We the people

Fade into the quiet, serene setting of crashing waves. The camera slowly zooms out to feature the beach and pier, and then slowly revealing a luxurious hotel in front of the beach, surrounded by palm trees. The camera keeps slowly zooming out until it arrives in one particular room of this hotel. A group of business associates have gathered together, dressed in suits, seated at a table as they are served beverages and drinks. There are eight of them in total, and the mood is casual as each of them are comfortable and joking back and forth. The camera focuses on an African American man at the head of the table, as a voiceover from him is overheard. VOICEOVER Hi, for those of you joining in on the action, my name is James Smith, and I’m the leader of a business, The Invisible Hand, which is currently paired with the largest casino chain in the entire world. Needless to say, we’re doing great business. But it wasn’t always like this. I started out as a paperboy, of rather modest beginnings in a pretty dismal neighborhood and I worked my way up through the ranks until finally I could invest and created my own business. It’s the American dream. However, I owe a bunch of credit to the men that you see seated here. They are my closest friends, confidantes, and associates and nothing would be accomplished without them and their hard work. I wouldn’t want to work with anyone else in the entire world and I’ve been very fortunate. All the same, this business can start to take a toll on you. I’ve been really wanting to retire and hopefully I will some day soon. The camera pans left and focuses on the man seated next to Smith, a white rich man with a crew cut and a completely different story to tell, as his voiceover is overheard. VOICEOVER The name’s Jake Williams. I guess you could say that in this business, I’m James’ right hand man. Our stories, are completely different. I was fortunate enough to be born into the household of a very well paid lawyer, the very best in the region. It wasn’t hard, at least rivaled by James, but I can’t help but thank the people who have gotten me to this point. It’s all about connections and who you know in this business. You’ve always gotta make friends. But the deal is, as long as you’re always making friends, you're always making enemies. The camera pans to the right of Smith, another white rich man who has his hair back, it’s quite obvious this guy is the high roller of the group. His voiceover is overheard. VOICEOVER John Graham. I inherited a ton of cash, and invested a lot of it, which was the most logical thing to do. But unlike many people who just inherit their money, I didn’t just spend it on whatever the hell I wanted. I was very conservative about my dough and I held onto it and watched it build up until I could do whatever the hell I wanted. This is the life everyone dreams of but never attains. That’s something to be proud of, a sense of sincere accomplishment. The camera pans to the left of Williams, a white businessman with a crew cut, who seems like he has his own agenda. His voiceover is overheard. VOICEOVER My name is Steve Jones, and I came from a middle class household, and came up as a lawyer with several critical cases. I was hired by The Invisible Hand, thanks to the notoriety many of these cases gave me. In case you’re wondering, it’s because I’m a damn good lawyer. I’m not trying to brag, just being honest. There’s an art to winning cases, a winning formula if you will. Sooner rather than later, I’d like to take on my own cases and be embroiled in my own business rather than just being a cog in the wheel. All the same, these things take time. I tend to be a very patient man. The camera pans to the right of Graham, a Jewish businessman that everyone seems to get along with everyone. His voiceover is overheard. VOICEOVER Name’s Dan Wilson. I come from a middle class family from Brooklyn, and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. The Invisible Hand liked my work, and they met with me and I joined. A bunch of great class acts, they really are. However, some of the people we deal with just bother me, same as the conditions we operate under. I don’t know, just a minor complaint. Hell, what am I doing? Really, forget that, I can’t complain, I’ve been blessed. The camera pans to the left of Jones, another white businessman that seems to be the most detached, yet damaged of the group. His voiceover is overheard. VOICEOVER I’m Jason Davis. I’ve been with The Invisible Hand for a few years now and I have to say, I’m having the time of my life. Throughout my life, I’ve always been the guy caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Being hired here was just, plain and simple, the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and that’s all there is to it. The camera pans to the right of Wilson, another white businessman with his hair slicked back that obviously looks like he means business. His voiceover is heard. VOICEOVER Sean Miller. Started out as a prime time boxer, until these guys even offered me more money. They see me as an enforcer, and I guess it makes sense in a way. There isn't nobody afraid of Sean Miller. I’m not even trying to boast. You fuck with me, you will die. The camera pans to the left of Davis, the youngest of the group, also with a crew cut. His voiceover is overheard. VOICEOVER Name’s Dave Brown. I’m the youngest of the members of this business organization, and I guess there’s a learning curve for me that’s not present with the others, at least at the moment. They all have experiences that I will soon garner and inherit, and I’m fortunate to be looking up to, learning, and working with these guys. At the same time, I don’t at all view myself as the little brother of all these guys. I think I can stand toe to toe with each of them. The camera fades out and then suddenly cuts instantly to a club, booming music from Drake, Kid Ink, and Jeremih. Graham, Jones, and Williams sit at a table off to the side. GRAHAM Can’t get much better than this, fellas! JONES I think I’m going to need a vacation from the vacation. GRAHAM What’s that supposed to mean? JONES This shit's all too good to be true, man haha. GRAHAM Come on, Jones, don’t be such a fucking square. JONES Check yourself out. Gambling. Lying. Infidelity. Being the role model for assholes all over America. That shit'll catch up you, you know. Never underestimate the capability,or better said the stupidity (other guys laugh) of your own flaws. WILLIAMS Stevie’s got his point. GRAHAM Stevie’s got his dick in his hands. You guys are on some philosophical, namby pamby, 'realistic' bullshit. You're taking life way too seriously. You go to do what you want, when you want, and however you want. Otherwise you'll die, because you had no reason to live. There's some fucking philosophy for you, man. (says "philosophy" in a mocking tone). JONES Yeah, but there’s nobody, even in hell, that would give you the right to take advantage of people. (Graham immediately gets up and stands aggressively in front of Jones.) GRAHAM Don’t tell me how to live my fucking life! WILLIAMS Why don’t you sit, and calm the hell down? GRAHAM Why don’t you quit being the middleman all the time? Hey, I'm looking at you, Williams. WILLIAMS You fucking simpletons, look... GRAHAM He’s a big boy, let him speak for himself. JONES Do whatever you want, Graham. After a brief moment, Graham gets up and leaves. GRAHAM Fucking pricks... Jones turns to Williams. JONES Every time with this asshole. I’m telling you I will, just somehow, I’ll- WILLIAMS Snap. “And then Graham’s gonna repent it. He’s gonna fucking repent it and after that he’ll think twice the next time he tries to act smart, and realize he isn’t. I’m telling you, man. One day. I can feel it.” (Jones looks relatively shocked) You wanna grab my attention? Sing a different song. (Williams chuckles and pats Jones on the shoulder) Come on man, everything’s all good. It’s child’s play. JONES It’s trivial. Like a goddamn movie character with this guy. His ways of living are incredibly grandiose. Too grandiose. Yet he ceases to impress me, let alone convince me to take him seriously. WILLIAMS So what’s the problem? JONES Oh, so you’re gonna jump on his side on the fence now. WILLIAMS (Williams sighs, and puts his drink down) Alright, calm your nerves, and listen. I'm just trying to reason with you here, you shouldn't be fighting over shit like this. JONES What you don’t understand, Williams, is that when two people have a significant amount of differences, there's bound to be conflict. It’s inevitable. We can fucking hold hands, we can laugh together when you crack a joke, acting like we’re friends, but that's all it's gonna be. An act. Now, acknowledging this cold hard fact, you're probably gonna tell me to at least pretend to have some common ground. But, that's not me. I'm not a faker. And I surely don't see the point in pretending that me and this man are friends. Whether any of you choose to accept that or not. And I certainly don't have any good to say as per Graham and his way of life. That's probably just me, but I’m not gonna just sit here and play witness to a fraud. I'm gonna react, and you can bet your sweet ass he's gonna get what's coming to him. (puts drink down fiercely) Gotta hit the can. Cut over to the opposite side of the club, near the bar. Brown and Miller go to get drinks and Miller notices the girl Brown has his eyes set on, Danielle. Miller starts joking around when he notices it, but Brown is acting bashful and nervous. MILLER This motherfucker! BROWN Yo, cut it out! MILLER Aw, come on. Be a man and get over there. BROWN How do you even know that I like her? Maybe I just don’t appreciate your humiliation. MILLER Do I have your pants around your ankles? Is your dick out? Does she even know who the fuck you are? Mate, who’s hands are gonna be down your pants by tonight? Yours? Or hers? BROWN I already told you man, I’m not interested. Believe it or not, Mills, there’s more to a girl than just a face and a body. MILLER Not true. At least not before you meet them. everyone’s just a piece of