KUNG FU: THE LEGEND CONTINUES

"Force Of Habit"

Episode: #187445
FADE IN:

INT. CORRIDOR

MURDOCH
Get 'em. Looks like you didn't
make it, Billy boy. You always
run.

BILLY
Please. Just leave me alone!

MURDOCH
And you know, there's nowhere to
hide to, is there?

BILLY
Please! Just, just leave me
alone! Here! Here! Just take
it, man.

MURDOCH
You gotta get more lunch money,
Billy.

BILLY
I couldn't get any more! My Dad
won't give me any more!

MURDOCH
You cry so good, Billy. Turn on
the waterworks. No more second
chances.

BILLY (O.S.)
Come on, guys. Let me out! Let
me out! Please, guys. Let met
out!

MURDOCH
Come on. Let's go.

BILLY (O.S.)
Hey, guys. Come back. Please,
guys. Come back. Let me out.
Please, guys. Come back.

INT. STRAMM LIVING ROOM

STRAMM
My notebook's got the address
with the junkyard in it. Dammit,
where is my notebook? Emily?
Emily, have you been cleaning up
in here again? I mean it, right?
I told you not to touch my stuff,
right? Now where is it?
 3.

EMILY
I didn't put it anywhere. Marty,
I haven't seen it. Could it be
in your jacket upstairs?

STRAMM
No. This is the jacket that I
was wearing. I mean, come on.
Don't you notice anything?

EMILY
I didn't know it was important,
Marty.

STRAMM
My partner's dead. I mean, this
is very, very important to me.
For once, pay attention, Emily.
Hey, hey! Come here. Billy.
Billy. Come here. Come here.
Come here, let me look at you.
Peter, this is, uh, this is my
kid the wimp. Every day at
school he gets his head kicked
in, right? I mean, he just won't
fight. Nothing. My son.

PETER
I got kicked around awhile when I
was in the orphanage. Aw, you
take it until somebody starts to
make you mad. Then you do
something about it.

STRAMM
Yeah. But you just don't get
mad. Emily? Emily, are you
taking him to Dilallo's gym like
I told you to?

EMILY
Yes, Marty, I, I did that.

STRAMM
Yeah. Okay. Good. Good.
'Cause you know, I'm getting sick
of this crap. Now, you have got
to learn to fight, all right? My
notebook's gotta be upstairs.

EMILY
I...
 PETER
Did you take him to Dilallo's
gym?
 5.

EMILY
Billy and I, we both, uh, hated
that gym. Billy's a very
sensitive boy. I guess that's
not a very attractive character
trait in school these days.
Those boys... they, uh, they
scare him. And then he feels so
ashamed of himself. Now, I don't
know what to do. Marty says he
just has to learn to fight.

PETER
Fight or defend himself?

EMILY
Yeah. Well, is there a
difference?

PETER
Well, my father thinks there is.
You know, I think maybe he could
help Billy. He teaches kung fu.

STRAMM
Okay, Peter, I found it. It, uh,
it was in my other jacket! But,
uh, it was on the floor. You
know, you, you outta hang a few
things up. Okay. I got the
address on the junkyard, so let's
roll. Uh, honey, I'm gonna be
late for dinner.

EMILY
That's no problem, Marty. I'll
just put it in the oven. Be
careful. Take care of yourself,
okay?

PETER
Listen. Go to Chinatown, ask for
Caine. Anyone will know who he
is. Tell him Peter says: "A soul
that is lost must find a path
home." He'll help Billy.

SERIES OF SCENES

NARRATOR (V.O.)
The grandson of Kwai Chan Caine
walks out of the past.
 YOUNG PETER
But I want to fight.
 7.

CAINE
Yes. So did your great-
grandfather when he was your age.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
He teaches his son wisdom at a
Shaolin Temple. An evil force
destroyed that temple. Father
and son each believed the other
had perished. Fifteen years
later, they were reunited. Now
Caine, faced new challenges. And
his son grew up.

