RIDING THE EXPRESS by Dennis Landmann Based upon the film "Tchao Pantin" Written & Directed by Claude Berri Based on the novel by Alain Page SECOND DRAFT REVISED JULY 28, 2002 © Dennis Landmann moviefreak4@hotmail.com 805-241-9323 EXT. CITY STREETS - NIGHT It's raining. Wind blows. No one on the street. In the distance, we can see a young man (20s) wheeling a motorcycle towards us. Behind the man is a police patrol with its lights flashing. The young man who now comes to an intersection. He turns right into another street. He stops next to a line of parked cars. Looks back, desperate. The patrol car has made the turn and slows down now. The man turns around, facing the street ahead. He sees: A GAS STATION with four pumps. Full-serve. Empty now. This one is at least ten years behind. The man looks back one last time and then wheels the moped towards the gas station. The patrol car stays. INT. GAS STATION OFFICE - NIGHT A man (50s), with his back to us, looks out the window. He wears a dark blue jacket. He turns around -- LAMBERT has a thin mustache and black hair. His face looks drowzy and beat. The young man enters through the door, brushing off. BENJAMIN Hi. LAMBERT Breakdown? BENJAMIN No. LAMBERT Oh. So you much do you need? BENJAMIN What? LAMBERT Gas. BENJAMIN I'm not out of gas. LAMBERT Then what do you want? BENJAMIN Spark plug. LAMBERT What for? BENJAMIN My bike. Lambert looks at him. Then out the window: HIS POV - THRU WINDOW The patrol car waiting, flashing its lights. BACK TO SCENE: Lambert walks to open a drawer. He searches but finally turns around and looks out the window again. HIS POV - THRU WINDOW The patrol car drives off. BACK TO SCENE Lambert turns to Ben. LAMBERT I'm all out. BENJAMIN It's okay. Ben leaves for the door. Lambert shrugs. EXT. GAS STATION - NIGHT Ben exits and walks up the street, but stops. He turns back and sees his motorcycle leaning against the gas station door. He walks back to get it and wheels it up the street. ANGLE - LAMBERT He's watching through the window. He's unsure what to think of this kid, but has a feeling he'll see more of him. The rain washes away the images behind the window. We see Lambert retreating to his desk. He takes a bottle of whiskey and drinks up. ANGLE - UP THE STREET Ben wheels the bike and disappears into the rain. INT. APARTMENT COMPLEX - NIGHT Ben walks through the poorly lit hallway. INT. BENJAMIN'S APARTMENT Ben bolts in and closes the door immediately. He closes the balcony window across the room. He then drops his jacket on the ground and picks up a towel from the chair that is in front of him. INT. BENJAMIN'S APARTMENT - BATHROOM Ben stands in front of the mirror, naked, combing his air. INT. BENJAMIN'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM Ben holds a bag over the living room table. Several contents fall out: A tiny flashlight, basketball cap, wad of cash, and two plastic bags (one blue, one red). He empties the blue bag, and several small wrappers (about half the size of gum wrappers) drop on the table. Ben takes the cash and wrappers, and walks to a big rack of small pocketbooks that's next to the apartment door. He grabs a book from the top and flips to the center of it. He drops the wrappers in it and puts it back up. He now takes another book to drop the cash in, which he puts back up. He sneezes. EXT. STREET - MORNING A man on a bicycle travels down the street. He turns a corner and approaches the gas station. INT. GAS STATION - BATHROOM Lambert washes his hands in front of a mirror. EXT. GAS STATION - MORNING Lambert exits the office and sees a car waiting for service in the background. The man on the bicycle drives up. LAMBERT Morning, Dave. DAVE How was the night? LAMBERT Slow. Lambert leaves. EXT. CAFE - MORNING Lambert crosses a street and enters the cafe. DISSOLVE TO: INT. RANDALL'S BAR - NIGHT A skinny guy (mid 20s) in a leather jacket enters. He looks around and sees Ben in the back. Ben notices and nods. Gil walks towards the restroom and enters. INT. RANDALL'S - RESTROOM Gil waits. Ben walks in. GIL You want the cash? Benjamin stalls. GIL Hurry up. Come on. Where's the stuff, man? BENJAMIN It's not here. (beat) Wait for me at the bar. GIL (shakes head "no") No, man. I want it right now. BENJAMIN (heads for the door) I'll be right back. Gil stops him. GIL I need it now. BENJAMIN (addressing) Wait for me at the bar, okay. I won't be long. Gil relents and hands Ben a wad of cash. EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT Ben walks up to RICHARD (18) who is patrolling the door. RICHARD Doing well? Ben nods. INT. APARTMENT BUILDING Ben approaches the mailboxes. He takes out the tiny flashlight to be able to see. He opens one of the mailboxes and takes out a small plastic bag. He holds it upside down and a few small wrappers fall into his palm. INT. RANDALL'S Gil, smoking a ciggarette, waits by the bar. Ben enters. Both nod and do the handshake switch. Ben walks away, while Gil turns to look at the drugs he bought. EXT. CITY STREETS - NIGHT Nobody around except Ben. He picks a lock. PULL BACK to reveal Ben wheeling a motorcycle onto the street. He hops on, short circuits it, and drives off with it. INT. GAS STATION OFFICE - NIGHT Lambert breaks two eggs on a gas-powered pan. A loud HONK in the b.g. Lambert ignores it and pours some salt over the eggs. Another HONK. LAMBERT (more to himself) Fuck off. He prepares scrambled eggs with a fork. MAN'S VOICE (O.S.) (impatient) Andybody here?!? Lambert scoffs. EXT. GAS STATION - NIGHT Ben drives up on the motorcycle. A MAN (60s) waits by his car. He leans inside and blows the horn. Ben approaches him. BENJAMIN What do you need? IMPATIENT MAN What do I...? I need some gas. (beat) Do you work here? Ben nods, and turns off the motorcycle. BENJAMIN Yes, I do. IMPATIENT MAN Do you know how long I've been waiting here? I've got a place to go and I'm stuck here without any gas. (looks at the pumps) Why doesn't this place have self service? BENJAMIN We're old style, alright. (beat) Now take it easy, huh. I was uh... just out for a delivery. IMPATIENT MAN Fill it up, will you. BENJAMIN Yeah, just don't wake up the whole neighborhood. Ben goes around the car and opens the car's fuel lid. BENJAMIN Unleaded? IMPATIENT MAN Yeah. What else. Ben takes the nozzle and fills up. Lambert exits the office and walks over. LAMBERT Who's making all this damn noise? IMPATIENT MAN (proudly) I am. LAMBERT Can't a guy take a shit? IMPATIENT MAN Who works here? You or him? LAMBERT What the hell do you care? He's... my nephew. (beat) You want gas, right? Lambert relives Ben. BENJAMIN Thanks. IMPATIENT MAN (as he goes inside the car) Could you check the oil, too? BENJAMIN Should I? LAMBERT No. He leaves the nozzle to fill up itself and goes to the car's hood to check the oil. Ben nods and walks to Lambert's office. He takes a look back and then enters. INT. GAS STATION OFFICE - NIGHT Ben closes the door. Looks around. It doesn't have as big of a selection as AM/PM, but it is enough. Ben spots some cookies and pops them open. BEN'S POV - THRU WINDOW Lambert finishes checking the oil. The Impatient man nods. BACK TO SCENE Ben puts a cookie in his mouth. Looks around. He turns as-- Lambert walks in through the door. LAMBERT Thanks. You saved my dinner. BENJAMIN I'm hungry, too. Nothing's open around here at this time. Lambert walks over to the sink that is next to the gas- powered pan. He washes his hands, takes the pan of eggs and fork with him and sits down at a table. BENJAMIN (re: cookies) How much? LAMBERT (eating the eggs) One fifty. Ben empties his pockets and puts a couple of quarters on the table. As he does, he offers Lambert some cookies. LAMBERT No thanks. Lambert opens a small fridge next to the chair. Takes out a whiskey bottle, pours a glass, and offers some to Ben. BENJAMIN (eating cookies) I don't drink. LAMBERT (drinks up) What, is it against your religion or something? BENJAMIN What religion is that? LAMBERT (stares) You tell me. BENJAMIN Don't you get bored working here all alone? LAMBERT (holds up the whiskey) I'm not alone. (sets the glass on the table) You live around here? BENJAMIN Yeah. Down the block. Nearby. LAMBERT (gets up) You work in a garage? Ben shakes his head "no". BENJAMIN What do you mean? LAMBERT (looks out the window) You're changing motorcycles. BENJAMIN Oh no, I swap them with my friends. LAMBERT (turns to face him) You shouldn't leave them out there like that. They're easy to steal. BENJAMIN Tell me about it. Don't worry man, I've got a good lock. LAMBERT Ah. So, do you work? BENJAMIN I do odd jobs. I'm a bartender most of the time, though. LAMBERT How old you are you anyway? BENJAMIN Do you ever stop asking so many questions? LAMBERT You're right. I'll stop. (sits back down) I haven't talked for a while. Ben sits down across from Lambert. BENJAMIN Want some gum? (no response) You want to know how old I am? LAMBERT (downs the glass of whiskey) Who cares. INT. BAR - MORNING Lambert and Ben sit by the bar. Ben has a Coke. BENJAMIN They say I'm half Catholic, half Jew. LAMBERT Says who? BENJAMIN My father. LAMBERT Is he Catholic? BENJAMIN My mom was. LAMBERT She converted? BENJAMIN No, she's dead. LAMBERT I'm sorry. Is your father a religious man? BENJAMIN He wasn't until he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. He tried to make up for it in the last couple of months. I guess it didn't work for him. LAMBERT Do you have relatives in the city? BENJAMIN I have an uncle. Andrew Schwartz. He owns a liquor store chain. LAMBERT So why not work for him? BENJAMIN I want to make it on my own. LAMBERT Like what? Do you have any plans? BENJAMIN Sure. Don't you? LAMBERT Not anymore. BENJAMIN (checks his watch) Man, we've been talking for three hours now and I don't even know your name. LAMBERT Lambert. BENJAMIN Lambert what? LAMBERT Lambert. BENJAMIN Lambert Lambert? LAMBERT (no reaction; then) What's yours? BENJAMIN Benjamin Schwartz. (off Lambert's stare) You married? Got any kids? Lambert doesn't want to go further than this. He sees the bartender close by. LAMBERT (to bartender) What do I owe you? EXT. CITY STREETS - MORNING It's early, maybe 6am. Not many people around. Lambert and Ben walk. Ben wheels the motorcycle he stole. BENJAMIN Hey, do you want to borrow my bike? LAMBERT No, I take the subway home. They turn a corner -- EXT. BEN'S APARTMENT COMPLEX - MORNING -- into this smaller street in front of the apartment