TICK: You ready?
LENNY: Yeah. Boot it.
[Garbled chatter]
POV VOICE: That's it.
LANE: That's it. That's it. Excellent.
POV VOICE: I'm recordin'.
LANE: Are you crazy? Wait till I get this thing down.
You trying to I.D. me? Fuckin' retard!
Goddamn, you stupid fuck!
POV VOICE: Don't be a pussy.
LANE: Don't call me a pussy. I'll fucking I.D. you!
Here, take the gun.
POV VOICE: This piece of shit? I can't believe it.
Is it even loaded? I want the auto.
LANE: Asshole.
[Sniffing]
Whoo! I love this shit, man!
Don't fuckin'-- Fuck you!
Ha ha ha! Whoo!
POV VOICE: It's right there. Turn right.
DIAZ: OK, just relax.
Relax!
POV VOICE: Right, right, right.
Here we go. There it is.
LANE: Shh.
POV VOICE: Take it easy.
LANE: One...two...three...go!
[Yelling]
DIAZ: Let's go! Let's go!
POV VOICE: Rush that punk!
LANE: Put your head down!
COOK: Aah!
LANE: I said down!
I'll fuckin' blow your head off!
LANE: This is a robbery! Everyone, hands up!
You, get to the back!
POV VOICE: Hands in the air!
No, no, no. Where you going, bitch?
Over here. Over here.
DIAZ: Get the fucking money!
POV VOICE: You! Open the fucking register!
DIAZ: You want to die, you little fuck?
OWNER: OK. Please, don't shoot!
DIAZ: Where's the fucking money?
There's the fucking money!
OWNER: Don't shoot us.
POV VOICE: This way.
OWNER: OK.
POV VOICE: Go, man. Run! Run, man, run!
You wanna die?
LANE: Go, go. so!
POV VOICE: Don't look at me, you fuckin' Chink!
DIAZ: Get in there!
LANE: Get inside, you fucking cocksucker!
- Did you get the money? -Yes!
LANE: What are you doing, you fucking asshole?
Come on, we gotta go!
DIAZ: You get the money or not? How much?
[Sirens]
COP: This is the police!
LANE: Fuck!
DIAZ: I'm going. I'm going.
LANE: Um...fuck. Here.
Come on, follow me!
POV VOICE: Go, man, go!
LANE: The fucking doors are locked!
POV VOICE: Come on!
Come on!
Where are the cops, man?
[Gunshot] LANE: Fuck you!
POV VOICE: What are you doing, man?
Go, man! Go!
LANE: Shit!
[Gunshots]
COP: Stop!
[Burglar alarm rings]
COP: Drop your goddamn weapon!
LANE: Come on!
POV VOICE: They're right behind us!
Fuck!
LANE: Come on! Oh, shit!
POV VOICE: Go, man, go!
- Come on. -Go.
LANE: Aaah!
[Explosion]
LANE: Come on!
Come on, jump!
POV VOICE: This is insane, man.
COP: Hey, you. stop!
[Punting]
LANE: Come on, grab my hand!
POV VOICE: I'm gonna die! Hold on to me, man!
LANE: You motherfucker!
[Gunshot] POV VOICE: Aah!
Uhh!
God damn it! You know I don't deal in snuff!
Don't have a fucking coronary.
LENNY: You could've at least warned me!
You know I hate the zap when they die.
It just brings down your whole day. Jesus, Tick.
Sorry.
How come the cops didn't put it in evidence?
With all the blood, they didn't see the rig.
It was under a wig.
How'd it get to you?
I got ways, Lenny.
I got a deal with some of the paramedics.
My guy pages me, I pick it up at the morgue.
This clip's got to be worth a grand, right?
Tick, not to dash your hopes...
but I don't deal this kind of product. You know that.
I'll give you four, 'cause I've gotta cut off the end...
and my customers want uncut.
Fuck that, man. The last part is the best.
You dry dive six stories-- blammo!
You jack into the big black.
I don't deal black-jack clips!
It's policy. I got ethics here.
When did that start?
This is what people wanna see. You know it.
So lay it off to somebody else.
Lenny, Lenny.
I got expenses. I gotta get my rig fixed.
There's blood all over the heads.
- Take it away. -Gimme six, at least.
This is a good clip. It gets you pumpin'.
The first part's OK...
better than the usual soaps you bring me.
TICK: That is cold. I always bring you choice.
Like this low-grade shit here?
Some girl in a fight with her boyfriend.
It's a test pattern. Nothing happens. I'm snoring.
Lenny, you're always telling me...
bring you street life, real life...
that one man's mundane and desperate existence...
is another man's Technicolor.
I said that?
Many times. It's a direct quote.
I'll take it for five.
You'll make out OK, 'cause it's pure cream.
You don't have to cut anything back to the wearer.
Yeah, that's for sure.
- OK. -What else you got?
[Yelling]
[Heavy metal music playing]
WOMAN SINGING: You kill me with your smelly fingers
Your smelly fingers from the sex
You are the grandmaster--
TALK SHOW HOST: Calls are a little kooky tonight.
It's a little after two a.m., December 30, 1999.
Second to last day of the whole darn century.
LENNY: Jer, hi. I'll drop the money by tomorrow.
Next day latest. It's a little crazed right now.
Would I lie? No, never to you, Jer.
You're not wrong. You're not wrong.
Prick.
[Tenor singing opera]
TALK SHOW HOST: Dan, looking forward to the new year?
DAN: Not really. I mean, what's the point?
Nothing changes New Year's Day.
The economy sucks.
Gas is over three bucks a gallon.
Fifth-grade kids are shooting each other at recess.
The whole thing sucks. What are we celebrating?
[Heavy metal music playing]
CHOIR SINGING: Amen, amen, amen
Amen
Amen, amen, amen
Amen
LENNY: You shoot the clip. Get it to me by Monday.
Client wants a guy and two girls, and the guy wears.
Yeah. No, I know. He's trying to be original.
The girls have to be young, OK?
So don't use your mother like you usually do.
Yeah, you, too, asshole.
TALK SHOW HOST: Go ahead, caller. You're on the air.
DEWAYNE: My name's Dewayne.
I got a New Year's resolution for the police.
Hey, yo, Five-O, you better get down with the Two-K.
TALK SHOW HOST: Two-K? What is that?
DEWAYNE: Two-K. The big 2000. Coming up tomorrow night.
Out with the old, in with the new.
See, for the man, no new is good new.
We're gonna take it and make it new, our own.
History's gonna start right here.
TALK SHOW HOST: Dewayne--
DEWAYNE: I wanna give a shout-out to Boo--
TALK SHOW HOST: You're on the air, Lori.
LORI: If you read the Bible...
you'd know there won't be another thousand years.
We're in the last days as foretold in the--
TALK SHOW HOST: The last days? The apocalypse, the rapture?
LORI: Look at the signs. There are wars and rumors of wars--
TALK SHOW HOST: Just so we know how much time is left...
when is the rapture supposed to hit, exactly?
- Midnight New Year's Eve? -That's right.
TALK SHOW HOST: Now, is that midnight LA. time...
or Eastern Standard Time or what?
What time zone is God in?
LORI: I pray for you all.
WOMAN: Ooh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
LENNY: OK. I can use this. Listen, it's not bad...
but, honey, you gotta move your eyes slower next time.
Much slower, like you're making love with your eyes.
EDUARDO: Let me get this straight.
You'll pay me two hundred dollars to wear a hair net...
and bang some beautiful babe? I gotta think about this.
LENNY: Let's get you wired up.
I hope this axle grease you got on your hair...
doesn't screw up the SQUID receptors.
What is all this SQUID shit, anyway?
Superconducting Quantum Interference Device--SQUID.
The receptor rig on your head sends a signal to the recorder.
We call it "being wired," but there's no wire.
You gotta keep the recorder close--five, six feet max--
a jacket pocket, by the bed, wherever you close escrow.
- Know what I mean? -Yeah.
There's a half hour of tape, so give me some lead-in.
Don't wait too long.
I don't want to be going out for popcorn.
Don't worry. You won't.
- Got it? -No problem.
You look great. You lookmbeautiful.
[Punting]
Aah!
Shit!
Get out!
DISPATCH ER: Ten-seventeen, do you request backup?
That's a negative.
Um...
Suspect is a black male, thirty-five to forty.
