leaves the office.)
Cohen: That's the first I've heard of any internal investigation.
Berman: Well, we don't advertise. We find we get better results that way.
Nick: Captain, I'd still like a crack at this.
Berman: Case closed, Knight. Go catch some killers.
Nick: Oh, I think I'll do just that.
Berman: Case closed, Knight. You got it?
Nick: Well, whatever you say. I mean, after all, you are the... boss.
(Nick walks out of office and over to Schanke)
Nick: Someone should give Berman some kind of award for insensitivity.
Schanke: It's at times like this that I wish I practised voodoo.
Nick: I think we should look into this. There's more to it. I have a feeling.
Schanke: So do I. I got the feeling that Berman as much as I hate his guts and hope that he dies a slow and painful death, is right, and if he is, I don't want to know about it. Brian Sykes was my friend, period. He backed me up, he bailed me out, and he could roll a bowling ball like a cruise missile. That's what I want to remember. I'm done. I need a drink.

Nick: A vampire virus?
Natalie: Well, more like a genetic alteration. My old friend Whitaker, down at the Institute, has a brand new ten million dollar toy, a tunnelling electron microscope, and he lent me some time on it. And here is what I found. Now these are strands of your RNA, from one of your cells. See those extra nucleotides? Those do not belong there.
Nick: This is what makes me what I am?
Natalie: That's what I'm betting on. And here's the kicker. I isolated it and tried repeatedly to culture it outside the vector, i.e., you, your cells. Every time I removed it from the host cell, poof. It just evaporated, disappeared, no trace.
Nick: And you can neutralize it?
Natalie: Litovuterine-B. Yet another modern convenience courtesy of bio-genetic engineering. A substance that literally didn't exist a year ago. It bonds molecularly with the virus and shuts it down somehow.
Nick: May I ask what it is?
Natalie: I was afraid you would. It was supposed to be a synthetic hormone that would...and how can I put this delicately...enhance beef production. But it was rejected in the test phase. It uh...proved to be lethal.
Nick: Oh wonderful. Well, my day in the sun is going to be deadly either way.
Natalie: Or you could have a whole new career down on the farm. Anyway, I think that you could probably tolerate low doses of this. Sort of like chemotherapy for cancer. And, if you're willing to accept the risk, I think I might be able to cure you.

Europe: Mid 19th century

Dr. Spense: I'm quite confident of it actually. As you know, I've made the study of so-called occult phenomenon my stock 'n trade.
Nick: They call you the resurrection doctor.
Dr. Spense: It's a name I earned back in England from some failed experiments in, um, resuscitation. Whatever. I have a theory about your condition, and I welcome the opportunity to test it.
Nick: You do recognize, of course, that any of the work we do here must be conducted under the veil of utmost secrecy.
Dr. Spense: And you understand that the effort may well be...quite costly.
Nick: I am prepared to subsidize your studies to the fullest. I will pay whatever you require.
Dr. Spense: Good. Very good.

Natalie: Nick? It's your call.
Nick: Let's do it.

Natalie: I'm starting you out with one cc.
Nick: What kind of side effects are we talking about?
Natalie: We're way out beyond the pale here. Quite honestly I don't know what to expect. Chemically, Litovuterine-B has some similarities to naturally produced endorphins.
Nick: So I might get a high.
Natalie: You might get a rush. Then again, that rush could be mitigated by the drug's cytotoxic properties.
Nick: Oh great, so I'll get sick to my stomach.
Natalie: And you'll feel too happy to care. Now are you sure about this?
Nick: Yeah, I'm sure.
(Nick gets injected and bends his arm several times, closing his eyes)
Natalie: Anything?
Nick: (Shakes his head) Oh, God. (Falls on the floor in pain) Oh God, I'm going to be sick.
Natalie: Damn it, I knew this was a mistake. (She kneels on the floor)
Nick: (grabs her arm) It's okay. It's okay. I'm all right now. It's okay. Oh God...oh God.
Natalie: Nick! Nick, talk to me. What are you feeling?
Nick: Nothing. Nothing...nothing. Nat? Nat, it's gone. Oh God, it's gone.
Natalie: What's gone? What do you mean? Nick, talk to me. What do you feel?
Nick: The vampire. It's gone.
(Nick gets to his feet and looks up to the clock. 7.18am. He runs out the door.)
Natalie: Nick don't!
(Nick goes outside and Natalie chases after him. They stop just before the exit.)
Natalie: Nick, this isn't the way to test it.
(Nick runs outside and doesn't burn. :) )

Cohen: You're up early.
Schanke: Yeah, well I never made it to bed.
Cohen: IA sent a warrant down to impound his stuff post haste. With all deliberate speed. Berman.

