"They lose 65 games only to end up with the fourth pick in the draft." "Did they tank that shit on purpose?" "Read the words, Pop." "Right there on the wall." "Brother's got a point, Henry, much as I hate to admit that." "That's right." "Pay up." "You're right, you're right." "I shouldn't have cursed." " My bad, Lonnie." " It's okay, Pop." "All right." "What's their record this year, anyway, like?" "17 and 65." "You know that Russian kid they drafted?" "He better be good." "He's Latvian." "What they need to do is fire Phil Jackson." "Wait a minute, Phil Jackson ain't out there playing no more." "Phil Jackson overrated, B." "Anybody can win with Jordan and Kobe." "Phil ain't no Pat Riley." "Aw, Riley, again?" " Yeah." " Here we go." "I mean, Pacino..." "Now, I get why that white boy makes your free haircut list." "The Godfather and Scarface guaranteed that man an eternal ghetto pass." " Carlito's Way, too." " Mmm-hmm." " But Pat Riley?" " Yeah." "Why does Pat Riley get so much love in this shop?" "Right." "Even punk-ass Derek Fisher got more rings than Pat Riley." "Uh-uh." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "'Cause the Knicks played like men when Pat Riley was head coach." "Oakley and Ewing went hard in the paint." "Plus Anthony Mason and John Starks?" "Drive the lane, you might go home in a body bag." "All right, now I heard that." "Later with all that Instagramming," ""let's all max contract on the same team together" bullcrap passing as competition nowadays." "Mmm." "Yeah." "Didn't Pat Riley sign those Instagram dudes down in Miami when he became the GM?" "Maybe." "But King James is the truth." "LeBron can ball." "Yeah." "Now pay up, Luke." "You said "bullcrap."" ""Bullcrap" ain't a curse, man." "I don't curse." ""I don't curse."" "You don't cut hair either, negro." "Like, really, what do you do up in here, bruh?" "I sweep hair, Shameek." "I also mop, I wash the towels, and I make sure that plate glass window stays spotless." "It's called work." "Something you would never understand." "Slam Magazine..." "Hmm?" "Coaches used to live up in this piece, son." "Kevin Ollie got a shape-up right there from Pop's." "Pitino, too." "Stylin' and profilin', that's my work." " See what I'm sayin'?" "Yeah?" " Yeah." "Tell him." "For real?" "Doc Rivers, uh, call you yet, Shameek?" "Whoa, all right." "Play nice." " You can't even afford a haircut." " Hey, you know what?" " I'm about sick and tired of..." " What?" "Hmm?" "You sick and tired of what?" "About sick and tired of the Knicks losing' all the time, man!" "You got some hair, too, right there." " I'm not finished." " Yes, you are." " Hey, Counselor." " Aw, don't jinx me, Pop." "I haven't even passed the bar yet." "Oh, you will." "Lonnie, you got Kumon tonight." "Let's go." "Come on, boy, you heard your mama." "Let's get moving." "Don't make me repeat myself." "Hey, Luke." "What time you get off?" "I got another job I go to right after I leave this one." "Black man working." "Ain't nothing wrong with that." "Well, we should at least try to get some coffee some time." "Maybe you'll need a lawyer one day." "Hopefully, you'll have some cards by then." "Hey." "Be sure and tell Bessie I said hey." " I will." " Mmm-hmm." "How's a woman that fine with a briefcase gonna throw it at a brother with a broom?" "That's what you don't get, youngin." "Either you have it or you don't." "Oh, I know I got it." "Shit." "Whoa, whoa." "See the words..." "right there on the wall." "Hmm?" " Pay up." " Come on, Pop." "Huh, there you go again." "I shook everything else after I got out." "Cigarettes, paranoia..." "But the pacing?" "I do it, too." "Reva again?" "Reva always." "Look, it's been long enough." "Give Patty a call." "She's a good woman." "I don't drink coffee much." "I don't think she does either." "Like she said, "Ain't nothing wrong with that."" "When I'm ready, I'm ready." "But you'll want a cup of something hot and dark sooner or later..." "Mr. Bulletproof." "There you go with the nicknames, Pop." "You said your rebound chick took a shotgun at point-blank range... pointed it under your chin, and pulled the trigger." "I still get the occasional headache." "Not a problem for you, Power Man." "Mmm-mmm." "I love it when you do stuff like that." "You should be out there helping people, that's all, like them other fellas downtown." "Reva used to say the same thing." "Yeah, well, she was right." "You don't ever