The Cast: Mike Hammer; Helen; Bum

SCENE: Mike in near darkness in narrow passageway between two buildings. Lighting from left only, focusing on face. Mike smoking. He does not come in until he lights his cigarette, then the light holds. From outside camera range come feet running, pause, heavy breathing. BUM comes stumbling up, sees MIKE, is terrified.

BUM (breathlessly): Mike… Mike! (Then fast.) They're closing in. The cops got everything covered. There ain't no places that kill-happy maniac can get out. He's trapped on the street, Mike. (Pause.) Mike… he's around here someplace. Already he shot up two more. Like he said, he's gonna wipe out the whole street, piece by piece.

MIKE looks at him, lifts lip in a snarl that fades into a cold smile.

Mike (softly): beat it. (Then drags on cigarette.)

BUM: Yeah…. The great Mike Hammer. Nothing bothers him. Not even a maniac with a gun, or blood all over the street he grew up on. (Pause.) Maybe this'll bother you. Maybe you'll shake now. Maybe those eyes of yours will get alive for just once instead of being all dead inside. (Pause.) They're using your girl for a bait!

Here MIKE looks at him slowly, coldly, as if he doesn't care.

Your girl, Mike. Your Miss Rich-Britches who grew up on the street, too, and is marked same as us. Carmen hates her worst of all for what she's got and now the cops are using her for bait. They're smart, the cops. All the way from Park Avenue they call her in because they know how Carmen hates her. She's the bait, friend. You won't be marrying no dead woman, Mike. How do your eyes feel now, big boy?

MIKE (looks at him cautiously): Scram.

BUM: They'll get Carmen tonight. But he'll get her first. Maybe you, too!

MIKE cracks him one and stands there smoking.

SOUND: Girl's heels clicking. Fast. Faster. Stop. Then on again. Suddenly, HELEN steps into camera range. Sees MIKE. Eyes go wide, then happy, and she collapses on his shoulder.

HELEN (crying): Mike! (Head goes down, MIKE holds her, then head up.)

MIKE: Easy, kitten.

HELEN: Mike… you know what I've done?

MIKE: I know. You're nuts. Why, Helen?

HELEN: Mike… oh, Mike… the police asked me to. Mike… I thought you'd be proud of me if… if…

MIKE (overlap): If you baited a homicidal maniac into bullet range?

(HELEN nods, jerkily, frightened.)

I grew up on the street too, kid. I'm one of those he wants, too. Didn't you think I'd be in on it?

HELEN: I — thought you would… but I wanted to… help. Oh, Mike, I wanted you to be proud of me and now I'm scared. (Pause. She looks up, bites lip.) Mike… you don't know what it is to be scared. You…

MIKE: Don't I, kid?

HELEN: No… not like this. He's trapped here on the street someplace, Mike.

MIKE: (looks over her head into the darkness): The street. Putrid Avenue. Killer's Alley. They've called it everything. Just one street that isn't even alive and it can make murderers out of some people and millionaires out of others. One street, Helen. (Long pause. MIKE looks over her head.) I can hear them, kid. They're closing in now. There's no place for the maniac to go now. (Looks at her.) Can you imagine a mind filled with a crazy obsession for a whole lifetime? Imagine hating a street so hard you wanted to kill everybody on it. One stinking street that makes up your whole background that you can never escape from. Can you imagine that, Helen?

HELEN: No, Mike… it's incredible. It's almost… impossible!

MIKE: Is it?

HELEN: Your eyes… aren't looking at me anymore.

MIKE: That's right, Helen. They're watching you.

HELEN (eyes widen — softly): Mike!

MIKE: You're a great girl to love, Helen. A beautiful, talented louse. (Here HELEN injects a note of incredible curiosity into her look.) Beautiful enough to marry a playboy and leave the street. But the street was still there. You couldn't escape, kid. It kept coming back, didn't it? It came back until it showed on you and the playboy couldn't stand it so he gave you the heave. (Pause.) How you must have hated it. (Slowly.) Imagine hating one street so much you work a crazy man out of an asylum and have him try to kill off the whole street for you? It took talent to do that, kid. Enough talent to almost fool me.

HELEN: Mike… please. You don't realize… Carmen is still killing. Ten minutes ago he killed Gus and now…

MIKE: Nay. (Pause.) Helen… he wasn't the maniac. (Pause.) You were.

HELEN: (scared stiff; crying): Mike… no… you… loved me. We were going to… be married. You…

MIKE: So we were in love. Should it make a difference? Fourteen dead people. Should it make a difference? So because I loved you I'll do you a favor, Helen. Nobody will ever know. They'll have to think Carmen got you and I got Carmen. Like it that way, Helen?

HELEN: No! Carmen is the…

MIKE: He wasn't, Helen. Thirty minutes ago Carmen was dead… before the last murders. I shot him right here…

Camera goes to body on ground behind MIKE.

HELEN'S VOICE: Mike… you can't… (Suddenly choked off.)

MIKE'S VOICE: Don't pull your gun on me. So long, kid.

Camera catches HELEN, her neck in MIKE'S hand, sinking… slowly on top of Carmen. MIKE lets her fall, then flips cigarette on her back. Gun falls from her hand.