FADE IN:
1 INT. JAKE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - CLOSE ON ALARM CLOCK - 1
PREDAWN (4:59 AM)
In a Santa Clarita housing tract. It's dark.
WIDER ANGLE
Eyes glisten in the clock's shine, patiently watching the time.
BZZZZ! The ALARM SOUNDS. A hand that's been hovering over the clock drops. Silence. JAKE HOYT, a fit young man, rolls over, throws an arm over his sleeping wife --
JAKE
It's time.
-- she's not there, just empty blankets. He sits up, sporting a scraggly goatee, his hair growing out.
HIS POV
Lisa, his wife, in a rocking chair in the corner.
BACK TO SCENE
Jake is surprised. How'd she sneak off?
JAKE
What are you doing up?
She pulls back the blanket, she breast-feeds their infant daughter.
LISA
Mooooo.
She lavishes kisses on her baby.
CUT TO:
2 INT. JAKE'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - CLOSEUP - BRASSO - DAWN 2
is squirted on terry cloth. A badge is rubbed against it in precise circles.
WIDEN TO:
Jake in T-shirt and jeans, studies the gleaming badge, snaps it in its case, clips it to his belt. He tosses a duffel on the counter. Searches through the police gear. Lisa taps a police baton on his shoulder. He takes it.
JAKE
Thanks
LISA
Wrong day to forget stuff.
Everyone's saying how lucky you are. Don't screw this up.
He gives her a look, shoves it in the bag.
JAKE She go back to sleep?
LISA Mmm-hmm. Ate like a pig.
Jake does a final check of gun belt. Inspecting his Beretta and magazines.
JAKE
I know how lucky I am. I ace this
assignment. Department's wide open. Get my own division someday. You should see those guys' houses.
She grabs a pack of English muffins. Jake catches his reflection in a mirror, rubs his chin. He doesn't like the way he looks. Next to the mirror is his police academy graduation photo -- Clean-cut, almost adolescent. Lisa plays with his goatee, she likes it.
LISA
Want some eggs for the road?
JAKE
I gotta roll. Gotta beat the
traffic.
He shoves his gun belt in the duffel. Zips it shut. He grabs a pressed uniform off a chair, and his police hat, wrapped in plastic. He kisses Lisa's cheek, her neck, her lips. Heads to the door. The PHONE RINGS. Jake stops. Lisa answers.
LISA
Hello?
(beat, laughs)
How nice, thank you. (beat, giggles)
I will, don't worry.
Jake looks at her, wondering who the hell is making his wife giggle so much.
LISA
He's right here.
(to Jake)
Jake. It's Alonzo.
Jake reacts, steels himself and takes the phone.
JAKE
Hello?
AONZO (V.O.)
Hoyt?
JAKE
Yessir?
ALONZO (V.O.)
On your way to roll call?
JAKE
Yessir. I'm out the door right
now.
ALONZO (V.O.)
Hoyt.
JAKE
Yessir?
ALONZO (V.O.)
Patrol fairies go to roll call.
We don't go to roll call.
JAKE
Yessir.
ALONZO (V.O.)
There's a coffee shop at 7th
and Witmer. See you there at ten. Be in civvies. Comfortable shoes. Got a back-up gun? Something pocket-sized?
JAKE
Nossir. Just my department
issue service pistol.
ALONZO (V.O.)
Bring it. Cuffs, too. We're
gonna be in the office all day, but who knows, maybe we'll do some business. We're an aggressive unit.
JAKE
I know. That's why I signed up.
I want to thank you for giving me the oppor --
-- CLICK! Alonzo hangs up. Jake too. He stands there, grabs his nervous stomach.
LISA
What's wrong?
JAKE
Feel like it's football tryouts.
Wish it was tomorrow so I'd know already if I made his squad or not.
LISA
It's not tomorrow. It's today.
And it's gonna work out. I know it will.
JAKE
I gotta relax.
Lisa looking at him. He gets an idea, snuggles up to her.
JAKE
Don't have to show up until ten.
She breaks the embrace -- sore breasts -- Ouch!
JAKE
Soon they'll be mine again.
Jake chases them with cupped hands as she retreats, giggling. Their game.
CUT TO:
3 INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY 3
Old and tired, near Good Samaritan Hospital. Jake struts through the door, confidently looks around.
JAKE'S POV
DETECTIVE SERGEANT ALONZO HARRIS, in black shirt, black leather jacket. And just enough platinum and diamonds to look like somebody. He reads the paper in a booth. The gun leather-tough LAPD vet is a hands-on, blue-collar cop who can kick your ass with a look.
BACK TO SCENE
Jake walks over. Slides in across. Alonzo's eyes will never leave his newspaper.
JAKE
Good morning, sir.
A young waitress pours Jake coffee, offers a menu. Jake waves it away.
JAKE
I'm okay, ma'am. Thank you.
ALONZO
Have some chow before we hit the
office. Go ahead. It's my dollar.
JAKE
No, thank you, sir. I ate.
ALONZO
Fine. Don't.
Alonzo turns the page. A long beat. Then:
JAKE
It's nice here.
ALONZO
May I read my paper?
JAKE
I'm sorry, sir... I'll get some
food.
ALONZO
No. You won't. You fucked that
up. Please. I'm reading. Shut up.
Jake does -- Jeeez, sorry. Pours a ton of sugar in his coffee.
TIME CUT TO:
4 INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY 4
The waitress pours refills. Alonzo reads. Jake fidgets.
JAKE
Sure wouldn't mind not roasting
in a hot black and white all summer.
Alonzo sighs, carefully folds his paper. Glares at Jake.