PETER
Look, I'm not my father. I don't
do kung fu. I'm a cop, that's
who I am, that's what I do.

CAINE
I am Caine. I will help you.

INT. CAINE'S STUDIO

CAINE
Grab my wrist.

EMILY
What are you doing?

CAINE
Avoidance. That is the first
lesson in self defense.

EMILY
Oh. I see.

CAINE
Take this. Throw it over your
shoulder. You must break my
grip.

EMILY
It's so simple!

CAINE
As all true actions in life are.

CAINE
You do not choose to fight. Yet
there are those who wish to harm
you.
 BILLY
It doesn't really matter. They
don't mean anything to me.
 9.

CAINE
What does mean something to you?
Grace? Beauty? Serenity? What
do you see in the painting?

BILLY
Bunch of lines.

CAINE
Just lines?

BILLY
Well, it, it kind a, it kind a
looks like a bird.

CAINE
Yes, but there is more. Where is
the bird perched?

BILLY
On a lake.

CAINE
You can see the tranquil
landscape. The stillness with
water.

BILLY
Sure.

CAINE
And the breeze? Can you feel the
breeze? Can you smell its
fragrance?

BILLY
Yeah. Like... like Echo Lake
after a thunderstorm.

CAINE
Well... the painting is of
harmony. If you can become one
with it, that is kung fu.

BILLY
And, and this harmony gets you to
where you can fight?

CAINE
Yes.

BILLY
Great! Teach my mom!
 11.

EMILY
Me? No, we're here for you,
Billy.

BILLY
Well, you can teach her, right?
Like, you can teach her how to
defend herself.

CAINE
Against whom?

EMILY
No, um... he, he's being bullied
at school. That's why we're
here. That's the only reason
that we're here.

CAINE
I would be honored to teach you
both. Please, come again
tomorrow.

BILLY
All right. We'll be here. Both
of us. Please, Mom?

EMILY
All right. If that's what it'll
take.

INT. UNMARKED POLICE CAR

STRAMM
Oland has gotta be here. How
many hours do you think we've got
until Strenlich pulls us off this
case, and brings in a couple of
rookies who are just gonna blow
the seams out? About forty-
eight?

PETER
I don't know. I'd say that's
generous. You just give it a
little more time. Give it a few
more hours.

STRAMM
No, I can't do that. I, I just
was so damn sure that we had this
place nailed down.
 13.

PETER
Well, we'll see.

STRAMM
I know we're gonna see. One
week, teflon-coated nine
millimeter on special at seven-
eleven. I mean, I just can't
have this contact wrong! He owes
me! He owes me big time! You
know, here we are sitting on our
hands. Oland's making a deal
somewhere else.

PETER
You know, why don't you just take
it easy on yourself.

STRAMM
No, can't do that. Stakes are
too high. You know, sometimes I
feel like I'm just losing it.

PETER
Losing what?

STRAMM
Everything... control. I mean, I
don't know. Sometimes, Pete, I
don't even know what I'm doing
anymore. I mean, you gotta know.
You gotta have control over, over
what you're doing.

PETER
No, no. Sometimes, you just
gotta sit back. Sometimes,
everything can't be in control.
You just gotta live with it.

STRAMM
No! No, I gotta have the edge.

PETER
Marty. Listen, I know about
living on the edge. Okay. But
you can't take it home with you.

STRAMM
What the hell is that supposed to
mean?
 PETER
Isn't that Orland?
 15.

STRAMM
That's our boy. Oh, great. Oh,
this is great. The deal's going
down right now.

PETER
Well, we'd better get some back-
up.

STRAMM
Don't have time. These guys are
like phantoms.

EXT. JUNKYARD

JESSE
Nice office you got here, Orland.

STRAMM
Okay, split up.

PETER
This is crazy, even for me.

STRAMM
Stay with me. Stay with me.
We're gonna bust these guys.

JESSE
Hey, I'd like a demonstration,
see what I'm sayin'?

ORLAND
No problem.

PETER
Hey. An '87 I-ROC. I was
looking for one of these. They
got great stuff here.

