Original subtitles

(Transcribed by TurboScribe. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) I can't

stand this.

I don't know how she does that.

Jared, I'm trying to light up a shot.

Sorry.

His name was Scott Helner.

We were the same age, went to the

academy together, graduated last year.

Ended up at the same station.

He was into coke.

Pretty heavy, on the job.

One day, some pictures show up.

Him using his patrol car.

Then a call comes.

Says these are gonna get mailed to your

captain.

That's how it started.

And they said the pictures would disappear if

he stole something from the evidence locker.

He came to me, asked me what he

should do.

I didn't know.

I didn't want to go to Internal Affairs.

Two days later, he shot himself.

He's dead.

It's everything I've been able to find out

since.

I got a pretty good idea who the

blackmailers are, and I think they're doing it

to other cops.

I have to be part of this case.

Obviously, I'm gonna need a little outside help

here, but this has to be mine, okay?

Sir, can I talk to you for a

second?

Yeah.

I know what you're gonna say, okay?

Take the case, but ditch the kid.

He's too green, he's too arrogant, and too

emotionally involved.

You rule.

We're gonna take the case and work with

the kid.

I don't care what you think.

How do you think this union knows about

the candy store?

Did you recognize his last name?

Calloway.

His dad is deputy chief.

I don't care.

You want us to team up with some

kid who couldn't even ride a parking ticket

by himself just because his father is some

big...

Because this is Earth, a planet ruled by

politics.

If you don't like it, try space travel.

You always have to go straight for the

sarcasm body slam.

You keep him away from the action, you

don't let him get in your way, and

don't let him get killed on my watch.

I know you can make this work.

Okay, we're done.

How you feeling?

A little amped.

What did you feed me, about a pound

of B-12?

Let's just say you're gonna feel very perky

for a few days.

Dude, you ready?

We gotta roll.

You know, I was thinking, maybe I should

take the ass to Martin.

To be in character, for my end of

the play.

Yeah, uh, Jerry, your end of the play

is more of a backup thing, you know

what I'm saying?

It means you get the Toyota.

Yeah.

Hey, it's Jerry.

I was thinking maybe I should do more

than just stay in the car and watch

the door.

You know, because I'm not feeling like I'm

really involved here.

Here's the thing, Jerry.

You've gotten us a lot of good information,

and this is definitely gonna be a serious

score.

But this couple you put us on, man,

they're like Frankenstein and the bride, alright?

A full-on, happily married freak show.

He does it for the money, she does

it for kicks.

And you ain't ready for what they're putting

down.

You feel me?

Now, everybody needs to play their position.

We're going in, get them comfy.

You watch our backs.

Stay in the car, hit us on the

two-way if something goes down.

But how am I supposed to help you

guys if I can't see anything, if I'm

stuck out here in the car?

Jared, you just gotta trust us on this.

Rudy and Randy need special handling.

Deke and I have long documented Vouch 4

criminal histories.

These people feel safe with us.

Okay?

Okay, I hear you.

Alright, listen, we're almost there.

Get in character.

We hanging up.

Here's what I don't like.

This kid's just angling for the bust, right?

Working to get his name on the report?

He's young, let him have it.

How about letting him earn it?

Yo, you got a hard side, man.

And it's weird, because it don't come out

often, but when it does, it's like you

get this whole jaw twitch.

And you get all serious.

Next thing you know, your lip gets tight.

Then Van goes away, and here comes Captain

Van.

Steel Van.

The Van.

I guess I don't have your teddy bear

tender side.

I ain't no teddy bear, alright?

I'm just saying.

Vouchers.

Lips.

Latex.

Lips.

Vouchers.

Don't stay dirty.

Lips.

I am your little treasure.

I eat skinless.

Skin.

Skin.

Skin.

Skin.

Skin.

Vouchers.

Lips.

Latex.

Lips.

We in the drug game, man.

I've been her doctor fix for about a

year.

And to be honest with y'all, I

hate her stink ass.

Always hard balling me, never paying on time.

She's messing with how we get our money.

Now, I can't do nothing about it, because

she's all over my parole.

She got me by the sack.

I need some payback.

You have any tape on her?

Video?

Audio?

Miles and miles.

You bring it with you?

After we know what the deal is.

It's not complicated.

We deal in information, specifically this kind of

information.

You give us everything that can hurt her.

We handle the contact and the payout.

You stay clean.

We split the take 50-50.

What take?

