Silver - Interrogation (June 1963)

Back in 2011 on the old Tumblr site, I wrote this bit of dialogue. I wanted to write a script for an idea I had for Silver, a DC Elseworlds story about a few vigilante characters in a setting in a Civil Rights Era DCU in the 1960s. I left a lot of the plot under wraps because that's still a project I'd love to write of the publisher one day. Or, perhaps, I'd adjust it for my own superhero multiverse. Already wrote a similar story set in the 1940s for my main universe. 

I look at Silver as something that was a fun exercise, especially this dialogue I had with the main heroine and the guy who arrested her after a recent attack. It was the first time I realized that I absorbed a lot of what Elmore Leonard did with his books with his dialogues. It was a lesson I kept with me to this day. -jh

Officer: State your name.

Perpetrator: Black Canary

Officer: Your government name, ma'am.

BC: I plead the Fifth.

Officer: I beg your pardon?

BC: I plead the Fifth.

Officer: Miss Canary, you're not in a courtroom. Just an interrogation room.

BC: You're an officer of the law, but you're woefully ignorant of it.

Officer: What do you mean by that?

BC: It's bad enough you made me take off my mask, taking away the whole secret in the secret identity reason behind the mask - -

Officer: You're not supposed to wear a mask out there in the first place. It's a misdemeanor.

BC: Stupid law. What about on Halloween? I could wear one then, right?

Officer: Yeah, but it's June 19. Long ways from Halloween. I'm just asking you what your government name is, ma'am.

BC: And I told you I'm pleading the Fifth. Do you know the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution?

Officer: Yeah, I do.

BC: Then say it.

Officer: I don't have to say it. I know it.

BC: Then. Say. It.

Officer: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia - -

BC: Okay, okay, you know it. Good to know there are a few officers that know the law.

Officer: There are. We're still the good guys.

BC: My old man was a good guy too. He was a cop, like you. Got capped by another cop on the downlow.

Officer: I'm sorry to hear that.

BC: Yeah, but he did teach me how to defend myself. How to fight. How to protect others.

Officer: So, you're not just a pretty face.

BC: Oh, it's my face you're salivating over and not my boosted up breasts?

Officer: They're nice too, but...

BC: And how about my silky-smooth legs? They're covered in fishnets. Guess that makes me the catch of the day, eh?

Officer: I bet... LOOK! We caught you beating up someone on the street. And please take your legs off the table.

BC: You're no fun. He held up this older woman with a pen knife and stole her purse. I chased him and took it back.

Officer: But you snapped his ankle and nearly broke his neck.

BC: Is that what he said?

Officer: That's what the doctors said. He'll be lucky to get back on his feet within a month or two.

BC: He's lucky he's able to walk.

Officer: You're admitting you beat him up?

BC: I'm not admitting anything.

Officer: How about admitting you're a Negro?

BC: I'm not... excuse me?

Officer: Many Negro vigilantes use the word Black in their names. Black Bomber. Black Magic. Black Fire. It's fair to ask if you're one as well.

BC: I'm... I'm sorry.... that's stupid as hell... what?

Officer: Are you a Negro? Negress? I'm not sure the proper term is for women.

BC: No, I'm not a... wait, what if I was? You'd treat me worse than you are now or better?

Officer: No, no, it's not like that. It's cool if you were though. It's just that I've never seen a White girl call herself Black on purpose.

BC: Don't tell me you're another one of those bigots behind a badge.

Officer: Ugh, no. I like Negros. They're good people. Soulful folks. Grew up with a lot of 'em. My brother and sister do those Freedom Ride things down south.

BC: That's mighty brave of them. They're not much different than what a lot of us do. And for the record, down there, they'd be considered vigilantes too.

Officer: No, no, it's not the same thing.

BC: Sure it is. We're all righting wrongs in society that those in power can't and won't correct. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Officer: Poetic sentiment.

BC: Dr. King wrote that a few months ago. I do what I do because I grew up around injustice. We shouldn't be afraid to walk down the street because people see us as weak.

Officer: That's what police are for.

BC: But they're not always there for us. Sometimes, they're the ones causing us to live in fear. Can't wait for a Prince Charming to save the day.

Officer: Totally agree, but you don't have the right to break somebody's neck either. The court systems...

BC: ...are a joke. Is that guy in Gotham General Hospital or the prison clinic?

Officer: The prison clinic. He was arrested too. Fortunately for you, he's not pressing any charges against you.

BC: Why not?

Officer: He didn't want people to know know he got beat up by a girl smaller than him.

BC: Why the hell am I still here then?

Officer: Because I wanted to see you in the flesh. The Black Canary of Gotham City. Always thought you were an urban legend.

BC: I'm quite real. Can I go now?

Officer: Not without reminding you that you need to stop doing what you're doing before you get in trouble in my city. Otherwise, you'll be in jail for a long, long time.

BC: Yes sir, Officer Gotham.

Officer: My name is Lance. Detective Larry Lance.

BC: Well, Lance, Detective Larry Lance. Since your name ain't Gotham, this ain't your city either. It belongs to the people. And I'm the people's protector.

Detective Lance: Glad we understand each other. Just know the next time I see you...

BC: ...will probably be in your dreams, sweetie. And I won't be so nice.