We're handling it.
[Bell rings]
- Freeze! -Freeze! You bitch!
You fuckin' bitch!
Aah!
Aaah!
Fuck! Fuck!
[Gunshots]
Aah!
Oh, shit.
STECKLER: God!
[Helicopter passes]
[Telephone rings]
[Ring]
ANSWERING MACHINE: Hi, it's Lenny.
Just what do you have in mind?
[Beep]
Lenny...God damn it, you got to be there.
You got to help me. Please pick up the phone.
Come on, pick up.
Come on, Lenny, fucking pick up the phone!
OK, I'll call you back.
[Helicopter passes]
FAITH: Watch what I do. You OK?
[Laughs] You're doin' good, honey.
[Humming]
LENNY: [Laughing] You look so good.
LENNY: Faith, come back.
FAITH: You all right? You need help?
Sweetie, you're doing good.
0h!
[Laughter]
Lenny...
[Laughs]
I'm sorry. Ha ha ha!
I'm sorry, baby. Are you OK?
[Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" playing]
BOB MARLEY SINGING: Don't worry
About a thing
'Cause every little thing
Gonna be all right
- How do you feel? -Lucky.
Dry me.
BOB MARLEY: 'Cause every little thing
Gonna be all right
BOB MARLEY: Rise up this mornin'
FAITH: You wanna watch, or you gonna do?
LENNY: Watch and see.
BOB MARLEY: Three little birds
BY my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Melodies pure and true
Saying
This is my message to you
Oh, wow...
BOB MARLEY: Gonna be all right
Baby, don't worry
Don't worry
About a thing
'Cause every little thing
Gonna be all right
Oh, baby, baby, baby...
You're so beautiful.
FAITH: I love your eyes, Lenny.
I love the way they see.
BOB MARLEY: Don't worry
About a thing
'Cause every little thing
Gonna be all right
Baby, don't worry
About a thing
'Cause every little thing--
[Beeping]
[Fanfare plays]
ANCHORWOMAN: New Year's Eve, 1999.
It's being called the party of the century...
but it may be the biggest ever.
No one's seen preparations like this...
but preparations require care and insurance...
and the LAPD is one insurance company...
that doesn't want accidents.
[Rapping] Put you on a reservation
Black nation
Die under your step and fetch a military lie--
The bodies of two men found under the Hollywood Freeway...
have been identified as rap star Jeriko One...
and band member James Polton, known to fans as Replay.
Both were shot in what police are characterizing...
as an execution-style killing.
The body of an unidentified woman...
was found with them, also shot numerous times.
Police said the killings appear to be gang-related.
With his band, Prophets of Light...
Jeriko One's outspoken political stance and violent lyrics...
have stirred nationwide controversy.
Meanwhile, astrologers have been busy...
making predictions for the coming century.
Some of their fortune-telling is indeed incredible--
Nluammar Qaddafi will be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Turkey will make reparations to Armenia.
By 2025, there will be a second woman president...
- Hey, Lenny. -How ya doin', man?
Hey, man.
Keith.
- Keith? -Yeah.
Hi. Lenny. Lenny Nero.
We spoke on the phone. Hi.
OK.
Not to be rude, but I gotta ask. Are you a cop?
I understand. No, I'm not.
You understand. Attorney, right?
That's right.
Tassel shoes. Entertainment law would be my guess.
It's my job to know people and what they want...
what's behind their eyes.
OK, so tell me, have you ever jacked in?
Have you ever wire-tripped?
No.
A virgin brain. We're gonna start you off right.
Just save us some time, tell me what you know.
Just what I've read.
That the technology was developed for the Feds...
to replace the body wire, and now it's gone black market.
That's right, so...
this conversation's not taking place, OK?
- Damn right it's not. -Good.
Do I get the deck from you?
I'll get you a deck at my cost. My thing is the software.
Clips, right?
Clips. Right.
Listen, I want you to know what we're talking about here.
This is not "like TV, only better."
This is life.
It's a piece of somebody's life.
It's pure and uncut, straight from the cerebral cortex.
You're there. You're doing it.
You're seeing it, hearing it.
You're feeling it.
What kind of things, exactly?
Anything. Whatever you want, whoever you wanna be.
Want to go skiing without leaving your den, you can...
but I'm assuming that a guy like you...
you want to ski, you fly to Aspen.
That's not what you're interested in.
It's...
It's about the stuff that you can't have, right?
The forbidden fruit, hmm?
Running into a liquor store with a .357 Magnum in your hand...
feeling the adrenaline pumping through your veins, huh?
Or see that guy with the drop-dead Filipino girlfriend?
Wouldn't you like to be that guy for twenty minutes?
The right twenty minutes.
I can make it happen...
and you won't even tarnish your wedding ring.
Sounds good.
I can get you what you want.
I can get you anything. Just talk to me.
You have to trust me, OK? 'Cause I'm your priest.
I'm your shrink.
I am your main connection to the switchboard of souls.
I'm the Magic Man.
The Santa Claus of the subconscious.
You say it, you think it, you can have it.
You want a girl?
You want two girls?
I don't know what your thing is, what you're curious about.
You want a guy?
Maybe you want to be a girl.
Hey, think of that. Be a girl.
See what that feels like.
Maybe you want a nun to tie you up.
It's all doable.
Talk to me about costs.
Before we get into numbers, I want you to try a taste.
I got a deck with me.
- Right here? -Step into my office.
[Gasps]
Ohh.
Ahh.
Ooh.
[Turns off]
You were just an 18-year-old girl taking a shower.
Are you beginning to see the possibilities here?
MAX: Hey. So, where is he?
- In the back making a deal. -Oh.
KEITH: Next time, let's meet someplace less public.
LENNY: Nervous? Don't be.
Cops have more to worry about than the SQUID trade.
MAX: Oh, yeah?
Assume the position, you miserable techno-perv puke.
Beat it, fuckwad! Uhh!
Max, I was with a client! You think that's funny?
Prick.
MAX: See the look on that preppy puke's face?
Pissed all over his Topsiders.
LENNY: It was funny, but it cost me money.
MAX: Come on, amigo. The world's full of marks.
No one knows how to work them like you do, pal.
You could sell a rat's asshole for a wedding ring.
LENNY: Yeah, I could.
MAX: Let me buy you a drink. Bobby!
Tequila, por favor. Double shots.
Make it a Tres Generaciones.
Nothing but the best for Lenny...
the finest cop to ever get thrown off the vice squad.
- Fuck you. -Ha ha ha!
Whoo. Yeah, nice tie.
LENNY: Thanks, Max.
MAX: You always got to dress like a fucking pimp?
This tie cost more than your entire wardrobe.
MAX: That's not saying much.
LENNY: It's the one thing...
that stands between me and the fucking jungle.
MAX: To the jungle...
where some shitbird can cap you in the head...
and that'll ruin your whole day.
You were lucky, Max.
So darned lucky, I wake up with a twenty-two in my brainpan...
and a cop pension I can't live off of.
Damn! It's a good thing I wasn't luckier.
[Laughing]
Bobby, hit me again. You seen Faith lately?
- She won't call me. -Just as well.
Sure, Faith was the most outstanding woman...
a guy like you could ever hope to get...
and it's completely humiliating that she's gone...
but you got to face that it's over.
Thanks, chaplain. I'm touched by your concern.
I just hate to see you pining away, man.
You're my friend. It makes me want to vomit.
Hey, Iris. You OK?
I gotta talk to you. It's serious.
MAX: What happened, honey? Some john get rough on you?
No. I mean, talk private. Please?
I'm in trouble. So is Faith.
MAX: There's the magic fucking word.
IRIS: Can you come with me to your car, please?
There's something you have to see.
LENNY: What's going on?
- It's a bad situation. -What?
If they get me, I know they'll...
Who?
[Siren]
Oh, shit.
Hey! Hang on! That's my car!
DRIVER: Not anymore. It belongs to the bank.
- Wait a second. -Whoops.
Great. Two million years of human evolution...
that's the best idea you can come up with.
What do you get to repo a car? Two hundred? Two-fifty?
I'll pay you three-fifty right now.
- Got the cash on you? -I was gonna write a check.
DRIVER: See ya.
LENNY: I totally respect that. I would want cash.
They'll take my check inside. Just give me two minutes.
