"Okay, Darnell, so the candy just happened to jump into your pocket, huh?" "I don't think so." "Samir's gonna call the police now." " But l" " Samir, the police." " Hello, police?" " Please don't call the police." "Please." "I'll hold." "That's what happens when you shoplift, there's consequences." "But it's just some damn candy." "I don't wanna go to jail." "Well, you can probably get away with stealing sometimes, Darnell, but, you know, sooner or later you're gonna get caught." "is that the way you wanna lead your life, huh?" " No." " l happen to believe that you're worth more." "But you gotta believe it, Darnell." " l hear you, Miss Evelyn." " Are you bullshitting me?" " No, ma'am." " Well, you better not be, you hear me?" "Yes, ma'am." "Okay." "Now you tell Samir." "I won't steal anymore, sir." "It's all right." "Boy, did you get lucky." "Now I want you to go straight home, you hear me?" " Yes." " You shouldn't be out at this time of the night anyway." "Go on, get." "Thank you, Miss Evelyn." "You handled that just beautifully." "You know, he's a good kid." "He just needs an older brother." "So let's take a look at these Thanksgiving birds." "Oh, nice." "Nice and plump." "Yo, Osama!" "Osama!" "Get behind the register!" "Now!" " Did you hear what he said?" " Move!" "Move!" " Please!" "Take it." "Please." " Shut up, man." "Come on." " l want no trouble." " Shut the fuck up." " Take it all." " Shut up!" " l just came to the country." " Don't you move." " Do not move!" " l want no trouble, sir." "Take it all." "This is America, homeboy." "Black people don't get what they want" " in this country." "Why should you?" " Please!" "Move, move, move, move!" "Come on." "Let's go!" "Been a long time since anybody seen that face around here." "Must've gotten off for good behavior." "Not likely." "That's Bobby Mercer." "Heavyweight champion fuck-up of the family." "And that's a well-defended title." "Would've made his daddy proud if he had ever had one." "I used to know him a little." "Played hockey with the boy." "Got thrown out of 60-odd games before the league had finally had enough of him." "They called him the Michigan Mauler." " Who's the kid?" " Oh, that's Jack." "He's the youngest." "First-class fuck-up, third-class rock star." " He doesn't look like trouble." " He's a Mercer." "Don't let him fool you." "Hey." "You all right?" "You sure?" "You know I love you, man." "Come on, let's go see Jerry." " What do we got over here?" " Another model citizen, I'm sure." "My mom, she used to talk about y'all all the time, about how y'all used to cut up at work." " No, actually Jeremiah's all right." " She told me everything." "You know, he was a rising star in the union for a while." "Man found a cause." " How you doing, baby?" " Cool." "Nice house, man." "Not bad at all." "What's up, kiddo?" "Come on, man." "Give me a hug, man." "We got one mia." "I thought you said there were four." "Angel?" "Pretty boy." "Ex-hustler." "Soldier." "Guess he's a no-show today." "Do you remember when I built that tree house" " and you burned the shit down?" " Come on, man." " Boy, I wanted to kick your ass, man." " Don't worry, your house is brick." " l ain't gonna burn it down." " Well, now, yeah." "Oh, yeah, yeah." "No smoking in my house, so you're gonna have to put that out." "Sorry." "I don't get it." "If this woman's such a goddamn saint, how did she end up raising four total fuck-ups?" "Ms. Evelyn cycled hundreds of kids out of the foster-care system and into permanent homes." "And in 30 years, she only came across four lost causes." "Four delinquents so far gone, she couldn't find anyone to take them in." "So she did." "Trust me, Fowler, these kids are congressmen compared to what they would've been." " Hey there." "You must be Daniela." " Look how big you guys are." "And you must be Amelia." "Nice dress, Amelia." " l'm Amelia." " l know." "You guys probably don't remember us, but I'm your Uncle Bobby and this is Cracker Jack." "Don't teach them that, man." " You're not my uncle." "You're white." " Grandma Evey's white." "Yeah, see, we're a different kind of uncle." "Your grandma, she adopted me and Uncle Jack, like she did your daddy." "You're a policeman!" "That's right, and you're all under arrest, so don't nobody move." "Hey, where y'all going?" "What about me, Green?" "You gonna arrest me too?" "All depends, Bobby." "You keeping straight?" "Straight-ish." " How you doing, man?" " Good to see you." " Jack." " Green." "Sorry about your mom, brother." "Give me some love." "Jerry." "I thought you said he wasn't coming." "No, I said I didn't know if he was coming or not." "I ain't seen him in Lord knows how many years." "You know it's hard to track that Bobby down." "Don't give me that look, Camille." "I am way through with that life." "Thanks for coming, Green." "Mom would've been happy you made it." "Shit, your mom would've been happy you made it back for her funeral." "I didn't come back for no funeral." "Thanks for the offer, but we got it under control." "Yeah." "You know, I could tell by the looks of things when I drove in." "The place looks completely different." "Detroit's finest cleaned it up, huh?" "Yeah, be easy, Bobby." "We got these punks." "Kid playing basketball across the street witnessed two gangbangers running in there, shooting up the place" "Come on, Green. I used to make a good living around here because cops like you guys couldn't find tits in a strip joint." "Why don't you come inside, have some coffee and some doughnuts and then take your boy and get the fuck out of here, okay?" "Come on." "Charming guy." "Nice to be home." "So, shit, Bobby, what've you been up to?" "I'm a freaking college professor, Jack." "What do you think I've been doing?" " l doubt that." " Same old Bobby." "What about you?" "You still sucking a little cock left and right, or what?" "Fucker." "Y'all ain't right leaving me out here in the cold like this." " Yo, little brother!" "You asshole!" " You ought to be ashamed!" " l missed my plane." " Get over here." "You missed our mother's funeral too, jarhead." " What's up?" " What's up with you?" " What's up, boy?" " lt's all good, man." " You shaved off the Afro, huh?" " Jack!" " Haven't seen you in forever." " Yeah, I know." " Did you get your teeth whitened?" " Man, shut up, Jackie-poo." "I'm gonna get me something to eat." " All y'all hungry?" " No, I'm gonna get some sleep." "Jack, you take your old room, all right?" "Angel, take yours." "I'm gonna sleep in Mom's room." "You been crying in here, you little fairy?" "Leave it alone, man." "Still making a lot of racket on that freaking thing?" "Yeah, still making a lot of racket." " Too weird in Mom's room?" " Oh, man." "Way too weird." "It's crazy." "I mean, everything's exactly the same." "She didn't change nothing in this house." " Look at y'all." " What?" "Nothing. I'm just happy to see you, man." "Happy to see my brothers, that's all." "I'm happy to see you too, Jerry." "I guess I'll stop by the grocery store and grab a turkey or something." "Have a Thanksgiving dinner." "Let's at least act like we're a real family." "Mom would like that." "Where you think you going?" "It's a little heavy in there. I'm gonna just go outside and get me a little air." "You're full of shit, man." "You can smell that ass from down the street, huh?" "What are you talking about?" "What do you mean, what?" "Come on, what, man." "You know exactly what we're talking about with La Vida Loca." "Ain't nobody going to get no La Vida Loca nothing." " She got a boyfriend." " She got a boyfriend." "She's got hard dick in her right now." "She's screaming somebody else's name, and the last thing she's doing is thinking about your black ass." "Leave it alone, man." "I can't even believe y'all coming at me with this crazy junk, man." " She's nothing but trouble." " l'm standing here telling y'all both right now, I'm not going to see that girl, and I'm not!" " How serious are you with this dude?" " We're serious!" "Oh, shit!" "Come on, in here." "Loco Ono is not staying in this house!" " Bullshit, Bobby!" " l don't care!" "La Vida Loca ain't staying in this house one more night." " So get her stuff" " So it's your house?" " This ain't no homeless shelter." " You not running shit, Bobby!" " You not!" " Hey, Bobby." "Baby, why don't you go back upstairs." "I've got this covered." " What's wrong with you?" " Go back upstairs!" "Why do you let him talk to me like that?" " Go upstairs!" " Was I speaking Spanish?" " Was I speaking Spanish?" " What's your problem?" "Can you stop talking to my girl like that, man?" "That's what I'm talking about, Bobby." "She wasn't your girl as of yesterday, man." "She had another man." "So I'm confused." "What are you talking about, man?" " She is my girl!" " He's right!" "Let's just play some fucking Turkey Cup, man." "How about that?" "Don't start, man." " Why do you always do that?" " Shut up." " To be aggravating." " "To be aggravating."" "Chill out, man." "I'm watching the game." "Come on." " Why don't y'all hold that down?" " Yeah." "Hold that down, man." " You a woman." " Get him, Jerry." " Try it one more time." " What you gonna do?" " You'll see." " Big-ass teeth." "Bite me?" "You do got some big-ass teeth, Jerry." "Yeah." "All right." " Yeah, get him, Jerry!" " What's up?" " What the hell you doing?" " Come on, boy." "The Gorgeous Black Ladies of Wrestling, Nitro and Midnight." "Nitro got Midnight in a headlock." "Get him!" "Get him, Jerry!" "Midnight trying to get up, but Nitro's on him!" " Get him, Nitro!" " Okay." "All right, all right." "All right." "I'm still your big brother." "Come on, man, let's eat." "Bring out that bird." "Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, thank you for this day." "Thank you for this food we're about to receive and thank you for bringing us together." "Amen." " Amen." " Amen." "Pass me the salad, man." "Zip up your mouth, Jeremiah." "You grow up in a barn?" "Close your mouth, Angel." "You think you a cow or something?" "More tattoos, Angel?" "You don't have to hide them." "Look at mine." "But take your elbow off the table." "Jackie?" "I know bad things happened to you before you came to me." "Hey, look at me." "But you're safe now." "To hell with this, man." "Let's go get a pickup game." "I wanna see some quick sticks and some tight passing." "It's too cold, man." "I ain't come all the way back out here to go play no hockey." "Come on, ladies, let's show these guys some fucking skills!" "Yeah!" "Come on." "Bring it." "All right." "Here it comes." "Pass me the puck, Bobby!" "Come on, man." "Go." " Y'all watch this." " You got him." "Yeah!" "Black present." " There you go, yes!" " Nigga, please." "Sorry about that." " Let me to talk to the girls." " What are you doing?" "Give me that!" " Get your head out of your ass, Jerry!" " That's my phone, man!" " Come on!" " Hit him hard." " That was weak." " Get it, get it, get it." " Shut up, man." " There you go!" " Shit, I gotta make a man out of you." " Damn it, Bobby." " Why you make them madder?" " Yeah." "Gentlemen, I am truly sorry about your mother." "Although I only met Evelyn the one time she made quite an impression." "I know it's difficult to deal with mundane financial matters while your heart still grieves for a loved one." "How much do we get?" "Come on, man." " Excuse me." " Jack, what the--?" "Stupid-ass Jack, what's wrong with you?" "What was that?" "This is the contents of your mother's safety-deposit box." "I'll leave you to look through it." "Birth certificate." "The adoption papers." "Henry Ford Hospital." "So I am from Detroit." " Lansing, Michigan." " My mom was 16?" "I got any papers in there?" "No." " l don't?" " No." " You got any papers in there?" " No." "1969." " Mom went to Woodstock." " You didn't know Mom was a hippie?" "Oh, here we go." " l ain't got no papers in there, man?" " There's some paper right there." "What about me?" " That'll look good on you." " Whatever, man." " You're fucking with me." " Quit crying." "Come on, I got something to show y'all." " This is it." " So this is your dream, Jerry?" " Oh, yeah." " There's a lot of space in here." "What are you gonna do, build some automobiles?" " No, luxury lofts." " Rims, man." "Urban