Cruel Hearts (2018) Movie Script

[making effort]
Phew!
[clinking noises]
[jazz music playing]
-What can I set you up with?
-Uh, just a vodka tonic. Neat.
You got it.
-Hey, how much is that?
-Nine.
Hey, uh, you're
Burt Walker, right?
-Sorry?
-You're Burt Walker.
-This your place?
-Yeah.
It's a nice place.
Thanks.
Here you go.
-Thanks. It's all you.
-Appreciate it.
I'm, uh, I've been
sleeping with your wife.
-What'd you just say?
-Look, I didn't know
she was your wife.
I-- I didn't know she
was anyone's wife.
That's not how I do things.
I was just-- she was some chick
I-- I met in the club and we
hooked up a few times and,
uh, and that was it.
I-- the-- the minute I found
out she was married...
Wh--
What're you talking
about right now?
Your wife.
Teri, right? You
are Burt Walker.
Who the fuck are you?
I'm nobody, man.
I-- look, I'm just some guy.
I understand that maybe--
this might sound like
I'm full of shit, but
I'm not full of shit, okay?
You want proof?
Is that what you want?
You want me to prove it
to you? You want details?
I mean, I can tell
you about that,
you know, that one little
mole she's got or, you know,
or that spot, you know,
an inch inside her pussy
where if you move your
tongue in- in circles...
Watch your fuckin' mouth, man.
-You better watch
your fuckin' mouth.
-Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.
Okay, okay, see? That's
what I'm talking about.
You don't wanna
hear that shit. I get it.
Okay, I wouldn't want to either.
Please.
I didn't know she was married.
All right, let me be lucidly,
transparently clear on
that point. I didn't know.
Fuck man, you know this
happened to me before too?
A couple years ago?
I don't know why.
I don't find myself
all that charming.
Maybe I'm catnip for married
women or, s-- fulfill some
Peter Pan fantasy or whatever.
Anyway, I met this older
woman at a bar and, uh, I
took her home, to my place.
A couple days later, some guy
comes at me in a grocery store
parking lot with a tire iron.
A fucking tire iron.
Outta the blue, outta nowhere.
Turns out, he's
her old man, right?
And look, I don't
blame the guy for being
pissed off, I would be too.
But look at it from
my side of things.
I didn't know.
She wasn't wearing
an engagement ring.
She didn't have a sign
hanging off her fucking neck.
She-- she-- she sure as
shit didn't act married.
Anyway, this time with--
with your wife, wi-- with Teri,
not only do I find out
she's married, I find
out she's married to you.
Look man, I know
who you are, okay?
See, I don't wanna have to
go the rest of my life having
to look over my shoulder.
Come on.
You and I are gonna
have a conversation.
-I thought we were.
-No, private,
like, in my office.
-No, no, wait--
-Hey Sal!
Wait, wait, no, no,
no, no, no, no. I don't
think that's a good idea.
Look, w-- wait. No,
no, no, no, no, no.
Wait w-- w-- wait! Wait,
wait, wait, wait! N-- no.
Fuck it. Just wait, all right?
Let's just- let's
just stay out here,
-and I'll buy you a drink.
-It's my bar.
I own all the drinks.
-Fuck!
-This door stays closed, Sal.
- Nobody in and
out for anything.
-[Sal] Yeah, yeah you got it.
And put on some music! Loud.
Oh, fuck, this went
better in my head.
-You know who I am, right?
-Yes.
Okay, yes.
[music playing]
You know who I am!
Yes, yes, Jesus Chri--
Christ almighty, yes!
I know-- I know--
I know who you are.
Okay, that-- that's
why I came here.
That's why I wanted to
come clean and-- and get
it front of this train wreck,
because I didn't want this.
I know who you are, and I
know what you do, and I-- fuck,
please stop fucking
pointing that thing at me.
What the fuck did you think
was gonna happen? You
could just walk into my place,
that you could just walk--
Fuck, I didn't know she was
married! Okay? I'm single.
I thought she was single.
Okay, she came onto me.
I'm the victim here just
as much as you are.
I--- and look I didn't want
this any more than you did.
And as soon as I found out,
I came here and I told you.
Fine, fine, out of
self-preservation, yes, but--
but-- but also out of respect.
Okay? Wouldn't you wanna
know? This happened
behind your fucking back.
