"Cab !" "Where ya goin' ?" "He's goin' up to 59th." "Take him there, okay ?" "Hey, good boots." "You like those, huh ?" "What's that, ostrich ?" "No, you know what that is ?" "Stingray." "You're wearing fish boots ?" "Yeah, well, they're really ex-expensive." "See ya later, boss." "Hey." "Oh, mr." "Barret." "Nice to see you." "Hello." "Jennifer, Jennifer." "You're all wet, mr." "Barret." " Well, it's raining outside." " It's warm and dry in here." "Well, warm, anyway." "You know how gorgeous you are ?" "What are you doin' hanging around a place like this ?" "You could be a model." "Same as you, i guess." "It's a classy place." "I meet a lot of nice people." "Nice like me ?" "No one's as nice as you, Charlie." "Hey." "Hey, mr." "Barret." "Hey, mr." "Barret." "Marcus." "Marcus, what's this ?" "Don't worry." "I'll..." "Take care of it." "Just ask 'em to leave." "She said in front of everybody, she said, "jay," "You're hung like a hamster."" "Hey, guys, party's over." "Let's go." "Oh, come on." "Look, I told you five minutes." "Give us our five minutes." "Yeah, well, I'm tellin' you now." "We haven't even finished our drinks yet." "Boo-fuckin'-hoo." "Go finish up at the bar." "Brett's in the jake." "When he gets back, we'll split." "I told you this table was reserved." "That's okay." "Take your time." "Finish up." "It's okay." "Sure, mr." "Barret ?" "Yeah, yeah." "No, mr." "Bartolucci, really, it's, uh-- we had no idea." "It's no problem." "We'll move." "Yeah." "These days the name is Barret." "Good to see you." "Nice to meet you, sir." "This is Max Minot, and Avery Chasten." "Charlie." "Avery chasten ?" "That's a famous name in these parts." "Any relation ?" "Yeah, he's my father." "Good for you." "I'm sorry, sir." "Could we buy you a drink ?" "Do you mind ?" "I'll sit until your friend comes back." "Sure." "Maker's mark ?" "Yeah." "You guys got Heinekens ?" "Yeah." "Avery, you know," "I met your father two, three years ago at a fund raiser." "Generous man." "He's got good instincts, I bet, huh ?" "Oh, you know." "He's a big fan of anything deductible." "Well, me too." "I'd like to talk to him sometime." "I got ventures he might want to capitalize on." "Really ?" "Yeah." "Holy shit !" "you're Carlo Bartolucci." "How are ya, man ?" "What's he doin' at our table ?" "It's his table, actually." "No, it's not my table." "I just borrow it." "I didn't know it was your table." "I'm sorry, sir." "I'm Brett cambell." "How are you, mr." "Bartolucci ?" "He doesn't like to be called mr." "Bartolucci." "No, it's okay." "Charlie." "Charlie." "It's Charles Barret now." "Charlie." "Okay." "Whatever you want to be called, Charlie." "Maybe this isn't such a great idea." "Avery, come on." "We're a little past the idea stage, man." "And every minute we wait, you know what happens ?" "Look, I know you guys are here for me, and I appreciate that, but" "What we're about to do, it's-- Fuckin' call it off, man." "It's cold." "We're freezing our asses off." "Let's get out of here and get loaded." " It's up to you, man." " Okay, okay." "Yeah, you're right." "You in ?" "Let's do it." " All right." "Good." "Finally." " Shit." "You got your cell phone ?" "Now ?" "You wanna make a call now ?" "Yeah, it'll only take a minute." "No, no, no." "You can't make a call now." "I'm sorry." "I told chickie I'd pick her up after dance class." "I can't believe this chick's got you on a pager." "You are so fuckin' whipped !" " Let's do this." " I'm ready here." "I'm waitin' for you guys." "We should go." "Yeah." "Oh, Jesus Christ." "We don't want to keep your old man hangin'." "Where's the fire ?" "You got a hot date ?" "No, no." "It's my father." "He wants us to meet him for dinner at Peter Luger's." "He hates anyone to keep him waiting, so" "I grew up there my whole life." "You got a pen ?" "Yeah." "I got five-- five shortcuts." "I'll show you." "Take 59th street" "Guys, take a look at who our patient is." "A fuckin' capo-de-capo, okay ?" "Yeah ?" "Yeah, well, i'm just sayin'." "He didn't get that job by kissing' ass, you know ?" "Or gettin' fucked in the mouth." "Why don't you come with us ?" "It'll be a blast, man." "Come on." "Oh, you know, i don't like to intrude." "You wouldn't be at all." "He'd love it." "Plus, you'd give us an alibi." "Pass." "Next time." "I sent my driver home." "That's no problem." "I have my car here." "Come on !" "what the heck ?" "Life is short." "So's my whole family." "You talked me into it." "All right." "Let's go." "Would you give us the bill ?" "No, it's my treat." "I told you." "Guys." "It's our night to howl." "Long time since i been with the guys." " There's a problem." " You're right." "She's leaking." " What's the problem, the chloroform ?" " No, not the chloroform." "But if the chloroform doesn't work-- and it will, i'm not saying that, Max" "But if it doesn't, an injection of haldol into the jugular will put him away, definitely." "Into the jugular." "Who the hell's gonna do that ?" "Hopefully, nobody, but if it comes to it, you." "You're sitting across from him." " Why should i do it ?" "I don't know how to give an injection." "Can we do this, please ?" " Easy, man." " Okay." "Here we go." "Ready ?" "You're driving." "Good car." "I got one of these." "Yeah, it's mother's." "Krauts." "They know how to build 'em, huh ?" "Take your time." "Take it easy." "I'll take care of everything." "Long time since i had dinner with the boys." "Queen's tunnel !" "one !" "doors and windows locked." "What are you doin' ?" "This is the queens tunnel." "Now we gotta turn around and come back." "What's that smell ?" " Hey !" "shit !" " keep out !" "watch out !" " The fuckin' windows-- - it won't stay." " Christ, he just bit me !" "You think old Carlo's just gonna sit there like that ridiculous doll ?" "Come on, man." "There's fuckin' three of us." "There's three of us and one of him." " Besides, he's old." " Shit !" "god !" " I can't hold him." "Oh, fuck !" "Be careful with that shit, man !" " You're spilling it, asshole !" " Avery !" "windows !" " Look out !" " Roll the windows down, Avery !" " Hit the fuckin' windows !" " Shut up !" " What are you d-- - fucker !" "Max, do it !" "put the fuckin' needle in !" " Just stick it in !" "Do it !" "just do it !" " Keep it fucking steady !" " Get him off me !" "Get him off me !" "What are you waiting for ?" "Oh, god !" "Sweet dreams, motherfucker." "Avery !" "Nice fuckin' air bag." "Avery, start the car." "Start the car." "Come on, Avery." "Start the car." "Avery, start the fucking car !" "start the car !" "start the car !" "What the fuck are you doing ?" "Avery !" "Jesus Christ !" "whoo !" "Kraut cars !" "they know how to build 'em !" "Is he dead ?" "Just don't do that." "Don't move it." "Max !" "Mr. Barret." "Can you hear me ?" "You said he wouldn't feel anything." "He can't." "I'll just give him something." "Relax." "Gotta be careful about the dosage." "Hi, Charlie." "You remember us ?" "I'm sorry about the pain." "If you bear with me, I'll try to make you comfortable." "What are you doin' ?" "This is t.k., mr." "Barret." "He'll take good care of you." "What is this ?" "You're a hostage, Charlie." " For what ?" " Mr. Barret, we need your help." "My sister, Elise, has been kidnapped." "The kidnappers demanded $2,000,000 Ransom." "My father has money, but it's all on paper." "He went to the cops." "That's a big mistake." "I got nothing to do with kidnapping." "Ah, come on, Charlie." "We know that." "But you got contacts," "The kind that know how to fix these things, and you got money, cash" "That's the good kind-- so we're also gonna have to ask you to put up the ransom." "It's too bad about your friend." "You're right." "There was a time I coulda done something." "These days, I'm a businessman." "I pay my taxes like your moms and dads do." "Once a criminal, always a criminal." "That's what my dad says." "Yeah ?" "What's your mother say ?" "Stop that !" "Stop it !" "Guys, what you did to me is unbelievable." "You're right, there was a time I'd be lookin' at four dead bodies by now." "But, strange as it seems, I understand what you're doin' and why you're doin' it." "So I'm gonna offer you an opportunity." "Get out of this." "Now." "Before it gets so fucked up nobody could ever recover." "Understand what I'm sayin' ?" "Yes, you do." "Untie me." "Pour me a drink." "I call my car." "We act like nothing happened." "I can't remember anything." "Okay ?" "You got my word." "Oh, okay." "Go ahead." "You can go." "What kind of drink would you like ?" "This is bullshit. "untie me, pour me a drink." I told you he wouldn't take us seriously." "Shut up !" "I told you we didn't have a choice." "What is that ?" "Is that blood ?" "After my father missed his deadline, the kidnappers sent a package." "They will continue to send these packages every 24 Hours until they get their money." "Package ?" "What ?" " What's in the package ?" " Charlie, whatever condition elise is returned home in..." "Is the same condition you will be returned to your home." " Whose blood is that ?" " If she loses an eye, you lose an eye." "If she loses an ear, you get to lose an ear." "If she is hurt, you will be hurt." "Listen to me:" "by saving Lisa, you get to save yourself." "I asked you, whose blood is that ?" "Whose blood is that ?" "Fuck you, you freaks !" "I'm gonna kill you !" "I'm gonna kill you !" "He's gonna get out !" "come on !" "He's gonna get loose !" "He's gonna get out !" "he's gonna get out !" "he's gonna get out !" "I thought you gave him something." "You guys just wrote your death notice." "You know, I admit my plan is risky, Charlie, but you know what ?" "It's gonna work." "Your plan." "I'm gonna remember that." "Wait." "Nobody move." "It's been off my finger only once before." " What's that ?" " The ring." "My fuckin' wife." "Sure, she used to have nipples..." "That would stand up and whistle "dixie," but then again," "At one point, dinosaurs used to roam the earth." " Yeah." " I have three pairs of shoes." "I got my white nikes." "I love the white nikes." "I've had those for what, six, seven years, right ?" "These are almost worn out." "I got my bruno magnas." "I can't wear those anymore... 