sophistication is what I'm talking about." " So now you're doing real estate?" " This whole first floor here is gonna be lavish offices and storefronts." "I'm gonna put stained-glass windows here" "The building is condemned." "You got insurance?" " Why?" " So we can burn this bitch down." "No, we ain't burning shit down." "You always wanna destroy something." " Look." "Look at your little brother." " Jack!" "Oh, I'm sorry." "is this the master suite?" "Am I making the property value go down?" "This shithole gives the term "Motor City Breakdown"" "a whole new meaning, Jerry." "How the hell you gonna pay for all this?" "Government redevelopment loan." "Easy to qualify." "Low interest rates." "Y'all stick around, I might give y'all ass a job." "They look like nipples." "Let's go get a real drink." "Your attention, please." "I wanna make a toast." "To Evelyn Mercer." "The greatest mother four degenerate bastards ever had." "Johnny, pour me and my brothers another round." " And a warm milk for my sister here." " Man, I will drink you under the table." "We're not talking about sperm, Jack, this is whiskey." "Jack drinks Jack Jack drinks Jack" " That's your brother." " Jack drinks Jack" "Jack licks ass crack and ball sack." "Jack doesn't lick ass crack and ball sack!" "Jack likes boobs." "Jack gots fans." "Jack's got lots of fans." " Oh, man." " Will you shut up, man?" " l don't wanna go." " Why are you in such a rush?" "You can't hang with your big brother and have a drink?" " l'm here. I mean, what?" " l'm glad y'all here. I love y'all." "Hey, that's real goddamn bad stuff about your mom, fellas." " Yeah." " Freaking gangs." "Worms." " Someone ought to step on them." " Which gang, Johnny G?" "Oh, shit." "Here we go. I knew it." "I think I heard something." "The neighborhood's really upset about this." "Same old Bobby." "Mama always said," ""As bright as Bobby is, he just does not like to think."" "Ain't no good gonna come from this." " Let the police do their damn job." " Stop with the police." "Half the cops in this town are crooked." "You think the other half give two shits about another liquor-store holdup?" "I'm telling you, man, Green's on our side on this one." " Come on, man." " Green?" "She's the only woman that ever gave a damn, man." "The least we can do is go bang on a few doors and see what happens." "We owe her that much." "Why are you acting like such a bitch, Jerry?" "Okay." "So, what, y'all just gonna shoot up the whole town because y'all mad?" " Why not?" " Come on, man!" "The people who did this, they probably from the same shitty-ass streets we from." "Mom would've been the first to forgive them." "Y'all know that." " We can't all be saints, Jerry." " Yeah, we can't all be saints, Jerry." "All right." "All right." "Cool." " Bye, Jerry." " Don't call me when y'all get shot up." "This is Detroit, in case y'all forgot." " Yeah, yeah, yeah." " Johnny." "Come tell us what's going on, man." "You wanna know what I heard?" " You got a burner?" " l flew in." "Man, be careful with my baby." " You like that?" " Got ammo?" "Yeah. lt's loaded, little brother." "Careful." "Here, you carry the gas can." " We're gonna do that gas thing?" " Yeah, we're gonna do the gas thing." "The only thing that scares people more than getting burned to death is people getting eaten alive." "Let's go." "What do l--?" "What do I get?" "You coming with us?" "Here you go, sweetheart." "Poke them with that." " Oh, thanks." " You're welcome." "Let's go." "Five-0!" "I wanna see some hands!" "Five-0, man!" "Five-0!" "It's the fucking police!" "Bitch, get off me." "Get out!" "I don't wanna see any of you back!" " What are you doing here?" " Hands!" "You got any drugs or alcohol on you?" "We're gonna make y'all take urine samples!" "Get out of here!" "Get your little asses home now!" "The popos is here!" "Y'all better run, man, these white cops are crazy!" "They killed Cornbread." "He didn't do nothing." "Everybody put your fucking hands up!" "Detroit Police!" "I wanna see your fucking hands in the air!" " We got the building surrounded!" " Every last one of you!" "Sit your motherfucking ass down!" " Fuck you." " Sit the fuck down." " Don't fucking move!" " Sit down!" "You." "Over here." "Yeah, yeah, you." "You the man, right?" "Sit down and shut the fuck up!" "Give me the gas." "Yo, what the hell y'all want?" "Y'all ain't no cops." "What the hell you doing here?" "You're gonna wish I was the police when I'm done with your ass." "No, no, no, no, no." "This is not the talking part, okay?" "This is the listening part, so shut your mouth." " Why are you standing up?" " You know who I am?" " lt's warm here." " No?" " Get your ass over there on the couch." " You don't know why we're here?" " Yo, what the fuck!" " Shut up." "I know you're not gonna tell me what I wanna know, so I'm gonna light your little bitch ass on fire." "Then I'm gonna watch you run around here like a chicken with his head cut off, lighting all your little friends on fire." "is that what you want?" "Which one of your boys shot up the liquor store on 1 04th Street?" "The police got witnesses, bra." " Don't even hit us with no bullshit." " Okay, tough guy." "Hey!" "Now is the talking part." "You better start saying what the fuck i wanna hear." "Speak." "Man, that shit was counterfeit as a motherfucker, man." "Ain't nobody playing no basketball when that shit went down, okay?" "Why you think cops ain't arrest nobody?" "What the hell is he doing?" "How do you know nobody was playing basketball if you weren't there?" "Because, bitch, police said those people wasn't killed till 1 1 :00." " So what?" " So they turn the court lights out at 1 0!" " Let's go." "Let's go." " Now, where we going, man?" "The fuck y'all taking me?" "You little bastards need to stay in school." "That's what you get for calling my brother a bitch." "I hope you all have a very nice evening." "It's 1 0:02, and these fucking lights are still on." "I know you know who did this, homeboy." "This is bullshit." "Let's pop this motherfucker right now." " Speak up on it, man." " Bobby, take it easy." " Shut up, Jack." "Come on." " Look, what--?" "Yo, man, they gonna shut off!" "They gonna shut off, man!" "Only lights that are going off are yours." "Let's go." "Look, look, look." "Look." "You're fucking lucky." "Told you." "Man, y'all fools been played." "Get off of me, man!" "Y'all don't even know who you messing with, man." "Questioning me about the lights being off and all that." "Why don't you shut the fuck up, man?" "You talk too much." "Jack, it was a questionable kill." "What makes you think that?" "Boy, it's sad, you growing up without a father." "Nobody taught you anything, did they?" "I should've stayed around longer and held your little hand, huh, sweetheart?" "Whatever, man." "Look, sometimes pros will cover up their shots with another crime." "Like a burglary or something." "Then pay a witness to throw the cops on to the wrong suspect." "You understand?" "Why would anybody wanna kill the sweetest woman in the goddamn world?" "I don't know, Jackie. I don't know." "All right, I'm here." " What?" " Last night we found out it wasn't random." "The witness was paid, and the whole gang story was some bullshit." "Are you serious, man?" " Come on now." " Yeah." "Can I help you, gentlemen?" "Yeah, if we could just have a moment of your time, sir." "Evelyn Mercer was our mother." "She was a good lady." "I liked her very much." "Let's come inside." "This doesn't add up." "He's already got the money." "Supposedly, a witness told police this was a gang shooting." "You know anything about that?" "The police talked for a long time with one man." "One man more than the others." "Would you remember what he looks like if you see him?" "He comes in for Gatorade after the games." "Big guy." "Always wears sweats, never a jacket." "Even with snow or rain." "He has a dog and a..." " You know a:" " A fro?" "Like an Afro?" "Like Ben Wallace, the basketball player?" "Pistons." "Yes, yes, Ben Wallace." "Okay." " ls he on the courts a lot?" " On the courts or at the gym." "That wasn't no gang shooting, that was an execution." "They set Mom up." "They set her up." "Come on." " You guys ready?" " What's the plan, Bobby?" " We're winging it, Jerry." " We always wing it." "We're gonna get killed." "What you mean "we," white boy?" "You ready?" "Here we go." "Excuse me." "I'll handle it. I don't know what the hell you think you're doing, but you better get the hell out of here, friend." "I'd love to, friend, but I can't." "Yeah!" "I got the rock now!" "I got this motherfucker now!" " What?" "What?" "I got the rock!" " What, bitch?" "No need to grab me." "This will only take a second." "Now shut up and listen!" " Get off!" " Get off the floor!" "My name is Bobby Mercer." "And some of you probably knew my mother." "And some of you probably know she was shot about a week ago across the street." "Sixty-two years old, murdered in cold blood!" " Think about it, Bobby, think." "Think!" " l'm looking for the witness." "I got this." "Ballplayer." "Big guy." "Supposedly never wears a coat." " Dog lover." "Ring any bells?" " Damn." "You tell me where l can find the guy and you can finish your game." "All we wanna do is talk to the guy." "You can end this real quickly." "Hey!" "Hey, kid!" "No running in the halls!" "Get off me, man!" " Why you running?" " Get off me, man." " Man, I don't know nothing." " Why don't you shut up?" "You got something to tell me, youngster?" " Back the fuck up!" " l'm looking for who killed my mother." "You tell me where l can find this guy and you can finish your game." "Cracker Jack." "I appreciate your help very much." "You've all been upstanding citizens." "Enjoy the rest of your game." "You crazy as hell." " What do we got here?" " Bobby, meet Keenon." "Keenon, this is Bobby." "Something tells me he was on his way to deliver a warning." "What's his name, Keenon?" "Damian." "He's my brother." "He's your brother?" "No shit." "These are my brothers." " No, dog." "He's my real brother." " Yeah, these are my real brothers." "This is Angel, I'm Bobby." "This is Jack and Jeremiah." "So, what about you and Damian?" "You guys still close?" " Does he live at home with you?" " Yeah." "But I ain't telling you shit else." " Okay." " l wouldn't sell out my brothers either." "Just calm down, okay?" "Look, we just wanna talk to him." "We wanna ask him a few questions." "is he gonna cooperate?" " We got something." " Address?" "He lives in the Gardens, right over there." "Enjoy the rest of the game, okay?" "Don't worry about it." "These are nice grades." "Better stay in school." "What is that?" "Aluminum?" "Shit doesn't even spin." "Come on, man." "I just don't get it." "Why would somebody hire a goddamn killer to shoot Mom?" "Here's an idea:" "We'll wait for the shithead to get back and we'll ask him." "Well, y'all do what y'all gotta do." "I got gymnastics." "Come on, let me out." "You got your leotard on, Jerry?" "Go to hell." "Y'all know what I'm talking about. I got a schedule to keep." "Girls got gymnastics, I gotta take them." "Come on, let me out, man." "You wanna take Cracker Jack with you?" "He's very flexible." " Bobby, you're the one who took ballet." " All right, Jerry." "All right, man." "I don't mind If it rains or freezes" "Long as I got My plastic Jesus" " Riding on the dashboard - l don't know how you did it for so many years." "Must have driven you crazy, Angel." "You're on a ship for what, six months at a time with nothing but dudes?" "It wasn't a ship." "And the Marines went coed." "They got girls now." "Yeah, I bet you them girls look like dudes too, though." "Not after six months they don't." "Comes in colors Pink and pleasant" "Glows in the dark" "Oh, that's him. lt's him!" "Yo, Damian!" "You Damian?" "Why are you pulling out guns and shit, dog?" " Yo!" " Oh, fuck!" "Who are these guys, man?" "Jack, stay here." "Tell me where it stops." "Come on!" "Four." "Five." "Six." "Come on, come on." "Shit!" "Six. lt stopped." "Come on, Angel, we got this clown!" "Come on!" "Six!" "He stopped at six!" "Yo!" "Yo, Damian, I just wanna ask you a few questions!" "I got something for your ass!" "Bite his ass, Chucky!" "Oh, shit!" "Yo, don't