She's a cop making $55,000 a year

before taxes.

Ain't no money in that playa.

Look.

Every day of the week, we know what's

in every evidence locker in the county.

Money, drugs, swag, whatever.

We get the lists off the cops from

the inside.

And we tell her what.

She walks in and gets it.

Cop looking at jail time is a cop

looking at deal.

You guys might want to step outside.

Found somebody poking around the side door.

My guy thinks he's a cop.

He's with us.

What the hell is wrong with you, man?

Didn't I tell you to wait in the

car?

Shut up!

Sorry about that, guys.

Did you leave this kid?

Rudy, Randy, really embarrassed right here.

We apologize.

His name's Jerry.

He's been with us forever.

How come we've never met him?

He stays wide, watches our back.

You don't bring him in?

We don't get to check him out?

We like to know our partners, all our

partners.

You're right.

Totally right.

Our bad.

I mean, look at him.

He's like a pet, you know?

I mean, you don't even think about it.

When you meet a family, do you say,

can we meet your dog?

He's like a little shih tzu.

Just like that.

Uncuff him.

You, come here.

You know how we do it?

We don't like surprises or new faces.

You and your partner were thoroughly researched before

you ever stepped foot in here.

We like to know everything.

It's what we're about, right?

Like we said, our bad lady.

He radiates Joe Regular.

Maybe even 5-0.

Anyhow, it's your guy, your problem.

You get my point?

Yeah.

Have a nice night.

I've seen some bonehead moves in my life

before.

And what I haven't seen, I've done.

But this, this is Olympian.

You get the gold.

All I did was get out of the

car and walk to the door.

Okay, and here's the question you better be

able to answer.

Why?

I just, it was a while.

I was waiting.

I was getting worried.

You had a two-way, you had a

phone, and more importantly, you had orders.

Okay, you know what?

It happened.

What are you gonna do?

I don't know.

The deal's blown, and they're fully shy now.

What's gonna bring him back?

Look, here's the thing.

They're right.

He's got no jacket, no backstory, and he

gives off bright blue, straight-out-of-the

-academy beat cop energy.

You want to make me feel bad, make

me feel like an idiot?

Okay, you did it.

I'm not trying to make you feel like

an idiot.

Okay, that you can do on your own.

I'm trying to get you to see the

crucial information here, which is you blew the

case.

I don't know the case.

You won't let me near it.

I dug up all the information, I brought

it to you, but you stick me in

the follow car.

You make me sit outside and wait for

you.

Which is a hell of a lot closer

than you ever would have gotten if your

father was deputy janitor.

Oh, you're an ass.

Well, tell your dad.

Maybe he can get me fired.

You know what?

Okay, you know what?

This part, this part, it's over.

We're moving on, okay?

All right, look, man, just relax your lip,

okay?

You're doing that whole tight thing again.

Loosen up, dog, loosen.

All right, we got two options right now.

Option A, Jared disappears.

Yeah, that one looks suspicious.

You're supposed to be relaxing your lip, man.

Don't talk, okay?

But you're right.

Option B, let's make him into somebody they

trust, okay?

We build him into a hardcore, full-on,

set-tripping, boy-wonder-pusher man with platinum

street credibility.

They want to believe, but more importantly, they

want to be sold.

So let's get this kid into showroom condition.

He's right.

You up for some school?

Convince me not to shoot you.

Okay, don't shoot me.

You think I'm playing?

Do you know for a fact this gun

isn't loaded?

Convince me not to put a bullet in

your neck.

Okay, just give me a second, okay?

Is this supposed to be like, I'm the

cop and you're the bad guy?

This is me and you right here, right

now.

I have a gun on you.

In ten seconds, I'm pulling the trigger.

You don't believe me?

Ask him.

I already shot him once.

And I'm his partner.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six.

You need me to make the case.

I'll bet.

You use something you have against me.

That's good.

Okay?

Now convince me not to kill Deke.

Oh, hold up, hold up, man.

Can the hostage finish his taquito, at least?

No, the hostage has to shut up and

hope the cop can save the hostage.

Otherwise, he'll be eating taquitos through a straw.

Take me.

Why?

I already got him.

You don't want him.

You want me.

You want somebody you can use.

Somebody who means something.

Aim the gun at me.

Let him go.

I don't know.

I mean, you seem to care an awful

lot about him.

I shoot him, that's really gonna hurt you,

right?

Bang, bang.

Stupid.

Now we both dead.

