BRIMSTONE Episode #101 “Pilot” Ezekiel Stone wakes on a subway car. It is empty, void of people, as is the station at which he exits. Slowly, he walks up the stairs, rising from beneath the earth. Only when he reaches the street does he find himself surrounded by people. The sights and sounds of his location are familiar to him, and Ezekiel recognizes that he is in his hometown of New York City. His steps are purposeful as he walks to a church. He enters the confessional, crossing himself before speaking in a modest tone, "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been a long time since my last confession. I was a cop, and good at my job. I was married. I had a good life." A pause, while Stone braces himself to continue speaking, "Then my wife was raped. We, uh, caught the guy who did it, but he got off. I tracked him down... and I killed him..." There is an echo, "killed him.., killed him..." "This is a terrible, terrible sin, my son," the priest tells him. "Two months later I cornered this petty thief who had a gun. He opened up on me, and I took five bullets to the face and neck... and I died. And because I had killed a man in cold blood, I went to hell," Stone tells him. The priest sits there in shocked silence for a moment, and Stone asks, "You okay in there, Father?" When there is no response, Stone continues. "You know it's funny, but even in the most maximum security penitentiary, from time to time, inmates will escape. It happened on Devil's Island, it happened at Alcatraz, and six weeks ago, it happened in Hell. One hundred and thirteen of the most vile creatures who ever walked the earth escaped. And now they're back." The priest responds, "But the Prince of Lies, the Master of Hell, surely having his subjects back on Earth, spreading chaos and destruction, all this would bring a smile to his face." "I don't know, Father. You of all people know that even the Devil has to answer to a higher power. He screwed up, and now he needs someone to fix things. Someone to track down these creatures... and send them back to Hell.” "Why are you telling me this... this, ridiculous story?" "Oh, come on, Father,” Stone says coldly, as the camera zooms in on his face, “I think you know why." The wood in the confessional creaks and breaks, and the priest runs. Stone bolts after him. The priest scampers across the street and is hit by a taxi. He continues on, unharmed, glancing furtively over his shoulder to see Ezekiel Stone following him. He runs down an alley, only to realize he has been cornered by a chain link fence blocking the path. Stone stands at the mouth of the alley, and trains his gun on the priest. "Time to give the Devil his due," he says. Just then, a squad car pulls up, lights flashing and sirens blaring. Two officers jump out of the car. Detective William Kane speaks first. “Drop it,” he orders. “You deaf? I said drop it!” His partner, Charlie Hirsch, trains his gun on Stone. With a sigh, Stone lowers his weapon. Kane pushes him against the squad car. Hirsch goes after the priest, asking, “Father, are you okay?” But the priest is gone. Where he stood just a moment ago, a gaping hole now stands in the chain link fence, the edges still glowing cherry red from where someone or something burned through it. B R I M S T O N E Hirsch touches the fence, burning himself. “Son of a bitch.” He hollers back to his partner, Detective Kane, who has Stone handcuffed and bent over their squad car. “I’m going to go find that priest before he gets hurt.” “All right,” Kane replies. “You working the kids, right?” Stone asks quietly. “What?” “The missing altar boys. How many so far?” “Why don’t you tell me?” Kane replies. “Oh, you think I did it, huh? It was the priest you geniuses let escape.” “The priest you were running around trying to kill?” Kane mocks. “You know, you can go to Hell for something like that.” “Already been there,” Stone mutters. “You know what I think?” “I could care less.” “I think it was you that snatched those two altar boys. The father spotted you trying to snatch number three, so you decided to take him out, huh? No witnesses.” “Two,” Stone repeats. “Thanks for your help, officer.” Stone puts his foot against the car, pushing off of it and tumbling back onto Detective Kane. Stone smashes the back of his head into Kane’s face, then rolls away. He stands, handcuffs dangling from his wrist, and picks up his gun. As Kane clutches his nose, Stone jogs away. # A few blocks away, Stone enters a hotel. The clerk, a young woman with a nose ring, eyes him as he enters, and so do the other