"rattled off some cryptic shit about the rent being due... and then he put a slug in his own head." "With that level of Jackson-family-on-crack-type dysfunction... it's no wonder I turned out the way I did." "My name is Malik Bishop and I'm a professional hit man." "Until a month ago, I was the hardest, coldest bastard... to screw a silencer on a pistol." "I know what you're thinking:" ""What kind of a moral existence is that?" ""Professional hit man."" "The way I see it, the world is full of people that, quite frankly, we all could do without." "Some will argue that I'm one of them, but I digress." "I would say that I was a custodian of anthropological refuse." "Meaning, I kill motherfuckers that are worthless." "Which leads me to my current dilemma." "That's my target, Cynda Griffie." "Kind of cute, huh?" "So, check this: 7:00 a.m., she does 30 minutes on the treadmill... followed by yoga, then a hot bath." "Me?" "I do 30 minutes of shadowboxing followed by calisthenics... watching her take a hot bath." "You can see by now that I'm one of those, what you call, complex black men." "Yeah, that's right, I'm complex." "But don't get it twisted." "I'm not like one of those Eric Benet, open-toe-sandal-wearin', poetry-recitin'..." "Jill-Scott-listenin'-to, latte-drinkin', not-afraid-to-cry, snob motherfuckers." "I'm somethin' different." "10:00 p.m., she's writin' in her diary." "I'm writin' in mine." "11:00 p.m., she's hittin' the sack." "So am I." "For all intents and purposes, we're like a married couple." "Which is no good, 'cause when the call comes in..." "I'm supposed to take her off this mortal-fuckin' coil." "And now, I'm havin' doubts." "What the fuck was it?" "A momentary bout of consciousness, maybe?" "It was a lot more." "I trace it back to when I was doing hits for a loud-mouth rock dealer named..." "Frenchy Davis was the number-one employer of downwardly mobile black youths... in the neighborhood." "The area underneath the Sixth Street Bridge was the corporate headquarters." "And he was always lookin' for new executives." "If I say I wanna motherfucker smoked, that's just what the fuck I want... a motherfucker smoked." "These tattoos are shit." "You're a bad nigger, huh?" "You think you got the nuts to put a hole in a motherfucker?" "Who?" " This motherfucker!" "Yo, man, you ain't got to do this." "I've heard stories from the most don't-give-a-fuck killers... 'bout how the first time was the hardest." "You know what?" "I don't even remember the first time." "All I remember was that after I pulled the trigger on that kid..." "I knew it wouldn't be a problem." "I guess, in a strange way, he was my first kill." "No, for real." "Look, man... money is time, time is money." "Let's be on time this time, now." "Please, for me." "Be there on time." "It didn't take long to figure out that I was different from the others." "See, I took my new job serious." "I wanted to study to be the best I could be." "Be on time, now." "You are?" "All right, you gonna be on time." "You fucked up last time..." "All they wanted to do was sit around with the ice grill, get high... gamble and talk a bunch of shit." "I guess they thought I was bitch-made or somethin'." "They didn't know shit about being professional." "Be on time, homey." "Business is money, ain't it?" "It didn't take long for them to learn the benefits of being professional." "They all had that G-style of shootin' where you held a gun sideways... and bucked your arm in and out as you shot... which was a cool-lookin' way to shoot, I guess." "But it wasn't really an effective way to aim." "I called it the "innocent women and children" style of shooting'." "My nigger, Bishop... you's a bad motherfucker, boy." "Motherfuckin' Terminator in this motherfucker." "No, no, motherfuckin' Tony Montana in this motherfucker!" "You understand, nigger?" "You is a bad motherfucker, baby!" "I'm gonna make you my ace motherfuckin' G." "Y'all motherfuckers can learn something from this motherfucker." "See, this motherfucker here, this nigger's got discipline." "Strange-ass motherfucker." "Excuse me?" "Did you say something, motherfucker?" "No, man." " That's what the fuck I thought." "'Cause if you did, I'd have my nigger Bishop waste your ass!" "Raise the fuck up!" "All you motherfuckers, raise up!" "Not you, though." "I want you to stay right here, Bishop." "You're my ace motherfuckin' nigger, G." "You my nigger, baby!" "We gonna make some money, baby!" "I was Frenchy's main nigger after that." "Yeah." "He always kept me close." "He gave me lots of perks." "Everything was gravy until..." "All right, nigger, all right." "Slow down..." "The only person I knew that Frenchy feared... well, not really feared but had to bow down to, was Pretty Nate." "Pretty Nate was an ex-process pimp turned dealer." "He was Frenchy's chief supplier." "Pretty Nate was notorious for being late with shit." "He used to drive Frenchy crazy." "Whatever time that nigger said he would be there... you could bet he was gonna be three to five hours late." "And sometimes, not even show up at all." "But Frenchy couldn't fade him." "He was connected." "Ass motherfucker!" "Goddamn it!" "See, Pretty Nate's problem was bitches." "He had so many hoes on his jock, he felt it was his duty to fuck 'em all." "He's always motherfuckin' late!" "Late-ass nigger!" "I never had that problem myself." "I always had a practical way of dealing' with these