OLAND
I was gonna use one, but for you
we're doing double duty.

JESSE
Gee. Thanks, Orland.

ORLAND
Okay, gimme the gun. Are you
ready? That's one mean cop in
front of us.
 PETER
Oh, my God!
 17.

OLAND
It cuts through steel plate like
a knife through butter. Cops
wearing body armour or a T-shirt.
No difference.

JESSE
Great. You'll get your money.

STRAMM
Come one-come-on-come-on.

STRAMM
Police! Ain't this just a kick
in the head, Orland.

PETER
Aw, man, don't do what I'd do!
Freeze! Police! Aaaaaaaaaaah!
Aaaah!

STRAMM
We need Orland. We gotta get
Orland. Wait.

PETER
Ah! Aaaaaaaaaaaah!

STRAMM
I got him! Come on, Orland!
He's gone, man. We had him.
Pete. We had him, right here.

INT. POLICE STATION

HOOKER #1 (O.S.)
You got us all wrong!

HOOKER #2 (O.S.)
We thought, we thought those guys
were just asking for directions!

HOOKER #1 (O.S.)
Yeah. We're not prostitutes!

HOOKER #2 (O.S.)
We're from Nebraska!
 18.

INT. STRENLICH'S OFFICE

PETER
Okay. Okay, so we blew it. At
least he was right about the
junkyard. That was where Oland
was setting up the buy. Orland
is sitting on a truckload of
teflon bullets, Cop Killers. I
watched two of them cut through
body armour like they were paper
mache. If a punk like Jesse gets
a hold...

HOOKER #1 (O.S.)
I don't believe this. Why are
they doing this to us?

HOOKER #2 (O.S.)
It's okay.

HOOKER #1 (O.S.)
We have to catch a bus back home
tonight.

DUTY OFFICER
All right, sit right down here.

STRENLICH
We searched the junkyard.

PETER
He hid them somewhere else.

HOOKER #1 (O.S.)
Let us go.

STRENLICH
I am taking Stramm off this case.

PETER
You'll destroy him.

STRENLICH
He almost got you killed
yesterday! I would've beaten his
head in.

PETER
Yeah. Well, the thought crossed
my mind.
 STRENLICH
Stop protecting him.
 20.

PETER
Okay, it was a crazy stunt, but
it almost worked. Stramm had
surprise, he had a confession, he
had evidence.

STRENLICH
Now we've got all the rats back
in their holes.

HOOKER #1 (O.S.)
You don't understand.

HOOKER #2 (O.S.)
Will someone please listen to us?

STRENLICH
Not one single damned lead to any
of them!

YOUTH
Leave 'em alone. Back off. I'm
gonna kill somebody! I'm gonna
kill somebody.

STRAMM
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Everybody, whoa. What. What.
Kill? No you're not. It's too,
too hot out to kill anybody,
right? Tempers flare, people do
stupid things, it's that kind of
heat. Why don't we make a trade.
You give me the gun. And then I
give you swig of this nice cool
water. Fair exchange, okay? You
don't wanna hurt anybody. You're
obviously very smart to Stan
here. The idiot Stan let his gun
get taken away like that. I
mean, you've ruined his entire
day. Now why don't we just get
your day right back on the right
track, okay? There you go.
There you go. That a boy. Come
on.

OFFICERS
Down! Down!

HOOKER #1 (O.S.)
It's okay. It's okay, honey.
 DUTY OFFICER
I'm sorry, Marty. I just didn't
know how he got my gun.
 22.

STRAMM
That's okay.

PETER
Nice...

STRAMM
Nice.

STRENLICH
Yeah. Twenty-four hours. That's
how long you both got before I
turn this over to a special
squad.

INT. CAINE'S STUDIO

CAINE
You must use your opponent's
aggression against him. Hey,
show me. What is it this tough
guy does to you? a butterfly's
touch. Again! Harder! You hate
me! You wish to do me harm!

BILLY
Wow, that was pretty cool.