meat before they introduce themselves aren’t they? So you gonna talk to her? You better before I do. That’s not a promise, it’s a guarantee. BROWN Dude, come on, don’t do this MILLER Ahh, so you are interested after all. That’ll make this easier. Give me a second. BROWN Come on!! Mills!! Miller walks over to Danielle and sits next to her. MILLER What’s up, buttercup? DANIELLE Do I know you? MILLER Can’t say we’ve met before. DANIELLE Then what’s the deal? MILLER No deal, I saw you sitting here alone. Is that a problem? DANIELLE What if I was waiting for someone? MILLER What if you were? Danielle waves off the question. MILLER Anyway, the real reason I came over here is because my buddy over there thinks you’re pretty. Would you mind making his day and going over to talk to him? DANIELLE Is he shy or something? Brown comes up behind them and then sits down next to them. BROWN Contrary to what my friend here would have you believe, I can very well speak for myself. DANIELLE Ok… BROWN Dave Brown, I’ve seen you around here a lot but we’ve never formally met. He shakes Danielle’s hand. BROWN You’re… DANIELLE Danielle. BROWN Yes, I mean I’ve heard a lot about you and seen you a lot here and there. DANIELLE Is that so? BROWN Yeah, I’m pretty much here every week. DANIELLE It’s funny because we both are here a lot but we’ve never met, at least from what I remember. Miller gets up from the table and leaves to go somewhere else. MILLER Seems as if you’ve got it under control from here. BROWN As I was saying, I think we have actually talked a few times but you know, it was brief. DANIELLE Yeah, look, I don’t really remember.... BROWN You know, I can't remember waking up this morning. Do you think that means that I'm dreaming? (Brown smirks, and raises his eyebrow suggestively) DANIELLE (Danielle starts to crack a smile, and laughs) Maybe, haha. You actually seem like a nice guy. BROWN Hit what I was aiming for. (Brown looks away slightly, as to play off what he just said, as if nothing) DANIELLE Where do you work? BROWN I'm in with this local organization. The Invisible Hand, we're really raking in the dough. I can't complain. DANIELLE Yeah? (Danielle grows slightly more interested) BROWN At the moment, life isn't getting much better than this. The American dream: the money, the cars, the clothes. It's fucking awesome. ("Successful" by Trey Songz is playing in the background) DANIELLE Impressive, you’re making quite a living for yourself. BROWN Yeah, things have been improving, really. (Brown takes his drink, and finishes it as to ease a bit of the tension) How about you? Where do you work? DANIELLE Eh, I work at the local salon. Pretty nice place, I inherited a lot of the money so I could open my own and business is going really well. BROWN Oh yeah (Brown snaps his finger, as to reassure his memory), I heard about that. Congrats. DANIELLE Thanks. Well, I gotta get going. Would you mind walking me home? BROWN No, not at all. Brown walks out with Danielle, while nodding to each of his friends, very pleased. The camera pans to another side of the club, where Davis and Wilson are socializing with a lot of other people. Suddenly, Davis notices something out of the corner of his eye and just pauses. In comes the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen in his entire life. He goes over to talk to her. DAVIS Excuse me, but I just wanted to introduce myself. The girl smiles and gives him a handshake. GIRL Julia. DAVIS Davis. JULIA Nice to meet you, Davis. DAVIS Nice to meet you, Julia. JULIA So what brings you here? DAVIS Ah nothing, we go here every week, my buddies and I. We’re in this big business known as The Invisible Hand. JULIA And what do you do with The Invisible Hand? DAVIS Well, it’s just a normal business like any other except we also are in association with this particular club as well as a chain of casinos. JULIA Sounds charming. DAVIS Yeah, it’s pretty cool. What do you do? JULIA I’m a reporter and broadcaster. DAVIS For what company? JULIA Well, I’m working for Sun Sports and reporting for the Tampa Bay Rays and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I just started broadcasting there, and beforehand I was writing for the Tampa Tribune. DAVIS That's funny, cause I’m what they call an avid sports aficionado. Big Bucs and Rays fan. JULIA Welcome to the party. DAVIS You know you got it all, (Davis looks off into the distance with a faceless expression, and then looks back at her and chuckles) You’re beautiful, successful, and you know your sports. JULIA (Julia spawns a sort of cocky, but also unsure expression on her face) You know, I appreciate that, but it's still just the beginning for me. DAVIS That's amateur talk. You speak like a person who doesn't feel like they're gonna amount to the heights of their peers. You’re fine. You know how I got to my position? Confidence. Faith. Ambition. Persistence. And each every one of them with just a modicum of pretentious snob. JULIA Hmm. (Julia nods her head in understanding and takes of sip of her drink, due partially to being intimidated, and partially impressed) I'll be sure to remember that. (rearranges her position) You know what I like about you? DAVIS I can take a guess. JULIA You seem genuine. You're not one of these bland characters who just claims "I can do it" or some other redundant statement. You talk like how it is. Life isn't just a big ride of "I think I can". We've all been raised to be similar to a bunch of toddlers, just running around trying to reach the same level when it's not gonna happen. Not with that one and only "supreme" mentality. And you're just that sort of reality check everyone needs. You speak like a real man (Julia bites her lip in a provocative manner and enunciates "like a real man" in a flirtatious manner). DAVIS (Davis shrugs, and then smirks) That is what I strive to be, after all. Wilson taps Davis on the back. Julia shakes his hand as Davis introduces them to each other. DAVIS Julia, Wilson. Wilson, Julia. WILSON Nice to meet you. JULIA Nice to meet you. WILSON So what’s going on here? DAVIS Julia’s a reporter and broadcaster for Sun Sports, she covers the Bucs and Rays. WILSON (Wilson smiles) Nice, you boarded the right ship. JULIA I was hoping I did. Thanks. WILSON You, are one lucky gal. Davis is one of the most solid guys I know. JULIA He looks like it. WILSON Well, I’ll let you two alone. Nice to meet you. Wilson leaves. DAVIS He’s a good guy, Wilson. One of my closest friends. JULIA (Julia nods her head) The camera pans to the back of the club. Smith sits down across from the big time casino owner, Matt Paul, as they shake hands. SMITH What can I do for you today, Mr. Paul? PAUL I wanted to talk a bit about the terms of our partnership. SMITH Anything wrong? PAUL Oh no, I just want to clear everything up before our next casino opens. SMITH Ok, fair enough. PAUL Alright, well I’ve grown increasingly, suspicious, of some of the members of your crew. SMITH Matt, I can assure you… PAUL Hold on a second, Smith. SMITH Who in particular? PAUL Graham is a wild card. You know that, I know that. The guy clearly has his own intentions. (Just as Paul says that, Graham is seen exiting with two supermodels.) SMITH You think? (Smith points back to Graham with the supermodels, both Smith and Paul laugh shortly). But that came with bringing him on board, I know the guys I work with. PAUL I’m telling you, this guy is an instigator. He's more of a liability than a true partner. SMITH You clearly don't know of the use he has for us. And if anything, Graham can be set in line when he needs to be. PAUL Alright bear with me here, my proposition is this: if this Graham character, or maybe even the youngster, does something stupid, I need to confirm where exactly each of your loyalties lie. Don't make me rely on conjecture, Smith. SMITH Look, look, look, enough with the politics alright. I'm not into any of that bullshit. That's coward's play. I don't favor nobody, Graham knows that, Brown knows that, and you should fucking know better too, Paul. PAUL Yeah, but if it- SMITH (Smith interrupts Paul) Not trying to start something, but you do know that cop on your payroll pretty well don't you? Huh buddy? (Smith taps Paul's shoulder to bug him) PAUL Yeah, alright look I see where you're getting at. Listen to me. I’ll worry about my business… SMITH And you let me worry about mine. With all due respect, if we're done here… PAUL I never got an answer. SMITH Sorry, but I'm gonna have to end the discussion here. Gossip, just sparks feuds, Paul my naive friend. And then to try to start it with the people I work with? and more importantly, when the people that I work with happen to be my friends? I'm just trying to play big brother to the pack... It's a bad call man. PAUL (Paul sighs in annoyance, but with also a hint of comprehension) I see. SMITH I just wanna have good business, think about it from that aspect. Take it easy, Matt. Smith walks away. Cut to Danielle’s house, where Brown and Danielle are passionately making out and then go into another room. Cut to the boardwalk, where Davis and Julia are walking. DAVIS You know, all my life, I was the guy in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now I feel like I’m in the moment and I can actually be who I am. After a brief moment, he stops. DAVIS You know, you’re the first person I ever felt like I could fully speak my mind to. JULIA What about your friends and The Invisible Hand? DAVIS You see, we're close pals and we do everything together, but there's a certain limit on what goes around with them. (Davis caresses Julia's her and looks into her eyes) I feel like I can just stop being such a "manly man" for once when I'm with you, and I can just open up. You know what I mean? JULIA Oh, definitely (Julia begins to gaze back into Davis' eyes). I can't even begin to tell you. DAVIS Seriously? JULIA Not a doubt in my mind. DAVIS I can bet a lot of guys have chased after you, haven't they? JULIA You see, here’s the thing with that. Sure, I’ve gone out with a few here and there but you are the first person I feel ‘gets it’. I don’t know, is it