hoes." "Frenchy, check this shit here, nigger." "I know this is supposed to be your man and everythin'... but I don't know nobody that be doin' this shit blatantly." "To me, it looks like this nigger's playin'." "If it was my time, you know what I mean?" "My money..." "I'm sayin' this shit's real unprofessional." "Goddamn right, it ain't professional." "Late motherfucker!" "I'm sick of this shit." "Tryin' to play me like I'm a motherfuckin' mark or somethin'!" "This shit's real disrespectful, Frenchy." "Goddamn right, but I'll tell you what, I bet you I get me some motherfuckin' respect today." "Now, you talkin', goddamn it." "You know what, dog?" "As a matter of fact, there goes the bitch-ass nigger right there." "Hey, get this for me." "Frenchy, baby, what's happenin'?" "Hey, Nate." "This is bullshit." "You're late, man!" " Hold this for me." "Thank you." "You had us waitin' out here for five motherfuckin' hours, Nate." "See, what happened, brother, is..." "Tammy was trippin' on some bullshit." "I had to take her to her mama's and you know how that can be." "Hold on, Nate." "You had me and my people out here for five hours over some bitch?" "Bitch?" "Nigger, now I'm not concerned with how I've inconvenienced you." "You'll wait all goddamn day if I want." "What you gonna say about that?" "Nate..." "What was you gonna do?" "You know what, man?" "You don't have to be in my face like that!" "Man!" "What the fuck, man?" "Man, you fucked up, Bishop!" "Do you know what the fuck you just did, nigger?" "Man, look at this bullshit!" "Shit!" "Do you know who the fuck this is?" "Motherfucker, this is Pretty Nate Hubbard, man!" "He wasn't being professional." "Fuck that shit!" "This is our goddamn money, Bishop!" "This motherfucker is Damien Wiles' nigger!" "Do you know who Damien Wiles is?" "Motherfuckin' head enforcer of all the goddamn enforcers." "What you sayin', I ain't being professional?" "Look, man, look." "We, all right, we wasn't being professional." "Man, fuck all that "we" shit!" "That "we" shit's in Divorce Court, motherfucker!" "Bitch-ass niggers!" "I'm straight up professional!" "You're a crazy motherfucker, Bishop!" "We still cool though, right?" "Let's get the fuck outta here, man." "Goddamn it!" "Get the fuck in." "I guess, in retrospect, I wasn't being very professional at all... killin' Pretty Nate like that." "Could've been a subconscious reaction to the angst of workin' a job with no future." "Or, it could've been that lime-green suit was puttin' a hurting on my eyes." "Malik Bishop." "No, that's his name." "Malik Bishop." "Scared?" "Hell motherfuckin' no, I ain't scared of that nigger, all right?" "Look, you know me, Mr. Wiles, I always toe the line." "This is big Frenchy!" "Scared of that motherfucker?" "Well, what you..." "I can hand you the motherfucker's head on a platter, if you want." "It ain't..." "Okay, y'all gonna handle it, okay." "Shit." "Well, all right, okay then." "That motherfucker stepped up to the big leagues." "Nigger, you watchin', you watchin'?" "Don't look at me, look out there, homey." "Good morning, young fella." "How you feeling?" "Sorry we had to clobber you like we did." "Hot dog?" "Come on, these are from Sali's On the Pier." "You know, I have a meat-packing company of my own." "But nobody makes hot dogs as good as Sali's On The Pier." "Go ahead, brother, they're pretty damn good." "All right?" "It's all right." "I know what you're thinking about, right about now." ""When is he gonna kill me?" Right?" "Somethin' like that." "I'm not gonna kill you, kid." "That would be a waste of talent." "So, what's up then?" "Well..." "I'd like to offer you a job." "Wait, you wanna hire me as a hit man in your organization?" "We don't hire hit men." "We hire professionals." "Down." "All right, come here, kid." "Kid, being a professional is more than mastery of weapons." "You need to be a student of the human body." "There is nothing more wondrous or as beautiful as the human body." "It's one of God's greatest creations." "You need to learn every possible way to kill it." "Buddy here is an old pro." "You listen to him." "Remember, whenever you kill from this point on, it is something special." "Make it memorable." "You're not just taking a life, you're undoing one of God's masterworks." "That was some deep shit." "That was some bullshit." ""Undoing God's masterwork."" "Listen to me, kid, you ain't doin' nothing but a job." "Ain't nothing glorious about cleaning up somebody else's shit!" "Now, sit back and let me teach you a thing or two." "Next month wasn't at all what I expected." "I mean, sure, I learned shooting' and shit like that." "But what I mostly learned was poison, anatomy and knife techniques." "But to Buddy, the most important lesson was makin' a good cup of cappuccino." "You've learned a lot this month, kid." "It's about time you got out there." "Damien hooked me up." "So, I gotta get my shit straight." "Do right by him, you know?" " Fuck doin' a good job for Damien!" "Do a good job to get paid." "That's what this shit is all about!" "Make enough money to forget." "Forget what, Old G?" "Everything." "Damien introduced me to rest of his crew." "Damien introduced me to rest of his crew." "I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our family, Malik Bishop." "They made me feel about as welcome as Clarence Thomas at a Black Panther rally." "It's no secret that a professional assassin's life