"Look at these fuckin' chuchas." "Where do they fuckin' hire these guys?" "Son of a bitch." "Some kind of I.D." "Where is Ellis Franklin?" "The noted U.S. Attorney, long touted as a potential candidate for higher office, has been missing since Tuesday under circumstances police will only describe as mysterious." "Last seen leaving his federal building office for dinner with his wife two days ago, Franklin hasn't been heard from since." "And now your PawSox update on ww... 90 degrees in the shade and you show up with a jacket zipped up?" "If you're fishing for a hug, it's not gonna happen." "Only fags and guineas hug when they get out of the joint." "Your wife's waiting for you at home." "Come on." "And where's Johnny and Moe?" "Johnny's waiting for you at Mulligan's with Michael." "With Michael." "Michael asked me to pick you up a grinder from Vendi's." "It's in the car." "Come on." "Without state support we're dead." "Relax, Martin." "This is the overture." "The play hasn't even begun." "That was very impressive." "They don't see it." " They don't see it." " They see obstacles, displaced businesses, money they don't have." "I've explained the numbers." "This waterfront, this is good for the economy, for the state's." "They'll get it, OK?" "Is it just me?" "I feel like they should be serving us hors d'oeuvres." "I think that might qualify as a meal from a lobbyist." "You're serious?" "Just like squirting some cheese on a ritz cracker?" "Fuckin' ethics." "So, what did you think?" "I thought it was a great presentation." "Wonderful stuff." "Never gonna happen, but great artwork." "You know, I like it." "I see jobs." "Construction, trucking, paving." "I'm telling you, Speaker." "This is exactly what we need right now." "And before any of this can happen, they want the state to seize all this land and... foot the bill for the environmental cleanup." "The eminent domain issues alone are enough to make it a nonstarter." " I hear the Mayor's gonna push for it." " That's a joke." "City's budget's more screwed up than ours, and we're over 340 million, coming up short." "So..." "I don't think so." "But say the city agreed to cover the cleanup." "The Mayor could plead poverty to the E.P.A., push half the cost onto the fed." "And the state could agree to cover the city's portion of the tax credits, which would kick our financial burden five years down the line." "Did you follow any of that?" "Because sometimes your brain goes a little too fast for me." "I'll write up and leave it on your desk." "You do that." "Colin get your sandwich?" "Roast beef?" "Good." "You look good." " You lose weight, you work out?" " Cut the shit." "What do you want?" "I was thinking you need to retire." "I think maybe you should hang out with those kids of yours." "Fiona." "Ride around in that big fuckin' boat." "Disappear." "Cops impounded my boat." "That's too bad." "It was a great boat." "But still..." "You think you can take my seat at the table?" "You fuckin' kidding me?" "I think it's my table." "I think it always fuckin' was." "Is that what Nozzoli thinks?" "As it happens, yeah." "We're doing great business together." "That's what he thinks." "That's what my friend John thinks." "My new best friend Moe." "It's what we all think." "You ain't you anymore." "I'm you." "You're..." "Well, you're nobody." "Is that right?" "Good to see you, Michael." "Wrong file." "Your potassium level is raised... just barely enough to qualify as hyperkalemia." "And the other symptoms, the migraines, osteoporosis, fatigue... they might be symptoms, they might be symptoms of old age." "I'm 63." "What about your stool?" "Anything unusual?" "Color, smell, frequency?" "Constipation sometimes." "We'll want you to bring in a sample." "In what, a Ziploc?" "Or a tupperware." "In the meantime, I'm referring you to..." "Dr. Ramkin, for a renal ultrasound, and I'm writing you a scrip... for Bextra." "How can you write a prescription if you don't know what's wrong?" "Whatever it is, the Bextra won't make it any worse." "Might even help with your joint pain." "Nothing guaranteed though." "All right?" "Always lovely to see you, Mrs. Caffee." "We're a little tight on space right now." "We set you up in an office down here." "Brought the files in." "On the upside, it's... quiet." " You have two in there, right?" " I do have two." "And they kick for two." "Is yours kicking yet?" "But it feels more like gas." "Thank you for coming." "And more importantly, your unborn children, thank you for coming." "Our goal here today is to introduce you to WIC and SCHIP and all the other public health services available to expectant mothers and those with newborns." "Basically she wants to know