think about all the people you could help?" "You should be more ambitious." "What if my ambition is to sweep hair... wash dishes... and be left the hell alone?" "Well, that would be a waste." "You think I asked for any of this?" "I was framed, beaten... and put in some tank like an exotic fish." "Came out with... abilities." "Saved your life." "More like ruined it." "Reva's dead." "I'm a fugitive." "So?" "Take my advice, brother." "The past is the past." "And the only direction in life that matters is forward." "Never backwards." "I'm just living my life... day to day." "Why don't you watch where you going, man?" "What's the gun for, Chico?" "Is your name Wilfredo Diaz?" "'Cause he walked out on me and moms when I was nine." "I ain't need a daddy then and I don't need one now." " Let's get this money." " Yeah." "Tsk." "Hey, Pop, I gotta go." "I'm runnin' late." "Hey." "Look, if I wasn't paying you in cash, I could be paying you more." "You wouldn't have to be workin' two jobs." "I gotta do what I gotta do." "Always forward." "Forward." "Always." "Hey, yo, my man, my man." "All HD." "Got it right here." "Blu-ray, too, 'cause I'm nice like that." "Tony Stark, the big blonde dude with the hammer, the old dude with the shield, the green monster, and I don't mean Fenway." "You can't get better raw footage of the incident anywhere else than right here." "Hey, Luke." "Every time." "It's the bleach." "I can smell it from around the corner." "Pop has got you washing towels again, huh?" "Yeah, I took a New Yorker off the top for you." "Can't tell you what's on the cover, though." "Hey, I hope you got Connie's rent money." "She's on the warpath." "Thanks, Ollie." "Mmm-hmm." "Ten days late, Mr. Cage." "I need my rent money." "Here." "I count $300." "Not enough." "Let me go to work and get the rest." "Tonight." "I need a favor." "Short one bartender." "Dante's sick." "You got the cash you promised me?" " End of the week." " Come on, Nate." "You can keep all your tips out there, okay?" "When was the last time you made drinks?" "I know the drill." "Okay, okay." "Clean up." "Put a shirt and jacket on." "Mr. Stokes has standards." "Though you can't tell by what he pays." "Excuse me?" "Raphael Saadiq." " He's as good live as you said he was." " Even better." "So you're not impressed by all this?" "I've always been proud of you." "This place was a roach trap by the time Mama Mabel died." "Now look at it." "Harlem's Paradise." "May as well be the new Cotton Club." "Then I shouldn't be up in here tonight." "Well..." "Madam Councilwoman..." "Colon's Gym is ready to make a sizable donation to my pocket... and your real estate project." "Sometimes you need a face-to-face." ""Colon's Gym"?" "Is that what that two-bit drug dealer is puttin' on his tax returns?" "Why do you even waste time with him?" "Politics is where the power is, Cornell." "Forget about all this other noise." "My noise keeps you flush." "All that "keep Harlem black" rack-a-bully-ack might get you re-elected." " Damn skippy." " But when the smoke clears... it's niggas like me that let you hold on to what you got." "You know I despise that word." "I know." "It's easy to underestimate a nigga." "They never see you coming." " What's that?" " It's a cosmo." "Your jacket's a little small." "So is your dress." "Touché." " Cornell, my man." " Champagne." " All right." " Councilwoman." " What are you two celebrating?" " Success." "Partnership that should have happened a long time ago, had... my uncle and your brother had their way." "Uncle Pete was good people." "Salvador really liked Pete." "Anytime." " Lookin' for somethin'?" " No." "Saadiq's still got it." "Stone Rollin' was a dope album." ""Album"?" "Now I know you're an old head." "You ain't no spring chicken neither, sucker." "Touché." "All right." "So let me get this straight." "I give your cousin a contribution and it's like a get out of jail free card for me, right?" "That's something to celebrate." "No, I don't do that." "See, me..." "I celebrate when things are finished." "Not when it's just starting." "Listen to him." "This is nothing to celebrate." "You saw what happened to Fisk." "You two shouldn't even be seen together... let alone having me all up in the Kool-Aid." "But you're here anyway." "Something must be right about it." "Otherwise, you wouldn't have fronted me if you didn't agree." "I have no illusions about our family's legacy." "But you are