"DEEP COVER" Screenplay by Michael Tolkin and Henry Bean Story by Michael Tolkin SHOOTING DRAFT EXT. CLEVELAND STREET - NIGHT (1970) Rain. Christmas lights. A rusted out '56 Lincoln rattles down the bleak boulevard. In it: JOE STEVENS, an angry, black man in his late 20's, beside him his 10-year-old son, JOE JR. Joe Jr. stares out the window at passing: boarded buildings, whores with raincoats over their heads trying to flag down a john, a black Santa, a knot of drinkers. Breaking the silence: JOE STEVENS Your mother okay? JOE JR. Yes, sir. They stop at a light. Joe Stevens tries to furtively snort a little something. He spots Joe Jr. watching. JOE STEVENS (firm, without irony) Don't you do this shit, boy. Don't you ever fuckin' touch it, you hear me? Joe Jr. stares, silent; Joe Jr.'s about to hit him. JOE STEVENS (continuing) You hear me, goddam it? The boy nods. Satisfied, Joe Sr. draws in the stuff. It makes him feel good, strong, worried and determined all at once. JOE STEVENS (continuing; charged up) What do you want for Christmas? JOE JR. I don't know. JOE STEVENS (light changes; he accelerates) You don't know?? You gotta know what you want, boy, if you ever expect to get it. A sudden charm to his bravado. Joe Jr. smiles uncertainly. Joe Sr. grins back, pulls up in front of a liquor store. JOE STEVENS (continuing) Wait here. This won't take a minute. Joe Jr. doesn't notice or doesn't remark that his father, just before entering the store, draws a handgun from beneath his coat. The boy gazes dreamily at the street. The lunatic Black Santa marches by, ranting to himself ("Then the white man say..."). The RAIN HAMMERS on the roof and windshield. Joe Jr. breathes on the glass, fogging the scene. From the store: MUFFLED GUNFIRE. Joe Jr. looks that way. Another GUNSHOT, then: His father comes out the door clutching money in one hand. He strides toward the car with a reckless pride. He doesn't notice: The liquor store door opens behind him. A SHOTGUN BLAST. Joe Stevens' guts splatter onto the car windshield. A look of terrible amazement; he sinks to his knees. JOE JR. Daddy!! He jumps from the car, kneels by his father. The STORE OWNER (47, Slavic) drags the gun toward them, bleeding profusely. STORE OWNER (enraged, almost to tears) Fuckin' niggers... fuckin' niggers... JOE STEVENS looks at the money in his hand: two 20's, two 5's. JOE STEVENS Fifty bucks... fifty goddam bucks. (looks up at his son) I'm sorry... He stuffs the blood-soaked bills in the boy's shirt pocket and dies. Joe Jr. looks up at... THE STORE OWNER Bloody, nearly unconscious, he aims the shotgun at the boy who is too frightened to move. JOE JR. Please, Mister... The man dies on his feet. As he falls backward, he pulls the trigger, the BLAST shattering the car windows. Cop cars SQUEAL up. Uniformed cops leap out, guns drawn, survey the scene. Then one notices Joe Jr., staring motionless at his father and the store owner, dead together. ON HIS EYES: DISSOLVE TO: THOSE SAME EYES -- but older, harder, colder. They're concentrating on a paper before him. TITLE: 17 YEARS LATER CLOSEUP - THE MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY Hundreds of TRUE/FALSE questions... 1.) I have never indulged in any unusual sexual practices. (T/F) 2.) I have often felt that strangers were looking at me critically. (T/F) 3.) When I was young I occasionally stole things. (T/F) Joe Stevens marks these TRUE, FALSE, FALSE then comes to: 4.) A person's station in life is at least partially determined by his race. (T/F) We are: INT. A ROOM - DAY Thirty-seven Black Cleveland police officers (many in uniform, including Joe) are taking the MMPI. Some roll their eyes at the questions. Some try to copy answers. Others, like Joe, work with rapid concentration. But he gets stuck on #4. Marks it false. Erases it. Marks it true. Erases that. Ponders. Goes on to: #5. At times I hear so well it bothers me. (T/F) He marks that true. INT. INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY GERALD CARVER, 36, an ambitious government lawyer with a relaxed, vaguely hip manner, looks over the file of the ingratiating BLACK OFFICER sitting across the desk from him. CARVER Officer Leland? You know the difference between a black man and nigger? Leland is startled, insulted, but doesn't want to blow the interview. He smiles weakly, shakes his head no. CARVER (continuing; pleasant smile) Yeah, most niggers don't. Stung, Leland tries to laugh. Carver puts his file aside, picks up another. CARVER (continuing) Nice to meet you. INT. SAME - ANOTHER INTERVIEW A SECOND BLACK OFFICER is powerfully built, politically conscious, takes no shit. Carver's leafing through his file. CARVER So, Winston, what's the difference between a black man and a nigger? Winston is out of his chair before the question is finished, drags Carver by the shirt front halfway across the desk and hisses into his face: WINSTON Who the fuck do you think you're talking to? Carver smiles cheerfully past Winston's cocked fist. CARVER Thanks for coming in. Nonplussed by this cool dismissal, Winston stalks out. Carver picks up the next file, unfazed. INT. SAME - ANOTHER INTERVIEW Joe Stevens watches Carver reading his file and waiting for an answer. When none is forthcoming, Carver glances up, finds Stevens looking right back at him. STEVENS The nigger's the one who falls for your bullshit. He says it pleasantly, without belligerence. Carver smiles: he's found his man. He offers his hand. CARVER Gerald Carver, United States District Attorney. Call me Gerry. INT. A DARKENED ROOM - DAY/NIGHT ON A TV SCREEN: a grainy black-and-white tape, date and time stamped at the bottom. A grungy street, palm trees. The light from the monitor dimly illuminates Carver and Stevens. On SCREEN the CAMERA finds: A MAN in jeans, sneakers and sweatshirt on a street corner. STEVENS He ought to be wearing a sign. CARVER You can tell he's a cop? Stevens laughs: it's obvious. A real DRUG DEALER joins the cop. UNDERCOVER COP: "You got it?" DEALER: "In the motel, right over here..." The Cop's uneasy, keeps glancing back toward the CAMERA as they go. STEVENS He keeps looking for his back-up. Now, the other guy knows it, too. CARVER Then why's he taking him to the room? STEVENS (why else?) To rip him off. Carver studies Stevens in the darkness, impressed. ON SCREEN: The figures disappear into the motel. We hear their voices. DEALER: "Here, try some of it." UNDERCOVER COP: "Uhh... No, I don't..." DEALER: "Why not, you sonofabitch?" Two bursts of SOUND DISTORTION. A plainclothes cop, TAFT, (black, stocky, powerful) bolts from behind the CAMERA, sprints toward the motel. The CAMERA wobbles after him. STEVENS (continuing) Too late. ON SCREEN: The CAMERA (jerky, hand-held) nears the open motel door. Taft is bent over the Undercover Cop's body. TAFT Oh, Bobby... Jesus, Jesus... (to the CAMERA) Get an ambulance -- and back up. Now! He slams the wall, starts past the CAMERA. Carver pushes the pause button; the tape freezes on a jerky image of Taft's face. STEVENS (focussed on Taft) Who is he? CARVER Charles Taft. LAPD Narcotics. STEVENS He's a good cop. CARVER He's a great cop. Two [names citation] and a [another citation]. As tough as they come and twice as honest. Carver watches Stevens watch Taft, smiles at something. STEVENS But the cops aren't getting it done here, are they? Gotta try something new... He opens a manila envelope, dumps the contents on the desk: driver's license, social security card, high school transcript, prison records... all in the name of William G. Hull. No photos. STEVENS (continuing) Who's John Hull? CARVER You are. If you want to be. (off Stevens) Most undercover guys don't know what they're doing because it's a day gig. (indicates dead cop on TV) I need somebody who goes under and stays there; six months, a year, five years... STEVENS What does he have to do? CARVER Buy drugs. Sell drugs. Feed me information. STEVENS He's a snitch. CARVER He's a drug dealer. A criminal. A scumbag. But for the right side. (beat) I want you to come to Los Angeles on loan to the Justice Department as a federal agent. Your experience there will be credited toward your seniority here. And you'll come back to Cleveland a P3 or higher. STEVENS (uncomfortable) I can't do that. I've got a wife and kids. CARVER You're separated from your wife, she's filled for divorce. You see your kids every other weekend. Stevens takes a breath: this is awkward to explain. STEVENS (almost a confession) All my life I've stayed away from that stuff. I've never touched drugs. CARVER (tolerant) Come on, a little grass...? STEVENS Not grass. Not nothing. I never even had a drink. (his