'cause of the fucking o.j. Thing, right ?" "And so i go out and i buy these boots." "Look at these." "Nice." "Nice fuckin' boots." "Huh ?" "You know what those are ?" "What ?" "Stingray." " The fish ?" " Yeah, of course the fish." "So, you got fish boots." "I'm wearing stingray boots." "These are one-of-a-kind." "Fish boots ?" "How much did they cost ?" " Fifteen hundred." " Dollars ?" "Fifteen hundred dollars ?" "You paid $1,500 For those fuckin' shoes ?" "No wonder your wife is pissed." "You sound like my wife." "Anybody would be pissed on that end." "Come on." "You know what ?" "Just shut up about the fuckin' boots." "I will." "I'll forget about it." "I'm sorry i fuckin' brought it up." "So, when's the next package ?" "Tomorrow at noon." "The phone, does it work ?" "What the fuck is goin' on in here ?" "Oh, shit, Ira." "You scared the shit out of us !" "Oh, well, then, you can imagine how i feel." "I came here to play poker." "That's what you told me you were gonna be doin'." "That's why you wanted to use the house, right ?" "That's why I let you use the house." "Guys," "This" "That is not poker." "Why is this man here ?" "Why is he taped to my father's favorite chair ?" "Who the hell is he ?" "Aw, shit, and who tracked mud into the house ?" "You guys got your shoes on." "You know the rules." "Everyone's shoes off right now." "My parents just had these floors refinished." "I mean, come on." "You guys are killin' me here." "You said poker." "You know," "Beer, pornos, pot, poker." "Anyone ?" "Hello ?" "I don't know what's going on here." "You know, i don't want to know." "What I do know is that, whatever it is," "It has gone way, way too far." "Everybody out right now." "Let's go." "Ira !" "Ira !" "What ?" "Relax !" "relax !" " Give me one reason to relax." " We can't leave right now." " No, you can and you will." " Ira, Ira, listen to me." " Elise has been kidnapped." " What ?" " Is she okay ?" "We don't know." "Well, how come you fuckers didn't tell me ?" " Oh, my god." " And what does that have to do with him ?" "Oh, great." "Where did you come from ?" "Me ?" "Nowhere." "I was just looking around." "Well, don't." "Everyone just stop and stay where I can see you." "Uh, Avery-- look, man, I'm really, really sorry," "But I just want everyone out of here right now." "Hey, and take your weird-fuck junkie friend with you." "They're chopping' my fingers off, Ira." "That's what the kidnappers did to the girl, so that's what your friends are doin' to me," "Even though I had nothing to do with it." " Charlie" " Ira, look at it !" "I get it." "You guys cut his finger off." "Holy shit !" "you cut his fucking finger off !" "Oh, my god !" "what the hell is wrong with you guys ?" " Boo." " Oh, my god." "My god, you guys fucked up." "Do you know who this guy is ?" " Sir, sir, I am sorry." "Sorry." "I'm sorry." "I-I-- they told me nothin' about this." "They never tell me anything, these guys." "In fact, I barely even know these fucking guys." "I cannot believe you cut his fucking finger off." " That's what they did." " He's gonna kill us." "I mean, you do understand that, don't you ?" "Th-that's what the man does to people when they disrespect him." "What do you think he's gonna do to five ass-- four assholes..." "Who cut his fucking finger off ?" "Dead." "Dead." "Hi." "I'm a dead guy." "Thanks, fellas." "If some wise guy from Jersey doesn't kill me," "Don't sweat it, because my parents will." "Ira, the kidnappers demanded $2,000,000 Ransom." "That's why we need mr." "Bartolucci here to play a little show of diplomacy." "And then, when we get what we want," "We'll let him go and we'll be out of the house, pal." "All right." "Now, uh, call me crazy," "But, uh, this is my house." "Guys, don't you think you should have maybe consulted me first ?" " Christ, Ira, you never would have gone for it." " Goddamn right i wouldn't !" "You cut the man's finger off." "You guys are all fucking sick !" "You're a bunch of fucking sickos !" "get out now." "Let's go." "Right now." "Who knows we're here ?" "Nobody." "It's a wrong number, probably." "Did anybody tell anybody we were going to be here ?" " Ira ?" " No." "Ira." "Uh, yeah, maybe somebody." "Two guys." "Oh, two guys." "Fuck, fuck, fuck !" "Brian and Michael." "Shit !" "god, Ira." "So what ?" "I thought we were gonna be playing poker," "Not kidnapping Don Corleone here." "Shit." "Sorry." " No, no." "That's all right." " I meant that with all due respect." " How much you pay for those shoes ?" " About $85 In payless." " You think I give a fuck ?" " What brand are they ?" "Who gives a shit ?" "You don't even fuckin' know." "See, I give a shit about my footwear." "Okay ?" "A fucking guy can't go out and spend his own money on fuckin' clothes ?" "What the fuck is goin' on in this country ?" "I didn't say you c-- did I miss a fuckin' meeting or something ?" "Ira." "I have to pee." " I'm not doin' it here." " No, he is not doing it there." "Well, I guess he's not doing it at all, then." "How's that, Ira ?" " We could untie one of his hands." " Guys, what are you, crazy ?" "Do you remember what happened the last time this guy's hands were untied ?" "He almost killed all four of us." "His hands stay." "Why don't we just wheel the whole contraption-- the chair with mr." "Barret in it" "We wheel it in the bathroom and" " And ?" " Well, i don't know." "We can tie one of his hands to something in there, tie the other to something else." " What about the third hand ?" " What ?" "What third ?" "One to unzip his fly, pull his dick out-- whoa !" " Aim it." "Please aim it." " Aiming is good." "What the hell is that ?" "It's a vase." "Hasn't anybody here ever heard of a bedpan ?" "No." "Come on !" "do you have a better idea ?" "It's from Sri Lanka." " Here, these are for you." " This isn't funny, t.k." " Someone's still gotta hold it." "All right, all right." "Look, since I'm in charge, fuck it." "Max, you do it." "Fuck that, I'm not doin' it." "Avery, you can do it." " No, I'm not doin' it." " Guys, it's my dick." "I pick." "I am the closest thing to an m.d. On the premises." "I will take care of mr." "Barret's bodily functions." "Anybody wants to hold hands with my dick," "I insist they buy me a drink first." "I mean, after all, I'm not asking for dinner and dancing." "You know, I'm not asking for a commitment." "No, I'm sorry, mr." "Barret." "That's not such a good idea." "Excuse me, mr." "Lawrence." "A phone call." "Charlie ?" "Just a minute." "Thank you, Christopher, and will you keep the girl's glass topped till I get back ?" "Yes, sir." "Thanks a lot." "Are you all right ?" "Would I call you if I was all right ?" " Okay, so what's going on ?" " This one you are not gonna believe." "Take me off the speaker phone, will you ?" "No, no." " Off the speaker phone, please." " Attorney-client privilege." " You're not in the fucking courtroom." "No." " No." " Why does it matter ?" " We won't hear what the guy on the other end is saying." " They speak in codes." " Avery, geez." " They could speak in codes." " What are you talking about ?" "They could speak in codes." "It would be like, "are you all right ?"" ""no." "yes." uh, "I'll be all right."" " Yeah." " What the hell is goin' on there ?" " I've been kidnapped." " Christ." "What for ?" "$2,000,000." "No, no, no, I mean," "You, know, what for ?" "Whatever you do, don't send your kid to boarding school." "Boarding school." "Look, who's got ya," "Why have they got ya, and what do they want ?" "What the fuck we supposed to do with this ?" "I was gonna make brownies." "Good idea." "I need to know who took her, where they got her" "The whole nine yards-- and I need to know now." "All right." "Listen, is there some place that I can call you ?" "One second." "What's the phone number ?" " Get real, Charlie." " If my people are able to find your friend," "How are they supposed to let us know ?" "You didn't think this through too good, did you ?" "T.k., give me your beeper." "Uh-uh." "No way you're gonna use my beeper as an accessory to kidnapping, man." " What are you, kidding ?" " Give me the number." "Give me it back." "Give me the number." "Fuck you." " Come on." "Give me the number." "Fuck you." "I think I'll" "Nice try; too slow." "Always too slow." "T.k., I think I'll call chickie and tell her I need your beeper number... 