Here. You can keep my watch for collateral.
It's a Rolex.
I'll be right back. Two minutes.
Two minutes?
[Truck drives away]
Son of a bitch.
[Speed-dialing]
[Ring]
What happened to your car this time?
MAX: See, Lenny, if you packed your piece...
you could make the guy see sense.
Bobby, turn this up.
JERIKO ONE RAPPING: You watch us take it all
And then you'll understand our pain
We'll make you the rat
That crawled through the cracks
You love that red, white, and blue
But you hate the black, black, black
And you tryin' to make me think
I did this to myself
When the drugs I smoke
And the guns I tote
Both came from your shelf
But I never had a dream, 'cause
My life is a nightmare
America's been my boogieman
For four hundred years
MAN: Are you asking me how lfeel?
We felt Jeriko. We listened to him.
JERIKO ONE: The LAPD is a military force...
turned against its own people.
We live in a police state...
- Hey, Macey. -Shh.
...with their social programs that don't work.
[Cheering]
They're rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
But a new day is coming.
Two-K is coming.
The day of reckoning is upon us.
History...
ends and begins again...
right here...right now!
MAX: Right on! To the end of all things.
You know how I know it's the end of the world?
LENNY: No. Tell me.
'Cause everything's already been done, you know?
Every kind of music's been tried...
every government's been tried, every fucking hairstyle...
bubble gum flavors, cereal, every type of fucking.
What are we going to do?
How are we going to make another thousand years?
I'm telling you, it's over.
We used it all up.
MACE: What's this week's sad story?
They jerked my wheels.
It's outrageous the computer errors the banks make.
Have you noticed?
No, I haven't, because I make my payments.
So, Max Peltier, how's the P.l. business?
MAX: Sucks. But when I get this new logo--
LENNY: I want to hear this scumbag.
REPORTER: Do you have any leads?
MAN: Why wasn't Jeriko One provided adequate security?
GANT: He always had adequate security available to him.
He chose not to have those encumbrances in his life.
Why's he a scumbag?
You-know-who left Lenny for him.
- Faith left Lenny for him? -Don't say Faith.
Use the "F" word around Lenny, it triggers a maudlin display...
and you gotta tranquilize him.
Shh.
GANT: I've lost a friend, a man of great courage...
which is more than I can say for most of us.
- If you're riding-- -Let's go.
[Siren]
MAN: Fuck you, you pig!
MACE: Driving Mr. Lenny.
It's going to be a big night.
Can't you feel it? The energy in the air.
There's money to be made, dreams to sell.
MACE: Sleaze to peddle.
That is so unenlightened. I sell experiences.
The way I see it, I'm performing a humanitarian service.
I probably save lives.
I wanna hear this part.
Everybody needs to walk to the dark end of the street.
It's what we are.
Now the risks are out of line. The streets are a war zone.
Sex can kill you.
You slip on the 'trodes and get what you need...
almost as good as the real thing and a lot safer.
Porno. Face it, you sell porno to wireheads.
Harsh and untrue.
My clients are professionals. They're people with taste.
Some are even celebrities.
- What celebrities? -The guy from the news.
- He does the weather. -That counts.
- You passed La Cienega. -I'm not taking it.
It's the quickest way to the club.
I've got business there. I'm meeting people.
Mace, you're my friend.
Plus I'll give you twenty-five percent of what I make tonight.
This may be a hard concept for you...
but friends don't have to pay their friends.
- Faith is singing. -I should have known.
Look...
I pulled twelve hours. I gotta get some sleep.
I got one last pickup at the St. James Club.
They got a taxi stand. You can catch a cab.
A taxi?
Well, someone might see me.
[Horns honking]
DOORMAN: Hold it right there, ma'am.
Whoa. Hold it right there.
MACE: Damn it, Lenny, you made me late.
What's your pickup's name? I'll find him.
- Fumitsu. - Fumitsu?
Fumitsu. Fumitsu.
DOORMAN: You can leave the car right there.
Oh, fuck.
- Nero. Strickland.
Commissioner Strickland.
Since you shit-canned my career, I don't have to call you "sir."
It's one of life's small pleasures.
Aren't you peddling a little far from your usual gutter?
I was invited here by a close friend--Mr. Fumitsu.
He's right over there.
I don't like disappointments, Nero.
You know what disappoints me very much?
Your sex life? Excuse me.
Mr. Fumitsu.
[Exchanging greeting in Japanese]
Leonard Nero, BLS Limousine and Security Service.
I've arranged for one of our finest drivers...
Lornette Mason, to take care of you.
She's a security specialist trained in defensive combat.
Of course, the car's bulletproof and fully armored.
I'll be coming along to complete our periodic driver evaluation.
With your permission, of course.
We do it to ensure that our VIP clients...
are always treated as honored guests.
Good evening, Mr. Fumitsu. Sir, please watch your head.
Excuse me, Mr. Nero.
Excuse me, sir!
What the fuck are you doing?
Coming with you.
[Sighs]
You will not live to see the morning.
LENNY: Drive on.
[Revving engine]
LENNY: Are you a cop?
No.
Good. Have you ever been wired?
FUMITSU: Wired?
The latest technology.
LENNY: Oh. That is so beautiful.
You got to take a look at this, OK?
Yeah. You're going to love it.
- You have more? -I have more.
Believe me, I have more.
Ha ha ha.
[Horn honks]
Hey! Careful on the jacket. It's Armani.
Are you angry?
I told you no wirehead shit in my car. You're on foot!
In LA.? Are you crazy?
Can I come in?
I'm having a hard time hearing the stereo!
I need my case. It's still in the back.
Can we talk a little bit like two rational adults?
Uhh!
That's! be no.
OK, you got my attention.
This is cutting off the circulation to my head.
Do you mind? Macey.
It's cool. It's nothing. Two seconds.
This is uncharacteristic, Miss Ice Water-In-Her-Veins.
You push me too far!
You made me lose it in front of a client! I could get fired!
- Are we still friends? -I don't know.
Friendship is more than one person...
constantly doing favors for another.
I don't hustle my friends.
But you just suck people along with scams and your slick act.
We're still buddies?
Don't use the time that I'm talking...
to think about what you'll say next.
- You listening? -Yeah.
Lenny, your ass is always broke, you go from score to score...
and you're getting strung-out. You don't even see it.
It's your brain, so do whatever you want with it.
But not on my watch, you understand me?
I got a child, I got rent...
and an ex-husband doing hard time...
who doesn't send me a dime of support.
I'm just trying to hold on here.
I know you wouldn't say this if you didn't care about me.
Thanks, Mace. Really.
You're getting out with Fumitsu, and that's the end.
I'll get you to the Templars in ten minutes.
I'm sorry for the inconvenience.
FUMITSU: I'm changing my plans.
Your supervisor has recommended an excellent club...
called the Retinal Fetish. It's on La Cienega.
Yes, sir.
MACE: Enjoy your evening, Mr. Fumitsu.
LENNY: I appreciate it. Thank you.
OK, come on.
Excuse us.
WOMAN: Hi, Lenny.
LENNY: This is a friend of mine, Mr. Fumitsu.
Can you take care of him?
WOMAN: He's clean. He's fine.
Could you take care of this gentleman?
LENNY: Thank you.
OK. Bye.
[Punk rock song playing]
TICK: Hey, Lenny. How ya doing?
LENNY: Who's the new side of beef in Giant's posse?
TICK: Wade Beemer, running back for the Rams, '96, '97.
Like a fucking freight train.
LENNY: Rams. That's football, right?
TICK: No, ping-pong. Iris was looking for you!
GANT: Hello, Lenny. It's OK, Wade.
He's an old friend of mine. Lenny Nero.
Come to peddle me some clips for old time's sake...
or just making a few extra bucks for the holidays?
LENNY: You're not a client anymore.
I wouldn't sell you the sweat off a dead dog's balls.
GANT: I've got everything I need from you. Thanks.
FAITH: Cut it out, Philo.
Too bad about your guy Jeriko.
You've lost your golden goose.
Show some respect. He was an important artist.
Important for your label, so you're in mourning.
His records will sell out now, and you'll make out.
Always do.
Faith, can I talk to you for one second?
It's not a good idea right now.
I just gotta talk to you for one second.
About what?
That's! be between me and Faith.
Funny, I don't feel anything between you and Faith.