shoot my dog, man!" " They got him!" "That's right!" " Shit!" " Bite his ass!" " Angel!" "Angel!" "Get this fucking dog off my leg!" "Shit!" "There's a dog trying to eat me, man!" "Help me, man." " Hold on!" " Bite his ass!" " lt's biting my legs off!" " Get up off my brother!" "Get up off my brother, little boy!" "What you doing?" "Where you at, playboy?" "My eyes." "Give me something for my eyes!" "We just wanna talk!" "Put that in your eyes." "Talk, huh?" " The window." "The window." " All right." " Shit!" " Y'all didn't know" " who you was messing with!" " He'll try to come up like" "Get him." "Give me my gun!" "Give me my gun!" " l ain't playing with this dude!" " Drop it!" "I just wanted to talk!" "You're going down now!" " Think he dead?" " No, he ain't dead." "He's just fucked up." "Let's go talk to him now." "Man, you must be freezing." "You won't be needing this no more, playboy." "You know why we're here, Damian?" "Come on, man, call me an ambulance." "An ambulance?" "What, for my dog bites?" "I'm gonna be okay." "You give me a name, I'll call 91 1 ." "I wanna know who shot up that liquor store now." " Man, I didn't shoot no one." " Say what?" "Speak up." "Can't hear you, playboy." "It's hard to hear you out here with all this wind." "If we leave, ain't nobody else gonna hear you out here either." "They say it's gonna be a cold night." "You ain't gonna make it far with that leg." "Look, man, these two fools said they'd pay me a few dubs if I said I saw some gangsters shoot up the place, all right?" " But I didn't hurt no one!" " Well, turn into a fucking Fudgesicle." "Hey, come on, man!" "I can't say nothing!" "Fair enough." "You're gonna die right here." "Yo, man, come on!" "Yo, man!" " l'm calling his bluff." " Hey, come on!" " Call an ambulance!" " Think he gonna break?" "You see that sparerib hanging out of his leg?" "It's just a matter of time." " You sure?" " You wanna put money on it?" " Are you sure?" " Someone help me!" " Turn around, dick lips!" " What the fuck you looking at?" " l'll tell you where you can find him!" " Come on!" "Just call me an ambulance." " Give me a name." " Where can we find him?" "Yeah." "How are you guys tonight?" "Goatee." "Goatee." "Look for the man with the goatee." " l can get you one bigger than that." " How big?" " There he is." " Where?" "Right there." "The guy with the goatee." " l see." "Put your fucking hand down." " Check the cats at the door." "I see him. I see him." "Come on." "Let's get him." " Get down!" " Damn!" "Go, go, go!" " Run, y'all!" " Move!" "Everybody move!" " Go, go." " Clear the way." " Excuse me." " Move!" "Come on!" "Come on!" "Go ahead, you fucking punks!" "Get it, Jackie-o!" "You go, girl!" "Let's get these motherfuckers." " Where they at?" " Can't see shit!" " Punch it, Bobby!" "Punch it!" " l got no traction!" "I'm sliding all over the fucking street!" "Hold on!" "Shit!" "Shit!" "I scraped the whole side of my fucking car!" " Get these guys before you kill us!" " Sit back and put your seat belt on." " Watch the snow, man!" " l don't give a fuck about the snow!" "Shit!" "Where the hell's that shotgun, Jack?" " There's no shells." " They're in the trunk." " What the hell am l--?" " Sit down and shut up!" "Angel, stick that cannon out the window and bust some shots!" "I'm gonna put one in the back of their heads!" "Shoot those sons of bitches, Angel!" "Get them!" "Shoot that motherfucker!" " You got him!" " Look out for the snow bank!" "Look out!" "Jackie, you got your seat belt on?" "Watch this." "Hold on." "Oh, shit!" " Shit!" " Fuck that nigga." "Just drive." "Drive!" "Don't let them get away!" "Don't let them get away!" "I got them." " Shit!" " l'm over this shit!" "Pop them, Angel!" "Pop them!" "Get them!" "Angel, get your ass in here!" "Shit!" "We got a fucking blowout!" "Bobby, let's just stop the car!" "Okay, Bobby?" "Let's stop!" "Shut up, Jack!" "I'm gonna ride this bitch out on the rim!" "We got them!" "Ready?" "Hold on." "Hold on." "I got them now. I got them." " We got them now." " We got them." " On your side, man!" " Where they at?" "On your side." "Look out." "Look out!" "Hold on!" " Get them!" "Get them!" " Hold on!" " Yeah!" " Yeah!" "That's what I'm talking about, Bobby." "Jack, you wait here." " Get your punk ass out the car." " Fuck you!" " Who sent you?" " l ain't telling you shit!" "Get his wallet." "You fucked with the wrong lady." "Let's get the fuck out of here, man." " Let's go!" "Come on." " Are they dead?" " Yeah, they gone!" " They killed Mom." "We got them." " What's happening?" " Lieutenant. lt's maximum ugly." "We got two obvious executions." "Any ids on them?" "No. I'll get their prints before we put them on ice." "What do you say, Green?" "Any ideas?" "That's what we pay you for." "You're such a pussy, Bobby." " Give me a break, will you?" " lt should be against the law for people to keep dogs where someone like you can get to them." "Hey, y'all!" "Police in the house!" " Get me something to cover my arm." " Yeah, yeah." "Shit." "Hurry up." "Angel." "Mind if we come in?" "You're already in." "Cops are always welcome at the Mercers'." "It makes us feel safe and cozy." "Just the way we like it." "Ain't you sexy." "Thank you." "Jackie wanted this little number for himself, but I fought him for it." "What happened to the hand?" "Did you happen to forget our little conversation we had at your brother's house about not interfering with our investigation?" "Oh, no, no." "This is Turkey Cup, man." "Hockey." "An old Mercer family tradition." "You remember that, don't you, Green?" "You played hockey." "Guys can be pretty rough out on that ice." "Where's you car, Bobby?" "It's not outside." " We left it at Jeremiah's." " Yeah." "Jerry drove us home." "You know, Volvos are one of the safest cars out there." "Volvos are incredible, man, when it's a blizzard outside." " So we" " Fascinating." "Hey, Gretzky, you know what this is?" " A hair from your wife's tit?" " Try from your thick skull." "Forensics took it off a pair of contract killers we found dead this morning." "Fishing for a confession with a phony hair, huh?" "That's an old one, boys." "Come on, Green." "You know when I'll know you got my hair off a dead body, right?" "When I hear the jailhouse doors close behind me, girls." "Okay, then you tell me what they told you." "You think that these thugs were hired to kill Evelyn, is that it?" "I have no idea what you're talking about, Green." "Wait, Green, how do you go from petty thug to contract killer?" "And if they were professional shooters, like you say, they'd have never told us who they was working with anyway." "Even if they got one hell of an ass-whupping." "You think you're pretty cute, don't you?" "He does." "Everybody's a smart guy until I bust them in the mouth." " Wait!" " You gonna bust me in my mouth?" " This ain't what I'm here for!" " The fuck you think this is?" "Hey, stop!" "Look, Bobby, if you got something, you give it to me." "And if it's something vital, we will run with this." "But don't try and take on Detroit by your damn self." "You keep knocking on the devil's door long enough, and sooner or later, somebody gonna answer you." "What's up, guys?" "Oh, shit." "Evan, Vic's here." "Vic's here." " Ladies, get up." " Get up." "Come on, go, go!" "I'm going." "Out-of-town shooters." "That's what I said." "I remember hearing myself saying," ""Out-of-town shooters."" "You know what?" "You don't pay a ho to fuck you." "You pay her to leave." "What you pay out-of-town shooters to do?" "You pay them to get the hell back out of town." "That's why I asked for out-of-town shooters." "What'd I get?" "ln-town shooters." "Someone decided to hire in-town shooters." "You know what else I got for my money?" "ln-town police." "ln-town trouble." "Who's got to get in the ring with me on this?" "You hungry, Evan?" "You must be hungry, right?" " l'm sorry" " Don't apologize!" "Dog's gotta eat, right?" "I tell you what, you wanna come in my restaurant and eat?" "Go ahead!" "Eat, dog, eat!" "Get the fuck out of my seat, man!" "Eat!" "That's a good boy." " That's a good boy." " That's bullshit." "Shut your mouth, bitch!" "I'll put you down there with him." "Matter of fact, get your ass over here and share a meal with your man!" "Now." "Lap that shit up good." "Now find out who killed the shooters." " What bastard hired these guys?" " West Marine's by the river, right?" " Yeah." " Come on." "Let's go take a look." "All right." " Baby." " Now, sweetie, wasn't there a discussion about a dinner together?" "Because I seem to remember spending two hours in the kitchen." "We got some important shit to deal with, baby." "She's so la vida loca." " Man, don't do that right now." " Shut up, Bobby." " Don't you start with that crap!" " Can y'all not go there?" " That's why you don't get a girlfriend." " Don't go there, please." "You know what?" "I want a girlfriend like you." " Can we go?" " Angel." "You said this time was gonna be different." "You're breaking mi corazón." "She's getting real comfortable here, huh?" "What are you doing?" "I thought you was a macho man." "A tough guy." "You know, it's a real shame that little Jackie's the only one down to ride." "Let's go, Jackie." "Say goodbye to your big sister, Jackie." "Let's go." "You gonna leave me too?" "I just need 1 5 minutes, man." "She's addicted to what Angel's dick did." "Sofi?" "Baby." "Just like when we were 1 6." "My favorite room in the house." "I already set it to spin." " Who are you?" " Hi, I'm with State Farm." "I have a question or two about your mother's insurance policy." "It's imperative that I speak with Jeremiah immediately." "The check is being processed, but nonetheless, some red flags have been raised." "What do you mean, red flags?" "Well, it's an unusually high payout for a simple life-insurance policy." "For the last two years, the premium was paid via check from your brother's bank account." "With your brother's criminal record and his business near bankruptcy, well," " it's our responsibility to investigate." " Bankruptcy?" "Wait, so Jeremiah's broke?" " Excuse me. I'm sorry to interrupt." " Certainly." " Angel, can I ask you a question?" " Yeah, baby." "What the hell is this?" "Oh, those are breath mints, baby." "Give me one sec" " You know I'm allergic to latex." " l should be going." " No, no." "Hold on, please." " Who did you buy them for?" "Put the cuckoo back in the clock, baby." "I bought them in Vegas before I knew I was coming here." " Who are they for?" " For no one!" "Please, sir, please." "Baby, if we gonna talk about this," " can we please do it outside?" " Okay, you wanna talk outside?" "Well then fine, let's talk outside!" "We're gonna talk right now." "We're gonna talk right" "Get your ass out of here, girl." "So how much is my brother getting?" " A little more than 400,000." " Open the door now." "That's crazy." "Check everything, Jackie." "There's gotta be some shit around here that ties these guys to somebody else." "You dicking around in here?" "You find anything?" "A camera." "Come on." "Thank you." " Big Chief." " Hey, thanks." "Angel Mercer." "How you doing?" "I ain't worked for Jerry for a long time." "Not since he started up those luxury condos." "High-dollar stuff like that brings in all the gangsters." "Wait." "So you're saying Jerry got mixed in with some gangsters?" "What's going on?" "There's this do-gooder." "He's on city council." "His name's Douglas." " Okay." " He's the guy who shut down" "Jerry's warehouse project." "He'll know who Jerry got mixed up with." "sig Sauer .45 auto." "That'll blow your back out." "Nine millimeter Beretta." "Oh, look at this Beretta." "It's triple-action." "Three bullets at once." "They say dead men tell no tales, but they sure leave important shit lying around." "Hey, what the hell are y'all doing now?" "Just getting a head start on next year's taxes, Jerry." "Look how y'all doing Mama's house!" "Come on." "Look at this table, man." "Come on." " You know what?" "You're right." " Hey, Sofi, why don't you do me a favor and clean up some of this shit?" "Make yourself useful." "You missed." "Hey, Bobby." " Where'd y'all get this?" " Our friend Stanly, the shooter." "Let me see that." " They