DC Noir (2019) - full transcript

3:52 p.m.

I brought you somethin'.

I only drink organic juices.

Y'all need to get rid of your sugar

machine and enter the 21st century.

Be sure to bring that up

at the next board meeting.

Why am I in homicide?

I checked your jacket.

You're a stick-up man, not a killer.

And you pullin' all that rippin' and

runnin' out there in the streets.

That's gonna make you

a lot of enemies.

Make sense you feel

the need to be strapped,

but that's gonna open you up to

a major conflict with the law.

That gun they found in your

vehicle had shaved numbers.

That's a mandatory nickel

in a federal joint.

And with your priors,

maybe more.

Depends on how the prosecutor

wanna push it.

They're gonna run that nine

through IBIS.

They're gonna test the ballistics

and check the striations.

And if there's a body

attached to it,

you're goin' away forever

and a day just like that song.

"Forever and a Day. Yeah, man,

that... Heatwave, right?

Man, my mother used to listen

to that on HUR.

So did mine.

Melvin Lindsey used to rock

that on the regular.

Look, man.

You in the murder house, 'cause I figured

we could do each other a couple solids.

You help me put down

an outstandin' homicide or two

and it's possible that that

problem of yours could go away.

I don't know anything

about any murders.

That ain't the world

I drive through.

But something interesting comes

to mind that you might like.

I'm listening.

Turn it off.

- Talk about it.

- Alright.

Some big-time lawyer connected

through his work to the street,

reached out to a man I've been

knowing since we were kids.

My man gave the lawyer my name.

- And?

- What, the lawyer? Some old white dude.

He's got a young wife,

much younger than him.

Heh, his round 2.

Anyway, he's havin' a problem

with his woman.

Kinda problem

he wants solved permanent.

He tried to hire you

to kill his wife?

And that's a bet.

- How much?

- My man say 50,000.

That right there is real money.

Yeah, it is. But that ain't me.

- You tell that to the lawyer?

- Oh, I never spoke to him.

I held on to his number, though.

Why?

In case, I got into a situation

like I'm in today.

You got a name for me?

No, but the number's still in my

phone, the one that got confiscated

when y'all illegally searched

my vehicle this afternoon,

so you can use this though,

right?

Not me.

But, I mean, like, it's good

information like I'm free to go.

Oh, oh, just don't...

Don't get ahead of yourself, Cray.

You're not exactly

out of this situation just yet.

What high school you go to?

The only high school,

HD Woodson.

The only high school.

I went to Cardozo, the Clerks.

The Clerks. Oh, man.

- You somethin'.

- Look, can I get that juice?

Oh, yeah. Organic, right. I'm gonna

run out to Whole Foods right quick.

You just stay right here.

Don't go anywhere.

Back in school

I used to row from out there.

Which one? This dock?

Yeah, up at those red lights.

- You in military?

- Yeah, I served in the Middle East.

How did you get

into this line of work?

I was a SOCOM, special ops.

After that I worked for the Triple Canopy

outfit in Afghanistan personal security.

So this was

a natural progression.

I'm just doin'

what I was trained to do.

So tell me what you need?

My wife is, uh, considerably

younger than I am.

She has been, uh, unfaithful

since the day we met.

I thought she'd change

but, uh,

marrying her

was a mistake.

- Terrible mistake.

- Get a divorce.

Yeah.

My first wife,

she damn near cleaned me out.

Another settlement

would ruin me.

Frankly,

I can't abide the betrayal.

Or the loss of my self-esteem.

I want her to pay.

Say what you want. Exactly.

I want you to kill her.

But you haven't even

told me her name.

- What?

- Her name. What's her name?

It's Gina.

Her name is Gina.

Excuse me, I was wondering if you

knew anything about this book.

If it's any good,

I mean it's for my father.

Um, I'm not familiar with it.

You should ask the person who works here.

Oh.

What do you got there?

It's "Appointment in Samarra"

by John O'Hara.

Some say

he's better than Fitzgerald.

Them's fightin' words.

- Have you read O'Hara?

- No. No, not yet, I'd like to.

It's about a self-destructive

man in a doomed marriage.

Sounds real upbeat.

Me, I like happy endings.

Nice talking with you.