You see, that's your problem, Lenny...
you assume too much.
You assume there's something where there's nothing.
You assume that you have a life...
when, in fact, you peddle pieces of other people's lives...
and the broken parts of your own.
- Faith. -Get him to his car.
Call me, OK?
Faith!
Call me!
Lenny the loser.
Leave him alone, Philo, OK?
You shouldn't talk to him or anybody...
not with everything that's going on.
You are too goddamn paranoid. You know that, Philo?
Paranoia's just... reality on a finer scale.
LENNY: Thank you.
[Prong singing "Strange Days"]
Awoo! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!
LENNY: Hey. What's up, Tex?
TEX: What's up, my brother?
LENNY: Those rascals still haven't grown back?
No. Any day now. I just know it.
Got something for you.
A present, something I had custom-made.
Happy Millennium.
I got something for you, too.
Just showed up tonight.
I don't know who from.
LENNY: Fan mail from some flounder?
Mmm.
- Hi. -Hi.
PRONG SINGING: Strange days not like before
I can hardly wait
It's been so long
I've lost my taste
Say angel come
Say lick my face
Let fall your drapes
I'll play the part
I'll open this mouth wide
Eat your heart
[Cheering]
Your heart
I can hardly wait
Lips crack dry
Tongue blue burst
Say angel come
Say lick my thrust
It's been so long
I've lost my taste
Here, Romeo
Take my water brain
LENNY: Hi, baby.
I missed you.
Lenny, you have to leave. I mean it.
LENNY: Iris said you were in trouble.
- You talked to Iris? When? -Tonight.
I haven't seen her in months. What the fuck would she know?
Who knows what's going on in that whore's head?
LENNY: She used to be your best friend.
FAITH: You're really running out of excuses...
to come around, aren't you?
I know you, Faith.
You're afraid of something. What's going on?
Just let it alone, Lenny. It'll take care of itself.
It's Gant, isn't it? This guy is poison.
He's got you walled in. He uses the wire too much.
He gets off on tape, not on you.
That's a good one coming from you.
Why don't you just split?
- I don't want to. -Do you love him?
LENNY: I don't think so.
To him, you're some kind of possession.
You're like a Ferrari.
You're just something to show the other guys.
FAITH: Yeah? He has his uses, too, you know.
LENNY: What? He gonna record you on his label?
He might. You never know, right?
Faith...
Faith, listen to me.
I've watched you create yourself out of nothing.
You're like a goddamn cruise missile...
targeted on making it, and you will.
FAITH: I know I will.
LENNY: It's you up on that stage, not him.
You don't need him.
You have to get out of here.
If Philo catches you, he's gonna hurt you.
I'm already hurting.
FAITH: No, I'm serious. He's acting crazy.
He's doing way too much playback.
He's gotten completely paranoid.
He's such a control freak now...
he's even paying Max to follow me around.
Max? You're kidding.
Yeah, for about a month now.
Jesus.
Look, Lenny, just stay away from Philo...
and stay away from me.
Stop trying to rescue me. Those days are over.
I'm a big girl now. I've changed.
Stop trying to save me.
I don't need saving. Just give up on me!
I just wanted to make sure you were all right.
You know why movies are still better than playback?
'Cause the music comes up, there's credits...
and you always know when it's over.
It's over!
You were great.
MAX: Hey, man. I know what you're thinking.
She told me about your new gig.
It's just a job. I feel like shit about it.
- You should feel like shit. -I do.
You introduced me to that prick Gant.
I introduced him to Faith, too. I don't cherish the moment.
Questionable move, given the historical perspective.
I figured I could take the prick's money--
you wouldn't believe what I'm charging him--
and make sure Faith is OK at the same time.
Keep an eye on her. For you, OK?
Which you can't do...
without getting your fingers bent the wrong way back.
I need the money. This does us both some good.
Fairly twisted logic, Max, even for you.
- Hey. You got a job, I got a job.
OK. I'm sorry. You got a job. That's great.
Listen, you got to stay on her.
Watch her for me, please.
I'm on her.
- OK. -Stay cool.
- Take it easy, all right? -You, too.
WADE: Come on.
WADE: Here, chicky, chicky, chicky...
LENNY: Wait a minute. I recognize you.
You're Wade Beemer, right?
Running back for the Rams, '96, '91, right?
Yeah. That's right.
I saw you play, man. I mean, you were good.
I mean, like a fuckin' freight train.
So, what happened? Injuries or what?
Bullshit politics, man.
It's always politics. Like this thing we're in here.
He's paying you to tune me up. I'll pay you more not to.
I'll write a check right now.
- I got to go. -OK. Cash!
Here's everything I have on me. What do you say?
How about a Rolex?
I got a real one.
Come on. It won't hurt too bad.
It's nothing personal.
Just one second, please.
It's my jacket. It's really expensive.
And just not--not the eyes.
You're bleeding.
Some jerk puked on the stairs, and I slipped.
I should sue. You came back for me.
I came back to pick up my client.
No. You came back for me.
I got to lie down, Macey, please, in the back?
MACE: Some piece of work, Lenny Nero.
You're calmly backstroking along in the big toilet bowl...
and somehow, you never let it touch you.
I mean, between working vice...
and your current so-called occupation...
you must have seen every kind of perversion.
But you're just like some Teflon man.
You still come out this... goofball romantic.
It's my sword and my shield, Macey.
LENNY: All right. A little B 81 E action.
- What did you say? -Nothing.
[Sirens in the distance]
Aah!
[Taser crackles]
Shit.
No, no.
Please. Please.
Please.
You can let me go, please.
I haven't seen your face. Please.
Let me go.
Let me go, please.
Oh, my...Holy...
Aah!
[Gasping]
Lenny.
Lenny!
Go to the Sunset Regent right now.
Go! Go!
[Tires screech]
[Groans]
Oh, Christ.
He's jacking her into his own output.
She's seeing what he's seeing.
She's--she's seeing herself!
[Crying and gasping]
Aah!
[Crying]
No...
Oh...
[Gasping]
Oh, my God.
[Gasping]
[strangling]
God! Uhh!
[Silence]
Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
[Retching]
Lenny, what is it?
A black-jack.
Black-jack?
A snuff clip.
It was Iris. The sick fucker killed her.
Are you sure it's real?
Oh, shit.
[Max breathing heavily]
[Means]
[Punting]
Well, I lost my appetite...
for about a year.
Want to take a look?
MACE: Hell, no. I don't fool with that.
- You all right? -Yeah.
- You OK? -No. Not really.
MAX: Here.
All right.
Let's work it.
No, I--l can't.
Come on, Lenny, you used to be good at this shit.
Let's play it down. What's the perp doing?
I can't.
You used to be a fuckin' cop, OK?
That is a fucking murder.
What's he doing?
He stalks her...
and...he rapes her...
and he does her.
And he records it. He's a thrill-killer.
He wants to see it again.
He records himself raping and killing her.
But he sends a signal to her.
So she feels what he feels while he's inside her.
The thrill while he's killing her...
sent to her...
heightening her fear...
which heightens the turn-on for him.
I've seen a lot.
MAX: So have I. Too much.
- It's a bad one. -Yeah.
He makes her see her own death, feeds off the reaction.
He records it all. Everything.
And gives it to you.
He wants to share it.
Of course he wants to share, man.
That's his deal. He needs an audience.
- This is a sick puppy. -Why me?
'Cause you're the Magic Man, Lenny.
You make dreams happen, don't you?
If it's got something to do with the wire...
sooner or later, it washes up on your beach.
I've never dealt in black-jacks.
- Everybody knows that. -He's just skull-fucking you.
MAX: He just wants a reaction from you.
He wants to make you do something you do not want to do.
MACE: Maybe he just figures Lenny will appreciate it.
It's the dark end of the street. How do you like it now?
Jesus, Mace, back off.
No. This guy's one of your SQUID-head contacts.
He's somebody that you know.
MAX: The problem with that is Lenny knows everybody.
Take the tape to the cops.
No.
No. They'll crucify me.
So this wire-freak gets to keep running around, huh?
MAX: Lenny's right. The police will think he's the perp...
or they'll go through his client list and ruin his life...
such as it is.
I'll call my buddies at Homicide.
I'll tell them Iris was a friend of mine...
and that'll put me in the loop.
