"Why'd you do that to your door?" "Because." "Come on." "I need your help." "Safety is an illusion." "People are nihilists, Nate." "They're gonna rape and kill and steal just 'cause they want to, sometimes even 'cause they're bored." "It's fucking scary when you think about it." "Our house..." "Wide open." "There aren't nearly enough cops in Los Angeles, so it's on us..." "To protect ourselves." "Okay, well, then, why are we only putting bars on your window?" "'Cause it's a pain in the ass to fucking install." "Come on." "We got more work to do." "Where are you going?" "Out." "Out and about." "But I need you to stay away from the house tonight, okay?" "Why?" "'Cause I need you to." "Hey." "What the fuck is going on with you, man?" "I'm gonna tell you everything tonight, okay?" "Go have fun." "Do something fun." "Go see a movie, whatever it is you do." " I'll take care of you, all right?" " Yeah." "What the fuck?" "Hey." "Hello, sir?" "Uh, yeah, no, we didn't..." "we didn't order this." "This isn't ours." "You can put this back on the truck 'cause we didn't order it." "Fuck me." "Oh, ho!" "Ah!" " Bad time?" " No!" "My God, look at you!" "The man, the myth!" "Nothing changes." "How are you, my friend?" "Good to see you." "You too." "Good to see you." " Goddamn, you're sweaty!" " I'm sweaty." "It's fucking hot as hell out there." "We don't get the ocean breeze like you do." "Oh, what is this?" "I'm a growing boy, man." "What do you want from me?" "Forgive me." "Forgive me." " Garo, take you time." " No." "Mmm!" "Hey..." "I'm sorry to hear about what happened to Nate." "Oh, thanks." "Thank you." "No, he's o... he's okay." " He's doing good." " They find the shitheads?" "Not yet." "Police are working on it." "You know, I got a lot of cousins out here... old country." "Yeah, the last thing I need is owing you a favor." "I mean it, though." "Anything you need, anything, all you have to do is ask." "I appreciate it." "I do." "Actually, I came here 'cause I think I have something for you." "Ryan Wheeler wants to fight again." " Wheeler?" " Yeah." "That's some shit." "How is he?" "Hasn't missed a beat." " Is he clean?" " Yeah, complete 180." "Kid's living like a monk." "He's got his head on straight." "I'm very impressed... very impressed." "I'm putting together a big show." "You got a main card?" "I'm down the road with a couple of guys." "Really?" "'Cause I hear one of your guys fell out and you have half a card." "You're gonna get a bigger name than Ryan Wheeler with his story... four years in jail, first fight out." "We're putting a lot of asses in a lot of seats." "Is he ready?" "I'm only five weeks out." "Who's the fight?" "Matt Rynders out of Cocoa Beach, Florida." "The guy's a fucking killer." "This ain't no tune-up fight." "Yeah, I know." "Five weeks is tight, but, uh, I'm gonna have to talk to him." "In the event that he does say yes, though, you do me a favor, and you keep it quiet for a minute." "Keep it quiet?" "You just gave me his whole fucking story, and I can't promote a fucking secret, man!" "You keep your mouth shut for two fucking minutes." "That's all I ask." "You can say that you got a big fighter." "I'll give you plenty of time to make your gate... my word." "You give me Ryan Wheeler, the old Wheeler, the savage, you give me that guy," "I'll suck your dick until your head collapses." " You don't change." " How can I change?" "You're still as beautiful as always." "I-I look at you." "I don't know." "I forget." "Am I straight?" "Am I gay?" "I have no idea." " Thank you." "I'm gonna call you." " Okay, my friend." " Send Nate my best, huh?" " I will." "I mean it about that offer." "Asparagus." "Sorry, man." "What's with the shit outside?" "It's a gift from our friend Allison Castro." " Allison the investor chick?" " Yeah." "I thought you were gonna tell her no." "When you start taking gifts from these people, then we can't get rid of them." "They're like fucking leeches, man." "They own your ass." "I know." "I've left her three messages." "I'm on it." "Jesus." "Amazing." "You look exhausted." "Where have you been?" "I drove to north Hollywood." "Why?" "I went to see Garo Kassabian, who wants Ryan for the king beast card." "Main title." "But I thought