ALONZO
Tell me a story, Hoyt.
JAKE
My story?
ALONZO
Not your story. A story. You
can't keep your mouth shut long enough to let me finish my paper. So tell me a story.
JAKE
I don't think I know any stories.
Alonzo waves the paper in Jake's face.
ALONZO
This is a newspaper. And I know
it's ninety percent bullshit but it's entertaining. That's why I read it. Because it entertains me. If you won't let me read my paper, then entertain me with your bullshit. Tell me a story.
JAKE
A real one or should I make one
up?
ALONZO
(sighs)
Where'd you do your probation?
JAKE
Van Nuys.
ALONZO
Right. The Valley. No cute
little anecdotes about writing underage smoking cites at the shopping mall?
Jake thinks. Bingo! He's got it.
JAKE
There was this D.U.I. stop.
ALONZO
A D.U.I. stop. Wow. Go on.
JAKE
We were on the mid-watch.
ALONZO
We? You and...?
JAKE
Debbie.
ALONZO
Debbie? The hell's Debbie?
JAKE
My training officer. Debbie Maxwell --
ALONZO
-- Your T.O. was female?
JAKE
Yessir.
ALONZO
She white? Black?
JAKE
White.
ALONZO
She dyked out or she any good?
JAKE
She's pretty good.
ALONZO
(he's hooked)
So you and Debbie are pullin' a mid-watch?
JAKE
Right. It's a real quiet night.
A yawner. We're rolling on Vanowen. I'm driving. And this Acura, just a beautiful car, comes out a side street. In excess. All over the median. So I light it up and hit the wailer. Guy drives on like I'm invisible for ten blocks before he pulls over. Plates ran clean. Debbie covers as I approach. Driver's this huge white guy. Can barely keep his eyes open. I field test and arrest and I'm belting him in our unit. Debbie's tossing his car. She calls me to the vehicle and shows me a snubbed .38 and two shotguns, all loaded and locked.
ALONZO
No shit?
JAKE
No shit. She calls our supervisor
and I keep searching. I find five hundred grams of meth in the dash. Turns out our D.U.I. was on bail for distribution. He was on his way to smoke his ex-partner before trial.
(proudly)
We prevented a murder.
Alonzo is astonished.
ALONZO ... amazing...
Jake beams -- some story, huh?
ALONZO
You're driving around the Valley
with a fine bitch in your car for a year and the most entertaining story you got is a drunk stop? Never hit her up for some Code X in the back seat? Didn't tap it?
JAKE
I have a wife.
ALONZO
You also have a dick.
Alonzo shakes his head in disgust. Jake is crushed.
ALONZO
Let's go.
Alonzo tosses a fifty on the table. OFF his heavy wedding band we --
CUT TO:
5 EXT. COFFEE SHOP - PARKING LOT - DAY 5
Jake and Alonzo crossing. Alonzo sizes Jake up.
ALONZO
You walk and talk like a damn
cop.
Alonzo stops at:
G-RIDE
A narc-machine supreme. A clean, black 1978 Monte Carlo on nice rims.
ALONZO
Gimme that menu.
Jake pulls a Chinese menu from under the wiper. Hands it to Alonzo, who folds and pockets it.
ALONZO
Get in. S'unlocked.
Jake admires the car, climbs in.
6 INT. G-RIDE/EXT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY 6
Jake buries his shoes in beer cans and coffee cups. Alonzo twists the key and pumps the hell out of the gas. After a beat, the ENGINE CATCHES -- VROOM!
JAKE
This isn't from the motor pool.
ALONZO
Don't worry. My baby puts out
when she has to.
Alonzo rubs the dash lovingly.
JAKE
Where's the office? Back at
Division?
Alonzo hits the switches and the G-Ride is raised by hydraulics.
ALONZO You're in it.
Jake reacts. Then smiles -- This is kinda cool.
A7 INT. G-RIDE (7TH STREET) - MOVING - DAY A7
Alonzo SQUEALS out of the lot. They pass the formidably- stylish Metropolitan Detention Center.
ALONZO
Rover's in the glove box. Wanna
ten-eight us?
JAKE
Yessir.
ALONZO
Shitcan the sirs. I'm not your
domestic violence awareness instructor.
Jake takes a Motorola radio from the glove box.
JAKE
What's our I.D.?
ALONZO
Nora fifteen.
JAKE
(into Motorola)
Nora fifteen, ten-eight.
DISPATCH (V.O.)
Nora fifteen, ten-twenty.
Jake checks the street signs -- 7th and Broadway. Before he can tell Dispatch,
Alonzo snatches the Motorola as he makes a left on Broadway.
ALONZO (into rover)
Nora fifteen, South on Rampart at Beverly.
DISPATCH (V.O.)
Ten four.
Alonzo tosses Jake the rover.
ALONZO
Bad guys are listening. Don't
trust the radios. Never let anyone know where you're really at. Ever.
Jake nods and smiles -- makes sense.
7 INT. G-RIDE (BROADWAY) - MOVING - DAY 7
Heading north on Broadway in downtown LA. It could be San Salvador or Guatemala City. Jake is mesmerized by the crowds.
JAKE
This looks like the Third World.
ALONZO
It's my world.
Jake notes several men making hand signs as they pass.
JAKE
They're flashing gang signs.
ALONZO
They're selling micas. Fake
I.D.s. Green cards, licenses, socials.
Alonzo gives Jake a fatherly look, lights a smoke. Settles in his seat.