Here's what you did wrong.

You acted like you gave a crap.

You acted like it was life or death.

You acted like a beat cop would.

They smell that, they get the advantage.

You wanna get out of a situation like

that alive?

You don't show fear, need, loyalty or love.

Ever.

Man, you shot me while I was chewing.

I could've died.

Okay.

How long have they been married?

Uh, nine years.

What do we know about the marriage?

It's rock solid.

They're never apart.

They worship each other.

No one's ever gonna get between them.

No one's ever gonna tear them apart.

Randy's maiden name?

Sev...

Rick.

Can I talk to you for a second?

Sure.

Bang giving you a hard time?

Nothing I can't handle.

Look, come on.

You can't give him the answer.

What good is that gonna do anybody?

Look, every minute that we're in here, they're

getting more suspicious out there.

We gotta get that kid ready to roll,

man.

Not take the SAT.

We can't be arguing in front of him,

okay?

It's like a mom-dad thing, okay?

We have to be a unified front.

Look, I don't want to fight in front

of him, but you know what?

You need to move past the homework stuff.

Homework stuff is important.

No, no, passing the test is important.

You were a terrible student, weren't you?

Straight A's, baby.

Did you ever learn anything?

Yeah, how to get A's.

I'm not gonna argue with you.

We have to settle this and be one

voice.

Are they always like that?

Look, we gotta...

Yeah, it usually ends in some juvenile physical

contest to see who wins the argument.

Ah, see?

There you go.

What's that?

You lost, go.

All right, here's something I'll never get.

How does paper beat rock?

How does a piece of paper covering a

rock make you lose?

That's the way it is, man.

Just accept it.

The game's a metaphor.

Rock is power.

Scissors is intelligence.

Paper is money.

Money can wipe out power.

Uh-huh.

For the first time, this game is actually

making sense.

The student is teaching.

I love it.

Here's the thing.

You have to become everything the mark wants.

Rudy and Randy are all about the lifestyle.

Do you fit?

Can you hang?

What kind of a vibe do you want?

So this is iBar.

Hottest bar in L.A. Nobody gets in

unless you're on the list.

But you guys are on the list.

Shut up.

And that club has a friend of mine

who's gonna get you in tight with Rudy

and Randy.

Your challenge is to get in the club

by yourself.

You're not on the list.

Here you go, man.

That's your piece, your cello, your berry, and

two Gs.

You got five minutes.

You know what?

Forget the gun.

Give me the gun.

And the money, too.

Give me the money.

And your watch.

Look, man, I thought we wasn't gonna do

this in front of the kid.

No, no, here.

It's cool.

You guys can take these two.

All right, man.

I guess you're gonna go in raw-doggin'

it.

All right.

And you know what?

I make it three minutes, starting now.

Oh, man, not the back of the line,

fool.

It's gonna be a long night.

That's right.

That's right.

Go to the lady with the headset on.

Go.

Ah, there you go.

All right.

Yes.

90 seconds.

Man, ease up, man.

You see my boy's doing good.

He ain't gonna get in.

But at least he's using some sense here.

You know what I'm saying?

We gotta give him props for that.

Wait a minute.

Hold on.

Hold on.

There you go.

There you go, man.

He's got that stuff, man.

He's got the flavor.

You know, that is a raw talent protege

right there.

We can mold and shape that.

You understand what I'm saying?

I say we go get our little Henry

Higgins on.

You want to do that?

I want to see how he did this.

I like that white boy.

Hey.

Hey, Van.

Hey, what's up, baby?

Hey, Zeke, what's up?

How you doing?

I'm good.

You're looking sexy tonight.

Thank you.

Got a little short, stocky dude that just

came through.

Yeah?

He's with you guys, right?

Yeah.

He said you had some kind of a

bet and that if I let him in,

that Van would give me two grand.

No, he didn't say that.

Yes, he did say that.

Two thousand?

Yes.

Whoa, man.

Do you need help?

Thank you.

There you go.

Enjoy.

Thank you.

You want to take me out to dinner?

Hey, you know what?

I'm buying drinks tonight.

That was crazy, man.

Thinking on your feet, baby.

Do you feel fly?

I feel fly?

You should feel fly.

I think right now he's officially coming over

to my table.

Fly table.

You feel fly, boy?

Let's go to work.

All right, thank you.

Thank you.

My friend you're about to meet, Johnny O.

Short for Johnny Oregano.