whether the services are available to everyone, or if you need to be a citizen." "Green card or a citizen." "Let's start with WIC." " How you doing?" " Good." " Sorry to drag you out." " That's all right." "I'm getting old." "So..." "Any new rumors about your missing friend, the U.S. Attorney?" "No, but I heard they got a betting pool going on in the Channel 12 newsroom." "Not a lot of tears around your table, I expect." "Or yours, for that matter either." "Ellis Franklin was a fine lawyer, but he never understood the financial lubrication that is needed... to keep a city like this running." "The Speaker wants your support on the waterfront development." "And I want to sing like Frank Sinatra." "I told him I'd make it happen." "Really?" " So let me hear the offer." " You're not gonna like it." "I know, but I figured I should at least listen before I reject it." "You're not gonna reject it either." "I'm calling in my marker." " Your marker?" " The biltmore." "Victor." "I don't get it." "We could've horse-traded this." "Instead you're using your biggest chip." "You're killing a fly with an elephant gun." "What can I say?" "My speaker wants it to happen." "You know, I used to think if I were gonna run for governor, you were the one man I'd be scared to face." "But now... you're just a politician." "Back in the game." "Michael Caffee thinks he can replace me?" "I'll bite his fucking nose off." "I can't talk to you when you're like this." "Only took you 8 months to get me out of the joint." "You could listen to me." "You can't touch Michael." "You're still under indictment." "And with the hubbub over our missing but unmissed U.S. Attorney, the police will be watching you." "So I won't touch him." "I'll farm the hit out to a couple of button guys out of Hartford." "How you gonna pay 'em?" "Your assets are frozen." "If you dip into your hidden money, the I.R.S. will slaughter you." "You're broke." "What do you mean?" "As in tell your wife not to go grocery shopping this week." "What am I supposed to do now?" "I'll lend you a thousand dollars, but that's the extent of my charity." "Beyond that, you need to make yourself some money." " That's not a problem." " Legally." "I'm talking squeaky clean." "Taxes taken out, fica, the whole shebang." "You want me to get a job?" "People go to jobs every day." "You have an undeclared interest in that car dealership in Johnston." " Go sell some cars." " I'm not a fuckin' car salesman." "Well, according to your tax returns from 2002 to 2006, that's exactly what you are." "What's up?" "What am I doing here?" "Danny boy doesn't want to kick us our monthly taste until he talks to Freddie." "Put him on the phone." "Come here." "He's a pain in our fuckin' ass." "Wants to talk to you." "Hurry up." " What's the matter, Danny?" " Look..." "I've paid Freddie protection every month for 13 years like clockwork." "I know he's out." "I just want to talk to him." "I would have thought Moe would have explained to you... that Freddie's no longer in the insurance business." "I'll let Freddie tell me that." "You're saying you don't believe me?" " It's not that." " Give the phone back to Moe." " What's up?" " Break his fingers." "It's about fuckin' time." "Give me your fuckin' thumb." "Let me talk to him." "Please." "Slow the fuck down." "Seriously," "I'm not looking to upset anybody." "It's just... so long as I dealt with Freddie I never had problems." "Now you're telling me he's out of the picture, suddenly I got problems." "What problems you got?" "These four it-los come by." "They tell me I gotta sell 'em my land." "I told them." "I pay my tax through Moe, like a good citizen, so they can kiss off." "But they keep coming back." "Three fuckin' times." "Here." "Look." "You wanna be Freddie, take your money." "Just get those guines off my back." "Next time I ask you, give me the fuckin' money." "Fuckin' moron." "I'm afraid I can't fill that for you." "I could, but it'd cost $172." "Isn't it covered by insurance?" "It's covered." "Just not if you get it filled here." "You have to use a mail order service." "The information's here on the back of your insurance card." "So, what do I do?" " I call up the mail order company?" " Right." "You call them." "They'll make you send in the scrip." "Then they'll send you your pills." "Maybe I'll just pay the money." "You don't want to do that." "You gotta get used to the system at some point." "You might as well just get used to it now." "The whole thing feels like a plot to me." "Managed care." "The minute these children are born, they'll be American citizens." "But as long as they're in the womb, they're banned from getting health care, their mothers don't have green