Misty Knight quotes from Luke Cage

You know Benjamin Franklin said that the only way that three people can keep a secret is if two of them are dead. First Dante, now Shameek. Chico's the last man standing.

Benjamin Franklin? Didn't he electrocute himself flying a kite in a rainstorm? I wouldn't base any theories on that fool.

Misty

Benjamin Franklin is on the $100 bill sir.

Scarfe

So? He wasn't a president!

Misty

That's even more impressive! Come on, give the man some credit.

Scarfe

See... I thought you didn't have a boyfriend because you love the brothers, and not many brothers can get with a girl who carry a gun and kick their ass. But that's not the reason.

Misty

Oh, so now you're an expert?

Scarfe

The reason is you're a Celtics fan living in New York City.

Misty

I like the Pistons.

Scarfe

[groans] Oh shit!

Scarfe

Damn it, you're doing it again.

Misty

Damn it, you just broke my concentration.

Scarfe

As usual, your priorities are all out of whack. Now, you're looking at a picture of an empty husk of a building. I'm looking at millions of dollars of contraband.

Misty

You know this money belongs to Cottonmouth, allegedly.

Scarfe

Allegedly. Thing I can't figure out why would somebody go through all this hell outside, cause all this mayhem, and then leave the money behind?

Misty

To take it off the streets. Once it's logged, whoever it belongs to doesn't have access to it anymore.

Scarfe

That's quite a message someone's trying to send.

Misty

All that gunfire and no bodies.

Scarfe

Oh, you got that right. They are nobodies.

Misty

I mean, no bodies. Not one. Some big black dude in a hoodie takes on direct bullet shots slaps, punches and pulls people all over the place and doesn't kill a single one? That doesn't seem strange to you? It's like this person wanted us to shut this place down.

Scarfe

Who cares?

Misty

What?

Scarfe

I'm serious. Who cares? How many investigations from the time we put boots on the ground, begin and end in these projects?

Misty

Dozens.

Scarfe

And now somebody comes along and wants to clean up a year's worth of patrol work by himself? I don't see anything wrong with that.

Misty

A vigilante? Yeah. There's something wrong with that: it's anarchy. A complete breakdown of the system. There are rules and regulations to what we do.

Scarfe

And lawyers and paperwork and excuses? [He and Misty sit back down at their desks] Other than mopping up blood... and arresting the same piece of shit over and over, you know, not much we can do as cops.

Misty

Jesus, Scarfe, whose side are you on?

Scarfe

I saw the Incident up close. What we can do as cops, what we can't do. [motions to his duty pistol] Now, unless this sidearm that I'm wearing suddenly turns into some kind of magic hammer, this whole job is irrelevant.

Misty

They have no training! No responsibility. You have to know what you're doing. They don't have the right to just start weeding out justice. Come on!

Scarfe

Some guy in a hoodie hits various gun running spots around the city today? I think that's wonderful. I think we should thank him.

Misty

For doing our job?

Scarfe

Exactly. I don't like paperwork. But I'd rather get a papercut on my finger than a bullet in my ass. Look at—look at all them rounds! Look! [motions to Misty's wall of crime scene photos] You really wanna be in the middle of all this? And for what? For-for a chicken banquet dinner, and a photo with the Mayor as a reward? Shit. Hell no.

Misty

Wow. You are a credit to the badge, Scarfe.

Misty

You're a popular man.

Oh, uh... the ex-wife. Took all my money and she still needs the dick.

Misty

Glad to see chivalry isn't dead.

I see Carl's taste in women hasn't changed. He likes frizzy hair and a tight frame.

Misty

Carl? Who's Carl? You mean Luke?

Diamondback

No, I mean Carl, Misty. "Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." First Peter, chapter five, verse eight. See, my daddy was a preacher. Oh, come on. Aren't you gonna beg? Not even a little bit?

Misty

If you're going to shoot me, then do it.

Misty

I apply foot to ass. And match lead for lead. I put murderers in handcuffs. I don't just seek justice. I stalk it. And that much should go in my record!

With your resumé you could've been downtown years ago. Hell, you could've been a Fed! You chose to stay in Harlem.

Misty

I know this place, I know the players, and I can make a difference here.

Or use some of those old-school connections to make a little money on the side, like your partner.

Misty

I didn't know anything about Scarfe, or anything he was doing. He didn't buy new clothes, no new watch, no new girlfriend, no loose cock, nothing!

But he'd been working for Cottonmouth for years.

Misty

And I trusted him! So I didn't see it, and neither did anybody else in this damn department! So why do I get singled out for it?

Because you're the closest to him. [Misty shakes her head] It's written all over your face. Not seeing it bothered you, didn't it?

Misty

'Cause seeing is my thing, right? That's what made me such a good point guard. 'Cause I could see everything in my head. I knew exactly where people were gonna be, so I put the ball right where it needed to go.

But you couldn't see Scarfe for what he was? Or were you blinded by your emotions?

Misty

[scoffs] You wouldn't say that if I was a man!

Oh, that is not true.

Misty

Bullshit! Male cops can screw cop groupies in the back of their unmarked RMP, and you guys cheer. They get drunk, they fight each other in the parking lot and it's called "blowing off steam." There's always a double standard.

Misty

Domingo

Do I know you?

Misty

No, [pushes aside jacket to reveal police badge] but I know you. I've seen your rap sheet. How do you have time to commit crimes and train boxers?

I guess you must have to be good at multitasking.

Luke

I couldn't just lay in the gutter anymore. Pop knew about my abilities, so I put them to good use. I shut down Crispus Attucks personally.

Misty

That wasn't your job.

Luke

People needed someone who didn't require a warrant or shield to get things done. Call it a vigilante or a superhero, call it what you will. But like it or not, I finally accepted that that someone had to be me.

Misty

Maybe I could've helped you.

Luke

This burden is bigger than you. Or me. People are scared but they can't be paralyzed by that fear. You have to fight for what's right every single day, bulletproof skin or not. You can't just not snitch, or turn away or take money under the table because life has turned you sour. When did people stop caring? Harlem is supposed to represent our hopes and dreams. It's the pinnacle of black art, politics, innovation. It's supposed to be a shining light to the world. It's our responsibility to push forward, so that the next generation will be further along than us. Pop said his mantra aloud twice a day. Kids in the shop were pissed, but they could never unhear it. Never backwards.

[in flashback] Always forward.

Luke

Forward...

Misty

Always. [pause] You forget I grew up around the man.

Claire

I wish I could've met him.

Misty

In a way you have.

Misty

He was smashed by a heavy circular base. The coroner thought it was maybe the heavy wastebasket, but my vote? It was a mic stand. I went through Harlem's Paradise's inventory records with the stage manager and it turns out there was a mic stand that was unaccounted for.

Mariah

I've been around the music business my whole life, equipment goes missing. You can't trust niggas around equipment.