complex. BENJAMIN This is where I live. LAMBERT (beat) I'll remember that. They walk for a bit, and then shake hands. Ben wheels the motorcycle into the apartment complex. Lambert says goodbye and walks down the street. FADE OUT TO: EXT. RANDALL'S RESTAURANT - NIGHT Ben approaches and enters. INT. RANDALL'S It's rather quiet in here, except for six guys (all in their late 40s or beginning 50s) playing cards at a table. Ben walks over. He waits behind a man with black hair sitting at the table. This is VICTOR RANDALL (early 50s). Ben watches the game play out. Randall throws his cards on the table, defeated. He gets up, sees Ben, and leads him into the kitchen nearby. INT. RANDALL'S - KITCHEN Ben takes out some cash and hands it all to Randall who then starts counting it. INT. RANDALL'S - LATER A regular waits by the bar. Randall serves up a Heineken. Ben walks up. RANDALL Hey Ben, go get the bike for me. (throws him the keys) Hurry up, okay? I'm closing. Ben catches the keys and is out the door. EXT. GARAGE - NIGHT Ben opens the garage door with Randall's keys. It's dark inside. He takes a few steps inside the garage and switches on the light. A gorgeous Harley Davidson waits for him inside. Ben wheels it out, switches off the light, and closes the garage door. EXT. STREET - NIGHT Ben wheels the Harley out of a dark street. He looks over to Randall's. Nobody on the look-out. He wheels the Harley a little further down, then turns it on and drives off. EXT. CITY STREET - NIGHT Ben makes a right turn onto a busy street. He enjoys the ride. Looks at the high-rise buildings. The people. The shops. INT. GAS STATION OFFICE - NIGHT Lambert at the table, smoking a cigarette. Someone's bright HEADLIGHTS glare through the window. Lambert looks out, but is blinded. A HONK from outside. Lambert gets up and looks out the window. The bright lights vanish as Ben drives off on the Harley. Lambert sits back down and takes a hit off the cigarette. He empties a glass of whiskey. CUT TO: A MAN'S FACE. He's in his mid-30s, bearded, tall. He is NATE. He observes somebody O.S. INT. RANDALL'S Randall plays cards with some guys. He gets up. RANDALL Nate, what are you doing here? You know you shouldn't be here. You're coming to the wrong place. I don't have anything for you. NATE But they said-- RANDALL --They were wrong. Do you understand me? NATE I've got money. RANDALL I don't want it. NATE Come on, man. What... What's your price? RANDALL Listen to me, all right! I don't know what you're talking about. (beat) Get out. NATE I've got cash. RANDALL Take a walk! EXT. RANDALL'S - NIGHT Ben approaches, wheeling the Harley. Randall shoves Nate out the door. He sees Ben. RANDALL Where the hell were you? Ben hands him the keys. RANDALL Did you take it for a ride? BENJAMIN No, I didn't. I swear. RAVEL (checks the Harley's engine) The engine is hot. BENJAMIN It wasn't me. RAVEL (raises his voice) Don't give me that shit! BENJAMIN I don't even have a fucking license. RANDALL (almost threatening) Watch who you're bullshitting, asshole. BENJAMIN It wasn't me. RANDALL Just get out of here! Ben throws him a look. Randall goes back inside. EXT. CITY STREET - NIGHT Nate approaches as Ben walks down the street. NATE They said you have the stuff on you. I need it real bad. BENJAMIN What do you need? They walk down the street. NATE Stuff, man. The stuff. BENJAMIN What stuff? NATE The drugs, man. BENJAMIN You don't look like a guy with the kind of money. NATE I do. I mean, I have it. BENJAMIN You know Randall? NATE No. BENJAMIN So why did he throw you out? NATE Listen, man, I'm just here to buy some dope, okay. You got any? BENJAMIN Not on me. Wait for me in front of Randall's place. I'll be back there in twenty minutes. NATE Thank you, man. I'll wait. INT. GAS STATION - OFFICE - NIGHT Ben sits at the table, holding a joint. Lambert walks in as a car drives off in the background. He sees Ben lighting the joint. LAMBERT What's that shit? Drugs? Lambert takes a swing at Ben who drops the joint and almost hits his head on the table. LAMBERT Are you crazy? BENJAMIN What?! It's only a joint! LAMBERT (concerned) It all starts with a fucking joint! BENJAMIN (jumps up) Are you nuts? Fuck, man. What's with you? (points to a whiskey bottle by the sink) Look what you shoot up every night. Lambert lets him talk. He walks to the sink and grabs the bottle of whiskey. He takes a seat. BENJAMIN You've got your shit, I've got mine! Ben grabs his stuff off the table and pockets it. He storms out. PUSH IN ON Lambert as he just looks on, staring off into nothing. FADE OUT TO: INT. RANDALL'S - MORNING TWO GUYS in a conversation. Randall enters behind them. His Harley waits outside. DRUNK GUY Hey, morning Victor. What's up? Randall walks by and just nods. Ben plays cards with DOC (60s) by the bar. Randall walks up. RANDALL Give the bike a polish and put it back in the garage, please. Randall hands Ben the keys. Ben puts down his cards. BENJAMIN See ya later, Doc. RANDALL Hey, before you go... we gotta talk. INT. RANDALL'S - KITCHEN - LATER Randall speaks with Ben. RANDALL I need you to go drop something off for me. BENJAMIN What? RANDALL Nevermind what. BENJAMIN I would like to know what I'm dropping off. I don't want the cops to catch me with any shit I don't know about. RANDALL (gives in) All right! Fremont's weekly payment is due. BENJAMIN Oh I know him. Okay. I can do that. RANDALL But don't forget the polish. EXT. CITY STREETS - DAY Ben rides the Harley down the street. EXT. FREMONT'S BAR - DAY This is the first time we see the bar from the outside. Ben dealed Gil here earlier. Now Ben arrives on the Harley. He gets off and walks to the building next to the bar. INT. BUILDING - BY FREMONT'S APARTMENT Ben walks up. A tag on the door reads "Fremont's". Under it it says "Leave mail in the mailbox". Benjamin looks at the mailbox on the wall. He takes the envelope and puts it in. EXT. MARKETPLACE - DAY This is one of the city's most populated areas. There's an underground Subway station on the corner of the main street. Ben drives up on the Harley, then turns off the engine. He walks to a liquor store up ahead. A group, and most of them drunk, pass him on his way to the store. Among the group is a cute blonde girl in her mid 20s. The group keeps walking, but one guy keeps collapsing. LIZ Come on, don't throw up on the street. Some of the guys in the group help the guy up. Liz stops as she sees the Harley. She walks over and looks in the rearview mirror, checking her hair. Ben stops as he sees Liz checking out the Harley. He walks over. They look at each other. BENJAMIN You like it? Liz looks at him like "whatever". She goes around the Harley to check it out some more. She doesn't think it's Ben's. BENJAMIN You want to go for a ride? She smiles to herself. BENJAMIN Want a ride? LIZ Whatever. BENJAMIN What? LIZ This isn't yours. BENJAMIN Oh? Why not? LIZ Fuck off. Ben is taken aback a little, but ignores it. He hops on the Harley and turns on the engine. Liz turns around; interested. Her group is doing stupid shit in the background. Ben looks over his shoulder. He revvs up the engine. LIZ (walks to Ben) Wait. She gets on and Ben drives off. One of the guys in the group runs up. TREY Hey! Liz! LIZ (calling out) I'll be back later! Ben and Liz take off down the street. INT. GAS STATION OFFICE Lambert and Ben sit by the table. LAMBERT They're all whores. BENJAMIN She's just a girl I met. LAMBERT All women are whores. At least whores are honest about it. BENJAMIN (snickers) My mother was no whore. LAMBERT How do you know? BENJAMIN I just know. LAMBERT Well, hey, I've got nothing against whores. BENJAMIN What's your argument against women anyway? (beat) Sometimes I think I could fall for a whore. LAMBERT You want to be a pimp? BENJAMIN No. No, that's not what I mean. It's just that, you know, I wonder why they do it. Maybe I could help out one of them. LAMBERT Why can't you meet a girl who isn't a whore? Ben shrugs. LAMBERT Do you only fuck whores? BENJAMIN No. (laughs; then) Who do you fuck? LAMBERT Myself. He stares at the ground. EXT. GAS STATION - NIGHT Ben washes the windshielf of a car. Lambert fills up the tank and then walks up to the driver's side. The driver hands him some cash and drops two quarters into Ben's hand. INT. GAS STATION OFFICE They walk in. Lambert goes to the table and pours a glass. BENJAMIN Hey, come on. How about a Coke? LAMBERT Yeah, sure. With lots of rum if you got it. (drinks) So finish your story. BENJAMIN Well, I've got a date with her tonight. I'm freaking out. Lambert empties the glass of whiskey and sets it down. LAMBERT Freaking out, huh. You don't know where to go? BENJAMIN We're going to a rock club downtown. LAMBERT A rock club? BENJAMIN It's called the "Rock House". LAMBERT Rock House... that place still exists? Ben nods. Lambert gets up and walks out the door. Ben follows. EXT. GAS STATION - NIGHT They both exit and walk towards the Harley. LAMBERT I think she's after your Harley. BENJAMIN I don't know. LAMBERT Whose it it? BENJAMIN It belongs to my boss. Victor Randall. LAMBERT You stole it? BENJAMIN No no. I just borrowed it. LAMBERT I bet you don't have a license, do you? BENJAMIN Hey, don't worry. I can take care of myself. They stop at the Harley. LAMBERT I believe you, but leave your bike here. See if it's you she's after. BENJAMIN Cut the wise talk. Please. LAMBERT (forceful) I don't want you to take it. Leave it here. I'm telling you. Just walk there. BENJAMIN Hey, how about minding your own business. The other night you hit me across the face for rolling a joint and now this? Why should I take your advice? You don't even know about women. (gets on the Harley) Don't preach to me, all right? I can do what I want. (turns on the engine) Take a good look, Lambert. You won't see me again. He speeds away. Lambert looks on, disappointed. EXT. ROCK HOUSE - NIGHT A popular crowd hangs out in front. Ben drives up on the opposite side of the street. Among the crowd is Liz and her clique of friends. They turn after Ben honks O.S. LIZ'S FRIEND Is that your date? GROUP MEMBER (amused) Look at that guy. LIZ Leave me alone. (points to the club) Go in already. She crosses the street. GROUP MEMBER Don't go. She approaches Ben. BENJAMIN You ready? LIZ I can't go. BENJAMIN You said... LIZ I know. I changed my mind. (looks over) I'm with my friends. BENJAMIN Okay. So... what are you doing tomorrow? LIZ No way, I'm busy. BENJAMIN Tough