I'll get the forensics and all that shit.
Get some sleep.
I'll call you when I get something.
Relax!
Lenny!
Keep moving, man.
Somebody's thinking about you a whole lot.
[Blues guitar music]
[Guitar music echoing]
FAITH: Leave me alone.
Don't come to my house.
Are you trying to ruin my life?
Iris is dead. She was murdered.
Who did it?
LENNY: I don't know, but this guy's real damaged goods.
Iris knew someone was after her.
She said you were in danger, too.
- I'm not in any danger. -No more games.
Whatever you're hiding, whatever's going on...
you have to get out of here now.
Then what? Are you gonna protect me?
Are you a big tough guy? You're a fucking talker.
You don't even own a gun.
I have a gun. It's under my bed.
[Guitar music stops]
You don't know what you're fucking with.
Tell me.
GANT: Tell him, Faith. Go on.
FAITH: Lenny just stopped by to give me some bad news.
An old friend of mine's been murdered.
Remember Iris?
How the fuck did you get up here?
Charm.
Tell you what, Lenny.
Just for you, hmm? Make you a deal.
Why don't you just take her?
If she's so unhappy and wants to leave, she can go.
I'll let her decide.
Faith always knows what she wants. Don't you, baby?
See? Hands off.
I'll tell you something else.
I'll tell you this, you fuck.
If she says she stays, you go.
You crawl back in your cockroach hole...
and you never cross my vision again.
Faith...
Come on.
I've made my choice, Lenny.
Get him out.
Get him out!
You're fucking crazy, Faith!
Come with me! Faith!
I don't love you anymore! Do you understand that?
You mean nothing to me!
Leave me alone, Lenny, please.
FAITH: You said you were gonna get Iris out of this.
GANT: Now you understand the danger we're in.
That was so sweet what you said out there. So touching.
I almost believed it.
I don't think he understands you did it for him.
He doesn't even know what's going on.
Leave him alone!
I'd leave him alone if he'd stop coming around...
and you would just stop talking to him!
The only time a whore should open her mouth...
is when she's giving head.
LENNY: Shit! Mace! Help!
CORTO: Don't be shy, Lenny. This is your floor.
Let's go.
Lenny, guess who's going to the hospital?
LENNY: Can we be smart here? I can make it worth your while.
I'm not saying I mind a couple of shots.
Just go light is all I'm saying. Here, look. Take my Rolex.
CORTO: Ooh, nice watch.
- Is this impact resistant? -Yeah, sure.
LENNY: Aah!
CORTO: You stupid piece of shit!
You stupid fuck. Get up!
Come on. Get up!
Unhh!
CORTO: Oh, ho. Pain, pain!
Hey, Lenny, we tried to find a smaller girl...
to beat the shit out of you, but it was short notice.
It was short notice.
Oh! Ow! That one had to hurt.
Safety's on.
Uhh!
MACE: Come on. Let's go.
LENNY: Hey, wait!
CORTO: Ohh! That's fucked up.
I need a drink.
MACE: Get some rest.
LENNY: The cops know they'll never nail this guy...
the second they walk in the room.
It's all about what they see walking in--
dead hooker, handcuffs, penetration.
Cops are lazy.
They know nobody gives a shit about a dead hooker.
They're road kill, right?
They'll take some pictures, make some jokes...
and just shrug it off like it's a random kill.
It's a trick gone wrong. It's the kind you never solve.
MACE: That doesn't add, does it?
Because Iris said she knew somebody was after her.
That is not random.
If they get me-- [Siren]
She said "they." "If they get me."
This whole random sex-killer thing is bullshit.
Somebody whacked her for a reason.
So this guy's not a psycho?
No, he's a psycho.
To do what's on that tape...
he's not a well-adjusted human being.
I gotta get some sleep.
MACE: OK, Lenny.
Put that down...
and I'll check on you tomorrow.
LENNY: Hey, you want to rub my neck?
My shoulder's real sore.
MACE: OK. All right. Come here.
- Right here? -Oh, yeah.
Ohh...
Don't stop.
How's Zander?
MACE: He's fine.
I miss him.
He misses you, too.
I'm real sorry about being so hard on you earlier.
It's just that I see you...
getting sucked into this deeper and deeper, and...
LENNY: Macey, come on. I know you still love me.
[Tires screech]
[Siren]
How can you do this in front of your child?
- In front of your own son? -Macey, hold on!
MACE: [Sobbing] In front of your own son!
Zander!
LENNY: "When a child loves you for a long, long time...
"not just to play with, but really loves you--"
- Hi, honey. -Hi, Mommy!
- This is Lenny. -Hi.
Come on.
[Telephone rings]
Hi, it's Lenny. Just what do you have in mind?
[Beep]
MAX: Last day of the world, you spend it in bed?
- What's up, Max? -Not a whole hell of a lot, man.
They've just been saying words over Jeriko.
Tension's running pretty high down here.
- Faith OK? -Yeah.
MAX: She's leaving with Gant, so I gotta boogie real quick.
Iris checked into the Regent last night under a false name.
She paid cash.
- She was hiding out. -Yep.
I heard you dropped in on Gant last night.
Another slick Lenny move?
He's in this somehow, but I don't know how.
Just stay close to Faith, OK?
No worries, bro. I gotta jam.
[Gasps]
[Punting]
[Door opens]
Jesus.
What up, Lenny?
- Where are we going? -Anywhere.
MACE: You're acting strange. What's going on?
- Shh, Mace. -What?
We'll talk about it in the car.
Hand me that box of tapes.
MACE: Yeah.
- Oh, shit. -What's the matter?
This tie doesn't go with blue.
[Yelling]
MACE: Lenny, would you relax?
We're not being followed. Stop being so paranoid.
LENNY: The guy had a knife to my throat in my living room.
Relaxing might be right out.
Aah!
[Punting]
TICK: Oh, man.
That is one unbelievable piece of eyefuck.
LENNY: Skip the art criticism, Tick.
What can you tell me about the wearer?
- That guy is fucked up. -We know that.
No. The killer's got some kind of distortion...
in the visual cortex.
The color and gray-scale values are all messed up.
Like color blindness. See the peak period ratios?
There could be some kind of tumor or brain lesion.
Whoever's doing this is using a box to split the signal--
You ever make a box like that?
Yeah, but I can't see the gear well enough to see if it's mine.
I don't like this.
- This is not good. -What?
TICK: It's cutting close to me. She was just here, man.
- Who was? -lris! Pay attention!
Iris was here?
The other night, shaking like a junkie...
saying she wanted me to copy some clip.
- What was it? -She wouldn't let me see.
She was going to give it to you to hold for her...
like insurance or something.
- She never gave me a tape. -Think back to what she said.
She came in crying.
She wanted to go to my car.
Can we go to your car? You have to see something.
Something about my car. -In your car.
[Barking]
[Whimpering]
LENNY: That's a handy little attitude adjuster.
Damn. I'm boxed in.
What's it say?
LENNY: Nothing.
Let's go play this back.
STECKLER: Give us the tape right now.
I just want to get my car back. The place is closed.
Shut the fuck up.
Aah! Give him the tape.
It's in my case.
I'm going to open my case.
ENGELMAN: Facing us, so we can see it.
Take it and turn her loose, OK?
Yeah. Absolutely.
ENGELMAN: Aah!
Uhh.
Aah! Aah!
[Tires screech]
LENNY: "Oh, no. We're not being followed, Lenny.
"Don't be so paranoid, Lenny."
Aah!
Oh, shit!
Take it easy. The glass is bullet-resistant.
Bullet-resistant? What happened to bulletproof?
Shit!
Calm down, baby. This is what I do.
Hang on!
Oh, Christ.
Unh!
[Breathing heavily]
[Lenny dialing]
Shit!
MACE: Fuck.
God damn it. Nine-one-one is busy.
It's all right, Lenny.
They'd never make it in time, anyway.
Uhh!
It won't open.
Oh, shit. You're crazy.
Oh, God.
This is bad.
The gas tank's gonna go any second.
Hold on.
MACE: Uhh!
Are you out of your fucking mind?
The fire is out, isn't it?
Get in here, Lenny.
Come on! Move it! Move!
Uhh!
Get ready to hold your breath.
Just kick out hard and follow me, OK?
STECKLER: Let's get out of here.