cards." "Those are the rules passed by your husband and his friends" " at the Statehouse." " Tommy doesn't run the Statehouse." "Gather all the materials and pass them on to Barbara." "I'll have her work up a new long-term strategy." "Why Barbara?" "This is my project." "Outreach works best if we give the community a single consistent face, and three months from now, you're gonna be having a baby." "And six weeks after that, I'll be right back." "That's six weeks we're without a face." "Look." "I know I'm tiptoeing up to a bunch of laws, but what if you change your mind and decide not to come back?" "I have had three children." "I know what is involved." "You say that now." "So the guys think it's okay to fuckin' bully people under my umbrella?" "With Freddie out of commission, they assumed that Mr. Marker was open game." "Freddie's been out of fuckin' commission for eight months, as well you know." "They overstepped." "Too fuckin'-a right they did." "What was Freddie's is mine?" "No hedging," " no rollbacks, no negotiation." " Listen." "Back the fuck down, OK?" "It wasn't like they insulted the guy." "They made him a fair offer for his land." "What the fuck do you want with a scrap pile anyway?" "Diversification." "Nick, come here." "Check these two for me." " Make sure they don't got aphids." " I'm asking you a straight question." "What do you want with my scrap pile?" "The state plans on seizing two miles of waterfront for a big development." "We buy the land cheap, we sell it to the state, 20%, 30% markup." "Look..." "My interests cover most of the businesses around the scrap pile." "For the grace of allowing you to buy it at a fair price, you cut me in for 20%." "I'll tell you what I'll do." "Since you didn't know a fucking thing about this till I just told you," "I'll cut you in for five." "Twenty percent." " Five." " Come here." "Fifteen." "That's fuckin' final." "Fifteen." "Five." "Come on." "Take the fuckin' things." " Just standing there." " Ten." " Five." " Fuck you." "Twenty." "Fuckin' 20% or you don't get it." "I got basil to plant." "We, the small business owners of the south waterfront district, wish only to pursue the right of every American to be secure in their property." "But the state... wants to... abrogate those rights... so that they can enrich the few, destroying good industrial jobs and our way of life." "You write that for him, did you?" "Well, it's true, isn't it?" "I suppose." "With this development, the state wants to take what should never be taken from any man." "And for what?" "What are you doing tonight?" "You wanna come over for dinner?" "Where, at Kath's?" "Well, she ain't the greatest cook, but..." "I like her cooking." "No, it's just..." "I wouldn't want to intrude on, you know, your private time." "It's not like we're gonna be fuckin' on the dinner table." "The truth is, we could use a third person to stir up conversation." "Plus, she likes you." "Well, if you want me to, you know, sure." "A simple good thing for Rhode Island." "Is that so fucking impossible to get done?" "We're not in public with our plans, and the nimby groups, led by your fellow representative, Bob, already have the political establishment backing away from us." " We still got the Mayor, OK?" " The Mayor." "You're gonna sell me the Mayor, when I know full well and good this is you and your brother shaking me down?" " What?" " You think I'm stupid?" "I know what side of the bread the butter's on." "I've known from Jump Street that you have a big, fat piece of his piece of my waterfront." "You know, why don't you take my money?" "Why don't you just take my money?" "Take my credit cards." "There you go." "Why don't you and your brother have... grab a piece of my house and my wife while you're at it?" " You're embarrassing yourself." " Your brother was standing 10 yards away at that press conference." "He paid for their damn flyers." "You say one more time I am in cahoots with my brother and I swear I will walk out of here, and you two will never build so much as a doghouse in this state again." "What's this?" " Are you still not talking to me?" " What does it look like?" "I don't know." "You tell me." "Political free expression." "Remember that?" " This is funny to you?" " Yeah, it is." "This fuckin' waterfront's gonna destroy seven legitimate businesses." "You know that?" "Family businesses." "Been there for generations." "Is that seven with or without your strip clubs?" "What this city needs is real jobs for real people, you know?" "Real middle-class working people." "The kind of people you were elected to represent." "Concrete pouring alone on the waterfront will employ 150 people." "Then you got paving, wiring, plumbing." "You