Hey, wait a second.

I never do this, but would

you like to get a cup of coffee?

Lunch or somethin'?

- I can't, but thank you anyway.

- Just lunch. Conversation.

Maybe I'll learn somethin'

about books

and, you know,

the Appointment in the Sahara.

I'm sure this isn't the first time

you've done something like this

and you're very charming,

but I can't.

- You want to though.

- You don't lack confidence.

I'm married.

It would be wrong.

I'll tell you what?

I'm heading up the street

to the Hitching Post.

It's a soul food spot

on second and Upshur.

If you wanna meet me, fine.

I will be there.

- Nice meeting you.

- Bob.

Thank you, darling.

You got it, baby,

I'll be right back to take your order.

Gina!

Gina.

Gina, it's me.

I know I'm supposed to call your

disposable, but you're not pickin' up.

I've been trying to reach you

for days, please hit me back.

- It's been a while.

- I've been busy.

Hmm, too busy for your mentor?

Don't be so sensitive.

I bought you your coffee.

What?

You want a kiss, too?

And a piece of chocolate

for my pillow.

What happened to that tip I gave you?

You never said anythin'.

Which one?

- White dude wanted to off his wife.

- Oh, that... Pasadeno.

No, he died before I had the

opportunity to meet with him.

So you never got to give him that bullshit

story about you being special ops?

What do you mean he died?

You know,

like when you stop bein' alive.

Funny.

Leonard Sanderson

came home one night,

twisted on alcohol,

and fell down his basement stairs.

Broken neck. My man's blood-alcohol

level was off the charts.

M.E. ruled it

an accidental death.

- How the widow take it?

- I don't know, I never met her.

- You sleepin' alright, young man?

- Like a baby.

You don't look like it.

For real, Bobby, you okay?

Yeah, the usual shit, the job,

stuff at home. It's nothin' major.

- Don't lie to your daddy.

- I'm fine.

The number you're trying

to reach is no longer in service. Goodbye.

You're sayin' that

Sanderson's hyoid was broke?

According to the report, yes.

He fell down a flight of stairs,

Gwen.

How common

is a hyoid fracture in a fall?

Not very. Strangulation,

hanging, blunt-force trauma,

that breaks the hyoid,

not a fall.

So why was it ruled an accident?

Wasn't my lookout, but, you know,

things do slip through the cracks.

You wanna reanimate

a closed case?

Me? Heh, no.

You owe me for this

and I don't mean coffee.

Dinner.

How about Crisfield's?

I've been dreaming

about their crab imperial.

Now you're trying to spoil me.

What's up with you, Mitch?

You look like your dog died.

I got a conundrum. I don't know

what to do about it.

Care to run it by me?

No. No, it's somethin'

I gotta figure out alone.

Okay.

Alright, okay. Come on, you guys.

Let's find something to watch on TV.

Hold on.

Who knows where the remote is?

I'll help you find it.

Oh, yeah, you will.

Mom!

Hi, you've reached Gina, I'm not

here right now. Please leave a message.

Gina, it's Bobby.

If you're there, pick up.

Can you, um,

can you pick up the phone?

I just need to speak

with you for a second.

Gina, it's Bobby. If you're...

if you're there, pick up.

I need to speak with you, okay?

Just, um...

Please pick up the phone, okay?

Uh, just, just call me back

and, uh...

And I'll talk to you soon, I'll be able

to have my phone all day.

My name is Tonio Harris.

This place where I come up,

it can be kinda rough.

I got problems at home.

Got problems at school.

Hell, I got problems walkin'

down these here streets.

And if you wanna know the truth,

I got problems with my future.

Now, come on.

Now, come on.

- Yeah, yeah.

- Oh, squeeze.

Go for it, Antwan. It was close.

Hey, let me set that, nigga.

- I got it, James bro.

- You don't got him, I got him.

I got him. What's up?

Come on.

Come on, yeah, I got him.

So what's up with you?

Here we go, here we go.

He's about to take you.

- Oh, shit.

- Watch the pick. Watch the pick. Watch it.

- Yay!

- Yay!

Oh, Payless Shoe-wearin' ass,

nigga.

Are we gonna ball or what?

No, we can go instead, though.