is a lonely one." "It's extremely difficult to find people you can kind of vibe with." "So, it was cool to meet kindred spirits." "Let's see, there was the Black Guard led by Buddy." "He always complained about money and shit." "That's 'cause I ain't got no money!" "Then there was Cisco." "Don't let that baby face fool you." "He was a stone-cold killer." "He punctuated everything he said with:" "Baby!" "You makin' more money than me, baby!" "Sala, he was a freak for that Homicide show." "He insisted that:" "Yaphet Kotto is the finest actor working in films today." "Omar was a martial artist." "He trained in karate and tae kwon do." "He was pretty damn good." "Then there was Vaughn Lo from Pittsburgh who didn't play that shit." "He was always tellin' us:" "Man, I'm from Pittsburgh." "We don't play that shit." "There was the Aryan Nation." "They were white boys that hang out at coffee bars." "Lastly, there were the bitches." "They'd kill us if we called them that." "Who the fuck you callin' a bitch?" "I hope you are hungry." "Yeah, I almost forgot, Herman and Sal." "They ran the Deli." "Damien's disposal company for clients that were supposed to just vanish." "One day, Damien took me into his office to meet his personal guards." "They were supposed to be the baddest of the bad or some shit." "They were paid more money and they were all white boys." "Our client is Melvin McBride." "He's been the biggest threat to our team for years." "Make it look like a home invasion." "Time!" "7:12." "Quick and clean, fellas." "Quick and clean!" "Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Ving Rahmes..." "Yaphet Kotto." " Yaphet Kotto?" "Yep, him too, baby." "Now, what do all these motherfuckers have in common?" "I don't know, nigger." "What?" "They all played opposite white hoes and didn't get no pussy!" "What about Wesley?" "No, he wore Anabellie Scorillie's ass out in Jungle Fever, baby." "It's all part of the white man's conspiracy to keep the black man... outta the white woman's drawers." "Right, baby?" "Yeah, nigger, I'm feelin' your logic." "I'm feelin' you, dog, like in Pelican Brief." "Denzel Washington saved J. Roberts twice, cleared her name... and didn't get any pussy from that bitch!" "See, that's what I'm screamin'." "If that'd been me, Julia would've been fuckin' me." "Hi, can I help..." "Let's go!" "Let's go!" "Grab what you can!" "Time?" " 7:20." "Let's go!" "Time?" "7:45." "You got 15 minutes to get down to Miracle Lanes." "Good luck." "Hey, Ol' G, Buddy?" "Who is this Melvin McBride?" "I mean, why was he such a threat to our team?" "Yeah!" " That's right!" "I know that's right." "Hey, listen, this trophy doesn't just belong to me and the team." "This trophy belongs to all of us!" "Yeah, baby!" "Because in one way or another, you all lent a hand, in one way or another." "Kid, your first job for me, I wanna tell you, you came through like a champ." "Hip, hip, hooray!" "And that was my first job as a professional killer." "Helping to whack some innocent mark and his family... just because he was a ringer of our rival bowling team." "Poor fool died for some stinkin'-ass bowling trophy." "Yeah, baby!" "Well, anyway, Damien was so happy, he bought me a whole new wardrobe." "Some real sharp designer-type shit." "He hooked me up with a fat-ass apartment in the middle of town." "Things was lookin' up for me, partner." "I was makin' more money... and I was startin' to mingle with a higher class of people." "And it was the ugliest nigger I've ever seen." "Seriously, this nigger was so ugly, he looked like a special effect." "You ain't right, man." "Like they went to Florence and Normandie, picked up the ugliest nigger... kidnapped his ass." "Took him back to Lucas Ranch and digitized that nigger." "Can they really do that shit?" "Can they do what?" " Digitize a nigger." "When was the last time you saw a real dinosaur, baby?" "It's all part of the white man's conspiracy..." "And then, she entered." "Pure." "Innocent." "Not fine in that give-you-a-woody sense, but fine in that inner glow... come-breast-feed-my-children sense." "She was like a beautiful bird that just flew into a snake pit or somethin'." "That's when those strange feelings kicked in for the first time." "Now take that nigger you like, Yaphet Kotto." "Do you think he's a good-Iookin' man?" "What the fuck ya'll talking' about?" "I can't believe this shit I'm listenin' to." "Think about it for a minute." "Just think about it for a minute." "What the fuck are ya'll talking' about?" "I bet you would do Yaphet Kotto." " That's an ugly motherfucker, I say." "Hey, Buddy!" "Buddy, hold up!" "What's up, Ghost?" " What's up, Ol' G?" "Check this out." "What's up with that female in there?" "You don't wanna fuck with her no more than you want a blowjob from a rottweiler." "That's Cynda Griffie." "That's Damien's property." "She's different." "You notice that?" "Now, listen to me!" "Get that female outta your mind now!" "You're the only one in this whole business that I like." "But if you try to pursue that female, I may be contracted to smoke you." "And I'll do it 'cause it's my job." "You understand me?" "Man, Buddy, why you flexing'?" "I'm sorry, kid." "Just tryin' to make a point." "Point made." "Listen, man, forget that bitch!" "Go out there and get yourself some unlethal pussy." "Man, it's just I ain't never met no female like that before." "You know what it is that has your