now turning legitimate money illegal all over again." "What's illegal about it?" "Our product is protected by the Constitution." "But you came to me because you trust me, Domingo." "In your business, people need my product like a fish needs water." " He can buy his water anywhere." " Nah." "What I sell is pure." "This the kind of shit that could blow a hole in a battleship." "But it's light enough to hold in your hand." "Trust me, Domingo." "You can brighten someone's day permanently with this shit." "Top of the line." "The crÃ¨me de la crÃ¨me." "This that grade A, military, Justin Hammer-level shit." "A hundred large per case." "Ten cases, a cool mil." "Wholesale." "Brand spanking new." "No serial numbers..." "because my connect is nice like that." "Who's your connect?" "He's real and his inventory runs deep." " So that's it." " That's it." " Easy-peasy." " Nothing's ever that easy." "So what happens after they call to confirm?" "Everyone walks away happy." "UPS ain't the only brown that delivers." "My man." "Yeah, kid." "That's what I'm talkin' about." "Yeah." "Yo, you see this?" "Damn!" "Yo!" "You wasn't supposed to kill nobody, man!" "I had to make a move, Dante." "Shit went left." "My bad." "Oh, my God." "Oh, fuck." "God." "Shut up, Chico, before I gag you with your panties." "Yo, y'all see this money, B?" "Yo, this shit is like some Hollywood shit for real." "Shameek, what am I gonna do?" "They're gonna know it was me." "B, there's, like, a million dollars right here." "Cottonmouth always lookin' down at me at the bar." "He's gonna know I'm gone." "They gonna know it was a inside job." "You right." "What'd you do?" "Yo, shit works." "Yo, this shit works, Chico." "Dante would have snitched." "You see... you see how shook he was?" "Come on, man." "I ain't..." "Ain't no way I'm splitting that shit three ways no how, man." "Dante was crew, B. That's Dante!" "Yo, I made a decision." "I'm gonna be rich." "Let's go." "Let's go!" "Come on!" "So you're a bench-warmer?" "Or did you miss the cut?" "Excuse me?" "I just figured you were... one of his." "One of Cottonmouth's?" "I hear he hates that name." " Mr. Stokes'..." " Cottonmouth's..." "Models." "What makes you assume that?" "You're beautiful." "But..." "But what?" "You're a little older than he usually likes them." "Yeah, you're definitely not getting a tip tonight." "But I'm not finished." "Mmm." "Dumb men like little girls." "Me?" "I ponder a woman." "Why don't you... ponder me another cosmo?" "Luke." "Hey, Candace." "You got promoted?" "Dante's out sick." "You okay?" "Table seven wants six bottles of Ace of Spades." "I need you to help me carry them up." "I don't like being up there by myself." "I'm right behind you." "Give me a second." "Why don't you..." "ponder that 'til I get back." "You're a big one, eh?" "He's wearing a little jacket." "Haven't seen you behind the bar." "Where's Dante?" "Called in sick, I guess." "You want a job?" "I can find something more suitable for a man your size." "Better paying, too." "You ever carried a gun?" "No." "I'm good." "Thanks." "Yeah?" "Shit." "Fuck." "You got to walk over to Adam Clayton Powell if you wanna catch the bus." "Uber?" " That's what you were gonna press, right?" " What are you?" " A cop?" " No." "You just look cold." "If you're looking for Mr. Stokes, he just left." "Who?" "Black Escalade." "Tinted windows." "Don't you have..." "somewhere you need to be?" "Yeah." "Home." "Just got off." "Congratulations." "You wanna go grab a coffee?" "I don't like coffee." "Neither do I." "When?" "I'm on my way in." "You talk in your sleep." "What was I saying?" "Shades?" "Comanche?" "The job is calling me in." "Can I call you later?" "You'd need my phone number for that." "I know where you work." "I'll find you." "What is it you do again?" "I'm an auditor." "What's that?" "Basically, I look at the financial books." "Make sure everything's on the up and up." "And you need a short dress for that?" "Sometimes you got to blend in." "Impossible." "You stand out in any room you're in." "Dominicans?" "Cubans?" "Puerto Ricans." "Thought that parade was last week." "Who can keep track?" "Who do you think this guy was trying to call?" "Ghostbusters." "He can laugh." "You can't." "Hey, Bailey." "How you doing?" "It's another beautiful day at the office." "What's not to love?" "Don't you start singing show tunes on me." "Oh, shit." "Dante Chapman." "You know him?" "I