that the training hasn't been going well." "It hasn't, but this throws a stake in the ground, keeps him focused on something." "Always helped me." "He's your fighter." "Really?" "That's all you got for me... "he's your fighter"?" "He's your fighter." "I've got my own fighter to worry about." "What does that mean?" "I'm getting Jay a fight." " No, you're not." " Yes, I am." "You've never managed a fighter before." "There's a first time for everything." "And any promoter that would sign Jay can't be trusted." "Why the fuck do you want to get involved with this?" "What are you doing?" "Jay's a brilliant fighter, and I really think he could be a star." "Oh, Jesus." "You know, I don't expect you to help me, Alvey." "I just don't want you to interfere." "Okay." "You want to do this?" "You do this on your own." " Fine." " And he's not representing my gym." "He fights unaffiliated." "Okay, but he's training here." "Not when Ryan's training." " Alvey, come on." " No, no, no, no." "Come in." "Alvey?" "There's some cop out here looking for you." "Detective Gaines." " How goes?" " Ah, good." "I was actually looking for Nate." "I have a few questions I want to ask him." "Nate is... is not here." "What's going on?" "I just need to talk to him, get clarity of a couple of things." " You check the house?" " Yeah, I did." "He's not there, either." "And he's not returning my calls." "Actually starting to hurt my feelings a little bit." "Truth of the matter is that if we're gonna get these guys," "I really need Nate's cooperation." "Yeah, absolutely, yeah." "I, uh..." "Jesus." "I'll bring him down this afternoon." " That'd be good." "Okay." " Okay." "Hey, listen, how's your other son?" "Jay." "He's..." "What the fuck did he do?" "Oh, nothing, nothing." "I'm just asking." " I'll see you later, huh?" " Yeah." "Jay." "Hey, Keith." "Your phone was ringing." "Hey, Keith?" "Yeah?" "Please don't lie on my bed." "You got your own bed." "Oh, sorry." "I didn't think you'd get mad." "Oh, hey, I'm not mad." "I'm just telling you." "It's all right." "It's from someone called Alvey." "I got it." "I got it." "Yeah." "Welcome to voice-mail system." "Hey, Ryan, it's me." "Change of plans." "Hey, Nate!" "Nathan!" "Hey!" "It's your father!" "Hey." "What's up?" "What's up?" " I'm just hanging out." " Can I come in?" "Uh, no, I was just about to head out to physical therapy." "All right, good." "Well, you know what?" "I'm gonna take you because I have to work some stuff out with the insurance anyway." "Dad, it's fine." "I'll" " I'll just handle it." "No, we're gonna go together, and then we're gonna go see detective Gaines, who said that you have not returned a single one of his phone calls." "What's going on, pal?" "Nothing." "Let's just go." "No, I want you to tell me what's going on." "Nothing." "Promise." "It's all good." "Hi." "Hey." "Did you talk to Alvey?" "He left a message." "He said, uh, to do my conditioning, and then we'll hit it when he gets back." "Yeah." "It's all yours." "Hey, uh, Alvey said there was something important he wanted to talk to me about." "You know what that is?" "He'll talk to you when he gets back." "Hey." "If you don't want me here alone, I can leave." "It's fine." "Got a shit ton of work to do in my office, and Alvey wants you to train." "You're right." "I got to get away from Terry." "I-I got to get away from all of it." "Uh..." "There are other ways for me to make money." "I-I don't even need very much, anyway." "Why don't you just come stay with us?" "Oh, honey, you're sweet." "But I'm thinking I got to get out of here." "I got to get away from L.A." "And all the same old pack of losers that are always hanging around." "I want something new..." "Crisp air." "Uh, a-a clean slate is what I want." "What do you mean?" "You're gonna move?" "Yeah." "Why can't I move?" " Where?" " I don't know." "One of my best friends just moved to Portland." "Portland is a druginfested fuckhole." "Maybe not Portland." "I want something with nature." "Or whatever... whatever." "These are just ideas, anyway." "Uh, hey, could I get a refill on this to go, please?" "Yo, Lisa!" "Yo!" "It's Bucky!" "That's right." "Lisa!" "Holy shit..." "Ryan Wheeler!" "You train here?" "Yeah." "It's