nose so wide open?" "What?" "She's the type of person that you don't kill." "She's the type of person that's supposed to live." "Now, you don't meet many of them, but when you do, you know." "Guys like us are not supposed to have a woman like that." "We're trapped men, Ghost." "Prisoners of our own sins." "For you to have a woman like that would make you a free man." "To kill a woman like that would cause you to lose your soul." "What about Damien?" "Damien wants the essence of her but can never have it." "He controls her and that's the difference and he knows it." "What about you?" "Would you smoke her if you was contracted to?" "Yeah." "I'd do it." "Why?" "How come?" "'Cause I lost my soul a long time ago." "I thought long and hard about what Buddy told me." "And, you know what?" "It still didn't make no goddamn sensei" "It did, however, awaken thoughts and feelings that I had long since forgotten." "Have you given any thought to what you wanna be when you grow up?" "An assassin." "Be a good one." "I don't want you teaching my son to kill!" "Don't give me that fuckin' shit!" "You're free now, honey." "It's over." "The rent's past due." "It's eviction time." "Damn!" "This complex black man shit was startin' to weigh on my ass!" "What was it?" "Was a nigger sprung?" "Only time I've ever been twisted over a shorty was with a fine-ass government cleaner..." "I heard of people talk about love at first sight on TVshows and shit." "But, guess what?" "It happened to me." "Well, not exactly." "It was more like lust at first sight or something." "We're talkin' about a deep soul-searching, emotionally stimulating... move-through-your-body- until-your-entire-Iower-half... get-a-woody type of lust." "Yeah." "Hylene was like a female version of me." "And since I knew my shit was John Blaze bliggity..." "I figured she'd be perfect for me." "My mama, what's up?" "What the deal?" "Fuck off." "What if I decide not to just go and fuck off?" "You're playing a dangerous game." "You'll only get yourself hurt." "Hurt?" "What you mean, like my feelings or somethin'?" "No." "Not your feelings." "Baby, do me a favor." "Look into my eyes." "Does it look like I'm scared?" "No, you don't look scared." "A little dumb, maybe." "But not scared." "Look, my name is Bishop." "Malik Bishop." "So you say." " Yeah, I say." "What do you want, Malik Bishop?" "Malik Bishop wants to save you." "To save me?" "Save you from a life of loneliness." "What makes you think I'm lonely?" "Look here, baby, check this out." "See, I know what you're about." "I mean, you walk around here like you all that." "I mean, you're finer than a motherfucker, dress sexy as hell." "You've got your makeup on just right." "You ain't gotta take nothing away, add nothing, it's tight like..." "But, you know what?" "You got this frigid little look in your eye." "And you know what it's tellin' me?" "It's tellin' me that Miss Thing over there is scared." "Afraid." "Afraid of what?" "Afraid of letting' somebody like me in." "'Cause if you did, we'll find all them little skeletons... you got locked away in that little nasty-ass closet of yours." "And once that cat's out the bag, we'll find out basically that you're insecure... alone... and in a desperate need to be loved." "Baby, don't even bother tryin' to refute me, just give me your goddamn number." "That was just about the dumbest shit I've ever heard in my life." "And you were so serious, too." "You were like, "You're afraid to let someone in."" "Mackin' your ass off." "I bet that was your best game." "No, that wasn't my best game." ""All the skeletons in your fuckin' closet."" "It really wasn't that funny." "I'm sorry." "You were being so creative." "You know what?" "Fuck this shit." "I ain't even gotta listen to this." "I'll just leave you with this." "That wasn't my best mack!" "Come on, I wanna hear your best mack." "You wanna hear my best mack?" "Yeah." "Wait, what you tellin' me is that you wanna hear my best mack?" "I wanna hear your best mack." "All right, missy, I got one that works for me every time." "Get down." "Shake that ass and get it loose." "I can see how that would be effective for you." "Yeah, I bet you would." "The mack worked like a charm." "You see, Hylene was the type of girl that just couldn't say no to a nine-millie." "Anyway, that was the beginning of the happiest days of my life." "See, Hylene was a government cleaner, and that was kind of like playin' with fire." "Damien didn't like us kickin' it with the Federalies." "But, what the fuck?" "I was sprung." "Shit, she wouldn't really admit that she worked for the government at all." "She told me she didn't officially work for anybody." "She didn't even officially exist." "Which was actually pretty cool." "'Cause, see, she had a license to kill... and she could smoke almost anybody and get away with it." "But Hylene, she wasn't like that." "See, she had been in the game longer than I had... and it was startin' to get to her." "Sometimes, she'd be away for several weeks at a time." "I'd be going straight crazy while she was gone." "But just like that, she'd return and we'd be inseparable all over again." "Many times when she'd return from a job, she'd shower and wash her hands incessantly... as if tryin' to wash out some dirt that was permanently embedded in her skin." "Then she'd wanna sleep and hold me for hours on end." "You know what?" "For the most part, I couldn't stand