'cause I haven't seen you for like eight hours-- not since I saw you with that other girl." " Chickie." " It's for elise." "Help us out." "850-6369." "Can you dial seven after you dial the number ?" "Sure." "Thanks." "You got that ?" "Got it." "Good." "Don't waste time." "Charlie, you gotta-- you gotta help me out, here." "This is gonna take a while." "Yeah." "Get ahold of Lono." "You know what I mean." "Ah, this fuckin' guy." "Get off the fuckin' car." "Get off the car." "Get off the fuckin' car." "Get off the fuckin' car." " Okay !" "just give me a dollar, okay ?" " What ?" "You got a benz, I got a "busket" !" "give me a dollar !" " A "busket" ?" "Give me the busket." " No !" " Give me the busket." " Uh-uh." "Tell you what." "I'll give you five hundred bucks for that busket." "All right ?" " Okay." " Put the bottle in the busket," "Put the rag in the busket, and hand it to me." " Come on." "Leave him alone." " Get a hotel, get a room, shower, shave," "Get a suit, get a job, and get off the sauce." "If I see you..." "In the streets again with a busket, I'm gonna fuckin' shoot you, all right ?" " R-right." " Okay." "All right." "Screw." " You're all right, man." " All right." "You're all right, man." "All right." "All these guys need is a little guidance sometimes, you know ?" " Fuck !" " you got a cigarette, maybe ?" " Gimme the gun." "Gimme the fuckin' gun." " Come on." "Leave him alone." "Get back in the car." "Fuck !" "you fuckin' prick !" "Fuck !" "goddamn it !" "Jesus Christ !" "Fuckin' piss !" "shit !" "Do you fuckin' believe i gave that guy five hundred bucks ?" "Jesus !" "between him and the boots, you're down two grand." "Don't ever mention the fuckin' boots to me again." "You got that ?" "Sorry, lono." "I'm kidding." "It's not fuckin' funny." "I don't want to hear about any fuckin' kind of footwear from you ever again." "I won't." "I won't." "Don't even talk about fuckin' socks to me." "All right." "I won't." "I won't." "Don't touch any buttons, for Christ's sake." "Yeah." "Lono, it's me, Marty." "I just got off the phone with Charlie." "He's been kidnapped." "Kidnapped ?" " Is he all right ?" " Well, he's alive." " My arm." "It's numb." "Could you get the tape-- - leave him." "He'll live." " Somebody gotta get me a drink." " Why don't I get that for you ?" "It's a good idea." " Thanks." " Max, mixing alcohol with pain medication could lead to" " Yeah." " You should listen to him." "His father's a doctor." "Oh." "I thought he was a serial killer." " It's locked." " Make believe you're a criminal." "See what you can figure out." "Whiskey rocks, if you've got it." "Nice break." "Do it again." "Great." "Bring the whole fuckin' bottle out." "Great idea." "It's okay; he's a big boy." "If the guy wants to drink." "Let him have a drink." "Oh, okay." "So you're the doctor now ?" "Oh, okay." "He's all yours, dr." "Brett." "What's your daddy do, dr." "Brett ?" "Actually, he's-he's very big in acoustical tile." "Oh, that's a relief." "Please leave your numeric message after the tone." "What are you doin' ?" "What does it look like i'm doin' ?" "Callin' him back." "Not from that phone you're not." "It'll show up on my old man's bill." "Jesus, Ira, you're unbelievable." "What do you want, a fuckin' quarter ?" " He will know we were here." " Well, you know what ?" "Now he will know we were here anyway." " It was an anniversary present." " Good, fag." "Pick it up." " Charlie ?" " Yeah." " How you feelin' man ?" " I don't feel good." "I'm dizzy." "You don't sound good." "Listen, i got some good news." "I think I got a line on how we can find the guys who got the girl." " So soon ?" " It wasn't hard." "We got a couple of geniuses here..." "Who did everything but take out an ad in The Times," "So i popped the weasel." "Blew his brains right into never land." "It'll be next-year land before they find those molars." "What's the matter, kid ?" "You haven't touched your pizza." "They must be local." "Yeah, they're local." "The good news is the girl's still alive." "But the bad news is we got some serious psychos here," "So her health might suddenly deteriorate." "Son of a bitch !" "I thought you said this place was safe." "Fuckin' prick !" "what are you doin'; it's a kid." " You make contact ?" " Look, just give me a little more time." "I gotta have something to bill you for." "When you find them, tell 'em you represent interested parties, gonna cover their holding fee." "Don't scare them." "Right." "Anything you say, Charlie." "Look, what's the situation there, anyway." "I mean, are you alone ?" "It's okay, Wyatt." "The people who are responsible for this" "Well, word is they used an inside player on this one." " Gotcha." "From what I understand," "You got some heavy paper with Antoine, and, uh," "You haven't made much of an effort to pay him back." "What really makes no-no-no fuckin' sense to me..." "Is the way you were raised, with your upper-crusty fuckin' grey poupon background," "There's nobody you can go to to get some of the scratch ?" "You can't crack the egg out of one of them old fucks ?" "See, normally, this would be the end of the conversation." "This is your lucky day, my friend." "Can I tell him ?" "Yeah, that's what we're here for." "Tell him." "My partner and I, we've taken care of your debt with Antoine." "So now you owe us." "You can settle everything." "Clean." "No more debt hanging' over your head." "You can go back to your debutantes and your ivy leagues and everything." "And it'll be like nothin' ever happened." "Just be smart, kid." "Everybody wins, nobody gets hurt, right ?" "Be smart." "Use the grape." "You know what I'm sayin' ?" "It's nice and easy." "Nobody gets hurt." "Bop-bop-bop-bop." "That's it." "Win-win." "Nobody gets hurt." "Beautiful." "You don't look so good." "What's the matter with him ?" "Where the fuck you goin' ?" "Gotcha." "Okay." " What did they say ?" "What happened ?" " Uh," " He found the people who took the girl." " All right !" "Don't get excited." "The whole thing could go belly-up." "Many things go wrong." " But she's all right." " Sounds like it." "It's gone right." "It won't go wrong." "Is it happy hour ?" "Where the fuck is Ira ?" "Ira !" "Okay." "What can I get you ?" "Give him a shot and a half of whiskey, would you ?" "Oh, my god." "What have you done ?" "What did you do ?" "I can't believe what you did." "I can't believe you did this." "What ?" "You drank my father's liquor, that's what you did; gimme this." "What ?" "I hardly think he'll notice, Ira." "Oh no ?" "Duh." "Look at that." "What is that, huh ?" "He marks the levels in the bottles at the end of every summer." " Oh, my god." "He does." "Of course he does." "A lot of people do that." "Oh, my god." "Look at this." "Will you look at this ?" "Look at that, huh ?" "Why don't you guys just stab me in the fuckin' back right now !" "Stab me in the fucking back right now !" "Ira, is this one of your friends ?" "Ira doesn't have any friends." "That's not true." "This place is like goddamn woodstock." "Who is it ?" "Fuckin' rent-a-cop." "Shit !" "Ira, don't answer it." "What the-- "don't answer it." I have to answer it." "If I don't, they call the cops." "Then the cops'll call my father, and then he'll be here." "Then we'll all be dead." "Sorry." "I already am dead, thank you." "Ira, get him away from the door." "What ?" "How ?" "Get him away from the door !" " Ira !" " what ?" " Take your coat off." "Oh, shit !" "Good evening, mr.-- what the fuck is that ?" "Hey, how are ya ?" "What's goin' on ?" "I need a password, sir." "This is Winston Reder's house." "I'm his son, Ira." "I'll still need a password, mr." "Reder." "Otherwise, I'll have to notify the police." "The password is, um" " You can't give me a hint ?" "No, sir." "It's been awhile." "Give me a clue." "Central, this is unit seven." "Calling central." "D-d-don't do that." "Please keep your hands where I can see them !" "Otherwise, I have to use this." "But that's a flashlight." "Hold on a second." "Here we go." "Comin' at ya." "Huh ?" "Look at that." "You know my father." "I-I-I'm his son, there." "We look exactly alike." "Central !" "I'm at 7739 Windle lane." "I saw lights on..." "It's, uh, putting..." "And made my presence known." "With the golf and the nine iron." "May need backup here, if you can." "White male, eyeglasses-- double bogey !" "Double..." "Fuckin' bogey." "Thank you, sir." "There's no reason for profanity." "Central, I'll get back to you when I walk the perimeter." "Sorry about the disturbance, mr." "Reder." "No problem; just doing your job." "The auxiliary alarm in the master bedroom was triggered." "I'll have to do a walk-through, sir." " Why ?" " Section 34b clearly states..." "When an officer makes a call on a closed home, he is required to do a walk-through." "Ira, read your fucking contract." "Mind taking your shoes off ?" "Hey." "What can i get you ?" "What the fuck are you lookin' at ?" "Charlie been in ?" "Yeah, he was here, same as always." "You know Charlie." "He talk to anybody ?" "Some kids were sitting at his booth." "He ended up havin' a