motto) Never have, never will. You don't understand. I made a choice in my life. CARVER What's to understand? You saw your father killed when you were ten, and you decided you wouldn't be like that. (off Stevens' surprise, Carver grins) I'm God, I know everything. You wanted to be a good boy, so you became a cop. Hiding out in uniform... That's why you got the hard-on for Taft. STEVENS It's not that simple. CARVER (opening Joe's file; as if reluctantly) I'll tell the truth, Joe. You're never going to be a Taft. STEVENS I don't believe that. But he does. CARVER (looks at MMPI results) You ever take a look at your psychological profile? You score almost like a criminal. (reading) "Resents authority..." STEVENS I do not. CARVER "...Exaggerated moral standards, but with no underlying value system." Look at the anger, the repressed violence, it's almost off the scale... STEVENS Let me see that... Carver hands him the scores which are, of course, just clusters of numbers. Stevens is upset, though oddly unsurprised, as if this only confirmed his secret fears. CARVER Why'd you join the force? STEVENS (awkward, but felt) I wanted to be of use. CARVER Well, now you can be. You won't be Taft, but maybe you'll be something more... interesting. (sits back) There's a man named Ramon Gallegos who supplies 60% of the cocaine to the West Coast. He's smart, smooth, and sufficiently elusive that we don't even have an adult photograph of him. However, his uncle is Hector Guzman, an important Latin American political figure. Gallegos uses Uncle's connections to get product into the country, and everyone we've sent after him has ended up like that... Indicates dead body on TV. STEVENS Why would I be different? CARVER You already are, that's the point... (indicates file, test scores) You've got the ability and the personality to go underground and blend in completely. That's what the others couldn't. Some part of them showed. That's why they're dead. See, there's only one rule in this game. Stevens raises his eyebrows: what? CARVER (continuing) Don't blow your cover. EXT. WORKING CLASS CLEVELAND NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY Stevens parks outside a small, well-maintained house. As he gets out, he spots a GROUP OF KIDS (black and Hispanic) playing down the street. He's not pleased about that. STEVENS (calls to them) Joe-J, Carmen... A BOY, 7, and a GIRL, 5, (both light-skinned) run to him shouting, "Daddy," jump into his arms, competing for attention, as if they haven't seen him in ages. STEVENS What were you doing with those kids? JOE-J & CARMEN Playing... STEVENS (displeased) Your mom lets you play with them? JOE-J & CARMEN Yes, sir... Yes, sir. His strictness has already sobered their enthusiasm. Sensing this, he attempts to embrace them which he can do only awkwardly. Meanwhile, his wife, TERRY (Southern white) has come out the screen door. She and Stevens bristle at each other. STEVENS I thought we talked about this. The older brother up there's got a sheet with -- TERRY Lay off it. They're just kids... Both are ready to fight, but restrain themselves. A big Polynesian, TITO comes out the door. TITO Hey, Joe. STEVENS Tito... A moment of surprise, then he gets it. He looks to Terry. She gives a little shrug, refusing to be embarrassed. INT. KITCHEN - FIVE MINUTES LATER Stevens is trying to seem interested in Carmen's little drawings. STEVENS They're real nice, honey. Is that a horse? CARMEN (exasperated) Daddy! It's a bunny... She puts her arms around him. CARMEN (continuing) I don't want you to go away, Daddy. STEVENS It's my work. I've got to. Over her shoulder he sees Terry sitting with a subdued Joe- J. Her face seems to say, "See, I told you..." Avoiding this accusation, Stevens notices a bruise on Carmen's arm. STEVENS (continuing) What happened to you there, baby? CARMEN Tito did it. STEVENS (instantly outraged) He hit you?! (up in a fury) God damn it, what's he doing touching her? I'm gonna... Terry intercepts him on his way out of the room. TERRY She was running behind his chair when he got up. It was an accident. (he's uncertain) A complete... total... accident. Stevens looks at Carmen who giggles. He's humiliated by his own temper, attempts to calm himself. Terry puts a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. LOS ANGELES - AERIAL SHOT - DAY The immense sprawl, the arterial flow of the freeways, the blinding light. We DESCEND... INT. TRAIN STATION - UNDERGROUND - DAY OR NIGHT People getting off, among them the former Joe Stevens, now known as JOHN HULL. He's carrying a suitcase. INT. TRAIN STATION/EXT. STREET - DAY Hull goes up the stairs onto a downtown street. EXT. ANOTHER STREET - DAY South L.A. neighborhood. A 13-year-old BLACK YOUTH selling drugs through a car window. Hull walks by. He's at ease, looking around, his manner subtly announcing that he belongs here, just as in the train station he seemed to belong among the commuters. EXT. TRANSIENT MOTEL - COURTYARD - DAY A fat BLONDE WOMAN (61, large white glasses, tiny shoes) leads Hull down a corridor. BLONDE WOMAN Television mostly. I was on "Sky King" twice, "Ramar of the Jungle." That was a silly show. The jungle was mostly flats... They pass an open door where a 6-year-old boy, JAMES, a latchkey, sits on the stoop playing Gameboy; inside, his mother, BELINDA, a broken down whore, is doing her nails and drinking Pepsi. She looks up, bats her lashes at Hull. BLONDE WOMAN (continuing) You want my advice, I'd stay away from that bitch. She opens the door to the room across the hall. A dump. Hull walks in, drops his duffle: he'll take it. The Blonde lounges in the doorway. He closes the door. INT. ROOM - DAY Hull empties his pockets on the dresser. Looks at his money, room key, identification. Looks at himself in the mirror. He touches his clothes, his face, tries on different expressions. (NOTE: Throughout the film, Hull continually checks himself out in mirrors, both to adjust his appearance to the circumstances and as if in an attempt to recall who he "really" is.) EXT. 79TH AND FIGUEROA - TWILIGHT On the seam between South-Central and USC. Lots of people out: children, students, dealers, whores. Hull with a new haircut. EXT. ANOTHER, SIMILAR CORNER - DAY Dealers (most in mid-teens) meeting cars, making transactions. All this casually observed. EDDIE comes up the street, reciting his version of an old street toast. EDDIE On the day of the King's castration, all the counts and no accounts were down on the deck with Georgia Tech taking turns in the back seat... Those dealers not at car windows, gather around. He never speaks to them, goes on declaiming as he exchanges drugs for money. Hull watches, talking to another street person. His appearance continues to change: clothes, posture, walk, gestures subtly conform to the environment, a bit like Zelig. Throughout the film his appearance shifts, depending on who he's with. We always recognize him, but each time he's different. He walks up to a dealer, makes a quick buy and keeps going. But he sees them and is seen. INT. AN OFFICE - NIGHT Hull drops eleven foil balls on a green blotter. Carver counts out money for him. INT. HULL'S MOTEL ROOM - DAY He sits at the window, eating a burrito, watching little James play in the courtyard. EXT. STREET - EVENING Hull approaches another Dealer, the 13-year-old seen earlier (angelic face). Like Hull, he's trying to act tough. HULL Whatta you got? 13-YEAR-OLD DEALER (voice just changing) Nickel rock, dime rock. Excellent shit. Hull exchanges a folded twenty for two foil balls. He walks off. He has gone twenty feet when... RED RANGE ROVER SQUEALS to a stop opposite the Dealer. A huge young black man, IVY (23, all in red with a red headband), leans out the passenger window, shouting at the 13-year-old. IVY What the fuck I tell you about being here? Everyone turns to look, but Hull's view is blocked. 