people hanging out in the lobby. Stone approaches the desk and speaks, his voice low, “Room, please.” “$62.50 a night, cash up front,” the clerk tells him. Stone spots the baseball game on the television. “Oh, the Yankees and Reds. I haven’t seen a World Series since, uh, ‘83.” “Series? What series?” the clerk asks, looking up from the form she is filling out. “This is interleague play.” “Wait a minute, interleague?” Stone repeats. “Like, the National League and the American League play each other during the regular season?” “They been doing this for two years, where you been?” “Out of the country.” “Whereabouts?” “Down under.” “Huh.” She slides a key across the desk to him. “There you go. The elevator’s busted, but you’re only on the third floor.” Stone takes the key and walks off, muttering under his breath as he does so, “As long as I’m going up.” # The room isn’t much. A red neon sign glows just outside his window, and police sirens pass by on the street. As the sirens die down, a toilet flushes next door. Stone sighs, and takes off his jacket. He steps to the sink and wipes the cracked mirror, staring at his reflected image as he turns on the water. As he washes up, he discovers strange runic tattoos on his body. He hears a voice, "The names of the fugitives. Penned in my native tongue, of course." To the sound of mocking laughter, Stone prowls out on the fire escape with his gun drawn. The Devil sits there on the railing, silhouetted by a freak flash of lightning. "You know, they planned this for centuries. Totally unprecedented. Oh, there have been a few, over the millennia, who've slipped through the cracks. Isolated incidents. Never anything like this. They think they'll beat the Devil. They're wrong, Ezekiel. Nobody beats me." "What are you doing here?" "Well, it's your first day on the job, you dropped the ball, I'm thinking maybe I picked the wrong guy." "Yeah, maybe you did." The Devil laughs. Stone continues, "He was stronger than me, faster. He even burned a hole through a chain link fence." "After all, he was my guest for nearly a century. You were with me what, fifteen years? The longer you are in hell, the more it becomes a part of you, literally. Some of those that escaped have been mine since the dawn of time, and have the powers to prove it." "Terrific, nice odds." "Relax. You all play by the same rules, more or less." "More or less?" Stone asks. "Well, you're already dead, so you can't be killed, or even feel pain, unless it is inflicted by another damned soul." "So how am I supposed to send them back?" "Did I forget to tell you that part?" The Devil laughs. "It's the eyes, windows to the soul. Anyone, alive or dead, destroys the eyes, and the damned get a one way ticket back home to Hell." "Including me?" "Silly question, Ezekiel. Last time I checked, you were one of the damned. Now, stop asking questions, and get back to work. It's the only way you'll ever earn your second chance at life on earth." "Yeah, about that second chance," Stone begins, the Devil smiling appreciatively, "How does that work, exactly?" "That's for me to know, and you to find out -- in the event you actually succeed at rounding up all one hundred and thirteen of your wayward brothers and sisters." "One hundred thirteen to one, huh? Great." The Devil stands behind Stone and speaks into his ear. "Remember, Mr. Stone, Gilbert Jax was a rapist, not a murderer. He didn't kill your wife. You had no right to kill him. God's universe doesn't work like the American legal system. You do something, you pay for it." "That is all I was doing," Stone responds forcefully, "I was trying to make the bastard pay." "Yes, yes," the Devil whispers, "now that's what I like to hear. The indomitable spirit, and righteous indignation of the human species. I've heard it a billion times, defending a billion atrocities, and it's still music to my ears." "Listen pal,” Stone shoots back, “you need me as much as I need you. You may be all powerful down below, but up here, you're just another corporate big shot who's trying to cover his ass. Now, if you can't police your own, no one is gonna ever be afraid of you again." The Devil, smiling again, has only one response. He holds up a single digit on his right hand, and pushes Stone off the fire escape. Stone lands unhurt on the ground, and brushes himself off. # In the eleventh precinct, Detective Kane is showing around a sketch of his assailant. He has a bandage on his nose. “It’s very strange,” his boss, Tibbetts, tells him, “I’d swear your suspect is Zeke Stone.” “Who?” “Homicide Detective