drink with them." "Kids ?" "Yeah, they been comin' in here recently." "I think one of 'em has the eye for Jennifer." "The hostess ?" "Yeah, but her shift ended a couple of hours ago." "Do me a favor." "I need some information:" "phone number, address, anything." "You know, that's unnecessary." "Mr. Barret, he takes pretty good care of me." "Yeah ?" "Fuck ya, then." "I wasn't much in school and athletics and stuff," "So my uncle owned the place, and that's how I got this gig." "I don't know if you have a job, but if you're interested, I have an in." "I could" "Turn it off !" " Who's in there, sir ?" "Who ?" "Nothin'." "Nobody." "I'm gonna need to get into that sector there, sir." "Ah, you know, you can't." " Jammed." "That's the thing about this sector." "I need access to that sector, sir, please." "Well, it's jammed." "It won't" "Ira, what's wrong with ya ?" "All you got is light beer ?" "Hey." "How ya doin' ?" "Whoa." "Is everything okay ?" " Central, all clear." "Make this run a non-call." " Clear." "You might want to have east state come out and take a look at your system, sir." "Could be a short somewhere." "Right." "But you never know." "Right." "Right." "Thanks, man." "Fuck you !" " Hey, well, thanks." "You're a-- a good-good man." "Is that my father's gun ?" "You know we're not allowed in my parents' bedroom." "What are you thinking, going through their things ?" "Shut up, Ira." "I wasn't going through anything." "I know where the gun is." "We all know where the gun is." "You show us every summer." "I thought we might see it and, as you can see, we did !" " Well, fine." "Go put it back now." " Sorry, Holmes." "The gun stays." "Or there could be nothing up there, and there-  ...full wedge shot" "What the fuck did you do ?" "You weren't even watching it." "You're yacking away." "Put it back !" "no." " I said put it back." " I said no." "Put it back !" "Nope." "And, of course, the one thing we want to do..." "Is open the stance about the same as" "Now, give me the remote." "What the fuck is wrong with you ?" "Give it to me." "No." "I said give it to me." "No." "I am so, so fucking sick of you !" "Last chance." "No." "Bye." "Take the fuckin' remote !" "What thefuck is wrong with you ?" "You made me miss the beginning !" "I can't watch it now." "Goddamn it." "I'm gonna go out and get cigarettes." "We monsters owe you a lot more." "You have the cunning of a bat." "Remember:" "keep the door shut." "Make sure she don't get out." "I know, I know." " Leave the remote." " I'm takin' it with me." "King of the dicks." "How 'bout we put our heads together, figure this out." "Guys." "What ?" "Can anybody tell me anything that could help ?" " Nothin' we haven't already told the police." " Cops." "Fuck 'em." "Tell me." "Uh, we were going to go into the city," "Hit a couple parties, hit a couple clubs," "And, uh, Max and lisa were supposed to meet us at midnight." "And midnight came and they never showed up." "You were with the girl ?" " That's right." " Was there something going on ?" "Yeah, we been together almost a year." "What does that tell you ?" "I didn't know that." "So you tell me everything that happened that night." " I told it a thousand times." " I didn't hear it that time." "Tell me again." "We spent most of the day on the boat." "We left, we were goin' downtown" "Boat ?" "What boat ?" "It's my dad's boat." "It's more like a yacht." "He never uses it." "He's afraid of the water." "It makes him seasick." "It's the only place he never looks for me and elise." "Let me be clear." "You two were snaking' around behind his back." "They didn't have a choice." "If my dad knew that they were seeing each other, he'd have a heart attack." "What difference does it make ?" "I'm gonna decide that." "Okay, you tell me everything that happened from the time you left the boat." "It's just like Brett said." "We were going to meet him at a party." "So we went downtown." "I was on lex." "There was a pileup..." "In the center lane, so i exited at 96th street." "It was dark." "We ended up in some dockyard." "It was raining like hell, i end up on the dark side of the fucking moon." "Okay, we're lost." "Thank you." "You're welcome." "So, the first left or that third right ?" "Or maybe that pothole that threw me off balance." "You're never gonna let me live this down, are you ?" "Lock the doors, babe." "Check the glove box." "See if there's a map." "Mmm." "Mmm." "Mmm." "Elise, you're not makin' this easy on me." "Good." "I was goin' for hard." "Max, promise me something." "No matter what my father says or does, you'll never leave me." "Never." "Just promise." "I promise." "Hey." "You're my angel." "You know that, don't you ?" "Yeah." " Elise, just one more thing." "Marry me ?" "Max, don't." "No." "No, no." "I mean it." "Marry me ?" "Please ?" "Yes." "Of course i'll marry you." "Yeah ?" "Yes !" "Yeah." "What do you think ?" "Fuck, I pay the electric bills, I pay the grocery bills, shoe bills" "She's buyin' shoes left and right." "Even bring in a vietnamese chick that I pay twice a week to paint her toenails." "Cheaper to have her whacked." " Wife, I mean." " I ain't never had no slope pussy before." "Too young for korea, too old for 'nam." "Dr. Mengele, what happened ?" "Chop off another finger ?" " No, why ?" " 'cause I don't feel good." "It's just the medication." "It can tend to make you feel a little nauseous." "I'll cut it back some." " Good." " Hey, Brett, I'm gonna have to elevate his arm." "And untie it ?" "No." "No way." "Sorry, I got no choice." "Ah, Brett." "Go ahead." "Don't give me a reason to use this, Charlie, and you got nothin' to worry about." "Fine." "Come on." "Don't point that." "That gun is officially bumming me out." "Brett, just put the gun away." " H-he's all tied up." "He can't do anything." " Sorry, ladies." "The gun stays." " Brett, the fuckin' thing is pointed right at me." " The thing could go off." "Ira could get laid." "Who cares." "If you don't like it, go in the other room." "Hey, chase, could you hand me that pillow real fast ?" "Ira's gonna be very upset if you spoil his cushion." "You're pretty funny for a guy with nine fingers." "How we doin', t ?" "Yeah, good." "Can i have a drink ?" " Brett, could you get him some water ?" " That's not what I said." "Yeah, well, we don't want to do anything that might jeopardize your life." "It's way too late for that, my son." "You're no good to us dead, Charlie." "I'll get the water." "Yeah, maybe a crust of bread and maybe some nail shavings." "You're gonna be a doctor like your dad ?" "That's the plan." "You better hope the ama don't get wind of this episode." "They might hold it against you." " You're not gonna tell 'em, are you ?" " I'm no rat." "I bet it seemed like a good idea when you were cookin' it up." "It's different up close and personal." "Rich kid." "You don't have the stomach for this kind of thing." " Well-- - the drugs help, right ?" "They make you brave." "You've known each other a long time ?" "The guys ?" "God, since forever, really." " You trust each other with your life." " What do you think ?" "Yes." "Well, what if one of your friends turned out to be..." "Not such a good friend after all." "Would you stick your neck out for him still ?" "What are you getting at ?" "What if i told you whoever's behind this kidnapping..." "Is using an inside player." "What do you mean ?" "Like somebody who knew elise helped kidnap her ?" "Not somebody who knew her, somebody in this house." "That's insane." "I don't know where you're getting your information, but it's unreliable." "Isn't it ?" "That phone call i got, it comes from outside high walls and fancy gates." "It comes from a place you know about maybe from the movies." "But I come from out there." "And what everybody out there knows..." "Everybody lies." "Cops lie, newspapers lie," "Your parents lie." "The one thing you can count on:" "Word on the street." "Yeah, that's solid." "You're a smart kid." "You'll make a good doctor someday..." "If you live." "Yeah." "I'm gonna go see what's keeping Brett with your water." "Hey." "Charlie wants his water, Brett." "You left him alone ?" "Where were you ?" "You were coming right back." "I'll get it." "Jesus Christ." "Max, just water, okay ?" "How's he doin' t.k. ?" "Oh, he's good." "He's good." "We got a problem, I think." "What's up, bud ?" "What's the problem ?" "Uh, Charlie may be an alcoholic." "Get out !" "So what ?" "Well, an alcoholic's liver..." "Does not produce vitamin k." "Which means ?" "Vitamin k is essential-- it is a factor that is essential for blood clotting." "Yeah ?" "So ?" "Blood clotting ?" "Well, it's fairly significant." "What, is he gonna bleed to death ?" "Yes," "Eventually." "His blood pressure's dropping." "Oh, fuck." "Fucking great." "Fucking great." "A dead mobster in the living room." "Great." "That'll be good too." "Fuck !" "Why didn't you think of this ?" "Why didn't you ?" "'cause i'm not a doctor." "Yeah, well," "Neither am I." "You're lookin' good." "I'm talkin' to you !" "I'm goin' out." "Well, then how 'bout you get your new daddy another beer ?" "Now, you ought to learn to control that temper of yours." "You're gettin' more like your