Natalie: So the most important thing is that we don't overdue it. We don't assume anything. Nick. Nick! Nick, a.... You.... You just went through a red light!
Nick: I did? Haha! Go on. Give me a ticket. I've got friends who can fix that!
Natalie: We have to run tests. Dozens of tests. In the meantime-- Oh no, wait a minute, you're taking me home first, right? And then you're going to go back and get some rest?
Nick: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, we'll get there.
Natalie: Doctor's orders, Nick.
Nick: Okay, okay. I just want to make one quick stop first. Ah, you brought it, right?
Natalie: Brought what?
Nick: The medicine. (Dials a number on his phone) It's in your bag, just in case, yeah?
Natalie: Yeah, I have it.
Nick: Good. (Into the phone) Yes, Janette?

Janette: Nicolas, get inside!
Nick: Why? I've done it. (Grabs Natalie's hand as he walks in) We've done it. I'm cured. (He walks over to Janette)
Janette: Have you already forgotten what happened the last time you tried this?
Nick: But this is different. This is real. I've done it. I've changed.
Janette: (To Natalie) I suppose that you did this to him?
Natalie: Sorry, I couldn't resist the scientific challenge.
Janette: I see. And of course you told her of the danger involved in this pursuit?
Nick: There's no danger.
Janette: There are those among us, Nicolas, who would not take this very well.
Natalie: Nick, what is she talking about?
Janette: Those who would consider this...discovery, in fact, a threat to our existence.
Nick: Yeah, well not if you don't tell them.
Janette: As if I even had to. Oh Nicolas, you are so naive. You are such an eternal boy! So if no one is to know, why did you come here?
Nick: To share this with you.
Janette: Oh, please.
Nick: This is real. This, this is real. We can go back.
Natalie: Nick!
Nick: Well, I thought you said we had to duplicate the experiment for us to be able to pronounce it a success.
Janette: Oh, so you need another lab rat? No thank you, look elsewhere. Don't ever assume that I'm like you, Nicolas. I'm not ashamed of who I am. I've been down this road with him before. It's a dead end. Just another dead end.

Natalie: So what aren't you telling me, Nick?
Nick: Janette's...just raining on our parade. She's jealous, that's all.
Natalie: And what about before?
Nick: What happened long...long ago doesn't matter. We've succeeded. Haven't we?
Natalie: I have to go write up some notes. You should go back and get some rest. We'll pick it up tonight. I want to do a full blood panel on you later.
Nick: What about the Litovuterine?
Natalie: What for?
Nick: Oh, you know, what if I'm out and about and ah, it wears off, I'm stuck?
Natalie: Oh no, no, no Nick.
Nick: Hey, hey, hey...Nat, Nat. Look at me, look at me. I-I'm changed. I'm cured.
Natalie: We have no idea what this stuff is doing to your insides.
Nick: Just enough to get me through.
Natalie: You're talking like a junkie.
Nick: This whole experiment goes done the tubes if I spontaneously combust in the middle of Bay Street, doesn't it?
Natalie: All right, all right, just in case. And 10 cc's--that's it. (Pulls out what what Nick needs) Promise me that you won't touch this unless something dire happens, and you'll call me first.
Nick: Okay. Okay. Thanks. (Natalie gives the stuff to him) Hey look, don't worry about it. You should be happy. Smile. Come on, we did it. See you later tonight. (Natalie gets out of the car.)

Nick: You followed me.
Janette: Do you know what you're getting into? If the others found out....
Nick: I know. And now that you know, I trust you will remain quiet about it. Janette: (Catches him as he tries to leave) There are no secrets among us, Nicolas. Not for long. (She stops him again.) You know that.
Nick: Then the good doctor will have to work quickly, won't he?
Janette: The good doctor! He is a charlatan! Everyone knows of his reputation.
Nick: He has offered me hope.
Janette: Hope?! For what? Disease...ageing...death? Why are you going through with this?
Nick: Don't you see I have to try? I can't be this anymore. I can't.

Janette: Nicolas. You fool.