Bucky DeMarco." "I-I promoted one of your first fights back in Victorville." " Bucky DeMarco." " Yeah." "Yeah." "You fucked me out of 500 bucks." "Really?" "Ah, well, it was like..." "Is, uh, Lisa here?" "'Cause I had a meeting." "Yeah, go ahead." "She's in the back." "Bucky, I'm just fucking with you, man." "She's in there." "Yeah." "Hmm." "Mm." "Oh, for God sakes, Bucky, it's not a fucking riddle." "Do you have a fight for Jay or not?" "To be honest with you, Lisa..." "I'm looking at another guy." "Who are you gonna get that's better than Jay?" "Jay's a name." "He sells tickets." "He'll make his gate." "Come on, Lisa." "People talk." "He has a terrible reputation." "So do you." "I'm giving you a gift, Bucky." "Jay classes up your show the second he signs on." "Don't shit the bed." "Put him on the card." " All right, what's he fighting at?" " 155." "Ooh." "See, that's a problem, then. 155's already taken." "What spots do you have open?" "Welterweight." "Who's the fighter?" "Ransom Galbi." "Okay." "Well, I'll talk to Jay, but if he says yes, then he's on the card." "Yeah?" "Yeah, fuck, yeah!" "I love Jay, all right, but the fight's only three days out." "He's not gonna screw me on this, is he?" "No." "He won't." "You got a deal." "Since he's the last fighter in, there's not much money." "No money?" "Bucky, I'm shocked." "You've reached Jay." "Please fuck off after the beep." "Jay, it's me." "I've got something for you." "Call me back." "That was so good, honey." "Thank you." "Let me give you a ride." "No, I'll walk." "I'm okay." "Come on." "Let me just drive you." "No, I ate too many chips." "It'll be good to walk." "Mom..." "I need you to come with me." "Just get in the truck." "Come on." "Mom..." "Mom..." "No, let go of me!" "Let go!" "Jay, let go of me!" "I'm so sorry, mom." "Shh, shh." "You're okay, mama." "Hey, hey." "Jay, Jay!" " No, Jay!" " Shh!" "Hey, hey, hey, hey, relax." " No, no!" " Let go, let go!" "No!" "Mom." "Shh!" "Shh!" "Jay!" "I'm gonna get sick!" "I'm gonna get so sick!" "Mom, you can get through this." "Okay?" "I fucking know it." "Yes, you can, mom." "Ma, I got you." "Look at me." "Hey, I got you." "All right, I'm gonna take care of you." "Oh, my God." "Oh, just breathe." "Oh, my God." "Oh, my." "Jay please just let me go, okay?" "Okay, just let me go." "Let me go back, please." "No, you're not going anywhere until this shit is..." " No, please." "Please, baby." " Mom, until this shit is through, y-you're not going anywhere, okay?" "I'm gonna check in on you in a little while." "So you just relax here, okay?" "Okay." "No!" "I'm gonna check on you in a little bit." "Who the fuck do you think you are?" "!" "Mom, hey, hey!" "No, you can't do this!" " You... no, you can't do this!" " Shh!" "You can't do this!" " You are gonna do this, mom!" " No!" " You're gonna fucking do this!" " No!" "Shh!" "Agh!" "No, Jay, don't leave me in here!" "Fucking little asshole!" "Let me out of here!" "Jay!" "Aah!" "Aah!" "Aah!" "Your dad's pretty intense." "Yeah, you could say that." "was he a fighter?" "Yeah." " Mr. Kulina?" " Hey." "All right, so, it looks like the insurance is gonna cover about six more visits, but that should be enough 'cause he's healing up nicely, so, um..." "Of course, if not, we can always work something out." "Yeah, it was pretty different back then... no weight classes, no regulation or anything, so it was..." "It was pretty savage." "And now it's more of a sport." "I can't picture you fighting." "Why do you say that?" "I don't know." "Just..." "You seem really sweet." "He needs to be training again as soon as possible." "You have any idea when that will be?" "Well, he's responding well to treatment, but, you know, it's kind of hard to say." "I mean, you don't have a professional opinion?" "No offence." "This guy just won a big fight, and he's got a lot of heat on him right now." "I don't want him to lose momentum." "You understand that?" "I wish I could give you a date or time, but everybody's different, you know?" "Only Nate can let us know when he's ready." "Hmm." "Only Nate." "Okay." "So, do you do anything else besides fighting?" "Uh, I sleep." "I play video games." "You know, once I said it out loud," "I realize how sad that