CAINE
In this way you break the
opponent's will. All battles are
battles of the spirit.

BILLY
You know, this is all great here.
And maybe someday, like, I'll be
able to like, avoid your attacks.
In the school yard it... well,
it'll be different. I'll be
scared.

CAINE
Ah. Fear... fear is your ally.
It makes your heart beat faster,
makes your responses quicker.
Your movements more sure.
Sometimes, fighting on will
destroy all. Remember, you must
yield to succeed.

EXT. JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL YARD

MURDOCH
Hey, there he is! Let's get 'em.
Hi'ya doing, whimp? Give it up,
wimp. Or do I have to take it
out of your hide?
 24.

STUDENT (O.S.)
Fight! Come on! Hurry up!
Fight! Beat him up, man!, etc.

BILLY
I gave you the money! What's
going on?

MURDOCH
Not quick enough. Come on.
You're gonna fight me, huh?

STUDENT (O.S.)
Come on, Billy! Come on! Come
on! Fight!

MURDOCH
Come on.

STUDENT (O.S.)
Come on, Billy, don't take that!
Come on, fight!

CAINE
Yield, Peter, yield...

FLASHBACK - COURTYARD OF THE TEMPLE

CAINE
Your opponent is strong. Make
him weak. He is determined.
Make him pause.

YOUNG PETER
I'm trying... I'm trying...

CAINE
Accident will be accepted at this
point. Yes. If you yield, you
will succeed.

BACK TO SCENE

MURDOCH
Come on.

STUDENT (O.S.)
Come on, Billy. Yeah. Yeah.
All right. Let's go, Billy.
Come on, Billy. All right.

BILLY
Stay out of my face. This ends
it, Ricky. No more.
 26.

STUDENT (O.S.)
Yeah! Billy! All right, Billy.
Way to work him.

INT. STRAMM LIVING ROOM

STRAMM
(into phone)
I'm telling you, Chief, Oland has
those bullets buried somewhere in
the junkyard! It's too risky to
move that stuff.

STRENLICH (V.O.)
We check the...

STRAMM
That's fine, I'll do it myself.
Emily?

BILLY
Hi, Dad!

STRAMM
Billy. Where's your mother?
She's always here at this time of
day.

BILLY
Uh, she had some errands to run,
she said.

STRAMM
Come here. Come here. So...
how's school. You get beat up
today?

BILLY
Nope!

STRAMM
No? What do you mean "no"?

BILLY
They tried, but, but I fought 'em
off. Oh, Dad, you shoulda been
there. Dad! It was great.
Okay, listen, there's this Ricky
Murdoch, he's, like, this ratty
kid at school, but he's tough.
He's really tough, and he hates
me, he came at me today.
 STRAMM
You kicked his butt?
 28.

BILLY
Yeah, I did!

STRAMM
That's, that's, that's great. I
wanna see this. Show me what you
did.

BILLY
Okay.

STRAMM
All right. Let's get in the
stance and you show me. Now I'm
gonna be this ratty little Ricky,
right?

BILLY
Okay.

STRAMM
And I'm gonna kick your butt.

BILLY
Okay.

STRAMM
So you gotta come at me and show
me what you...

BILLY
Ready?

STRAMM
All right. Ready?

BILLY
Okay.

STRAMM
Whoa. What kind of stance is
this?

BILLY
It's the "White Crane."

STRAMM
The white what?

BILLY
The, the "White Crane."
 STRAMM
What are you talking about?
Didn't your mother take you to,
to Dilallo's gym?
 30.

BILLY
I, I hated it there.

STRAMM
Wait. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where
did she take you?

BILLY
To Master Caine's.

STRAMM
Peter Caine's father?

BILLY
Yeah.

STRAMM
What, that fruitcake that runs
that kung fu academy?

BILLY
Yeah.

STRAMM
She took you there?

BILLY
Yes.

INT. CAINE'S KUNG FU STUDIO

CAINE
Yes.

STRAMM
What is this? What are you
doing? It's over for you. Get
in the car.