Come on, man,

let's run it, y'all.

Hey, slim, I gotta go.

Alright, tell your little sister

that I said, what's up, alright?

Shorty got some nice little titties on

her, you know what I'm sayin'?

Take your ball and go home,

slim.

I see you later, Tonio.

Yo bama ass.

We gonna holler at you

and we gonna see you.

I be seein' that boy around.

He got them nothin' eyes.

Maybe you shouldn't

have schooled him.

Uh, you know, that's just

who I am. This your car?

My father's.

He can't drive no more.

You go to that restaurant

like I told you to?

Yeah, I went.

White boy who interviewed me

was like,

"Do you understand

that the hours are long

and do you think you're gonna

make it to work on time?"

He might as well have gone ahead

and called me a nigger to my face,

'cause then he sat there,

and smiled like he was gonna make a big

announcement or some type of lesson.

Oh, I think,

we'll give you a try.

So I told him, "I don't wanna

work at the joint."

I walked right out of the joint

with my head up high.

You should have taken that job

and showed him he was wrong.

Yo, I can't stand the way white

people be talkin' to me sometimes.

It's like, they only there

to make theyselves feel better.

Like, "Oh, I hired a Negro",

and all that shit.

Well, you gotta do somethin'.

Not tryin' to tell you what to do.

I just don't want you to make

the same mistakes I've made.

Uh, alright, I'mma find a job.

Well, let's get out of here.

I told your mother I see you got home.

Crack that window, too.

My name is Peters.

The younger officers in the Fourth

District call me Sergeant dad.

I don't mind as long as

they say it with respect.

I ride midnights mostly.

I prefer to ride alone.

You get aches and pains when you're

behind the wheel for hours at a stretch.

I should get one of those things

the African cabbies sit on.

Looks like a rack

of wooden balls.

I've been doing this

for 22 years now.

Well, I guess the damage I've done

to my spine or whatever is permanent.

Hey.

Pretty late for her to be out.

It was just hot in my apartment,

we're just getting some air.

Yeah. Been some armed

robberies on this block.

I know,

we won't be out too long.

Okay.

Smile for Officer Friendly.

Where you off to?

Backyard's got a show

at the Hall tonight.

So you weren't even gonna ask me

if you could go?

Do I have to?

as

long you're livin' in my house

and you ain't payin'rent,

yes, you have to.

What you talkin' about,

"Do you have to"?

Can I go?

Yes.

- Just get home early, okay?

- Okay.

Look, you know what, um?

I want you to take that

test again, that college test.

Alright, I will.

They got all types of financial

aid for people like you.

You go to school, talk to one

of those counselors, okay?

Yeah, as soon as I find one.

I put somethin' in the bowl

for you.

Alright, ma, thank you.

So your wife

doesn't wanna press charges.

Don't make no difference to me.

Oh, but you got a

restraining order, Charles.

That's my house, too.

Why can't I visit with my sons?

All due respect, they don't look

too happy to see you.

They'll come around.

I don't wanna see you

again tonight.

The feeling's mutual.

- I miss you at the meetings.

- They say the same shit all the time.

- But it works if you work it.

- That's what I'm talkin' about.

You go ahead now.

Okay.

Hey.

Tonio, right?

- How're you doing tonight?

- Maintainin'.

You going to that concert

over there?

Yeah.

Oh, well,

take care of yourself in there

and tell your mom

Sergeant Peters says hello.

I've been knowin' the

people down here for generations.

Locked up that kid's mother years

ago when she was a teenager.

Darla Harris, that's her name.

She was ridin' on The Love Boat back

when that shit was makin' everyone crazy.

She's straight now.

Done a good job with her son

as far as I can tell.

Followin' up on a lead. The deceased

was with that crew over on Kennedy.

There's one street

that'll never gentrify. You?

I was just keepin' an eye

on the critters.

There's a show down

at the Music Hall tonight.

They gotta shut down

those go-go concerts.

Kids and music.

They're just burnin' off energy.

You know, my father used to go down to those

record hops down at the Silver Spring Armory.

The old-timers

then used to say the same thing.

Rock 'n' Roll incites violence.

- Your dad didn't carry a gun.

- Well, carried a knife.