worked out of Manhattan South before your time. I was his sergeant after he got the gold shield. Good cop. Can’t be him though.” “Why not?” “He’s dead. Got blown away by some trigger-happy punk, oh, must have been fifteen years ago.” Tibbetts turns to leave. “Night, Will.” “Hey, thanks,” Kane replies, thinking over the new information. He stares at the sketch. # At a museum, Ms. Gilliam is herding a group of school children from one room to another. The priest we saw earlier is there also, and he watches them come in. “So how many of you have been to a museum before?” the teacher wonders. “Oh, almost everybody. So you know how to behave, right? No touching anything, no fooling around,” she tells them. The priest approaches, quoting, “Happy hearts and happy faces, happy play in grassy places, that was how in ancient ages, children grew to kings and sages.” Ms. Gilliam crooks her head, considering. “Did you write that, Father?” “Oh, no, it wasn’t me, no,” he chuckles. “It was Robert Louis Stevenson. Yes, he wrote that in 1885, just a few years after this was painted. It was a better time then, more innocent. This city was clean, unspoiled. In those days, when it snowed, it didn’t turn to gray, ugly slush. It was white for days on end. Like heaven.” “You sound like you were there.” “Oh, but I was.” The teacher looks at him oddly, so he clarifies, “In my dreams, of course.” “Oh,” she says, relieved. A student approaches them and interrupts the conversation. “Ms. Gilliam, I’ve got to use the bathroom.” “One second, Chris,” she tells him. “Austin, Billy, cut that out!” “I’d be happy to take him, if you’d like,” the priest offers. “Oh, thank you, Father. Would you?” “Yes, come on,” he replies, smiling as he holds his hand out to the young boy, Chris. As he leads the child away, Ms. Gilliam turns back to her group of children. “Stop that. Cut it out!” ACT TWO In the restroom, the priest and the boy wash their hands. “Well, Christopher, did you enjoy seeing the pictures in there?” the priest asks. “Not really. The museum’s boring. I wish we’d take a field trip someplace cool.” “Did you know that Saint Christopher was said to have carried the Christ child across a river?” “I can’t swim,” Chris says. The priest laughs. “Neither can I,” he says. “Do you go to church?” “I kinda have to now,” Chris says dejectedly. “I started serving as an altar boy this year.” The priest considers this. “You know, I have a friend who works at the Central Park Zoo.” “Really?” “If we leave now, we could make it by feeding time. I’m sure I could persuade my friend to let you feed the animals yourself.” “You think so?” Chris replies, enthused. “Well, perhaps not the lion. But certainly the lamb.” “Well, I don’t know,” Chris says. “How are we going to make it back before the end of the field trip? And if Ms. Gilliam finds out I’m gone, I’ll going to be in a lot of trouble.” “Not nearly as much trouble as you’re going to be in if you don’t come with me,” the priest says, leaning in towards the boy. When they are face to face, he growls. Chris tries to run, but the priest snaps him up. He begins to open the window in the bathroom, only to be interrupted by another man entering the room. “Hey,” the man demands, “What are you doing to that kid?” The priest does not respond, but lunges toward the man, his right hand stretched out in front of him, his left hand holding the child tight to his body. Chris tries to scream, but he is muffled by the priest’s grip. # Back at the police station, Kane has told Hirsch his speculation. “So, you think our guy is Lt. Ezekiel Stone, N.Y.P.D., killed in the line of duty in June of ‘83? Okay,” Hirsch paraphrases. “I know it sounds crazy,” Kane argues, “But I’ve got a theory. Seven months before Stone was killed, his wife got raped. They caught the guy, Gilbert Jax, but couldn’t put a case together against him, so he got off.” “And?” “And, two months before Stone was killed, Jax turns up dead,” Kane says. “How?” Hirsch asks. “It was a drug overdose, ruled accidental. The guy was an habitual user, real piece of scum. End of story.” “Except...” “Except I.A. doesn’t think it’s the end of the story. They start an investigation against Stone, but before they can put a case together, he turns up dead, half his face shot off. ID had to be made using forensics and departmental records.” “So what are you telling me?” Hirsch demands. “So what I’m telling you is Stone killed Gilbert Jax, and made it look like an OD. Internal Affairs is closing in on him, after the rape, his marriage is on the rocks, his whole life is going