In a New York City police station holding room, officers Parkhurst and Mancini sit with an old man wrapped in a blanket. Mancini asks his partner if he’s going to back him up, but Parkhurst just offers the old man some coffee and he refuses it. The inspector comes in and asks Mancini what’s going on, and Mancini says that it’s the first time that he’s realized that all the craziness is real. Much to Mancini’s surprise, the Inspector complains that it’s cold.
The Inspector tells them to get to the point and Mancini and Parkhurst remove the blanket to reveal that the old man has had his arms surgically removed. Mancini explains that they found him on a subway bench and there were no scars, and says that it looks like he was born that way. The Inspector points out that he may have been, but Mancini says that they busted him a couple of days ago and he had arms then. Parkhurst refuses to back up his partner’s story and the Inspector tells them to work it out. He leads the old man out over Mancini’s objections and the man says that they took his arms when he was asleep by a toll booth, and he never felt it.
Once they’re alone, Mancini wonders why the Inspector took the old guy when it was his job. They continue waiting and Mancini complains that the Inspector is treating them like perps. The Inspector comes back and asks if they’re ready to talk, and Parkhurst reluctantly backs up Mancini’s story. Mancini says that they’ve heard stories from other cops of homeless people with missing body parts, but never any blood or scars. Parkhurst explains that they first heard about it when they came across a guy who was trying to play a guitar for quarters, but his fingers and thumbs were gone. Another man lost his teeth and tongue.
The Inspector asks them where they think the missing parts go, and Parkhurst says that he has a theory that they saw a man who has all the pieces... but they don’t match up. Mancini tells his partner that they were wrong, but Parkhurst insists that they saw the man down in the subway on the lower levels, early in the morning. The man walked away funny because of all the angles of his body. Mancini says that Parkhurst is overexcited, but Parkhurst says that he grabbed the guy and one of his shoulders was big and the other one was small. The man’s face was just as strange, and all he could do was croak because his head didn’t match his neck. Parkhurst figures the man couldn’t get enough air through his throat to do anything other than breathe.
Mancini tells the Inspector that they’ll take care of it and they don’t want to bother their superior with it. The Inspector says that it’s all right and tells them to stay there while he goes to see a few people. As he goes, the Inspector says that they did all right by telling him about it, and promises that they won’t regret it. Once he’s gone, Mancini figures that they can still work things out.
The two officers continue waiting until finally the Inspector comes back. He tells them that they’ll have to trust him on a lot of things that won’t be easy. They agree and the Inspector tells them that it could be a good thing for them if they handle it properly. He gives them confidentiality statements to sign and Parkhurst eagerly does so. Mancini hesitates and the Inspector tells him that they’re in the big leagues now, and they’ll have to stay quiet. He explains that nobody is supposed to have any idea of what is going on, but the important people he talked to don’t want them to tell. Mancini signs and the Inspector has them hand over their guns. Mancini obliges and Parkhurst hesitates and then does so as well.
Once the Inspector has their guns, he unlocks a door in the holding room and ushers them into the hallway beyond. It leads to a laboratory filled with tanks and equipment, and Mancini realizes that there’s someone in there. One tank is filled with moving hands, and a jar contains a human brain. Mancini finds another jar containing the head of a woman, apparently breathing. As he starts to scream, the Inspector tells them to be quiet because it isn’t nice down there. If they can’t cut it there, the Inspector warns the officers that they can’t use them. Mancini wonders if the head is alive, and the Inspector says that it’s been down there for years and just wanted a kiss.
The Inspector calls ahead, asking if the lab’s occupant is decent. They continue on and find the man that Parkhurst described earlier, smoking a cigarette. Mancini confirms that it wasn’t the one they saw on the subway, and the Inspector says that they have a lot of them out there but no one seems to notice them. The patchwork man puts on a policeman’s uniform, with a nametag of “S Partz,” and Mancini realizes that they built a cop. The Inspector says that Partz is an early model, and they’ve made much important people since then. Parkhurst wonders why, and the Inspector explains that they want people who are loyal, people who don’t ask questions.
The Inspector and Partz draw their guns, and the Inspector says that it’s a shame they won’t get to see the others. Partz laughs maniacally as Inspector says that now Mancini and Parkhurst are only good for parts.
Written by Gadfly on Sep 15, 2015