Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)

Larry Bryggman: Arthur Cobb

Photos 

Quotes 

• Inspector Cobb : [to Simon]  I can appreciate your feelings for McClane. But believe me, the jerk isn't worth it. He's stepped on so many toes in this department, by this time next month he's gonna be a security guard. His own wife wants nothing to do with him, and he's about two steps shy of becoming a full-blown alcoholic.

  John McClane : [whispering]  One step, *one* step.

• [after dropping McClane off in Harlem with a sign that says "I hate niggers"] 

  Inspector Cobb : We'll be back to pick you up in fifteen minutes.

  John McClane : Take your time. I expect to be dead in four.

• Zeus : [in Walter's office]  Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm not going anywhere.

  Inspector Cobb : Simon says you got to go.

  Zeus : I'm not jumping through hoops for some psycho! That's a white man, with white problems. You deal with him. Call me when he crosses 110th Street.

• Charles Weiss : [coming into Walter's office]  A nut who knows a lot about bombs. We found this in a playground. Professional. Very cool stuff. You know...

  [thuds the bomb on Cobb's desk] 

  Charles Weiss : Boom!

  Inspector Cobb : You think you should slam it around like that, Charlie?

  Charles Weiss : It's unmixed. You can't hurt it. This stuff is cutting edge. It's a binary liquid.

  Inspector Cobb : A what?

  Charles Weiss : Like epoxi. Two liquids.

  [puts a dab of the clear liquid on Cobb's desk] 

  Charles Weiss : Now, either one by itself,

  [hits it with his shoe] 

  Charles Weiss : you got nothing. But, mix them...

  [swirls a paper clip in both liquids and throws it at a chair, the mixture explodes violently knocking the chair across the room] 

  Connie Kowalski : [yelling]  Charlie, you're gonna be wearin' that chair up your ass!

  Inspector Cobb : [yelling]  Christ almighty, Charlie!

  Charles Weiss : Like I said very cool stuff. Now, with a package like this, you get a warning. Now, the bomb has to arm itself. You'll see the red liquid pump into the clear before it detonates.

  John McClane : How long before?

  Charles Weiss : Ten seconds, two minutes, it could be anything. But, once it's mixed, be somewhere else.

• FBI Agent : [in the police van with FBI agents]  The name Gruber mean anything to you, lieutenant?

  John McClane : [remembering Hans Gruber falling from Nakatomi Towers]  It rings a bell, yeah.

  Ricky Walsh : L.A.

  Inspector Cobb : What?

  Ricky Walsh : That thing in the building in L.A.

  FBI Agent : Peter Krieg was born Simon Peter Gruber. He's Hans Gruber's brother.

  John McClane : [to himself]  Holy shit.

  FBI Agent Andy Cross : Yeah, it's that thing in L.A. We figure he's got you fitted up for a toe tag, and he's gonna do anything to get it tied.

• Inspector Cobb : [over the phone after telling him there are dump trucks driving on the FDR highway carrying gold bricks]  Have you been drinking, McClane?

  John McClane : No, not since this morning.

• Simon : [over the phone in Walter's office]  s there a detective named McClane there?

  Inspector Cobb : He's on suspension.

  Simon : No, Walter, he's not. Not today.

  Inspector Cobb : Who is this?

  Simon : Call me Simon.

  Inspector Cobb : What do you want?

  Simon : I want to play a game.

  Inspector Cobb : What kind of game?

  Simon : "Simon Says". Simon's going to tell Lt. McClane what to do, and Lt. McClane is going to do it. Noncompliance will result in a penalty.

  Inspector Cobb : What penalty?

  Simon : Another big bang in a very public place.

• John McClane : Why me? What does it got to do with me?

  Inspector Cobb : I have no idea. He just said it had to be you.

  John McClane : Well, it's nice to be needed.

• Dr. Schiller : They want you to know who's doing it to you. So this name Simon is probably not an alias. It's probably Simon or some variation.

  Joe Lambert : [reading a rap sheet]  Simon, Robert E. Busted in '86. Extortion. Kidnapping. 10 to 15. Did 7 years for good behavior. Released on a state work furlough two months ago.

  Inspector Cobb : Check it.

  John McClane : [Rick tosses something to John]  Thanks, Rick. Bob Simon was a bankrupt businessman who kidnapped his partner's daughter. He's a fuck-up, not a psycho. The guy we're looking for is nuts.

• Inspector Cobb : Get hold of Muson in Triborough. Tell him to close all the East River bridges north of 59th Street. Lookin' for dump trucks.

  Connie Kowalski : Dump trucks?

  Inspector Cobb : McClane says there are dump trucks headed up the FDR loaded with gold.

  Connie Kowalski : Walter, they don't allow dump trucks on the FDR!

  Inspector Cobb : [irritably]  Connie!