luck, huh. LIZ I'm sorry. How about Tuesday night? I'm free then. BENJAMIN Yeah. Sure. But not here. LIZ Okay. Uh, how about the place where we first met? Say 10pm at the marketplace? BENJAMIN (nods) Don't forget. Liz runs back to her friends. LIZ Later. Ben watches her go, then takes off down the street. EXT. GARAGE - NIGHT Both doors are open. Ben wheels the Harley inside. He closes the doors with a LOUD THUMP. Locks them and walks away. INT. APARTMENT COMPLEX - NIGHT Ben walks towards a dark hall up ahead. He turns on the lights, but as they turn on -- REVEAL TWO THUGS by the stairs smoking cigarettes. They are KEN MARDONI (30s) and SAL (late 20s). Ben retreats. SAL Hey Ben. We scare you? MARDONI Benjamin, how are you doing? BENJAMIN (suspects something, but keeps cool) Hey Mardoni. What's up? Something wrong? MARDONI Nothing's wrong. We just came here to chat with you a little... regarding Randall's Harley. BENJAMIN (deep stare) What? EXT. GAS STATION - NIGHT Lambert just stares out into the sky. The sound of a motorcycle coming closer O.S. He looks down the street; curious. But it is just someone in a red shirt, speeding by. Lambert looks on. It's a dead night. Nobody on the streets. No service. He goes back inside his office. INT. GAS STATION OFFICE Lambert drinks from the whiskey bottle. Then stares -- HIS POV - THRU WINDOW The same exact street he saw earlier, but this time there is no patrol car and no rain. The street is empty. INT. CAFE - MORNING Lambert at a table. Waiting. A waitress brings him a coffee. CHRISTINA Your coffee, Lambert. LAMBERT Thanks, Christina. CHRISTINA Are you doing alright these days? LAMBERT No. CHRISTINA Your loss is still getting you down? LAMBERT (nods) It's not easy being alone. MALE VOICE (O.S.) Christina! Order 37 is ready. CHRISTINA I'm sorry. Maybe we can chat some more later. Christina leaves. Lambert nods, sips the coffee. EXT. CITY STREETS - DAY Lambert walks down the street he and Ben walked down earlier. He turns the corner into the small street and enters the apartment complex. INT./EXT. APARTMENT COMPLEX Lambert walks out into the open and to the flight of stairs where Mardoni approached Ben just last night. INT. APARTMENT COMPLEX HALL Lambert walks up to an open door and walks in. INT. BENJAMIN'S APARTMENT Lambert finds Ben passed out on the bed. He kneels down to his side. Ben wakes up. His face is cut and bloody. LAMBERT Who did this to you? BENJAMIN Ken Mardoni. LAMBERT (concerned) I warned you about that bike. Ben looks helpless. LAMBERT Don't move. I'll fix you up. He gets up and walks OUT OF FRAME. INT. BENJAMIN'S APARTMENT - LATER Benjamin, his face now swollen and blue, gets fixed up. Lambert uses a wet towel to clear some of the cuts. BENJAMIN Thanks, Lambert. (beat) You know how to take care of someone. Were you married? LAMBERT Come on, don't give me that shit. So what about the rocker girl? BENJAMIN She's a bitch. LAMBERT Why? Didn't she show up? BENJAMIN She did, but she wasn't alone. Her friends were there. She didn't want to go out. (beat) But we have a date Tuesday. LAMBERT You're going? BENJAMIN I don't know. She kinda pisses me off. I think I'll just... I don't know... fuck her, maybe. LAMBERT (chuckles) Looking like this? BENJAMIN I don't really care. Lambert puts a band aid on Ben. LAMBERT You should get some sleep. He helps Ben stand up. Ben finally gets a good look around the apartment. His pocketbooks are all over the place. A mess. BENJAMIN Oh shit. Look at what those cocksuckers did to my books. Lambert sees this. He goes to pick some of them up. FADE OUT TO: EXT. CITY STREETS - NIGHT Ben, with a bag around his chest and looking better now, crosses an intersection. He sees an unattended Honda motorcycle leaning against a building. He tries the engine and it jumps to life. He looks around, somewhat suspiciously, and takes off on it in a hurry. EXT. MARKETPLACE - NIGHT Liz waits by the liquor store. It appears she's been waiting for a while. She lights a ciggarette, then walks up to the Subway station just up the street. She leans on the railing. Ben arrives on the Honda, drives up to her. LIZ Hi. BENJAMIN Hey. LIZ (notices the Honda) That's not your bike. BENJAMIN What? LIZ Do you think I'm blind or something? BENJAMIN Come on. Let's go. LIZ Where's your bike? The Harley? BENJAMIN Oh yeah. It's at the shop. I got into an accident. Luckily I didn't get hurt too bad. (refers to his cuts) Just a couple of minor scratches. (after her look) Are you coming or not? LIZ So is this your bike? BENJAMIN The shop let me have this one until they fixed the other one. Liz thinks. She then hops on, but almost falls off when Ben starts up too fast. LIZ Oh shit. Slow down. They drive off down the street. EXT. BEN'S APARTMENT COMPLEX - NIGHT Ben drives up to the main door. Liz gets off. LIZ Where are you taking me? BENJAMIN I live here. He turns off the engine and wheels it inside the complex. LIZ You live alone? BENJAMIN Yeah. Please come in. INT. BENJAMIN'S APARTMENT Darkess. The door opens. Liz walks in with Ben right behind her. He turns on the lights while she looks around. BENJAMIN This is it. He turns on two more lights by the recliner and the bed. Liz turns to the rack of books. They're all in place again. She scans some of the titles. LIZ Did you read all of these? Ben kneels by the fridge and opens it. He takes out a bottle of champagne. BENJAMIN (turns to her) Some of them, yeah. Liz walks over to Ben. He holds the bottle in one hand and grabs two glasses from a cupboard above the fridge. He pours her a glass. BENJAMIN Say when. LIZ (about half way) That's fine. She takes her glass. Ben pours one for himself. BENJAMIN Please, sit down. She sits down on the bed behind her, then sips the champagne. He sits down next to her. He waits a few seconds, then goes to kiss her. She pulls back. LIZ You don't waste any time, do you? BENJAMIN You turn me on. LIZ Wait. (beat) I have to take my lipstick off. BENJAMIN No, keep it on. LIZ I'll smear it all over your face, not to mention my own. Ben nods, gets up and walks to the bathroom. He comes back with a towel and hands it to her. She wipes off her lipstick, when: BENJAMIN (takes her hand) Are you sure you wouldn't rather keep it on? I like to kiss women who've got lipstick on. LIZ But then we won't kiss. BENJAMIN No no. It's fine. Go ahead. She wipes her lipstick off. He slowly caresses her thigh. BENJAMIN (notices her pants) Do you ever wear skirts? LIZ You don't like my pants? I haven't even taken them off yet. BENJAMIN Oh no. They're fine. They have a silent moment looking at each other. She kisses him. Ben begins to caress her neck. More kissing. They fall back onto the bed and OUT OF FRAME. INT. GAS STATION OFFICE - MORNING Lambert is eating from a pack of cookies. Ben is next to him. LAMBERT (chewing) Did you fuck her? BENJAMIN Only once. Lambert throws him a look. INT. BENJAMIN'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Ben and Liz fuck on the bed. She sits on top of him. They don't talk. Liz goes up and down. After a while, she stops and falls onto the bed, lying next to Ben. INT. GAS STATION OFFICE - MORNING Lambert looks at Ben still. BENJAMIN She wouldn't do it again. LAMBERT Why? BENJAMIN I don't know. It doesn't really matter. But it was great. Maybe I could've screwed her all night, but she wanted to go for a ride... so we did. EXT. CITY STREETS - NIGHT Ben and Liz cruising down a lonely street. BENJAMIN (V.O.) It was great for a while until we ran into a problem. A police motorcycle comes up behind them and sounds its SIREN. Ben looks back. The cop gains speed and pulls up next to them. He points to Ben's head. STREET COP Where's your helmet, huh? Ben goes for a quickie and hits the cop across the face. He bolts out of there with Liz screaming. Liz looks back and sees the cop holding his head and drastically slowing down. LIZ (hits Ben) Are you crazy? Why'd you do that? They disappear into another street. EXT. EMPTY CITY STREET - NIGHT TRACK WITH THEM as they drive down. LIZ Stop the bike or I'll jump off. Ben doesn't like her attitude. LIZ I swear I'll jump. He slows down, stops. Liz jumps off. LIZ You crazy asshole. He takes off after taking in those words, leaving her all alone on the street. INT. GAS STATION OFFICE - MORNING Lambert and Ben at the table which is full of cookies. LAMBERT Take it easy. Nobody will find you here. I wouldn't worry. BENJAMIN (goes on about something else) She came. I know she did. (beat) I heard her. LAMBERT (eats a cookie) These are great. Sure you don't want one? Ben declines. Lambert eats another. BENJAMIN (gets up) Hey, I gotta go to work. See you later, Lambert. He leaves. Lambert watches him go. FADE OUT TO: EXT. CITY STREETS - DAY Traffic backed up. Red lights. Pedestrians crossing intersections. Mass commuting. EXT. CITY SHOPPING MALL - DAY Ben and a young man, called THEO, are waiting outside. Shoppers come in and out of this massive, populated mall. Theo checks his watch. THEO Who are we waiting for anyway? BENJAMIN Jordan. THEO Who? BENJAMIN Relax, Theo. We're going through this together. You'll pick up fast. (beat) I usually don't train Randall's new guys. THEO You mean to tell me you didn't start out as a new guy? BENJAMIN Not really. I picked up where my dad left off. THEO Why'd you do that? A cell phone RINGS. Ben checks his pockets and takes it out. BENJAMIN (into cell) Yeah? VOICE ON CELLULAR We're waiting and expect you here in less than five. BENJAMIN You'll see us down there in two. VOICE ON CELLULAR Us? BENJAMIN Don't worry, it's a new guy. VOICE ON CELLULAR Randall know about this? BENJAMIN He asked me to train this guy. (beat) Trust me, all right. VOICE ON CELLULAR You just wasted a minute talking too much. Four to go. I suggest you hurry. Ben flips it closed. BENJAMIN Fuckin' punks. (runs off) Theo, come on. Theo follows Ben into the shopping mall. INT. SHOPPING MALL - THIRD FLOOR Ben and Theo in the men's department. They walk towards the dressing room. INT. SHOPPING MALL - MEN'S DRESSING ROOM Ben and Theo walk in. HEATHER (30s), beautiful, black hair, exits one of the dressing stalls. She stops them. HEATHER Can I interest you in a jacket? BENJAMIN You sure can, lovely lady. She leads them into the last stall in the back. They enter. JOSEPH JORDAN (early 40s) holds a black suit. JORDAN Ah, our model. Heather closes the door. Ben takes off his jacket and hands it to her. Jordan hands the suit to Ben