That was his nickname when he was weak,

yelling down in Laguna.

I've known him since I was ten.

What's he do now?

Everything and anything.

He's the supplier to the stars.

Rock gods, TV icons, movie moguls, whatever they

need that's illegal or moral or just bad

for their image, they call Johnny O.

Everybody knows Johnny O.

Johnny O knows everybody.

If he powers up with you, you're on

every list in town.

Johnny O!

What up, dog?

Man to man.

There's two kinds of people in my life,

Van and everyone else.

I owe him my life, like, what, 27

times?

Try double on that, all right?

Look, I need a favor.

Anything.

Okay.

Rudy and Randy met.

Yeah, no way.

Come on, does the word anything mean something

different now?

Right.

I meant anything but them.

So you must have crossed paths with them

then.

I knew enough about them to stay on

their good side.

Have you fellas heard the thumb thing?

Thumb thing?

No.

Rudy loves this.

He decides you need a little discipline in

your life, so he straps you down, and

he carves your thumb off like a turkey

leg.

Randy drops it in a smoothie, and they

bet on the odds of reattachment depending on

how far the nearest hospital is.

That's how they live it.

All right.

Let me just break it down for you,

okay?

Zero danger, high pay, and that little Jamaican

passport problem you got off the Kingston bus?

I can make that go away.

You're a penis tease, man.

Come on!

I come through for you, you come through

for me.

What do you say?

Should we do it?

We're in.

That's my man.

I love this guy.

Enjoy.

Johnny-o?

No, no.

Look, dude, I know it sounds silly, okay,

but it's like a big emphasis on the

knee, and then you hit the O.

Johnny-o!

Johnny-o!

That's not bad.

Okay, then you dive right in for...

Yeah, just don't grab it.

There you go.

Look, you gotta loosen up, okay?

Just loosen up a little bit.

Loosen the jaw, okay?

They gotta see that you're part of his

crew, okay, that you guys have history together,

all right?

So, um, I laid down some bait for

Rudy and Randy that I don't think they're

gonna be able to resist.

Fifteen pounds of heroin at the Rampart Evidence

Locker.

Street value?

Eight million dollars.

I guarantee you they know about it, and

I guarantee you they're gonna wanna do business

with you guys again.

So how's Jared doing?

Whew.

Well, Van's getting his grouch face Yoda on

right now, but I think what the boy

needs is some smooth-moving Obi-Wan.

Hey, partner!

Let me take a pass at it.

You go call that couple, and, uh, get

this party cracking.

It's hard being white, ain't it?

I feel your pain, man.

It's okay.

Rudy, Van's drummer.

We need to have a sit-down.

What about?

You do a lot of business over the

phone?

No.

Me neither.

Ivar tonight, 1 a.m. Bring the missus.

You check out this Rampart rumor?

No rumor.

15 pounds off a bust.

Oh.

And this cop chamber?

Pull Rampart access.

Well...

maybe we should meet.

See what the boys have to say.

There you go, baby.

See, you gotta loosen up a little bit,

just a little bit, because your stuff is

too tight right here.

See, you feeling it?

I'm feeling you right now.

Johnny-o!

Who the man?

I'm the man.

No doubt.

Then let's do this.

Mm-hmm.

You ready?

I'm ready.

He was doing so good.

Did you give him a drink?

I told you not to give him a

drink.

Okay, all right, they're here.

You ready?

Come on.

I can't.

What do you mean you can't?

I can't do this.

You're right.

I cannot go out there and do this.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God.

I'm bailing.

Are you serious?

Are you seriously having, like, what, a panic

attack on me, man?

I don't know.

I just...

This is great.

This is just great.

This is your one and only chance to

get back in with Rudy and Randy.

You're pulling this?

I mean, you're unbelievable, dude.

I can't...

Okay, man, look, man, all right?

Let me do this, okay?

You go out there, you stall.

You do your thing, and let me do

mine, all right?

Thanks for coming by.

We got a table set up right over

here.

Talk to me, man.

What's up?

I don't belong here.

Doing this with you guys, I can't remember

what I'm supposed to do.

Van's right.

I don't have it.

It ain't about Van, man.

It's about you.

Now, I know your whole life you had

this idea in your head what it was

gonna feel like when you got in the

big game, but I bet you it wasn't

like that toilet seat in your head, right?

You mean the kind of cop you are,

the kind of cop you wanna be?

Maybe they're different.

I don't know that.