Nick: Hey.
Schanke: Hey, what's up?
Nick: Dispatch told me you were here.
Schanke: Look, what do you make of this thing. (Pulls out a handkerchief and a black cap)
Nick: It's a lens cap or something, from a...telescope?
Schanke: Yeah, or binoculars. Found it over there in the bush. Bird watchers or something. Yeah, couldn't sleep. Just keep on thinking about Sykes.
Nick: Yeah, me too. I've been thinking, again, maybe you and I should look into this.
Schanke: Sykes did himself, Nick. All the evidence is there. Look for what? For who?
Nick: For why?
Schanke: I don't know, I don't know. Berman and IA seem anxious to wrap this whole thing up. There's something different about you today.
Nick: Today. That's what's different. Today.
Schanke: Did you get your hair cut or something?

Schanke: So you're actually cured?
Nick: I don't know. The medication might be just suppressing the symptoms, or it might have eliminated the condition all together.
Schanke: Man oh man, that Natalie. What do you say, Nobel Prize or what?
Nick: Ahh. Here we are.
Schanke: Wait a minute. Isn't this where, ah--
Nick: Yeah, Marciellio's. He eats here every day. He owns a piece of it. We're just going to talk to him, right?
Schanke: Yeah.

Nick: Jimmy Vinetti? (Nick flashes his badge)
Jimmy Vinetti: It's okay, Vince. (Waves off guard and Nick and Schanke sit down) Go ahead, sit down, get comfortable, why don't you?
Nick: Don't mind us. Go ahead, eat. We just want to ask a few questions.
Vinetti: Always make a minute for my friends in public service. Vince, go get some air.
Nick: Brian Sykes.
Vinetti: Name, Brian Sykes. I give up.
Schanke: Detective Brian Sykes. Head of bunko in our division. He killed himself last night.
Vinetti: It's a sad thing. I guess he was your friend.
Nick: Internal Affairs was throwing a net around him. (Looks at the pasta) That looks good. Ah, they say he was dirty. Among other things, he was taking graft. From you, Jimmy. (Looks at the plate again)
Vinetti: Are you hungry detective? You want to eat?
Nick: No. Nah, that's fine.
Vinetti: I'm a businessman. Financier, you see? Why should I be paying cops? (Nick picks up fork)
Nick: Uh...cooperation, information, it's all part of the overhead. (Takes a bite of the food) Now, that's good.
Vinetti: Look, the, um, chef. I brought him over from, ah, Milan. (Nick takes another bite) You want to eat, I'll buy.
Nick: No. Don't bother. No, I'm fine, I'm fine.
Schanke: You're right, Mr. Vinetti. Brian Sykes was a friend. Now this is an unofficial visit, we don't like Internal Affairs any more than you do.
Nick: (Takes a drink of wine) Now that's delicious! What is it?
Vinetti: Chianti.
Nick: Chianti. It's good! (Takes another drink)
Vinetti: Okay look, off the record, capice? Sometimes the cops, they don't understand the nature of my business. They come here. They eat off my plate.... (Nick keeps eating) They think I'm something I'm not.
Schanke: Did Brian Sykes?
Vinetti: Yeah. Okay, yeah. He came to me, tried to shake me down. I told him where to go.
Nick: Who else? Hmm? Let's see, ah, Fred Berman? Were you paying Fred Berman?
Vinetti: (Standing up to leave) Look, I got appointments. See, ah, I'm happy to help out. Sorry about your friend and his family, but you're way over the line with these questions. Good day, gentlemen, okay? Hey you, hey finish. Enjoy. Mange. It's on me.
(Vinetti leaves, Nick takes his place)
Nick: Thanks. (then, to Schanke) Want some? Are you sure? It's good.

Nick: (Accepting hot dog from street vender) Ah, thanks.
Girl: That's $2.45
Nick: It's on the house, right? Couple of cops? (He walks away)
Schanke: (Pulls some money out of his pocked) Here. Don't mind my partner, he's lost his mind. Keep the change.