  Connie Kowalski : All right! You don't want I should argue, I won't argue, no matter how stupid it is.

• Inspector Cobb : [over the phone with Simon in Walter's office]  McClane is a toilet bug.

  John McClane : [puzzled, he whispers]  A toilet bug?

• Connie Kowalski : [tailing John and Zeus]  Okay, they made it to the phone, but there's a problem.

  Inspector Cobb : Oh, what do you mean? How big a problem?

  Joe Lambert : Oh, about 300 pounds.

• John McClane : [arriving for Simon's task in Harlem]  So... where's the backup gonna be?

  Inspector Cobb : [after an awkward silence]  We're gonna drop back to 128th Street.

  John McClane : What? Ten blocks? Are you fucking kidding me? Oh, that's just great! Hey, Walter, what is this all about, huh?

  Inspector Cobb : If we don't do what this guy says, he's gonna blow up another public place.

• Inspector Cobb : Kowalski! Lambert! You know where to find McClane?

  Joe Lambert : Well, I kinda doubt you're gonna find him in church.

  Inspector Cobb : Well, you better find out what rock he's under and kick it over.

• Inspector Cobb : [after Zeus insults Simon]  Simon, he wasn't speaking for all of us.

  Simon : That was unpleasant. Don't let it happen again. So, what's your name, boy?

  Zeus Carver : Don't call me "boy".

  Simon : I'm sorry. It was a poor attempt at humor. I was going to send you home with a chiding, but now I think perhaps you should join the game.

• Inspector Cobb : Frankly, John, you haven't been...

  John McClane : Hey, Walter, how 'bout you mind your fucking business about Holly, huh? Between you and Simon, you're fucking up a perfectly good hangover.

• Bill Jarvis, from Another Organization : We read your jacket, Lieutenant. We were told you would be cooperative.

  John McClane : Cooperate with what?

  Inspector Cobb : Hey, now wait a minute. He will be.

  John McClane : What do you mean cooperate? He's wasting time here in this goddamn van.

  Inspector Cobb : You wanna share information, how about sending a little our way, as well?

  FBI Agent Andy Cross : Look, we wanna hear what he knows first.

  Inspector Cobb : What the hell? You give us pictures and then...

  FBI Agent Andy Cross : We want to hear what he knows first.

  John McClane : Hey, I know as much as you know, all right? There's a guy out there setting off bombs. He calls himself Simon. He speaks with a German accent. And for some reason, he's very angry with me. Now, maybe you can tell me why, fellas, huh?

• Inspector Cobb : John, this is Andy Cross with the FBI. This is Mr. Jarvis. He's a...

  Bill Jarvis, from Another Organization : I'm, uh... with another agency.

• John McClane : I wanna thank you for that vote of confidence, Walter.

  Inspector Cobb : Well, I thought it was worth a try. This guy's a raving lunatic.

  Dr. Schiller : He-he couldn't be any clearer if you got it from a case history. He gave you clues to his identity. He spoke German. He called it "your Fort Knox." And he stammered when McClane pushed him.

  Inspector Cobb : Now, you believe this guy really can't be bought?

  Dr. Schiller : There's no chance. The very mention of money only enraged him further.

  John McClane : [glancing at him, Cobb takes a badge out of a drawer and puts it on the desktop]  What's that?

  Inspector Cobb : It's your shield.

  John McClane : You asking me to be a cop again, Walter?

  Inspector Cobb : Ricky, get him his gun.

  John McClane : You didn't answer my question.

  Inspector Cobb : Joe, this time, they go with backup.

  John McClane : Hey! You didn't answer my question, Walter.

  Inspector Cobb : [tossing the badge to him]  Are you done, Lieutenant? Now, you two better get going if you're gonna get up to 72nd Street on time. Joe, this time they go with backup.

• Joe Lambert : What's up?

  Inspector Cobb : McClane was mentioning something about the Federal Reserve Building. Isn't that right near that Wall Street bomb site we just left?

  Joe Lambert : Yeah.

• Inspector Cobb : Gentlemen, we have a decision to make. Chief Allen. The man who has done this has told us that he has planted another very large bomb in a school here in the New York area. And he has told us that we cannot evacuate, but he has not said that we cannot *search*. Now, I recommend we get everybody, and I mean everybody - I'm talking about police, transit, sanitation, fire, even the goddamn librarians - and we start searching schools, and I mean right now. I'm talking about a thousand buildings within the city limits, and we have three hours and 15 minutes to do it in. Now, I'd like to keep the media out of this as long as possible, because if they get in, we've got a panic. Are we in agreement?

  Simon Gruber : [watching them disperse from a nearby rooftop]  They bought it. You can begin. Hook, line...

  [seeing a line of dump trucks approaching] 

  Simon Gruber : ... and sinker.