CAINE
Uh, the, uh, lesson is not over.

STRAMM
Yeah, it's over for her.

CAINE
I was thinking of yourself.

STRAMM
I got nothing to learn that you
could teach me. Would you just
stay in the car! Let's, uh,
let's have the money, please, my
wife and son paid for this.
 32.

CAINE
I have received no money.

STRAMM
That's good. You, uh, you just
stay away from my family, you
understand me? You will not turn
them against me.

CAINE
No one can do that but yourself.

STRAMM
You know, we, uh, we learn, we
learn this chop-socky crap when I
was in police training. You
know, it never did, never did
come up to a good uppercut.

EMILY
I'll leave, Marty. Right now.
I'm sorry. He's not usually like
this.

STRAMM
What'd you say? What? What?
I'm not like what? I'm not
usually like what? What, you
talking to this stranger, Emily,
about us? What is he, some, some
father, uh, some father figure?

EMILY
No, he's a priest, Marty.

STRAMM
Oh, priests who fight? You know,
in my neighborhood when I was a
kid, we had some like you. You
sit, you sit down. Come on,
let's see what you got. Come on,
kung fu.

CAINE
I have no desire to fight you.

STRAMM
Come on. Come on. Come on.
Let's see how it stacks up
against an old street fighter.
Come on.
 EMILY
No, Marty.
 34.

STRAMM
Come on. Come on.

CAINE
Please... do not do this.

STRAMM
Come on.

CAINE
Please. Please... do not do
this. I am sorry... this need
not have happened.

INT APARTMENT

CHERYL (V.O.)
Are you gonna come home tonight?

JOHN (V.O.)
I wouldn't wait up.

CHERYL (V.O.)
John, don't do this. I know
you're angry with me, but don't
take it out on the children.

JOHN (V.O.)
You've made your choice.

CHERYL (V.O.)
You really believe that?

JOHN (V.O.)
Oh, yeah. I got the message loud
and clear. You love Brad.

PETER
Cheryl Hynes, police!

JOHN (V.O.)
That's fine. You can't love us
both.

PETER
Aaaah!
 35.

INT. CHERYL'S APARTMENT

PETER
Freeze!

CHERYL
What the hell are you doing here?
You can't come in here! I ain't,
I ain't holdin'.

PETER
I just, I just wanna talk to you.

CHERYL
You sure I can't do something
else for you? I always give a
badge a discount.

PETER
Look, I just wanna ask you a few
questions, okay?

CHERYL
Go to hell.

PETER
Cheryl... Cheryl, where's Oland?

CHERYL
Are you crazy or something?!
Somebody sees you here... he'll
say I'm turnin' him! Then he
cuts a nice happy face right
here!

PETER
Nobody saw me here, okay? Just
tell me where he is.

CHERYL
You don't get it, man! I gotta
watch my back. Oland kills
people! Cops, too. He likes it.

PETER
Yeah, I bet he does. Look, I bag
him, we both sleep easy tonight
And tell me something, what has
Oland ever done for you, know
what I mean?

CHERYL
Get away from me.
 37.

PETER
Listen, I want him, Cheryl. And
I'm gonna nail him sooner or
later. Now you just tell me.
Soon is better. Tell me where he
is and when the next deal's going
down?

CHERYL
He was here. Stayed a couple of
nights.

PETER
No. Where is he now?

CHERYL
He's getting the deal together.

PETER
When?

CHERYL
A couple of days... I dunno. He
thinks he's gonna fool you...

PETER
Thanks.

INT. STRAMM HOUSE

STRAMM (O.S.)
Why did you take Billy to that
crackpot? I mean, was it for him
or was this for you?

EMILY (O.S.)
Of course it was for Billy. You
said you wanted him to be able to
defend himself.

STRAMM (O.S.)
Yeah, you made me look like an
idiot, Emily.

EMILY (O.S.)
Oh, stop! Marty, this isn't
about you!

STRAMM (O.S.)
You damn right, it's not! It's
about this family and what is
happening to this family.
 38.