got carpenters." "These aren't real people to you?" "They don't count?" " You can justify it any way you like." " Don't the jobs justify it?" "Or is this just about me?" "What makes you think I think about you anymore?" "I got a lady out on the floor, and all my other guys are busy." "What's wrong with the other?" "They've got people waiting." "Normally I wouldn't ask, but we're swamped." "Do I look like a car salesman to you?" "I'm doing a favor giving you a paycheck." "The least you can do is talk to a customer or two." " Fine." "Where is she?" " Out there." "I appreciate it." "Look, if you close her, I'll give you a double sales bonus." "Can I help you?" "Just a minute." " What's the matter?" " I just sold a... a MKX." "What procedure are you here for today?" "Renal ultrasound." "All right." "Let's get you a gown." "You put this on." "Gap in the front." "Don't bother with the bottom two ties." "The doctor will be in shortly." "Who's "Marshmallow"?" "Nobody." ""Nobody."" ""Dear Marshmallow, how's your day?"" "Hello." "I got the pizzas." "Pepperoni, half sausage, half mushroom." "Come on." "Put that away and go get your sisters." "Who is she texting today?" "Somebody called Marshmallow." "Is that a guy?" " Is he new?" " I think so." "I think, he's replaced Blowfish this week." "Lawrence pulled me off the outreach project, because he thinks I'm gonna quit after the baby comes." "And you're not?" "Did you think I was?" "I thought after the... after the waterfront deal came through, and we moved up..." "I thought that was the whole point." "I like what I do." "My job is important to me." "All right." "You don't want me to work." "No, I don't want to argue is what I don't want." "I'm beyond telling you what you should and shouldn't do." "You don't get to do that." "Say it." "You don't get to guilt me." "You don't want me to work." "It doesn't make any difference what I say." " At least you'd be fucking honest." " You want me to be honest..." "Eileen, I don't..." "Let's just eat." "Dinner's on the table." "Give me your plates, girls." "Mushroom for you." "Come on." "Put that away." "He'll still be there when you get done." "Representative Silk," "I appreciate you coming down here." "It's a simple question." "Have you ever been offered a bribe or any other sort of inducement in exchange for your vote?" "Never." " Never?" " Never." "Senator Madera, have you ever been offered a bribe or any other sort of inducement, in exchange for your vote?" "Does a free haircut count?" "Yes, a free haircut counts." "This one guy offered me $500 for my vote in committee." "Somebody offered you $500 for a vote?" "That's why I reported the cheap bastard." "Representative Frattelli, have you ever been offered a bribe or any other sort of inducement in exchange for your vote?" "Jackie Capello gave me a pair of shoes, but he never asked me for my vote." "Did Mr. Capello have any business before the House?" "Sure, but Jackie and I went to grade school together." "I would have voted his way with or without the shoes." "How goes the windmill tilting?" "My lance is stuck in the windmill, and I'm flat on my back." "At least when you go into a murder, or whatever, you expect going into it that everybody's gonna lie." "So you gonna wait for me to ask if you brought Cannoli, or... you gonna get straight to it and ask me what I think happened to Ellis Franklin?" "I didn't know you were a Cannoli man." "The guy's dead." "He's dead." "If it was a kidnapping, you would have a note." "He doesn't fight with his wife." "He doesn't sleep around." "He was a lying, two-faced prick, but he's definitely not in hiding." "So, did you kill him?" "You'd think I was just a baby making machine, designed to spit out children like Jiffy Pop." "Barbara will do a good job." "I mean, she's almost fluent in Spanish." "The point is..." "I can do this job." "When you got pregnant, you had to know that this might happen." "Getting pregnant wasn't exactly something I planned." "It was just dumb luck." "Well, I guess you're just blessed by God." "Your power controls are located right here." "It's a six-way adjustable seat." "These buttons right here are your memory control buttons." "Say if you go out to dinner and the valet moves your seat." "You hit this button, your seat goes right back where it was." "It's a great feature." "It's a..." " Can you excuse me a minute, please?" " Sure." "About time you mopes showed up." "You closing this preppy or what?" "It's not a social visit." " What the fuck is he doing here?" " He wants to buy a car." " You guys better be fuckin' kidding me." " I told him to spring for a Benz but you know Mikey." "It's gotta be American-made." "You