13-YEAR-OLD DEALER (O.S.) No, wait... IVY (O.S.) Too fuckin' late. POPPING noises. Ivy is waving an automatic weapon. Everyone on the street but Hull has hit the ground. IVY (enjoying it, shouting) Get down, motherfuckers! Ivy laughs and fondles a girlfriend as the car ROARS off. He sees Hull, pretends to fire, laughs as Hull, too, ducks. When Ivy's gone, he runs to where a CROWD has gathered around... THE 13-YEAR-OLD lying in the street, a bullet hole in his head, eyes open. He twitches and kicks, blood pulsing from the neat wound. Then he's dead. The faces around him (young, old, many races) watch with a variety of emotions. CROWD Who is he?... Why'd they shoot him?... Ivy did him, man... He's in the wrong fuckin' place... That poor boy... Get his beeper... Cops push through to the body. As the crowd disperses, Hull can't take his eyes off the boy. When he finally does, he sees Eddie, drink in hand. Their eyes meet, and Eddie, a rapper, raises his eyebrows in brief acknowledgment of sorrow. EDDIE (sadly) He done done, ain't he? EXT. LEWAZZ - NIGHT TITLE: TWO WEEKS LATER A bar with a neon bird for a sign. Hull enters. INT. LEWAZZ - NIGHT A racial mix. Hull takes a seat at the bar. Stuffed birds line the lintel above the bottles. A female BARTENDER (long red nails) greets him familiarly. BARTENDER How's it going, John? HULL I'm in there. Without being asked, she sets him up a Dry Sack with a long red straw. (NOTE: He never touches the drink.) Hull's appearance has continued to change. His clothes have become flashier, he has an earring, the start of a goatee. Eddie approaches the bar compulsively reciting one of his toasts. EDDIE (to himself) "Where's the Queen," said the King. "She's in bed with laryngitis." "Is that bastard still in town?... Fuck the Queen," said the King, and ten thousand knights straaaained at their utmost... (to the bartender) Pina colada times two and a white wine. He goes on muttering under his breath, tapping his foot like any crankhead. He notices Hull, greets him as someone he can't place but knows he's seen around. EDDIE (continuing) How you doin', Dudley... Tries to remember name. HULL John. EDDIE John, man, right... Clasp hands. Eddie takes his drinks, carries them to... A TABLE where he rejoins a white man, DAVID ELIAS (30s, slick, powerful) and a well-dressed BLACK WOMAN (mid-20s, good- looking). She gets the wine. Elias rises to let her out. As the woman passes Hull on her way to the restrooms, their eyes meet: an instant of perfect chemistry. He's struck. Her features open, grow sensual for a moment, but then, as if seeing something she doesn't like, her eyes flick away, and she walks by as if he weren't there. INT. CARVER'S OFFICE - NIGHT (NOTE: Hull invariably meets Carver in this anonymous room, distinguished only by the green blotter and a view of the city. This simple regularity suggest visits to a psychiatrist, Carver probing, testing, teasing, trying to draw Hull out. And they feel like therapy, at once a respite and a torment.) More foil balls on the blotter beside boxes of 3x5 photographs. Photos of Eddie and David Elias are up on a corkboard, the beginning of a pyramid. HULL Eddie something... a motormouth... he supplies the street dealers... buys from him... (reads name on back of photo) David Elias... who apparently buys from a guy named Barbolla or something. But I haven't seen him. Carver produces a photo of a handsome Latin in his 50s, pins it on the board above Elias. CARVER Barbosa, Felix. HULL There was also a woman, but she's not here. (as Carver reaches in a drawer) I saw a kid killed. Twelve, thirteen at the most. Turf war. Carver shrugs: these things happen. He hands Hull a lot of cash, much more than expected. Hull does understand. CARVER Get to Elias. Then to Barbosa. HULL You can't rush this stuff. CARVER Rush it, please. I want art, John, not reality. Budget hearings start in April, and I need Gallegos by then. They won't give us funding for three ounce buys. HULL We're not just doing this for the funding, are we? CARVER Without funding, we aren't doing it at all. TITLE: TWO WEEKS LATER INT. CRACK HOUSE - DAY Virtual darkness save splinters of light between the curtains. Pipes burn here and there in the gloom. Ten or fifteen crackheads huddle around a battery-operated TV on which Tom Brokaw is narrating an NBC documentary on drugs. A 12-year- old sits against a wall too stoned even for television. Hull approaches Eddie, regally installed on an automobile bench seat-cum-sofa, a lit pipe in one hand. We barely notice the redhead kneeling between his legs, face buried in his crotch. He greets Hull from wrecked bliss. They know each other now. EDDIE My man, Dudley, he's so fud-ley... Hull greets Eddie, some of the others, drops familiarly onto an adjacent auto seat. The patrons are making fun of Brokaw, laughing, exchanging fives. HULL Eddie, man, I need... Eddie holds up a hand telling Hull to wait. His mind is elsewhere. His features contract in brief concentration. CHORUS OF COMMENTS Whatever happened to that Drug Czar motherfucker?... He gave up 'cause he finally realized he didn't know nothing about any of that shit... More laughter, etc. Eddie's concentration peaks, breaks off into a sigh and a smile. Eddie sings a satisfied little song... The redhead rises from Eddie's crotch, and we see it's a boy, seventeen going on death; he might have been pretty a year ago. Eddie passes him the crack pipe, lets him suck greedily for a few seconds before ripping it out of his scabrous mouth and offering it to Hull, who, with a grimace that gets laughs, declines. The others continue to watch and comment on the speech. EDDIE So what is it you need so bad, blood? Need, need, need?? HULL A whole K, quick as you can get it. EDDIE (impressed, a trace of envy) Comin' in the world, Dudley. HULL (winning grin) All because of my man... Eddie likes that, holds out a hand. Hull hits it. EDDIE Give me a day. Hull nods, rises. EDDIE (continuing) Stick around, let the bitch Hoover you, too. Indicating redhead. In all these scenes, Hull acts indifferent to the horror, but here the effort costs him. He masters his disgust with a joke. HULL Only if you Clorox him first. Everyone laughs, even the boy. EXT. STREET - NIGHT Eddie comes out the back door of a building, is immediately collared by Taft (the cop on the videotape). He's in his mid- 40s, stocky, balding. TAFT (cheerful, gregarious) Eddie Shitface! Where you been, boy? Eddie breaks free, runs three feet before HERNANDEZ (a muscular Mexican) knees him in the groin. Eddie crumples. TAFT (continuing) Eddie, I don't think I introduced you to my new partner, Michael Hernandez... HERNANDEZ Pleased to meet you, Mr. Shitface... EXT. STREET - NIGHT Eddie folded over his wounded nuts. Hernandez and Taft sit on crates to either side. The drugs they've taken from him are neatly arranged on a garbage can lid. HERNANDEZ You have the right to remain silent... You have the right to an attorney... You have the right to go back to Ontario for eight-to-ten on a second offense... EDDIE (in several kinds of pain) Oh, man, I can't go back in there, I just can't. TAFT (soothing) 'Course you can't, child, 'course you can't. That's why you're gonna start giving us some help. EXT. DAVID ELIAS'S HOUSE - NIGHT A pleasant, Santa Monica neighborhood. Spanish style house. INT. ELIAS'S HOUSE - NIGHT Pleasant, tasteful. Elias's wife, NANCY, (dressed like the attorney she is) sits in an alcove-study reading a real estate contract through half-glasses. Elias himself is helping his daughter, MIRANDA, 7, with her homework. He is 38, with the body and bearing of a powerful man. ELIAS Again. Three times four. MIRANDA Seven. Elias is not a sweet Daddy. It should make us uncomfortable to watch him push his daughter. ELIAS No. You're adding again, you have to multiply. Three and four is seven. Three times four is... MIRANDA Twelve. ELIAS Three times five. The DOORBELL. NANCY Can you get that? MIRANDA Eight. ELIAS (getting up; more about the answer than the door) Damn it. MIRANDA Why can't I just use a calculator? INT./EXT. FRONT DOOR - NIGHT Three men: FELIX BARBOSA (whose photo we saw in Carver's office). Barbosa is a veteran of the coke business, but he's doing too much of the drug now; he's sweating, paranoid, unstable. With him is GOPHER, early 60s, a wizened high-voiced old con who Barbosa keeps the way Spanish kings kept dwarfs, for amusement and luck; like the court jester, Gopher can say anything he wants without fear. Behind them is an Hispanic kid, CHINO, 17, a thug. Elias knows them all, but is not happy to see them at his door. ELIAS What are you doing here? BARBOSA We've got a problem, David. ELIAS Call me on the phone. BARBOSA Your friend Eddie just started bending over for the cops. This is very bad news. Elias murmurs a shaken, "Shit..." and steps outside, half-closing the door behind him. BARBOSA (continuing) They busted him, and he's dealing to save his ass. GOPHER Which is how he'll lose the skinny little thing. ELIAS Did he give us up? BARBOSA Not yet, but he will if he has to, and eventually he'll have to. MIRANDA (O.S.) Daddy! I thought we were doing my homework. ELIAS I don't think he'd talk about us. He'd try not to. BARBOSA If we whack him, he definitely won't. MIRANDA (O.S.) Daddy!! ELIAS (to Miranda) Just a second. (to Barbosa) Not yet. Let me check on this, first. BARBOSA (taunting) Nobody said you had to do the dirty work, David. I'll