EMILY (O.S.)
What is happening to it? Look at
us. Look at yourself! You are
tearing this family apart. I
know it's been difficult for you.

STRAMM
I guess so.

EMILY
The work and then Steve's death.

STRAMM (O.S.)
How'd you know a damned thing
about it! You did this on
purpose, Emily! You do it every
time!

BILLY
Dad, stop it.

EMILY (O.S.)
What? Tell me what is it that I
do?

BILLY
Stop it. Stop it. Stop it!

EMILY
What the hell do I do to you?

BILLY
Stop it.

EMILY (O.S.)
What is it I do to you that's so
damned unbearable you have to
practically put me in the
hospital every time?

STRAMM (O.S.)
You shut up!

BILLY
Stop it!

STRAMM (O.S.)
You shut up with that!

EMILY (O.S.)
No. I'm not gonna shut up.
 BILLY
Stop it! Stop it! Stop it, Dad!
Stop it! Stop! Stop it!
 40.

STRAMM (O.S.)
(inaudible)

EMILY (O.S.)
Aaah!

STRAMM (O.S.)
If you're gonna be a baby, you
should go cry in your room.

BILLY
I hate you. Mom? Oh, my God.
I'll kill you. Mom, no, no.

EXT. POLICE STATION

OFFICER #1 (O.S.)
Hey, how're you doing?

OFFICER #2 (O.S.)
Hanging in there.

MALE VOICE
Hey, look at my car.

INT. POLICE STATION

STRENLICH
Here again? Two wholesome girls
from the Midwest like you? They
gotta take this precinct off the
sightseeing tour.

DETECTIVE (O.S.)
Chief, Peter Caine on line five.

STRENLICH
(into phone)
Whaddya got?

INT. PHONE BOOTH - INTERCUT AS NEEDED

PETER
Uh, something from Orland's girl
makes me think the goods are
still in the junkyard.

STRENLICH
We searched it.

PETER
Well, I'm, I'm gonna check it
out, anyway.
 42.

STRENLICH (V.O.)
You're gonna find what a team of
experts missed?

PETER
Hey, you know us hotshot cops.
We look at the world of junkyards
differently.

STRENLICH
You want back up?

PETER
Nah. Nah-nah. I'm probably just
pulling my own chain.

INT. STRAMM HOUSE

EMILY
Who is it?

CAINE (O.S.)
Caine.

EMILY
Come in.

CAINE
I was concerned by the way your
husband left. You are in need of
a doctor.

EMILY
No. I am in need of a new life.

CAINE
You love your husband.

EMILY
Yeah. I love him.

CAINE
But at no moment do you feel safe
with him.

EMILY
Not any more. It started
happening about three years ago.
You deny it at first... there's
nothing really wrong. Oh, sure
your... your husband hauled off
and hit you in the face, well,
well, that was... probably your
own fault.
 44.

EMILY (CON'TD)
And then it happens again. But
he's, uh, tired, and stressed
out, and angry. You tell
yourself next time how you're
gonna do something about it.
What can I do? Shall I call the
police? Marty is the police! I
know I, I stayed for Billy's
sake. And I, I tried to keep it
from him, but he knows. And it's
just tearing him apart.

CAINE
And your husband?

EMILY (O.S.)
Yeah. Him, too. I know that
Marty loves us. But he's so full
of rage. All the violence he
sees every day. I'm frightened.
I'm frightened the next time
he'll kill me.

CAINE (O.S.)
No.

BILLY
Oh, my God.

CAINE
Where would he go?

EMILY
Uh, the Agrippa Club. It's where
all his police friends go.

CAINE
Yes, I know the place.

INT. AGRIPPA CLUB

STRAMM
Are you here to fight, or you
here to drink?

CAINE
To sit. If I may.

STRAMM
Suit yourself. You've been to
see her, haven't you?
 CAINE
Yes.
 46.

STRAMM
Yeah. I don't know why I take it
out on her. I mean, she's always
been there for me.

CAINE
Perhaps that is the reason. You
see in her all that you have lost
in yourself.