were tracking Mom." " That's that guy." "That's that lawyer guy." "That shithead said" "He said he only met her once, Bobby." "Where the hell you been?" "I been trying to call you all day." "Following up new leads." "Yep." "Let's go." "Jerry, you coming with us?" "Don't you wanna find out who hired them?" "Yeah, don't you wanna find out who killed Mom?" " Of course I do, man." " Let's go." "Stop bullshitting." "Come on." "All right." "Somebody gotta look after y'all clowns." " Oh, so now you calling us clowns?" " Well, I call it like I see it." " What?" " You're gonna leave again?" " That's your problem." " Okay, fine." " Go." "Go." " You gonna be here." "Whatever." "We might have to spend the night up in this bitch." "An attack dog." "Come here, poochie." "You don't wanna bite me, do you?" "You gonna bite me, baby?" "Hey, Bobby, check this out." "I found Bradford's calendar." "You don't think "EM" stands for Evelyn Mercer, do you?" " You're getting good at this, Jackie." " November 21 ." "He met up with her the night she died." "Why would anybody meet up with their lawyer at 8:00 at night?" "Angel!" " Nice." "Your girlfriend's here." " She's crazy, man." "Well, go shut her up then." "Angel!" "Angel, come out!" "I see you in the window!" "Come out, you idiot!" "I know you're in there!" "Y'all come out here with me." "This girl is crazy." "Angel!" "People, there's robbers in the house!" "Come out, Angel!" " l'm gonna call the police now!" " Come on!" "You better call immigration on this girl." "You've got a real class act here." " She should be at Guantanamo Bay." " Oh, my God." "Locked up." "Excuse me." "What are you doing?" " How you doing, buddy?" " Bobby!" "Bobby!" "He's a lawyer!" " What's going on here?" " He's a liar, Jerry!" " Ain't nobody's business!" "Stay away!" " Come here!" "You heard me, old man." "You fucking lied to me." "You said you didn't even know my mother." "You were the last person to see her alive." "Look at that, Jerry. lt leaves a nice big red handprint, huh?" "Just ask him the question." "No, I'm gonna do it again and again until I find out what I wanna know." " Oh, God!" " Tell him!" "Okay." "Okay, I'll explain." "It's just that I..." " l felt so guilty." " Guilty for what?" "I'm not even sure I know how to say it." " Say what?" " Your mother and I were..." "Were seeing each other socially." " Socially?" " l didn't want to sully your mother's reputation." " She was a fine, fine woman." " l know. I know." "I have some of your mother's night things," " if you want." "They" " What?" " No." "No, it's not necessary." " Too much information." "Baby, listen, I need you to get out of here." "I apologize, Mr. Bradford." "We broke your back window." "We're just trying to figure out what happened." " l understand." " Thank you. I appreciate that." " You have a beautiful home here." " Thank you." " Hey, Bobby." " Yo." " Hey, man. I gotta ask you a question." " What's up?" "You know me and Sofi did a lot of making up last night." " You gave her that ring, huh?" " Yeah." "But it seem like I got a little rust on the tools down here." "Ask the cockologist in the shower, man." " How the hell would I know?" " You're the expert." " Rug burn." " You're gonna live." "Thank God, man." "I thought my luck ran out." "Hey, listen, man." "You know, Jerry ain't been straight up with us about that redevelopment project." "Found out his dream's dead." "Jerry got involved with some bad people." "City got on him about fraud and whatnot." "Cut his loans off like a month ago." " Technically, Jerry's really broke." " You think this had something to do with what happened to Mom?" "No, I'm saying that it's something that we should look into." "I need y'all to go down and visit this city official named Douglas." "He'll know who Jerry got mixed up with." "I'm gonna go check on some other shit." "What are you talking about?" "Why don't you just tell me what you know, Angel?" "I know you need to stay your ass on that porcelain." "This is gonna require a little finesse." "And given your prior reputation as a hothead," " l wrote the fucking book on finesse." " you gonna be the first to fuck up." "Wait for me to wipe my ass, Angel." "I'm coming with you." "Angel!" "Get me some fucking toilet paper, Jack." "Angel!" "You know, you didn't come up on the list of any of Evelyn's friends" " or known associates, Mr. Bradford." " No?" "I got your name off of her phone records." "Well..." "Well, yes." "Yes, we did try to keep our relationship" " somewhat discreet." " There we go." "There we go." "You know, well, maybe you can help me then." "You see, what I've gathered so far, it seems that Evelyn had become upset with her son Jeremiah's business situation." "Yes, she was starting to raise a bit of a stink." "But" " But wasn't all that covered in the police report that she filed?" "What police report?" "Councilman Douglas." "Sorry to startle you." "My name's Bobby Mercer. I believe you know my brother, Jeremiah?" "Apparently, you were the one who got his business shut down, right?" "This is not the proper venue for an appeal." "Look, we're not really concerned with that, councilman." "I heard my brother got mixed up with some hoodlums." "You know what I'm talking about?" "I can't help you." "Excuse me." "Gas?" "Councilman!" "Now I gotta light your ass on fire!" "All I wanted was a name!" "You're gonna make me turn your ass into the black gingerbread man now!" "It's all right." "I'll have my little brother here suck your burning dick." "Give me the fucking cigarette." "Roll down the window." "Victor." "Victor Sweet." "What about him?" "is there a problem?" "Goddamn, Jerry." "There she is." "So she got in there at 6:05." "Fast-forward that." "Hey, look." "That's Fowler." "Wait, pause it, pause it." "He didn't say anything to me about talking to her." "Fast-forward to when she leaves." "Okay, stop." "So she was here until 7:1 1 ." "He spent more than an hour with her." " What do you think he found?" " l don't know, but it's something big." " How can you tell?" " By the sound of his voice." "I know my brother." "What's going on, Angel?" " Was that councilman helpful?" " Oh, yeah." "A real public servant." "You remember a punk named Victor Sweet?" " l remember a Malcolm Sweet." " Victor was his nephew." "Used to deliver things for his uncle." "Like firebombs and beatings." "You remember." "Malcolm used to love to humiliate him all the time." "Yeah, I remember that dude." "Apparently, Victor got sick of the ass-whuppings and sunk his uncle into the river." "He owns the whole neighborhood now." "No shit?" "Hey, Bobby." "Word around town is that Jerry owed a lot of people some money." "What are you talking about?" "Recognize that dude over there with the fat head?" "Yeah, that's Evander Pearson." "He used to be all right, that guy." "Jerry and him used to hang during the union days." "He goes by Evan now." "And he's working for a guy named Victor." "You guys are coming up with this pretty quick." "Yeah, we should have been cops." "What are we doing here, Angel?" "Holy shit." " Evan." " Jerry." "I hate meeting you here, man, with your kids and all, but you know how it goes." " l understand." " l got it." "I found out Jerry got a big insurance check for Mom's death." "Be cool, brother." "Forget Jerry." "We're gonna find him later." "Come on." " Yo, Evander!" "What's up?" " Muriel!" "We leaving." " Game's over." "Let's go." " Put your jacket on. lt's time to go." "It's nice to see you, boys, but we was just leaving." "You ain't going nowhere." "What was you talking to Jerry about?" "Nothing." "Just saying hello." "Me and Jerry go way back from the union days." "You know that, Bobby." "Angel tells me you're one of Victor Sweet's boys now." "Hear he's running shit like his uncle." "Treating you like a house nigger." "What are you thinking about, Evan?" "The dude's a punk." "You been gone a long time, fellas." "Times change." " What's in that envelope?" " What envelope?" "You wanna play that fucking game with me right now?" " Y'all gonna do this here?" " Right here." "Right now." "Give me the envelope and take a walk." "Now!" "Go ahead, Evander." "Take the kids home." "We'll see your ass again real soon." "Let's go." "Hurry up." "Councilman." "Pull up a chair." "Vic, this cop came to see me today, and he was asking about that woman." "Don't worry about cops." " l got cops." " No, I'm not." "But I'm worried about this guy Bobby Mercer." "He came to see me after the cop did." "You tell him my name?" "Of course not, Vic. I mean..." "But look, you know, we can't do business like this anymore." "Nothing's changing." "Evan and I were just talking about this fella, Bobby Mercer." " Vic, I did not tell the man anything." " Did you tell him my name?" " No, I swear" " Yes, you did!" "You stinking coward." "I smelled it on you the second you walked in here." "Now go sit at the other table." " Excuse me?" " Go sit at the kiddie table!" "I ain't finished with you. I ain't finished my hand, so sit your ass down!" " Are you in trouble?" " He's on a time-out." "Come on, man, what you got?" "No. I'm out." "Nines." "Won again." "Oh, Charlie." "I heard you're marrying that fine piece of ass of yours." "Yeah, that's right, that's right." "This spring, in fact." "How about I send you on a little out-of-town work, huh?" "Give me a little one-on-one time alone with that cute little Italian thing of yours, huh?" "How would that be?" "I'll teach her some nice tricks for you." "Yeah, maybe you can teach her how to cook." "No, man, I'll teach her better things than that." "She's too much woman for you, Charlie." "You're gonna have to share her around a bit." " Nine!" "My turn!" " You're the one that..." "All right, you kids." " Who wants some ice cream, huh?" " Me!" "Why don't you run upstairs." "We'll get you some ice cream." "Go on now." "Evan." "Pistol." "I ain't playing no more." "I'm gonna go in there and bust that melon and find out what he's thinking." "His family's in there." " You're gonna have to calm down." " l don't give a shit, man." "Oh, I'm calm." " l'm calm." " Let me just call him." "He thinks I'm an idiot." "He thinks I don't know what the fuck is going on." " Jerry." " Yeah?" " lt's Angel." " What's up, man?" "Look, man." "We need to meet up first thing tomorrow at Mom's house." " l'm gonna kill him." " Calm down, Bobby." "We still family, right?" " I'll see you in the morning." " Yeah, man." "Okay." " ls he coming?" " Yeah." "Good." " What?" " You know what you did." "No!" "You don't know who you fucking with!" "Where's Bobby?" " What are you hiding, Jerry?" "What?" " What the fuck is wrong with you?" "If you had something to do with what happened, I swear to God, Jerry, I'm gonna kill you right here and now!" " No, Bobby, no!" " Angel's gonna ask some questions." "And, brother, I shit you not, the time for lying is over." "We know you're lying about your business." "And we know you got mixed up with some gangsters." " Hold on" " Stay down!" "Y'all think I had something to do with Mom getting killed?" "You got a check for 400,000 that you just so happened to forget to mention" " from Mom's life insurance." " She took out the policy for the girls." "Man, I ain't have nothing to do with that." "Come on." " You made the payments!" " Good timing, Jerry." "Just when it seems like all is lost for you," "Mom gets shot by some gangsters and now you hit the fucking lottery!" "So y'all--?" "Y'all tripping because I made insurance payments?" "What?" "I paid all her bills!" "Where the fuck were y'all?" "How many years did I have to take care of her my goddamn self?" "Y'all were around doing nothing!" "Bullshitting!" "And you gonna tell me I killed her?" "Come on, man!" "So why would you pay off a killer like Sweet?" "And what the fuck did he do for you, Jerry?" "What did he do for me?" "He killed my fucking life!" "I put everything in that project!" "I bet it all trying to make something of myself!" "Trying to make the shit work!" "Then Vic's goons gonna come try to take a piece." "You paid him, Jerry." "You got in bed with him." "No, no, I didn't pay them!" "That's how they fucking shut me down!" "I thought the city cut you off." "Douglas?" "Come on, man." "This is Detroit!" "Sweet owns