ALONZO
Today's a training day. Gonna
show you around, give you a feel for the business. I have thirty- eight cases pending trial. I have sixty-three active investigations. There's another three hundred and fifty cases on the log I can't clear. I'm supervising five officers. That's five different personalities, five different sets of problems. You, Officer Hoyt, if you got the guts to succeed, will be number six. I don't have time to baby-sit or hold hands. You have one day to show me who you are and what you can or cannot handle. You can't hack narcotics, feel free to work a pussy desk chasing bad checks. Hear me, Officer Hoyt?
JAKE
I hear you.
ALONZO
Good. Gonna show you reality.
Think you can handle it?
JAKE
Yeah.
ALONZO
Why you wanna be a narc?
JAKE
I want to serve my community by
ridding it of dangerous drugs.
Alonzo gives him a look -- Don't b.s. me.
JAKE
I wanna make detective.
The boy is ambitious. Alonzo likes that. As they cruise down Broadway, a black and white up the street does a sudden U-turn.
ALONZO
Stick with me and you will. If
you can unlearn the bullshit they've filled your head with. You gonna be passing out baseball cards and carrying old ladies' groceries like the rest of the newfucks Washington's flooded the streets with?
JAKE
I'll do anything you want me to
do.
ALONZO
Good. Roll your window down.
Can't hear the street.
Jake does.
ALONZO
Stand by, because narcotics ain't
about staying in the car and looking good. I bet you write great paper, Hoyt.
(before Jake can answer)
You do. I checked it out. Cover your area, cover your ass, but not necessarily in that order, right?
JAKE
Right.
The two cops from the black and white have their guns drawn on five hardcore cholos with tats on their shoulders and heads. A white cop screams at them in English, then switches to Spanish as his partner pours beer on a cholo's head.
ALONZO
How's the Espanol?
JAKE
Mas o menos.
ALONZO
Work on it. People'll be plotting
the worst kind of shit behind your back.
JAKE
Right. Are you going to teach me
that old school, hard-charging, beat up everything that moves Rodney King shit?
ALONZO
No way. I'm the new breed. I use
this...
(taps his head)
This is my tool.
The G-Ride crosses the 1st Street Bridge, revealing Echo Park spread before them.
A8 INT. G-RIDE (1ST STREET BRIDGE) - MOVING - DAY A8
ALONZO
How long you been married?
JAKE
A year.
ALONZO Gotta kid, right?
JAKE
(smiles)
A nine-month-old girl.
ALONZO
I got four kids. All boys. You
want a son, lemme know. I'll do your old lady up. I can't miss.
Jake angers, although he knows he is being tested.
JAKE
Let's not talk about my family.
ALONZO
It's cool. I can respect that.
I'm married. I have my queen, too. I remember what it's like to have a pretty young bride. Bet you still fuck her face-to-face.
JAKE
(clenched teeth)
Can we not talk about my wife?
ALONZO
Kick back, kid... You're so in
love it's comin' out your eyes. The day you bring the old lady to the office is the day you don't go home. If you don't hide your love deep inside, maggots out here will find it and chew it up.
Jake realizes Alonzo is right. Alonzo hands him a card.
ALONZO
That's our Chaplain, Lieutenant
Conelly. Give him a call. Invite him and his wife over for dinner. He's a good guy and no dumbshit. You and your woman need any kinda help, call him. I'm serious.
Jake takes the card. Kind of smiles.
JAKE
Thanks. I will.
They cruise a beat.
JAKE
Who's Mr. Clean?
Alonzo nails him with surprised look.
ALONZO
Where the hell you hear that?
JAKE
From a Valley Robbery Detective.
Told me to ask you that.
ALONZO
(smiles, shakes his head)
Asshole.
8 EXT. G-RIDE (NETO'S STREET) - DAY 8
Alonzo pulls onto a street of dense apartments. Parks along the curb.
JAKE
What's here?
ALONZO
Transactions... See the
Salvatrucha zero head on the fence, trying not to look like he's slangin'?
Jake looks, sees a young, bald cholo, Neto, just hanging out.
ALONZO
That's Neto. Homeboy did three
years in the boyna roja. Red beret.
JAKE
What's that?
ALONZO
Batallon de accion rapida Atlacatl.
(off Jake's look)
El Salvadoran special forces. Punk's only seventeen and can kill with the best of them. Works for me.
JAKE
Jesus. He an informant?
ALONZO
I got eyes everywhere. He gets to
peddle reefer, make a little cash for the family. I get a heads-up when shit goes down. The barrio dot com.
JAKE
And you trust him?
ALONZO
Goddamn right I trust him. Sprung
his mom from I.N.S. detention.
Alonzo watches his mirror, perks up.
ALONZO
Here we go.
INSERT - MIRROR
A new VW Beetle pulls onto the street, moving slow.
BACK TO SCENE
The VW passes the G-Ride. Jake glimpses three people inside, two guys in front, a girl in back. Hipster university students.
ALONZO
Shit's going down.
JAKE'S POV
The VW stops. Neto looks around, crosses to the driver's window, a drink cup in hand. Neto plucks a foil pack from the cup. Trades it for the driver's ten.
BACK TO SCENE
Neto walks away, disappears into some apartments.
ALONZO
See the hand-to-hand?
JAKE
I saw it.
The VW drives off, fast. Alonzo pulls out. Follows it.
ALONZO
When was your last felony stop?
JAKE
Couple weeks ago.
ALONZO
You need practice.
JAKE
They look like college kids.
ALONZO
They need a lesson. I want the
Brady Bunch grabbing glass. I got front. You got back.
Alonzo pulls his gun. Jake reaches for the Motorola.
ALONZO
Stay off the rover.