Alright,

I gotta get out of here.

There's some MPD moonlighting

as security at the Music Hall.

I gotta see

if they need assistance.

- Be safe, Sarge.

- You, too.

Look at you.

Tryin' to act hard and shit.

You fucked with me twice today.

You know that, right?

You know, it was my little broad

you was with at the club, right?

No, look, man, I didn't

even know she was with you.

She didn't know either.

But if I say she mine, she mine.

- Look, man...

- Shut the fuck up.

I didn't say you could speak.

Antwan, let me get that.

No, no, no, no, be cool.

Like you was before.

You know what it is,

little nigger?

What are you guys

doin' out here?

We just having

a little conversation, is all.

Something funny?

You don't live here.

You're trespassing.

I ain't trespassing.

- What's your name?

- Huh?

- Your name.

- My name Tonio Harris.

I stay in these apartments.

Then go home. Now.

What's your malfunction?

I don't wanna see you

here again. You understand?

On my next day shift,

I think I'll swing over to Tonio Harris'

apartment and talk to his mother.

See how she's doin'.

Suggest to her without

telling her that maybe...

maybe she oughta have her son

stay inside the next few weeks,

so that beef he has

or whatever it is blows over.

Of course, those kinds of beefs

never do really go away.

But I'll make her aware of it

just the same.

It's not my job to raise kids,

I'm just lettin' these people

know I'm out here. Watchin' them.

I mean, what else can I do?

My back hurts.

Shit.

Hey.

It don't work.

She changed the lock.

Maybe you should sleep somewhere

else tonight.

It's my house.

- What's your name?

- Nesto.

Have a driver's license, Nesto?

You have an ID?

- This is not your house.

- Que?

You're at the wrong house.

It's two doors down.

- I'm sorry.

- Um.

Son, don't forget your keys.

Alright.

We were runnin' now.

The game was full on. And it was fierce.

I wasn't thinkin' about Wallace

or how hard my mother had to work

or which boy was lookin'

to fuck my baby sister.

I wasn't thinkin' on a job

or college or nothin' like that.

- String music, baby.

- Y'all got this. Stay with us, nigga.

Game ain't over yet.

Get that.

It was damn near a perfect day.

Out there in the sunshine,

runnin' ball the way I do,

thinkin' that if I just kept

runnin' that black Maxima,

Wallace, and everything wrong

would just go away.

Alright, let's go again.

Uh, I'm tired of crushin' you.

You look like you're about to cry.

Alright, what you

wanna do then?

Uh,

let's watch that Yeti joint.

Oh, look at that

big-ass snowman!

Oh, how'd you like to come up

on him in the woods?

I hate to break it to you,

but that is a man in a costume.

Uh-uh, sasquatch is real, ma.

Government tryin' to cover that shit

up, like they do with extraterrestrials.

Please.

My mom says there's no such thing as an

ET, Sleepy. No UFOs either.

You workin' tonight, Pat?

No, tomorrow night, the hardware

store's runnin' a sale.

- What about you, Tim?

- No, I quit the restaurant.

Greek wasn't givin' me no hours.

Oh, I'm about to go

to culinary school, though.

- About to.

- Yo, I'm pacin' myself, Miss Mary.

- Hey.

- Hey, what up, yo?

What's up, man?

That's y'all, man.

- We good for it, Rollo.

- I know you is, son.

Hey, you know a David Butler?

They call him Dave.

Man, he got dreads. Gold-toothed,

tryin' to be like Lil Wayne and shit.

We went to the same high school,

we wasn't tight or nothin'.

Alright, well, look.

I gotta bust a swerve at his crib for real

and, um, I don't really know him like

that, so I figured y'all would tag along.

I was goin' to the Summit anyway

to see my girl.

- The Spanish twist?

- She Nicaraguan.

- Man, all that shit is pink.

- Yo, her name is Lucy.

Ugh. Okay, Sleepy, relax.

Aw, David Butler played

football, didn't he?

He tried.

Hey, why y'all ain't play football?

You look like you could've.

Oh, we played.

- Pee-Wee.

- We got to high school. Pat didn't have the grades.

I see no Cs on your report card,

acting like you Alfred Einstein.