fuckin' mother every day." " What's good enough for her ain't good enough for you ?" "Hey, jennifer." "Lono, what are you doin' here ?" "What happened to you ?" "Wait here, okay ?" "Who the hell are you ?" "Why don't you just think of me as, uh," "A friend of the family." "Get the fuck out of my house, asshole." "Well," "If you'll give me a couple minutes of your time," "I've got a few things I'd like to talk to you about." "You know, uh, what you did wasn't really your fault." "It's what they call a genetic defect." "Mom called it "the gene."" "My grandfather had the gene." "He, uh," "Came over on the boat from ireland in 1912." "And i guess he passed it on to my old man." "My old man was a great guy." "A real pussycat." "A hard worker." "Big sports fan." "But sometimes," "On his way home from the docks, he liked to stop in with the guys," "And have a couple of beers, you know." "I remember comin' home from school one day," "And the whole house was dark." "Couldn't figure it out." "I heard my mom cryin' off in the dark someplace." "I was old enough at that point;" "I could reach the light switch..." "And turn the lights on." "And I saw..." "What he did to her." "So I went to my room and I got the baseball bat" "Mickey mantle model my old man gave me for Christmas" "And I found the old man passed out in the bathtub." "And I tattooed him." "Needless to say, when I came home every day from school after that," "The house was lit up like ebbetts field." "The old man, uh, never drank again." "So," "All I'm sayin' to you is if you want to drink, go ahead and drink." "But if I ever find out that you laid your hands on that little girl again," "Me and mr." "Mantle are gonna pay you a visit, my friend." " Are you done ?" " Yeah, I'm done." "Good." "Oh," "On your way out, send that little whore back in here." "I haven't finished with her yet." "Sorry about the toaster." "Any time." "There were a couple of your friends at the bar this afternoon." "Do you know their names ?" "Yeah, Avery, Max, Brett." "Oh, yeah." "That better ?" "Yeah, yeah." "Thank you." "She must be some kind of woman." " Who's that ?" " Elise." "Beautiful, huh ?" "Oh, she's more than beautiful." "She's got this way she looks at you that can just..." "Stop your heart, you know, and make it start back up again." " You know any girls like that ?" " Yeah." "All of them." "So, what's her father got against you ?" "You didn't by chance chop his finger off ?" "Kidnap him ?" "No, no." "Elise's old man," "He's such a fucking hypocrite." "He's like this rich, fat bastard who's never around, you know ?" "He'll fuck anything warm." "Meanwhile, his wife's at home hammered on pills and booze..." "And can't remember who she's fucking." "You ever see that movie the graduate?" "I loved that movie." "Mrs. Robinson-- that's Elise's mother." "The one time her husband comes home early, she's finally gotten around to banging my father." "Father number three, but who's countin' right ?" "After that, everybody hated everybody." "I was no longer allowed to see elise." "But get this, I'm like" " I'm like nine years old at the time." "Does that make any sense to you at all ?" "Life don't make sense." "It's not fair." "It doesn't follow logic or obey orders." "Max, you got a chance right now." "Stop this from goin' further." "I know you got no reason to trust me, but..." "You let me walk, I'll see what I can do for Elise." "My word, you've got it." "Honestly, mr." "Barret," "I never wanted to cut your finger off." "Easy for you to say." "But I can't let you go." "What is that ?" " Shit." " Oh, that's spooky." "What's goin' on ?" "Must be the storm." "Ira, where's the fuse box ?" "I don't know." " Ira, you live here." " It's outside..." "Somewhere." " How 'bout you check it out ?" " What, alone ?" " I'll go with you." "I don't believe you don't know where your fuse box is, Ira." "So sue me, all right ?" "What do you do when it goes out ?" "Do you hire somebody to find it ?" "What was that ?" "Ira, I heard somethin'." "I gotta run it by somebody, okay ?" "Yeah." "Hey." "T, come on." "Tell me." "What is it ?" "Mr. Barret thinks there might be an inside player involved..." "In Elise's kidnapping." "Oh." "That one of us might be in on it." "Oh, Jesus." "Just calm down." "It could be bullshit." "It's gotta be, right ?" "The fact of the matter is, he's probably trying to throw us off guard." "Fact." "Wait." "Wait, though." "Hey, this is good." "Now, just hear me out." "If it is true," "We could figure out who the rat is." "And then-- listen." "Then maybe we could score some points with Charlie, you know ?" "Then maybe he won't kill us." "He'll just let us off with a-a-a..." "Warning or something." "What ?" "Ira, don't even think about telling anyone until i figure this out." "Hey." "Hey." "Buddy, it's me, all right ?" "T.k. And i have discussed this..." ""inside player" notion." "And i just want you to know that..." "I am on top of it." "Okay ?" "I am on top of it." "I'm counting on you." "Yeah ?" "I won't disappoint you." "Kiss-ass." "So anyway, don't worry." "If there is a snake in the grass," "I will smoke him out, because that is just intolerable." "Ira, you are the man." "Thank you, sir." "Stop !" "On second thought, the fireplace." "Yeah ?" "It's cozy." "Also, I want to be near Brett." "All right." "Come..." "In front of the fire." "Hi, Brett." "What's up ?" "What-- get-- get off of him !" "Jesus !" "You sound pretty desperate." "I need to find a way to get in touch with these assholes." "Marty, I don't answer questions." "I'd never ask normally, but maybe one of your girls knows something." "I mean, if I don't, I-- it's not gonna be good." "I think he might die." "I mean, well-- I've been with Charlie for 20 Years." "I can't let anything happen to him." "I owe him." "I do too." "I was a kid when I met him." "It was the '70s." "We were high all the time." "When I met Charlie, I was with this scumbag, nick the nose." " Oh, you're beautiful !" "What a jerk." "I was fucking nick up, down and sideways for" "I don't know-- three years, and he couldn't tell you what color my eyes were." "When I walked in, the first thing he noticed were these shoes i just got..." "From Bergdorf's with 500 Bucks that should've gone to him." " Come here." "Come here." "Come on." "Still look brand new." "Tell you what." "When we finish up here-- gonna take you for a little ride..." " He was gonna kill me." " To Bergdorf's." " No doubt about it." " I go right past there." "Drop her off." "I don't think so." "I knew right then and there three years with this guy meant nothing." "Then Charlie waltzes in like a white knight." "But Nick isn't letting me off that easy." "He wants his pound of flesh." "I can't help noticing." "That's a hell of a ring." "Yeah." "It's nice." "Charlie saved my life." "He traded his ring for me." " I noticed you noticing." "Nicky..." "Look at that." "It's for you." "No, I couldn't-- no, it's a gift." " And the next day, i got a package from Bergdorf's." " From Bergdorf's." "So, whatever happened..." "To Nick the nose ?" "Well, Charlie got his ring back." "Nick." "Hey, Charlie, what the fuck do you" "If I had to look..." "I'd start here." "Yeah." "I think I got an idea how we might get a hold of these assholes." "They're laundering the money through Barrio Bennie." "Okay." "Don't touch these fuckin' buttons !" "what did I tell you ?" "Sorry." "Sorry." " Charlie likes the car set a certain way." " Want me to fix it ?" "No, I'll fix it." "Keep your fuckin' hands to yourself." "All right." "Sorry." "Sorry." "Hey, hey, big time." "How ya doin' ?" "Good." "Good." "Listen, uh..." "There's been a new wrinkle." "What ?" "First you gotta promise me-- promise me" "That you're not gonna tell anybody." "What are you talkin' about ?" "Just promise me first." "Fuck off, Ira." "Okay, good enough." "Um, listen..." "Charlie" "Charlie has reason to believe..." "That, uh..." "There could be a..." "Inside player..." "On the kidnapping." "He told you that ?" "Indirectly." "Yes." "Yes." "Impossible." "No." "Well, this isn't" "I mean, when I have somethin' solid, I'll get back to ya." "You know ?" "Huh ?" "You do that, Ira." "I mean, come on." "It's me." "We're down, man." "Yeah." "You wouldn't mind cutting' that with a little club soda, huh ?" "Didn't think so." "I do appreciate you taking your shoes off, though." "Not a problem." "Very cool." "Take care." "What is he doin' here ?" "Fuckin' Mutt and Jeff." "Hey, Lono, if you're gonna get up there..." "You oughta take somethin' off !" "This guy" " I can't believe it." "Jesus Christ." "Hey, boys, what can I do for you ?" " You kidnapped Charlie, you fuck !" "Fuck !" "Oh, ho, Jesus !" "Where the fuck are they, cocksucker ?" "All I got is a phone number !" "Come here !" " fuck." "Where is it ?" "Where is" "Where is this motherfuck-- - you ain't foolin', Lono." "It's in my wallet !" "Look at this fuckin' graphite piece of shit." "What did I say, huh ?" "Fuckin'" " I'm goin' back to steel." "I'm addin' strokes to my game." "Fuckin' cost me twice as much." "Graphite golf clubs, plastic tips-- what the fuck." "Hello." "Marty." "Got a number for ya." "Turn on channel 3." "My show's