say that like it's a bad thing, Moe." "Fuckin' everybody knows, the fuckin' Krauts, Japs make the best cars." "So why you driving a Camaro?" "Fuck you." "Seriously." "Mike wants a fuckin' car." "What happened to you two?" "You turned into a couple of faggot-ass fuckin' errand boys." "Why you gotta go to the faggot place?" "He wants a car, I'll sell him a car." "Tell him he's paying list." "Where were we?" "To ensure the highest quality of service, your call may be monitored." "To begin, are you calling about refills, order status, or simply tell me in a few words the reason for your call." "A prescription." "I want to order a prescription." "Order status." "I can tell you about the status of your order... if you'll tell me the prescription number you're calling about." "If you don't have it, or this is a new prescription, say "I don't have it"." "I don't have it." "The prescription number is also known as the rx number and can be found on your bottle or label." "I don't have it." "I'm sorry." "I didn't understand." "Do you have a number handy?" "Next I'll need your I.D. number." "Please tell me the identification number on your card." "Operator." "I'd like to speak to an operator." "If you'd like tips and hints on how to use our system, please say "tips and hints"." "I want to speak to a human being." "Our system allows you to speak naturally rather than limit you to a list of choices." "I didn't quite understand your question." "I want to speak to an operator." "I didn't quite understand your question." "Please?" "I didn't quite understand your question." "Is there anybody there?" "You feel like grilled cheese?" "I'll take one." "You know, it's like they want me to fail." "They flooded me with this enema of useless fuckin' paper, so it looks like they're coming clean." "They want to stand in front of a camera and claim they got nothing to hide." "Fuck 'em." "Those bastards let me get my toe in the door, I'm gonna kick the fucker down." "I'll stop for the day." " Are you done?" " No." "But I'll stop for the day." "Let's get out of the house, go for a walk." "You want to work." "But... occasionally I'm capable of thinking of someone other than myself." "Keep workin'." "You won't be mad at me?" "It's what you really want to do." "And thus did the dark prince arrive at my door." "You're not a foolish man, Bob." "But you're foolishly on the wrong side when it comes to the waterfront." "Where you see foolishness, I see principle." "So you're siding with the workers?" "You're gonna throw your body under the gears and the wheels of the machine." "You know, the Speaker... the Speaker wants the waterfront." "You want the waterfront." "So should you." "What if the state agreed to pay double the appraised value of the land inside the eminent domain zone?" " This is about jobs." " It's about money, Bob." "It's always about money." "And if it's not about money, it's about money." "Double the appraised value?" "Double." "And the freedom to go on hating my guts." "Well, aren't we a couple of money changers in the temple." "It's always like that this time of year." "That's all right." "Just throw that in the bag." "Forget the sandwiches." "I don't need 'em." "Are you sure?" "Mr. Meara." "Go ahead, honey." "I'll be down in a minute, all right?" "OK, baby." "Go get ready." "Don't tell me." "Your niece?" "What would you say... if I could deliver double the assessed value on all your land inside the eminent domain zone?" "I'd say, do you want to fuck my niece?" "I got one problem." "There's a... wolf in my house, and... as long as he's in my house, the business owners I represent are gonna be too scared to make a deal." "Let me take a fuckin' stab." "Michael Caffee." "Don't you have anything to eat in here but beer nuts?" "I could send my boys out, get you some Dairy Queen." "One of the things I liked about dealing with Freddie is we always ate well." "Sit down." "I'm good." "I'll stand." "You gonna make me put a crick in my neck looking up at you, 'cause you think it makes you look fuckin' powerful?" "Sit the fuck down like a gentleman." "Come on." "Fine." "You been having fun?" "I'm gonna double my initial offer." "Ten percent." "You could offer me 20, I still wouldn't take it." "I ain't offering 20." "Look." "I'm just not interested in creating more living space... for fuckin' web designers and stockbrokers, all right?" "You're like an urban planner now?" "I'm a concerned citizen." "Listen." "Sitting here with me is a privilege." "I really don't give a fuck what you and your brother got goin' on." "You better act like a businessman, or I'll dig Freddie up and put him back in that chair." "With respect, Al," "I got a right to