for no woman to wanna cuddle up with my ass." "But with Hylene, I didn't mind." "For the first time in my life, I felt I was needed." "It was a good feelin'." "It was different." "She also had me thinkin' about my line of work for the first time." "One day when Hylene was gone, I watched this movie about this old cowboy... that used to be a hard-core killer and now he's a pig farmer." "He goes out on this one last hit." "All through the movie, this fucker's sayin', "I ain't like that no more."" "While these other cowboys are tellin' him what a bad-ass he was back in the day." "All through this movie, I'm waitin' for my man to go off and start smokin' niggers... and when he do, I ain't pumped." "I kind of feel sorry for my man." "All he wanted to do was be like normal folks, but he couldn't get away from that damn rep." "It was a stupid movie." "But it kind of fucked with me." "You ever think about having children?" "You ever think about having children?" "I don't know." "I mean, I never really thought about it much." "I killed a man in front of his children two weeks ago." "Did they make you?" "Who?" " The kids!" "No." "I did it from a rooftop." "Oh, so the kids seen the whole thing." "Damn, that shit had to be tough." "Yeah, it was bad, so bad." "I can't do this anymore." "I want out of the business." "Out." "What you gonna do?" "Just live, I guess." "No, I mean, what you gonna do for a living?" "I don't know... open an art gallery or teach oil painting... or something." "Why?" "I wanna be normal, Malik." "I wanna be like those people on TV... that have families, that go to work and don't kill people." "So do I." "What?" "I mean, I'm down with that." "The whole nine yards." "The house, the kiddies... that little art gallery." "Pre-Raphaelite type thing goin' on there." "The whole nine yards." "You mean it?" "Yeah, the whole nine yards, baby." " Thank you." "She had gotten to me." "Her, that goddamn cowboy movie, and all that shit Buddy told me." "But it was the idea of raising a family that really appealed to me." "Bishop." "Buddy." "Front and center." "Front and center?" "What kind of shit is this?" "This is Herman Fenwick, CPA." "He's ready to turn state's evidence against one of our associates." "We need a good, clean, surgical job on this one." "This guy's got 24-hour protection from the Feds." "This is where they're keeping him." "You guys make a plan, and it's got to be clean." "You've got two days." " Two days?" "How in the fuck are you gonna expect us to pull off surgery in two days?" "You're a pro, Buddy." "Handle it." " This is a bullshit job!" "Do we have a problem here, Buddy?" "If you don't want the job..." "I'll do the job." "With as much money as you're paying me." "Buddy." "Yeah." "We don't have a problem here, do we?" " No problem." "Buddy, don't you think we should case this place out first?" "This is a completely fucked-up job in the first place!" "Two days to pull off a surgical hit!" "Bullshit!" "He will take advantage as long as you let him." "Been doin' it to me for 14 years now." " Hey, you!" "But you know what?" "No more!" "You spend your life working at something to become the best... thinking that you'll move up to a position of power and respect." "But what do you get?" "You get a foot up your ass!" "Damien's runnin' around here talking about:" ""I want you to pull off surgery in two days, but it has to be clean!" ""I want you to kill the Pope, but don't upset the Catholics." ""Buddy..." ""..." "I want you to kill the President, but don't make it a big thing!"" "Get the fuck outta here!" "Oh, my God!" "I'll pay you, I'll pay you!" "If they wanted a surgical hit, they should've given us more time." "Clean surgery, strike my ass." "I'm a hit man." "And I kill motherfuckers!" "And I kill any motherfuckers that get in my way of killing a motherfucker." "Come on, let's go get us some cappuccino." "A fucking bloodbath!" "Do I look like a lonely housewife that pays good money to get fucked?" "Do I?" "I told you I wanted a clean, surgical job." "Just get the client, that's all." "I didn't tell you to go in there and kill six federal agents!" "You gave us two days to plan surgery." "It wasn't enough time." "So, what's the big deal?" "It's just a couple of dead Feds." "The client is dead." "So, fuck it!" "Fuck it?" "Fuck it!" "It's in all the newspapers." "They're investigating the fuck outta this!" "The Attorney General herself said, and I quote:" ""I make this a personal mission to bring all the animals..." ""in for the atrocity that was committed." "They will pay the price."" "If they get to you two, they get to me." " So, what you gonna do?" "Kill me?" "Ain't a goddamn thing you can do that you haven't done... to my black ass in the past 14 years I've been working for you." "Come again?" " You heard me." "The only reason why you gave us that shit job anyway... is because we're black, and you know it!" "I don't believe you're talking like this." "After all we've been through." "I ain't taking no shit from ya'll crackers anymore." "I've been nothing but a friend to you and your people." "If you've been such a friend, how come I ain't in here?" "How come I'm still outside playing cards?" "Is that what this is all about?" "Let me tell you something." "There are no colors around here, mister." "No color lines!" "I'm a believer in the teachings of your great leader... that a man should be judged by his character and