wrong, because we’ve only known each other for a few hours? DAVIS There are no rules, baby. JULIA I don’t know, my whole life, I’ve been searching for that person, that would ‘get it’, that would understand me. DAVIS I'd be lying if I said I didn't either. JULIA Not even a day, and I've already fallen. DAVIS Let me catch you. JULIA (Julia laughs) DAVIS (Davis laughs embarrassingly) I'm sorry, that was a bit corny. JULIA It's ok. (Julia smiles subtly at him, and then they slowly move in towards each other to start kissing slowly) (Julia and Davis start making out on the boardwalk, and then look out at the waves. Cut to a coffee store. Wilson walks up to a table where a woman is at and sits down across from her.) WILSON A coffee store? That isn’t cliched at all! Glad we’re thinking outside the box, Claire! (Both of them share a laugh, and after a bit get serious, but casual not intense.) WILSON So I’m assuming your husband is busy right now? CLAIRE You tell me, you were with him. WILSON I saw him leaving with two blonde supermodels. (Claire sighs and looks frustrated.) WILSON Forgive me if I overstep my boundaries here, but why do you stick with this guy? CLAIRE I like challenges. WILSON I don’t exactly know if that’s a legitimate reason. CLAIRE He’s your friend and associate, as well. WILSON Does that mean I have to like the guy? Claire looks stressed. WILSON I’m sorry to talk down about your husband, but come on now, Claire. You know what he does and the type of guy he is. CLAIRE Let me ask you something, in my position what would you do? WILSON Look, I don’t know what you see in your husband that makes you stick around and be taken advantage of like this. I know there’s a lot of other people that care about you. CLAIRE Like who? WILSON Claire, if I don’t care about you, why would I be here in the first place? CLAIRE I don’t know. WILSON You do what you want. I’m just telling you my perspective. CLAIRE You’re a good friend, Dan. That’s why I like talking like this. I don’t want to make it seem like I don’t appreciate having you there, because I really do. To be honest, I know you have better things to do with your time than listen to me vent about stuff. WILSON Like what? Go clubbing? Go watch TV? Go to sports events? What? Let me tell you something, there’s no place in the world I’d rather be right now, even if we are at a coffee store. CLAIRE You mean it? WILSON Look at me. Cut to Danielle’s apartment. Underneath the covers, Brown is having sex with Danielle. After it’s over, both are exhausted. Danielle gets up, completely naked, and walks over to check her phone, as Brown watches her. Suddenly there’s a knock on the door. DANIELLE I’ll get it. Danielle throws on a shirt and answers the door. It’s Miller. DANIELLE How the fuck did he find this place? Did you give him the address? MILLER No, actually it’s a block away from the club and I saw you two walk inside. DANIELLE What the fuck gave you the idea it would be ok to just walk over? MILLER I’m not the one who opened the door, first of all. And I've been meaning to ask, how does it feel like to have a stick up your ass all the time? Must've had real trouble walking to the fucking door, it seems like. (Brown, who’s wearing shorts, immediately gets up from the bed aggressively.) BROWN Hey, what the fuck? MILLER Brown, sit the fuck down. You can't think straight after you've been in the sack. (Miller looks at Danielle, scratches his chin and points back to Brown) This fucking guy, hehe... DANIELLE You can march your ass right out that door where you came from! Whatever the fuck is going on (she waves her finger at both of them irritatingly) here, it's not my problem! MILLER Then you should’ve ignored the door and kept blowing DB. DANIELLE DB? MILLER Dick boy over here. BROWN Dave Brown. Don’t listen to him. Miller turns to Brown. MILLER You're an imbecile, you know that? BROWN The fuck are you on about again, Miller? MILLER (signals at Brown, lifts his index finger) Come, come, this is important. BROWN What the hell's the matter? MILLER It’s urgent, now come on. You mind if we occupy the other room for a quick interlude? And then Dave can go back to being an idiot. DANIELLE (sarcastically) Oh no! Feel free, it's absolutely fine. Take your time. MILLER (Miller smirks arrogantly at Danielle) I knew I was wrong about you. (Danielle sighs and rolls her eyes, but seems to buy Miller's sarcasm) BROWN (Miller and Brown walk to the other room and close the door) What was so damn crucial that you had to come and interrupt my session with that?!? (Brown points to Danielle through the wall) I mean did you see that? That shirt wasn't hiding anything. MILLER Hey! (Miller snaps his finger multiple times next to Brown's head) Look at the business you're in, for christ's sake, I thought you'd be more intelligent. More aware, more mindful! BROWN Are you calling her a threat? Elaborate Miller, I'm not gonna get your point speaking in riddles all day. MILLER You need something simpler than riddles, mate? Just take a good, quick look at the girl. She is fucking full of it, the way she talks, the way she looks at others, how she flaunts herself. Hell, even how she walks. It's like she wants every bloke to think they fancy her. BROWN Like I've asked so many times before Miller, WHAT are you on about?!? MILLER (Miller shakes Brown out of anger and impatience) Will you fucking listen to me?!?!? She's filling in for the role that she knows you want her to be. That's how she lures you in. And aside from some deep-seated plot she’s probably hatched, she's a fucking woman. Not to mention, "the woman of your dreams". BROWN You know you're actually pretty right there, Miller. I wanted her to at least be my girlfriend for the night, so she played that because she knew that was what I wanted. And also, she is a woman. I checked. And the woman of my dreams? I've never said that before. You're clearly over exaggerating a simple crush. But thank you so much for worrying about me Miller. (sarcastically) It means the world, budd- MILLER (Miller slaps Brown across the face before he could finish talking) You fucking ungrateful little kid. Need to grow a pair, and start thinking like a grown man. BROWN (Brown touches where Miller slapped him, and then grows with rage as he starts to shove Brown, urging him to leave) Get out of my sight, Miller! Out! Out! You're not my fucking father!! MILLER (before Brown fully shoves him outside the room) You're right I'm not 100% acting like a father figure right now- I'm also looking out for this goddamn business Brown! Remember I'm like the guidance fucking counselor but more physical-(pushes Brown off him, knocking him to the floor). (Miller, in a now louder voice tone) Now you do what you wanna do and fuck up your own life, I'm always gonna try to help but if I can't, then that's that. You pay your own reparations. But when you're probably putting the company at stake, I'm butting in, we all know that. (Miller, in a lower, but now frustrated tone) If she wants to use you, she'll want to use us. Don't act like some first day trainee. BROWN (Brown, now even irritated to the point of anger, looks at Miller with a face of complete hatred and gets up, and then swings the door open, and walks out. With Miller following him of course) Get the fuck out! MILLER I warned you. Don't be surprised when you get a bill- BROWN Keep it to yourself you fucking ape! MILLER (Miller proceeds to walk out, but at the last step turns around to face Brown with a face of disappointment) You always let them control you and control you. (starts to walk away into the street and nods his head) It's for your own good, man. DANIELLE And don't even think about coming back around here, you heard? (Miller ignores her, with his hands in his pockets and his head down in disapproval, just walking into the street) BROWN (Brown has a visible look of sadness and regret on his face) I gotta go. I'm gonna get ready. (Brown picks up and puts on his clothes in a rather mopey fashion) DANIELLE Ok. BROWN (Brown finishes putting on his clothes, then picks up 3 condom wrappers and throws them out in the garbage, Danielle looks at him while he's doing this, and raises her eyebrows at him in an emotionless manner) I guess I'll see you around, then. DANIELLE (Danielle grabs Brown fiercely by the face and tongues him passionately and then pulls away quickly) I guess I will. (Danielle smiles, but in a manner that throws off the audience's stance on her true intentions and purpose) BROWN Most definitely. (Brown smiles as he is leaving Danielle's house, in a way concluding that he feels proud of what he had just done, partially recovered over what Miller told him, while also feeling that he had just proved him wrong) Brown walks off into the rainy streets, with his head held high, and then stops to hail a taxi. Cut to Graham’s house, which is huge and luxurious. Wilson and Claire walk in. Claire turns on the lights and they walk upstairs, slowly. They open the door to the bedroom and see Graham, with his shirt unbuttoned and shorts on sitting on the bed asleep with the two blonde girls, who are naked. Claire looks over to Wilson, about to break down, but Wilson stands firm. WILSON You do it, or I will. Claire slowly closes the door and then reopens it, which wakes everyone up. Graham is really surprised. GRAHAM Claire! I didn’t think you’d be home so early! CLAIRE It is still my house, isn’t it? GRAHAM Sure it is. CLAIRE What are these two whores doing naked on our bed? GRAHAM First of all, they aren’t whores, they’re two very nice girls. CLAIRE They’re whores, John. What kind of women shack up with a married man? Do you have any idea? GRAHAM Ok, and what are you doing with that guy at the door? Wilson walks into the room, which surprises Claire. CLAIRE Dan, go back, please! GRAHAM Danny?!?! WILSON I’m not having sex with your wife behind her back like you’re doing to her, even though I probably should because well, (laughs) How ironic would that be, am I right? GRAHAM Claire, you’ve been seeing Wilson behind my back? CLAIRE No, we’ve just been talking. WILSON Nothing intimate at all, unlike