to Hell. He’s got no reason to stick around and risk going to jail. So, he found a way out.” “So you think he faked his own death?” “Makes sense,” Kane replies. “That’s fine detective work, Will, except for a few things that don’t make sense. Like, what is he doing back now? Why is he in an alley, chasing a priest? And what is a hero cop doing killing little altar boys? Even if he was alive, which he isn’t.” Hirsch walks off, and Kane is left to consider this. # Ezekiel Stone returns to the church he visited the night before. It is nearly deserted, and he walks down the aisle and approaches a priest near the front. “Father Horn?” he asks. “Yes?” “Detective Ezekiel Stone, N.Y.P.D. I need to ask you some questions about the priest who was working the confessional last night.” Stone holds out his badge, and we see that the priest is blind. “Would you hand me your badge, please?” Father Horn asks. Stone does, and the priest feels it before responding. “That would have been Father Solinas. May I ask what this is about, Detective?” # In Father Solinas’s room, Stone looks around. Father Horn is having trouble believing the charges. “These accusations are ridiculous. I can’t believe Father Solinas had anything to do with this.” “Edward Solinas had a whole other life you know nothing about, Father. You spend all your time with God, Solinas keeps different company.” "Don't think because I'm blind, I don't know what goes on outside these walls,” Father Horn tells him. “Six years ago, I was walking home from the grocery store late at night when a man dragged his wife out on the street and started beating her head against the sidewalk -- what you police call a domestic dispute. I tried to stop him; I didn't know he had a gun. Luckily, he was drunk at the time and his aim was a little off. The bullet shattered the bridge of my nose and grazed one eye. Muzzle flash took care of the other." While Father Horn is speaking, Stone is searching for clues. He turns on a lamp, but Father Horn doesn’t react. “Brightest light you’ve ever seen. Think you’re going to heaven then you wake up someplace else.” “How do you know that?” “I knew someone who was shot in the face.” “Did he survive?” “Nope,” Stone says, going through Father Solinas’ wardrobe. “What happened to the woman?” As the priest answers, he comes across some old coins. "Heard she testified on her husband's behalf. At first, I thought it might be a blessing, not to have to look human evil in the face again. But I was wrong. In the end it just made it harder to believe, to keep faith in the justice of God's universe. And it gets worse every day." Stone seems torn about what to say next, but finally decides to ask, "Did you ever want to make him suffer?" "I struggled with that,” Father Horn replies. “But what good would it have done? It wouldn't bring my sight back." "There is justice, Father,” Stone tells him, walking by him as he heads for the door. Detective Kane bursts in, his gun drawn. “How you doing?” “Sorry about the nose,” Stone says, nonchalant. “I should go to church more often,” Kane says, pleased with himself. “Put your hands on the dresser.” Stone looks at him, and Kane shoves him, “Come on, over there.” Father Horn is unable to observe this interaction, and asks, “Detective Stone, what’s happening here? Do you know this man?” “He’s not a detective, Father” Kane tells him. “Not anymore. He’s a suspect in the disappearance of those two altar boys. Father, I want you to go to your office and call my partner, Detective Charlie Hirsch. Eleventh Precinct.” “You’re wrong. Whatever this man is, he’s not a criminal,” Father Horn says. “Father, go to your office and call the police. Now.” Kane turns his attention back to Stone. “And you, spread ‘em. Spread ‘em!” Stone bows his head. “Do what he says, Father.” Father Horn begins to exit the room, but as he approaches Detective Kane, he shoves him, pushing him into the corner. Stone takes advantage of the distraction, and leaves the room the quickest way he can - by jumping through a stained glass window. He heads to the roof. # On the roof, Kane appears behind Stone. “Freeze!” he yells. Stone looks back over his shoulder at him, then continues on. With superhuman abilities, Stone jumps to the next building. Kane runs after him. He looks down into the alley below - he is far above the street. Panting after the chase, Kane decides to imitate his suspect and leap across. Stone watches as Kane backs up, hopping several times to psyche himself up. With a yell, Kane charges and leaps. Instead of easily clearing the alley