not by his color!" "I take black kids off the streets, I clean 'em up, I give 'em a job." "Look at Bishop here." "Look what a fine young man he turned out to be." "You don't know how you hurt me by what you said." "But I tell you what, your evil words are not gonna get me down... because I, like your leader, I have a dream." "And I dream that blacks and whites, and reds and yellows... will be brought together hand in hand as one... and under my divine guidance... we will eliminate racism from this great country of ours." "And any bigot who wants to stand in the way of racial harmony... they'll get so much lead pumped up their fuckin' asses... that their heads will look like day-old pizza!" "Then, we'll descend from the mountaintops into the promised land... in peace and harmony... with me in control." "Kiss my black ass!" "Sick cracker motherfucker." "When will the racism end?" "Damien was definitely one rib short of a slab." "Change was definitely in the air." "Change for Buddy." "Change for Damien." "And change for me." "That afternoon, I watched Buddy self-destruct just like I watched my father self-destruct." "Buddy knew that going up against Damien was like blowing your own brains out." "Damien was a crazy motherfuckerl That's for sure." "Suddenly, the things that Buddy talked about before made sense." "This was a shit jobl" "Hello?" " Hello, kid." "How are you?" "All right." "I was just thinking about you and I thought I'd call." "I want you to know, Bishop..." "I don't blame you for that little incident that happened earlier." "I blame the senior man." "Son, I'm proud of the way you turned out." "You're a good kid." "Thanks." " How's your lady friend, Hylene?" "She's all right." "Yo, how you know about her?" "Listen, kid, you're like a son to me." "And a good father always knows everything that's going on with his son." "I just thought I'd keep in touch and see how you're hangin'." "I'm good." "I'm good." "Good." "I'll see you back at the fort?" "Hey." " Hey." "You hungry?" "I have to go to D.C. on a job." "It's gonna be my last one." "Yeah, it's really gettin' to be about that time." "This is what I think we should do:" "When I get back, we should just leave." "Don't tell anybody anything." "Just go." "I got a whole lot of loot saved up." "Might get a little island off the shore or somethin'." "Live large for a long time." "I got something for you." "For me?" "You want me to wear this?" " Yeah, it's a matching set." "It symbolizes that my heart is broken whenever I'm away from you." "Look at you." "That's some romantic shit you're talkin'." "Romantic as hell." "I don't know." "I'm seein' candlelight dinner... my boo-boo over here trickin' on jewelry..." "I think you're tryin' to seduce me, Mrs. Robinson." "So, why don't you go over by the bed... and model it for me?" "Why do you need me to model it over there?" "Because I wanna see it on you with nothing else." "Nothing else?" "Nothing else but you, baby." "Why?" "Because if it looks good..." "I'm gonna come over there and fuck the taste outta your mouth." "Shuck it, duck it, quack, quack?" "All righty then, excuse me." "So, tell me, baby, what you think about this?" "It's on." "Shake that ass and get it loose." "You're supposed to be some elite guards?" "You motherfuckers are gonna be some dead guards." "What the fuck?" "Hey, anybody seen Buddy?" " No, he's probably late." "Hit me." "Late?" "Buddy late?" "He's Mr. Punctuality, baby." "Everybody knew what happened to Buddy." "What pissed me off was sittin' here... listenin' to these fools actin' ignorant." "For all I knew, one of them probably pulled the trigger." "Call me when you get home, baby." "Hi, boys." "Hey, Bishop." "And that's when I knew that Damien pulled the trigger." "See, Hylene called me." "She said she'd be back from Washington this evening." "Seemed like her job was being cut short." "She had a quick meeting and she was jumping on the next bird out." "Since it was Thanksgiving, I thought I'd surprise her with dinner." "Now, I don't generally celebrate Thanksgiving in the traditional sense." "I feel the Indians should've gotten their hands on some muskets... and busted some caps in those non-tax-payin', disease-carryin'... land-stealin', sheep-fuckin', punk-ass pilgrims!" "So, instead of turkey..." "I had cornbread, black-eyed peas, greens and ham hocks." "But since I gave up the swine, the ham hocks was out, you know?" "Now, I guess you're wonderin' where I learned how to cook." "Well, I'll tell you:" "It was from Mrs. Brooks... one of the many foster parents that I was shuffled to." "Yeah?" " Garret Hotel, front desk in one half hour." "No, I don't work on holidays." "It says here you work on Sundays and holidays." "I got it right here." "Shit, man, get Sala!" "He works Sundays and holidays!" "A special two-hour Homicide is coming on tonight." "He won't come." "Listen, fuck that!" "Get the Milkman." "He don't even celebrate holidays!" "He's in D.C." "D.C.?" "Every-fuckin'-body in D.C." "How am I gonna get down to some hotel?" "I got greens on right now." "Holiday pay." "So, after a little arm twisting', I decided to do it." "Hell, holiday pay seemed pretty good to me... especially since I was plannin' to disappear after this job." "A little extra padding' in my nest egg wouldn't hurt nobody." "This guy was supposed to vanish." "So I had to set some things up with the Deli." "Who's this?" "Herman, who is