Douglas!" "He ain't nothing but a gangster in a suit!" "I don't pay him, and now he shuts my loans off!" " End of story, end of project." " So, what about the 20 grand?" "I just told you." "You wanna cross the bridge, you gotta pay the toll." "I took the money. I was gonna pay the bribe until y'all fucked it up." "Your mother was a whore!" "Hey, fuck you, man!" "I will kick your-- lt's all about Jerry, right?" "Son of a bitch!" "Piece of shit!" "Jack." "Jack!" "Jack!" "Shit." "Shit!" "Get down!" "Get the fuck down!" " Come on!" "Get down!" " Jack!" "Bobby!" "Shit!" " Bobby!" " Jack." " Bobby!" " Jack!" "Sofi, give me the gun!" " Bobby!" " Jack, hold on!" "Shit!" "Hold your fire!" "Hold your fire!" "He's behind the bricks!" "Jackhammer!" "Jeremiah, where are you going?" "Jack!" "I got kids!" "A wife." "A family." "Oh, shit." "Fuck." "Motherfucker!" "You fucking" "Bobby!" "Bobby!" "Bobby!" "The van!" "Watch out!" "Jack!" "Jack, look at me!" "Jack, you all right?" "Hold on." "We need an ambulance!" "Somebody help!" "Call 91 1 !" "Jack." "Jack." "Jack!" "Jack, please." " Come on, man." " l'm calling, I'm calling." " Come on, Jack, you gotta breathe!" " We need an ambulance right now!" "Don't you die on me, you little fairy." "Come on, Jack." "Please!" "You gotta fucking breathe!" "Come on!" "Jack!" "Jack." "Jack, come on, Jack, please!" "Please..." "Jack." " Who sent you?" "Victor Sweet?" " Yeah." "Yeah, it was Sweet." "Thank God." "Thank God?" "He killed my mother and my little brother, you motherfucker!" "Thank Victor Sweet." "Photograph them." "Hey, let me talk to them, okay?" "Look, I'm real sorry, man." "I really am." "But what happened here?" "Victor Sweet did this." "How do you figure that?" "Because his friend in the bag over there told me." "Okay, I'll make sure I get a statement from him then." "Why did Sweet do us like this, man?" "And why did it have to be our moms?" "Because Evelyn was going after him." "She knew her son, man." "She never thought for a second that you were corrupt." "But I never told her about my business." "Jerry, were you ever able to keep a secret from her?" "She knew all about your trouble, man." "The moment they shut you down, she went down there," " raising hell with the councilman." " You gonna bury Sweet, or are we?" "Well, I got me..." " ...a dirty uniform I gotta deal with first." " What?" "You see, Evelyn filed a report that got passed on to Victor Sweet." " By who?" " Look, I just got something l" "Don't bullshit me, Green." "Who are you protecting?" " Your boy Fowler?" " Look, Fowler's my problem!" "I'll deal with him." "And then we get Sweet." "Green." "So how we gonna deal with all this?" "Self-defense." "Wasn't it?" "Hey." "What's happening, partner?" "What's cooking, boss?" "Isn't this one of Victor Sweet's spots?" "Yeah, I heard that." "So what?" "So why ain't you tell me that you had talked to Evelyn Mercer a week before she got killed?" "I mean, don't you think that that's relevant to a murder investigation?" "I didn't tell you because it wasn't relevant at all." " Really?" " Yeah, I talked to the old lady for all of about five minutes." "She came in with her usual medley." "Kids tagging up her block, that kind of shit." "You know, I figured it was something like that." "But you still should have said something to me, man." "Sorry." "Did she file a police report?" "No. I sent it over to the Parks Department." "They clean that shit up." " Five minutes, huh?" " Yeah." "Couldn't have been much more than that." "You wanna take a shot?" "You're gonna need some practice." "I'd love to." "It's been a long time since I played a game like this one." " ls that so?" " Yeah." "Partner, I think your stick is crooked." "I think it's all right." "And the weight is off." "Worked pretty good for me." "You sure?" "Yeah." "You is a dirty cop!" "Give me your badge." "See, I hate dirty cops." "Green, wait." "Green, wait!" "There is something I forgot." "What?" "What the fuck you wanna say to me?" "I forgot they installed those surveillance cameras in the station." "Motherfucker!" "Officer down!" "Officer down!" "Green's been shot!" "I'm in the alleyway behind John R and Seven Mile!" "Suspects are two young black males heading east on foot!" "Request backup immediately!" "Ready!" "Aim!" "Fire!" "Ready!" "Aim!" "Fire!" "Ready!" "Aim!" "Fire!" "Jackie." "Never should have came home." "Never should have came." "I miss him too." "We won't be able to bring him back, but we're gonna send him some company." "You can't go to war with Victor Sweet." "Not straight up." "He'll just hire more and more goons until we are all dead." "I don't know." "I don't know what to do anymore." "I already lost one brother." "You guys are all I got." " l got an idea." " What?" "We'll take the rest of the money from Mom's insurance, pay Sweet to call off the dogs." " He'll deal." "He's a businessman." " lt doesn't count as a plan if it takes you longer to say it than it does to think it up." "Yeah, Jerry." "Sweet will meet up with you, take your money." "Won't be able to find your body till the river thaws." "If you can get that far." "Jesus, Jeremiah, what you doing here?" "I'm here to do a little collective bargaining." "What, with Sweet?" "Did you not get the message?" "He wants blood." " That's not negotiable." " Look, they told us we'd never get $30 an hour on the job either, right?" "But what we get?" "So don't tell me this is not possible." "Come on, man." "So, what you bringing to the table?" "Four hundred thousand dollars." "Yo." " Evan called Sweet." "He's going for it." " So when's the meet?" " Four o'clock." " Today?" " Yeah." " That's in three hours." "Well, we ain't got no choice!" "Sweet's supposed to roll up on us any minute now." "What?" "What else?" "Well, Evan, we cool." "And he let me in on a little something." "If Fowler's there, he don't think he's gonna go for it." " So there's no plan!" " Yes, there is, Bobby." "We need to take Fowler out before the meet." "We can't kill a cop even if he is dirty." "He handed Ma to Sweet, okay?" "He ain't walking away from this." "Make sure the hole's cut when we get there." "Hey, come here." " All right. I love you." " Now, don't get shot." " Don't shoot anyone either." " Relax." "Unless you have to." "Come on, now." "You know I love you, don't you?" "Y'all be good now." "And take care of Mommy, all right?" "Be careful." "I will." "Bobby." "Look, I know I don't know you that well, but don't you let him get hurt." "You bring him back to me." "I will, Camille." "It's gonna be okay." "Hey, kid!" "What you doing, playing out here in the snow?" "I'm just working on my swing for the spring." "Hey, man, I need a big favor." "I'll give you $20 and this whole box of Baby Ruths." "You see that house over there?" "Not till we hear from Angel." " What do you want?" " l'm selling candy to raise money for my baseball team." "We wanna buy new uniforms and equip" "Thanks." "Now get the hell out of here." "This is a big problem." "A big problem for you." "Even a completely calm person will suffocate in four minutes without oxygen." "And you're not exactly calm, are you?" " Jerry!" " Fuck!" "We ain't going nowhere without the call," " so just calm down." " What the fuck you--?" " Jerry!" " Just keep stalling him." "Hold-- l'm grabbing my scarf, man." "I'll be there in a minute!" "Hold on." " Angel?" " Hey, I got him." " ls he out of the way?" " What, you wanna ask him?" " Let me hear his voice." " Hold on, let me put him on." "Hold on." "Hey, man, say hi to my brother." " We got you now, bitch." " l'm coming." "Go." "Jerry, what the hell?" "You in there?" " That's our money?" " Yeah." " Hey, man, hey!" " Relax, relax." " Hey, what is this, man?" "What is this?" " Relax, relax." "Just relax." "We just gotta check it out, make sure you ain't strapped." "Relax, relax." " He's good." " Okay." "Let's take a ride, Jerry." "Yeah, yeah, I got it." "Well, he's onboard, boss." "Yeah, all right." "What did he say?" "He say, "Hurry the fuck up." Then he hung up." "You'll never get the belt." "Trust me." "People never think to go for the bag." "It's always the belt first for some reason." "The bag has to be clear, though." "Black doesn't work." "Get up." "Get over there right now." " He's gonna end up dead." " Ma'am, ma'am, slow it down a gear." "And this isn't even his fight." "It's his stupid brother's fault!" "I understand. I can help you." "But you're gonna have to let me know who it is we're talking about" " and what's about to happen." " My boyfriend." "He was talking about killing a cop." "You hear that?" "You know what that is?" "That's a damn beautiful sound." "Those are my boys coming." "So, what do we do now?" "We get out." "Jesus Christ!" "What is that?" "Wha--?" "What's that?" "It's ice fishing." "Tommy there is part Eskimo." "No." "It's not looking good for you, homeboy." "We'll see if they're still your boys after they find out you killed your partner Green, homeboy." "That's your angle, huh?" "You gonna walk out there and tell them I killed Green." "That's your story?" " lt has the advantage of being true." " So what?" "I killed my partner." "I could kill the whole damn police department if you were the only witness." "They'd probably just promote me to chief." "You're one of the Mercer brothers, brother." "No cop in the world's gonna believe your word over mine." "Sorry." "You know what?" "You're probably right." "Other than the ones I got outside right now in the van listening to every bit of our conversation brother." "You're lying." "Afraid not." "Take a look." "I want eyes on the house!" "Okay, lieutenant, I'm bringing him out now." "Come on, man. lt's all over." "I'm gonna pop your head like a champagne cork." "You hear me?" "I'm taking your clown down with me!" "Fool showed up." "And they say there's no such thing as a free lunch." "All right." "Let's sink this dumb-ass and get out of here." "I got a candlelit date lined up with a hot piece of Puerto Rican pussy." "Jeremiah Mercer." "Businessman." "Give me that." "Goddamn it, I like the way you do business!" "You're a reasonable man." "You should have let me in on your project." "We could have been partners." "Could have been a sweet deal for both of us." "Now it just a sweet deal for me." "Come on, man." "We gonna do business, or what?" "Right." "Right." "Right." "Down to business." "What were the...?" "What were the terms again?" "You give me 400 grand, and I pardon you and your brothers, is that right?" "Forgive and forget, right?" "That's right." "My brothers said I was naive." "That you would shoot me and just take the money." "Yeah." " Damn, man, you hurt my feelings." " Good." "Because you don't know shit about hurt feelings." "I just buried my mama and my brother." "And I think that's payment enough, Vic." "You been doing a lot of thinking, boy." "Yeah, my mama raised me to be a thinking man." "So me and my brothers, we came up with a whole new proposal." " A whole new proposal. ls that right?" " Yes, sir." "Yes, sir." "You gonna like it too." "Because it is a-- A sweet deal." "Check it out. instead of giving you the 400 grand, we decided we'd give it to these mistreated workers you got standing behind you." "Pistol." " Evan, I said pistol!" " No, bitch." "The one thing you forgot about me is this:" "I was in the union for a long time." "I ain't never missed no meetings." "He ain't lying." "It's cold out here when you by yourself, ain't it?" "So, what now?" "You gonna kill the hand that's been feeding you?" " Over some stupid old lady?" " Watch your motherfucking mouth." "You dumb shits!" "I told Fowler and his pals all about this meeting!" "You kill me, you all go down!" "Murder!" "He's already late." "Shit, he's probably on his way right now." "He ain't coming." " Come out!" " l swear to God, I'll kill him!" "You guys set me up, huh?" "You think you're real smart, getting this shit on tape, huh?" " Fowler?" " What the hell?" " l thought Fowler was the hostage." " Back off!" "I'm serious!" " Fowler, what are you doing, man?" " Drop the goddamn gun!" " We're here to help you!" " Back off now!" "I'm serious!" "That's right." "Fowler, put down your weapon!" "Not a chance!" "I said, back off!" "Now!" "Drop your weapon!" "He's