Jake puts it away, pulls his gun. Alonzo stomps the gas. The G-Ride HOWLS. The VW is at the corner, about to turn--
9 EXT. G-RIDE/VW BUS AT STREET CORNER - DAY 9
SCREEEEEECH! -- Alonzo slaloms to a stop, blocking its path. His pistol aimed through Jake's window at the DRIVER.
ALONZO
Police! Lemme see your hands!
Jake draws a bead on the girl in back.
JAKE
Police officers! Your hands!
The kids gawk at the two narcs for a stunned beat.
JAKE
Don't look at us! Look straight
ahead!
ALONZO
Driver and right front passenger!
Palms on the windshield!
JAKE
You in the back! Palms on the
side window! Look straight ahead!
ALONZO
Driver! Use your left hand, put
the vehicle in park.
The Driver is mortified because:
DRIVER
... it's a stickshift...
ALONZO
Shut up, dickhead! I'll shoot
your face off! Take the keys out of the ignition. Throw 'em out the window!
The Driver does, quickly, as Alonzo jumps from the car, charges the Driver, shoves the gun in his face. These are just scared kids. The girl tries not to cry.
ALONZO
Fork it over, smartman.
DRIVER
What, sir?
Alonzo grabs his ear, tugs violently.
ALONZO
The marijuana I just watched
you purchase!
The Driver hands over the foil pack.
PASSENGER
I'm very sorry, sir. I didn't
know he was bringing me here.
ALONZO
Shut up, dumbass. You're here
now! Gimme that pipe!
There's an ornate pot pipe on the floor mat. The PASSENGER picks it up. Reluctantly hands it to Alonzo.
PASSENGER
My mom gave me that pipe.
ALONZO
What else you got?
DRIVER
Cigarettes...?
ALONZO
Gimme those too.
He gives him a squished packed of Marlboro reds. The kids realize Alonzo isn't your average cop. The girl sees Neto standing down the block like nothing is going on. She lowers her hands -- bad move.
ALONZO
Control your suspect, Hoyt!
JAKE
Miss! Palms on the glass!
Alonzo sees her lip quiver.
ALONZO
Cry and I slap the eyes outta your
face!
Back to the Driver.
ALONZO
You aware this is a gang
neighborhood?
That gives him pause -- no kidding -- Alonzo grabs his ear again, shakes.
ALONZO
I see you here again, I take your
car. You can walk home while your girlfriend pulls a homeboy train... Hear me, reefer addict?
DRIVER
Yes, sir.
ALONZO
Thank you for your coopoeration -- Safe your iron.
ON VW
Jake holsters his gun. Follows Alonzo to the G-Ride. The kids lower their hands.
ON G-RIDE
Alonzo and Jake climb in. As they drive away, the girl nails Jake with a look of revulsion. Jake reacts.
CUT TO:
10 INT. G-RIDE (NETO'S NEIGHBORHOOD) - MOVING - DAY 10
Alonzo laughing. Jake didn't like what happened. It shows.
JAKE
Was that training? How to roust
students for dime bags?
ALONZO
They have no business being here.
Sooner or later that little smart- ass white boy college puke is gonna get jacked. I saved his life.
JAKE
Taught him a real lesson.
ALONZO
Sure did, buy your shit on campus.
(beat)
I like your moves. Someone
trained you well.
Jake smiles to himself. Alonzo opens the foil, sniffs --
ALONZO
Shitty dime. Check it out.
He hands it to Jake. Who takes out a bud.
ALONZO
See the small hairs? The
undeveloped seeds. How it's all stems?
Jake nods.
ALONZO
It was picked immature. See how
flat it is? Classic brick-pack Mexican. See how brittle it is? It's not bud season. It's from last year.
Jake is amazed. Alonzo snatches the bud, crumbles it in the pipe, tosses aside seeds.
ALONZO
To be truly effective, a narcotics
detective must know and love narcotics. A good narcotics detective should have narcotics in his blood.
JAKE
You going to smoke that?
Alonzo smiles devilishly, offers Jake the pipe.
ALONZO
You are.
JAKE
Hell if I am.
ALONZO
What? You a Mormon? A Jesus
freak?
JAKE
No. I'm not losing my job.
ALONZO
(re: the pipe)
This is your job.
JAKE
I can't do it.
ALONZO
This isn't some kind of test.
Take a damn hit.
JAKE
I became a cop to keep people from
using that poison.
ALONZO
(laughs)
This ain't a review board. We ain't doing rails. Just leafy green bud.
Jake stands firm, shaking his head.
11 EXT. G-RIDE/ROGER'S NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY 11
SCREECH! Alonzo stops in the middle of the street, pulls his gun, jams it in Jake's ear. CARS behind them HONK.
ALONZO
If I was a dealer, you'd be dead.
Turn shit down on the street and the Chief hands your wife a crisply-folded flag.
Jake stares stubbornly at Alonzo. Alonzo pockets the gun. Lights the lighter. And takes a huge hit, blows smoke in Jake's face.
ALONZO
I don't want you in my unit. Not
even my division. Go back to Valley. Get the fuck out of my car.
A staring contest. Jake decides to play the game.
JAKE
... Okay...
He takes the pipe, takes an absolutely huge hit --
ALONZO
Alright. That's how it's done,
son.
-- And is racked with a spasm of coughing.
ALONZO
Betrayed by your virgin lungs.
Jake takes another hit -- a passing driver watches -- blows the smoke in Alonzo's face. Alonzo laughs, resumes driving, takes a hit. They pass the pipe around a few times before Alonzo tosses it on the dash.
It's cashed.
ALONZO
A12 INT. G-RIDE (ECHO PARK) - DAY A12
They cruise in a strange otherworldly silence. Jake is clearly messed up, his head lolls from side to side.