your, uhmm, little situation over here. We're not even going out. GRAHAM Then why did you just admit you wanted to fuck her? WILSON Ahh, you weren't paying attention. I said that I SHOULD'VE had sex with her, because it would've actually done you some justice. I didn't say that I wanted to. GRAHAM So you're trying to turn my own wife against me? Get her to Wilson's side right? WILSON I’m not trying to fucking do anything! You’re the one bouncing around from broad to broad, living like a single man when you're not. Poor Claire has to be the one in the neglected wife position and put up with your shit. GRAHAM Claire, do you have feelings for this prick? CLAIRE John, I can't think right now. Not with all that's going on. GRAHAM It's such an easy question to answer. Just a stupid fucking question. Do. You. Have. Feelings. For. This. Asshole? CLAIRE I don’t know what I feel! I can't think I need space to breathe! (Claire starts to panic, gripping her chest, falling to the floor while hyperventilating and crying) GRAHAM Son of a bitch! WILSON At least you got that part right, Graham! Hey! We found some middle ground. Finally, for once!!!! GRAHAM Get out of my house! CLAIRE (while sobbing) Dan, p-p-please! Just f-for now! WILSON I’m not leaving without you. CLAIRE (sniffs and wipes away a tear) Please, Dan. Graham gets up from the bed and goes into his drawer. GRAHAM 30 seconds, is what you got to bite the bullet. Or bullets. What's it gonna be Danny? CLAIRE (yelling while crying) Please!!! WILSON I can't leave you here to this, this, this torture, Claire. GRAHAM You find a rabbit’s foot today. I can't find my gun, and that makes you a real lucky man. But you're still not that lucky, and I'll still hurt you if you don't leave. Claire keeps trying to shove Wilson away, but he stands firm. Finally, Graham comes over and starts wrestling Wilson, causing Claire to scream. He punches Wilson a few times, kicks him in the stomach, and uppercuts him in the face. Wilson falls to the ground as Graham keeps kicking him. GRAHAM Stay the fuck away from my wife! He kicks Wilson one more time and then slams the door closed. Claire starts sobbing uncontrollably, as she sees Wilson on the ground, all bruised and banged up. Wilson struggles to get up and Claire quickly comes to his aid and helps him down the stairs and out the door. Wilson refuses her help but Claire insists. WILSON I don’t need any more help from here on out. Go be with your husband. CLAIRE No, I’m staying here and helping you out. She helps him inside the car. Cut to the hospital, where Claire is calm, sitting next to the patient Wilson, holding his hand and trying to reassure him that things are alright. Williams walks in the room. WILLIAMS Is everything alright? CLAIRE He’s doing alright now. WILLIAMS You hanging in there, Wilson? Wilson looks and barely nods. Cut to outside the hospital room, where Williams is calling Smith. SMITH (Yawns, and then rubs his eyes) What's going on Jay? What's this about, man? WILLIAMS Smith, we’ve got an emergency. Wilson’s in the hospital, they banged the guy up, and bad. SMITH Jesus, fuck- How bad? (Smith gets up from his bed and becomes more alert) Can the guy stand? WILLIAMS If he can, it'd be incredibly painful to do so. Broken nose, broken jaw, broken arm, broken rib. SMITH Well, what was the poor sap up to? WILLIAMS He was hanging out with Graham’s wife so he got beat to a pulp. SMITH Hanging out? As in you know "hanging out"? WILLIAMS No, I don't think so at least. From what they say.... and it doesn't seem like it to me. And Wilson just doesn't exactly... how do I say this? SMITH Strike you as the kind of guy who just has sex with the wives of his fellow co workers? I know. I was just making sure. Wanted some more reassurance. WILLIAMS Perfectly stated. SMITH And accurate. Jay, I want you to let me handle this. Cut to Graham’s house. There’s knocking at the door. Upstairs, Graham gets up and goes downstairs, very annoyed. GRAHAM Don't know when the fuck to give up! He opens the door and is shocked to see it’s Smith. And then he proceeds to compose himself as if he were not in a blistered mood beforehand. GRAHAM Smith, How's.. things? SMITH Things are great, Graham. Spare me a minute (Smith looks around at Graham's house and steps a foot inside)? GRAHAM Yeah, of course, come in. He opens the door fully, and lets Smith inside and brings him into the kitchen. GRAHAM Coffee? SMITH (shakes his head) GRAHAM You want some pizza? Got leftovers from tonight, if you want some. SMITH No, no, I'm good Graham. Just the time. Thanks for the offer though. Graham sits down. SMITH So I was in the middle of my beauty sleep, when I apparently had to be woken up. And you know how despicable I get when somebody doesn't let me rest. I can't function well enough without a proper, undisturbed sleep. GRAHAM Yeah, yeah we know, Smith, with all respect. But what happened that was so important? Something about the casinos? SMITH Nothing like that. It was even worse. This was real trouble. Inside The Invisible Hand. GRAHAM Well shit Smith, what is it?? SMITH Back to me losing sleep... GRAHAM Ok. SMITH I lose a bit of function. AND it kind of sets me on edge, too. GRAHAM Another valid point taken, Smith. SMITH Is it? You think it's valid? Graham seems confused. SMITH You see, they told me apparently some asshole put our good friend Danny Will in the hospital. Smith looks for signs in Graham’s face, but Graham remains silent. SMITH Broken nose, broken jaw, broken arm, broken rib. Who ever did this got him real good. Quite the beating he got. Whoever did it seems like they get pissed off pretty easily. GRAHAM I mean the guy must have gotten mad for a reas- SMITH Oh, come on Graham. You can't bullshit me. GRAHAM Smith, I think the idea you're getti- SMITH Quit acting so surprised. Save me the time. GRAHAM I… SMITH I’m a very impatient person, in case you’re unaware. And you know you shouldn't be unaware. You know I don't like that. That makes me impatient. GRAHAM Ok, I’m sure if your wife was with another guy, you’d be pretty pissed off as well. SMITH Why in the fuck would you even care? Huh? I'm always hearing a "Smith, this girl is fucking sexy", or a "Smith, this girl last night...", "Smith, the shit this girl did.." "Smith, I'm telling you this girl is this and that" GRAHAM I get it. Jesus. You know, why do you even care? Smith snickers. SMITH You’re not making a very good case for yourself, John, you should be aware of that, and I’m sure you are. And by the way, nothing was happening between the both of them, in case you’re so concerned, which I have no clue why you would be. You know, all of your stuff can be psychologically draining. Danny’s a nice guy, and he didn’t get with your wife out of respect for you. You should take notes on the fucking guy. So I ask again, why’d you do it? GRAHAM Hey! Look Smith, I already... Smith slams Graham’s head on the table and then trips Graham causing him to fall over. He keeps kicking Graham in the stomach. SMITH Get up! Get your ass up! Smith gives Graham to get up, and then punches him across the face. SMITH Spoiled ass motherfucker! He grabs Graham’s shirt and picks him up a bit and punches him in the face again. SMITH Don’t ever try to fuck anybody over again, unless I tell you to! Is that clear?! GRAHAM Yes. SMITH Is that clear?! GRAHAM Yes!!!! SMITH What?!?!? GRAHAM Loud and clear sir!!! SMITH (Looks at his shirt and fixes his tie) It better be, or our agreement will end as abruptly as the last men who worked for me who tried the same shit you did! I'll fucking bury you if the circumstances ask for it. Don't fucking test me, John!! He puts his foot on Graham. SMITH (with his foot still on Graham, while Graham is gasping for breath and coughing harshly) I’m trying so hard to keep you onboard, and this is what you put me through. Always some nonsense after the next. Don’t insult my intelligence again! I’m the only one sticking up for you, you fucking dumb prick! Smith reforms himself and gets a small cup and pours some coffee into it. He drinks it, throws it empty cup onto the floor, and then leaves. Fade out. Cut to a scene inside of a big apartment with high ceilings, the scenery is bright and very inviting. It’s mid afternoon, the day after. The patio is beautiful and everything seems to be organized, in tip-top shape. Brown is on the couch, staring at the television set. But he's not looking at it. He's thinking. And he's thinking very critically. His closest female friend, Simmons, Clara Simmons, is in the kitchen setting up coffee for the both of them CLARA (starting coffee machine) You want sugar? Cream? BROWN (Brown remains quiet) CLARA David? BROWN Huh? CLARA Dave, is everything fine? BROWN Yeah, things are pretty great as of late. CLARA As of late? BROWN Meaning since recently. CLARA So before recent times, things were terrible? BROWN Kathy- CLARA I’m just putting two and two together, Dave. BROWN Stop pressing me! Jesus christ! Always with the questions, and the interrogations. I’m an open and shut case, Lara. CLARA If you say so. BROWN And what the hell does a guy have to do to get a goddamn coffee around here, huh? CLARA (Clara chuckles, finishes making the coffee and hands it to Brown. She gives him time to simmer down, but Brown quickly sputters off after a few sips. This, of course, enunciating the amount of depth, and trust in their relationship) BROWN Kath. CLARA (Clara looks up from her coffee at him) BROWN Do you think I let people walk around me? CLARA (Clara looks at him in a befuddled manner, with an inkling of annoyance) Dave, if the reason behind having a “great as of recent” mood, whatever the fuck that means, is because of some of those jerks you work with again… BROWN No, no, no. It’s nothing like that. Completely different this time. CLARA (she sits down right next to him, enticed as to what the details are of his predicament) Continue. BROWN ..... CLARA Davey! You know you can trust me! (puts her hand on his shoulder) BROWN Ok, ok, here goes. CLARA (Clara nods her head) BROWN So you know that club that I always go to? With the guys? (as he recounts