INT. THE HIDEOUT - NIGHT
Anthony, Tom, and Fred sit around a gray card table. Three older men also sit around the table. The men - CAAN, MARLEY, and SMITH - are all in their fifties and graying.
Everyone is holding two CARDS in their hands, and Caan flips a CARD over on the table, laying it next to four other face-up CARDS.
CAAN
All right, fellas. Any
takers? Freddy?
Fred suppresses a shudder, and surveys the table
quickly. He lays his cards back on the table.
FRED
All in.
He shoves a stack of CHIPS to the middle of the table. His is the largest on the table.
MARLEY
I'm out.
SMITH
Me too.
CAAN
Too rich for me.
Tom throws his cards down on the table and glares at
Fred. Caan gets up from the table and walks to the kitchen.
CAAN (CONT.)
Anyone else need another beer?
Marley, Tom, and Smith all ask for another.
CAAN (CONT.)
What about you, Anthony?
Anthony continues looking at his cards, not saying
anything. He looks up at Fred, and smiles.
ANTHONY
All right, little bro. I'll call.
Anthony pushes all his chips into the center, much to the surprise of the other men.
Fred is also surprised, not reacting for a moment. He
shakes his head and smiles wide.
FRED
Okay, if you want to lose your
money, let's go. Full house!
He throws his cards down on the table, and leans back. he looks around at the three old men, who look on with
approval.
ANTHONY
Sorry, bro. Four kings.
Anthony places his cards on the table. Tom claps his hand on Anthony's back, and the older men chuckle. Fred sits upright, shock smeared across his face.
Anthony rakes in the chips and starts stacking them.
ANTHONY (CONT.)
Forget about it. It's just
money. You'll get it back in no
time, the way things are going -
CAAN
Actually, Anthony . . .
Caan glances at Marley and Smith, who both nod.
CAAN (CONT.)
We've been meaning to talk to you
about the way things are
going. You see, we've felt kind of
out of the loop, and . . .
MARLEY
What Caan is trying to say is that,
when your father ran the family, he
would consult us. He valued our
input, he listened to us.
SMITH
We're not saying we disagree with
what you're doing, we just feel
like we need to be included.
Fred rolls his eyes, but Anthony is listening intently. He nods his head, and stands up.
ANTHONY
You know what? You guys are
right. I have been ignoring
you. And you deserve better than
that. Hell, you've been a part of
our family since before I was.
Anthony grabs his BEER off the table and takes a swig.
ANTHONY
The way we see it, we need to take
The Turk out for good. His drugs
are everywhere, and I'm tired of
worrying about the safety of our
people.
(smiles)
And, I kind of like the appeal of
owning an entire city.
Anthony winks at Tom.
SMITH
That's all well and good, Anthony,
but do we have to be so . . .
aggressive about it?
MARLEY
Yes, it was never your father's
policy to preempt an attack. He
was one for diplomacy. He was one
for -
ANTHONY
No offense, Marley, but I'm not my
father. Things are different now.
FRED
Hell yes! And if anyone wants to
fuck with us -
Fred reaches into his pants and pulls out the silver
REVOLVER, pointing it around the room.
FRED (CONT.)
We're gonna fuck right back!
Everyone in the room panics when Fred brandishes the
weapon. Smith alone stands still, staring at the gun.
Anthony runs up to Fred and yanks the gun from his hand.
ANTHONY
Freddy, what the hell are you
doing?! You're going to kill
somebody!
Fred flushes a deep red and gets angry.
FRED
What do you mean? I know how to
handle a gun.
ANTHONY
Well, first, you can't have this
gun. This was dad's gun. It's
very important to me.
FRED
(to himself)
And it isn't to me?
ANTHONY
And, this thing is real old. It
could go off on accident. You
could of hit my new T.V. or -
FRED
(sarcastically)
It's only money.
ANTHONY
Or you could have hit one of us!
SMITH
Oh, no. Not that gun. Not by
accident.
He walks to Anthony and gently takes the gun from his
hands. He turns it over, examining it closely, as a jeweler looks at a diamond.
TOM
What do you mean, not by accident?
Smith looks up from his stupor, awestruck.
SMITH
You mean your father never told you
boys how he got this gun?
Anthony and Fred exchange a quick glance.
ANTHONY
No. I remember him saying it saved
his life, but I was really
little. I assumed it was one of
his stories.
TOM
Yeah, I remember that. Something
about it jamming -
SMITH
Yes, that's exactly right!
CAAN
Smith, come on, not this bull shit
again.
SMITH
It's true, Caan, no matter what you
choose to believe. This revolver
has a power to it.
Fred lets out a quick laugh, but Anthony stares at Smith, unmoved.
ANTHONY
Power?
SMITH
Yes! Power. Your father took this
gun from a man who was trying to
kill him. This was back when your
father first took over from his
father, back before The Turk showed
up.
Anthony sits down in a chair at the table, still staring transfixed at Smith. Fred paces the floor behind him.
SMITH (CONT.)
See, you're more like your father
than you realize. When he first
took over, he wanted to clear out
all the scum in this city, and he
wanted to do it fast. He became
very militant; we all were in the
beginning.
Caan and Marley are standing by the Plasma, sipping their beers.
MARLEY
Enough of this crap, will you,
Smith? I want to play some poker!
SMITH
Anyway, your father's rival, a man
we called The Matador, he sent a
man to kill your father. Your dad
was walking through town, and this
assassin came up to him with this
gun, shoved it right in his face .
. .
Smith points the gun into Anthony's face. Tom jerks
forward, Freddy stops pacing, and Marley and Caan stop
talking.
Anthony just stares at the barrel of the gun.
SMITH (CONT.)
Pulled the trigger . . .
There is a long pause, dead silence.
SMITH (CONT.)
And nothing. The gun jammed. Your
father quickly grabbed the gun and
wrenched it from the man. But when
your dad turned the gun on the
killer, he pulled the trigger, and
the gun fired.
Both Fred and Tom are now staring at the gun closely with the same look of wonder in their eyes.
(CONTINUED)
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