I can't believe you had to give them the damn tape.
Yeah. Me neither.
It was one of my favorites--
me and Faith in the hot tub on my birthday.
Are we impressed yet?
Yeah.
Pretty impressed.
JERIKO RAPPING: Here we kitty come, come...
CURTIS: I'm missing the party of the century...
hauling your asses around--
MACE: Hey, Curtis, just drive, all right?
CURTIS: This shit is wack.
Those guys were cops.
You sure?
It's the walk or something.
They'll run your plates and get your address.
We got to keep moving.
JERIKO RAPPING: That crawls through the cracks
You love that red...
CECILE: What you doing all wet?
Lornette, what's up?
MACE: Zander, we're going to Aunt Cecile's house.
We'll watch the fireworks from there.
- Aw, Ma. -Come on, boy.
LENNY: Come on, Zander. We're going for a ride, OK?
[Beeping]
- I want to know what's going on. -Get in the car, Cecile.
- What's going on? -Now.
[Radio playing rap music]
RONNIE: Yo, what's up? How y'all doing?
- Yo, Mace. -Hey, Ronnie.
- You never come around. -I been working.
MACE: This is Lenny. He's with me.
RONNIE: What's up?
- Watch the fireworks, baby. -How you guys doing?
- Hey. - Hey
MACE: Good seeing you.
[Sighs]
Tell me.
I can't tell you. You got to see it.
I'm not doing it.
I know what you think about the wire...
but you got to see it.
It's that important.
OK?
I'm sorry this has to be your first playback.
Keep your eyes closed, or you'll see double.
[Radio playing]
IRIS: Baby, yes.
[Laughing]
REPLAY: I wanna thank you, Jeriko.
I owe you one for this, my brother.
JERIKO: You owe me two, you bastard.
REPLY: All right. I owe you three, four, five, and six.
IRIS: Hey, baby.
[Laughing]
REPLAY: Yes, yes, yes. Oh, yeah, baby.
[Siren]
Lights. Damn. Look at this, man.
REPLAY: Oh, goddamn, man. Just be cool, Jeriko. Yo.
JERIKO: I'm not speeding, man.
Man, what's the matter-- a black man can't own no Jeep?
STECKLER ON LOUDSPEAKER: Pull to the foot of the ramp.
JERIKO: Black man with a white girl against the law in L.A.?
[Horn honks]
REPLAY: You know how it is. If we be cool, they be cool.
No trouble. I can't afford no trouble.
JERIKO: I'm upset.
JERIKO: A man can't do shit in this town.
DIAMANDA: I ain't going back, Iris.
I don't give a fuck. I ain't going back.
STECKLER: Driver, step out of the vehicle.
Get down on your knees.
Put your hands behind your head. Now!
ENGELMAN: Everyone else, out of the car.
JERIKO: Goddamn, man! What you pull me over for?
If I was going slower, I'd have been parked.
STECKLER: On your knees. Put your hands behind your head.
ENGELMAN: Put your hands on the hood of car.
- Don't move. You, too, bitch! -Aah!
JERIKO: I suppose you pulled us over because you had suspects...
fitting our description in the area.
Is that what you're going to tell me?
What was the description, two black males in a car?
Yeah, right.
REPLAY: Ow! Fuck!
You know what? You pulled over the wrong black male tonight...
Officer-what is it? "Steckler." Officer Steckler.
I'm that eight-hundred-pound gorilla in your mist, fucker!
I make more money in a day than you make in a year!
And my lawyer loves spending my money...
dragging sorry-ass, Aryan, Robocop fuckers into court.
Get a man down on the ground with no probable cause.
STECKLER: Shut the fuck up.
DIAMANDA: He didn't do anything.
Shut up and get back over there!
- You all right? -Motherfucker kicked me.
ENGELMAN: It's that rap asshole.
STECKLER: You're that rapper puke.
Jeriko One?
You're the one that's getting all the gangbangers together...
going downtown, forming citizen groups...
trying to rake the LAPD over a cheese grater?
JERIKO: That's right, and you gonna be in my next song.
It's gonna be called "Robo-Steckler."
[Laughter]
It's all about a cop who met his worst nightmare...
a nigger with enough political juice...
to scrunch his ass like a stink bug.
You gonna be famous, fucker!
STECKLER: I don't think so.
REPLAY: What the fuck? No!
[Iris and Diamanda screaming]
STECKLER: Stop that bitch!
DIAMANDA: Aah!
IRIS: Oh, no. Oh, fuck. Aah!
STECKLER: Get her!
IRIS: Oh, no. Fuck.
[Iris screaming]
[Bullets ricocheting]
IRIS: Oh, God!
- There she goes! -Get her!
IRIS: Aah!
[Train horn blaring]
STECKLER: You bitch!
[Horn blaring]
IRIS: Aah!
ENGELMAN: I don't fucking see her!
[Gunshots]
LENNY: Hang on, Max.
Mace.
You see?
You had to see it.
I see the world opening up and swallowing us all.
Yeah. I know.
Max, are you there?
Meet me at Tick's in half an hour.
And, Lenny, don't get pulled over, OK?
You know what this tape could do if it got out?
Yeah. I got a pretty good idea.
People finding out...
seeing...
that the LAPD just flat-out executed Jeriko One.
Jesus.
Maybe they ought to see.
LENNY: Maybe...
but tonight's probably not the best night.
Mace.
Come on.
We're rolling.
LENNY: I don't think those cops did Iris.
Whoever Iris was wearing for killed her.
Why?
LENNY: If those cops had gotten hold of her...
they'd have beat it out of her who she was wearing for...
and gone after them, too.
Our killer is running as scared as we are...
which makes him really dangerous...
judging by how scared I am.
COP: Hold it up.
COP: Let her go.
[Rock music plays loudly]
Sounds like Tick's already celebrating.
LENNY: You seem overdressed for this party.
MAX: I wanted to look nice for you.
Hey, Tick, I got to talk to you.
LENNY: Shit!
[Music stops]
He's been cooked off.
MACE: Is he dead?
LENNY: No, but his frontal lobes are like two runny eggs.
They put an amplifier in-line to boost the signal...
and it fries his brain.
Tick!
It's Lenny!
Hey, hey, Tick, come on!
Tick, it's me. Lenny.
Come on. Wake up!
Tick!
Come on!
Come on, Tick, come on!
He's totally cut off from the outside world.
How long does it last?
Forever.
Those two psycho cops are on a slash-and-burn...
to find the tape and cover their tracks.
Tick is a known duplicator.
They want to find out what he knows, if copies were made...
or who might've wired up Iris.
It doesn't even get investigated as a homicide...
since he's technically alive.
Since he's technically alive.
Yeah. That's right. He's technically alive.
Seems sophisticated for them. These are not subtle guys.
There's more to this than you think.
What do you mean?
All I'm saying is...
you don't know how high up the food chain this thing goes.
I heard stuff.
What stuff?
I heard stuff, smoke, rumors.
I've heard stuff.
I've heard stuff about a death squad.
They're a group of guys, cops, loyal to the hard-line school.
Guys who've had too many years of city hall, review boards...
and the goddamn media pissing down their necks...
suspending cops right and left, tying their hands...
while these same people are squealing...
"Save us! Save us! Do something, you morons.
"Crime is totally out of control."
LENNY: Bullshit, Max. It's conspiracy paranoia.
The issue isn't whether you're paranoid.
The issue is whether you're paranoid enough.
Christ.
Exactly. Get religion, man.
I love you like my own blood, Lenny...
but don't walk near me in public right now, OK?
The only card we got to play is the tape.
Get it to the media.
That's right. Blow it open.
Run that on the eleven o'clock news...
by midnight, you've got the biggest riot in history.
They'll see the smoke in Canada.
What the hell are you saying-- pretend it didn't happen?
- I didn't say that. -It happened.
The LAPD executed...
one of the most important black men in America.
Who the fuck are you to try to bury it?
STECKLER: Trying to rake the LAPD over a cheese grater?
You want blood running in the storm drains, go do it.
Two hundred thousand gangbangers will spread through this city...
and burn it to the fucking ground, Mace.
Once the fire starts...
the cops will cap off anything that moves.
It'll be an all-out war.
STECKLER: I don't think so.
Maybe it's time for a war.
You really want that on your head, Mace, huh?
Really?