the story, we see a flashback of the scene, but with more vivid details, as well as extended focus on important aspects, aspects that will prove to make perfect sense later on) CLARA Yeah, I remember that place. BROWN Alright, so I was there, and I was having a drink with Mills, and well you know how Mills is. CLARA He's the one who's a complete asshole right? BROWN Complete asshole? Alright, well I don't know if that term can really apply here but.... CLARA Oh, come on, if it's who I'm thinking of, what else do you call a guy who cons his way through life and cheats on his wife without stopping for a moment to think about the damage he's caused? The outcome of it all? He's so selfish- (As Clara is getting emotionally invested into her rant, Brown interrupts her) BROWN Kathy, Kathy, It's not him. That's Graham. CLARA Oh yeah, Graham. That was his name. I'm sorry for cutting you off, keep going. BROWN Alright, so I'm getting drinks with Miller just enjoying myself, talking typical guy bullshit, when this girl walks in. Drop dead gorgeous. CLARA (Clara looks at him with a "So you liked herrrrr" smile) BROWN I notice her first, and I really start to pay attention to her. Partially through no will of my own. She was just that attractive. So, I think that a girl like this is obviously gonna get guys all over her left and right, and she'll probably find someone before I talk to her, right? CLARA Right. BROWN Surprisingly, not that many guys go up to her. But a couple do, at least the ones that seemed to muster up the courage. Here's what really caught me though, she flat out rejected all of them. CLARA She didn't even give them a chance? BROWN No, no, she actually talked with all of them. And even looked like she was being friendly. And inviting. But nope, it all just extended to friendliness that day for her, CLARA (in a higher tone of voice, sounding like a narrator) Until the handsome young David approached the damsel in distress, and tickled her fancy!- BROWN (Brown starts to crack a conspicuous little smile) CLARA (Clara smiles, seeing Dave partly in a better mood now) There we go, a smile. BROWN So fast forwarding to me meeting her, which was at the result of Mills being a bit of a dick. I'm talking to her, and what begins as this ordinary conversation actually manages to grow. And it seems like there's something charismatic about me, because she starts to become more attentive, and show interest in what we're talking about. CLARA (Clara readjusts her position to lie her head on his lap and lay on the couch, as if being told an interesting children's tale by her parents) BROWN So we talk and talk, and I don't know what it was that I said, but next thing you know, I've been invited to her house. Still trying to figure out what it was exactly that I said so I can remember it for the following time. Anyways, we go in to her house, and she gets busy, real quick. But what I was trying to piece together during the act, was the reason for why she was behaving, I don't know... CLARA Passive? Aggresive? Passive-Aggressive? BROWN A bit off. I couldn't exactly explain it, but I could sense that something in the moment was very wrong. I just struggled addressing the why. (Brown gets lost in his thoughts) CLARA Ok, so after you guys did it, what happened? BROWN Ahh yes, so I'm about to get ready, when I hear the door. CLARA Her boyfriend. BROWN Too cliché. CLARA (Clara chuckles and shakes her head) BROWN It was Mills. CLARA God, Mills is really starting to sound like a jerk.... BROWN Yeah, I couldn't believe it. He came in and basically ruined the atmosphere. CLARA I can imagine. I mean if somebody just decided to barge in right now, they'd ruin the vibe right now too. (3 seconds of awkward silence for Clara, and oblivion for Brown, while he is off still trying to unravel the events of the story in his head) You know, cause I'm really interested in the story. BROWN So, he pulls me aside, and tells me it's urgent. Then he had the audacity to basically call the girl an abomination. I mean he really, it might sound insane, but described this girl as some sort of a femme fatale. You know, like in the comics. She stalks her prey, lures them in, and then screws them over. And I mean, I know that Mills is just trying to look out for me. At least now I know. (Brown's facial expression starts to show regret, and guilt, and the scene starts to take a turn on the serious side) He was trying to tell me what was probably the truth but I neglected him. But then I completely regretted it as he was outside. Something he said. "You always let them control you and control you". Always controlling you. (Brown starts to go off into his own thoughts, and takes upon the image of guilt). Controlling and controlling. CLARA Davey, look. (Kathy shakes him to snap him out of the trance) BROWN Control you...... Always let them control you. (Has multiple flashbacks of being screwed over, each possibly due to a failure of thinking beforehand, and being manipulated) CLARA Dave, stop!! Please you're scaring me!! BROWN (Brown bites his lower lip discreetly but also strongly, as to prevent himself from him tearing even slightly) CLARA (Kathy hugs Brown, and rubs his back with her left hand) It's ok, Dave. Please, you're good here, just continue. BROWN I'm sorry, I got lost in my thoughts again. I just- I don't know, maybe he's right. He may be right. One of my closest friends just tried to look out for me. And on impulse, I just completely humiliated him in front of somebody else and kicked him out of the picture. CLARA I do admit that his reaction was uncalled for. He should've gave you the courtesy of tellig you afterwards, like an adult. But you have to hand it to him. He cares, Dave. DAVE Do you think he was right? CLARA I honestly don't know what to think. I don't even know whether to think good or bad of her rejecting all those other guys at the club. Sure at face value it makes her look respectable, but what game is she trying to play? I mean, how "off" was she acting exactly? DAVE When we were having sex (Kathy cringes in a very subtle way that is barely seen on screen), she seemed to be genuinely enjoying herself one second and then the next, pure silence. From frantic screaming to complete muteness. CLARA That.... is kind of weird. I've never heard of something like that before. DAVE And it may seem like I'm already starting to look into it too much, but I started to notice when I looked into her eyes. It was as if something was off in her system. Her eyes spoke more to me than she ever did, or her body for that matter. CLARA What did you see, exactly? DAVE I saw some sort of pain. Cut to the club, which is booming with the Big Sean, Drake, and Kanye West song ‘Blessings’. Paul walks up to Smith at the bar. PAUL Hey, Smith, what’s good man? SMITH Been busy. PAUL Apparently. SMITH What’s that supposed to mean? PAUL There’s word coming from a few sources that there’s some tension within your group. SMITH (concerned) What sources exactly? PAUL (ignoring the question and continuing) Come on, Smith, I mean… SMITH Listen, I don’t know where you got that information from but I’ll tell you what, we are fine. PAUL I’m just worried about the business, man. SMITH You see, Paul, one thing you gotta understand about me is that I’m a very personal man. I like handling business on my own. PAUL Alright cool it, Smith. Just fix whatever is wrong. SMITH Don't you fucking tell me how to compose myself. And I will fix it. PAUL It’s just business, nothing personal. SMITH Then let me handle it on my fucking own! Jesus. (Smith downs his drink and gets up) Smith leaves angrily, after grabbing his jacket from the side. Cut to the hotel conference room from the opening scene. Smith is pacing around the room, with Williams, Jones, and Miller seated in the room. MILLER Somebody's really fucking with our steelo, man. And the business is hurting. JONES Look at the numbers. There's a double agent. I knew somebody was stabbing us in the back. I just knew it. I could smell it every time we were in some sort of arrangement together. What really irks me is that I can't truly tell who's culpable. Personally, my bets are on Graham. The guy is a prick after all, and it's always the most obvious asshole out of all them. WILLIAMS You’re saying that cause you’re biased towards him. JONES Just using some logic, Williams, you know? Something you never manage to use? Eh? and if I'm biased against the bastard so what? Bite me. SMITH (fed up) Shut up! Alright, look, here's the news fellas! It's time to get your fucking heads together before this operation starts to go down the shitter! WILLIAMS We have any sort of plan yet? SMITH Jones, Miller, I set up a meeting for you guys with Paul. MILLER Good cop, bad cop? SMITH So to speak. You press this guy like some backstabbing motherfucker. Even if he might not be. JONES I’m good with that. SMITH Williams, you're paying a visit to Graham. WILLIAMS Sounds good, boss. SMITH I’ll gonna talk to Wilson in the hospital. Speaking of which, where are Davis and Brown? MILLER Both are out… JONES Out? Out where? Be straight with me Miller, you know I don't like ambiguity. MILLER They’re out with their respective ‘women’ (Miller looks saddened) JONES (jokingly) Looks like we all gotta grow the hell up every now and then. Cut to Tropicana Field. Julia hurries Davis inside the stadium. DAVIS What’s the rush? JULIA We gotta get there in time for batting practice and everything, right? DAVIS Sounds good to me. They walk into the stadium and Julia leads Davis onto the field and stops him there. JULIA I need you to hold up for a moment. DAVIS Do what you gotta do, I’m not stopping you. Julia heads into the dugouts, and into the underground room within the dugout while Davis takes it all in, getting almost teary eyed looking around. After a few moments, Julia returns eagerly. JULIA I think you’re going to like this a lot. Suddenly, Davis watches as his two favorite players, third baseman Evan Longoria and starting pitcher Chris Archer walk over to him. He’s in total shock, as a huge grin comes across his face. Julia looks at him, smiling