take care of -- ELIAS Felix, if he's a problem, we'll kill him. I'll kill him myself. He doesn't realize until it's too late that Nancy has just then opened the front door to see where he went. They look at each other, a terrible moment: she knows what he does, hates it, can't bring herself to leave him, hates herself for that. ELIAS (continuing) Nancy, get out of here. NANCY For you; it's Eddie. She hands him a cordless phone, goes inside closing the door. BARBOSA You got a tasty wife, David. No wonder you don't want us coming here. ELIAS (warning him) Don't talk about her that way. Barbosa laughs. GOPHER He can't help it, David, it's his nature. ELIAS (into phone, chipper) Eddie... Sure, man, what do you need? INT. A BOXING GYM - NIGHT Elias joins Eddie and Hull to one side. In the b.g. two guys sparring. EDDIE David, this is John, John, David. Eddie, this is Eddie. Everybody ready? HULL (to Elias) So what's this, you want to meet me? ELIAS (charming, touch of mockery) I like to know the important customers. Hull makes a show of weary patience, gestures: here I am. ELIAS (continuing) You're taking a lot of weight for a guy we hardly know. Where're you moving this stuff, John? We haven't seen you around. We like to have a sense who your customers are. HULL Ah, come on, man, do Macy's tell the Gimbel motherfuckers? ELIAS (beat; watches him) Eddie, forget this guy, he's a cop. He gets up, walks away. ON HULL He's blown it. He's been made. The crushing failure. He rallies himself to indignation. HULL What is this shit, Eddie? I thought you were the man. Eddie's sickened, wants to get paid, owes Taft a bust. EDDIE Nobody's the fuckin' man. Go to your place. I'll call you. EXT. GYM/INT. A VAN - CONTINUOUS TIME Taft and Hernandez, watching the gym. Hull comes out, looks up and down the street carefully. Taft sits up, pays attention. TAFT This is our collar? Hernandez grunts. TAFT (continuing) Who is he? HERNANDEZ Some scumbag... But Taft clearly thinks there's something different about Hull. He's not sure what, but it troubles him. (NOTE: Hull makes a little move that Taft will later realize was a cop's move. For now he can't quite place it.) EXT. PARKING LOT - CONTINUOUS TIME Eddie pleading his case to Elias. EDDIE He's no cop, David. He's an animal. You see his eyes? You never see a cop with those eyes. I know this shit, man, you don't. ELIAS (giving him an opening) What's going on, Eddie? EDDIE Twenty-six thousand cash is what. We need it, David. We're behind. Elias studies Eddie: is he a rat? Elias hopes not, but he's going to find out. He hands a fat Federal Express envelope through the window. ELIAS (a warning) I want him to get it all, Eddie. Eddie bows in gratitude, hurries off. EXT./INT. HULL'S MOTEL - NIGHT Hull's unlocking his door when Belinda, the hooker across the hall, comes out to talk. Her 6-year-old, James, watches, silent. BELINDA (a crackhead) Mr. Hull... Mr. Hull... HULL (wearily) What's happening, Belinda? BELINDA Now you know, Mr. Hull, I was to the welfare this afternoon, but the bus, you know what I'm saying?... the one bus, and then the other, and when I got there they'd gone and changed the time on me, without notification. They's supposed to give notification, ain't they? They said I got a thing in the mail, but I don't remember, I don't think they sent it, so now I'm off the welfare, plus I forgot to take James for his shot... for the school? Which otherwise they let him go. And he's gotta learn, he's gotta learn, don't he, Mr. Hull, you tell him, so's he can better hisself. Hull slouches in the doorway, fingers to his eyes. HULL (to James) You had any food today, James? JAMES (disclaiming any need) I had Ding-Dongs. HULL (sighs, gives him money) You go to the Mexican place over there, and get the chicken tostada or the beef and bean burrito or both. And a milk. JAMES I don't like milk. I want a -- HULL (an order) You get the milk! And get something for your mother, too. (to Belinda) What do you want? BELINDA Now, Mr. Hull, if you just -- HULL (to James) Two tostadas, two burritos, two milks. Gives him another bill. The boy runs off. BELINDA You now, I look out for my James best I can, Mr. Hull, but it's hard. Now you like the boy, don't you? Hull grunts. BELINDA (continuing) I know you do. And I was thinkin' if you wanted to take care of him, that might be good for him. Give him a male figure to look up to. HULL Look, Belinda, I can't... BELINDA If you could just give me something for him. Say five thousand dollars... (off Hull's shock) Or maybe four thousand. I couldn't give up my boy for less than four thousand... Hull is rescued from this horror by the ringing PAY PHONE. He runs down the hall, grabs it. HULL It's me. I'm here... Where?... five minutes. He dashes past Belinda into his room. BELINDA Or you could just give me a part now... He closes the door, takes the money Carver gave him out from behind the mirror, dashes back outside. As he rushes by: BELINDA (continuing) Let me do somethin' for you, Mr. Hull. Let me do a little somethin' for you. He keeps going. The Blonde Woman addresses Belinda. BLONDE WOMAN No solicitin' in the halls. I told you that before. BELINDA (spunkier than we've seen) I ain't doin' shit. Bitch... EXT. TACO STAND - VENICE AND LA BREA - NIGHT A handful of customers under a mud sky. The THROB of a distant helicopter. Hull pulls into the lot beside Eddie's BMW. He climbs into the BMW, tosses Eddie a brown envelope; money spills onto his lap. Eddie does a quick count, produces the Fed Ex envelope. The usual white stuff. Hull's about to taste when the chopper swoops in with a sudden blinding overhead light. A BULLHORN booms down like the voice of God. AMPLIFIED VOICE This is the police. Remain inside the vehicle. Place your open hands against the windshield so that they are clearly visible... HULL Christ... EDDIE (a strategy) Spread the floor, Dudley. (rap sound effects with rhythmic head spasms) A-ga, a-ga, a-ga, a-ga... Eddie starts the car, and Hull rolls out the passenger door as the BMW races across the lot. Two black-and-whites and an unmarked converge on the stand. Hull can't reach his car. He vaults a metal rail and runs off between two buildings. Hernandez jumps out of an unmarked and races after him. Taft speeds the car out onto the street. HULL running. Police and SIRENS pursuing. He hurls the Fed Ex envelope into a dumpster. HELICOPTER light sweeps over him. As he cuts around a building, Taft opens a car door right into his face. Hull goes down hard. TAFT (into car radio) Thank you kindly... He waves at the helicopter which goes away, kneels over Hull who is twitching spastically on the ground, gasping for air. Hernandez arrives carrying the Fed Ex envelope. TAFT (continuing) How you doin', child?... Hull is astonished to look up and see Taft looming over him, the man he remembers from the videotape. He tries to speak: HULL (barely audible) You... TAFT (briefly puzzled) Me? Of course, it's me. You know me? Hull shakes head, winces. TAFT (continuing) Hurts, huh? Hull tries to curse. TAFT (continuing) Here, I want to show you something. You have kids? He takes out his wallet, opens it to pictures of his two children, a boy and a girl, seven and eight. TAFT (continuing) These are mine. Aren't they the most beautiful children you ever saw? Hull groans, twists in pain. Taft sticks the pictures in his face. Hull is affected by the children despite everything. TAFT (continuing) Yeah, I know, they kind of leave you speechless. So let me ask, if someone put a gun to your baby's head, wouldn't you kill him if you could? Hull just looks up. TAFT (continuing) Me, too. And you're the bastard with the gun. He takes the Fed Ex envelope from him. HULL (hoarse; his first words) You know the difference between a nigger and a black man? TAFT Don't jive me, boy. HULL The nigger's the one covers Whitey's ass by puttin' the brothers in jail. Taft yanks him hard to his feet; Hull cries out in pain. TAFT You ain't my brother. INT. COURTROOM - NIGHT Hull is led in with other handcuffed PRISONERS. Carver is here, catches Hull's eye. Hull shakes his head; doesn't want Carver to intercede. A woman PUBLIC DEFENDER (26, attractive, harried) addresses the prisoners. PUBLIC DEFENDER Hi, I'm Shelley Weissbrod. This is only an arraignment, a preliminary hearing, but if you don't have money for an attorney, the Public Defender's office can... Hull is listening to this when a BAILIFF taps his shoulder. BAILIFF You've got counsel. Over there. Puzzled, Hull sees the back of a suit conferring with a PROSECUTOR. The suit turns. It's DAVID ELIAS who smiles, offers his hand. Hull is stunned. Elias enjoys