protect my community." "And I got a right to a partner that puts business first." "So, what is it?" "You wanna be a businessman, or do you want to play fuckin' Davy Crockett at the Alamo?" "Sell?" "How can I sell?" "What about my business?" "My men?" "Look." "Danny, this waterfront project's gonna employ hundreds of men." "You know, the pouring of the concrete and the... electricity, plumbing', painting'." "Just sign it." "Put your fucking John Hancock on the fuckin'..." " What'd you hit me for?" " 'Cause you're a fuckin' bully." "How now, my loyal tonto?" " You got a sec?" " Not really." " What do you need?" " It's exactly as I warned you." "The Mayor is gonna definitely push for the waterfront." "I thought there was that whole, eminent domain brouhaha." "According to Bob, the local business owners want a fair price for their land." " So all the signs and flyers and..." " Extortion by media." " What a world, huh?" " I know." "So..." "I got your, sign-off to push this waterfront through committee?" "I don't know." "In times of fiscal crisis like this," "I don't want to appear to be irresponsible." "I'd need assurances that the project was gonna be marketed the right way." " You got it." " No." "You're not the developer." "I should..." "I should really talk with the developer." "You're a hell of a guy to track down." "Well, the lawyer says I gotta lay low." "But, it's no big deal." "Help me understand what's happening here." "I pay my protection to Michael." "I pay on time." "Only instead of protection, he shoves a pen in my hand and makes me sign over my land." "Where is any of this my business, Danny?" "He's taking my livelihood." "I'll give you a 50% bump on the monthly." "Just get him to call off the sale." "You wearing a fuckin' wire, you prick?" " You're on your own with this one." " But, Freddie..." "Do you think Michael Caffee would move on you without my sign-off?" "If he shits on your head or kicks your dog, it's because I gave it my blessing." "Now get out of here." "Get the fuck out of here, I said." "Detective Giggs, chief investigator of a house committee" "looking into corruption in the awarding of state contracts." "Aren't you a lucky bastard." "I have an accident report here stating that you offered representative Janakowski a $500 bribe" "in return for a bid on the awarding of some, environmental cleanup contract." " $500?" " It also states that he reported you to the state police that let you off with a warning." "And?" "I'm just following up on some paperwork." "Can you tell me if the story's right, so I can move on to the next miserable item on my miserable fuckin' agenda?" "Your representative is a lying cocksucker." "So, you didn't offer him a bribe?" "I gave that asshole $10,000." "He told the state police it was 500, and then he used them to run me off while he pocketed my money." "So, you, you're admitting... to offering a bribe to land a state contract?" "Is there any other way?" "Well, you do know that bribes are illegal, don't you?" "Look." "I don't like keeping double books." "I don't like meeting guys behind dumpsters with envelopes of cash." "The system is fucked." "Fucks like me have to pay the system." "If you don't mind, I would love to take down a couple of notes." " You're gonna write down what I say?" " That's the idea." "Can I use your pen?" "Sure, kid." "Go upstairs, get your sister and you two come back down here and you clean up." "Did you get your reassurances?" "Smart man." "Knows a lot about American history." "Come with me." "So it seems like he's in." "He's in." "He said anything we need, he'll make sure we get it." "Great." "The Speaker was admiring my irons." "Now, I told him..." "I told him I'd let him borrow 'em for a few rounds." "Would you do me a favor and drop them off at his office?" "It'd save me the trip." "How can I be helpful?" "Your hospital sent me four bills for the same procedure." "That's because you're partially covered by two different insurance carriers, and there are gaps in the coverage." "And with one of the policies, there's a PPO arrangement that gets you a preferred rate at a higher deductible, see?" "Look." "Just tell me which of the bills I should pay." "Well, you pay all of them." "Except for the last one, which you've already paid." "I'd check with the main billing office on three." "Good morning." "Any word on your missing buddy, Ellis Franklin?" "Haven't heard anything." "But then..." "I haven't been paying attention, so, I assume they're still looking for him." "Yeah, well..." "Gotta assume the poor bastard's dead at this point, huh?" "Maybe well, there's always hope." "Enjoy the clubs." "Always a pleasure." "Don't overcook those steaks."