I won't gonna play without you.

You're my mans.

Y'all niggas gay.

Anyway y'all rollin'?

Yeah, sure.

Alright, I can... I could take you by

your lil' señorita's on her way, right?

Alright, let's go.

Alright. Alright, little man,

catch up with you later.

- Who is it?

- It's FedEx, man.

My great-great-grandfather

told me Billie Holiday had a fat ass.

Yo, let's do this.

Why you so pressed?

My mother 'bout to be here

from her job.

Look at this little shit,

this is your ma's place, yo?

- You got it.

- You got the kermit?

- I'm good.

- Alright, then. I got it.

Feel light.

You think so?

- Good funk.

- Yeah, I know.

But light.

Man, what you wanna negotiate

or somethin'?

Go back and get my scale

if you want me to?

Yeah, with your superpowers

and all, man,

I figured you can go and weigh

the shit with your hands.

- I'm saying.

- I'm sayin'. It's a LB, man.

- I weighed that shit myself.

- I don't think so.

So I'm lyin'?

We just have a difference

of opinion, that's all.

Maybe we can meet each other

halfway.

So in other words you, uh,

you want a discount.

Nah, you know what, man?

I'll let you set the price.

- Look, we could talk about it.

- No, no, no, you know what?

Just... Just pay me

what you think is right.

That's fair, right?

- Sleepy, get the money.

- Oh.

- Oh.

- Get the fuckin' money, Sleepy!

- All of it.

- Yeah.

Now,

you're gonna take all that, too?

You ain't gonna leave me

with nothin'?

Gonna leave you

with your fuckin' life.

- Hey, why'd you do that?

- 'Cause that niggas a bitch.

He aggravates

the shit out of me.

- What if it gets back around?

- Dave? He's a bitch!

He ain't gonna say shit, man.

I wanna report a robbery.

She was lickin' my balls and

suckin' my dick at the same time.

- Shut the fuck up.

- Yeah.

I swear, bro.

What the fuck.

- Oh, my fucking God.

- Dude, it's us?

- What the fuck.

- Fuck. Yo, what the fuck?

Yo, we got a fuck

ton of weed back here...

So what the fuck

we're gonna do with it?

Don't worry about the

fuckin' strap. Man, I've got that.

Shit.

What are we gonna do with that?

Oh, come on.

Oh, shit, shit,

shit, shit, shit.

Put your

hands where I can see them. Now!

Mom.

Alright, so we got you

out. Now, the work begins.

I need you to grow your hair out first of

all, it's a little too severe for court.

And, mom, he's gonna need a blue

suit for when we do go into court

- and go before the judge.

- Okay.

But above all, I just want you

all to remember I've got this.

I don't want you to worry.

Stay in touch.

We're gonna take care of this,

I promise.

- Okay.

- Thank you very much.

- My pleasure.

- I'll be in touch with you.

Okay.

How could you, Pat?

You and Tim,

you know better than this.

Okay. Marijuana, I get that.

- But armed robbery...

- I didn't touch that, nine, though.

I didn't even know it was gonna

go down like it did.

Well, that doesn't matter.

You've been charged with a felony.

It's an automatic five-year

sentence if you're convicted.

Yeah, I know it. I know.

Okay.

Mr Bronson says that you have to cut

off contact with Tim for a while,

you gotta keep your job,

you gotta grow your hair.

Dress right, not look so hard.

'Cause it's gonna help you

when you go to court.

Yeah, I heard him.

How can you afford a high-priced

lawyer like Bronson?

I'll get a second mortgage or

somethin', I'll figure it out.

The important thing's

to keep you out of prison.

- I'm sorry, Mom.

- I know, baby.

Sleepy.

- Why you not answerin' your phone?

- I got a new one.

What? What like a new number

or somethin'?

Yeah. I'll text it to you,

don't give it out.

Yeah, I won't.

You know, my lawyer said I shouldn't

be talking to you for a while,

especially on the cell.

Police could be tappin'

our phones. You got an attorney?

Public defender. Shit, he ain't that

much older than you and me, though.

Hey, man, you ain't gave no

statement to the feds, did you?

No, I didn't say shit.

They offer you a deal?

I wouldn't flip on you, Tim.