who puts it on. JORDAN Fits your size perfectly. BENJAMIN Oh, yes it does. Great. Where's the runway? JORDAN Second floor to the garage. BENJAMIN See you on the runway, Jordan. Jordan nods. Ben and Theo walk out. Heather closes the door behind them. JORDAN Check his jacket for me Heather, will you? INT. SHOPPING MALL - SECOND FLOOR Ben and Theo leave the women's department and exit through a heavy door labeled "Parking Garage". BENJAMIN Smooth transaction, wasn't it? THEO Yeah, but I don't get it. INT. PARKING GARAGE ELEVATOR DING. Ben and Theo get off at level Zero. BENJAMIN What's not to get? EXT. STREET NEAR PARKING GARAGE - DAY Theo throws Ben a look as they walk down the street. BENJAMIN (off Theo's look) You don't like Armani suits? THEO No, that's not it. What the hell happened in there? BENJAMIN Switch off, Theo. I traded my jackets for this one. Pre-paid, you see. It's all in here. THEO You mean to tell me you're wearing them? The drugs? BENJAMIN Yeah, and you can only guess what was in my jacket. THEO Money?! BENJAMIN You're not sure? THEO No, it makes sense. Yeah. BENJAMIN Then it'll be your turn next time. They turn a corner. An OLDSMOBILE follows them around the corner. INT. OLDSMOBILE (MOVING) - DAY The man behind the wheel is CHUCK BRIDGES (approaching 50). He has a strange but relaxed way about him. NATE, the addict buying drugs from Ben earlier, rides shotgun. BRIDGES You paying attention here, Nate? NATE (nods) Yeah. BRIDGES We know about these switches. It's no secret. That's why I had you follow them. NATE The guy who is wearing the suit dealed me drugs earlier. Why don't you pull them over? BRIDGES Benjamin Schwartz is the least of our problems. It's George Randall we're looking to catch in the act. NATE They deal in front of his place. BRIDGES Yeah, but it's small time stuff. We come for the big stuff, remember. Bridges drives on. EXT. CITY STREETS - DAWN It's getting darker. Traffic and commuting slows. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. STREET/GAS STATION - NIGHT Ben, wearing a jacket again (a different one), holds a white bottle. He turns the corner and walks to the station. He sees Lambert working on a car. LAMBERT Hey, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work? BENJAMIN My shift is over. (hands him the bottle) I brought you something. Lambert takes the bottle. BENJAMIN Jamaican rum. INT. GAS STATION OFFICE Lambert takes two tiny glasses out of a small cupboard. He sits down across the table from Ben. BENJAMIN I bought it downtown. Lambert fills up both glasses. He takes a shot and sets it down. BENJAMIN Don't you like it? LAMBERT It's great. Thanks! He refills the glass. LAMBERT This is good! Ben looks at Lambert for a while, thinking about something. BENJAMIN Can I tell you something? Lambert downs the drink and looks at him. LAMBERT (nods) Go ahead. I'm listening. BENJAMIN I'm not a bartender. LAMBERT (surprised) Oh? BENJAMIN I'm a small-time dealer. ON LAMBERT He looks at him for a while. Beat. LAMBERT You're crazy. BENJAMIN (O.S.) You don't believe me. LAMBERT (beat) Sure I do. You deal. You sell drugs. Benjamin nods. LAMBERT Who's your connection? BENJAMIN George Randall Lambert doesn't say anything, waits. BENJAMIN Are you disappointed? LAMBERT (stares at him) I don't give a damn. (pours a drink) Who cares. A HONK sounds O.S. Lambert gets up. LAMBERT You'll die soon enough. Lambert stumbles and hits a rack. Ben gets up and helps him. BENJAMIN Hey. Stay here. I'll go. He helps Lambert sit down. Lambert watches him walk out, shakes his head and exhales. Outside, Ben fills up somebody's car. EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT RICHARD, on the look-out again, leans against the door. Ben, on the opposite side of the street, crosses and walks towards him. He nods and walks in. Richard looks after Ben and turns back to the street just as-- MARDONI and SAL pull up on a motorcycle. They nod to Richard and then take off. INT. APARTMENT BUILDING - HALL Ben opens his mailbox at the end of the row. He looks if his plastic bag and everything else is still there. It is. He takes a plastic bag from his pocket and looks inside. INSIDE THE BAG Roughly two dozen small wrapers are inside. BACK TO SCENE He puts it back inside the mailbox, closes it. INT. BAR A girl (20s) in a black jacket enters. She approaches the bar and orders something. She looks around. Ben sits at a able with a couple of guys. They ignore him mostly. He stares at someone O.S. The girl, it appears, is looking directly at Ben. Ben nods. The girl lights a smoke, inhales, and lets the smoke escape her mouth slowly, somewhat sexy. She smiles, then nods. Ben lets out a smile, but more to himself. EXT. BAR - NIGHT Ben exits the bar. EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT Ben runs up and finds the door is closed. Richard is not on the look-out anymore. Ben looks around; not fond of this. INT. APARTMENT BUILDING - HALL Ben lets himself in. He stops in front of his mailbox and opens it. It's empty. He closes it, enraged. BENJAMIN Shit. (pounds the mailbox) Shit. EXT. CITY STREETS - NIGHT Ben is running. He stops after he sees a unattended motorcycle leaning against a building. He runs for it, but someone steps out the building and stops him. MOTORCYCLE OWNER You don't steal my bike twice, asshole. Ben has no time to argue. He strikes the owner across the face. The owner falls, dizzy to react to anything. Ben kneels down and takes the keys out of the owner's pockets. Ben turns on the motorcycle and hurries off on it down the street, just avoiding an uncoming car coming up the street. INT. GAS STATION OFFICE - NIGHT Ben storms in. Lambert is reading a book. LAMBERT (surprised to see him) Hey, what's the hurry? Ben walks in circles. BENJAMIN I'm in real fucking trouble. It's all gone. Shit! I've got to pay Randall back. LAMBERT How much? BENJAMIN Forty hits. 4,000 dollars! LAMBERT Do you have it? BENJAMIN (faces Lambert) No, I only have around 900 dollars. I'm fucked, Lambert. Lambert gets up. LAMBERT (grabs cash from his pocket) Here's 200 dollars. He kneels down and grabs a cashbox from beneath the table. LAMBERT (sets it on table) Take the cashbox. (opens it, counts) Here's 800 dollars. Plus 200. I've got a 1000 right here. With your money that's 1900 dollars. Give him that. I'll get an advance on my salary tomorrow. Ben looks at him. LAMBERT (closes the cashbox) Take it. It'll cut down on the whiskey. I can't buy any without money. Come on. Ben takes it reluctantly, looks at Lambert. BENJAMIN I don't know what to say. LAMBERT Don't say anything. BENJAMIN (looks at the cash; ) I better go pick up my money and pay him back. LAMBERT When are you coming back? BENJAMIN I'll come by as soon as I can. LAMBERT Watch out, all right? BENJAMIN Yeah. (leaves for the door; turns back) Thank you, Lambert. EXT. GAS STATION - NIGHT Ben walks out. The motorcycle he stole earlier leans against the door. He turns it around, hops on, and just as he hurries out of there-- A car enters the station. Lambert comes out the door. He walks towards the car. Above the gas station, a bald man (40s) opens the door to his balcony and looks out. He's watching. The car's driver watches Lambert fill up the car. Lambert looks up and sees the man watching him. The bald man leans on the balcony, looking down. Lambert watches still. ON CAR'S GAS TANK It overflows and fuel spills onto the ground. ON LAMBERT He doesn't notice. OBSERVANT DRIVER (O.S.) Hey. It's overflowing, man! Lambert notices. He calmly stops and puts the nozzle back. The driver approaches him. LAMBERT Sorry. OBSERVANT DRIVER Sorry? Fuck man, the gas is too damn expensive to just be sorry. LAMBERT (nods) Twenty. The driver hands him the cash and gets in the car. Lambert walks back to his office. The car speeds away. ON THE BALD MAN He keeps on looking. Has nothing better to do. INT. GAS STATION OFFICE Lambert by the table. He takes the cashbox and puts it away. He walks to the window and looks out. HIS POV A motorcycle in the distance. It comes closer and ultimately stops right in front of the window. It's Ben. He pounds on the window and screams for help. SAL and MARDONI (he's wearing a black helmet) drive up behind Ben on a black motorcycle. Ben accellerates. They chase him through the station. Lambert has seen enough. EXT. GAS STATION - NIGHT Lambert storms out of the office. He stops at the sight of -- ON BEN He falls off the motorcycle. SAL turns up right behind him. MARDONI grabs Ben by the collar. SAL starts up which leaves Ben riding the hard asphalt. BEN tries to fight off MARDONI, but it has no effect. SAL stops and MARDONI pulls a gun. BEN takes one last look at LAMBERT who is in shock. Then looks at SAL and MARDONI. ON LAMBERT A SHOT RINGS OUT O.S. His face goes blank. SAL AND MARDONI pull away and leave Ben lying on the ground. LAMBERT runs to one of the gas nozzles. SAL accelerates the motorcycle. MARDONI aims his gun. LAMBERT holds the nozzle and sprays SAL, then sprays MARDONI who at the same time fires at Lambert, but misses. A FLAME IGNITES AFTER MARDONI GETS SPRAYED AND SHOOTS. HE LIGHTS UP. The FLAME SPREADS TO SAL who then loses control. THEIR MOTORCYCLE COLLIDES WITH A PARKED CAR. SAL shoots over the car and lands on his head. Dead. MARDONI lands on the roof of the car. He drops and rolls onto the hood, trying to choke the flames on his jacket. ON LAMBERT He kneels by Ben's side and sees the hole in his chest. BENJAMIN (in pain) I'm sorry. I fucked up. Lambert can't speak. BENJAMIN It was Mardoni. (tries for air) I'm sorry I got you into this, Lambert. LAMBERT looks to the street and sees -- MARDONI, his jacket burned, puts out the flame on his leg. He looks in our direction and limps off down the street. LAMBERT (turns back to Ben) Don't talk. BENJAMIN (last breath) It hurts. Lambert feels his heartbeat. Ben slowly stops breathing. PUSH IN on Lambert. He kisses dying Ben on the forehead. FADE OUT TO: Lambert leans against a wall, staring at the ground. He wears only a shirt. His hair is messy. After a while, he looks at something. He touches a framed picture. The picture shows a 16 year-old boy with curly black hair. Lambert takes his hand off the picture and gets up slowly. PULL BACK to reveal -- INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT He exits his room, walks through the living room, and enters the kitchen. He opens the fridge and takes out a one-gallon milk carton. Lambert sits down at the kitchen table and drinks from the milk carton. His thoughts are not in this room. It's very quiet. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - LATER Lambert sleeps on the bed. His son's picture is on the night table next to the bed. EXT. CITY STREETS - MORNING It's fairly quiet this morning. EXT. BEN'S APARTMENT COMPLEX - DAY Lambert turns the corner to Ben's apartment complex. EXT. APARTMENT COMPLEX - DAY Lambert approaches the flight of stairs. INT. APARTMENT COMPLEX Lambert walks up the stairs. INT. BENJAMIN'S APARTMENT Bridges, the man driving the Oldsmobile, holds a small notebook. He's in the center of the room. He turns as Lambert walks in through the door. BRIDGES Looking for something? Lambert doesn't answer. BRIDGES (approaches Lambert) I'm Detective Chuck Bridges. I'm investigating the death of Benjamin Schwartz. He lived here. (flips the badge) Are you a friend of his? LAMBERT (hesitates) Oh no. I work at the gas station where he died. He told me he lived here. BRIDGES Let me get this right. You work at the station, but you don't know him? LAMBERT Right. (after Bridges's look) Well, he came in for gas a few times, you know, but otherwise I didn't know him. He hands Bridges a Zippo lighter. LAMBERT I found this lighter while cleaning up. I think it might be his. I don't know, maybe his family would appreciate it. BRIDGES He lived alone. (looks at lighter) You know what? Keep it. It might not even be his. I wouldn't want to go through the trouble of working up a report on it. Lambert frowns. Bridges walks over to the book rack. BRIDGES What did he do with all these books? LAMBERT Maybe he read them. BRIDGES (shoots a look) You think so? LAMBERT How would I know? Bridges closes the apartment door. He faces Lambert. BRIDGES He was a small-time pusher, you know. LAMBERT (shrugs off his knowledge) Yeah? BRIDGES (paces around) I've had my eyes on him for a while now. I waited to bust him and some others later. (beat) You know, I'm glad you stopped by. I'd hate to have you come down to meet me at the precinct. Saved me some time. Of course, I still need to speak to some other witnesses, but I'm glad we met. Lambert doesn't quite share his enthusiasm there. BRIDGES (beat) So how did it happen? LAMBERT What? BRIDGES How did Benjamin die? LAMBERT (beat) Well, he was getting gas. Someone showed up on a motorcycle and shot him. BRIDGES Did you know the assailant? LAMBERT No. BRIDGES What did the assailant look like? LAMBERT Some guy in his late 20s. BRIDGES How did he die? LAMBERT He was out of control. BRIDGES You're saying it was an accident? LAMBERT It looked like one, yeah. (beat) Any more questions? BRIDGES No. LAMBERT Well. Goodbye. He leaves the apartment. Bridges looks around and walks to the book rack again. He examines it. Checks some titles. Thinks something about them ain't kosher. INT. PHONE BOOTH - DAY Lambert talking on the phone. LAMBERT Just for a few days. It's not too much to ask. (beat) I need a check-up with the doctor. (beat) Find someone to replace me, can't you? I'll be back as soon as possible. (beat) Thank you. Goodbye. He exits the booth and walks away. EXT. ALLEY - DAY Lambert comes out and crosses a street. He walks over to-- EXT. RANDALL'S - DAY Lambert walks up and enters. INT. RANDALL'S Randall chats with a customer. He fills up a beer for somebody. He looks for a second as Lambert takes a seat at the bar. Theo works behind the bar. He approaches Lambert. THEO How are you? LAMBERT Okay. A whiskey, huh? Theo prepares a glass. Lambert looks around the room. He sees a third bartender chatting with two regulars. He also sees three guys at a table in the back of the restaurant. Theo sets the whiskey in front of Lambert. LAMBERT (nods) Thanks. He drinks up and looks over to Randall, curious as to who he is. A skinny customer walks up to Randall. SKINNY GUY Randall, my man, pour me a Heineken. Randall goes to fill up a beer. He looks over to Lambert. Lambert holds a deep stare. EXT. ROCK HOUSE - NIGHT Lambert walks up. He's greeted by the bouncer. BOUNCER Can I help you? LAMBERT What does it take to get in? BOUNCER Got cash? INT. ROCK HOUSE Lambert leans against a wall. He watches the crowd. Clubbing is going down in here. The noise is obscene. A rock group performs on stage. The audience is clubbing to their heavy metal song. ROCK GROUP MEMBER (into mic) Yo everybody! Ready to rock? (dances around stage) To hell with country and rap! Taste the noise of "rock"! Liz is among the huge crowd. She's enjoying this. Laughs. Her friends are around. She sings along. Lambert keeps observing this rowdy crowd of clubbers. He's unimpressed, looks around for somebody. He asks one of the clubbers a question. The clubber doesn't know. Lambert thanks him and walks out. EXT. ROCK HOUSE - NIGHT Lambert exits. He's smoking. The bouncer turns to him. BOUNCER Not your type of music huh? LAMBERT You know a girl named Liz? EXT. ROCK HOUSE - NIGHT A crowd of clubbers storm out. Some drunk. Some horny. Lambert waits a few paces away and approaches them. LAMBERT Hey. Anybody of you know Liz? They hardly pay attention to him and just keep walking. A blonde girl walks out with her friends. LAMBERT (to girl) Are you Liz? She shakes her head "no" and walks away. LAMBERT (to anybody) I'm looking for a blonde girl. MALE VOICE (O.S.) Get movin' oldie. Liz's friends exit the club and pass Lambert. Among them is Trey. Lambert walks up to him. LAMBERT Do you know a girl named Liz? TREY (keeps walking) Yeah. She already left. LAMBERT (follows) Do you know where I can find her? LIZ'S FRIEND (points across the street) I think that's her over there. Lambert looks across the street. Liz and RICKY are in an argument. He's all over her, which she doesn't like. Other clubbers hang and walk past them. RICKY Come on. LIZ (tries to keep him off) Get off, Ricky. RICKY (lets go) What's wrong with you? LIZ Fuck you. We broke up months ago. Get over it. RICKY Fuck you, too. He takes off with some of the other clubbers. Lambert walks up beside Liz, but she walks away. He follows. LAMBERT Excuse me? Can we talk? LIZ (keeps walking) What do you want? INT. BAR Liz and Lambert walk through the bar, looking for a free table. They eventually find a table in the back, next to the window. They sit. Liz looks impatient. LAMBERT Are you Liz? LIZ Who are you? LAMBERT Lambert. LIZ So what? What do you want? LAMBERT I just want to talk. LIZ (not in the mood for guessing) About? LAMBERT Benjamin. LIZ Who? LAMBERT How about the hot-looking Harley? LIZ (remembers) I didn't know he stole it. He told me it was his Harley. I didn't know. Has he been arrested? LAMBERT He's dead. She takes this in, but is interrupted by -- A KNOCK on the window O.S. She looks over. Trey looks at her from outside. TREY (screaming) Who is that guy, Liz? Trey's friend pushes him out of sight. TREY (O.S.) Come on! Liz turns back to Lambert. LIZ I'm sorry. Lambert acknowledges. LIZ I didn't know him well. I only saw him twice. LAMBERT You slept with him, didn't you? LIZ What? What you talking about? You gotta be kidding. LAMBERT He told me. LIZ So, what if I did? What's it to you? LAMBERT I'm sorry I brought that up. It's none of my business. (beat) Do you know how he made his living? LIZ I told you I don't really know him. LAMBERT He was small-time dealer. LIZ (defends herself) I don't know anything about that. I don't take that shit. Besides, I spent only a few hours with the guy. I didn't know him. Lambert looks at her deeply and listens. LIZ (beat) What do you expect me to do? LAMBERT (beat) I need your help. LIZ Help a cop? Yeah right. No way. LAMBERT (laughs) I work at a gas station. LIZ (looks him over) You look like a cop. (beat) I don't give a shit. She gets up, but Lambert doesn't let her. She sits back down. LAMBERT Sit down. Please, I need your help. LIZ Why? LAMBERT My name is Lambert. LIZ Yeah, you told me that already. LAMBERT (serious) Please listen. Lambert's an easy name to remember. I live on 3600 Westchester Avenue. Apartment 204. (beat) You have until tomorrow to decide. LIZ Yeah, that's great. But what do you want me to do? LAMBERT I have to find Ken Mardoni. He killed Benjamin. And I need his address. He hangs out at a restaurant called "Randall's". LIZ Why don't you go there yourself? LAMBERT I look like a cop. LIZ (leans back) Ugh. You know... just leave me out of this, okay? She gets up and starts to walk off, but Lambert cathes up with her. LAMBERT Think it over, will you? LIZ Geez. Leave me the fuck alone, all right? EXT. BAR - NIGHT Liz exits. She sees Trey driving up in a beat-up Mustang. He gets out. TREY Are you coming? LIZ Not in that pice of shit I won't. TREY Come on. Hurry up. He takes her hand, but she retreats. LIZ Take your hands off, okay. TREY Let's go, Liz. Come on. LIZ Trey, listen to me, okay? I don't feel like it. TREY (grabs her jacket) Fine! Don't bother coming back to our shack. LIZ (pulls away) Who gives a shit about that place!? TREY You're crazy! LIZ Loser! Trey pushes her and walks back to the Mustang. He drives off. Liz walks down the street. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM It's dark and quiet. He's sleeping on the bed. The door bell RINGS O.S. And again. Lambert wakes up and turns on the light. He's wearing last night's clothes. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT Lambert opens the door. Liz is standing in the hallway. LIZ Gee, what took you so long? Are you deaf or something? LAMBERT I was sleeping. She walks in. Lambert closes the door and shows Liz into the dark living room. LAMBERT Have you decided? LIZ Can you turn on the light? Lambert turns on the light and then sits at the table in front of her. A glass and a whiskey bottle are on the table. LIZ What do you want me to do? LAMBERT I told you already. He pours himself a glass of whiskey. LIZ Did he really die? LAMBERT He died in my arms. LIZ (after a thought) He lives in what used to be a motel. (beat) 1630 Northern Drive. Number 102. They look at each other. Lambert is surprised she has the information and she is surprised she helped. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - LATER Liz looks out the window, smoking a ciggarette. She turns and looks around the apartment. A FLUSH in the b.g. She turns to the bathroom. Lambert opens the bathroom door and walks out with a towel around his head. He looks at her, then disappears into his bedroom. Liz looks on. She then walks OUT OF FRAME. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM Lambert straightens his suit and tie. He walks to the closet and turns on the light. A gun-holstered shoulder strap hangs among several suits and jackets. He takes it and puts it on. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM Lambert feels the silence. Liz isn't here. He sees the apartment door wide open and closes it right away. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM He grabs a towel off the bed, unravels it, and aims the emerging Baretta pistol out the window. He then checks the clip for bullets. They're all there. Satisfied, he shoves the clip back in and holsters the Baretta. EXT. 1630 NORTHERN DRIVE - DAWN It's raining like hell again. A taxi drives up and stops in front of what looks like an old motel. Lambert gets out. The taxi drives off and Lambert approaches the motel. INT. MOTEL Lambert closes the squeaky door. The windows are plastered with white paint. The place is dark. Lambert takes out Ben's Zippo lighter and flicks it. The flame gives off some light. He proceeds down the motel's dark hallway with the small flame giving him some sense of direction. He comes to a door. He holds the lighter close. The number "101" appears. He walks on, holds the lighter close and sees "102" on the door. He knocks twice. MAN'S VOICE Who is it? LAMBERT Randall sent me. MAN'S VOICE What do you want? LAMBERT Open up. The door opens and Mardoni, wearing a burned coat, looks out. Lambert storms in and -- INT. MARDONI'S ROOM -- pushes Mardoni inside. Lambert kicks the door closed. It's awfully bright in here. It takes Lambert time to adjust. MARDONI What the fuck? Are you nuts? Mardoni attacks Lambert. They struggle. Lambert shoves Mardoni on the bed where a naked woman lies passed out. MARDONI What the fuck is this? LAMBERT (adjusts his eyesight) It's about Benjamin. MARDONI Who the fuck is that? LAMBERT You've never heard of him? MARDONI I don't know what you're talking about, man. LAMBERT Don't move, Mardoni. (sees his coat) Why's your coat burned, huh? MARDONI It's not my fucking coat. What the fuck are you doing here? LAMBERT Your coat got burned at a gas station. Do you know who was wearing it? Lambert takes out his gun. MARDONI No! LAMBERT (slaps the gun on Mardoni's chest) You. MARDONI You a goddamn cop? LAMBERT (slight smile) No. MARDONI Then what the fuck? Who the fuck are you after? LAMBERT Did you kill him on Randall's orders? MARDONI Kill who? Lambert has enough of his lies and hits him across the face. Mardoni falls back against the wall. He falls to the ground. His nose bleeds. MARDONI (in pain) Fuck! Stop! Lambert strikes him with the butt of the gun. LAMBERT Answer the question. Mardoni is in a lot more pain and his face bleeds even stronger. He begins to cy, touches his face. MARDONI We didn't mean to kill him. LAMBERT Maybe not, but he's dead now. Mardoni just looks, begging for his life. Lambert holsters the gun. He looks at the girl on the bed. LAMBERT Did you kill her, too? MARDONI (oblivious) What?! LAMBERT The girl. MARDONI (gets up slowly) No! She passed out. LAMBERT Why? MARDONI No, man! She... she took too fucking much. What the fuck do you care? LAMBERT I don't! MARDONI (walks to the bed) So get the fuck out! LAMBERT Why did you kill him? MARDONI He owed Randall. He didn't pay up full price. Nobody owes him and gets away with it. It's just business, man! LAMBERT It won't be anymore. You tell him that. MARDONI (sits on the bed) Fuck off! LAMBERT Fuck you! He leaves for the door. Mardoni's hands go under the bedsheet. The girl wakes up. GIRL Why did you wake me-- Lambert turns at those words. Mardoni pulls a gun. Lambert beats him to it and FIRES off a shot. Mardoni falls back. The girl screams. She sees if Mardoni is alive, but finds out he's dead. Lambert holsters the gun and walks out the room, leaving the girl screaming. INT. TAXI (MOVING) - DAY It is a silent drive. Lambert looks out the window. EXT. 3600 WESTCHESTER AVENUE - DAY Lambert walks up as the taxi drives off in the background. EXT. BUILDING 3600 - HALLWAY - DAY He walks past a row of mailboxes. EXT. BUILDING 3600 - COURTYARD - DAY He walks into the open yard and continues to the stairs. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT Liz is sleeping on the couch which is right by Lambert's bedroom. She wakes up and curls over. Looks at the door. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM Liz quietly enters his room. She kneels down in front of Lambert who is sleeping. She watches him. She then looks around the room and sees a framed picture hanging on the wall. She goes to it. ON LAMBERT'S PICTURE His portrait at a wedding. ON LAMBERT He opens his eyes, looks up and sees Liz. LAMBERT Did you sleep well? LIZ Okay. LAMBERT What are you doing here anyway? LIZ Is this the thanks I get? LAMBERT How did you get in? Why did you come back? LIZ I wanted to know if you're okay. LAMBERT Well here I am. I'm okay. LIZ Where did you go? LAMBERT Forget it. LIZ I helped you out. Don't you forget that! LAMBERT Well? She mocks him, "what?". LAMBERT You know how to make coffee? LIZ Not really. LAMBERT Well, there's some instant on the kitchen table. Liz exits his room. Lambert sits up and takes a ciggarette and Ben's lighter from the night table. He almost lights it, but decides not to. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - KITCHEN Liz sits at the table. She's drinking milk. Lambert walks in and sits down. A glass of coffee waits in front of him. LAMBERT Not having any? LIZ It tastes like shit. Lambert takes a sip. His face goes berserk. He spit the coffee out into the sink. LAMBERT What did you do with this? LIZ Hey, it's not my fault. Lambert sits back down. LAMBERT Look in the fridge. LIZ For what? LAMBERT You could make some eggs. LIZ (doesn't appreciate his behavior) Who do you think I am, your maid? Make your own eggs. LAMBERT I think I will. LIZ It's your place afterall! LAMBERT It is. LIZ Something is bothering you, isn't it? LAMBERT I'm sorry. I just don't think it's right. This is not the place for you to be. Not for a beautiful girl like you. LIZ Bullshit. LAMBERT (rolls his eyes) Get out. Liz looks at him. LAMBERT I don't mean to kick you out... but you don't belong here. I'm not somebody to hang around with. I appreciate your help... but that's it. I don't have any money. And look at me, I'm a fucking drunk. LIZ Who asked for your help? LAMBERT I don't know. (beat) What do you want? LIZ You don't... nothing! I don't want anything! LAMBERT Then get out. She has enough of his barking and gets up. LIZ You are just a drunk. She leaves for the door. Lambert looks after her. He doesn't know whether to feel better or regret what he said. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - DAY Some light infiltrates his room. It's raining outside. Lambert lies in bed, staring off into space. The door bell RINGS O.S. He looks up. wondering. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - DAY Lambert walks to the door. LAMBERT Who is it? BRIDGES (O.S.) Inspector Bridges. Lambert looks surprised. He opens the door. LAMBERT Come in. Bridges does. Lambert closes the door and shows him to the living room. LAMBERT Have a seat. Bridges nods and sits down. Several whiskey and beer bottles are on the table. BRIDGES (re: the booze) Are you busy? LAMBERT No. He takes the whiskey and pours a shot. BRIDGES So why didn't you tell me? LAMBERT Tell you what? BRIDGES That you were one of us. LAMBERT (hands Bridges the glass) That's history. Long time ago. BRIDGES (takes the glass) Tell me about it. (beat) You retired after your son's death? LAMBERT You came here to talk about my son? Bridges takes out a handkerchief and wipes his wet forehead. BRIDGES Wasn't he an addict? LAMBERT What's your point? BRIDGES I'm just trying to piece things together. LAMBERT Leave my son out of this, please. BRIDGES Okay. (beat) I just don't understand why you didn't tell me the truth. LAMBERT What are you talking about? BRIDGES The truth always comes out in the end. You should know that as a former cop. (beat) Asthma. LAMBERT What about it? BRIDGES Terrible illness, know what I mean? LAMBERT No, I don't. You're asthmatic, is that it? BRIDGES No, I'm not. But the man who lives above the gas station is. He saw what happened to Ben. You didn't serve him gas. He came to you for help. He was pounding against your window. (beat) You mentioned just one assailant when there were actually two. One of them shot Benjamin, so you went after them. You sprayed them with gas. You didn't know, but a flame somehow ignited and lit them of fire. Their bike crashed into a car, killing one of them. The other got away. (beat) Why did you lie? Lambert stares at the ground. LAMBERT Drop it, okay? BRIDGES You know I can't. LAMBERT (looks up) Why can't you? BRIDGES Because I'm a cop. LAMBERT (worked up) Well I'm not. (beat) I'm nothing. I'm nobody. Just leave me alone. BRIDGES (looks at Lambert for a while; then:) You didn't work last night, did you? LAMBERT No. I took some days off. BRIDGES (pulls out a notebook) Do you know the man on the day shift, Dave Thornton? LAMBERT Yes, he's a good man. BRIDGES He's dead. Lambert is confused. He holds a long stare. BRIDGES He took your shift last night. They really messed him up. He looked like as if he's been tortured. A horrible sight. (beat) They got the wrong man, of course. They were after the night shift. That's where you come in. You better watch yourself when you get back to work. (beat) He probably gave them your address before he died. LAMBERT Who cares. BRIDGES Well, I'm just telling you. Watch your ways, know what I mean? These people don't leave things open- ended. No happy endings. Get it? LAMBERT Yeah. The door bell RINGS O.S. Bridges looks at the door. Lambert doesn't move a muscle. BRIDGES Aren't you going to answer? LAMBERT It's probably the wrong door. A KNOCK sounds O.S. Bridges watches as Lambert reluctantly gets up to answer the door. LAMBERT Who is it? LIZ (O.S.) It's me, Liz. Lambert opens up. LIZ Are you still catching up on your sleep? Lambert leads her inside. Bridges gets up and greets Liz. BRIDGES (to Lambert) Your daughter? LIZ (to Lambert) Who is he? LAMBERT A pig. LIZ That's obvious. Lambert walks to the table and sips a glass of whiskey. LIZ (to Bridges) I'm his girlfriend. BRIDGES What a lucky man. Bridges turns to Lambert. BRIDGES (almost whispering) Another two-bit dealer got himself killed this morning. LAMBERT Oh? BRIDGES Does the name Ken Mardoni ring a bell? LAMBERT No. BRIDGES The composite drawing looks quite a lot like you. Lambert shrugs. BRIDGES (beat) Well, okay Lambert. We'll see each other later. (to Liz) Goodbye. He walks out the door. Lambert sits down and pours another glass. He drinks up and pours another. LIZ Stop drinking. LAMBERT (drinks up) Leave me alone. LIZ Alcoholic bastard. LAMBERT What's your point? She gets up and takes the bottle of whiskey away from him. He gets up and faces her. LAMBERT What do you want? What are you after? Sex? LIZ With you? You gotta be kidding. LAMBERT Then what do you want? LIZ (leans in close) Kiss me. LAMBERT You're crazy. I just want to be left alone, don't you understand? LIZ I'm staying. (beat) I'll make you some eggs. LAMBERT You can't. My life is scrambled enough as it is. So here it is: Just go. Forget you ever knew me. I don't exist. Get it? (grabs her arm) Come on. Get out. LIZ Don't touch me, okay? LAMBERT It's dangerous for you to hang around here. Don't tell me later I didn't warn you. He leaves her alone and walks to his bedroom. LIZ Why don't you just run away from all this? Lambert takes one last look at her and then disappears behind the closing door of his bedroom. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM It's mostly dark, but a lamp on the night table gives off some light. Lambert sits on the bed, setting the alarm clock. It reads "7:40pm". He pushes the "alarm" button and it reads "11:40pm". He releases and the clock goes back to "7:40pm". He checks the volume. It's too loud so he turns it down. He sets the alarm clock back on the night table and in return grabs the Baretta off of it. Lambert puts his head on the pillow and sets the gun by his side. He closes his eyes. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT CLOSE ON - A CASSETTE PLAYER Someone puts a cassette in the player and pushes play. PULL BACK: Liz by the player. She is inside a room that looks like it belongs to a teenager. Everything is about ten years behind today's time. The speakers give off "To The End" by BLUR. Liz checks out the walls. They're full of rock bands posters. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM Liz walks in. She sees Lambert's dishes on the table and decides to pick them up. She continues into the kitchen. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM The clock reads "9:50pm". Lambert is sleeping. He slowly opens his eyes. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT Lambert exits his room and walks towards the room where the music is coming from. He turns off the music, turns off the light, and closes the door as he walks out. He approaches Liz in the living room. LAMBERT Liz. LIZ Why did you stop the music? LAMBERT Stay out that room please. LIZ I didn't touch anything. Lambert, knowing her response was a lie, walks to his room. LIZ Whose room is it? She follows him. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM Lambert sits down on the bed. Liz leans against the door. LIZ Is it your son's room? LAMBERT (inhales) Could you close the door, please? I need more sleep. She hesitates for a bit, then closes as he asked. Lambert lies down on the pillows and pulls the covers over his body. DISSOLVE TO: INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - LATER It's dark. The only thing visible is the time on the alarm clock, which reads "11:39pm". It BEEPS at the turn of "11:40". Lambert leans over and turns on the lamp. He looks out the window. It is dark outside. He gets up and walks to the closet, opens it and takes out a black leather jacket. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - BATHROOM Lambert combs his hair until it sits just right. He looks at his wristwatch on his way out. CLOSE ON - WRISTWATCH It reads "11:45pm". CUT TO: SOMEBODY'S POV THROUGH A GLASS DOOR - RANDALL'S RESTAURANT We're right across the street from Randall's. The Harley Ben used to impress Liz with waits in front. The door opens and several drunk customers walk out. Randall and a friend follow soon after. They say goodbye. Randall walks back inside. REVERSE ANGLE - THROUGH THE GLASS DOOR Lambert is hiding behind it, watching closely. LAMBERT'S POV - Randall walks out and locks one of the doors. PULL BACK: A dark hallway. Lambert walks out the door. EXT. RANDALL'S - NIGHT Randall is about to close the other door when Lambert approaches him with the gun drawn. LAMBERT Don't move and don't say a word. Randall turns around slowly, sees the gun. RANDALL Who are you? What do you want? LAMBERT Roll the Harley inside. RANDALL Are you fucking kidding me? LAMBERT (indicates his gun) Do it. Randall complies and rolls the Harley inside. Lambert looks around for anybody, but the streets are dead. LAMBERT Hurry up. Lambert walks inside and shuts the door behind him. CLUNK. INT. RANDALL'S Randall rolls the bike still. LAMBERT (from behind) Pull it on the stand. Randall does as told. Lambert walks up. They stand on opposite sides of the bike. Randall isn't as cool now that he doesn't have anybody to back him up. RANDALL Who are you? LAMBERT I ask the questions here. Now that I cleared that up for you I want you to clear up something for me. RANDALL What do you want? LAMBERT To talk. RANDALL What about? LAMBERT That's top secret my friend! RANDALL You're a cop? LAMBERT I ask the questions, you need to remember that. (beat) Benjamin Schwartz. Do you know him? RANDALL Benjamin Schwartz? Who is that? LAMBERT Oh, so you don't know him? He smashes the bike with the gun's butt. The seat. Tank. Randall protests. LAMBERT You listen now, understand! I'm the one who shot Mardoni. RANDALL (has had enough!) What the fuck do you want? Lambert aims the gun at Randall's head LAMBERT Answer this for me: Was it your idea to kill the man at the gas station? RANDALL Who the fuck are you talking about? Lambert smashes the bike's headlights. Not once, but three times. Randall shouts. RANDALL Stop! Stop! LAMBERT Stop what, Randall? My aggression? Randall looks at Lambert, confused. LAMBERT Surprised I know your fucking name, are you? (beat) I ask you again: Was it your idea to kill the man at the gas station? RANDALL Who!? LAMBERT The one you tortured to death! The witness to Benjamin's killing! ON RANDALL He knows that Lambert knows. ON LAMBERT LAMBERT You fucked up, asshole. It was me. I saw your fucking guys kill Ben. I'm the witness. RANDALL I don't get it! Lambert smashes the bike again. RANDALL The attendant gave us your name! You're a dead man! LAMBERT What the fuck do I care? You'd be doing me a favor. Silence. LAMBERT You've got three seconds. Lambert turns his back on Randall, walks around a bit. He cocks the gun. RANDALL turns on the bike's engine and jumps on. LAMBERT turns around and aims. RANDALL STARTS UP IN LAMBERT'S DIRECTION LAMBERT fires off a shot. RANDALL takes it in the chest and falls off the Harley. The Harley SMASHES into a set of tables at the back of the restaurant. The gas tank is leaking. LAMBERT looks at the spreading fuel and walks over. He takes out Benjamin's lighter and flips it. LAMBERT Thank you. He drops it on the floor. The FLAME ignites a FIREBALL that spreads through the restaurant. LAMBERT walks away. He steps over Randall's dead body. Approaching the door, he turns around for one last look. The Harley EXPLODES. A FIREBALL ERUPTS. THE FLAMES ENGULF THE PLACE and RANDALL DISAPPEARS BEHIND THEM. EXT. RANDALL'S - NIGHT Lambert hurries out and SHUTS THE DOORS. He calmly walks away. The FLAMES light up the night. EXT. CITY STREET - NIGHT Lambert walks down the street. He holsters his gun. There's nobody around. He hears distant SOUNDS of fire trucks on their way. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM Lambert appears in the doorway. He looks at -- Liz in deep sleep on his bed. His shadow falls on her face. She wakes up and looks at him. LIZ Where have you been? Lambert just looks on. LIZ You look strange. What's wrong? LAMBERT I'm tired. LIZ Come to bed. LAMBERT No. You go back to sleep. ON LIZ She watches him walk out. The door closes. The room is dark. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM Lambert sits on the couch. He takes his jacket off and hangs it over a chair nearby. He takes off the shoulder holster and drops it on the ground. He turns off the lamp behind the couch. The moon gives off some light, penetrating the windows. Everything around Lambert is dark, except he himself. PUSH IN on Lambert as he begins to fall asleep. FADE OUT TO: INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM Some light through the window lights Liz in her sleep. BRIDGES (O.S.) (his voice sounds familiar, but isn't exactly clear) We've discovered that Benjamin was a friend of Ken Mardoni. They used to hang out at George Randall's restaurant. Liz wakes up as she hears the talking. LAMBERT (O.S.) Why are you so interested? BRIDGES (O.S.) It's my job, isn't it? She gets out of bed completely naked. BRIDGES (O.S.) I've been trying to crack their ring for many months. She leans against the door and listens. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM Lambert and Bridges sit at the table. BRIDGES Randall and Mardoni are dead. Or to be more precise: They were executed... in one instance or another. (points at Lambert) If Fremont got it next I'd think someone was taking the law into his own hands. Lambert knows he's guilty, but waits what Bridges has to say next. When he doesn't say anything... LAMBERT Who's Fremont? BRIDGES Keep this to yourself. Lambert sighs. BRIDGES He's the top man who supplied Randall. Randall isn't alone. There are hundreds of people like him. You know, just forget you ever heard this. LAMBERT (straight) Don't worry, Inspector Bridges. I sell gas, not drugs. BRIDGES Fremont has a front. A fancy night club. It goes by the name "Champagne Flair". It's open late. He lives right above it. The apartment facing the street. LAMBERT (intrigued) I've never heard of it. What are you here for? Bridges lights a smoke. BRIDGES Where were you tonight? LAMBERT Why? BRIDGES That's why I'm here. I'm here to find out where you were. Lambert stares at the floor. BRIDGES Personally, I don't really care. In fact, I have my assumptions, but I'd like to hear it from you. (beat) Well? LIZ (O.S.) He was with me. Lambert looks up. Liz walks up next to him, placing her arm around his shoulder. LIZ We stayed home and fucked through the night. Lambert looks at her, surprised. He decides to test Bridges. LAMBERT What if I told you I went to Randall, killed him, and set his place on fire? BRIDGES (takes a hit off the cigarette) You've got a good alibi. He puts the cigarette out. BRIDGES I still like my theory. (beat) An enforcer. ON LAMBERT AND LIZ - They listen. BRIDGES (O.S.) Someone who gets the criminal before the police do. Someone who sets scores. Old scores, perhaps. What do you think? LAMBERT I don't think. BRIDGES (gets up) Right! (faces them) I thought so. LAMBERT You thought what? BRIDGES (walks to the door) You're a man of action, Lambert. You've proven it twice to me. Three's the charm, they say. (beat) Good night. Lambert follows Bridges to the door. BRIDGES (opens it) Don't worry. You've got a great alibi. He leaves. Lambert turns and looks at Liz. EXT. CITY STREET - NIGHT Lambert and Liz walking "on the street". LIZ (persuasive) Don't go. You can't kill them all. LAMBERT Leave me alone. LIZ Well I won't let you go. I'm coming with you. Lambert keeps walking. Liz holds on to his jacket. LIZ Don't you see they are going to kill you? Lambert stops and looks into her eyes. LAMBERT I'm dead aldready. He sees something O.S. and walks up to an intersection. A taxi drives up. Lambert opens the door. He takes one last look at Liz. a He gets inside and the taxi drives off. Liz watches. EXT. CHAMPAGNE FLAIR CLUB - NIGHT The taxi drives up. Lambert gets out and pays the driver. He walks towards the club. He finds the club is closed, so he heads to the building next to it. He looks up. HIS POV - The building reaches several stories up. BACK TO SCENE: Lambert tries the door. It opens. INT. BUILDING It's rather dark in here save for a single lamp. Lambert approaches the stairs and walks up. INT. BUILDING - 1ST FLOOR - BY FREMONT'S APARTMENT Lambert comes up the stairs and turns left into a short hall. He stops in front of the first door. This is where Benjamin delivered the envelope earlier. A tag on the door reads "Fremont". Under it it says "Leave mail in the mailbox". Lambert looks at the box. He opens it and looks inside. He takes out a thick envelope. A bundle of $100 bills inside. Lambert pockets it and RINGS the doorbell three times. FREMONT (O.S.) Who is it? LAMBERT (takes the gun out) It's Randall. Open up. FREMONT (O.S.) What do you want at this hour? LAMBERT Open up, Fremont. FREMONT (O.S.) Fuck you. Lambert looks at the peep hole, realizing his bluff didn't have a chance. He shoots the door lock and KICKS IN the door. INT. FREMONT'S APARTMENT Lambert runs in. It only takes one second for him to see the elegance of this apartment. Expensive furniture and more. INT. FREMONT'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM Lambert enters. JACKIE FREMONT (50s), wearing a goldchain and a sadin pajama, is on the phone. He's sweating. Lambert walks over and points the gun at him. LAMBERT Wrong number. FREMONT (into phone) Yes, I'm sorry. Wrong number. (hangs up; scared) Who are you? What do you want? Lambert throws the thick envelope to Fremont who catches it. LAMBERT That's yours, right? Fremont opens it and sees the cash. He pockets it. FREMONT You're goddamn right it is. What the hell are you doing here? LAMBERT Where did it come from? FREMONT What?! Lambert SHOOTS the TV behind Fremont. LAMBERT I ask you again. Where did you-- FREMONT (pissed and scared) --what do you want me to say? I own a club. I make money. LAMBERT Cut the bullshit. Who the fuck pays $50,000 in cash? FREMONT Certain people have their ways. What's it to you? LAMBERT You supply a drug ring. Is that where the money comes from? Is that how you can afford all this shit? (shoots a collection of glassware) Shit like this? (shoots the couch) Or this? (aims at Fremont) Tell me. FREMONT (about to wet his pants) The club is just a cover. I'm one of several suppliers in the city. LAMBERT Go on. FREMONT I supply all sorts of drugs. Whatever sells, I get 80% of the profits. (beat) It's good money! LAMBERT Good money for you, but small-time dealers get fucked over. Do you ever think about them? FREMONT Who cares!?! Lambert hits Fremont across the face. LAMBERT I do. Fremont falls to the ground. He checks his nose. It bleeds. FREMONT What do you want? LAMBERT (spits in his face) How does it feel to get fucked? Look at all your fancy things now. Your TV is shot. Your collection is in pieces. Your couch is worthless. (aims the gun at Fremont's head) And you. Lambert stares at him. Fremont looks helpless and scared. LAMBERT This is pathetic. Your wealth can get you anything, but it can't help you out this situation. Now you're just like one of them. A streat dealer who can get killed at any moment. Just one of the many unlucky money runners, most of whom you employ. Lambert still holds the gun. Fremont pisses his pants. BRIDGES (V.O.) Three's the charm, they say. Lambert thinks. Fremont is on the ground. FREMONT What do you want from me? LAMBERT I don't know. FREMONT I've got money. If that's what you want, you can have it. Please, take it all and just leave. LAMBERT Your money is not a penny. What's your motivation? Be rich? Famous? Respected? Feared? Powerful? FREMONT How can your motivation not be at least one of those things? LAMBERT I haven't thought about it. FREMONT Well, you should. What is your motivation for being here? You're pointing your gun in my face threatening to kill me. You shoot up my valuable belongings. Are you not being feared? Are you not powerful? LAMBERT This is different. (beat) My motivation is to enforce the law and avenge the death of a friend. FREMONT I'm sorry your friend is dead, but I did not kill him. LAMBERT If you did not kill him, how do you know he was killed? Fremont doesn't respond. Even if he did or did not have something to do with Ben's death, he's screwed either way. FREMONT What do you want from me? LAMBERT Pay up, just like George Randall did. And Ken Mardoni. They didn't give me any other choice but to pull the trigger. But you, you ran them. They answered to you. Now you answer to me. Fremont doesn't want to conquer, he wants this to end, if possible. Lambert fingers the gun's trigger. FREMONT What's the question? LAMBERT Do you appreciate the dealers who practically make all your money for you? Without them, you'd be like me. A busted old guy without a future. FREMONT I appreciate the business they bring to the table. LAMBERT Yeah, and when they don't bring any to the table, they become expendable. Randall is expendable, but you're clearly not. FREMONT I'm glad you got the balls to admit that fact-- LAMBERT --unless I make you expendable. Fremont freezes. He looks at Lambert. At the gun. ON THE GUN - It goes off! WIDE SHOT: Lambert steps over Fremont's body. He walks out the living room. PUSH IN ON FREMONT'S BODY. As we get closer we can see a small pistol in his palm. INT. TAXI (MOVING) - MORNING Lambert in the backseat. He just stares at the road ahead and waits for the ride to end. EXT. WESTCHESTER DRIVE/BUILDING 3600 - DAY The taxi turns into the street. It stops in front of Lambert's building. Lambert gets out. INT. BUILDING 3600 - HALLWAY Lambert walks down the hall and sees -- Liz is waiting in front of his apartment. They walk towards each other. Lock eyes and hug. A kiss, too. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM Lambert and Liz sit up in bed. Both are naked. LAMBERT I was a cop's cop. You know the type. "Detective Lambert". One patriotic son of a bitch. LIZ That was back then. LAMBERT I was your typical asshole. LIZ Stop insulting yourself, okay? Sometimes it helps, but in your case it doesn't. Try to think positive. You can only benefit. LAMBERT (tears develop) I never had time for my son Nick... except to yell at him. Work was all that mattered to me. (beat) One day he had enough of my shit. I wasn't a good father. He started shooting up at sixteen. I wanted him to quit. I locked him in his room for two weeks with just bread and water for a diet. Like a real cop... I would've put him in jail if I could. He kept screaming for a fix. (beat) What he really needed was a father. (beat) One day my wife opened the door... and he ran away. (beat) He died of an overdose a week later. A colleague found him in a bathroom at the train station. (beat) My wife left me and I stopped being an asshole. It was then that I realized... it was all too late. Liz leans in and touches his face: LIZ Kiss me. They kiss. LIZ I want to run away. LAMBERT Where to? LIZ I don't know. (beat) Anywhere but this place. It's dragging both of us down. LAMBERT I know a place in mountains. My wife, Nick and I used to stay over there during the summer breaks... when everything was still making sense, including myself. LIZ (kisses him) What's holding you back? LAMBERT (shrugs) Memories. (looks at her) But that was back then. They kiss and hug. FREEZE IMAGE. DISSOLVE TO: INT. BUILDING 3600 Lambert and Liz run down the stairs. They turn into-- INT. BUILDING 3600 - HALLWAY Liz stops. LIZ I forgot my purse. Lambert looks at her. LIZ Where are the keys? Lambert gives them to her. LAMBERT I'll wait in the yard. Liz nods and runs up the stairs. Lambert continues down the hallway and turns the corner into-- EXT. BUILDING 3600 - COURTYARD - DAY A stray black cat runs up to Lambert out of nowhere. He looks at it, then watches the cat run away. INT. LAMBERT'S APARTMENT Liz, with her purse in hand, runs out the door. EXT. BUILDING 3600 - DAY Lambert waits by the door. He looks at the street and sees a black car driving by. He smells the air. He looks up at the sun. Then at the adjacent building-- HIS POV - THE ROOFTOP At least a dozen birds fly off as if something disturbed their peace. EXT. BUILDING 3600 - COURTYARD - DAY Liz runs through the yard. EXT. BUILDING 3600 - DAY Lambert hears Liz running up and turns around. A SHOT RINGS OUT! LAMBERT's back takes in a large bullet. BLOOD PAINTS the door. LIZ stops! Looks! Her happiness turns to terror! She screams! TRACK WITH LIZ as she runs towards Lambert. Lambert holds his back. He takes out his gun and SHOOTS outside. IN SLOW MOTION: A SECOND BULLET HITS LAMBERT IN THE CHEST. He collapeses onto the ground. His face shows no expression, except for a small smirk. LIZ runs up, kneels down, and takes his gun. She LEANS AGAINST THE DOOR and TAKES AIM at SOMEBODY OUTSIDE. LIZ SHOOTS. SCREAMS IN FEAR and SADNESS. FREEZE IMAGE -- LAMBERT ON THE GROUND AND LIZ SHOOTING. FADE OUT: THE END