as well. Longoria and Archer shake his hand. LONGORIA What’s up? ARCHER How’s it going? DAVIS Holy shit, man! Wow! (laughs a bit) JULIA I don’t know guys, seems like Mr. Davis is a bit starstruck. Longoria and Archer laugh a bit. DAVIS I’ve been following both of your careers. Longoria, with the rookie season in the World Series and Home Run Derby and that clutch game 162 walk off home run against the Yankees. LONGORIA Hate the Yankees! DAVIS Best day of baseball I’ve ever witnessed. LONGORIA Best day of baseball I’ve ever played. ARCHER More to come. DAVIS And then Archer, and all the great pitching performances you’ve had. Now, after David Price left, you’re the ace of the staff. ARCHER Pretty big hole to fill. LONGORIA You’ll be great for years to come man, don’t worry about it. ARCHER Nah, I’m not worried. You see, part of being in the major leagues is the hard work and dedication that comes with each performance. It’s about staying consistent. LONGORIA The guys that always go for the incredible, SportsCenter type of play never really are considered great players. It’s those that remain consistent that will be considered elite for years and years to come, and that’s what it’s all about. ARCHER Of course, as you know, consistency isn’t only for sports. I mean, we play a game for a living, we’re very fortunate. We get paid to play the game we love. There’s no better feeling in the world. LONGORIA Do what you love, love what you do. DAVIS Damn, that’s some great advice. Some great tips of wisdom. ARCHER Hey, I mean we aren’t philosophers. All you really gotta do is set aside time to chill out by yourself, ya know, completely relaxed. If you’re still stressed even then, you have to reevaluate your life. LONGORIA You’re not doing things right. DAVIS I’ll keep all of that into account. Thank you. ARCHER We have to get going, game time in an hour. DAVIS It was nice to meet you guys. LONGORIA Our pleasure. Davis shakes their hands, as they head off back into the dugout. Davis looks at Julia, admiringly. DAVIS I love you. Cut to the hospital. Smith knocks on the door. SMITH Anybody home? WILSON (sort of weak, but not really) Come in. Smith, smiling enters the room. SMITH How we doing, buddy? WILSON Well, I’ve been feeling better. SMITH Step in the right direction. WILSON Should be a day or two till they let me out. SMITH That’s great to hear, man. You’ve been in here too long. WILSON Tell me about it. I miss you guys. SMITH We miss you, buddy. WILSON How have the guys been? SMITH (a bit concerned) Let’s say things are different. WILSON Yeah? SMITH Yeah. We found out there’s a double agent amongst us. WILSON It’s Graham, we all know it. SMITH Can’t just assume that stuff. WILSON The guy is a scumbag. SMITH I know, and I’ve dealt with him. WILSON Good. Anyway, what about this double agent? SMITH He’s working for Paul. WILSON All I can tell you is that it isn’t me. SMITH (smiling) We know, Wilson. Cut to the club. Drake’s ‘0 to 100/The Catch Up’ is booming. Jones and Miller walk up to Paul. JONES Paul, you have a moment? Paul looks over to the cop on the side and nods, as Jones and Miller follow him into a back room. The door is closed after the cop, Drew Jackson, walks in and locks the door. PAUL So, how can I help you gentlemen? JONES We’d like to know how exactly you obtained the information you did. PAUL Pertaining to what? MILLER Damn it, Paul, you fucking know. PAUL Am I being threatened? JONES You’re not being threatened, we just have to know for obvious business reasons. PAUL (chuckling to himself) So he sent his lawyer and enforcer? JONES We are going to you to confirm if this is a safe business agreement or not. JACKSON If you’ll excuse me for a second, Paul, what right do a bunch of criminals have to question how ‘safe’ a business transaction is? I mean, isn’t that kind of ridiculous? MILLER (mockingly) Correction, officer. With all due respect, what’s even more ridiculous is that a dirty, crooked cop is trying to determine what is legal and what isn’t. JONES We’re just a regular business trying to make sure we are wisely investing in something. Tell me if I’m wrong, Paul. You’ve been in this business just as long as any of us have. Paul thinks to himself for a moment. PAUL To be quite frank, if both sides really trusted in one another, why exactly would we be looking into your stuff and why would Smith show me the disrespect of having his lawyer and enforcer here? But I like that, I like that. (pauses for a moment) Shows that we’re both legitimate, and serious in terms of doing business. However, I’m afraid I’m going to have to break off our agreement. MILLER What the hell for?! PAUL You see, I just simply don’t trust The Invisible Hand enough to do business. JONES Oh come on, Jake, that’s bullshit and you know it! PAUL Is it, Jones? Put yourself in my shoes and tell me if you would react differently. JACKSON It’s a quite logical decision, you guys can’t be seen doing business here, especially with a failing, collapsing, unstable organization such as The Invisible Hand. Miller gets angered by this and charges at Jackson, while Jones tries, to hold him back. PAUL I can’t be bothered by this anymore. I have other things to attend to. He leaves the room. Jones keeps trying to hold Miller back while trying to shut the door. MILLER You fucking dirty piece of shit! JACKSON Come at me, big man! Miller finally gets a punch in on Jackson, after breaking free of Jones and starts overwhelming him with punches and kicks. JACKSON Assault of a police officer is one more thing you guys will have to worry about. MILLER A corrupt cop at that! Jackson finally takes out a gun and shoots Miller three times in the chest, causing Miller to fall back dead. Jones is shocked by what just happened, as he sees his friend’s limp body fall to the ground. JACKSON (putting his gun away) Got what was coming to him. JONES What the fuck?! JACKSON You wanna try me?! Huh?! Working on a short fuse right now! JONES You’re a cop!!! You’re supposed to stand for justice!!! JACKSON Easy for you to say. You’re a lawyer. You’re supposed to stand for the law. But you’re just as dirty as the rest of them, a bunch of con artists. JONES You don’t realize what you’ve just done! JACKSON Maybe. But it’s your problem now. He reforms himself and leaves the room, while Jones sits, shocked, with Miller’s dead body. Cut to that night. Davis takes Julia to a huge complex. The lights are dimly lit, and there’s a crowd of people there. Suddenly, a soft, smooth beat starts playing. Everything goes dark. After a few brief moments, a spotlight is shown on a figure with a microphone in hand. It happens to be John Legend, who sings a soulful chorus. The beat becomes a bit more aggressive and everything goes dark. Abruptly, fireworks shoot out, and infrared lights are shown all over the stage as Drake comes on and raps a verse. This leads into a verse from Kendrick Lamar, who appears on stage with Drake. Then, Legend sings the chorus again. The lights go dim again as the beat becomes more of a melody. OneRepublic comes on stage to sing a verse, and then the lights go dim again. The melody turns into one that’s more instrument oriented, as U2 come on stage to sing a verse. The song culminates in a more guitar oriented version of the beat, as Legend, Drake, Kendrick, OneRepublic, and U2 all appear on stage together before the lights go dim. The crowd roars with approval from the new song. After the song, Legend performs ‘Green Light’, ‘Save Room’, and ‘Everybody Knows’; Drake performs ‘Forever’, ‘Headlines’, and ‘Lord Knows’; Kendrick performs ‘Swimming Pools’, ‘Money Trees’, and ‘i’; OneRepublic performs ‘Apologize’, ‘Good Life’, and ‘Counting Stars’; and U2 performs ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, ‘Beautiful Day’, and ‘Window in the Skies’. The audiences roars with cheering. Davis then takes Julia backstage. JULIA Where are we going? DAVIS You’ll see. After walking a bit down, they finally enter a conference room located off to the right. Julia is shocked to see Bono, Ryan Tedder, Drake, Kendrick, and John Legend all seated there. Davis closes the door behind him. Julia is almost brought to tears. Davis and her shake each of their hands. JULIA This is just amazing. How were you able to do this? BONO You’re one lucky girl, I’ll tell you that. You see, if it hadn’t been for your friend Davis, this wouldn’t have been possible. TEDDER I don’t know about that, because, I mean, we’re all good friends here. DAVIS You certainly made great music out there. BONO We appreciate that, took awhile. All great things come with time. KENDRICK (laughing) About to light up Billboard, the Grammys, and everything in between! Everyone has a good laugh. LEGEND All proceeds from this concert went to different charities and cancer research, so rest assured, it was for a good cause. DRAKE I mean, I’d be willing to do a whole tour with you guys, if you’re down for it. KENDRICK I mean I’d love to, but we each have different schedules in terms of our respective albums and stuff. JULIA You guys sounded like you could make a whole collaborative album out there. DAVIS Best artists in the entire world. LEGEND You really thought it was that great? JULIA Seriously, you guys were amazing. DRAKE (laughing a bit) Not to brag, but that was a kick ass concert. Probably the best I’ve ever been to. DAVIS Who produced it? TEDDER We worked with a number of different producers actually, I mean you have Danger Mouse, 40, Dr. Dre, Kanye West, and myself included all having a hand in this. BONO The single should be due out on iTunes soon, all funds going to the charities John was speaking of. LEGEND For what it’s worth, I thought everything worked very organically and smoothly. DRAKE Legit, easiest time in the studio. KENDRICK That’s where the magic happens! Cut to Julia’s house. Davis drives up to it, with Julia in the passenger seat and stops in the driveway. JULIA Today was just amazing. Thank you. DAVIS Thank you. Hands down the best day of my entire life. JULIA (looking concerned) Listen, I need to talk to you about something. DAVIS (looking concerned as