STRAMM
I've become this thing that I
hate the most. It's like being
around them -- sees mindless,
violent scum, cops you have to
wade through everyday -- and it's
infected me. I let it in, and
now it's taken over.

CAINE
But that is not the truth. It
has not taken over, it was always
there.

STRAMM
I try to drive it out, but I
can't.

CAINE
No one can. It is bred in the
bone. Peace walking side-by-side
in harmony with rage.

STRAMM
How would you know about rage?

CAINE
All the violence, all the evil
you find in yourself, I have in
me -- perhaps more strongly.

STRAMM
You're a priest... you're a
priest.

CAINE
I am also a man.

STRAMM
So how do, how do you deal with
it? Tell me. Tell me how, how
can I suppress it, or ignore it,
or drive it out?
 48.

CAINE
You cannot. I cannot. It is too
powerful to drive out and you
must not ignore it.

STRAMM
So what do I do?

CAINE
Embrace it.

STRAMM
Embrace it?

CAINE
Yes. That is what binds us
together. Knowing it is there...
and here... enables us to
understand each other. It allows
us to forgive one another. And
ourselves.

STRAMM
I'll try. I'll try, but God
knows it ain't gonna be easy.

CAINE
To try is all any of us can do.

INT. STRAMM HOUSE

EMILY
Billy, where are you, honey? You
in here? Billy...? Oh, dear
God, Billy no.

INT. AGRIPPA CLUB

STRAMM
Uh, Emily's not there. She's not
picking up the phone. Um, it's
just the usual pattern. I'll call
the precinct to see if there's
any calls for me. Yeah, Frank.

STRENLICH (V.O.)
Marty.

STRAMM
Yeah. Anyone call in for me?

STRENLICH (V.O.)
Peter called in with a lead.
 50.

STRAMM
Peter, Peter called in with what?

STRENLICH (V.O.)
He's going back to the junkyard.

STRAMM
Well, did you give him any back-
up?

STRENLICH (V.O.)
No. It's a dead-end.

STRAMM
W-w, a dead-end. Yeah. Yeah,
right. Right. I'll talk to you
tomorrow, Frank. I gotta go.

CAINE
Is it my son?

STRAMM
Yeah. Yeah. He's, uh, checking
out a hunch that makes me
nervous. Hey, Phil, how much?

BARTENDER (O.S.)
Five bucks, Marty.

CAINE
I will come with you.

STRAMM
Com...? Well you backed me up
pretty good all night. Why not.

EXT. JUNKYARD

PETER
The tow truck. The damn tow
truck. That's the last place
they thought anyone would look.

OLAND (O.S.)
I love this place at night. It's
like a walled city, you know?

JESSE (O.S.)
Yeah. Yeah.

PETER
Oh, damn. It's going down again.
 51.

JESSE
Oh, man, are you stupid or
sometin', huh? Are you crazy
comin' back to the same place?

OLAND
That's the beauty of it. Who
would ever think I'd come right
back here again, huh? I'm a
genius.

PETER
Yeah, you're not quite a genius.
Whoa!

JESSE
Oh, man. Somebody there, man.

OLAND
Hey, I remember you, cop.

PETER
Nice doggie.

JESSE
He's alone!

PETER
No I'm not. Am I?

JESSE
Stoney.

OLAND
Sure. You're gonna do it all by
yourself. Take us all down.
Ain't that right?

STRAMM
Hey, uh, I thought you might need
a little backup, buddy.

PETER
You thought right. How many did
you bring?

STRAMM
Just me and your father.

STRAMM
He, uh, he was right behind me.
 PETER
I'm sure he was.
 53.

OLAND
Testing, testing, one, two...
Three.

PETER
Okay. Looks they're gonna
surrounded us.

STRAMM
Yeah.

PETER
Okay. What do you say we clean
up this mess?

STRAMM
Sounds like a plan.

BOTH
Aaaaah!