Whoever did Iris did Tick.
It's the same sick wirehead shit.
It's the same reason-- to burn the trail.
If Faith knows anything about this, and she does--
Somebody's going to kill Faith?
[Singing] Yeah, you're not rid of me
No, you're not rid of me
I'll make you lick my injuries
I'm gonna twist your head off, see?
Till you say, don't you wish you
Never, never met her?
Don't you, don't you wish you
Never, never met her?
Don't you, don't you wish you
Never, never met her?
Don't you, don't you wish you
Never, never met her?
Don't you, don't you wish you
Never, never met her?
Don't you, don't you wish you
Never, never met her?
Don't you, don't you wish you
Never, never met her?
[Cheers]
Aah!
Jesus, Lenny, you scared the fuck out of me!
What do you want?
LENNY: We know about Jeriko.
Iris made me a copy of the tape.
I was trying to keep you out of this.
LENNY: I know. How'd it happen?
MACE: Why was Iris riding around with Jeriko wearing a wire?
Faith, listen--Look at me.
You got to trust us. We're here to help you.
All right. I'll talk to you alone.
Mace is in this.
Tell us.
Faith.
Philo, he's gotten obsessed with playback.
He's a total wiretrip junkie.
He's such a control freak, he's been having people followed.
He's recording his business partners' phone calls.
He's wiring up people left and right.
Philo and Jeriko weren't getting along.
He was afraid Jeriko was gonna dump him...
but he wasn't sure, so he starts with the surveillance.
A couple of nights ago, he wires up Iris...
and he sends her and the other girl, Diamanda...
over to Jeriko's table.
DIAMANDA: Hi, baby.
IRIS: Hi. My name is Iris.
JERIKO: Hey.
IRIS: I got a present for you.
You are so beautiful.
FAITH: So that night, Iris calls up crying.
She's freaking out.
She comes over, and she plays the tape.
Philo loses it.
He can't believe the disaster she's gotten him into.
He's afraid the cops will beat it out of her...
who she's been working for and then come looking for him.
MACE: Why didn't he just go public with the tape?
Save himself that way?
FAITH: If it got out he spied on his own artists...
he'd lose all his other acts, and it'd be over for him.
PHILO: Shh.
FAITH: So he gives Iris some money.
He tells her to check into a hotel under an assumed name...
until he can figure out what to do.
He figured out what to do.
You think he killed her?
The killer knew where she was because he put her there.
What a nightmare.
PHILO: I don't know where the fuck she is, but we're late.
Let's go.
MAX: Philo, how do you want me to work it at the Bonaventure?
Want me downstairs at the party or upstairs at the suite?
Lenny.
Leave here with me right now.
MACE: Come on.
- We'll talk about that later. -No, man. I need to know.
PHILO: Joey, what the fuck are you waiting for? Get her.
I just say things once, baby.
We will talk about that later.
OK, man. I'm cool. I'm sorry, man.
Hey, Wade, go out for a pass, bro.
[Singing] Blue sky
No white clouds in my blue sky
Oh, shit!
CORTO: Get out of my fuckin' way!
MACE: Come on! Come on!
FAITH: Lenny!
MACE: Go! Go!
CORTO: Pardon me! Sorry! Sorry!
Get out of my fuckin' way!
Move it! Move!
LENNY: Faith?
FAITH: Lenny!
GANT: Hello, Lenny, you fuck!
Let's go, darling. Walk with me.
Happy New Year!
CORTO: Get out of the way! Look out!
- Get out of the way! -Lenny!
CORTO: Sorry. Excuse me.
Get out of my fucking way!
[Women screaming]
Vita, Vita, not now, baby.
Come on. Not here.
REPORTER: There he is.
Mr. Gant, a few questions, please?
[Reporters shouting questions]
Well, I'm certainly in the mood for a party.
Wade, take her up to the suite.
WADE: No problem.
PHILO: You go and have a glass of champagne...
or six.
See you up there in a bit, help you ring in the new year.
I live for the moment.
MACE: Pussy-whipped, sorry-ass motherfucker.
Ow“, !
Take it easy.
Where are they now?
He's got her up in the room, under guard.
He's still working the party...
acting smooth like nothing's nothing.
- I say we work a trade. -What do you mean?
Give him the clip. It's fucking brilliant.
The tape for Faith.
I know he'll go for it, and I can set it up.
This is what we laughingly refer to as a plan, right?
Just get your butt down here.
If I'm not downstairs, go to the room.
It's twenty-two-oh-three. You writing?
LENNY: Two-two-zero-three.
If he gives us any shit...
we kill them all.
What do you say?
Really scatter the pigeons.
We got to get over there.
Can you borrow a dress from Cecile or something?
I'm not going.
Giant's going to do her right there.
Shut up.
Lenny, park your mouth and listen.
It's a setup. Think about it.
Why's he sending tapes to you?
To get you to rush in...
put a bullet in you, one in her, and the gun in your hand.
Yeah, that sounds right.
I'm going.
You gonna get yourself killed for this?
For this toxic-waste bitch?
LENNY: What the fuck are you doing?
MACE: This is your life!
Right here! Right now!
It's real time, you hear me? Real time!
Time to get real, not playback.
You understand me?
She doesn't love you anymore.
Maybe she did once, but she doesn't now.
These are used emotions.
It's time to trade them in.
Memories were meant to fade.
They're designed that way for a reason.
Have you ever been in love with...
someone who didn't return that love?
Yeah, Lenny...
I have.
Didn't stop you from loving them, right?
Or being able to understand them...
or forgive them?
I guess.
Didn't stop you from wanting to protect them...
did it?
When I met Faith, she was just another...
another runaway...
giving twenty-dollar blow jobs to buy crank.
Just another lost soul.
And she had this voice that was...
Well, it was scary.
Like she could take all the hurt and rage...
of the entire world...
and lift it up to heaven in one voice.
I helped her.
And I promised her that I'll always just be there...
to protect her.
See, it's not about what's in her head.
It's about what's in mine.
I can't let go of the promise.
It's like it's all I have left.
No, it's not.
Come on.
Let's go to a party.
[Huge crowd cheering]
[Playing heavy metal music]
The end of the world, yeah!
LENNY: Shit!
MACE: Let's bail.
LENNY: Hey, Mace.
You look great in that dress.
I mean, better than I would.
Thank you, I think.
Come on, let's go.
GUARDSMAN: Hold it right there!
MACE: What's your plan...
for getting into the most sold-out party in history?
LENNY: Relax, Mace. This is what I do.
[Singing in African language]
You see Gant?
MACE: Uh-uh.
Oh, shit.
[Hits speed dialer]
LENNY: Come on, Max. Come on, buddy.
Come on, buddy.
OPERATOR: The customer you have called is unavailable...
or has traveled--
LENNY: All right. I still got one ace to play.
Gant's got what I want. I've got what he wants.
This is the original. There are no copies.
That's why it's a makeable deal.
This tape is a lightning bolt from God.
It's worth more than you, more than me...
and more than Faith. You understand?
It can change things that need changing...
before we all go off the end of the road.
You do not have the right to use it for currency.
So if you go...
you go alone.
I care about you, Lenny...
a lot more than you know...
which makes us both pretty stupid, huh?
But if you pawn this tape...
you mean nothing to me.
Excuse me.
You see that guy over there?
That's Deputy Commissioner Palmer Strickland...
the sanctimonious prick who busted me out.
His ass is so tight...
when he farts only dogs can hear it.
If there's one cop who's not dirty, it's him.
Take it to him.
You want me to trust a cop?
No. Trust me. Here.
What if you're wrong?
Go.
STRICKLAND: Excuse me.
Commissioner...
there's a clip in here that you need to see right now.
If it weren't New Year's Eve, I'd have you arrested...
for possession of illegal equipment.
MACE: Just look at the clip.
You want to know who killed Jeriko...
go into that stall right now and hit "play."
COP: ls there a problem?
MACE: Damn it, I knew it.
- Let's go. -Let go of me!
Sir?
Wade, can we talk here like two human beings?
It's nothing personal.
[Bagpipes playing]
DUNCAN: Remember me, you fucking bitch?
Come on! Come on!
What are you looking at?
God damn it!
Enjoy the party.
Steckler...Steckler!
Fuck!
I didn't hear you come in.
FAITH: Uhh!
Uhh!