about to start." "I'm in the middle of watching something." "Three in a row you're watching." "Come on." "Turn it." "Yeah." "I represent a party interested in paying for the girl." "Yeah ?" "Elise Chasten." "Yeah." "I'll have the two million." "No !" "yeah, and I need two hours and a location for the exchange." "All right." "Good-bye." "Well ?" "Wrong number." "I'm breakin' your balls, buddy !" "Can you say two..." "Million..." "Dollars ?" "Whoa, whoa, whoa !" "It's happenin', isn't it ?" "Two million dollars." "Yeah, baby !" "Teek, can i ask you a question ?" "Yeah, sure." "What's up ?" "You know, i was watchin'..." "When you cut Charlie's finger off." "Can't get that image out of my mind." "They did the same thing to Elise." "You think they hurt her when they did that ?" "Don't do that." "Don't, man." "Don't do that to yourself." "She's gonna be okay." "I know it." "Yeah." "Right." "Don't let your mind fuck with ya." "That's all it is." "Yeah." "I know, it's just-- it's stupid." "Yeah." "It's pointless." "It's dumb." "Pointless." "Yeah." "Stop lookin' at the boots." "I'm not-- i saw ya out of the corner of my eye." "I saw you lookin' out of the corner of your eye." "I like the boots." "I wouldn't spend $1,500." "You gotta be out of your mind." "It's not like snakeskin." "Snakeskin, you grab a gun," "You go in the desert, you whack a fuckin' snake." "You can kill a snake with a fuckin' stick." "This guy has to rent the boat," "He's gotta get the diving equipment, he's gotta rent one of those harpoon things..." "That you shoot the fish with, he's gotta gut it" "It's an expensive process." "I should've paid $5,000." "I got a great fuckin' deal." "Fuckin' shame." "That's it." "I'm gonna drop you off." "This is like havin' my mother-in-law in the car." "I think I'm done on this side." "Seen a guy in Vegas, man." "Man, he could do some tricks." " Jesus." "What, did you read it ?" " Yeah." "Twice." "Guys, if I don't bleed to death pretty soon, I'm gonna die of boredom." "How about we kill time instead ?" " I have a full boat." "That's a shame, Max." "You know, forgive me saying so," "But could it be, this is not your night ?" "Heh !" "yeah, tell me about it." "You ever send a guy a newspaper with a dead fish in it ?" " Shut the fuck up, man !" " ah, you got me mixed up with something from the movies." "People make that mistake." "It must be my classic profile." " Ira, shuffle the cards right." " I am." " You said you were practicing." " What difference does it make ?" "We're playin' a game." " Monkey-fuckin' football." "Brett." "Join us." "Take a chair." " Pass." " What's the matter, you might enjoy yourself ?" "It's okay." "You're allowed." "I don't wanna play with you, Charlie." "Sorry." " Rest of you fags wanna play, go ahead." "Have fun." " Thanks, Brett, that's" "No fraternizing, eh ?" "Oh, well." "Have it yourway." "Okay, Brett's out." "Five-card draw." "Say, aces, deuces," "One-eyed jacks and suicide kings are wild." " Ira, that's the whole deck." " So what ?" "It's my game, my rules." "Ira, there's no challenge in that." "That's like" "Gentlemen, keep in mind that the cards you hold in your hands are nothing but dumb luck." "The difference between winning and losing is being able to read your opponent." "That's why i'm still here." "A number of times the only thing kept me out of a satin box..." "Was i could size up the other guy maybe half a second quicker than he could me." "What the fuck are you talkin' about ?" "You're taped to a chair." "You saw us comin' a mile away at the plaza, didn't you ?" "I admit..." "I'm out of practice." "Ira..." "Give me four cards." "Oh, sorry, sir." "No offense." " Well, you gave me six." " Take Ira, for example." "I trust Ira." " You do ?" " We're playin' poker." "He's losin' his shirt." "Yet, Ira's eyes don't float." "He's got his sense of fair play." "As we all know, Ira can't bluff his way out of a paper bag." "I can tell you his bet before he could." "Well, could you ?" "'cause I could use the help here, Charlie." "Look at Avery." "He's havin' a tough time hating' me." "You have to have a real hate-on to do what you did to me." "Integrity keeps gettin' in Avery's way." "Now he wants us to believe he's a mind reader." " That's right." " I fold." " Ira, no one opened." " Sorry." " I'll open." " That makes sense." " Fold." " That also makes sense." "How about Brett, control junkie ?" "Brett can't leave anything to chance." "Look at him." "He wouldn't even play, unless he's looking across the table at a sure thing." "I don't have to take this shit." "I'm outta here." "I thought he'd never leave." "You're 180 Off on Brett." "He's a wild man." "We're in Atlantic City, I had to lock him in a room." "What happened ?" "He dropped a couple of quarters in the slots ?" " Huh !" "about 48,000 Quarters." "We drove down to Jersey on memorial day." " Labor day." " Uh" "Whatever." "Just shut up, okay ?" "I'm tryin' to tell a story here." " Ira." " What ?" "You can't tell a story here." "You can't tell a story anywhere." "You screw it up every time." " No, i do not." " You're doing it now." "That's because you guys interrupt every time." "I can't keep my place." "I forget where I was." "If you get the goddamn story straight," "We wouldn't have to interrupt you to get the goddamn story straight." " Well, is somebody going to tell a story ?" " I was telling the story !" "Just shut the fuck up." "I'll tell it." "You fuck it up every time." "It was labor day, Ira, like t.k. Said." "It was scorching' outside, it was so fuckin' hot." "Don't you remember that ?" "The room was freezin' though." "You could hang meat in this room, it was so damn cold." "It was good for business." "It keeps you awake." "We're pounding' sauce." "Free booze." "What they lose on that..." "They make up on Johnny Walker judgment." "It's gettin' really late." "The sun's about to come up." "We'd all lost our shirts." "Maxed out the plastic." "Except for Brett." "Brett's winnin', like, huge." "That's when it happened." "Changing of the guard." "No-o-o !" "Word had it they brought this guy in from Vegas after two suicides." "It's the guy they brought in to cool the table down." "You know what they call him ?" "Hello, boys !" "the widowmaker." "What a little shit this guy was." "It's like the kid that reminds the teacher about the homework assignment." "Oh !" "well, that's this kid grown up." "Anyway, Brett's 22 Grand ahead, so I figure it's safe to go to the john, right ?" "Wrong." "Gone five minutes, I come back, he's down 12." "I try to talk him into changing tables, but he takes out a marker." "You fuckin' believe that ?" "Oh-h-h !" "Right then Avery walks up." "He's just got done sweating' out the georgetown-mississipi game," "But at ten to one, he's come out five grand ahead." "He takes one look at this little wimp, and he dumps his five gs right on top of Brett's action." "These clowns, they're gonna take the widowmaker's balls home and his luggage with one hand." "So what does Brett the genius do ?" "He doubles down !" "Widowmaker looked him right in the eye, and he drew one card." "Whoa-ho-ho-ho-ho !" "sorry !" "I'm sorry." "Gimme the money !" "The guy, he's-- he's got rocks the size of Rushmore." "Oh, come on guys !" "don't leave." "Weren't we just havin' a good time ?" "Come on !" "Come on, come on !" "whoa, whoa, whoa !" "Afterwards, Brett takes his last 200 Bucks," "He takes us all out for steaks the size of your foot." "What a guy." "He drops 20 Grand, he ain't got money left for a bus ticket home, he takes you for steaks." "It must be nice to have rich folks." "You don't know his father." "He's got the first nickel he ever made." "So, how's he gonna pay back the 20 Large ?" "The interest alone is enough to give you a nosebleed." "What ?" "My arm, it's killing me." "Loosen the tape." "It's falling off." "So, you know what ?" "How ya feelin' ?" "That's it." "Ooh !" "yeah." "Yeah ?" "Couple minutes." "Try to keep it level." "Ooh, yeah." "What are you doin' ?" "What the fuck are you doin' ?" "No, no, no !" "hey !" " No !" " you fucker !" "I was sittin' on a straight flush there !" "Brett, will you relax ?" "He doesn't have the blood pressure to walk around the room !" "Look at him !" "what are you worried about ?" "We had a fuckin' plan !" "That's what I'm worried about !" "I want to stick to the plan !" " Uh, maybe that's not all you're worried about, huh ?" " What the fuck does that mean ?" "Go ahead, t.k. Ask him." "Ask me what ?" "Ask me what ?" "Go on, t.k. T.k. !" "Shut up !" "ask me what ?" "Just answer this question, okay ?" "All that money in Atlantic City that you lost-- how were you gonna pay it back ?" " Yeah, how were you gonna pay that back, huh ?" " None of your business." "Why ?" "Well, you see, it's been brought to Charlie's attention..." "That one of us might be in on Elise's kidnapping." "What ?" "Yeah." "Well, that's how I felt." "But, you know, maybe it's not that crazy." "And, uh, $20,000 Is a lot of money." "So, if you have nothing to hide, you should have no problem telling us..." "How you were gonna pay it back, right ?" "Ira, you're my friend." "Listen: shut the fuck up !" "shut up !" " He sounds guilty to