ALONZO
Shit, you took some man-sized
hits. You gonna be okay? When's the last time you smoked out?
JAKE
... Twelfth grade...
B12 INT. G-RIDE (SUNSET BOULEVARD) - DAY
ALONZO
Left that out of your service
jacket. Knew you had secrets, everyone does. Didn't know you dig dusters.
JAKE
What are dusters?
ALONZO
You know, dusted bud. Dippers?
C'mon, dipped in P.C.P. Primos. Sherm, kool, P-dog, angel dust... Didn't you smell it? Taste it?
JAKE
(horrified)
... I've never done it...
ALONZO
Now you have. Remember the smell
for next time. Think I'd inhale that shit?
Jake is scared as hell, pale, sweaty.
JAKE
Oh, no. No. No. No.
ALONZO
Gonna kick the shit out of Neto.
Motherfucker's lacing crappy bud to get that unsuspecting return client. Hell with his mom, I'm deporting the bitch.
JAKE
I'm gonna get piss tested. I'm
gonna get fired.
ALONZO
Lieutenant's got our backs. We
know a week before we piss.
JAKE
(panicking)
Shit. How could you do this to me? Shit. Shit. Shit!
Alonzo slams an elbow across Jake's throat.
ALONZO
Chill and ride the high. You're an adult. You chose to smoke. Live with your decisions. You cool?
ALONZO
Besides, no one put a gun to your
head.
Jake shoots him a look.
12 EXT. ROGER'S HOUSE - DAY 12
A well-tended Craftsman on a steep hill of fixer-uppers in Echo Park. The G-Ride parks out front.
ALONZO
Get your shit together.
Alonzo and Jake cross to the door. Alonzo knocks.
ALONZO
This is my Road Dog's pad. Wanna
see what he thinks of you.
CUT TO:
JAKE
What do I say?
ALONZO
You'll think of something stupid.
The door opens revealing ROGER in a bathrobe, worn from years of hard living.
He's happy to see Alonzo.
ROGER
Hey, brother, get your ass in
here.
CUT TO:
13 INT. ROGER'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY 13 Roger and Alonzo hug.
ALONZO
Did I wake you ?
ROGER
No. C'mon in. Please have a
seat.
Alonzo and Jake sit in big chairs. Three beepers, three cell phones on the coffee table. Roger sits, takes a bottle of whisky, three tumblers from a liquor cart. Pours booze. Jake looks around at the modest traditional furniture. The tacky porcelain figurines. Family photos on the wall.
ALONZO
Alright. Time to get my swerve
on.
Roger gives Alonzo a concerned look.
ROGER
Heard you had a beef in Vegas.
There's a greenlight on your ass.
ALONZO
I'm cool. People talk shit.
ROGER
You know I got your back.
ALONZO
I know. Thanks.
They clink glasses. Jake doesn't. He stares into the liquid, enraptured by its smoky patterns.
ALONZO
Jake, drink your medicine.
Jake takes a sip and winces. Roger tugs Jake's goatee. Jake recoils.
ROGER
Went and got yourself a daisy-
fresh rookie.
Roger leans back in the couch. Jake is looking around the room again.
A BEEPER BEEPS. Roger checks it. Ignores it. Roger studies Jake.
ROGER
Jesus, Alonzo. He's high as a
motherfucker. The hell you give him?
Alonzo tosses the foil pack on the table. Roger takes it, smells the PCP and shakes his head.
ROGER
Where'd you grow up?
JAKE
North Hollywood.
ROGER
What's your last name?
JAKE
Hoyt.
ROGER
(it clicks)
You play strong safety for North Hollywood High?
JAKE
Yessir. How'd you know?
ROGER
I follow all the good players.
His BEEPER BEEPS. He checks it, sighs. Dials a cell phone.
ROGER
(into phone)
It's me. Whassup?
(beat)
Can't do a thing for you. Your mess. You clean it up. Don't be callin' me.
He hangs up. Freshens the drinks.
ROGER
(to Jake)
Here's a joke, boy. One day this man walks out of his house to go to work. He sees this snail on his porch. So he picks it up and chucks it over his roof, into the back yard. Snail bounces off a rock, cracks its shell all to shit, and lands in the grass. Snail lies there dying.
A BEEPER BEEPS. Roger checks and ignores it.
ROGER
But it doesn't die. It eats some
grass. Slowly heals. Grows a new shell. And after a while it can crawl again. One day the snail up and heads back to the front of the house. Finally, after a year, the little guy crawls back on the porch. Right then, the man walks out to go to work and sees this snail again. So he says to it, 'What the fuck's your problem?'
Jake stares at Roger a beat. Then starts laughing. Really laughing. Maybe too much. He wipes his eyes.
JAKE
That's messed up. That wasn't
funny.
ALONZO
Then why are you cackling like a jackal
JAKE
I dunno.
ROGER
Figure that joke out and you'll
figure the streets out.
ALONZO
Don't listen to him. There's
nothing to figure out. The street's a buncha senseless bullshit.
JAKE
Uh-uh. I got 'em figured out.
ROGER
You got the streets figured out?
JAKE
Yeah. It's all smiles and cries.
ALONZO
Give up. You're too high, space
captain.
ROGER
Hold on -- smiles and cries. I
hear you.
JAKE
You gotta control your smiles and cries. No one can take them away so... they're all we really have.
Roger and Alonzo trade looks -- sharp kid. Alonzo pats Jake's shoulder. To Roger:
ALONZO
Think this greenhorn can handle
undercover?
Roger scrutinizes Jake a beat. Smiles and nods: yes.
ROGER
You were just like him.