Schanke: Okay, out with it.
Nick: What? I'm hungry.
Schanke: Berman and Vinetti? You know I've seen magicians who couldn't pull rabbits out of thin air the way you did that.
Nick: Oh yeah, Sykes killed himself, but everyone who knew the guy knows he wouldn't have done it?
Schanke: How well do we know anybody?
Nick: And Berman. This guy's a cop without a regular beat, yet he's the first guy on the scene.
Schanke: He was tailing him, he said so.
Nick: Oh, he was watching him. Maybe through binoculars.
Schanke: Watched another cop kill himself? He could have stopped it.
Nick: Maybe he didn't want to. Berman and Sykes worked bunko in the 34th precinct years ago. I checked. The 34th. What's that mean?
Schanke: That's Vinetti's stomping grounds.
Nick: Right. So if Sykes hooked up with Vinetti that far back, he brought his partner in, or tried to. Well let's say they weren't even together on the whole thing, and then Sykes was on the payroll and he wants out. Or maybe he didn't even know his partner was in the same organization as him. I mean, you know, it's top secret, you know?
Schanke: Nick, it's paranoid is what it is. Berman has a reputation as a top cop. His reputation is beyond reproach.
Nick: All I'm saying is-- (Sees a girl and Nick kinda daydreams--that he bit her--as she walks by)
Schanke: Whoa.
Nick: Something's not quite right here.
Schanke: You okay?
Nick: Yeah, I'm just tired, that's all.
Schanke: What drug, exactly, is Natalie giving you?
Nick: Why?
Schanke: Cause you look weird, man. You look all sunburned. (Nick goes to a cab and looks in the window. His eyes are gold. He puts his sunglasses back on.)
Nick: Schanke, I got to go. I'll see you tonight. (He walks away)
Schanke: Nick, are you okay? Nick!

Nick mini-flashback:
Natalie: It was rejected in the test faze. If you can accept the risk, I might be able to cure you.
Janette: Don't ever assume that I'm like you, Nicolas. I'm not ashamed of who I am.
Nick: Just enough to get me through.
Natalie: You're talking like a junkie.

Nick: I can't be this anymore. I can't.

LaCroix: Hello Nicholas. Or should I say, good day?

LaCroix: Feeling poorly, Nicholas? Something new in the diet, perhaps? A new regimen?
Nick: Who invited you?
LaCroix: Friends as old as I don't need invitations.
Nick: Oh, Janette. Janette, Janette, you talked to her, she told you.
LaCroix: Told me what?
Nick: That I'm cured.
LaCroix: Oh...really...? Oh well then, if this is the cure, give me the disease.

Schanke: He is definitely not himself. Spent the morning with him, eating our way across town.
Natalie: Eating?
Schanke: Yeah, he porked like a kid at the circus. We stopped at every dog food joint we passed. It's like he hadn't had a meal in a hundred years. Oh something else. He's pushing this...weird conspiracy theory about Brian Sykes' suicide. Get this. Berman, the deputy chief of IA? Well Nick believes he's sweeping Sykes a little bit too quickly under the old Astroturf, with his own dirty laundry. He's also got one of his famous gut feelings that Berman is one of Vinetti's stooges, too.
Natalie: And what do you think?
Schanke: I think the gut feeling is one of the bad hot dogs he had this morning. I'm telling you, Natalie, he's wiggin'. He's manic. There's something wild in his eyes. First Sykes and now Nick. Two good friends in 24 hours. Do you think there's something in the water around here?
Natalie: He's delusional. It's the Litovuterine. I made a mistake, Schank. I think I might need your help.

Nick: She betrayed me.
LaCroix: Janette didn't have to say anything. A father knows when his children are in pain. He senses it. As keenly as he senses their rejection of his generosity.
Nick: Then look at this. (Goes to window, opens blinds, and stands in the sun) Do you see? Do you see? I'm changed. I'm cured. I have made it back.
LaCroix: You're deluding yourself, Nicholas. You have merely substituted one dependence for another. And what have you gained in the bargain? Pain, sickness, the promise of certain decay. Stop this foolishness, Nicholas.
Nick: You can't accept it, can you? You can't accept that I'm a human being again.
LaCroix: I am offering you a choice, Nicholas. The others, those who sustain our secret, will not view this with the same patience.
Nick: I'm not yours anymore.
LaCroix: You're wrong, Nicholas. (Steps into the sunlight) We are each other. You will always be mine. Eternally.