that. HULL You're a lawyer?? ELIAS I'm your lawyer. HULL Who hired you? ELIAS (smiles) It's pro bono. If you don't want me, there's Shelley. She's good. She just can't provide special services... HULL Like what? VOICE (O.S.) (calling the next case) John Hull... ELIAS Getting your case called first. Elias addressing the court. ELIAS (continuing) Your Honor, I believe the preliminary police toxicology report will show that the substance seized from my client was Mannitol, a baby laxative. We move for immediate dismissal. Hull is surprised at this news. The Judge looks to the Prosecutor who waives objection. Gavel. ELIAS (continuing; to Hull) We're out of here, Dude. As they walk toward the back, Taft approaches Hull. There's already a deep pull between these two, and in Taft's presence, Hull can't sustain the tough street act. We almost see the little boy inside him. TAFT (to Hull, amused) Baby laxative, they sold you some bad shit. DRUNKEN PRISONER (to Hull) You have a constipated baby, and you're in jail? What kind of a father are you? TAFT A father who don't know his own children, ain't that right? A long look between them, broken when Elias takes Hull's arm, leads him away. Elias cheerfully greets a couple of hookers waiting arraignment. Hull furtively grabs his sleeve. HULL (under his breath) You sold me Mannitol, motherfucker. ELIAS (under his) If it hadn't been, asshole, you'd be in jail right now... Come on, I want you to meet some people. EXT. LEWAZZ - NIGHT After hours. The place is closed. A couple of cars in the lot. Elias's BMW pulls in. INT. LEWAZZ - NIGHT Deserted except for one table where Eddie, Barbosa, Gopher and Chino are eating shrimp. They look up as Hull and Elias approach. Eddie's astonished to see Hull. EDDIE Dudley, Dudley, Fo-Fudley... ELIAS Surprised to see him, Eddie? Eddie looks around, uneasy. ELIAS (continuing) John got busted and kept his mouth shut. Can't say that for everybody, can we? EDDIE What are you saying? Are you saying me? Are you saying something about me? GOPHER Tell the truth, Eddie. Be honorable. It's all you got left. EDDIE Shut up, you little faggot. ELIAS The cops made you give them somebody. We know it. Eddie looks around. Everybody's looking at him. He considers lying, but realizes it's pointless. EDDIE All right, so what? I mean, so what, man? You got the money. Twenty-six G. Twenty-six, David. Count it. ELIAS Next time you might trade us. EDDIE Never. (turns to Barbosa) Never, Felix, never. Come on, man, you know I'd never... Hull observes Barbosa become the power center. BARBOSA (softly) I know you never will. EDDIE Felix, no. Don't be... I'm worth money to you. Let me give you money. BARBOSA Why? You don't owe me anything. EDDIE Another twenty-six grand... Just to show you... Fifty. BARBOSA Why not a hundred? EDDIE (that's so much) A hundred??? Felix... Barbosa's impassive. EDDIE (continuing) Okay, a hundred. BARBOSA Give it. EDDIE Tomorrow. Twenty-four hours. BARBOSA Now. Ten seconds. EDDIE Felix, I need time. I -- BARBOSA One... two... EDDIE I don't have it right now. But I can -- GOPHER (sadly) Then goodbye, Eddie. I forgive you for what you said to me. EDDIE (pleading) Twelve hours. Tomorrow morning. BARBOSA Six... seven... (to Elias) You want to do it, David? Elias looks stricken. Barbosa laughs. Eddie jumps up. Hull turns away, can't bear to watch this. BARBOSA (continuing) Nine... EDDIE grabs the first thing he lays eyes on, a tiny snail fork and plunges it into Barbosa's neck. As if it were a fly bite, Barbosa flings the table aside and, with a long knife already in his hand, guts Eddie from groin to breast bone. Eddie falls like a suddenly emptied sack. Elias can't help gasping. Hull looks away, hiding his horror. Barbosa rips the fork out of his neck and hurls it at the body. BARBOSA Piece of shit! Elias stares at Eddie's body, transfixed. Horrified, fascinated, afraid, in awe. Barbosa turns to Hull. BARBOSA (continuing) What'd you think? HULL At least it was clean. BARBOSA (pleased, to Elias) What about you, bar mitzvah body? First time you saw somebody die? ELIAS (eyes fixed on the body) No. (catching breath) At camp... when I was fourteen... a friend of mine was water skiing... The motorboat ran him over... A junior counsellor was driving. BARBOSA You should kill a man some day, David, it's liberating... (walking out) Summer camp. I'm in business with somebody who went to summer camp. Everyone else is silent, grave. INT. ELIAS'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - EARLY MORNING Through sliders we see a small pool. Elias and Hull sit over uneaten omelets. Both still shaken by the previous scene. ELIAS Eddie, man... He was always nice to my daughter. HULL How'd a guy like you get into this? ELIAS The way most drug lawyers do: clients paid me in product, and I had to move it. Soon I was doing more dealing than law. But this was '83, '84, there was so much money we thought it would never end. HULL Yeah. And now...? ELIAS The road gets rougher. Cocaine's a dying business. HULL Then what are we doing here? ELIAS People are always going to want to get high. Every society has ways to alter consciousness. HULL Because they can't bear reality. ELIAS (smiles) We all need our delusions, only the means change: psychedelics, opiates, prayer, orgies, human sacrifice... HULL What's next? Elias puts a finger to his lips. HULL (continuing) Why aren't you selling it? ELIAS I know how to make it and market it. But I need capital. That's the only reason I'm hanging out with an asshole like Barbosa. (feels his hatred of Barbosa) And because I can't get to the big guys. HULL Who are the big guys? ELIAS Gallegos, et cetera. HULL (reacts to the name) Why can't you get to them? ELIAS What do you care? Hull shrugs: he doesn't. ELIAS (continuing) Anyway, designer drugs have a bad name: ice, ecstasy, tar -- there's a limited market for Parkinson's disease. But what about completely safe, almost legal, terrific shit you can go to work on and do your job better than you ever did it straight? HULL Sounds like a dream. They hear someone coming. ELIAS (closing the subject) In dreams begin responsibilities. HULL Tell me about this new shit. ELIAS Some other time, John, when we know each other better. (as Miranda enters kitchen) Hey, bunnela. (she snuggles against him; Elias enjoys it) Five times two. MIRANDA It's too early. Don't bother me. He hugs her, kisses her, much more openly affectionate than Hull was with his own children. Hull notices that. MIRANDA (continuing; head in her father's chest) Seven. Elias whispers in her ear. MIRANDA (continuing) Oh, yeah... Ten... Who's he? ELIAS That's my friend, John. This is Miranda. HULL Hi, Miranda. Miranda gives Hull a shy greeting. Nancy hurries into the kitchen, handsome, busy, ready for work. NANCY Come on, honey... ELIAS Nancy, this is John. Nancy nods briefly in Hull's direction. Elias kisses Miranda who grabs the back-pack her mother proffers, and they go out. When they're gone: ELIAS (continuing; on Nancy's chilliness) That's not about you. It's, she's... judgmental about what I do. When they're gone, he opens louvered doors onto a washer/dryer, takes a sports bag off a shelf, gives it to Hull. Hull looks inside. White powder. He tastes. Real. He hefts the bag. HULL That's more than I bought. ELIAS Half we owe you. The other half's on consignment. A token of our esteem. HULL You're having trouble moving it. Elias doesn't deny it. HULL (continuing) Make me your partner. I'll help you get your capital. ELIAS I don't need a partner. I need a salesman. INT. CARVER'S OFFICE - DAY Now in daylight. Two separately wrapped kilograms of crack cocaine on the green blotter. CARVER I can't buy this much shit. I haven't got it in the budget. HULL What am I supposed to do with it? CARVER You're a drug dealer, John. Deal drugs. Hull just looks at him. Carver doesn't blink. HULL You know how this goes, Gerry. It won't stop here. You know what they're going to ask me to do pretty soon, to prove I'm down. What am I supposed to do then? CARVER Don't blow your Carver. Hull: a moment of horror as he realizes what Carver is saying. MUSIC -- A DRUG DEALING SEQUENCE INT. HULL'S APARTMENT - NIGHT He's filling glass vials with crack. Hundreds of them. It's tedious work. He spills some, curses. He stops. He can't believe he's doing this. He goes on doing it. CARVER (V.O.) You're still thinking like a cop, John. Forget that. Cross the line. Be what you are. You're a criminal. You don't give a shit about other people. You're just trying to survive. INT. CRACK HOUSE - DAY Hull doling out vials to DEALERS seen earlier with Eddie. HULL (V.O.) I can't do this shit. I