like Stone, Kane almost falls short, but manages to grab onto the fire escape. He tries to pull himself up, but is unable. Stone approaches, shaking his head sadly as Kane struggles. Stone leans over and grabs Kane by the wrists, but Kane fights. The sequence is similar to something Stone has done before, and it triggers a flashback for him. Two months before he died, he’d struggled with Gilbert Jax almost the same way. Both times, the other man had had a panicked look in their eyes. Stone recalled the way he’d held the needle, how he’d pinned Jax to the bed just before injecting him with the overdose. Kane struggles, but Stone effortlessly pulls him up and over the fire escape. When he lands, Kane staggers, trying to catch his breath. "You saved my life," he says, stunned. "Maybe I'm not the bad guy you think I am." "I know who you are. You're Detective Lieutenant Ezekiel Stone. You broke the Saint Mark's strangler case in ‘81. You solved the Levy brother's double homicide in ‘83. You were one of the most decorated cops in Manhattan South.” Stone looks at him, surprised to be recognized. Kane continues, “Then one day, your wife got raped, and you snapped. You killed a suspect." Stone, who had begun to walk away, stops. He turns and marches right for Kane. Kane tries to pull his gun, but Stone gets right in his face and answers, "He was guilty." "Wait, so are you. Tell me what you know about this case." “You wouldn’t believe me if I did.” “Why not?” “Because you seem like an intelligent man.” “You know what?” Kane demands, “Maybe I’m not as bright at I look. Try me.” "The man behind this is Edward Solinas, a priest who started seeing the four living creatures from the book of Revelations here on earth." "‘Four living creatures'? What is that?" Kane asks. "Chapter four, verse six. The four holy beasts who have something to do with the second coming of Christ, only there's a catch: they can't play their role unless they're in heaven. Solinas started seeing the four creatures in the faces of children, altar boys to be exact." Stone pauses as he turns away from Kane. "He killed sixteen kids in Italy before he was finally forced to escape. Ended up here in the United States, in 1896." Kane clearly does not believe this, but Stone continues anyway, "where he killed 8 more kids. Right here, in this city, before he was stopped. Now he's back, for more." "1896 - that's crazy." Stone continues, "The only thing going for these kids is that he sends them all back to heaven together. He won't kill one till he has all four. Which means there’s time." As Stone walks away, Kane says "Wait a minute." This prompts Stone to turn and clarify what Kane had said earlier, "Oh, yeah, there’s one more thing: I wasn't one of the most decorated cops in Manhattan South, I was THE most decorated." “Stop it, you know what, I want the truth.” “I told you the truth.” “You stop, or I’ll blow your legs out from under you.” Stone shrugs as he continues to walk away. Kane fires three times, striking him in the legs, but Stone doesn't stop, just jumps off the roof and keeps going. Kane peers over the edge, where Stone is casually jogging away. ACT THREE Kane arrives at the museum, lights flashing in his squad car. “Where’s it at?” he asks. # In the museum bathroom, Hirsch is there, along with a team scouring for evidence. “Hey, sorry I’m late, I got here as quick as I could,” Kane says. Hirsch fills him in what has happened. “We got a third one missing, Christopher Logan, age 11. We also got this here.” Kane looks at the imprint in the door, and the trail of ooze that leads to a body. “Look behind the stall,” Hirsch tells him. Kane opens the door, careful to use his elbow as not to leave fingerprints. “Whoa! Looks like someone burned their hand right through his head.” “Looks like.” “What about the boy?” “Teacher says he was last seen with a priest.” Kane looks at the ooze. “What’s all this stuff?” “Found it all over the floor and on the body.” Hirsch tosses Kane a sample. “Here.” “Three out of four,” Kane says to himself. “What?” “What do you know about the Bible?” “What part?” Hirsch asks. “Revelations, chapter four-” “Sorry, wrong bible. I’m the old testament. You go your way, I go Yahweh.” “I think those kids are still alive,” Kane says. # In his pawn shop, Irwin Dollinger is looking at the coins that Stone brought in. He puts down the magnifying glass and looks to Stone. “Forget about paying for the kid’s college with these, my friend. You might get a few bucks from a museum.” “What are they?” “Subway tokens, circa 1900, give or take a few