ALONZO
(laughs)
Bullshit.
ROGER
Same silly-ass look and
everything. Saving the Goddamn world.
ALONZO
That lasted a week.
Alonzo stands, shakes with Roger.
ALONZO
Brother, I gotta get back in my
office. Thanks for the snort, dog. What're you up to today?
Roger gestures at the phones and beepers.
ROGER
Think I get out of the house?
A BEEPER BEEPS. Roger shakes with Jake.
ROGER
Take care, Hoyt. You're gonna do
okay.
14 INT. G-RIDE (6TH STREET TO ALVARADO) - MOVING - DAY 14
East on Sunset. Jake senses he passed a test. Alonzo smiling at him. Alonzo offers him a cigarette. Jake accepts.
JAKE
What?
ALONZO
He liked you.
JAKE
Who is he? One of your snitches?
ALONZO
He's no snitch. He's a good man
to know. C'mon, let's find some action in Niggertown.
(off Jake's look)
That's N-wordtown to you. What are you, Hoyt? You ain't pure whiteboy. You mixed?
JAKE
Italian, Irish and Mexican.
ALONZO
No shit? You're all dicked up.
Jake looks green, tosses the cigarette out the window. Alonzo senses what's coming and SLAMS on the BRAKES, flings open Jake's door. Jake vomits. A beat of dry heaving.
ALONZO
Okay, well's dry, kid.
JAKE
Sorry.
ALONZO
Wipe your chin.
Alonzo hands Jake a handkerchief. Jakes wipes his sweaty face.
JAKE
I'm cool. Had to unload the
groceries.
ALONZO
You gotta learn how to party. To
handle a high. It's a necessary job skill. I'm not kidding. It's an alcohol world down here. You gotta be able to hang. To get wasted and talk shit with sketchy sociopathic dumbasses and not pass out and get your shoes stolen.
JAKE
I'm fine, just a little dizzy.
Alonzo lights a smoke, leaning on his car, cracks a brew.
ALONZO
Oh, damn!
JAKE'S POV
A beautiful Mexican woman pushing a baby carriage. CAMERA PLAYING OVER her in luscious SLOW MOTION.
BACK TO SCENE
Jake stares, mouth open. Alonzo points out more beautiful Latinas gracing the sidewalks.
ALONZO
Mmmm-mmmm. The brown woman is the
fine woman. Give her ten more babies to push around. Thick and tasty. Love to get up in that... Your old lady white? Nordic cheerleader, right?
JAKE
Wrong. She's Chicana. Light-
skinned.
ALONZO
I like my meat dark. C'mon, get
in the car.
A15 OMITTED A15
B15 EXT. G-RIDE (MACARTHUR PARK) - MOVING - DAY B15
Alonzo sees Jake has his eyes closed.
ALONZO
C'mon, man. Open your eyes.
You'll make it worse.
Nothing.
ALONZO Sit your ass up. Hoyt!
Jake locks bleary red eyes on Alonzo, jokingly:
JAKE
Who're you?
ALONZO
The Goddamn zig-zag man.
JAKE
Cool. I'm a cop.
ALONZO
You're a little bitty boot.
Alonzo cracks beers for him and Jake.
ALONZO
C'mon. It helps. Believe me.
Gives you ballast.
Jake takes one. Alonzo drives over the 6th Street bridge. Jake drops his beer, soaking his leg.
ALONZO
Dumbass.
He leans his head on the window pillar, feeling better. Jake's eyes absorb the street's tableau of unworldly beauty gliding by. Palm trees and sunshine. Paradise and hell in one. His lids begin to drift shut. Then Jake sees a flash of movement in an alley. Suddenly alert, he paws at the door handle.
JAKE
Activity on the right! Stop the
car!
ALONZO
Siddown, Hoyt. Everything's fine.
JAKE
Stop the car!
ALONZO
C'mon, relax. You're tripping.
Jake grabs the gearshift, throws it in reverse. The transmission GRINDS, TIRES SCREECH. The ENGINE STALLS. Jake is out like a shot --
15 EXT. STREET/CRACKHEAD ALLEY - DAY 15
-- he dodges an oncoming car.
ALONZO
Get your ass back here!
ON G-RIDE
Alonzo pulling to the curb.
ALONZO
Dumb-ass kid.
ON JAKE
Running like a deer. He enters the alley. Sees a book bag on the ground -- A dumpster ahead. Jake rounds it. Fast.
HIS POV
A devastatingly-beautiful Latina SCHOOLGIRL is pinned against the wall by a tall CRACKHEAD. Her nose dots blood on her uniform blouse.
BACK TO SCENE
The Crackhead hauls back to smack her. Jake charging.
JAKE
Police officer! You're under
arrest!
The Crackhead punches Jake's throat. Stops him cold. Jake realizes how huge this guy is. Gulp.
CRACKHEAD #1
Gonna fuck you too, cop.
ANOTHER CRACKHEAD dives from the shadows and tackles Jake. Both go down hard. Jake gets his arm around Crackhead #2's neck, squeezes -- the forbidden choke hold.
Crackhead #1 stomps on Jake's head.
Alonzo drives the G-ride into the alley. Sits in the car and enjoys the action.
Jake rides out Crackhead #1's vicious kicks as Crackhead #2 convulses from hypoxia. And finally goes limp. Jake lets go, sweeps Crackhead #1's legs out from under him and hops to his feet. Crackhead #1 stands too.
CRACKHEAD #1
Your ass is doomed.
Jake growls, snatches him up like a rag doll, spins him, slams him hard. In a flash, Jake twists him into a pretzel, drops a knee on his neck, grinds his head into the asphalt. Clicks on the cuffs.