know his mama." "Of course it wasn't a inside job." "We had people die, too." "Look..." "I don't have the stuff." "Hmm." "We need to talk about this in person." "My word is still my bond." "Hello?" "That's Domingo?" "Yo, what's up?" "It's above your pay grade." "What?" "Tell your man what's going on, Cornell." "Nice digs." "Even nicer than when Mama Mabel ran it." "Shades." "When'd you come home?" "Ooh, a while ago." "Seagate wasn't shit." "Hmm." "So... what can I do for you?" "It's the other way around." "Y'all got hit last night." "That expensive, exclusive, hard-to-get hardware that Diamondback gave you is in a police evidence lockup." "And the money... that Domingo and his crew were supposed to give you... is gone." "I'm with Diamondback now." "You knew that, right?" "Well, tell Diamondback, it's about time..." "Uh-uh..." "Diamondback tells you." "I'm his number one seller." "I ain't here to spank you." "But I do need to look you in your eyes..." "Was it an inside job?" "No." "Hell no." "I needed that money, too." "It took forever to build up that kind of trust." "We're here to get you back on your feet." "Whatever you need." "Who is "we," you fake-ass Ray Charles?" "I got your back, B." "Just like back in the day." "Forget about back in the day." "Why is this feeling like a takeover?" "It's not." "If it was... you would never even see Diamondback comin'." "He wants you to win." "How can I help?" "Dante was one of my kids." "So was Chico." "And Shameek, too." "Just like those kids playing over there." "You know, that's how you get 'em on your side." "Sweepin' up hair." "Runnin' errands." "Lettin' 'em hang out, play video games." "Anything is better than what's waiting for them out there on the street." "They want a way out... but they have too much pride to ask for help." "So you gotta Jedi mind-trick them into something." "Everyone has a gun." "No one has a father." "Ain't that the truth." "You sure they did it?" "People started callin' me half an hour after it happened." "Shameek has always been the spark plug." "And Chico... a follower." "I just can't believe that either one of them... would just turn around... and kill..." "Dante." "You didn't see anything going on with either one of 'em, did you?" "No." "You live and die by your choices." "This is Harlem's garden." "That's what's happening here." "You are the ones that are gonna keep this community..." "Where have..." "Oh, God." "This is Marisol." "Baby..." "Oh, my God, known her since she was first born." "And here you are upturnin' Harlem around." "I'm so proud of you." "Ah!" "I saw you running for the bus this mornin'." "All right, darling." "I'm happy you made it, darling." "Uh-uh, uh-uh, cut him off at three." "I know this young brother." "He'll eat five hamburgers." "I've seen you do it." "Now, Harlem is a community that welcomes everyone." "All people." "But at the same time, since the days of Langston Hughes," "Malcolm X, Zora Neale Hurston, Duke Ellington," "Harlem has been the jewel of black America." "It's a perpetual symbol of... of hope and prosperity and excellence." "For black lives to matter, black history and black ownership must also matter." "Now, my multifaceted plan for the Crispus Attucks Complex is just yet another way to bring hope to a new generation, to incubate the kind of innovation and creativity and progress that Harlem's famous for." "Thank you again for your time, Madam Councilwoman." "Oh, Megan, you're always welcome in Harlem." " All right." " All right, darling." "Y'all need to fall the hell back." "Zip, give her some space." "I don't like the thugs." " You need them for security." " Mmm, they scare people." "They pass out flyers, get contributions, tributes." "Just like in Jamaica, you know?" "Yeah, well, we ain't Jamaican, Cornell." "You shouldn't be here." "We don't need to be photographed together." "Why?" "You ashamed of me?" "That hurts, Mariah." " Tony." " Hmm?" "Will you give us a moment?" "I need the money you promised me ASAP." "Now you want the money?" "I used federal grant and tax-deductible donation money to complete construction on your club and to facilitate that meticulous deal that just fell apart." "I don't get the money, I'm facing an audit." "We all go to jail." "It'll be there." "What happened at the junkyard last night?" "And who's the dude in the sunglasses behind you?" "Is he after the money, too?" "Either you want the details, cuz, or