well) What’s wrong? JULIA I haven’t been 100% with you the whole time. DAVIS What are you talking about? You’ve been great. JULIA No, no I haven’t been. I’ve been using you. DAVIS Julia that’s absurd… JULIA I’ve been using you. I first met you because I was told to do so. I didn’t really like you at first, but now I really do. DAVIS Julia… JULIA (she starts tearing up, desperately trying to hold back tears and sniffeling) You gotta understand, I had a deal with a policeman but now it’s over. It’s done with. I’m over it. Davis looks as though he was punched in the gut. JULIA That isn’t real. What is real is me and you. That’s what’s real. She leans in to embrace Davis, but he resists. DAVIS Get out. JULIA I’m so sorry… DAVIS I’m asking nicely, please leave. JULIA I love… DAVIS Damn it, Julia, won’t you get the fuck out?! He turns to her, eyes glassed up, and wounded. Tears are streaming down her eyes as she nods and leaves. He drives away as she breaks down. He stops on the side of the street a few blocks away and breaks down, slamming the wheel in anger as he sobs in his arms. Cut to Graham’s house. Williams knocks on the door, and Claire answers. WILLIAMS Is he around? CLAIRE No, and he won’t be anymore. She welcomes him inside. WILLIAMS I really should get going soon. CLAIRE We’re getting a divorce. WILLIAMS (surprised) Yeah? Claire shakes her head ‘yes’. WILLIAMS Well, good for you. CLAIRE He’s giving me the house and a few million to pay for it and for other stuff as well. WILLIAMS Do you have any idea where he could be? CLAIRE Probably the club, but he’s calmed down a lot more after what happened. WILLIAMS Thank you, Claire. I really appreciate it. CLAIRE Any word on Wilson? WILLIAMS Probably a day. Williams gets a call and reaches into his pocket, and answers it. WILLIAMS Yo Smith, what’s up? Williams looks extremely concerned, even sick. WILLIAMS I’ll be there soon. He puts his phone back in his pocket, slowly and turns to Claire. CLAIRE Is everything alright? WILLIAMS Miller’s been found dead. Cut to Brown’s house, where he’s making out with Danielle on the couch, putting his hand on and up her thigh. Suddenly, his phone starts ringing. He keeps going but soon breaks it up, with Danielle insisting. He answers his phone. BROWN Kinda busy now. What’s up? Brown looks increasingly concerned, and almost on the point of crying, like a hard punch to the gut. He puts his phone away and gets up, lightheaded, after rubbing his face a few times. He starts getting his things without a word, as Danielle follows him. DANIELLE What are you doing? Brown doesn’t answer. DANIELLE Is anything wrong? He still doesn’t answer. DANIELLE Aren’t we gonna fuck? BROWN No, Danielle, not today. DANIELLE Why the fuck not? BROWN Not today, Danielle. DANIELLE What’s your deal? BROWN Danielle, now’s not the time. DANIELLE What, am I not good enough for you anymore? BROWN Now’s not the time, Danielle. DANIELLE You greedy, self obsessed two face fuck! I get it, let’s fuck on your schedule! BROWN Now’s not the time, Danielle!!! Now’s not the fucking time!!! He looks at her angrily. BROWN I don’t know what the fuck was going on in my head. You have a great face, great body, great tits, great ass. We had some great sex. But you ain’t nothing special outside of that. DANIELLE You don’t mean that! BROWN I do mean exactly that! And who the fuck are you to tell me how I think?! You barely even know me! DANIELLE You’re starting to act like that fucking square friend of yours! Brown aggressively stops and stares intensely at her. BROWN That call I just got, do you know what that was for? DANIELLE Some stupid shit probably… BROWN No, that call was to tell me that this ‘fucking square friend of mine’ has been killed! Three fucking bullets through him! Do you comprehend that?! Danielle looks in shock. BROWN No! All you fucking care about is your fucking diamond rings and your fancy dresses along with all the rest of your rich white girl bullshit! Who the fuck cares?!? We could keep fucking, but for what?! How the fuck exactly does that help me? (Brown closes in her with a vicious look, along with a completely cold glaze in her eyes, as his lip quivers uncontrollably as he insults her) I could find another nice little piece of meat just like you off the street and be completely fine with her. I'd be just fucking dandy with her. And then the next one, and the next one, and so on and so forth. You're just another one of "them". Hot little glossed up dolls asking to be roughed up, nothing less and nothing more. Because that's degrading enough. You're no better than those Gucci belts that you wear..... You're not any more useful than those Armani dresses you wear or those Chopard bracelets you sport during weekdays. I'd feel bad for you, Danielle, I truly, most sincerely would. But I can't pose sympathy that isn't even human. Danielle is speechless. BROWN Maybe one day it’ll sink in, love. He leaves and slams the door closed. Cut to the club. Jones walks over to Graham, who has a black eye, his arm is in a sling, and he looks exhausted. JONES I just wanted to say… GRAHAM Don’t. JONES Look, I know we don't exactly compose ourselves when we're in the same room, but- GRAHAM Stop. I’m just gonna be honest with you, Jones. I have been dealing with a fuckload of priorities on my plate as of recent and I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to be able to sense your presence in the room. Why exactly? I can't stand who you are. So you can see yourself out. JONES This is crucial, Graham, don't let personal boundaries get in the way of what's important. We need to discuss, regardless of whether you have a fucking boner for me or you dream of stabbing me in your sleep. GRAHAM I already told you. Don't be an asshole-Just please. (points at door with his hand) JONES (grabbing Graham’s shoulder) Listen to me, listen to me. Can you fucking hear me? We've got worse dilemmas to fry at the moment. Which dilemmas exactly? Miller is dead. He's fucking dead. I witnessed it. Now you can sit here, jerking yourself off, stuffing your face, moping around about how things went down the shitter, or you can be a man and get off your ass. I'm not forcing you. I’m ready and willing to go with the wind and let the past devolve on it's own. He pats Graham on the back as he gets up. Cut to the backroom, where cops and detectives and medical teams hover over the lifeless body of Miller. The camera looks around to each of them and then pans slowly up, as the police chief Wes Coltiér enters the room, and it zooms in slowly on him as his voiceover is overheard. COLTIÉR (V.O.) You ever let yourself, just vibe and kick back, specially during the movies, only to let somebody completely surprise you? (Coltier smiles at the camera) Coltier walks over and looks at the dead body. He picks up the gun right beside it. COLTIÉR I’m assuming this is the murder weapon. He looks at the medical team, who just nod obviously. COLTIÉR (sarcastically) Well, obviously... He rolls his eyes and walks out of the room after being handed a report. Something catches his eye at the corner. It’s Jackson, getting drinks. COLTIÉR Where the hell have you been? JACKSON Just getting a drink. COLTIÉR There’s a dead guy in the back room, in case you’re unaware. Get your ass back on the job. JACKSON Loud and clear, sir. Cut to a meeting in The Invisible Hand’s conference room. All the members are sitting down at a table, while Smith is up and walking around. Each of them are wondering what he’s going to say next. Finally, he speaks up. SMITH Listen, I don’t know what the fuck happened. This is going way too far. Whatever bullshit vendettas you have against each other, it needs to stop. WILLIAMS We need to start functioning as a unit. WILSON Well we didn’t exactly have a problem until recently, at least in terms of what’s been let out in the public eye. GRAHAM Alright, Wilson, I’m sorry. About everything. I really am. My ego's sometimes a bit too much for people handle, it truly is, I've seen the toll it's taken on people. Then afterwards what exacerbates it is that I try too hard to compensate. I, overcompensate that is. That goes for the rest of you guys, I really apologize and I hope you'll forgive me. Whether I really have the will to change, I don't know. But I'm gonna start trying. Wilson nods in understanding. An enraged Brown stands up. BROWN I’d like to know which of you fuckers killed Miller! JONES Dave, calm it out man. Wasn't none of us, okay. It was that piece of shit cop on Paul’s payroll. What's his name (snaps fingers to think)? uhmm, Jackson. Yeah, him. It was Jackson. Brown raises a gun to Jones’ head with everyone else in the room shocked. BROWN You're a fucking rat!! You're the one who put us here, huh?!? You're the one who's been fucking it all up for us!! JONES Dave, my man, ju-just pull the gun down slowly. I was just there with him talking to Paul and the guy shot Miller after the deal broke down with Paul! BROWN So you’re the one who’s been giving information to Paul?! It was you?! You're a fucking snitch!! JONES No, damn it, Brown! Put the gun down, man! Brown points the gun at Graham now. BROWN You’re the biggest fraud in the room! And you're stupid enough to fuck it up. It’s your fault, ah?!!? Answer me, you fuck! GRAHAM No, I’ve been getting a divorce… BROWN And your life's been gone to shit cause you smacked the shit out of Wilson! You motherfucker! GRAHAM Brown, it’s not... Brown pistol whips Graham in the face, causing a nose bleed. BROWN Don’t fucking lie to me! Who the fuck was it?! DAVIS For all we know, it could’ve been you, look at you, you little fuck. Coming in here, pointing fingers while screaming like a little fucking girl. The fuck is wrong with you? Because maybe it was you. Maybe you're the one behind it all. And you just think if you look emotional and blame the world then you're gonna look the innocent. Well, your plan's failing. Brown points the gun at Davis. DAVIS You’ve been hanging around with that whore, haven’t you been? She been inspiring you? BROWN Hey where the fuck have you been Davis, enlighten me? DAVIS I’ve been with a girl. A