CRACKHEAD #1
We didn't do shit. Bitch is crazy
and shit.
Crackhead #2 coming to, starting to stand. Jake crosses to him, pins his head with his knee. Slips a pair of flexicuffs from his sock, zips them on the man's wrists.
CRACKHEAD #2 Man, you messin' up, slick.
Homegirl tradin' her ass for cookies.
JAKE
(bellows in rage)
Shut the fuck up, sir!
ANGLE ON ALONZO
He casually exits the G-ride with a smile, impressed by Jake's raw skill.
JAKE
Thanks for the help.
ALONZO
Shoulda shot 'em.
Jake crosses to the Schoolgirl.
JAKE
We're police officers. You okay?
You hurt?
SCHOOLGIRL
(to the Crackheads)
You're dead! My cousins are from Trece Flats. They're gonna blast you fools! Pinche mayates!
ALONZO
Miss! Relax! Are you okay?
SCHOOLGIRL
What? No. No, I'm not okay.
Lookit my nose... My mom's gonna trip out.
Alonzo gingerly examines her nose.
ALONZO
Honey, it's just a nosebleed. Put
ice on it. Don't be walkin' around here alone. Tell your cousins to get your back. You know what those piecesa shit were gonna do. Probably got AIDS. Why aren't you in school?
SCHOOLGIRL
I was going to a ditch party.
ALONZO
You almost became a ditch party.
Go home. Go home, now.
She grabs her book bag and gets out of there.
JAKE
I gotta get her statement.
ALONZO
Unhook 'em. We're not racking up
arrests.
JAKE
(shocked)
Kick 'em loose?
ALONZO
No. Get some shots in first.
JAKE
I have a punching bag at home. I
want them off the street.
Alonzo squats by Crackhead #1. Searches him.
ALONZO
Hear that, bro? My dog, here,
wants to lock you up. Been to the bootyhouse? Grabbin' ankles for the big boys?
CRACKHEAD #1
Suck my dick, bitch. I know
people.
ALONZO
Kick back, who's-who.
Alonzo finds rocks in one sock. Some twenties in the other. He pockets the cash and crack. Searches Crackhead #2.
ALONZO
Where's your horn?
CRACKHEAD #2
Ain't got no horn.
Alonzo finds a glass pipe.
ALONZO
So what's this, chief? Gonna make
you eat it.
Instead, Alonzo grinds it underfoot.
ALONZO
You, stand up.
Alonzo hauls Crackhead #1 to his feet. Unlocks the cuffs, tosses them to Jake.
Crackhead #2 strains against the flexicuffs.
ALONZO
(to Crackhead #2)
You get to keep those. Want to go to jail or go home?
He steers Crackhead #1 to a wall -- cocks his fist.
ALONZO
Ain't the first honey y'all pinned
to a wall, huh? Close your eyes.
Crackhead #1 does. Alonzo knees his groin -- oof! -- He falls to the ground, whimpers in the fetal position.
ALONZO
Lucky I got pressing business.
Next time I cut your dick off and shove it up your ass.
(pats Jake's back, winks)
I'll leave you three alone for some quality time. Gonna grab some beer.
Alonzo gets in the car, backs out of the alley. Jake watches Crackhead #1 whimper; Crackhead #2 writhes in the gutter. It's futile to beat these men. Jake takes pity, walks away.
CRACKHEAD #2
Pussy-ass fool. Gonna see your ass again. Gonna fuck you up, bitch. Won't see shit coming. Creep like a ninja and crack your head open. Blow your house up. Punk-ass white boy. Now you in my world, motherfucker.
Jake stops and turns around. He stoops to pick up a pink plastic change purse.
INSIDE CHANGE PURSE
The Schoolgirl's bus pass and her freshman ID from Sacred Convent High School.
BACK TO SCENE
Jake glares at the Crackheads.
JAKE
You assholes! She's fourteen!
CRACKHEAD #2
She all woman. Tax that ass for
days.
Man! Jake could kick his brains out. Somehow, he turns and walks away.
CUT TO:
16 INT. G-RIDE (LONG BEACH AVE.) - MOVING - DAY 16
Jake steams. Alonzo offers a beer from a new sixer. Jake refuses. Alonzo counts and pockets the money he took. Notes Jake's stare.
ALONZO
Wanna book sixty bucks? Where're
the suspects?
JAKE
You let them go.
ALONZO
Get over it. You wanna go runnin'
and gunnin', stay in patrol. This is Investigations. Leave the garbage for the garbage men. We're professional anglers. We reel in the big ones. Shoulda dished out some shoe leather. You'd have a big 'ol smile on your face.
JAKE
I get my shits and grins booking
bad guys, not beating them.
ALONZO
Man... The hell you doing running
alone into an alley fulla cracked- out monkey-strong motherfuckers? Those hemorrhoids woulda killed you without mercy or hesitation.
JAKE
That's why they belong in prison.
ALONZO
They lost their money, their rock,
got beat down and now the eses from Trece Flats are gonna smoke 'em. Jesus, what more do you want?
JAKE
Justice.
ALONZO
Is that not justice?
JAKE
That's street justice.
ALONZO
What's wrong with street justice?
JAKE
Let the animals wipe themselves
out, right?
ALONZO
God willing. But it don't work
like that. They wipe out the good folks. It's always school kids, mommies and ass-bustin' family men catching stray slugs in their noodles. You protect the flock by catching the wolves. And it takes a wolf to catch a wolf.
JAKE
What?
ALONZO
You protect --
JAKE
I heard you. Whatever.
a beat.
JAKE
When do you lock anyone up? Seems too busy keeping people out.