down!" "Man down!" "Man down!" "EMS!" " Call it in!" " Get on the horn!" "Come on now." "Who's gonna do it, huh?" "Who the man here, huh?" "Which one of you tough guys gonna do it?" "Who's gonna take on the champ?" "You, Charlie?" "Yeah." "That's right." "is this who I think it is?" "is this what you all been waiting on?" " You all right, Jerry?" " Yeah, I'm straight." " Oh, shit." " Oh, Bobby Mercer." "Back in town." " You gonna be the one, man?" " Come on, Bobby." "Bring it on, baby." "What you got?" "Watch his hands, Bobby." "You better say a prayer, man." " Get him, champ." " Come on!" "Kick his ass!" "Kick his ass!" "Come on, kick his ass!" " Come on, that's it!" "Come on!" " Hit him hard!" "Bobby, hit him!" " Get your ass up!" "Come on!" " Get him!" " All right, you got him!" "You got him!" " Put that shit away, man." "Come on." "Yeah, come on, man!" "Take him out, boy!" "Get back." "Get back." "That's it!" " Good night, man!" " That's it!" "All right, come on, man." "It's over now, Bobby." " Elbow, baby, elbow!" " Turn it around, man!" "Yeah, yeah, yeah!" "Get him!" "Come on!" "Fucker!" "Hey, get up, bitch!" "Get up!" " Motherfuck!" " Get your bitch ass back in there!" "Get him back here!" "Yeah!" "That's what's up!" " Get him in the hole." " That's right." "Way to go, Bobby." "So, what we gonna do about the police?" "Police?" "Cops love the Mercers, Jerry." " Sit him down." " Damn!" "You girls are trying to kill me!" "What are you doing, man?" "All right!" "You wanna go another round, huh?" "You arrested him, and he didn't do anything!" "Let me ask you again." "What happened to Victor Sweet, Mercer?" "His name is Jeremiah Mercer, and I wanna see him now!" "Ellis, you might wanna close your ears." "This is nasty shit." "That's what you wanna hear?" "I did it." "I did it, okay?" "If you did it, then I wanna hear you say it!" "From about 5:30 p.m. till about 1 1 or so last night, I was banging that pretty little wife of yours, okay?" "Here's the-- l was bumping uglies with your wife." "Your mama, she wasn't good the first time." " That true?" "What do you got now?" " Your hair, scumbag!" "Taken off Victor Sweet's dead body." "Don't push him like that!" "Oh, baby!" "Oh, my God!" "Are you okay?" " l'm okay, baby." " They bought it, baby." " They bought it." " Let me see." "Come here." " lt's all right." " Let me see." " lt's just a boo-boo." " lt's not just a boo-boo!" "Somebody put their fist in your eye!" " Let me see it!" " Come on, now." " Are you okay?" " Yeah, I'm all right." " Oh, my God." "You're bleeding, baby." " You know I can take a punch." "I know you can take a punch." " You don't talk about peoples mamas!" " Well, he talked about mine." " Did you get some licks in?" " Of course." " Does his eye look like yours?" " Hey, man, where's Bobby?" "Let me catch you on the street without that badge." "I'll smack that smirk off your face, punk!" "I'm gonna smack you, Bobby." "I told you not to let Jerry get hurt." "He's breathing." " You all right, Jerry?" " l'm all right, man." "Let me get my property." " Man, you all right?" " l'm good." "You said something, didn't you, Jerry?" "I did not say nothing, man." " Why you always--?" " l did." " What you say?" " l told him I was banging his wife." " Come on, man!" " l did too." "Me too." "Okay, pass the ball, guys!" "Pass the ball." "Yeah, yeah. I got you, I got you." "Guys, right here, right here." "Got one window in." "All right." "Let's keep it going, come on." "Okay, okay." "No more work for today." "That's right." "Come in the house." "Wash your hands." " Dang!" "A little to eat." " Time to eat. I'm starving." "What did you cook?" "You too, girls, come on." "Come on, babies." "Here you go." "Evelyn isn't coming back, is she?" "No, she's not coming back." "Because she's dead, huh?" "Yeah. lt's because she's dead." "You guys have fun, all right?" "No rough stuff." "Always so good to have you back home, son." "You gonna stick around a little while this time?" "I'm thinking about it, Ma." "I'm thinking about it." "Oh, Bobby." " Mercer!" " Yeah, Bobby!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Come on, now." "Come on." "Did you have to push?" "Hold up!" "Hold up!" "If we don't work, nobody work!" "Get back!" "I'm sorry, Mr. Wong, your credit card has been reported stolen." "Stolen?" "Madam, you know what, them my uncles right there." " Tyrone Wong, help me out real quick." " Mr. Wong!" "Mr. Wong!" "Mr. Wong!" "You keep sayin' The world is gonna end" "You keep sayin' The world is gonna end" "What are you doing?" "I thought you was a macho man." "A tough guy." "You know, it's a real shame that little Jackie's the only one down to ride." "Let's go, Jackie." "Say goodbye to your big sister, Jackie." "Let's go." "You gonna leave me too?" "I just need 1 5 minutes, man." "She's addicted to what Angel's dick did." "Sofi?" "Baby." "Just like when we were 1 6." "My favorite room in the house." "I already set it to spin." " Who are you?" " Hi, I'm with State Farm." "I have a question or two about your mother's insurance policy." "It's imperative that I speak with Jeremiah immediately." "The check is being processed, but nonetheless, some red flags have been raised." "What do you mean, red flags?" "Well, it's an unusually high payout for a simple life-insurance policy." "For the last two years, the premium was paid via check from your brother's bank account." "With your brother's criminal record and his business near bankruptcy, well," " it's our responsibility to investigate." " Bankruptcy?" "Wait, so Jeremiah's broke?" " Excuse me. I'm sorry to interrupt." " Certainly." " Angel, can I ask you a question?" " Yeah, baby." "What the hell is this?" "Oh, those are breath mints, baby." "Give me one sec" " You know I'm allergic to latex." " l should be going." " No, no." "Hold on, please." " Who did you buy them for?" "Put the cuckoo back in the clock, baby." "I bought them in Vegas before I knew I was coming here." " Who are they for?" " For no one!" "Please, sir, please." "Baby, if we gonna talk about this," " can we please do it outside?" " Okay, you wanna talk outside?" "Well then fine, let's talk outside!" "We're gonna talk right now." "We're gonna talk right" "Get your ass out of here, girl." "So how much is my brother getting?" " A little more than 400,000." " Open the door now." "That's crazy." "Check everything, Jackie." "There's gotta be some shit around here that ties these guys to somebody else." "You dicking around in here?" "You find anything?" "A camera." "Come on." "Thank you." " Big Chief." " Hey, thanks." "Angel Mercer." "How you doing?" "I ain't worked for Jerry for a long time." "Not since he started up those luxury condos." "High-dollar stuff like that brings in all the gangsters." "Wait." "So you're saying Jerry got mixed in with some gangsters?" "What's going on?" "There's this do-gooder." "He's on city council." "His name's Douglas." " Okay." " He's the guy who shut down" "Jerry's warehouse project." "He'll know who Jerry got mixed up with." "sig Sauer .45 auto." "That'll blow your back out." "Nine millimeter Beretta." "Oh, look at this Beretta." "It's triple-action." "Three bullets at once." "They say dead men tell no tales, but they sure leave important shit lying around." "Hey, what the hell are y'all doing now?" "Just getting a head start on next year's taxes, Jerry." "Look how y'all doing Mama's house!" "Come on." "Look at this table, man." "Come on." " You know what?" "You're right." " Hey, Sofi, why don't you do me a favor and clean up some of this shit?" "Make yourself useful." "You missed." "Hey, Bobby." " Where'd y'all get this?" " Our friend Stanly, the shooter." "Let me see that." " They were tracking Mom." " That's that guy." "That's that lawyer guy." "That shithead said" "He said he only met her once, Bobby." "Where the hell you been?" "I been trying to call you all day." "Following up new leads." "Yep." "Let's go." "Jerry, you coming with us?" "Don't you wanna find out who hired them?" "Yeah, don't you wanna find out who killed Mom?" " Of course I do, man." " Let's go." "Stop bullshitting." "Come on." "All right." "Somebody gotta look after y'all clowns." " Oh, so now you calling us clowns?" " Well, I call it like I see it." " What?" " You're gonna leave again?" " That's your problem." " Okay, fine." " Go." "Go." " You gonna be here." "Whatever." "We might have to spend the night up in this bitch." "An attack dog." "Come here, poochie." "You don't wanna bite me, do you?" "You gonna bite me, baby?" "Hey, Bobby, check this out." "I found Bradford's calendar." "You don't think "EM" stands for Evelyn Mercer, do you?" " You're getting good at this, Jackie." " November 21 ." "He met up with her the night she died." "Why would anybody meet up with their lawyer at 8:00 at night?" "Angel!" " Nice." "Your girlfriend's here." " She's crazy, man." "Well, go shut her up then." "Angel!" "Angel, come out!" "I see you in the window!" "Come out, you idiot!" "I know you're in there!" "Y'all come out here with me." "This girl is crazy." "Angel!" "People, there's robbers in the house!" "Come out, Angel!" " l'm gonna call the police now!" " Come on!" "You better call immigration on this girl." "You've got a real class act here." " She should be at Guantanamo Bay." " Oh, my God." "Locked up." "Excuse me." "What are you doing?" " How you doing, buddy?" " Bobby!" "Bobby!" "He's a lawyer!" " What's going on here?" " He's a liar, Jerry!" " Ain't nobody's business!" "Stay away!" " Come here!" "You heard me, old man." "You fucking lied to me." "You said you didn't even know my mother." "You were the last person to see her alive." "Look at that, Jerry. lt leaves a nice big red handprint, huh?" "Just ask him the question." "No, I'm gonna do it again and again until I find out what I wanna know." " Oh, God!" " Tell him!" "Okay." "Okay, I'll explain." "It's just that I..." " l felt so guilty." " Guilty for what?" "I'm not even sure I know how to say it." " Say what?" " Your mother and I were..." "Were seeing each other socially." " Socially?" " l didn't want to sully your mother's reputation." " She was a fine, fine woman." " l know. I know." "I have some of your mother's night things," " if you want." "They" " What?" " No." "No, it's not necessary." " Too much information." "Baby, listen, I need you to get out of here." "I apologize, Mr. Bradford." "We broke your back window." "We're just trying to figure out what happened." " l understand." " Thank you. I appreciate that." " You have a beautiful home here." " Thank you." " Hey, Bobby." " Yo." " Hey, man. I gotta ask you a question." " What's up?" "You know me and Sofi did a lot of making up last night." " You gave her that ring, huh?" " Yeah." "But it seem like I got a little rust on the tools down here." "Ask the cockologist in the shower, man." " How the hell would I know?" " You're the expert." " Rug burn." " You're gonna live." "Thank God, man." "I thought my luck ran out." "Hey, listen, man." "You know, Jerry ain't been straight up with us about that redevelopment project." "Found out his dream's dead." "Jerry got involved with some bad people." "City got on him about fraud and whatnot." "Cut his loans off like a month ago." " Technically, Jerry's really broke." " You think this had something to do with what happened to Mom?" "No, I'm saying that it's something that we should look into." "I need y'all to go down and visit this city official named Douglas." "He'll know who Jerry got mixed up with." "I'm gonna go check on some other shit." "What are you talking about?" "Why don't you just tell me what you know, Angel?" "I know you need to stay your ass on that porcelain." "This is gonna require a little finesse." "And given your prior reputation as a hothead," " l wrote the fucking book on finesse." " you gonna be the first to fuck up." "Wait for me to wipe my ass, Angel." "I'm coming with you." "Angel!" "Get me some fucking toilet paper, Jack." "Angel!" "You know, you didn't come up on the list of any of Evelyn's friends" " or known associates, Mr. Bradford." " No?" "I got your name off of her phone records." "Well..." "Well, yes." "Yes, we did try to keep our relationship" " somewhat discreet." " There we go." "There