years. Bit of a collectors item, but not really valuable.” He hands the tokens back to Stone. “Thank you.” # In the eleventh precinct, Kane is on the phone. “Hey, it’s the lab,” he tells his partner. “So what was that stuff?” Hirsch wonders. “Sodium chloride, it’s a H2SO4Na(Cl2)2 compound.” “What do I look like to you, Mr. Science? What does it mean?” “It means that whoever was in that bathroom has a hell of a glandular problem.” Hirsch shoots him a questioning look, and Kane continues, “That stuff on the window sill? It’s human sweat, but two thirds of it was made up of sulfur.” # “Here you go, it’s the earliest one we have,” the museum curator tells Stone as she hands him a map. “Great, thank you,” Stone says, as he takes another paper from his pocket and lays the translucent sheet over the map. It shows streets and subway lines. The curator watches, coming around her desk to stand next to him. “What is it you’re looking for?” “The east fork of the original Lexington Avenue line, no longer in use.” With a red felt pen, he makes marks on the map. “What are those?” “Churches. Both within a couple blocks of the line.” ”Are you looking for a place to pray?” she wonders. “Do you have any idea what year this part of the line was shut down?” “Um, it was probably during World War One, when they were expanding into the outer boroughs.” “What did they do with the old tunnels?” “They’re still there. They didn’t fill them in, just sealed them up with bricks and mortar.” “Can I borrow this?” She laughs. “No, that’s museum property, it’s very valuable. I can make you a copy.” “That’d be great. Also, I wanted to, donate these to the, uh, to the museum.” Stone takes the old tokens from his pocket and hands them to her. “Um, thanks,” says the curator. She pauses, building up courage say something else. “You know, Detective, the museum closes at six. If you’re not doing anything, I could tell you more about the history of New York’s underground, say, over a drink?” “I’m very, uh, flattered,” Stone replies slowly, “but I’m married.” “Well,” she says, “It’s too bad.” As she walks away to make a copy of the map, Stone adds, “Not to mention dead.” # Stone visits the house that he used to live in with Rosalyn. It’s a nice looking two-story brick house. The front door is unlocked, and he walks in. He looks around, his memories of their life contrasting with the redecorated house. In the kitchen, it is clean and white. Stone runs a hand over the counter, summoning an image of Rosalyn cooking. He watches as she takes a turkey from the oven, and walks past him, smiling. He walks to the back of the house. He remembers Rosalyn when she put up the wallpaper in the den: now, it’s just painted blue. Upstairs, in their master bedroom, he hears the sound of the shower running. Rosalyn steps out and sees him watching. She drops her towel and smiles at him. Stone knows she is not really there, and he picks up the towel from the floor. Cut to Stone sitting on the front steps, thinking. Finally, he stands, and heads back to work. # In the police basement, Detective Kane is reading through old files. He finds a picture of a man in a hangman’s noose - it is Father Solinas. “Guilty on all eight counts,” he says to himself, reading the text of the accompanying article. “Sentenced to death by hanging. Sentence carried out November 21st, 1906.” A hand falls on his shoulder, and he reacts violently. “Geez!” It’s Hirsch, and he’s just as surprised by Kane’s reaction. “Will you calm down, Will?” “Come on,” Kane protests. “You’re going to give us both a heart attack! What are you rifling through all this crap for? These files have been dead since before both of us were born.” Kane hands him a file. “I got a name, and it wasn’t in the system. Then I remembered the computerized system only goes back to 1945. Anything before that, you have to come down here and get your hands dirty.” Hirsch gives the file a cursory glance. “What do you mean, before that?” “Here, listen to this,” Kane says, pulling out a Bible. “It’s Revelations, chapter four, verse six. ‘I was in the spirit. And there before me was a throne in heaven, and in the center, around the throne were four living creatures.’” Kane hold the Bible out to his partner, but Hirsch doesn’t move. “Yeah, I heard you.” # In the old subway tunnel, Solinas has the three children tied up. He places animal heads on the children, speaking over the sounds of the subway trains rumbling by in the background. “And the first living creature was like a lion,” he says, placing the mask onto Christopher Logan. He