you don't." "That's what I thought." "What's the word?" "Confirmation of what Dante told us while he was dying." "His friends, the one that play on your summer league team at the Rucker, jacked your shit." "Shameek and Chico." "Any bites yet?" "No." "Double down." "Twenty large to find those fools." "Tone, Passion is twerking for him right now." "He ain't going nowhere soon." "Not with all that ass in his face." "You want me to keep him here, you need to pay me." "Hey, yo, my man." "You know what time it is?" "8:15." "Stay Harlem." "Stay black." " Hey, man." " Watch your hands." "You need to pay me." "I'm paying you under the table, which means I'll pay you whenever I goddamn feel like it." "What you worried about?" "I'm not worried." "I just never met Cottonmouth before, that's all." "Mr. Stokes." "Mr. Stokes." "That's important." "Never Cottonmouth." "All right, okay, my bad." "After what happened with Dante, we circling the wagons." "They after us, B." "Who?" "Nigga, it don't matter who." "Mr. Stokes wanted me to check on you... personally." "Yo, what you doin'?" "Come on." "Shades." "You like my Biggie photo?" "Me, too." "You know what draws your eye when you look at that?" "The crown." "Wanna know why?" "Huh?" "'Cause everybody wants to be the king." "I slapped you like a little bitch." "I'm not the kind of man to use a closed fist on a woman." "Where's my money?" "I..." "I didn't..." "Uh-uh." "Only thing worse than a thief is a damn liar." "Where's... my... money?" "Hmm?" "You left Dante alive." "He called Tone." "And with his dying words, gave up you and your homeboy." "We got your money." "Now you're gonna tell us where Chico is so we can get the rest." "Yeah." "Thank you." "Now I can hit you like a man." "No..." "Get his ass out of here." "And go fetch my money." "He didn't recognize you." "Loneliness never goes away, especially in places like Seagate." "If you don't make attempts to befriend someone... loneliness is guaranteed to... eat you alive." "I'm clear." "I'm focused." "I promise, baby..." "I'm ready." "Shameek Smith... based on what they found in his pockets." "We'll need dental to confirm ID." "His face is jacked." "Mmm." "They definitely dumped him here." "They got him somewhere else." "Mmm." "Looks like he got hit by a truck." "Yeah." "A truck with two fists." "You know, Benjamin Franklin said," ""The only way that three people can keep a secret is if two of 'em are dead."" "First Dante, now Shameek." "Chico's the last man standing." "Benjamin Franklin..." "Didn't he electrocute himself flying a kite in a rainstorm?" "I wouldn't base any theories on that fool." "Benjamin Franklin is on the $100 bill, Scarfe." "So?" "He wasn't a president." "That's even more impressive." "Come on, give the man some credit." "Well..." "So you think Chico did this to Shameek?" "Chico is what?" "A buck 50 soaking wet?" "But we won't know for sure until we find him." "You said Dante wasn't bartendin' the night you were at the club." "No." "Well, did you talk to the guy that replaced him that night?" "I barely talked to the guy." "I mean... all I did was order drinks." "Well, maybe there's some pattern, somethin' we're missin'." "We need to go talk to that guy." "That sounds like a complete waste of time." "That's entirely possible." "But it's worth a shot." "All right." "You've been in this country for how long?" "And you still... can't speak English?" "My English is just fine." "Show Mariah Dillard some love." "Contribute and we'll go away." "It's a family thing." "I own this restaurant." "My father owned this building." "Tell Mariah Dillard I am not contributing to her complex." "We voted for her and gave her money before." "And I respect Mr. Stokes." "But no." "No more." "I can't." "Give us... the money." "Yo..." "I don't like your tone." "Excuse me?" "You're being disrespectful." "It's unnecessary." "You need to step off, Mayweather." "I mean, what you think you gonna do, man?" "I think he think he gonna bring it." "I can." "Not the way I want to." "I'd kill you." "Ooh." " I like this cat." " Yo, Amos." "What up?" "Show the man what you famous for." "You want some?" "I don't even like these niggas, man." "I'm sorry about your window." "Here." " For what?" " For you." "Ma'am, I'm the one who owes you money." "You made things worse." "They'll come back again." "We want to hire you." "I'm not for hire." "But you have my word, ma'am." "I've got you."