we go." "You know, well, maybe you can help me then." "You see, what I've gathered so far, it seems that Evelyn had become upset with her son Jeremiah's business situation." "Yes, she was starting to raise a bit of a stink." "But" " But wasn't all that covered in the police report that she filed?" "What police report?" "Councilman Douglas." "Sorry to startle you." "My name's Bobby Mercer. I believe you know my brother, Jeremiah?" "Apparently, you were the one who got his business shut down, right?" "This is not the proper venue for an appeal." "Look, we're not really concerned with that, councilman." "I heard my brother got mixed up with some hoodlums." "You know what I'm talking about?" "I can't help you." "Excuse me." "Gas?" "Councilman!" "Now I gotta light your ass on fire!" "All I wanted was a name!" "You're gonna make me turn your ass into the black gingerbread man now!" "It's all right." "I'll have my little brother here suck your burning dick." "Give me the fucking cigarette." "Roll down the window." "Victor." "Victor Sweet." "What about him?" "is there a problem?" "Goddamn, Jerry." "There she is." "So she got in there at 6:05." "Fast-forward that." "Hey, look." "That's Fowler." "Wait, pause it, pause it." "He didn't say anything to me about talking to her." "Fast-forward to when she leaves." "Okay, stop." "So she was here until 7:1 1 ." "He spent more than an hour with her." " What do you think he found?" " l don't know, but it's something big." " How can you tell?" " By the sound of his voice." "I know my brother." "What's going on, Angel?" " Was that councilman helpful?" " Oh, yeah." "A real public servant." "You remember a punk named Victor Sweet?" " l remember a Malcolm Sweet." " Victor was his nephew." "Used to deliver things for his uncle." "Like firebombs and beatings." "You remember." "Malcolm used to love to humiliate him all the time." "Yeah, I remember that dude." "Apparently, Victor got sick of the ass-whuppings and sunk his uncle into the river." "He owns the whole neighborhood now." "No shit?" "Hey, Bobby." "Word around town is that Jerry owed a lot of people some money." "What are you talking about?" "Recognize that dude over there with the fat head?" "Yeah, that's Evander Pearson." "He used to be all right, that guy." "Jerry and him used to hang during the union days." "He goes by Evan now." "And he's working for a guy named Victor." "You guys are coming up with this pretty quick." "Yeah, we should have been cops." "What are we doing here, Angel?" "Holy shit." " Evan." " Jerry." "I hate meeting you here, man, with your kids and all, but you know how it goes." " l understand." " l got it." "I found out Jerry got a big insurance check for Mom's death." "Be cool, brother." "Forget Jerry." "We're gonna find him later." "Come on." " Yo, Evander!" "What's up?" " Muriel!" "We leaving." " Game's over." "Let's go." " Put your jacket on. lt's time to go." "It's nice to see you, boys, but we was just leaving." "You ain't going nowhere." "What was you talking to Jerry about?" "Nothing." "Just saying hello." "Me and Jerry go way back from the union days." "You know that, Bobby." "Angel tells me you're one of Victor Sweet's boys now." "Hear he's running shit like his uncle." "Treating you like a house nigger." "What are you thinking about, Evan?" "The dude's a punk." "You been gone a long time, fellas." "Times change." " What's in that envelope?" " What envelope?" "You wanna play that fucking game with me right now?" " Y'all gonna do this here?" " Right here." "Right now." "Give me the envelope and take a walk." "Now!" "Go ahead, Evander." "Take the kids home." "We'll see your ass again real soon." "Let's go." "Hurry up." "Councilman." "Pull up a chair." "Vic, this cop came to see me today, and he was asking about that woman." "Don't worry about cops." " l got cops." " No, I'm not." "But I'm worried about this guy Bobby Mercer." "He came to see me after the cop did." "You tell him my name?" "Of course not, Vic. I mean..." "But look, you know, we can't do business like this anymore." "Nothing's changing." "Evan and I were just talking about this fella, Bobby Mercer." " Vic, I did not tell the man anything." " Did you tell him my name?" " No, I swear" " Yes, you did!" "You stinking coward." "I smelled it on you the second you walked in here." "Now go sit at the other table." " Excuse me?" " Go sit at the kiddie table!" "I ain't finished with you. I ain't finished my hand, so sit your ass down!" " Are you in trouble?" " He's on a time-out." "Come on, man, what you got?" "No. I'm out." "Nines." "Won again." "Oh, Charlie." "I heard you're marrying that fine piece of ass of yours." "Yeah, that's right, that's right." "This spring, in fact." "How about I send you on a little out-of-town work, huh?" "Give me a little one-on-one time alone with that cute little Italian thing of yours, huh?" "How would that be?" "I'll teach her some nice tricks for you." "Yeah, maybe you can teach her how to cook." "No, man, I'll teach her better things than that." "She's too much woman for you, Charlie." "You're gonna have to share her around a bit." " Nine!" "My turn!" " You're the one that..." "All right, you kids." " Who wants some ice cream, huh?" " Me!" "Why don't you run upstairs." "We'll get you some ice cream." "Go on now." "Evan." "Pistol." "I ain't playing no more." "I'm gonna go in there and bust that melon and find out what he's thinking." "His family's in there." " You're gonna have to calm down." " l don't give a shit, man." "Oh, I'm calm." " l'm calm." " Let me just call him." "He thinks I'm an idiot." "He thinks I don't know what the fuck is going on." " Jerry." " Yeah?" " lt's Angel." " What's up, man?" "Look, man." "We need to meet up first thing tomorrow at Mom's house." " l'm gonna kill him." " Calm down, Bobby." "We still family, right?" " I'll see you in the morning." " Yeah, man." "Okay." " ls he coming?" " Yeah." "Good." " What?" " You know what you did." "No!" "You don't know who you fucking with!" "Where's Bobby?" " What are you hiding, Jerry?" "What?" " What the fuck is wrong with you?" "If you had something to do with what happened, I swear to God, Jerry, I'm gonna kill you right here and now!" " No, Bobby, no!" " Angel's gonna ask some questions." "And, brother, I shit you not, the time for lying is over." "We know you're lying about your business." "And we know you got mixed up with some gangsters." " Hold on" " Stay down!" "Y'all think I had something to do with Mom getting killed?" "You got a check for 400,000 that you just so happened to forget to mention" " from Mom's life insurance." " She took out the policy for the girls." "Man, I ain't have nothing to do with that." "Come on." " You made the payments!" " Good timing, Jerry." "Just when it seems like all is lost for you," "Mom gets shot by some gangsters and now you hit the fucking lottery!" "So y'all--?" "Y'all tripping because I made insurance payments?" "What?" "I paid all her bills!" "Where the fuck were y'all?" "How many years did I have to take care of her my goddamn self?" "Y'all were around doing nothing!" "Bullshitting!" "And you gonna tell me I killed her?" "Come on, man!" "So why would you pay off a killer like Sweet?" "And what the fuck did he do for you, Jerry?" "What did he do for me?" "He killed my fucking life!" "I put everything in that project!" "I bet it all trying to make something of myself!" "Trying to make the shit work!" "Then Vic's goons gonna come try to take a piece." "You paid him, Jerry." "You got in bed with him." "No, no, I didn't pay them!" "That's how they fucking shut me down!" "I thought the city cut you off." "Douglas?" "Come on, man." "This is Detroit!" "Sweet owns Douglas!" "He ain't nothing but a gangster in a suit!" "I don't pay him, and now he shuts my loans off!" " End of story, end of project." " So, what about the 20 grand?" "I just told you." "You wanna cross the bridge, you gotta pay the toll." "I took the money. I was gonna pay the bribe until y'all fucked it up." "Your mother was a whore!" "Hey, fuck you, man!" "I will kick your-- lt's all about Jerry, right?" "Son of a bitch!" "Piece of shit!" "Jack." "Jack!" "Jack!" "Shit." "Shit!" "Get down!" "Get the fuck down!" " Come on!" "Get down!" " Jack!" "Bobby!" "Shit!" " Bobby!" " Jack." " Bobby!" " Jack!" "Sofi, give me the gun!" " Bobby!" " Jack, hold on!" "Shit!" "Hold your fire!" "Hold your fire!" "He's behind the bricks!" "Jackhammer!" "Jeremiah, where are you going?" "Jack!" "I got kids!" "A wife." "A family." "Oh, shit." "Fuck." "Motherfucker!" "You fucking" "Bobby!" "Bobby!" "Bobby!" "The van!" "Watch out!" "Jack!" "Jack, look at me!" "Jack, you all right?" "Hold on." "We need an ambulance!" "Somebody help!" "Call 91 1 !" "Jack." "Jack." "Jack!" "Jack, please." " Come on, man." " l'm calling, I'm calling." " Come on, Jack, you gotta breathe!" " We need an ambulance right now!" "Don't you die on me, you little fairy." "Come on, Jack." "Please!" "You gotta fucking breathe!" "Come on!" "Jack!" "Jack." "Jack, come on, Jack, please!" "Please..." "Jack." " Who sent you?" "Victor Sweet?" " Yeah." "Yeah, it was Sweet." "Thank God." "Thank God?" "He killed my mother and my little brother, you motherfucker!" "Thank Victor Sweet." "Photograph them." "Hey, let me talk to them, okay?" "Look, I'm real sorry, man." "I really am." "But what happened here?" "Victor Sweet did this." "How do you figure that?" "Because his friend in the bag over there told me." "Okay, I'll make sure I get a statement from him then." "Why did Sweet do us like this, man?" "And why did it have to be our moms?" "Because Evelyn was going after him." "She knew her son, man." "She never thought for a second that you were corrupt." "But I never told her about my business." "Jerry, were you ever able to keep a secret from her?" "She knew all about your trouble, man." "The moment they shut you down, she went down there," " raising hell with the councilman." " You gonna bury Sweet, or are we?" "Well, I got me..." " ...a dirty uniform I gotta deal with first." " What?" "You see, Evelyn filed a report that got passed on to Victor Sweet." " By who?" " Look, I just got something l" "Don't bullshit me, Green." "Who are you protecting?" " Your boy Fowler?" " Look, Fowler's my problem!" "I'll deal with him." "And then we get Sweet." "Green." "So how we gonna deal with all this?" "Self-defense." "Wasn't it?" "Hey." "What's happening, partner?" "What's cooking, boss?" "Isn't this one of Victor Sweet's spots?" "Yeah, I heard that." "So what?" "So why ain't you tell me that you had talked to Evelyn Mercer a week before she got killed?" "I mean, don't you think that that's relevant to a murder investigation?" "I didn't tell you because it wasn't relevant at all." " Really?" " Yeah, I talked to the old lady for all of about five minutes." "She came in with her usual medley." "Kids tagging up her block, that kind of shit." "You know, I figured it was something like that." "But you still should have said something to me, man." "Sorry." "Did she file a police report?" "No. I sent it over to the Parks Department." "They clean that shit up." " Five minutes, huh?" " Yeah." "Couldn't have been much more than that." "You wanna take a shot?" "You're gonna need some practice." "I'd love to." "It's been a long time since I played a game like this one." " ls that so?" " Yeah." "Partner, I think your stick is crooked." "I think it's all right." "And the weight is off." "Worked pretty good for me." "You sure?" "Yeah." "You is a dirty cop!" "Give me your badge." "See, I hate dirty cops." "Green, wait." "Green, wait!" "There is something I forgot." "What?" "What the fuck you wanna say to me?" "I forgot they installed those surveillance cameras in the station." "Motherfucker!" "Officer down!" "Officer down!" "Green's been shot!" "I'm in the alleyway behind John R and Seven Mile!" "Suspects are two young black males heading east on foot!" "Request backup immediately!" "Ready!" "Aim!" "Fire!" "Ready!" "Aim!" "Fire!" "Ready!" "Aim!" "Fire!" "Jackie." "Never should have came home." "Never should have came." "I miss him too." "We won't be able to bring him back, but we're gonna send him some company." "You can't go to war with Victor