You know this.

- Pat, who you talkin' to?

- I gotta go.

Yeah. This for me rude

boys back home, man.

They're dependin' on me more

than my boys in the city is.

- So what you sayin'?

- What I'm saying is I need money.

My lawyer's costin' me big.

I've got a grind just to pay these bills.

You can't be sellin' weed

right now.

No, I can't be sellin' weed

if I'm incarcerated.

I'm lookin' at long time

with my priors?

I'm lookin' at long time, man,

much longer than yo ass.

Yeah, maybe we'd walk if Dave

don't show up to testify.

Yeah, I know, I'm workin' on it. But what really

got me stressed out though is your boy Pat.

If he talks for a reduced

sentence or for probation?

- No, he won't.

- I'm sayin', man.

I'm sayin' if he testifies

to keep his self out the joint...

He wouldn't.

Pat goin' stand tall.

He told you that?

'Cause you talked to him, huh?

'Cause I called him on his phone

and he didn't bother call me back.

That's his old number.

- You got his new one?

- Yeah. I'll call him.

Look, man, I'm just tryin'

to keep us out of prison, man.

I'm lookin' out

for the both of us.

Both of us.

I'm losing sleep over this.

That's not good.

No, I'll talk to Pat.

- Uh, make sure you see to that.

- Don't worry. Pat's straight.

Hey,

this has your name all over it.

What?

You know somebody up in there?

Nah.

This user has

not set up a voicemail message.

- Hey, what are you doin' tonight?

- Working 'til close.

- No, I meant after?

- Comin' home.

You're doing great, Pat.

Keep it up.

Hey, Pat.

Rollo. Tim.

- That's my man, Joe.

- Joe.

- What's going on, Sleepy?

- Waitin' on you, cuz.

Thought we get our heads up.

Uh, you know, I want to, but court's

got me pissin' in a cup once a week.

I can't be droppin' no positive.

I got some shit to fix that. All you got

to do is drink it, clear you right up.

- I better not.

- Come on, man.

Come and visit. Get in the car.

I'll take you to your mama's house.

- Workin' man, huh?

- Yeah, you know how it is.

Nah, not really.

Hey, so, uh, Pat, man,

you got anything you need to tell us?

Man, my lawyer said

not to talk about the case.

- Oh, smart. I get that.

- Yeah, I'mma listen to my lawyer.

You definitely should, but I'm

just askin' like have you heard anything?

Like what's our chances,

what we lookin' like, man?

I know what you know.

I thought y'all had some pieces?

Oh, I got some tree

that'll make y'all trip.

We ain't smokin'

in my car, though.

We gonna go to the school,

we gonna burn it down over there,

and then I'mma take you home,

alright?

- Well, I can't be out late.

- Oh, we got you, Pat.

We got you, man.

- What's up with you, slim?

- Nothin'.

Oh, I haven't had my head up

in a while, that's all.

- I was thinkin' about somethin'.

- Thinkin' about what?

This is where me and Tim

went to school.

They got an auditorium in there.

Tim, you remember

when we got up on stage

and sang and danced

that old Kris Kross song?

- That jump, jump, joint?

- I remember.

We was kids.

Man, double tap that

motherfucker and let's go.

Man, I feel for you.

Yeah, I know. I know, man.

Sleepy?

Miss Mary.

Do you know who did this?

No, ma'am, but I'll find out.

No, that's not what I'm asking.

- I want you to promise me something.

- Okay.

I don't wanna

do retribution for this.

I don't want you or any of your

friends to murder someone over this

and go to prison for it.

I don't want

another young man to die.

- Do you understand me?

- Yes, ma'am.

- You promise me?

- I do.

Okay.

Okay. Thank you.

There was police at the funeral home.

They was watchin' me.

Man, they always doin' that

shit, man. They got nothing.

Joe is a professional hitter,

man.

Ditched the weapon, ditched town,

no gun, no witnesses, no case.

Oh, and Dave?

He, um, he recanted, so, uh,

all the big shit's gonna be dropped.

I might do a little bit of time for

violating my parole, blah, blah.

You might get probation

for possession for intent,

but, I mean, other than that,

man, we lookin' kind of good.

So Dave

ain't gonna take the stand.