me." " Ira !" "Fuckin' faggot !" "come here !" " hey, hey, hey !" "Hey, Brett !" "come on !" "Avery, Avery." "Ooh." "Don't tell me..." "Your buying' into this fuckin' load of bullshit !" "He's makin' up stories to save his own ass !" "Look, you calm down, all right ?" "I don't think that anybody here is involved in Elise's kidnapping, all right ?" "But I think that it might be time that we reevaluate our plan." "Why ?" "The plan's working, man." "He fucking made the call." "Why ?" "I think we should just let Charlie go." " Me too." " Ira, shut the fuck up." "He's not doin' so well." "We should get him to a hospital." "What the fuck ?" "I leave the room, you guys roll over like five-dollar whores." "You have a drink with the guy, next thing you know, he's best man at your wedding." "What the fuck did he do ?" "Sprinkle fairy dust up your skirts ?" "Come o" "Avery." "Avery !" "buddy, man" "This is your sister's life we're talkin' about, man." "What the fuck ?" "Man, look at us." "We cut his fuckin' finger off !" "man, you're walkin' around with a gun !" "This isn't us." "We're no better than he is." "Tell Elise that." "He had nothing to do with Elise's kidnapping." "He had nothing to do with it." "Don't you understand that ?" "He didn't do anything !" "It doesn't matter !" "whoever did the actual kidnapping-- it's a fucking technicality !" " Go ahead." "Look that up in the constitution." " Max, shut up." "Brett, he's not guilty." "But he's responsible, man." "Come on." "Let me tell you, the best soap in the world won't wash the scum off this guy's hands." "I promise." "Let me enlighten you, Avery," "About your new friend here Charlie; about what he's really like." "You want to tell him about the dogs or should I ?" "No, you're doing good." "Jump in any time." "About a year ago, Charlie had a house in Jersey." "He moves in." "Next-door neighbors have dogs." "Two dogs ?" "They're barkin' all night long." "Charlie goes over, the nice guy that he is, asked them to keep the noise down." "Next night after that, same fuckin' dogs-- bark, bark, bark." "All fuckin' night long." "Next night after that and the next night after that, until one night" "Nothin' man." "Silence." "No more noise." "Cops got there about a week later." "The dogs were fine." "Happier than pigs in shit," "Munchin' on top sirloin." "The neighbors-- Avery, the neighbors-- they never fuckin' found." "Okay ?" "Gone." "How am i doin', Charlie ?" "Is that about right ?" "Almost." "Bet that was a rumor." "He's not involved with the mob anymore." "Oh, give me a fuckin' break !" "how do you think he was able..." "To find your sister with one phone call ?" "Coincidence ?" "Come on." "Your friend is right." "It's not a coincidence." "I was able to contact the right people, the way you counted on." "It's a good thing for you that I am who I am and I do what I do and I know who I know," "Otherwise, your princess would be chopped up and in the blender by now." "I'll tell you somethin' else:" "even after what you did to me, I kept my part of the bargain." "No more." "Who do you think you're dealing with ?" "Guess again." "You want to know what else i could do with one phone call ?" "How about I have your ass made into mincemeat ?" "I'll tell you what in fact happened with my neighbors." "It's got nothing to do with barking dogs." "That family, way back, did something..." "Vicious to mine." "Everything your pal Brett said is true," "Except he left out one detail:" "Those dogs" "It was not steak they were eating." "Guys, it's for him." "Charlie, you there ?" "Yeah." "Good news: the terms have been offered and accepted." "These guys are gonna make sure the money is in play, that I'm gone..." "And nobody's watching us, and then they're gonna drop the girl off..." "At the emergency room at the Lennox Hill hospital." "You got that ?" "I'll be fronting you the money." "I know you're good for it." "Remember, the banks don't open till 10:00, so don't go dying on me." "Remember, I'm a lawyer." "I got friends in hell." "So, what ?" "Is it still a go, or what ?" "One second." "You wanna play..." "Still ?" "Good." "Now we play my way." "I give my friend the go-ahead." "You tell him where we are." "I want my own driver waiting outside that door." "So's you got no opportunity whatsoever" "Crap out on your part of this." " Forget it." "You're going to have to trust us." " No." "You trust me." "Well, how 'bout something nearby ?" " Yeah, not here." " A hotel." "Yeah, good." "Hmm ?" "Restaurant." "Gas station." "No comment ?" "Marty, call the whole thing off." " No." "No, please." " Middlebury inn." "It's a half-mile away." "It's in Montauk." "It's got a coffee shop." "Middlebury inn." "Montauk." "Got that ?" " The Middlebury inn." "Okay, so how do i get there ?" " How do you get there ?" "Yeah, it's easy." "Hi, sir." "Yeah, take 124th street to" "No, wait a minute." "Why should he go through that kind of traffic ?" "Put him on the, uh" "There's no traffic at this hour." "Take 2nd avenue to the midtown tunnel." "Just shut up, shut up." "Who do you got there ?" "The New York taxi drivers' union ?" "Take central park west to parkway central to lennox then to 125th;" "125th to the tribrough bridge, the central park expressway or the southern states." "Let's get this over with." "You got that ?" "Yeah, i got it." "Take care of yourself, brother." "Huh." "Good." "So, she's okay ?" "Yeah." "Thank you, mr." "Barret." "Anytime, kid." "I must say that those were terrific directions, Max." "Turns out you're some kind of eagle scout." "I had no idea you spent that much time uptown." "I used the library up there at Columbia." "You got balls, kid." "I'd hate to get stuck up there alone, especially at night." "It happened to me once." "When I was a kid, I started out..." "Do you mind ?" "Taking bets, making collections for numbers." "All of the five boroughs." "I ran my ass off." "I knew every street upside down and backwards," "But I'd never been that far uptown before." "I fell asleep on a subway and missed my stop." "I come out, I looked around." "To me it was like..." "I landed on, uh-- what Max said" "The dark side of the moon." "Yeah." "I'm sorry." "I'd love to sit around and reminisce," "But could someone tell me the point of this fuckin' memoir ?" "Well, I'm wondering how come a day and a half ago," "Max can't navigate his way around Harlem with a sherpa guide," "But tonight he knows the place like his backyard." "I don't know what the hell you're talkin' about." "What I said." "How could you get lost up there, as well you know the place ?" "Isn't that where you were with the girl when this happened ?" "Yeah ?" "So ?" "Like I said, it was dark out." "It was raining." " It happened to you." "You said so yourself." " I was eight at that time." "Don't tell me you're backin' this inside player thing." "I'm bleeding to death." "Humor me." " You wanna waste your breath ?" "Go ahead." " Well, one more question" "How'd they know to find you there ?" " How the fuck should I know ?" "We've been all through this with the police." "I don't see how saying it one more time..." "Is gonna help anybody." "Cops can't find their dick with both hands." "Or, maybe it happened differently." "What do I know ?" "I'm old." "I'm tired." "I'm a senior citizen." "I think you had a little too much blood loss to the brain." "Maybe." "Maybe not." "You know, Max, i understand how this could happen." "I'm not sayin' it's okay it happened, but in a certain light it's not as crazy as it seems." "I don't know what the fuck you're talkin' about." "Stay with me." "See if what seems crazy don't start to make sense." "I know guys could talk the virgin mary into posing for a centerfold..." "And make her think it was her idea in the first place." "Let's say you owe these kinda guys something." "You can't pay them back." "Not now." "So, they wear you down." "They scare you pretty bad." "They make you feel there's no way out of this mess you got yourself into." "Then they tell you it's your lucky day." "They're gonna do you a favor." "Not a favor they'd do for anybody." "Also, they tell you if you do what they say, nobody gets hurt." "Am I gettin' warm ?" "You haven't moved the mercury yet." "I'm not that far off, am I ?" "By the time these bottom feeders finish turning dogshit into diamonds," "You let yourself be talked into doing something you'd never do in a million years." "Huh ?" "It could happen." " Shut up, Charlie !" "It does happen." "And it always starts with the first..." "Bet or babe or snort, fix, whatever," "Until it becomes easy, and after that you don't feel nothin'..." "At all." " Right ?" "T.k. ?" " You're full of shit, Charlie." "You know that ?" "Tell 'im, Max." " Yeah." "Tell me, Max." " You don't know shit, Charlie." "Your eyes are floatin', Max." " Fuck you !" "you don't know who I am !" " you're guilty as shit." "Tell 'im, Max." "Just fuckin' tell 'im, Max." " Tell me, Max." " Tell 'im, Max." " I never wanted to cut your finger off, all right ?" " Tell your friends..." "You're sorry." "I never wanted anyone to get hurt." "What the fuck does that mean ?" "Tell 'im you didn't do it, Max." "Tell 'im." "Come on, Max." "Just tell 'em