blesses him before continuing, “The second living creature was like a calf. The third living creature had a face like a man. And the fourth living creature will be revealed unto me tonight.” ACT FOUR Stone uses the old maps to find the entrance to the subway. Inside, he walks the tracks, looking at the graffiti and making his way to the old subway line. He comes across more tokens like the ones he found earlier. As he stoops to examine them, he hears a child moaning. His gun drawn, Stone finds a locked door leading further into the tunnel. He searches inside, watching for any sign of Father Solinas. As he shines the beam of his flashlight around the room, he spots the missing children. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” he reassures them. “I’m a policeman. I’m not going to hurt you, all right?” He removes the animal heads. “Are you guys all right?” He cuts their ropes, and asks Chris, “You. The man who did this to you, did you see where he went?” “He went to get another kid,” Chris answers. “All right, this is what we’re going to do,” Stone says. “We’re going to get you out of here as fast as we can.” # “Look, Will, there’s got to be another explanation,” Hirsch says, as the two ride through the rain in their squad car. “People do not come back from the dead.” “How do you explain the physical evidence, huh?” Kane counters, “What about the photograph?” “There’s nothing that says that this priest is anything but another run-of-the-mill psycho. As for the 100-year-old photograph, so what? I see people all the time that look alike. My cousin looks like Lee Harvey Oswald; does that mean he shot Kennedy? I don’t think so.” # Stone helps the children up onto the street. “All right, remember, Detective Kane, you ask for Detective Kane, right?” he tells them. “Right.” “Say it,” Stone says, watching them climb up the ladder. “Detective Kane,” a child repeats. “That’s it. Hang on now. Hang on.” # “What about the eight bullets I pumped into Stone’s leg, huh? How do you explain that?” “Kevlar leg armor,” Hirsch responds. “I saw it last month in Soldier of Fortune Magazine. $69.99 a shin.” “Unit Seven, respond,” the police radio crackles. “Yeah, this is Unit Seven, go ahead,” Hirsch says. “We just received a 911 call from Lexington and 21st. They asked for Detective Kane by name.” “Yeah,” Hirsch confirms. He rolls down his window and puts a flashing red light on top of the car, and speeds up as the siren wails. # In the subway, Stone is waiting in ambush. # Unit Seven arrives on the scene. Kane spots the children first. “Look, look, right there, there they are. It’s them.” “My God,” Hirsch says, unbelieving. “It’s okay,” Kane says, leaping from the car and striding toward the children. They step back in fear, but he continues, “No - no, it’s okay, we’re police officers. You guys okay?” Hirsch takes off his jacket, and Kane follows suit. “You guys cold? Come here.” The two men wrap up the children with their coats. “Put this on. Where’d you kids come from?” Hirsch asks. “Down there,” Chris says, pointing at the grate leading into the subway. “Okay, don’t move. I’m going to go,” Hirsch says. “I’m going with you,” Kane announces. “No you’re not. You call E.M.S., and you call for backup,” Hirsch tells him. “You stay here with these kids until somebody comes. Keep them safe.” Kane nods, addressing the kids briefly Hirsch walks away. “Hey, you guys, don’t move, all right? I’ll be right back, I’m going to the car. Don’t move.” Hirsch disappears into the ground, and Kane comes back from the car carrying a folder. He opens it up, and shows them the 1906 picture of Father Solinas. “Is this him?” “Yeah, it’s him,” the children say. Chris has something else to say. “There was another man. A policeman.” “Policeman?” “The one who saved us. The one who said to call you.” Kane considers this. # Beneath the streets of New York, Detective Hirsch finds the same hole in the brick wall that Stone used to cross into the abandoned tunnel. He uses his lighter to see, but as he crosses through the wall, a breeze blows it out. He flicks it once, twice, three times to light it again. Hirsch turns and finds Father Solinas standing there. Before he can react, Solinas plunges a cross into his chest. Hirsch drops his lighter, then collapses from the fatal blow. # Stone is still waiting in ambush for Father Solinas. He hears a noise, and trains his gun. Someone steps out into his view, and Stone sees it is the fourth child, hands tied and his mouth gagged. From behind Stone, Solinas appears and clubs him with a meter long lead pipe. “I