• Simon Gruber : This, gentlemen, as they say, is where the plot thickens. I have put 2,400 pounds of explosive in one of the 1,446 schools in greater New York. It is fitted with a timer set to explode at exactly 3:00 p.m. Thank you. Your silence says I'm understood.

  Inspector Cobb : Did you say 2,400 pounds?

  Simon Gruber : Yes, but please don't interrupt again. Simon says, if you attempt to evacuate schools, the bomb will be detonated by radio; and gentlemen, someone will be watching. Repeat, one school will be dismissed at 3:00 p.m., permanently, unless...

  Inspector Cobb : Unless what?

  Simon Gruber : Unless John McClane and his new best friend complete the tasks I set them. John, are you listening?

  John McClane : Yeah.

  Simon Gruber : The pay phone beyond Hope Tompkins Square Park. Twenty minutes. Go by foot; no rush. If you're really clever, you'll learn the location of the bomb and the code to disarm it. Oh, and by the way, gentlemen, we got something of a bargain on radio detonators. The only problem is the darn things seem to respond to police and FBI frequencies. So if I were you, I'd keep off your radios.

  Inspector Cobb : Simon, wait.

  [Simon hangs up] 

  Inspector Cobb : 2,400 pounds of that liquid stuff. My god. Get me the commissioner.

  Officer Jane : He's doing a press conference. He's supposed to be here in half an hour.

  Inspector Cobb : All right, Ricky, get every senior officer on the site and get 'em here right away. You're not gonna give me any jurisdictional nonsense on this?

  FBI Agent Andy Cross : I got two kids in the school on 64th Street. What can I do to help you?

  Inspector Cobb : How many men have you got?

  FBI Agent Andy Cross : 75. But if I push the panic button, I can get 500 from Washington.

  Inspector Cobb : When?

  FBI Agent Andy Cross : 2:30, 3:00.

  Bill Jarvis, from Another Organization : Between now and then...

  Inspector Cobb : We're gonna have to do this all by ourselves.

• Charles Weiss : [finding the school bomb]  Well... I'd say you could call off your search.

  Inspector Cobb : Can you stop it?

  Charles Weiss : I shouldn't even touch it. Who knows what kind of booby traps this thing's got. What about the code?

  Inspector Cobb : No word.

  Joe Lambert : When do we evacuate?

  Inspector Cobb : Simon says he sees one kid leave the building, boom!

  Joe Lambert : Fine, there's a chance that somebody's still watching, but we can't stand here with our thumb up our ass waiting for this freaking thing to blow up!

• Simon : [over the phone in Walter's office]  Where are my pigeons now?

  Inspector Cobb : Pigeons?

  Simon : I had two pigeons, bright and gay, fly from me the other day. Why was it they did go? You cannot tell, you do not know.

  Inspector Cobb : You mean McClane?

  Simon : No, I mean Santa Claus.

• Dr. Schiller : This guy wants to pound on you 'til you crumble. He wants you to dance to his tune, and then...

  John McClane : Put on a dress and fuck me?

  Dr. Schiller : I was going to say kill you. He's sitting on an awful lot of rage, and it could be manifested physically if he's stressed.

  Inspector Cobb : Someone he arrested? Somebody he pissed off?

  Joe Lambert : That could be one hell of a long list.

  John McClane : Fuck you, Joe.

• Inspector Cobb : [after Charlie demonstrates the binary liquid bomb]  That stuff has gotta be pretty rare. We oughta be able to find out if any of it's missing somewhere.

  Joe Lambert : Already did. Livermore Labs theft over the weekend.

  John McClane : He got enough to make another one, Joe?

  Joe Lambert : About 2,000 pounds.

  Inspector Cobb : Of that?

  Charles Weiss : The detonating mechanism could be anything; radio, electrical. Hell, you could use a beeper and phone it in.

• Bill Jarvis, from Another Organization : The first man there is Methias Targo. Was Hungarian army. Explosives expert. Now we believe he's working for the Iranians.

  Inspector Cobb : Working?

  Bill Jarvis, from Another Organization : Freelance terrorism. By contract.

  John McClane : Who's the girl?

  FBI Agent Andy Cross : Targo's other half. Rumor is Israelis slipped a bomb in between their sheets. Uh, he wasn't at home, but they think maybe they got her.

  Bill Jarvis, from Another Organization : The second man was an obscure colonel in the East German army. He ran an infiltration unit, the kind of thing the Nazis did at the Battle of the Bulge. English-speaking troops...

  John McClane : Yeah, yeah, I-I saw the movie.

  Bill Jarvis, from Another Organization : All we know of him is the GDR medical records show he suffers from migraines. His name is Peter... Krieg.

  John McClane : Well, that is an exceptional report, fellas. Now do you want to tell me what the hell this has to do with me?