That means... That means

we killed Pat for nothin'.

He could have flipped.

We were just coverin' our bases.

Pat was in the game, man.

He knew what the fuck it was.

You, um... You ain't havin' second

thoughts over there, are you, Sleepy?

I wouldn't want that conscious

to get the best of you.

You know, you feel a need, you have

to, um, I don't know talk to somebody?

I'm straight.

A'ight.

Holler at you.

Sleepy?

What is it?

I was hopin' I could come in

and rest for a little while?

- I won't bother you or nothin'.

- You locked out of your house?

My mother got her boyfriend

over again.

Come on.

I'll make you a sandwich.

Come on.

Oh, why did you take him?

This is my block right here, the

house where I grew up at with my mother,

my father,

and my brother James.

I ain't never lived

nowhere else.

40-some years old and

I still stay in the same bedroom

where I used to sleep

next to James.

James' been gone.

He a lawyer in one of them

bougey firms they got downtown.

It was me who took my father

to the VA hospital today.

Pop's is fucked up permanent

from that Agent Orange.

Do you think James would ever

drive our father to the hospital?

Shoot. He don't even visit,

except for holidays.

And this house ain't

but five miles away.

Still,

he all my father talks about.

James won this trial,

James got him a new Mercedes,

James did this,

and James did that.

Seems to me that I ain't never did

nothin' to make my father proud.

Nothin' he knows about that is.

It's a secret, but I've been working

with the police for a long time.

I'm a confidential informant.

Franco Harris was a beast.

- What do you know about it?

- I can play.

Shoot.

When you was a kid, I took you

on the field by the school.

I tossed you

one of those little footballs.

Told you to run to me

so I could tackle you.

Show you what it felt like

to take a hit.

I wasn't gonna hurt you.

But you were too scared

to do it, Verdon.

You was always soft.

- I gotta bounce.

- Where you goin'?

I know you ain't headed

for no job.

I got a little somethin'

I'm workin' on.

Stop fussin' with me.

Ma be home in a minute.

About to be out.

And touchdown.

That's one of the best plays

we've seen all year...

Shit.

Hey.

- What you want?

- Nothing you got.

Then get your little

narrow ass back in your house.

- You the one loiterin'.

- Mindin' my own like you ought to be.

Ain't you got some schoolwork

or somethin'?

- Did it.

- Yeah.

- Where you go at? Tubman Middle?

- Yeah.

- I went there, too.

- So?

What you doin' standin' here

in my alley?

Look, there goes my ride,

little man. You be easy, alright?

Let's go up the block.

Too many eyes around here.

- Verdon?

- It's Verdon.

Verdon, talk to me.

Y'all headed down

the wrong road, detective.

Jesus Christ.

You been rousting those corner boys in the

eights, that ain't gonna get you nothin'.

Based on Rico's records,

it's a start.

Kid was in it.

He had juvenile priors

for possession, distribution.

That was all

before he got straight.

I've been knowin' his mother

since elementary.

She got him into some

church thing and he changed.

Rico was in the AP program at

his high school and everything.

Boy was headed for college.

So why'd someone put that lead

in his dome?

What I heard, it was over a girl.

See Rico had a weakness for females.

Who doesn't?

You got a name on the hitter?

Nah.

- How about the girlfriend?

- Uh-uh.

You sure?

I'd talk to Rico's mom

if I was you.

I already did that.

She didn't mention a girlfriend.

We searched Rico's room,

his laptop,

there's no evidence of a girl

in his life.

Just tellin' you what I heard,

that's all.

- From who?

- No one in particular.

I just been keeping my ear

to the street.

I'mma keep tryin', but it get expensive,

man, buyin' people drinks and shit?

Tryin' to loosen their tongues.

You feel me?

Stay on it. I gotta put this down.

We caught one this mornin'?

Bodies are stackin' up.

Verdon.

They got a little lake

over there on those grounds.

I used to cane pole fish

back there when I was a kid.

When I got older, I had his

girlfriend named Sondra.

We hopped that fence,

took us a blanket,

some screw-top wine,

little weed. Heh.

Have us a good old time.

She had this

Sony Walkman player.

You know, for cassettes

and, uh, I made her a few tapes.