know who you are,” Solinas says as Stone falls to the floor. “You are a soldier of Satan, one of those who conspired to cast me down into the pit.” Each sentence is punctuated by another blow with the lead pipe. “One who would try to prevent me from my holy task,” he shouts. “But I am a soldier of God!” Solinas tosses the pipe away, and kneels beside the weakened Stone. “You can never stop me! I will find them again, and send them back to heaven.” Solinas takes out the cross that he killed Hirsch with, and we see it that the horizontal bar is sharpened on one end. Solinas repeats, “I will send them all back to heaven.” He draws back with the cross. Kane arrives, pushing the child to safety. “Don’t move!” he shouts, training his gun on Solinas. They lock eyes for a moment, and then Solinas, chuckling, prepares to bring the cross crashing down into Ezekiel Stone’s eyes. Unable to wait any longer, Kane opens fire, striking Father Solinas in the chest twice. There is no effect, even when Kane fires three more times. Ignoring him, Solinas again aims for Stone’s eyes with the cross. Out of options, Kane runs and tackles Solinas, knocking him off of Stone. They fight on the floor. Stone tries to let Kane know about the weakness of damned souls, calling out “Eyes. Eyes,” in a low, raspy voice. Kane hears, and continues to struggle with the damned soul. When Solinas throws him off, Kane jumps on his back. Solinas tries to get free, and resorts to ramming Kane through a brick wall. The two men fall back into live subway tunnel, Kane landing flat on his back with Solinas on top of him. The sound of a subway train is growing louder, and Kane sees it bearing down on them. He manages to roll Solinas off of him and jump up. Solinas staggers to his feet, but it is too late. As the subway reaches them, Kane presses himself against the tunnel wall. The train rams Father Solinas at full speed. Kane watches the subway go by. After it passes, he looks at Solinas’s dead body on the tracks. Unfortunately, Father Solinas is not slowed down by something as insignificant as a train accident, and he stands up unharmed, smiling and chuckling. “Behold, I am coming soon, my reward is with me, and I will give unto everyone according to what he has done.” He raises his hand, ready to burn through Kane’s face. Behind him, Stone appears at the hole in the wall that they crashed through. He trains his gun, and as Solinas finishes speaking, Stone gets his attention by speaking his name. “Solinas.” Father Solinas slowly turns, and Kane, seeing the gun and realizing he is in the line of fire, ducks. As soon as Stone has an opening, he takes it, destroying Solinas’s eyes with two well placed shots. Solinas screams as a maelstrom of supernatural energy sucks his soul back into Hell. Kane and Stone watch from opposite sides off the tunnel. When it is clear, Stone crosses over to Kane and helps him up. “Let’s go. Come on.” As Kane rises, Stone cramps up in pain. He pulls his left sleeve up, and sees smoke rising from the runic tattoo there. As the two men look on, it disappears. Kane shakes his head, trying to comprehend. # Back on the street, Kane stand silently, watching as more police cars pull up to the intersection where the children wait. Stone comes up behind him and asks, “You okay?” “I don’t think so. You know, everything you told me, all this,” he laughs wryly, “it’s insane.” “It’s not as insane as interleague play,” Stone observes. “What?” “Listen, I’m, um, sorry about your partner.” “Yeah. You know, at least the kids are okay.” He pauses. “I don't know if it matters," Kane says, "but I was going through your file and your wife is still collecting your death benefits. I mean, she lives in California someplace. I don't remember the address exactly. I just..." he trails off. "Oh, uh," Stone says, hailing a taxi. "what you said to me on the roof of the church, about me being guilty? Maybe if, I was in the same place, same moment, if I had it to do all over again... I don't know." After a pause, Kane asks, "Hey, what happens now? You just keep tracking these guys down?" "Beats burning in hell," Stone replies smiling, getting into his cab. "Hey," Kane says, waiting for Stone to look back at him, "knowing all this...you know, how it works... it's all right." He begins to walk away. "Kane," Stone calls, "knowing is the easy part." Kane thinks over what Stone says, and gives him a wave as the taxi pulls out into the night. Out of the thousands of cabs and millions of faces in the city, how many are occupied by damned souls? Only time will tell.