Sweet." "Not straight up." "He'll just hire more and more goons until we are all dead." "I don't know." "I don't know what to do anymore." "I already lost one brother." "You guys are all I got." " l got an idea." " What?" "We'll take the rest of the money from Mom's insurance, pay Sweet to call off the dogs." " He'll deal." "He's a businessman." " lt doesn't count as a plan if it takes you longer to say it than it does to think it up." "Yeah, Jerry." "Sweet will meet up with you, take your money." "Won't be able to find your body till the river thaws." "If you can get that far." "Jesus, Jeremiah, what you doing here?" "I'm here to do a little collective bargaining." "What, with Sweet?" "Did you not get the message?" "He wants blood." " That's not negotiable." " Look, they told us we'd never get $30 an hour on the job either, right?" "But what we get?" "So don't tell me this is not possible." "Come on, man." "So, what you bringing to the table?" "Four hundred thousand dollars." "Yo." " Evan called Sweet." "He's going for it." " So when's the meet?" " Four o'clock." " Today?" " Yeah." " That's in three hours." "Well, we ain't got no choice!" "Sweet's supposed to roll up on us any minute now." "What?" "What else?" "Well, Evan, we cool." "And he let me in on a little something." "If Fowler's there, he don't think he's gonna go for it." " So there's no plan!" " Yes, there is, Bobby." "We need to take Fowler out before the meet." "We can't kill a cop even if he is dirty." "He handed Ma to Sweet, okay?" "He ain't walking away from this." "Make sure the hole's cut when we get there." "Hey, come here." " All right. I love you." " Now, don't get shot." " Don't shoot anyone either." " Relax." "Unless you have to." "Come on, now." "You know I love you, don't you?" "Y'all be good now." "And take care of Mommy, all right?" "Be careful." "I will." "Bobby." "Look, I know I don't know you that well, but don't you let him get hurt." "You bring him back to me." "I will, Camille." "It's gonna be okay." "Hey, kid!" "What you doing, playing out here in the snow?" "I'm just working on my swing for the spring." "Hey, man, I need a big favor." "I'll give you $20 and this whole box of Baby Ruths." "You see that house over there?" "Not till we hear from Angel." " What do you want?" " l'm selling candy to raise money for my baseball team." "We wanna buy new uniforms and equip" "Thanks." "Now get the hell out of here." "This is a big problem." "A big problem for you." "Even a completely calm person will suffocate in four minutes without oxygen." "And you're not exactly calm, are you?" " Jerry!" " Fuck!" "We ain't going nowhere without the call," " so just calm down." " What the fuck you--?" " Jerry!" " Just keep stalling him." "Hold-- l'm grabbing my scarf, man." "I'll be there in a minute!" "Hold on." " Angel?" " Hey, I got him." " ls he out of the way?" " What, you wanna ask him?" " Let me hear his voice." " Hold on, let me put him on." "Hold on." "Hey, man, say hi to my brother." " We got you now, bitch." " l'm coming." "Go." "Jerry, what the hell?" "You in there?" " That's our money?" " Yeah." " Hey, man, hey!" " Relax, relax." " Hey, what is this, man?" "What is this?" " Relax, relax." "Just relax." "We just gotta check it out, make sure you ain't strapped." "Relax, relax." " He's good." " Okay." "Let's take a ride, Jerry." "Yeah, yeah, I got it." "Well, he's onboard, boss." "Yeah, all right." "What did he say?" "He say, "Hurry the fuck up." Then he hung up." "You'll never get the belt." "Trust me." "People never think to go for the bag." "It's always the belt first for some reason." "The bag has to be clear, though." "Black doesn't work." "Get up." "Get over there right now." " He's gonna end up dead." " Ma'am, ma'am, slow it down a gear." "And this isn't even his fight." "It's his stupid brother's fault!" "I understand. I can help you." "But you're gonna have to let me know who it is we're talking about" " and what's about to happen." " My boyfriend." "He was talking about killing a cop." "You hear that?" "You know what that is?" "That's a damn beautiful sound." "Those are my boys coming." "So, what do we do now?" "We get out." "Jesus Christ!" "What is that?" "Wha--?" "What's that?" "It's ice fishing." "Tommy there is part Eskimo." "No." "It's not looking good for you, homeboy." "We'll see if they're still your boys after they find out you killed your partner Green, homeboy." "That's your angle, huh?" "You gonna walk out there and tell them I killed Green." "That's your story?" " lt has the advantage of being true." " So what?" "I killed my partner." "I could kill the whole damn police department if you were the only witness." "They'd probably just promote me to chief." "You're one of the Mercer brothers, brother." "No cop in the world's gonna believe your word over mine." "Sorry." "You know what?" "You're probably right." "Other than the ones I got outside right now in the van listening to every bit of our conversation brother." "You're lying." "Afraid not." "Take a look." "I want eyes on the house!" "Okay, lieutenant, I'm bringing him out now." "Come on, man. lt's all over." "I'm gonna pop your head like a champagne cork." "You hear me?" "I'm taking your clown down with me!" "Fool showed up." "And they say there's no such thing as a free lunch." "All right." "Let's sink this dumb-ass and get out of here." "I got a candlelit date lined up with a hot piece of Puerto Rican pussy." "Jeremiah Mercer." "Businessman." "Give me that." "Goddamn it, I like the way you do business!" "You're a reasonable man." "You should have let me in on your project." "We could have been partners." "Could have been a sweet deal for both of us." "Now it just a sweet deal for me." "Come on, man." "We gonna do business, or what?" "Right." "Right." "Right." "Down to business." "What were the...?" "What were the terms again?" "You give me 400 grand, and I pardon you and your brothers, is that right?" "Forgive and forget, right?" "That's right." "My brothers said I was naive." "That you would shoot me and just take the money." "Yeah." " Damn, man, you hurt my feelings." " Good." "Because you don't know shit about hurt feelings." "I just buried my mama and my brother." "And I think that's payment enough, Vic." "You been doing a lot of thinking, boy." "Yeah, my mama raised me to be a thinking man." "So me and my brothers, we came up with a whole new proposal." " A whole new proposal. ls that right?" " Yes, sir." "Yes, sir." "You gonna like it too." "Because it is a-- A sweet deal." "Check it out. instead of giving you the 400 grand, we decided we'd give it to these mistreated workers you got standing behind you." "Pistol." " Evan, I said pistol!" " No, bitch." "The one thing you forgot about me is this:" "I was in the union for a long time." "I ain't never missed no meetings." "He ain't lying." "It's cold out here when you by yourself, ain't it?" "So, what now?" "You gonna kill the hand that's been feeding you?" " Over some stupid old lady?" " Watch your motherfucking mouth." "You dumb shits!" "I told Fowler and his pals all about this meeting!" "You kill me, you all go down!" "Murder!" "He's already late." "Shit, he's probably on his way right now." "He ain't coming." " Come out!" " l swear to God, I'll kill him!" "You guys set me up, huh?" "You think you're real smart, getting this shit on tape, huh?" " Fowler?" " What the hell?" " l thought Fowler was the hostage." " Back off!" "I'm serious!" " Fowler, what are you doing, man?" " Drop the goddamn gun!" " We're here to help you!" " Back off now!" "I'm serious!" "That's right." "Fowler, put down your weapon!" "Not a chance!" "I said, back off!" "Now!" "Drop your weapon!" "He's down!" "Man down!" "Man down!" "EMS!" " Call it in!" " Get on the horn!" "Come on now." "Who's gonna do it, huh?" "Who the man here, huh?" "Which one of you tough guys gonna do it?" "Who's gonna take on the champ?" "You, Charlie?" "Yeah." "That's right." "is this who I think it is?" "is this what you all been waiting on?" " You all right, Jerry?" " Yeah, I'm straight." " Oh, shit." " Oh, Bobby Mercer." "Back in town." " You gonna be the one, man?" " Come on, Bobby." "Bring it on, baby." "What you got?" "Watch his hands, Bobby." "You better say a prayer, man." " Get him, champ." " Come on!" "Kick his ass!" "Kick his ass!" "Come on, kick his ass!" " Come on, that's it!" "Come on!" " Hit him hard!" "Bobby, hit him!" " Get your ass up!" "Come on!" " Get him!" " All right, you got him!" "You got him!" " Put that shit away, man." "Come on." "Yeah, come on, man!" "Take him out, boy!" "Get back." "Get back." "That's it!" " Good night, man!" " That's it!" "All right, come on, man." "It's over now, Bobby." " Elbow, baby, elbow!" " Turn it around, man!" "Yeah, yeah, yeah!" "Get him!" "Come on!" "Fucker!" "Hey, get up, bitch!" "Get up!" " Motherfuck!" " Get your bitch ass back in there!" "Get him back here!" "Yeah!" "That's what's up!" " Get him in the hole." " That's right." "Way to go, Bobby." "So, what we gonna do about the police?" "Police?" "Cops love the Mercers, Jerry." " Sit him down." " Damn!" "You girls are trying to kill me!" "What are you doing, man?" "All right!" "You wanna go another round, huh?" "You arrested him, and he didn't do anything!" "Let me ask you again." "What happened to Victor Sweet, Mercer?" "His name is Jeremiah Mercer, and I wanna see him now!" "Ellis, you might wanna close your ears." "This is nasty shit." "That's what you wanna hear?" "I did it." "I did it, okay?" "If you did it, then I wanna hear you say it!" "From about 5:30 p.m. till about 1 1 or so last night, I was banging that pretty little wife of yours, okay?" "Here's the-- l was bumping uglies with your wife." "Your mama, she wasn't good the first time." " That true?" "What do you got now?" " Your hair, scumbag!" "Taken off Victor Sweet's dead body." "Don't push him like that!" "Oh, baby!" "Oh, my God!" "Are you okay?" " l'm okay, baby." " They bought it, baby." " They bought it." " Let me see." "Come here." " lt's all right." " Let me see." " lt's just a boo-boo." " lt's not just a boo-boo!" "Somebody put their fist in your eye!" " Let me see it!" " Come on, now." " Are you okay?" " Yeah, I'm all right." " Oh, my God." "You're bleeding, baby." " You know I can take a punch." "I know you can take a punch." " You don't talk about peoples mamas!" " Well, he talked about mine." " Did you get some licks in?" " Of course." " Does his eye look like yours?" " Hey, man, where's Bobby?" "Let me catch you on the street without that badge." "I'll smack that smirk off your face, punk!" "I'm gonna smack you, Bobby." "I told you not to let Jerry get hurt." "He's breathing." " You all right, Jerry?" " l'm all right, man." "Let me get my property." " Man, you all right?" " l'm good." "You said something, didn't you, Jerry?" "I did not say nothing, man." " Why you always--?" " l did." " What you say?" " l told him I was banging his wife." " Come on, man!" " l did too." "Me too." "Okay, pass the ball, guys!" "Pass the ball." "Yeah, yeah. I got you, I got you." "Guys, right here, right here." "Got one window in." "All right." "Let's keep it going, come on." "Okay, okay." "No more work for today." "That's right." "Come in the house." "Wash your hands." " Dang!" "A little to eat." " Time to eat. I'm starving." "What did you cook?" "You too, girls, come on." "Come on, babies." "Here you go." "Evelyn isn't coming back, is she?" "No, she's not coming back." "Because she's dead, huh?" "Yeah. lt's because she's dead." "You guys have fun, all right?" "No rough stuff." "Always so good to have you back home, son." "You gonna stick around a little while this time?" "I'm thinking about it, Ma." "I'm thinking about it." "Oh, Bobby." " Mercer!" " Yeah, Bobby!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Come on, now." "Come on." "Did you have to push?" "Hold up!" "Hold up!" "If we don't work, nobody work!" "Get back!" "I'm sorry, Mr. Wong, your credit card has been reported stolen." "Stolen?" "Madam, you know what, them my uncles right there." " Tyrone Wong, help me out real quick." " Mr. Wong!" "Mr. Wong!" "Mr. Wong!" "You keep sayin' The world is gonna end" "You keep sayin' The world is gonna end"