girl that just happened to screw me over. BROWN You’re not the fraud, you’re just a hypocrite. Brown looks around the table. SMITH This has to stop, Brown. I realize Miller was a father figure to you, and he’s a great guy. Whoever did this shit is in this room, no doubt about that. And some day if we don't nab his ass, he'll come through with his wrongdoings. BROWN What is this, a fucking sermon?!? Can't you pricks heed the elements of our goddamn situation right now? Miller is 6 feet under. Our operations are going to shit. Everything is becoming less stable. And the most probable deduction? That it's all within the grasp of one deceptive man. Assuming we follow this theory, just tell me, why would the bastard come to me, in ANY day, and explain why he had to have one of us killed and basically ruin the way things were? He knows there never will be a time where he can expect me to just shrug it off. I'll strangle him. Show him what he gets for being such a fucking two faced backstabbing tool! SMITH Brown, calm your ass down. Seriously, come look. (Smith approaches Brown while Brown cringes in a paranoid fashion) Give me the gun, I don't want you to hurt someone who possibly is innocent just because you blew a fuse. BROWN Oh, we're fucking far from innocence, Smith. Please, give a guy a break. Even the most "innocent" man in this wrong probably has killed around 5-7 guys. In this line of work that makes you a freaking angel. You should be able to see that, and out of all these people in the room. You can't seriously tell me that you're stuck in some delusional mafioso mentality where you see yourself as "just another man doing his day's work, trying to get by." and that "You don't intend for evil". You got in this game knowing very well what you're up against, the level of the stakes, and the tasks and consequence that'll arise. Regarding us as anything close to saints is the equivalent of letting a child-molester priest continue preaching. That's the truth, that's the reality. SMITH You little smart-ass. You're a real fucking punk, you know that? And just about who the hell do you think you are? I'm not just another one of your goddamn coworkers you can rub shoulders with and spar around with. Know your limits. And if you really wanna talk about "innocence" and "reality" and all these other newfound themes you seem to love all of sudden, let me enlighten you. Yes, I did step my foot in this game being completely aware of how it works. Yes, none of us are innocent in the eyes of the government, other people, or even the Lord himself. But in our group, in our business, my interpretation of the word innocent is much looser. Innocent is not stabbing one of your boys in the back, specifically us. Innocent is telling the truth when it's acknowledgement is necessary. Innocent, is unquestionable loyalty, and character. Basically, a model man for this business. So, if this model man strangles people, tortures them for intel, beats the livin shit out of them, and kills them, does it matter to me? No. The world's an ugly place, these things are bound to happen. You cross us, don't expect a formal letter with a complaint. And if you truly get us with our pants down, don't even pray that you'll just get a bit touched up. The ugly is necessary a lot of the time. It lacks appeal but wields true purpose and NEEDS to happen. You listening to me? Huh? BROWN Yes sir, I got it. SMITH Good. And if you ever even start to talk to me like that again you're gonna wake up breathing through a fucking tube, like the rat in this room is gonna be once I find him. That is, if there is one. DAVIS With all due respect sir- SMITH Enough. I'm tired of constantly being antagonized as if I were the rat. You wanna bark at each other like if you all were the rats and then snap at me when I try to cool your heads? I'm solely working for the best intentions of this company. I've etched my fucking mind, body, and soul into this business. And for what? To be hammered to the wall by my own men because of paranoia. DAVIS Listen Boss, whether you like it or not, we're no longer just playing with the possibility of a traitor in the house. There is one, that is a given by now. So whether you want to keep treading lightly on a situation like this is up to you. Just know we won't be on your side if you do, and we will treat you as the traitor, as if you are one of them. BROWN Hey, speak for yourself brother, I'm not fucking over Smith anytime soon. I know I went a little over the line, and ultimately Smith's points are all completely valid. Have some respect for somebody from higher up. DAVIS Why don't you shut the hell up when I'm trying to talk to the boss, you Day 1 rookie fuck. Who in the fuck are you? Some prick who just grew too big for his britches, forgetting that he doesn't have any experience yet. Take it down a notch before you step in trying to flex supposed knowledge and "wisdom" before us. GRAHAM And I thought I was the prick before. BROWN (in a very harsh attitude) And I thought Williams was the middleman before. Go cry about your fucking wife, Graham. WILLIAMS What a piece of shit. GRAHAM You're lucky I currently lack the energy to respond to that. WILLIAMS Damn straight. I'd smack the baby fat off of Brown for being the little wise-ass that he aims to be. DAVIS Williams, you're starting to look real suspect, you know that? This whole time we're here grabbing each other by the necks, while you, are just kickin back there watching it all unfold. Does this please you? You snitch fuck. BROWN The snitch is always the one pointing fingers, calling others snitch. That's just common knowledge. DAVIS Okay, one, Brown that's trivial, I could easily say the same about you, calling you a rat because you're calling me that. To shift the blame off of you, so fuck off. and Two, back to what I addressed beforehand. Why can't you respond, huh? You got something to hide, Williams? (gets close to face, ferociously) Being completely honest I never thought shit of you when you first arrived and I still don't, not even a bit. You've got the scent of a liar and a coward. And I could just tell by the look of your face you'd stoop low enough. Like a "working for both sides, trying to annihilate one" sort of low. WILLIAMS Davis, take the heart off of your sleeve and talk like a man who has his head in the right place. You're sheepish, and an idiot. Can't you see what's going on? Whoever the fuck set this up intended for all of this. He knows once he makes his presence known enough he'll drive you all onto the brink of instability. And then that's when he'll commence to hit. Although he's an enemy, I have to admit: brilliant plan. He's attempting to get us to pick off each other while he lamps in the back, just observing it all decay until he fully gains his power back. Why don't I cause as much a commotion or a scene as you guys? I'm not weak. I don't think it's getting anywhere. And lastly, we're feeding him. We're feeding him progress in his plans and we're feeding his ego, along with any other sort of benefit or satisfaction he derives from all of this. He's observing every single move that you make. The more you talk, the closer he gets to winning. So, just shut it, for the sake of this business and for the sake of my sanity as well. BROWN Sounds like some wacko conspiracy theory you'd read about on youtube that's way too contrived. You better get your head out of those movies and shows you've been watching, man. DAVIS Ironic, since the trend of conspiracies mostly stems from your generation. Then the excess television and movies show revolving around crime, well that's your generation too. BROWN And who's to say we were all involved in that sort of mediocre mentality? What's become of you? You've turned into a fucking prick who thinks he can just leap from A to B and come to a conclusion about everything. I get it, you're tired, you've had it, and you are just about up to here. You've become stubborn as you've aged, oh is that it? You too old to do your damn job? Maybe you should retire. They say entirely all old guys pertaining to this line of work generally are too selfish and reluctant to quit. So in acting this way, they just dampen productivity for everybody working around them. Maybe you should just throw in the towel before you fuck this all up for everybody. I mean you're bound to do just that. Why not do us a favor and spare us the inconvenience? We don't wanna prepare for your fuck-ups. DAVIS I'm not too old to do what I do best, you hothead son of a bitch! BROWN And I'm not too young to do this fucking jig either old man!! DAVIS (Davis breathes due to the energy used in yelling as his facial expression changes, showcasing him realizing his errors. As he concludes his ignorance, he takes a gulp and steps back) Fuck. Dave- BROWN Yeah? DAVIS I hope you can forgive me, brother. All this anger- all this pent-up rage I've been tackling lately, it's no good. It spews my thoughts... and then, well I'm hawking insults like some asshole at a decent kid like you. BROWN Decent man. Or guy. SMITH Dave, rewind. BROWN (Brown nods in agreement) But really, I'm gracious, I mean truly gracious for what you're saying here, man. I'm gonna just let it slide. And for the rest of us, and all of this bullshit we're heading on, we need to be smart. The creep's in here somewhere. Split up, hack it yourselves, and then prosecute. SMITH (goes up to Brown, shakes his hand) Yeah in a serious light, we don't have to hate each other, man. And some of us, genuine guys like you and I, got to stick to this thing together. We're stronger than that, and imagine banding together. BROWN The base of respect aside, I don't think that's the best idea, at least for now. I mean just what I told these guys, it applies to you as well, Davis. SMITH Look I know we are all in this as a team, and for the most part that’ll hopefully never change, but Brown’s got a solid point. We’ve gotta squeeze the rat out of our system, that’s firstly. Secondly, we have to afterwards see where we went wrong, and then, make sure this is the last time something like this ever happens.