Bad mistake. Alonzo slaps him. Glares at him.
ALONZO
Shut up, boot! Nothin' but shit
'tween your ears. They build prisons cause a me! Judges have handed out fifteen thousand man years of incarceration time based on my investigations. My record speaks for itself. How many felons have you collared? Dickhead.
Now that it's clear who's the boss, they drive in tense silence for a long beat. Alonzo digs in his pocket --
ALONZO
Here...
-- hands Jake the rocks he found. A beat.
JAKE
I'm not smoking crack.
ALONZO
Good. I'm glad to hear that.
Toss 'em in the glove box.
Jake does, sees several more rocks under some papers.
ALONZO
Comes in handy. Like a credit
card.
(offers Jake a beer)
You earned it. C'mon.
Jake refuses.
ALONZO
No matter what I say, I want you
to know, you did the right thing. Reminds me of when I could chase down anyone and rock their world. You're a good cop. You got fire. That was some amazing shit back there.
JAKE
Thanks.
ALONZO
That the choke hold I saw you
applying? Isn't that a big no-no, procedure-boy?
JAKE
Well... I was getting my asskicked.
ALONZO
You did what you had to do
Alonzo gives Jake a beer and grins at him like a proud dad.
ALONZO
You got a magic eye, Hoyt. You
have a goddamn magic eye. Up your street I.Q. and you'll do some damage, crime fighter.
They clink cans. Jake smiles.
17 EXT. CENTRAL AVE. AND SLAUSON - DAY 17
If you don't know the neighborhood, stay the hell out. A Regal with four rough-looking gangsters bumps its radio through the intersection, oozing menace. Then the G-Ride rolls through the intersection.
18 INT. G-RIDE (CENTRAL AVE.) - MOVING - DAY
The area fills Alonzo's eyes with memories.
ALONZO
Did my probation here. Learned a
lot on these blocks. Kicked some ass. Had my ass kicked.
JAKE
Back in the day.
ALONZO
Yeah, back in the day. Been on
the job thirteen years. Today's my date of employment.
JAKE
No shit. Happy anniversary.
They shake hands.
ALONZO
Thanks. Thirteen's an unlucky
number. But I figure the seven to go cancel it out.
Alonzo turns on McKinley. He reaches over, digs in the glove box. Pulls out a photograph and hands it to Jake.
INSERT - PHOTO
A spit-and-polish, young cop in crisp blues, white gloves, holding his pistol at inspection arms.
BACK TO SCENE
Jake looks at the photo, then at Alonzo. Realizing:
JAKE
You're Mr. Clean.
ALONZO
I had a few misconceptions when I
started out.
(notes a graffited wall)
Shit's going down. See that?
JAKE
Buncha graffiti.
ALONZO
Crossing out each other's placas
like that. Ghettoville and the Locotes are at war.
Alonzo rounds a corner. A driveby is under investigation. Several black and whites, crime-scene tape. A coroner's van. Flares block the street. A rookie gestures for Alonzo to stop.
Alonzo badges him and drives around a bullet-riddled Cutlass with two dead gangsters spilling out the open doors. Jake gawks, Alonzo is utterly nonplussed.
ALONZO
Learn to read walls, not just
street signs.
Alonzo turns down an alley. Then pulls onto a boulevard. After a block, he pulls into a different neighborhood. Alonzo glimpses some pit bulls down a driveway. A beat later he points out a house.
ALONZO
On the left. See that house?
Dude named Spooky lived there. Mean old vato loco. Mexican Mafia. No one messed with Spooky. Even got respect from the cops. We'd keep an eye on his house. You like dogs?
JAKE
Gotta six-year-old Rottweiler.
Not too bright, but he's good with my kid.
ALONZO
Rotties are good dogs. Dobermans
are better. Spooky raised Dobermans. On my second week of patrol, when I was not knowin' shit, we roll by Spooky's one night. I observe this old, black fool named Too Fine, all drunk, beating the shit out of this female Doberman. Beautiful dog, seven months old. Too Fine's whoopin' her with a garden hose. This dog's just crying, shaking. I grew up with Dobermans. I was pissed. I tell my T.O. 'I'm gonna take him.' And my T.O. is like: 'No, no. It's cool.' He waves to Too Fine and this motherfucker smiles and waves back and keeps hitting the dog. Thought I lost my damn mind. Tells me Spooky gave him twenty bucks to beat the shit out of it. My T.O., this good 'ol boy, looks me in the eye and says: 'Teaches 'em to hate niggers.' Almost quit right there. Almost got out of that black and white and took the bus home.
Jake looks at Alonzo.
JAKE
That's fucked-up. That's one of
the most whacked things I ever heard.
ALONZO
Just remembered that. Every time
I'd seen it all, the street'd show me something even more twisted. I know you didn't see no shit like that in the Valley.
JAKE
No, I haven't.
CUT TO:
19 thru 21 OMITTED
22 INT. G-RIDE (CRENSHAW BLVD.) - MOVING - DAY 22
Alonzo scans the infamous Boulevard searching for prey. Sees a gaunt DEALER on a corner, in a wheelchair. Alonzo hands Jake a twenty.
ALONZO
Still up twenty. Your turn.
Put your hood up.
JAKE
What do I say?
ALONZO
Ad lib, boy. Use your words.
He pulls over. The Dealer rolls up to Jake's side.
DEALER
What you want, homie?
JAKE
Crack. Twenty dollars' worth.
DEALER
Fuck you, rookie.
He spins and rolls away quickly.
Alonzo shoots Jake a look.
ALONZO
Fetch, boy. Fetch.
Jake bolts from the car.