sounds." "Yeah, it sounds very sad." "Okay, I'm gonna think of a hobby for you 'cause you need to get out in the world." "You need a release in your life." "Don't want to end up like your dad." "This is Allison." "Hi, Allison." "It's Lisa Prince." "Don't kill me." "My father sent the equipment." "I told him you weren't interested." "You've got to get this out of here today." "We can't accept gifts." "I was really fucking clear about that." "You were, and I'm sorry." "You're so not fucking hearing me." "We need someone to come and pick this up today." "How about this?" "Have a drink with me tonight." "No business, one drink, and I promise to have the equipment out before tomorrow." "Lisa, still there?" "Yeah." "You look better." "Thanks." "A long way to go." "Right?" "Hey." "watch out for Bucky DeMarco." "Guy's a scumbag." "This business is full of them." "Is he still throwing those horrible smokers?" "Fight's a fight." "True." "Can you... think you can get me out of these?" "Please?" "Please." "I just put Jay on his card." "I guess, uh, beggars can't be choosers." "Yeah, well, in typical Jay fashion, he's fallen off the fucking face of the planet." "Huh." "Well, just like a fighter." "Yeah." "Anyway, uh, Alvey should be back soon." "Hey, Lisa?" "Thank you." "For what?" "For, uh, for letting me back in here." "It means a lot, and I know it's not ideal." "You could've said no." "I did say no." "Either way..." "It means a lot." "Don't forget to clean up the mats." "Put the phone away." "Why?" "'Cause we're in a police station." "That's why." " Gentlemen." " Detective." "Thank you so much for coming down." "Absolutely." "We want to catch these guys." "Listen, um, I'd love to talk to Nate alone if it'd be all right with you." "You're good?" "Yeah." " I'll wait outside." " Won't take but a second." " How are you feeling?" " Good." "How's your brother?" "He's all right." "You ever seen these guys," "Carlos Cruz, Hector Romero?" "Venice 13 gang members." "No, sir." "You sure?" "Because a C.I. Had told me that they were bragging about whipping some fighter's ass." "Now, I did a bunch of math, and I thought it might be you." " I don't know these guys." " That's mysterious to me, 'cause if somebody did to me what they did to you..." "I would damn sure want them to be accountable, unless I was covering for somebody." "Son..." "I can't do my job if you won't talk to me." "I don't know them." "I'm sorry." "This guy's trying to help you." "All right, you and me are having dinner tonight." " No, I can't." " It's not an invitation." "We're having dinner." "I got to swing by the gym." "I want you to be at my house at 7:00." "Do you understand?" "Jay!" "There you go." "All right, just grab it." "Make some space up there." "You see Ryan?" "He left early." "He gets picked up here." "Where the fuck did he go?" "I don't know." "Maybe you should put a chip in him like a puppy." "Did you talk to him?" "How did he seem?" "He seemed fine." "I was mostly in my office." " How'd it go with Nate?" " Not good." "I think he's hiding something, and I think it has something to do with Jay." "I'm gonna have dinner with him tonight, see if I can pry it out of him." "Well, just take it easy on him." "He's been through a trauma." "He should probably be in therapy." "I'm just gonna have dinner and talk to him." "Did Ryan say if he was coming back?" "He didn't say anything." "Once a year, they fly me out for this training seminar." "It's two hours of demoralizing bullshit, but I get to spend three days in the California sun." "It's the best time of my year." "What about you?" "You live around here?" "No, I-I live down in Manhattan beach." "My partners and I are developing a commercial space here on Abbot Kinney." "Oh." "W-what is it?" "Mixed use... uh, lofts, condos, a few thousand square feet of retail space." "Wow." "Are you the architect?" "No." "No, God no." "No, I wish I had that talent, but I'm the money." "Just push numbers around until they make sense." "It's so funny." "Everyone out here dresses so casually." "I love it." "I have to say, you look really young to be in finance." "The only rich guys I know wear suits." "Look like shit." "I got lucky with a few things right out of school." " Where'd