just can't. EXT. A STREET - DAY DEALERS going up to cars as before, only now they're Hull's dealers. A well-dressed Black businessman buys from his BMW. CARVER (V.O.) But you want to be of use. You want to get drugs off the street, don't you? HULL (V.O.) That's why I'm here. EXT. SAME - ANOTHER TIME Another sale: Teenagers on foot. CARVER (V.O.) Well, this is the cost. Pay it or go grow flowers someplace. EXT. HULL'S MOTEL - ANOTHER TIME He comes out of the motel talking to a Dealer we've seen above. HULL You can't back down with them. You've got to project strength, from inside, you know? The Dealer nods. Across the street Hull sees: A blue sedan. Taft and Hernandez. Taft gives Hull a little nod and grin. EXT. STREET - ANOTHER TIME Hull sitting in an aging Trans Am, making entries in a notebook. Across the street he watches: A PREGNANT WOMAN (19), a squawling baby in arms, buying from one of his Dealers. He kicks the dash in frustrated anger. Under the MUSIC: HULL Cocksucker... As soon as the woman's gone. He goes over to the Dealer, slaps his head, slaps it again. Under the MUSIC: DEALER (hurt, confused) What'd you do that for? HULL (walking off) 'Cause I can, motherfucker, 'cause I can. EXT. SAME - ANOTHER TIME A white housewife making a buy from a new mini-van, a baby in the car seat. EXT. STREET - TWILIGHT Two USC football players (letter jackets, huge) hassling BIJOUX, a woman dealer, pushing her, she pushes back, curses. Suddenly Hull comes running up, shoves them apart. He's yelling, pointing a finger in their faces. Elias comes up behind, calmer. Hull is smaller than either USC kid, but they back down as he curses them. Under MUSIC: HULL ...Touch her again, motherfuckers, I'm gonna mess you up. A brief scuffle. Hull decks one USC, and Elias pulls him off. The kids leave. Elias doubles over with laughter. Hull yells at Bijoux and walks off. EXT. APARTMENT HOUSE - DAY Hull (looking at written address) knocks on a door. It's opened by a beautiful, dark-skinned black woman in a skimpy robe. She looks at him with disarming frankness. He thinks he must be in the wrong place. HULL Is David Elias here? ELIAS (O.S.) Momentito... Through the door we see him emerge from a bedroom stepping into his loafers, buttoning his shirt. He gives the woman along, dark kiss, caressing her body. ELIAS Jacqueline, ho-ney... She laughs, closes the door. As he and Hull walk to the street, Elias sings happily to himself: ELIAS (continuing) "Who's making love to your old lady... while you're out make love...?" (cheerful) How come I like balling black chicks so much? HULL 'Cause you're a racist asshole. You feel like you're fucking a slave, and it gets you off. ELIAS Oh, don't mau mau me with the Malcolm X shit. Tell me you're not chasin' white pussy every chance you get. HULL I don't dig white women. (knowing that's a lie) Even if I did, it wouldn't mean the same thing. ELIAS Sure, it'd be the slave fucking the master. Hegel talks about it. Just like me, but the other way around. HULL Fuck Hegel. Who the fuck is Hegel? Some smart-ass kike that talks backwards? Elias laughs, gets into Hull's car. Hull's angry, takes a beat before he gets in. ELIAS Everybody digs the other, John. They dig their own, and they dig the other. HULL Does your wife dig black guys, David? Did she fuck Eddie? Does she want to fuck me? ELIAS (mock-terrified) Ooo... you mean with that great big purple dick of yours? I hope not. She'd never be impressed with my little thing again. HULL You think what impresses her now is your dick? ELIAS (musing) What does impress her? Hull can't help laughing. He starts the car. EXT. BETTY'S STORE - DAY Elias and Hull approach. Hull's carrying a satchel and wearing a new leather jacket. INT. JEWELRY STORE - DAY As they go in, Elias switches the OPEN sign to CLOSED and turns the latch. The store is filled with Latin American folk art, particularly masks which line the walls. BETTY STONE, the woman Hull saw with Elias at the bar, comes out from the back. She is 27, a bad girl trying to dress the way she thinks a banker who went to Vassar dresses for success. She's also a little strung out. She and Hull recognize each other at once, (a brief reprise of that moment of perfect chemistry) but she avoids his gaze. ELIAS Betty, this is John, my new associate. MCCUTCHEON Your new Eddie. I hear the old one wore out. ELIAS Factory recall. John's going to be a good customer. He does a lot of wash. Hull puts the satchel on a display case. Betty still won't look at him, opens the satchel, begins a quick count. She does this with a speed and sureness that suggests high test scores. HULL So how's this place work? Betty doesn't answer, so Elias covers the awkwardness. ELIAS Betty wires the money to a store in Aruba in payment for things they never sent her. They deposit the money in a bank there that turns around and loans her money she never has to repay. That way it doesn't turn up as income for the IRS. Welcome to the laundromat. MCCUTCHEON David, you talk too much. ELIAS She doesn't trust you. Hull has taken down a mask, puts it over his face, looks in a mirror. HULL How much is this? MCCUTCHEON More than you can afford. HULL I'll take it. She produces a vial of coke, looks questioningly at Elias. ELIAS By all means. She draws out six lines. Elias does two. MCCUTCHEON (offering him the straw) Come on, Eddie 2... you're up. HULL No, thanks. NOTE: Betty is acutely attuned to Hull, and in his refusal she senses -- albeit unconsciously -- two things: first, that he doesn't trust himself on drugs, therefore, he's a dangerous guy and, therefore, exciting; and, second, more important, the refusal bespeaks a repudiation of the violence and danger and, thus, a longing for goodness. Despite the seeming contradiction, she finds this even more attractive. But because she feels herself to be bad, his goodness seems only a judgment against her, and so she thinks she hates him. MCCUTCHEON Who is he, my mother? HULL (smiles) Never have, never will. Betty ignores him, does her lines. MCCUTCHEON (taunting Hull) Oooh... Cocaine, I love it and I hate it and I love it. The disease is the cure. She can't help looking at Hull who's looking at her. She and Elias are stoned; he's not. MCCUTCHEON (continuing) Don't look at me. Elias, tell him not to look at me. I don't like the fucker. But Elias is too busy vacuuming up Hull's leftovers. ELIAS (sniffling) John's an ascetic Negro; he wants to make sure you know he's not a jungle bunny. HULL Watch your mouth, David. ELIAS But he's got another side. You should seen him on the street the other day with these two USC kids. Do the spade bit for her, John. (black accent) I'm gonna mess you up, muthafugga... He sticks his finger in Hull's face just like Hull with the boys. HULL Don't call me a spade. And don't tell me to play black. He says it gently, but Betty hears the edge. ELIAS (hurt, disappointed) Come on, John, you do it so well. (falling into it) Ah ain't playin', muthafucka. Ah ain't playin'. Hull glares; Elias refuses to be intimidated. ELIAS (continuing) Don't fuckin' dis me, muthafucka. Fucka... fucka... fucka a... fucka b... fuck b-hive... fucka, fucka, fucka... Elias dances around repeating "fucka" until it's almost musical. Hull picks him up and slams into a wall. HULL Say it again, and I'll kill you. Elias throws Hull back against a display case. He's strong and unafraid. They're ready to fight. MCCUTCHEON Grow up, assholes! This half snaps them out of it. Still glowering, they slowly relax, release each other. EXT. STREET - NIGHT Hull sits in the Trans Am eating a sandwich and watching the street as a DEALER leans in the window telling his sob story. There's an authority to Hull's manner that tells us he may not like this job, but he knows how to do it. DEALER ...The guy ripped me off, man, so I don't got the money, I don't got the stuff and -- HULL (eyes on street) You gotta pay anyway. DEALER Oh, but, man... As he raps on, comical pathos, Hull spots in his side mirror... THE RED RANGE ROVER coming slowly this way. Ivy in the passenger window, the barrel of an automatic weapon glinting in the streetlight. HULL Shit... Hull glances up: Bijoux is selling on the next corner. The Range Rover passes the Trans Am. Ivy leans out. Hull flings open the Trans Am door, throwing the Dealer to the ground. He jumps from the car: HULL (continuing) Bijoux!! She turns. Sees Ivy. She puts out her hands to block the shots. The SOUND of the gun is inaudible. The barrel bounces slightly. Bijoux sprawls backward. Bijoux: dead on the sidewalk, limbs askew, bleeding from many wounds. Hull, standing over her, covers her face. EXT. SAME - MUCH LATER