Aah! No!
[Intruder moans]
Shh.
Uhh...
[Groans]
0h!
FAITH: Uh...uhh...
Shit.
[Grunting]
Max.
No.
MAX: You OK?
Mmm?
Did I hurt you?
Huh?
I love you, Max.
MAX: You're so pretty, Faith.
Shit!
Come here! Come here, you fuck!
GANT: Do you want to fuckin' die?
You want to fuckin' die?
MAX: Piece of puke hired me to kill you, baby.
Can you believe that? Isn't that right, Gant?
FAITH: I can't believe this is happening.
MAX: Believe it!
Bring me the 'trodes and the deck.
Quick! Come here, big shot, suck on this.
You want to suck on something?
FAITH: What are you gonna do? You can't just kill him, Max!
MAX: I'm not gonna kill him.
Just a little poach job.
GANT: Ohhh!
MAX: You shut the fuck up! Shut up!
Or I'll pull this fucking trigger!
[Fireworks explode]
FAITH: Aah! Fuck!
MAX: Here's how much I love you, baby.
FAITH: God, Max!
MAX: Hope you enjoy the show, Philo...
you fuck.
- Take it, you prick! -No, Max! Don't do it!
MAX: Take it! Take it!
Take it!
Don't make any assumptions about our friendship, Lenny.
I didn't know you were color blind, Max.
Only way I could stand your ties.
Manos arriba, amigo.
Ooh.
Glock twenty-three.
Nice.
Where's Faith?
MAX: I sent her to the party.
I figured I'd wait up here until you killed Gant.
What makes you think I'm gonna kill Gant?
MAX: You just did.
Jesus!
Statistically, that's the second most common word people say...
right before they die...
"shit" being number one.
So, uh...
I killed Gant, then you ran in...
and being on his payroll, you shot me.
That's the way it happened.
LENNY: Now I'm remembering. I killed Iris, too, didn't I?
They'll find the original of her snuff clip...
in your apartment.
The one I left at the club was a copy.
Was I a really busy guy? Did I do Tick, too?
You bet. Did you like it?
So, why, Max?
Why did you have to do Iris?
I feel like I gotta share this with somebody...
'cause it's just too perfect.
I won't say anything.
Oh, I know.
So, I'm working for this puke, right?
And he says he'll pay me quite large to do the hooker...
but I also got to do his bitch girlfriend...
'cause she knows the score, and she's out of control.
Only he doesn't know about me and Faith.
So I say to myself, if I turn the iob down...
he'll get somebody else, and I lose Faith...
to coin a phrase.
To buy time, I do the skank...
but I still got to deal with Gant.
It's him or me...
but I can't cap him without some chump...
to take the fall.
And who better...
than his girlfriend's loser ex-boyfriend--known criminal...
and who has been seen hassling them in public?
Who is, regrettably, also your best fucking friend.
No plan is perfect, Lenny.
Cheer up. The world's ending in ten minutes, anyway.
You must be so pleased.
I mean, I followed your jellybean trail right here...
like a good little chump.
You got foggy on me a couple times.
Remember that riff about the death squad?
I had to keep you from going to the cops.
I've heard stuff about a death squad.
The issue isn't whether you're paranoid, Lenny.
The issue's whether you're paranoid enough.
- There never was a death squad? -No.
Just two loose-cannon cops covering their butts.
Pretty zany, huh? All this caused by a random traffic stop.
Nothing means nothing, man. You know that.
The whole planet's in total fucking chaos.
JERIKO: The day of reckoning is upon us!
You gotta get what you can while you can...
'cause some shitbird can come put a twenty-two...
in the back of your head...
any second.
Aah!
How'd you hook up with Faith?
Hmm...
This fuck hires me about a month ago to eyeball her...
only Faith knows me from you.
So she comes up to me and says, "Max, why are you following me?"
And I say, "I'll buy you a drink. I'll explain."
And she says--
FAITH: "Do you enjoy watching me?"
You're supposed to go downstairs, baby.
I know.
I don't always do what I'm told. You know that.
So I said, "Do you enjoy watching me?"
Come on, Max. Play with me.
And then what's! you say?
I said, "Yeah, I'd even do it for free."
FAITH: Uh-huh.
And I said, "That's good...
"because I like the feeling of someone watching me.
"I acquired the taste from Lenny."
MAX: And then she said...
"Since we're going to spend so much time together..."
"Why don't we make the best of it?"
[Fireworks exploding]
The very best.
You know all about that, don't you, Lenny?
Faith and me, we found a place...
you could never reach, Max.
Never.
Faith...
I know it's gone.
But you, Max, you can't fucking touch it.
Enjoy it.
FAITH: Lenny!
MAX: Fucking bitch!
LENNY: Shit.
MAX: You fucking bitch!
FAITH: You bastard!
God!
MAX: Aah!
Fuck you!
[Screams]
MAX: Come here!
LENNY: Go to hell!
MAX: Motherfucker! You're going down!
Come here!
MAX: Aah!
LENNY: Oh!
[Cheering]
Ohh!
Oh!
Come here, Lenny!
I'm taking you with me, you motherfucker! Come here!
Come here with me!
Motherfucker!
Come here!
[Lenny screaming in pain]
[Screaming]
[Singing] They're selling Jesus again
They want your soul
And your money
Your blood and your votes
They're selling Jesus again
Selling love to you
Selling love
out!
Love
There she is!
PARTYGOER: Fuck you!
Get the fuck outta here!
ENGELMAN: Freeze!
I said, fucking freeze!
[Taser crackles]
Down! All the way down right now!
Now pay attention, motherfucker!
Stay down.
Down! Down! Down! Down!
Down now!
You son of a bitch! You ain't goin' anywhere!
[Other officers approach shouting]
FIRST COP: Get off! You heard the man!
Shut up and move!
FIRST COP: Put that gun down!
SECOND COP: Get on the ground now!
Hold it.
Hold on.
Let me tell you what's going on here.
Let me tell you what's going on.
Get on the ground now!
Now!
Let me tell you what happened!
Just listen. No!
All right?
Get these fucking things off me!
Don't uncuff him!
FIRST COP: Shut up! Get down! Put that whore down now!
MACE: Wait! You don't know what happened!
STECKLER: Yes! Fuck her up!
STECKLER: Hit her! Hit her!
Leave her alone!
Kick his head in!
Beat the shit outta him!
GUARDSMAN: Move out!
STECKLER: Commissioner Strickland!
That is the cause of all this!
Right fucking there!
These two are under arrest for murder!
Read them their rights! Move it!
- Yes, sir. -Yes, sir.
COP: You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you...
in a court of law.
You have the right to an attorney.
If you can't afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.
STRICKLAND: Get this woman some medical attention.
COP: Get some medics up here from the Guard!
Mace, are you OK?
I got 'em.
[Lenny laughs]
Get the fuck outta here!
everybody!
Back the fuck up!
Drop your weapon!
Drop it now!
No! No!
No!
COP: Put that gun down!
- Drop your weapon! -Drop the gun now!
Now! Drop it!
Put it down right now!
- Drop your weapon! -Shoot!
You...fucking...
nigger bitch!
Lenny!
Lenny! Lenny!
No, no, Lenny, Lenny.
Lenny! Lenny!
LENNY: Yeah?
What?
Are we under arrest?
Nah, they just have to ask us a few questions...
for about six hours.
MEDIC: OK, where are you hurt, sir?
SECOND MEDIC: Ma'am, you OK? Ma'am?
MACE: Yeah.
MEDIC: Get that coat off. You hurt anywhere else?
CROWD: Ten...nine...
eight...seven...
six...five...
four...
three...
two...
one!
Whoo!
MEDIC: You need an ambulance. Let's go this way.
Come on this way, sir.
Hey, Lenny, we made it.
Yeah, we did.
You should get going.
Yeah.
See you downtown.
See you there.
MEDIC: Make way!
LORI CARSON SINGING: Ahh
Ahhh
Ahhhh
Ahhh
Pretend there's no night
Hold on
Everything has
Come apart
But in this moment
Right now
When it can come together
Makes no sense
What's there to lose?
Fall in the light
Will you catch me if I'm falling?
Will you catch me?
Hold on...hold on
Hold on
Will you catch me?
[Peter Gabriel and Deep Forest play "While the Earth Sleeps"]