you're sorry." "Say "i'm sorry." that's all." "Say "i am sorry."" "Come on, Max." "Say you're sorry !" "Tell 'im, Max." "Tell 'im !" "I'm sorry." "Motherfucker !" "t.k., bring your bag over here !" "now !" "do it !" "Bring your fuckin' saw !" "now !" " Brett, put the gun-- - shut up, Avery !" " T.k., come on !" "do it !" "bring it over here !" " t.k., don't !" "Avery..." "Go in the other room." "Bring your bag over here !" "come on !" "do it !" "bring that fuckin' saw !" " Oh, Brett, man." " We had a plan !" "An eye for an eye, an ear for an ear and all that fuckin' shit !" "Well, we fucked up, all right ?" "We got the wrong fuckin' guy in the chair !" "T.k., hurry up !" "remember the fuckin' plan, Max ?" "You fucked us !" " Do it, t.k., now !" "we cut the wrong guy's finger off !" " take it easy." "Take it easy !" " no !" " Avery !" " no !" "No, no !" "come on !" "okay, Brett !" "you're right !" "We got the wrong guy." "We cut the wrong guy's finger off." "Okay." "But it wasn't Max." "It wasn't Max, man." "It wa" "It wasn't Max." "It was me." "It was me." "I did it." "Ah-- no." "No." "You fuck." "Why, man ?" "Look, it was-- it was a dartmouth-unc game." "I took the points." "It was a no-brainer." "I lost $25,000." "I didn't think it would happen twice." "So, you know, I let it ride." "By the end of the day, I was into Antoine for 50,000." "I couldn't go to my dad." "Not again." "I figured the worst thing that could happen was I pay the debt off for the rest of my life." "Oh, no !" "And then..." "Shut up." "Antoine laid the debt off." "It was just like Charlie said." "It was" "It was my lucky day, you know ?" "They were gonna give me a way out." "He sent these gorillas." "You never seen gorillas like these guys !" "They were gonna fuckin' kill me !" "they were gonna kill me for real." " Shut up." " Look, I-- it wasn't-- no." "They told me that they were just gonna hold Elise" "Put the gun down, Brett." "Put it down." "They told me that no one would be hurt." "They swore to me." "I didn't know what to do." "I was so fuckin' scared." "No." "And Max" "He didn't have any" " I just needed his help." "He did it for me." "It's not his fault." "Those bastards, man !" "in the note they asked for $2,000,000." "That wasn't the plan !" "They told me that no one would be hurt, that..." "They would just hold Elise." "Aw, I'm fuckin' sorry." "They were gonna kill me !" "Okay ?" "I'm sorry." " You kidnapped your own fucking sister ?" " Ow !" "oh !" "Are you fucking out of your mind ?" "I can't believe you dragged us into this !" "What about us, motherfucker ?" "Huh ?" "What about us ?" "We were gonna fuckin' play poker, and now we're all gonna fuckin' get killed !" "You motherfucker !" "explain to me what individual..." "Ira !" "Ira !" "Kidnaps his own fucking sister !" "Get the fuck off of me !" "get off of me !" "calm the fuck down !" "Get off of me !" "Yeah ?" "Lono, it's me, Marty." "I got the location." "No, Marty." "I don't need directions." "Thanks for cleaning' up, guys, but I'm good." "I'm-I'm better now." "Come on." "I really, really am." "Yeah ?" "Tell that to the television set." "And to the glass table." "I'm sorry." "Sometimes you have to get it out, and I got it out, and I feel better." "Uh, look" "Fuck." "Goddamn it !" "Jesus." "Fuck !" "This is so ridiculous." "I should" "Thanks." "Ira..." "You are the man." "Shit." "Again ?" "So you're going to drop the girl at the emergency room at the Lennox Hill hospital." "Are we gonna go through this again ?" "I got it !" "swap the girl for the money." "Oh, sh" "What the fuck are you doin' here ?" "I thought I told you to feed her." "I fed her yesterday." "Relax." "Relax ?" "You left her alone ?" "Go fuckin' feed her !" "Guys !" "guys !" " All right." "Fuck !" "Jesus Christ !" " Yeah, huh" " Mmph !" " Jesus fuckin' Christ !" " What are you guys, nuts ?" "Drop the gun." " No." "You drop the gun." " Drop the gun." " All right." "Take it easy." "That's Lono." "He's a friend." " All right." " I'm gonna blow your friend's head off." "Drop the gun." " Don't put it down." " Thanks, Brett." " Put the fuckin' gun down !" "Fuck is that ?" " Nothing, just-- fucking girlfriend." "Chickie." "Call the woman back." "Come on." " Charlie, what do you want me to do ?" " Shoot..." "No !" " Him." "Mmph !" "mmph !" "Oh, fuck !" "why me ?" " It was your idea, dunsky." " Ow !" " You okay ?" " Ah, so-so." "Except for this." "They cut your finger off ?" "You fuckin' sick fucks." "It's all this fuckin' rap shit, isn't it ?" "Who's he ?" "That's Ira." "That's my man." "It's his house." "It's a nice house." " Oh, thank you." " You're welcome." "Avery, put it down." "You'll shoot yourself in the foot." " I can't let you go." " Charlie, what do you-- come on." "Let me fuckin' shoot this kid." " Thank your lucky stars I don't let Lono do to you..." " What he would like to do." " Fuckin' "a" right." "You let Lono take me outta here right now, everything goes ahead..." "Like nothing changed." "I can't let you go." " Mmph !" "mmph !" " We don't have a choice." "I got a gun in my hand !" "we have a choice !" "You wanna end up like your friend on the floor ?" "Drop the gun." "Get it over with." "If we let him go, Elise is as good as dead." "Christ, Avery." "We don't let him go, we're all dead." "At least this way, Elise has got a shot." "Okay, here's the plan." "I'm takin' Charlie with me to the hospital, okay ?" "You'll get your sister back." "Maybe you'll live to see graduation." "What guarantee do I have if I let you go, you won't back out on this deal ?" "Avery..." "You got my word." "Do you believe this fuckin' guy ?" " What are you doin' ?" " I'm lettin' him go." " Ah !" "at last." "Obviously a graduate." " No, you're not." "I'm not kidding." "Avery, put the fucking gun down." "What are you gonna do, shoot me ?" "Do whatever you gotta do, but I'm lettin' him go." "The gun again." "Can't you guys just play nice ?" " Drop the gun, asshole." " Look, why don't you drop your gun." " I don't drop my fuckin' gun, okay ?" " Okay." "The ring-- uh, you'll need this." "Hey, hey !" "hey !" "I-I-I, I made fresh ice, that's all." "I did that, okay ?" "Sorry about that." "Sir ?" "Sir ?" "I know you're in kind of a hurry, but remember how you said I'm your man ?" "That was great." "And how I had nothin' to do with this." "Okay, suck-up." "Let's go." " Let's go." " All right, you guys..." "Become invisible." "Take care." "Ira, come here." "You are the man." "Remember that." "Okay." "That's fresh ice." "That's very cold." "Marty." "Yeah." "Everything goes ahead." "Charlie, remember, it's my money." " Yeah, yeah." "Where you goin' ?" "Lennox Hill." "Pick up my sister." "Here's the gun." "Where're you goin' ?" "To pull the car around for Brett." "I gotta get him to the hospital." "Where're you goin' ?" "Um, bathroom." "And shit !" "I gotta call chickie !" "Who's gonna help me clean up ?" "Excuse me." "Excuse me, I'm in the middle of something." "Excuse me, ma'am-- talk to you later." "You'll have to get in line." "No, it'll take a second." "It's my sister." "Chasten." "Elise Chasten." "C-h-a-s-t-e-n." "She's here." "She might be in a room;" "she might've just arrived." "I don't know." "Nope, not here." "There must be a mistake." "I got Chadwick, i got Chule-- there's no Chasten here." "I told you, she's not here." "Okay ?" "Next." "Are you sure ?" "Sorry." "The doctor says it'll be okay." "What about the girl ?" "All right, boss, I don't want you to get too excited about this..." "But the girl never made it to the hospital." "That's just bad business." "I know." "Very bad." "Fuckin' tragic." "Look at the bear !" "yeah !" "Morning." "Wafflers ?" " What the fuck d'you do that for ?" " Where's the money ?" " What money ?" "Every answer you give me, I don't like it-- he takes a bullet." "I'm gonna ask you again:" "where's the money ?" "It's in the bathtub in the bathroom." "Mr. Bartolucci, I didn't know it was your money." "If I knew, I never would have accepted it." " Where's the girl ?" " What girl ?" " The girl I paid you $2 Million to let go, guinea moron." "Mr. Bartolucci, you gotta believe me." "I swear to you on the grave of my unborn children." "We never kidnapped a girl." "It was all like a, a-a-a" "Shut up." " Uuh !" "aagh !" "Think they were tellin' the truth ?" "This feels a little light." "So, I understand you bought Avery's debt." "The three of you came up with a plan." "That's good." "I mean, $50,000, that's a lot of money." "Yeah, no shit, skippy." " How would you gentlemen like to make 20 Times that amount ?" " Million dollars ?" "What's in it for you ?" " Avery's debt's completely wiped off the books..." " And he never finds out about this conversation." " And ?" " So, who do we kidnap ?" " Nobody." "Everybody's gonna think you got me." "Ahh." "Okay." "See, that's good." "Very good." "And the beautiful part is, nobody gets hurt." "Let's go." "That's a nice tan." "Too bad to spoil your vacation." "Where's the fuckin' money ?" "I'll get it." "Elise." "Max, I love you." "I'm sorry." "Me too." "Elise." "Look at me." "All this was your idea, right ?" "Yes." "Max, you were right about her." "You should never lie to your friends."