THAT NIGHT The body has been taken away, the crowd has cleared. Elias sits on the hood of the Trans Am. Hull stands, staring down. ELIAS It wasn't your fault. (no response) What could you have done? HULL She worked for me. I'm supposed to protect her. Elias knows that's true, and it leads to another truth. ELIAS We have to kill him. Hull looks up. ELIAS (continuing) Or we lose all authority with the other dealers. And one of them'll kill you. Hull looks up, startled. ELIAS (continuing) You've got to assert now, or you're dead. Hull sees the truth of that and slowly nods. ELIAS (continuing) And if we kill Ivy, we control this whole territory. HULL That guy who works for Barbosa can do it, Chino. ELIAS No. If we use Chino, it's Barbosa who's asserting. It'll be Barbosa's territory. (again: his hatred of Barbosa) It's gotta be us. HULL Right. ELIAS And if it's us, it's gotta be you. Meaning he can't do it. Hull knows that. A long beat on Hull's face as he reaches the inevitable decision. HULL (to himself) Don't blow your cover. ELIAS What? HULL If I do this, we're partners. Equal partners on everything. Elias offers his hand. Hull stands up, a sudden resolve. HULL (continuing) Let's go. ELIAS (afraid) Now...? But Hull is already moving. EXT. STREET/INT. ELIAS'S CAR - NIGHT Hull and Elias driving, looking for Ivy. Elias double parks by two prostitutes. We STAY in the car with Hull who's silent, frightened, keeps trying to warm his hands. Outside, Elias is talking and laughing with the prostitutes. We see them point. He gives them money, kisses. They laugh. He gets back in the car. EXT. A DANCE CLUB - NIGHT The Range Rover parked in front. Elias's car stops. MUSIC pounds from inside. Then one CONTINUOUS SHOT: They pass the club, other store fronts... Turn at the corner... Turn into an alley... Down the alley past the same buildings... The rear door of the club... To the next street... Turn... Turn... onto the original street, back to the front of the club. They stop again. HULL Go wait around back. Elias nods. A beat. They look at each other. ELIAS I want to see you in that alley. Hull's so terrified he seems calm. With an air of submitting himself to fate, he gets out and walks into the club. INT. CLUB - NIGHT Crowded and BOOMING and strobe lit. Hull pays the cover and climbs a staircase to a... CIRCULAR BALCONY that overlooks the dance floor. On stage: a RAP ACT with its throbbing beat and below Hull a sea of dancers. Hull circles the balcony. It isn't hard to pick out Ivy -- he's all in red, dancing with the woman we saw him with in the Range Rover the first time. Hull reaches the steps again and starts down, keeping his eye on Ivy. The number ends. In the pause before the next one, Ivy can be seen excusing himself, heading toward the rear of the club. The next number begins. People dance. Hull pushes his way through the dancers to... INT. REAR OF CLUB - A SHORT HALLWAY - NIGHT leading toward the rear door they saw from the alley. MOVING DOWN THE HALL A woman's room. A men's room. Hull goes into... INT. MEN'S ROOM - NIGHT Ivy is pissing into a urinal. He's so huge he seems to take up all the space in the tiny room. Hull stares at him, unable to look away. He notices Hull. All dialogue is UNDER the POUNDING MUSIC. IVY What're you looking at? Hull stares at Ivy's face. Ivy considers this rude. IVY (continuing) You want to suck it, bitch? (offers his dick) Or drink it? Laughing, he turns, urinates on Hull's pants. Hull doesn't move. IVY (continuing; recognizing him) Oh, I know you. You're the bitch whose whore I wasted tonight, ain't you? Somebody pushes on the outside of the door. Hull holds it closed with his back. IVY (continuing) I gotta take care of you, too, huh? He reaches into his pants for the butt of a gun. Hull is frozen. Ivy starts to draw it out. Hull steps forward, grabs Ivy's gun arm. With his other hand he clumsily pulls a silenced .22 from inside his jacket, puts it in the underside of Ivy's jaw and SHOOTS twice. Ivy's brains spray upward onto the wall, and he slides straight to the floor. Hull steps out into... INT. SHORT HALL - NIGHT An Hispanic busboy coming out of the kitchen sees him and the gun in his hand, freezes. Hull walks past him and out the back door. From inside we see Hull go down three steps, stumble in the drive and fall to his knees, the gun CLATTERING away from him. A couple that had been making out, stops, looks. It takes Hull a moment to gather himself. He picks up the gun, gets into Elias's car. It drives away. INT. HULL'S MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT Alone, he looks at his face in the mirror. As if he doesn't know the person there. With a knife, he draws out something hidden inside the wooden backing of the mirror. A manila envelope. He empties it onto the dresser: Mementos among which we see, carefully preserved, the blood- soaked bills his father gave him. Hull ignores them and picks up... PHOTO OF HIS CHILDREN He smooths out the folds, stares at it as if trying to fix this in his thoughts. EXT. MOTEL COURTYARD - PAY PHONE - DAY Hull on the phone. He's unusually excited, even moved. HULL ...Carmen, it's me. It's Daddy... INT. HULL'S HOUSE - CLEVELAND - DAY Carmen on the phone, jumping up and down with excitement. CARMEN Daddy!! HULL (V.O.) (through phone) Hi, baby. How are you? I miss you! CARMEN What? HULL (V.O.) I miss you... CARMEN (thrilled) I miss you, too, Daddy... EXT. MOTEL COURTYARD - DAY Hull pressing the phone to his face, trying to master his emotions. GRAINY 16MM FILM - A LABORATORY MAZE A lab rat with a metal electrode protruding from its head, is running a maze at high speed. A VOICE explaining things. VOICE (young, nasal, too smart) The maze leads in two directions. At one end the rat can obtain a food pellet. At the other... (pointer indicates each end) ...it receives electrical stimulus to a very specific area of the cerebellum... The rat reaches this second destination, pushes a bar, is stimulated. A lab worker (white coat, gloves) picks up the animal, replaces it at the start. It runs the same route. VOICE (continuing) This rat, like 86% of the others in the experiment, chose the electrical stimulus repeatedly and exclusively. It continued to do so until it died of malnutrition. ANOTHER SHOT -- the rat dead. INT. A LABORATORY - DAY OR NIGHT A 21-year-old RENEGADE from the Cal Tech chemistry department (red hair, freckles, glasses held together with electrical tape), a brilliant nerd. He picks up... A MOLECULAR MODEL Colored balls stuck together with wooden dowels. CAL TECH This is an addictive amphetamine with time-space distortion, delusions of grandeur -- or maybe they're real -- tending to be impulsive, sometimes violent behavior. Psychotropic adaptation for late monopoly capitalism. It's illegal, and you can buy it on any street corner. He tears off some of the balls, sticks on new ones. CAL TECH (continuing) This increases energy, attention, cognitive powers, yet with a smooth, almost opiate-like emotional surface. Ideal for the post-political, post- rationalist global marketplace and 24 hour lifestyles. It's completely legal and can only get it here, in my lab. ELIAS (to Hull, proudly) Randy's a genius. His professor told him he could win the Nobel prize. CAL TECH Nobel prizes are for wussies. HULL What does this shit do to you? CAL TECH I'm on it now. It's like cocaine only better. (offers him powder on a slide) Want some? HULL I don't take drugs. CAL TECH (unoffended) Your mistake. This is designed for the top end of the market. For people who want to master reality, not avoid it. Because it's synthetic, you don't grow it, refine it, or -- best of all -- import it. ELIAS What would it take to manufacture this stuff in quantity? CAL TECH With a million dollars, I could produce enough for a limited market at about two bucks a pop. (makes a face: fair) But then with five million, or better yet ten, the cost would drop to thirty cents, and we'd have enough for the whole world. ELIAS I'm going to put two hundred fifty thousand into your corporate account. You cheat me, Randy, I'll use your bladder for a bagpipe. (to Hull, with a vengeance) We're going to put Barbosa out of business. Elias is very happy. He leads Hull out. INT. CARVER'S OFFICE - DAY On the pyramid chart there's a black border around Ivy's photo, as around Eddie's. A photo of Hull is now on the board beside the one of Elias. Hull stares out the window, lost in thought. CARVER (dismissive) Synthetic shit?? Sounds like a 20/20 segment... Hull shrugs: it's not that important. Carver turns to his real interest. CARVER (continuing) So, what was it like? HULL (still looking out) What was