it?" "Bishop, how you doin', kid?" "Now here's where shit gets shitty." "I'm gonna go whack Johnny Atwell, a sniveling little dope dealer... with a bad toupee and breath that smells like butt crack." "At least that's what the profile had on him." "I heard that he owed somebody a lot of scrilla... somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.5 million." "That's a pretty expensive neighborhood to live in." "You bring the fuckin' steak sauce?" "Oh, shit!" "Fuck face, I got your steak..." "Oh, shit!" "Fuck!" "This was starting to turn into a complete cluster-fuck." "No one told me he was shacking' up with some bitch." "I had to get Herman and Sal to make a pickup." "Damnl" "Hi, this is Herman." " And this is Sal." "The Deli is closed for the holiday, but we will be open on Monday at 9:00 a.m." "Try our specialty smoked meats." "There's nothing like it in town." "Remember, meat is the treat that can't be beatl" "Now, hit the red button, Sal." "Herman, Sal, pick up the goddamn phone!" "Pick it up, goddamn itl" "So now I had to drive home, take my cornbread out." "Just in time." "The cornbread was perfect." "The greens was still cookin' nicely, but they weren't ready yet." "You don't wanna cook them too long 'cause they get slimy." "I knew they were gonna need some fat for seasoning." "I tried the Deli again." "Hey, who's this?" "Where'd you guys go?" "I just called there 15 minutes ago!" "Herman, who is it?" "We had to make a quick run." "Real important stuff." "Look, look, whatever." "I need ya'll to come to the hotel and make a pickup." "Look, you gotta make the drop-off, kid." "We're really busy here." "We're up to our necks." "Ya'll are not gonna go down there and make that pickup?" "No can do." "Doing something special for the boss." "You know what?" "This is real fucked up!" "You know you guys almost made me burn my cornbread, right?" "Right?" "What?" "You're makin' cornbread?" "Cornbread?" "Yeah." "So?" "You put any pork in it?" "No, I don't eat swine." "I'm makin' cornbread." "You mean crackling' bread." "Jiffy or scratch?" " What?" "The crackling' bread." "Jiffy or scratch?" "Didn't I just tell you?" "I'm not makin' goddamn crackling' bread." "Ya'll don't listen to nothin'!" "You know, you should always put the crackling' bread on last." "Fuck!" "Touchy kid." "Herman, who was that?" "Herman was right in one way." "I should've put the cornbread on last." "That way, it'd be piping' hot when dinner was served." "What the fuck was I thinking?" "Anyway, I knew I had to take a chance, so I went back to the hotel room... with another bag and got both bodies." "I knew that I would have to go check my black-eyed peas." "You don't wanna overcook them." "They get all mushy." "Oh, shit!" "Fat for my greens!" "My black-eyed peas were doing fine." "My cornbread was nice and brown." "But my greens!" "I needed something to replace the ham hocks." "See, a lot of people like to roll with smoked turkey... but nothing is better than cooking your collard greens with fat." "That's old school there." "Real old school." "Anyhoo, I knew that I had to get the meat soon... 'cause if you get it in too late, the greens turn slimy... before any of the flavor gets in." "I decided to take a chance and get some hocks from the Deli." "It was gettin' late and Hylene would be home soon." "Fuck it, I guess I could handle some swine for one day." "You made a wise choice goin' with the hocks." "These greens are gonna be something special." "I got home in plenty of time to prepare for dinner with Hylene." "I added the hocks to the greens and checked the peas." "The peas were the shit!" "That's the shit." "The greens came out perfect." "See, I nuked... the cornbread a little to get it hot and steamy and set the table." "All I had to do was sit back and wait for my boo to arrive." "It's about to be on." "Hylene never showed." "Her plane arrived on time but she wasn't on it." "After a couple of days, I called every government department in Washington, D.C." "No one ever heard of her." "It was like she said:" "she didn't exist." "I knew what happened to her." "Damien had her whacked and there was nothing I could do about it." "I broke the rules and I got spanked for it." "That's the name of the game." "I guess that's what I get for tryin' to break free of the life." "Now I understood what Buddy told me." "I was a prisoner of my own sins." "My only escape was in a pine box." "Man, you know what, they need to give Yaphet Kotto an Oscar." "You know what I'm sayin'?" "'Cause why did they give one to Denzel..." "Bishop!" "Sala, Omar, front and center." "This is Cynda." "You've all probably seen her." "She's my fiancee." "And I think that she's been cheating on me." "I want you guys to find out." "Sala, you and Bishop follow her during the day." "Find out where she goes, when and with who." "Omar, you keep an eye on her in her apartment." "Damien, can me and Omar switch up?" "Yeah, if it's all right with Omar." "Never fall in love, guys." "Love hurts." "Yeah?" " Wake up, kid." "Today's the day. 9:00 p.m. Fulfill that contract, unless I call you." "If that phone rings again, it's off." "You understand?" "Yeah." "If she leaves that apartment, fulfill the contract." "I'm gonna call her now and make sure she knows not to leave." "You remember what I said?" "Yeah. 9:00 p.m., do it." "She leaves, do it." "Phone rings, don't do it." "Say it again." "9:00 p.m., do it." "She