Nick: You can't do that. You can't.
Natalie: I can.
Nick: You can't.
Natalie: And I am. It's not working. The virus is mutating--it's changing itself into a form that's immune to the drug.
Nick: The drug works.
Natalie: (Puts the vial in a cabinet and puts a padlock on it) Yeah, in ever increasing amounts. In a week you'll be shooting it every hour just to maintain. In a month you'll be running it through an IV from a 55 gallon drum, for Christ's sake. Is that what you wa--
Nick: (Grabs her arm) I want to stay cured!
Natalie: It's not a cure, Nick. It's a fix. And it's not going to work much longer. You're reverting, whether you know it or not.
Nick: I see what's going on here. You're just like them. You want to control me.
Natalie: The drug is affecting your brain, Nick. You sound crazy.
Nick: Oh, do I? Do I? I can have my humanity back...but only for as long, and for as much as you're willing to give it to me. And..and..and, they will give me back my immortality, but only by night (Schanke enters as Nick grabs Natalie's wrist) and only for exchange for my Soul!
Schanke: Ah, I got here as soon as I could. Obviously I'm interrupting something.
(Schanke turns to leave and Natalie pulls her arm free and goes over by him.)
Natalie: No, no, no, I'm glad you're here. You're his partner. You talk to him.
Schanke: Um, Nick. I, ah, just wanted to say this before we started our shift anyway. I don't think it's a good idea for you to say anything about Sykes and Berman.
Nick: So, you're turning on me too. Your own friend isn't even cold in his grave and you're selling him out by your silence. (He walks over to Schanke)
Schanke: Nick, get a grip! You're talking like a candidate for the rubber room.
Nick: I'm gone. I'm gone, I'm outta here. (To Natalie) If you won't give me what I want, I'll have to find someone who will. (To Schanke) And if you won't help me, I'll have to do what I want...alone. (He leaves)
Schanke: Would you please tell me what's going on here?

Berman: Detective Knight. Now they told me you do the graveyard shift.
Nick: Yeah. Well I'm working on a special case of my own. I'm trying to get to the bottom of something really ugly.
Berman: Uh huh. Well hey, good luck. (Continues past Nick)
Nick: Berman. (Berman turns back and Nick pulls out the binocular's cap) You dropped something. (Tosses the cap to Berman)

Nick: I feel so weak.
Dr. Spense: We're purging your body of the contaminants that cause your syndrome. But the disease does not want to die. It's fighting us. (Gets something and then pins Nick down with metal manacles)
Nick: What are you doing? No, stop.
Dr. Spense: We have a few more experiments to conduct.
Nick: Stop.
Dr. Spense: We can't stop now. (Goes gets something again) Not if we're going to find...the cross! (Holds a cross up in front of Nick)

Nick's answering machine: Yeah, Nick Knight. I'm either in bed or incommunicado. So if you want to leave your name and number, go ahead. (It 'beeps')
Vinetti: Detective Knight. This is Jimmy, Jimmy Vinetti. If you want to know the whole story about Brian Sykes, meet me, Lakeside Industrial Park, one hour. Come alone.

Nick mini-flashback: (Just before he meets Vinetti)
Natalie: It's not a cure, Nick. It's a fix.

Natalie: Nick!
Schanke: So you think he's addicted already?
Natalie: It's not impossible, Schank. Some people become slaves to crack cocaine after just one taste.
Schanke: Man oh man, I hope this junk doesn't hit the streets.
Natalie: Yeah, well, I don't think you'll have to worry about that. It'd probably kill any normal person who tried it.
Schanke: Well it didn't kill Nick.
Natalie: No, but then he's got a very special constitution.
Schanke: Sure it was him that broke into the medicine locker?
Natalie: Only the Litovuterine was missing, Schank. I think he's really losing it.
(Natalie plays Vinetti's message on the answering machine)
Schank: (after the message finishes) Well unless I miss my guess, he's about to do something really dumb.

Vinetti: Detective Knight, I'm glad you could make it.
Nick: I'm glad you finally decided to talk.
Vinetti: Yeah well, you know. You said you want the truth about your friend Sykes.
Nick: I just want to get this whole thing over with.
Vinetti: Well, this is the truth. (Leans back, and the passenger shots Nick twice) Truth is, you were getting too close to the truth. Hey dump this trash. We'll pick you up. C'mon Freddie, let's grab a drink.

Schanke: Get down!

Schanke: (after done being shot at) You okay?
Natalie: Well, if you mean do I still have all my parts...yeah, yeah, I think so.
Schanke: Vinetti's errand boys. Nick's going to get the same reception. If he's on to something, he's really on to something.

Janette: Come. Come on, Nicolas. You were to have been his greatest find, the prize of his collection. Come.

Berman: (Seeing Nick in his way) What the hell?
Vinetti: Get the bastard.

Schanke: (?), go around the other side of the fence. Nick?
(Schanke and Natalie approach, and Nick flashes his fangs at Natalie with a slight smile)