But I know one thing.

It's time to find out.

Now, I'm going out there with my partner.

You make the play.

We got the case.

If you don't, you gotta lay with whatever

you become after tonight.

Get your mind right, man.

Thanks for coming down.

We just wanted to clear the air.

We get that this is all about trust,

and we sort of shook that trust with

the kid dropping in on us and all,

but we wanna make sure we all on

the same page so nobody comes around crying

later.

We're moving on with our information.

So look us in the eye, say it's

cool, get up, get out, get amnesia.

Because here's the thing about partners.

You can always get new ones.

Johnny-O!

My man, Jeff.

How you doing, man?

You know that cat Johnny-O?

Supposed to be all time, fully hooked up.

Kind of like the two of you without

all the paranoia and bull.

Dude, you're looking a little salty.

Yeah, I've been mackin' on this little shorty

all night.

Damn young hushless.

Yeah, it's triple seafood, though.

No red meat.

Maybe she's in Mack town.

Stay close, it's gonna be a long night.

Rudy!

Randy, what's up?

Haven't seen you in, like, forever.

You know my man Jared here?

They were just leaving.

Johnny-O, these are the guys I was

telling you about.

Van Deek and me, Johnny-O.

What's up?

What's up?

Hey, here we got some business to do.

Yeah, just give us a minute.

Can we talk to you guys?

Alone.

Whoa, you two trying to rod ram by

action here?

No.

We're old friends.

Yeah, we're old friends.

Right, Jared?

Yeah.

And Rudy, Randy, we are not old friends.

Easy.

All right, I mean, we did call you

down here.

You want to talk?

Let's talk.

All right, maybe we dropped the gun.

We're just trying to be careful.

Obviously, we still wanted a business that never

changed.

We just felt...

We needed to know what you guys were

about.

What Jared was about, and now we know.

I don't know.

You guys were pretty rough on the kid

and all.

He's sensitive.

And he promised Johnny-O already.

I mean, they go way back, you know?

Jared?

What do you think?

I mean, these guys are sorry for the

misunderstanding.

Yeah, and they want to get back into

business.

Forget it.

What are you talking about, man?

You haven't even heard what they had to

say.

Johnny-O's got the same juice they do.

He's got cops on the inside willing to

roll.

He's got brains.

He's got the money to front.

And more importantly, he's not an asswipe.

Look, you want cautious partners because the other

type will get you killed.

Now, there's still a deal here.

Yeah, there is.

How about 60-40?

That sound about right?

Yeah.

And Johnny-O's kind of a flake anyway.

Hey, he's been my friend since we were

ten.

That's your problem, shorty.

All right, all right, guys.

Calm down, okay?

Rudy, Randy, it's gonna mean I got struck

for the third member of my team, but...

Okay.

Okay.

We've got them exactly where we want them.

Give them everything.

She's gonna pay us back.

All we have to do is wait.

Soon, I'll get the demand.

Bingo.

We're gonna play this just the way they

want.

Payment, drop, then give them the heroin from

the evidence locker.

But this is when it gets tricky.

I want to apply maximum pressure on the

spot.

Before the arrest, before the lawyers.

It's our only way to get exactly what

we're after.

The names of every cop they're blackmailing.

This is our one and only objective.

To see who they turned and who's working

for them on the inside.

Clear?

You want to tell me what's on your

mind before you hurl again?

Everybody thinks that because my dad was a

cop, that's what I wanted.

That's not it.

He never wanted me to become a cop.

But I want to show him that I

was right to pick this.

That I can do it.

You really think that's a good enough reason?

I mean, I got father issues too, you

know.

What guy doesn't?

But you check him at the door.

You shouldn't be thinking about him or what

you're trying to prove.

Because when we get out there, it's all

about what we have to do.

And how we do it to keep each

other alive.

That's it.

You telling me to quit?

I'm asking you why you're here.

I think it's because you're looking for a

shot at a gold shield.

Burn the bad cops, use them as a

spotlight.

You are seriously out of line.

I lost a friend.

Do you know what that's like?

Yeah, I do.

And I wish I could look at you

and tell you all I see is a

kid who's hurting.

Because that kid, I know.

But you?

I see fear, ambition, confusion.

Yo, fellas, it's time.

You don't have to like my reasons, and

you don't have to know them.

But I'm here.

You're not gonna get me to step off.

Yo, man, you all right?

Yeah.

I think I'll be the one puking this

time.

Very good.