you go?" " Back east." "Oh." "One of those, huh?" " What about you?" " Indiana Hoosier." "Mm-hmm." "Born there, raised there." "Probably die there." "Who knows?" "Maybe I'm already dead." "I'm married." "Where's the ring?" "I don't wear it when I come out here... reminds me of my husband." "Ouch." "Uh..." "We've been together since high school." "He's... he's a good man, but he's... he's not a great man." "He would hate it out here." "He calls it Hollyweird." ""Have fun out in Hollyweird with all the fruitcakes."" "It's not even Hollywood, you ignorant hayseed." "It's Venice and Santa Monica." "He doesn't know the difference." "I mean, the man could try harder." "He..." "He doesn't know the first thing about me." "Even a beautiful woman gets taken for granted." "What about you?" "You have a girlfriend?" "I was engaged, but..." "It wasn't meant to be." " Who left?" " She did." "I should've tried harder." "She must have a screw loose." "Goddamn, I'm older than you." "Goddamn." "Melanie, it's... it's Melanie, right?" "Good boy... you remembered." "So, Melanie..." "We don't have ages in Los Angeles." "If you're fucking hot, you're fucking hot." "oh, God!" "Oh, God!" "Fuck!" "Geez!" "Oh, geez, yes!" "Oh, fuck, fuck!" "Oh, geez!" "Yes!" "Ah, yes!" "Ah, what?" "!" "Don't stop!" "Don't stop!" "Fuck, fuck!" "Oh, fuck me!" "Fuck!" "Yes!" "Oh, fuck!" "Oh, shit!" "You have a lot of tattoos." "You're... you work in finance?" "!" "Are you... oh, fuck!" "Oh!" "Oh!" "Oh!" "Oh, oh!" "Oh!" "Ah!" "Oh, ah, ah!" "Oh!" "Oh!" "Chrissy?" "Christina, where the fuck are you?" "Agh!" "Aah!" "Ohh!" "Whoa!" "The fuck!" "See?" "Shit, I got it!" "I remember where you kept it from when you had your hands on my mom's tits." "Man, I don't have your fucking mom!" "I know." "I do." "Just keep her, man." "I don't need her, okay?" "What, is she disposable to you?" " No, man, she's fucking great." " She's great." "She's great at what... sucking dick for money?" "Is that what you mean?" "Is she great at being a great little whore?" "Man, I don't fucking know!" "Yeah." "Yeah." "Oh, fuck." "I'm not gonna shoot you, Terry." "Oh, fuck, thank..." "Oh, Jesus." "Christ..." "Thank you." "But you're gonna wish I did." "Fuck!" "Ohh!" "Ohh!" "Fuck." "Fuck." "Ohh!" "Agh!" "Agh!" "Fuck!" "Get me out of here!" "I'm gonna die in here!" "Let her out." "Fucking let her out, Jay!" "You know how long it took me to make that door?" "Oh, fuck off!" "This isn't cool." "Hey, that reminds me." "We can't have any friends over for a little bit." "No, I don't want her in this house." "I don't want her in this house!" "She's your mother, Nate." "Let me out of here!" "You think I did this because I had a choice." "It's two fucking things." "It's this, or it's mom getting..." "Shot up with dope and gutterfucked for a nickel." "Your mother." "Your mother, Nate." "We're doing this." "So don't go near that door." "Don't talk to her if she starts yelling at you." "She's dope-sick." "Put your earphones in, 'cause she's gonna say fucking anything to get out of there." "But when she comes through this..." "You're gonna see who she really is." "Huh." "Where have you been, playboy?" "I-I went for a run, man." "I wanted to get outside." " You've been drinking." " A little." "Little." "I ain't your daddy." "I don't want you to fuck this up." "No, I won't." "Trust me, man, II pissed clean this morning, so I'm good for a bit." "All right." "What'd you drink?" "Best fucking beer I've ever had in my life." "I bet." "You'd have drank a frosted glass of rat piss after the workout I saw you give there." "I was watching the security tapes." "You can do that?" "Yeah." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "Knows all, sees all." "Yeah." "This is me." "Be good." "Oh, shit." "You wanted to tell me something." "What was that?" "Garo Kassabian wants you to headline the king beast card." " Shit." " Shit." "Yeah." " Really?" " Yeah, yeah, yeah." "I mean, do I want a fucking tuneup fight first?" "Absolutely." "But I don't think we can say no to this, man." "You win this, you are back in the mix." "It feels like I don't know my ass from a hole in the ground right now, Alvey." "You are not as far away as you think you are, brother." "Okay, now we got a real thing to build a camp around." "You're not ready, I pull you out." "I yank you." " Really?" " Hand to heart." "I'm not gonna put you in a bad fight." "Hey, let's go!" "If you think it's the right move, I'm in." " Yeah?" " Yeah, you're the boss." "My man." "We'll get after it tomorrow, okay?" "Yes, sir." "Is it weird being the flower in a business of brutes?" "You know, I can be a pretty hard bitch." "But you know what I'm saying." "It's not a woman's world traditionally." "How'd you end up here?" "I think I just kind of fell into it." "Ryan and I were engaged, so his world became mine." "That's the story I want to know." "It's too long to tell." "I'm sorry." "I didn't mean to pry." "No, it's fine." "But besides that, something kept you in this business." "It's, um, like a family." "I don't know." "I..." "I'm not gonna write a fashion blog or go into pharmaceuticals or whatever the fuck it is that women are supposed to do." "I was always that kid that when Christmas came along, my brothers would get slingshots and I would get a baby doll, and it would drive me fucking insane." "Yes." "I have three bothers." "I'm like, "give me the damn slingshot." "You guys don't even know how to use it."" " And that never changes." " Exactly." "You know, I told my father we shouldn't send the equipment." ""Lisa doesn't want it."" "He's old school." "He..." "He thinks girls like shiny things." "It's fine." "It's all gone, so..." "Alvey seems like a handful." "He can be, but it's his gym." "Don't you run it?" "Okay, Allison..." "You're getting nowhere with me." "I don't take money or favors from people in your business." "You got this all wrong." "Oh, no, no." "I don't give a shit what your father does or how he makes his money." "Honestly, I don't judge." "Fuck, I've probably even smoked it, but it's not flowing through our gym." "So let's just have a good evening like a couple of fucking flowers, call it a night." "To working with difficult men." " Here you go." " Thank you." "Okay." "What are we gonna do about this?" "About what?" "You're not talking to me." "You're not talking to the police." "Why do I have to talk about anything?" "This happened to me." "Because a lot of people care about you, Nate." "And these people need to be punished." "That's why." "But what if I just want to let it go?" "This have anything to do with your brother?" "Does it?" "You want to know the truth?" "Yeah." "Okay." "When those guys were fucking stomping on my head, they did say something." "They said, "tell your dad we said, 'what's up?" "'"" "what does that mean?" "Huh?" "The truth is that I don't even fucking care." "I just want it to go away." "And I want you to go away and leave me the fuck alone." "Nate..." "Stay away from me." "You owe me that." "Nate..." "Son?" "Why are you doing this to me?" "Hi." "Where have you been all day?" "Um, deep in prayer." " Are you okay?" " Yeah." "Why the fuck haven't you called me back?" "As I said, I was deep in prayer." "You know what?" "I don't even care." "I got you a fight." " Who's the promoter?" " Bucky DeMarco." "Oh, wait, it gets worse." "It's a welterweight..." "Ransom Galbi." " When?" " Three days." "How much?" "Jack shit and a piece of your gate." " How big a piece?" " A sliver." "Where?" "He doesn't have a place yet, but it will definitely be sad and depressing." "So, it's three days out..." "And he doesn't have a venue?" "He has a cage." "He has a tent." "He just needs a place to put it." "Sounds like a great opportunity, but I think I'm gonna pass." "Jay, I called everyone, and Bucky's the only one who would give us a fight." "Everyone thinks you're a head case." "Yeah, I may be, but I don't need to take it in the fucking ass from a douche like Bucky." "Oh, no, you're taking it in the ass if you want to fight." "That's where you're at." "If you think that there's gonna be something better that's gonna come along," "I'm here to tell you that it's not." "It's this or nothing." "You got tape on this guy?" "You'll have it by tomorrow." "I'm gonna be at the gym tomorrow morning pretty early... ish." "Probably around noon." "Bring it." "Hey." "You okay?" "Yeah." "You made it!" "Hi!" "Come, I want you to meet some people."