leaves, do it." "Phone rings, don't do it." "Good." "Oh, no!" "Fuck me." "Fuck." "Fuck!" "Open the door!" "Got a light?" "You're new." "What'd you say?" "You're new." "New what?" "Not one of the ones that usually follows me." "Lady, I don't know what you're talking about." "Ain't nobody following' you." "Yeah, right." "So what's your story?" "Here to kill me?" "Go ahead." "Put it right here." "I'm better off dead anyway." "It's better off than being a slave." "Guess you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" "What the fuck was I thinkin'?" "It's not fucked." "It's okay." "It's okay." "Relax." "Relax." "It's cool." "It's cool." "All right, where you at?" "You fucked up now." "You got this motherfucker mad, girl." "Maybe I don't shoot her." "Maybe I don't shoot her." "Maybe we could vanish." "Fuck!" "So, this is what it all comes down to?" "Me about to put a slug into a woman whose only crime was being loved... by a nutcase gangster, wanna-be white-Martin-Luther-King on crack." "And now, all those feelings was comin' out strange and foreign... forcing' their way outta me like a bad-ass burrito or somethin'." "Was it love?" "Did I love this woman?" "Did my whole life boil down to a question of love or a bullet?" "She's the type of person that's supposed to live." "9:00 p.m., fulfill that contract." "She's the type of person you don't kill." "'Till one day, he comes for her." "9:00 p.m., fulfill that contract." "She's the type of person that's supposed to live." "For you to have a woman like that would make you a free man." "And that's when I realized what it was." "It wasn't no love, it was compassion." "Empathy for another human." "Something I'd never felt before." "And for one fleeting moment, I knew what it was like... to be a real human being." "You're free." "If what Buddy said was true, then I just swapped my soul for hers." "Enjoy heaven, baby, because I'm on my way to hell." "Yeah?" " Bishop!" "Where the hell have you been?" "Did you get the signal?" "Yeah, I got it." "Good." "Okay, pack up the stuff and get the hell outta there." "I'll see you at the office tomorrow." "How's Cynda?" "Cynda?" "She dead." "What the fuck you talking about, she's dead?" "Didn't you tell me you got the signal?" "I did get it, but I killed her anyway." "How could you do this to me after all I did for you?" "You fuckin' black ape!" "You fuckin' nigger!" "You're dead!" "You're so fuckin' dead!" "When I get finished with you... they're gonna have to scrape your fuckin' nigger ass off the sidewalkl" "When will all this racism end, homey?" "Come on back here, bitch!" "I got you now, motherfucker!" "I'm from Pittsburgh, baby." "We don't play that running' shit!" "You think you're God now, huh?" "Yeah, motherfucker!" "You're a bad one?" "After sending Damien to the mountaintop..." "I went on the lam and spent the next couple of days nursing my shoulder." "I got some new gear and prepared to blow town." "I figured, if I was goin' to hell, I might as well stop off in Vegas first." "But I needed something blazin' to get me there." "So where you been?" "Around." "What happened?" " Your boss tried to have me smoked." "And?" " Unfortunately for him, his man had no skills." "None of them got no skills." "They're all dead." "As a matter of fact, he was so impressed, he put me on the payroll." "And contracted you to smoke me?" " I'm plan B." "You know that melodramatic motherfucker been dead... for a couple of days now, right?" "It sucks to be him." "And you're gonna fulfill the contract anyhow, huh?" "That would be the professional thing to do." " Ain't that a bitch?" "We have what could be considered a conundrum." "A co-what?" " A conundrum." "A puzzle." "My work ethic is in direct conflict with my maternal sensibilities." "You know what I'm sayin'?" " I don't even know what the fuck you just said." "Let me break it down for you." " Let it be broke." "I'll give you a chance to do right by your responsibility." "Nigger, what?" "Is it mine?" "Wait, baby, I'm just playin'." "Your belly is bigger than your gun." "You can't do hits in this condition." "You try waking' up with morning sickness and see if you don't feel like killin' someone." "But that's beside the point." "The point is this:" "You can either take care of your responsibility... or I'll put some hot shit in that cerebral cortex... and do the single parent thing." "Girl, if you don't get that goddamn gun off my head..." "What's wrong with you?" "Baby, I missed you." " I missed you, too." "Look at my..." "Look at the little package down there." "Come on, you." " You ready?" "Let's step." " Let's get up outta here, baby." "This is you?" "No, this is Damien's car right here, baby." "But he ain't gonna need it where his dead stiff ass is." "Good." "I'll drive." " No, you won't." "In that condition?" "Sit your fat ass over there and be driven." "I was in good enough condition to put some heat on that head a minute ago." "You don't know, you was two seconds away from getting my baby and you smoked!" "You don't even have skills like that." "Maybe I wasn't goin' to hell right away." "Maybe I was given a second chance." "A chance to make right by society." "We could do all the things we talked about: marriage... little kiddies, art gallery, the whole nine yards." "We were gonna be normal people who woke up and went to work... and don't have to kill people." "We were gonna be just like you." "Yeah, right!"