Bobby Brown, Tone Loc,

other stuff she liked.

She listened to it on her

earphones while I kept my head up.

When I was done

layin' her out right,

I tell her about the cars

I'd be drivin' someday,

the big job I would have,

and, uh, how I wouldn't need no high

school diploma to get those things.

She looked at me

like she believed me.

Sondra had

some pretty brown eyes.

What happened to her?

She married some ambulance chaser,

got office up on the Avenue.

I seen her one time.

She was visitin' her parents

back in the 'hood.

Bum-rushin' the kids

in the house like they get sick

if they breathe this air

or somethin'.

She saw me, too.

She looked away.

Act like she didn't know

who I was.

She could rewrite history

if she want to.

And that fancy husband?

He gonna never have what I had,

'cause I had that pussy when it was new.

See what you can get me

on this Rico murder.

- I need a name.

- I will.

We was at Rico's

wake at his mother's house.

Me and Leticia.

Up in Rico's bedroom,

we found a photograph of Flora.

You know,

the kind you take at the mall.

In the picture, the strap of her

shirt was comin' off her shoulder,

showin' the tops

of her little titties.

These young girls all tryin'

to look like sluts you ask me.

- Verdon.

- Leticia.

- Ain't you gonna ask me in?

- No.

What's wrong with you, girl?

I don't wanna see you

and you can't come in.

- I got some good smoke?

- Go away, Verdon.

What's wrong?

Why you so upset, Leti?

Marquis came by.

That's right.

Flora must have told him

about our conversation with her.

Marquis and me came

to an understandin', Verdon.

You backin' out this on me,

Leticia?

How much money we're lookin'

to collect on that tip line?

1,000? We supposed

to split that, right?

That's what we said.

I ain't tryin' to get

myself killed for $500.

Neither am I.

Then you better go somewhere

for a while, Verdon.

Leave outta here for real.

Flora told Marquis,

there was a skinny,

older-lookin' dude,

the day I braced her.

But Flora ain't know my name,

though.

You said my name to Marquis?

You gave me up, Leticia?

You gave me up?

You gave me up, Leticia?

I'm tryin' to tell you,

yo, I mean, she cool,

but that bitch has got

a big-ass head and shit.

- Hey, she got fat ass, though.

- Yeah.

- She fat as a motherfucker.

- Yo.

- What's up, slim?

- Fuck is this?

Fuck you get that jacket from,

Baby Gap?

- Yo, look at that nigga, yo.

- Yeah.

- Look at this nigga.

- Yeah.

Timbs is done.

- Verdon!

- Robo!

- What you upto, man?

- Ain't nothin', man. Just gettin' a little wine.

Man, I could use a little taste,

too. Get you back on payday.

Payday?

Where you workin' at, man?

Hold up, Verdon.

Look, I've been in here for a couple

hours tryin' to stay warm and shit

and I heard some things.

Like what?

Some boys was in here

earlier askin' about you.

One of 'em had silver fronts

in his mouth.

They described you

and that hat you always wearin'.

But I ain't tell him nothin',

Verdon.

There was this other bama

that they talked to, though.

He told the dude with the fronts

in his mouth where you stay at.

where my people stay?

Come on, man.

Let's get out of here.

- You want bag? 5 cent for bag.

- Thanks, man.

- Where you about to go now, V?

- I don't know.

Guess I'll just walk around some.

Let this wine kiss my head.

Me and Leticia caught up to

Flora, Leticia stepped her.

Leti can be intimidating

and shit when she want to.

- I don't fuckin' know.

- Now, tell me his name.

- Come on!

- Marquis Roberts!

Flora gave it up.

She was there when Marquis Roberts came

up on Rico and doomed him with that nine.

Flora and Leticia, they ain't

gonna say nothin' to nobody now.

That leaves me.

Hey, little man. Help me out.

Call 911, here?

Fuck.

Verdon.

Come here.

I ain't afraid.

Detective Barnes gonna find out

everything when he finds me,

but first,

I need to speak to my father.

Tell him that I ain't

the low ass bum he thinks I am.

I've been working with

the police for a long time.

Matter of fact?

I solved a murder.

I'm a confidential informant,

Pop. Look at me.