EXT. REAR OF PRECINCT

DISPATCHER (V.O.)
Roger. Suspects apprehended.
John Orland and associate Jesse
Tate, in junkyard at corner of
87th and DeSoto.

OFFICER #3 (O.S.)
Hey. Way to go, guys.

STRAMM
After you, partner. Billy! Go!
Billy.

OFFICER #3 (O.S.)
Look out!

STRAMM
(shouting)
Hold your fire! Do not fire!
Hold your fire! This is my son.
It's my fault. For God's sake
please don't fire. No one fire!

STRENLICH
(softly into radio)
This is Strenlich! No SWAT
alert! Repeat, no SWAT back-up!

STRAMM
 (soft)
Billy... You came here to kill
me?
 55.

BILLY
I'm not gonna let you hurt Mom
any more. The next time you'll
kill her. That's what she said.

STRAMM
No, Billy. No. I swear to God I
will not hurt your mom again. I
will never hurt your mother
again. I swear. Please.
Please, Billy, just put the gun
down. These men, they'll shoot
you, Billy.

BILLY
I gotta do it, Dad. I got no
choice. I gotta do this.

STRAMM
No. No, don't, don't. Honey,
don't. Oh, my God, what have I
done? Please... please don't,
Billy.

CAINE
(softly)
No purpose will be served by
this.

BILLY
I have to do this! Now just get
out of the way or I'll shoot you,
too! I swear I will! Now just
get out of my way!

CAINE
There will only be more misery.
Remember what I told you about
the man who yields?

BILLY
To fight on, to destroy
everything. You must yield to
succeed.

CAINE
The taking of a life, brings no
one honor. Your father loves
you. He loves your mother. Give
him the chance to prove it now.

EMILY
No. No, Billy!
 57.

STRAMM
Easy, Emily. Easy.

BILLY
He won't hurt her again?

CAINE
No.

EMILY
Oh, Billy.

STRAMM
I'm sorry.

EXT. STREET

PETER
You gotta get one of these with
everything on it? They're the
best. What did I eat when I was
at the temple?

CAINE
Rice.

PETER
Did I like that?

CAINE
No.

VOICES
Just put it down, huh? / Hey,
Tony. / Yeah. / Come here, etc.

PETER
You know, Stramm quit. He had to
get off these streets. They're
not just mean. They're
unforgiving.

CAINE
What will he do?

PETER
Well, he's in therapy right now.
I think when he gets out he's
gonna pack up the family and move
to some one-street Colonial town,
where people walk and talk and
listen, smile at each other.
 58.

CAINE
Perhaps we should do that as
well?

PETER
Naw, I don't get that lucky. I'm
stuck in these streets. I see
one quick move, and I'm going for
my gun. It's like force of
habit. A guy could be reaching
for his handkerchief.

CAINE
You do not trust.

PETER
I'm a cop. How can I? You know,
it's, it's not what I do, it's
what I am. You know, in a lot of
ways, I'm no different than
Stramm. Sometimes I've hurt
people. Sometimes I kill people.

CAINE
When you have no other choice.

PETER
You said there's always another
choice.

CAINE
When an army does battle, what
follows is sorrow and silence.
You must find a path through
them.

PETER
Violence cuts holes, tears holes,
like, holes so big you can drive
trucks through them. Nah, I
don't think there's any way that
any of us can heal wounds that
big.

CAINE
Hope.

PETER
Get real, Pop. I gotta go to
work.

VOICES
Come on, move it. / Doug...?

FADE OUT.

THE END
 KUNG FU: THE LEGEND CONTINUES

"Force of Habit:

CAST

CAINE

PETER

YOUNG PETER

STRENLICH

BILLY

MURDOCH

EMILY

STRAM

ORLAND

JESSE

YOUTH

HOOKER #1

HOOKER #2

CHERYL

BARTENDER (O.S.)

DUTY OFFICER

STUDENT (O.S.)

OFFICER (O.S.) #1, #2, #3

MALE VOICE

DETECTIVE (O.S.)

DISPATCHER (V.O.)

NARRATOR (V.O.)