what like? CARVER Popping Ivy... HULL You knew. CARVER I'm God, remember? HULL (looks back out) Then you should know how it was. Carver smiles, but he's non-plussed by Hull's new detachment. CARVER You didn't clear it with me. You're getting independent. That's good. Hull smiles. CARVER (continuing) How're we coming on Gallegos? HULL He supplies Barbosa. To get to him we'll have to take quantity. CARVER Then you've got to -- HULL That's what killing Ivy did. I'll get to him soon. Carver's impressed. HULL (continuing) Is that it? CARVER (seeing him to the door) I want you to get a new apartment. Something expensive. HULL I like where I am. CARVER That shithole? You're big time now. Act it. And get some clothes. Spend money. Have fun. That's an order. INT. HULL'S MOTEL - OFFICE - DAY Hull in a new, expensive suit, gives the big Blonde Woman cash. HULL Whether I'm here or not, no one else uses that room. And change the linen twice a week, just like now. (starts to go, stops, more money) And make sure James gets what he needs. And something for you. He adds another bill. She smiles. INT. A RENTED CONDOMINIUM - DAY Views, open space, expensive furnishings. Hull (in another fancy suit) is hanging a couple of Betty's masks. He's meticulous about their placement. Elias wanders out from the other rooms, looking around. ELIAS (impressed, envious) Nice place. Nice suit. Hull has a moment of self-consciousness about the suit, checks himself out in a mirror -- a private moment. Elias flops on a couch, puts his feet on an antique coffee table. HULL Hey...! He hurries over, lifts Elias feet to the floor. Hull brushes the wood, inspects it carefully, fusses, worries... Elias is amused. ELIAS You pick all this shit out yourself? HULL A Jewish lady in the store helped me. ELIAS (mock touched by racial harmony) Aw... Very nice. Understated. I'm impressed. Hull starts to place stacks of cash in a briefcase. He's momentarily mesmerized by all the money. HULL (to himself) Fifty bucks, fifty fucking bucks... ELIAS You sold it all? Hull nods. ELIAS (continuing) I'll order a couple more keys from Barbosa. HULL Order ten. ELIAS Ten?? HULL Better twenty. ELIAS (afraid of that) I don't want to push it. HULL I do. We've got a bigger territory, we need more product. I want to deal directly with Gallegos. It would save us money. ELIAS Barbosa'll never let us near him. Hull closes the briefcase, ushers Elias toward the door. He's going out, too. HULL If we buy twenty, Gallegos'll come to us himself. ELIAS How do you know? HULL When I bought a key from Eddie, you came to me. Elias laughs, surprised, afraid. HULL (continuing) Who's above Gallegos? ELIAS Guzman, but he's... Don't ask so many questions. HULL How else will I learn? (hint of a threat) Call Barbosa, David, put in our order... Because we have to split this, and there isn't enough here for both of us. Elias feels the threat. EXT. BETTY'S JEWELRY STORE - NIGHT Despite the CLOSED sign, a light's on inside. Hull knocks. No response. He keeps knocking without let-up until: BETTY'S VOICE (annoyed) Nobody's home, go away. He knocks harder. Finally she appears in the doorway, stopping short when she sees it's him. She's immediately aware of white streaks on her grey suit. she tries to brush them off. MCCUTCHEON (doesn't want to let him in) Look, I'm tired, why don't you... Hull holds up the briefcase. She sighs, unlocks the door. INT. BETTY'S OFFICE - NIGHT A bill counter toting up the cash. She watches it fixedly to avoid looking at him, but she feels the chemistry. MCCUTCHEON Why do you look at me like that? HULL How do I look at you? MCCUTCHEON Like you know something I don't. Like you're better than me. That catches Hull off-guard, and he responds with a candor she didn't expect. HULL I don't think I'm better than you. I don't think I'm better than anybody. She's startled by this remark and instinctively drawn to him. HULL (continuing) But I do know something... You can't stop thinking about me. Embarrassed, she looks away. He takes her hand, and at his touch something yields to her. She lets him draw her to him. His kiss is strangely tender, searching. It turns Betty on incredibly. She melts into him. MCCUTCHEON Let's go back here... She leads him into... THE SMALL OFFICE She's sweet and loving, but her sweetness scares her. He's all over her, but she pulls back for a moment. There is a couch and before it a coffee table with coke scattered on a plate. MCCUTCHEON (indicates coke) Do this... do it with me. She offers him a straw. He doesn't take it. MCCUTCHEON (continuing) This is where I'm at. You want to be with me, it's gotta be there. HULL I don't do that. MCCUTCHEON Never have, never will. HULL It's for fuck-ups. MCCUTCHEON What do you think, you're not a nigger? You're a nigger as much as me. HULL More. She's angry, hurt, confused, wants to love him, but feels he won't let her, or she won't let herself. It's torment. Finally she's released by a KNOCK on the door. She goes out to... THE FRONT OF THE STORE Lets in Elias. He smells the tension. ELIAS (amused, jealous) Having fun? (neither answers; to Hull) I talked to Barbosa. He'll see us now. Hull turns to Betty. Both want to go that way instead of this, but events are leading somewhere else. He follows Elias out. EXT. A SALSA CLUB - NIGHT MUSIC pouring into the darkness. INT. CLUB - NIGHT Kids dancing to a live STAGE ACT. High in a wall: a lit window. INT. THAT ROOM - NIGHT Very different from the club. A comfortable room with a bar, tables, filled with men much older than the dancers below. Barbosa and Gopher at the bar with Elias and Hull. Chino and other SHADOWY FIGURES lurk in the room's depths. BARBOSA Ten kilos? You're always late on two. HULL Not ten... twenty. Barbosa's impressed. HULL (continuing) The more we have, the more we can move. There're markets we can't open because we don't have the inventory. Barbosa's coked to the eyeballs, mean and dangerous. BARBOSA Finally some balls on this team... (taunting Elias) Come work for me, John. I'll give you your own franchise. You can supply Elias, lean on him when he's late. ELIAS Go fuck yourself. Barbosa laughs. HULL I'm with David. BARBOSA Why? He give you his "designer drugs" pitch. He's never going to do it. He's a shmuck. ELIAS Don't talk to me that way. BARBOSA I'm not talking to you at all. I'm talking to John. GOPHER It's the cocaine. Don't listen to him. Felix, you've had enough... BARBOSA Shmuck. Elias goes for him. He's fast and strong, and it takes Chino and Hull to pull him off. GOPHER Praise God they don't let guns in here. CALMING VOICES "None of that in here..." "Take it outside..." Barbosa's laughing, but his cheek is flecked with his own blood, and his eyes are dead. BARBOSA David, you've been working out, you're getting strong. Are you quick, too? (shadow boxes) Come on, I'll give you a shot at me. ELIAS Any time, any place. BARBOSA Right here, right now. Do this. He puts his hands out, palms up. ELIAS This? What is this? BARBOSA You know, you slap me, I slap you. (mimes that game) Come on, it's fun. Like summer camp. It doesn't look fun. Elias glances at Hull for guidance. HULL Don't waste your time. BARBOSA Stay out of this. (to Elias) Come on, you can do it, David, you're not a shmuck. Elias puts his hands out, palms up. Barbosa covers them with his own. ON THE HANDS: Barbosa's broad, muscular with thick gold rings and a Rolex; Elias's paler, slighter, a wedding band and a slim watch. BARBOSA (continuing) Slap my hands. Just slap them. Elias looks Barbosa in the eye. He's trying to be a snake, but he's more the mouse. He looks away and as he does tries to... Slap him with both hands but hits only... Air. The room breathes. Barbosa turns his rings so the big surfaces point down. BARBOSA (continuing) Now it's my turn. GOPHER It's Barbosa's turn. He's gonna kill the white boy. ELIAS One more. BARBOSA No, you went, Davey, now it's my turn. First to four wins, like the World Series. Elias covers Barbosa's palms with his own. GOPHER Oh, God, I can't look. ON THE HANDS: Barbosa tenses his hands. Elias yanks back. Barbosa's hands haven't moved. BARBOSA You remember the rules? If you flinch, I get to hit you. He slaps Elias across the face. Hull starts forward. A knife appears. He stops. BARBOSA (continuing) Again, shmuck. Elias covers Barbosa's hands. Barbosa tenses. Elias holds firm, and Barbosa quickly slaps both hands, hard. Elias doubles over, holding his hands in pain. GOPHER One. ELIAS That was two. BARBOSA No, this is two. He slaps him again, a stinging crack. Elias looks to Hull, but they're across a canyon. Hull lowers his eyes. GOPHER Oh, and it hurts. Mercy, it hurts. ON THE