In your house, in your
goddamn fucking bed.
Look, look, look, I'm
just a messenger here.
Shooting me solves
noth-- Fuck, please.
Please, just-- fuck,
please... Fuck.
Oh, shit.
[panting]
Thank you.
Thank you, I-- I know
I got off easy here.
[Burt] Everything I've
ever done was for her.
Everything.
And I've done a lot
of things, a lot of really,
really shitty things.
Something nasty would
happen, I wouldn't know
how I was gonna live with it,
and then I'd just take one look
at her, one look at her face,
then I could swallow it down.
I'm, um, I'm not
much for advice.
You know, I-- I've
never been married.
-But if-- but if you ask
me, I think that you're...
-Are you still talking?
Maybe you stop talking.
You just walked into my place
and you took everything from me.
You are not off the hook.
Not by a country mile.
Okay.
I hear you.
I do, but please.
I'm not the one that you should
be worried about here, okay?
When I met her, she
was in that club alone.
She approached me.
That tells us two things.
One, she was looking.
Two, I mean, I'm
probably not the first.
I'm, uh,
I'm thinking maybe
I should fuck off now.
Your enemy's at home, Walker.
Be careful.
[music continues playing loud]
[blow-dryer on]
[heart pounding]
Ooh! I didn't hear you come in.
There's plenty of hot water
left if you want it, I promise.
I didn't linger.
Hey, what is it?
Burt, are you all right?
Let me guess.
You're not gonna tell me?
I'm better off not knowing?
You know, if you're not
gonna share, don't
bring this shit home.
I'm more than
a little sick of it.
[sizzling]
You want some of these?
Sure, I guess.
Fine.
Where were ya last night?
[scoffs]
Where was I?
Where do you think I was?
I don't know.
Suppose you tell me.
Excuse me?
I'm waiting.
You're waiting?
Wha-- seriously?
You're gonna start with me?
Give me some creepy
suspicious husband act?
When you are out
all night every single
night at your bar.
Don't wanna answer the question.
I was here, okay? And
the night before that too.
And the night before that, I
went to the movies with Cathy.
Not that you would know,
since you're never fucking here.
I have no problem
answering the question,
the question is fine.
It's all of this.
This bullshit attitude
that you're bringing.
I don't know where it's
coming from, but I do know
I don't fucking deserve it.
God. Shit!
[turning off burner]
You know, you could hire a
manager to handle things for you
if you're so worried
about me all of a sudden.
Live a little more
of your life at home.
Take me out a time or two.
It's not that easy.
No? Explain it to me.
Explain it to you.
We run The Organization's
money through the bar, Teri.
-Yeah, and?
-And the weight of that
falls on my shoulders.
It's a big chunk of change,
I can't just hand that off.
Okay, but I thought the whole
point to buying the bar was to
get away from working for them.
Yeah, well, that's not
how it panned out.
So what? You're a prisoner?
Is this what you're telling me?
No, I'm telling you that
I have responsibilities,
that I run a business.
Look around you, look
at our bank account! I'm
building something here.
Something for both of us.
Oh, no, no, don't you dare
tell me that all of this is for
me and lay that at my feet.
We have enough money.
We have enough things.
You wanna give me what I want?
Give me my goddamn husband.
Because seeing you
once a day at the ass-crack
of dawn isn't cutting it.
[sighs]
We could just leave, you know?
Sell the bar, go somewhere else.
Start clean.
The Organization is not
something you can
just walk away from.
We can't even try?
I'm part of it.
I'm a valued member.
Okay.
So, you do what you gotta do.
And so will I.
Your burnt eggs
are getting cold.
[turning tap on]
[Sal] We got a big cash
drop from Pinback's crew.
-How big?
-Big.
I-- I don't know how
much, but it was heavy.
It wouldn't fit in the safe, so
I had to take it below in that
creepy little crawl space area.
There was a whole fuckin'
family of spiders down there
that wasn't too happy about it.
Look, I'm just saying that I
might need hazard pay when I
gotta go down there and get it.
Hey, Sal.
Uh- what?
Never mind.
-No, what?
-I said never mind. Forget
it. I can handle it myself.
Is this about that guy
that was in here yesterday?
He looked like a class-A tool.
What was the deal
there, what happened?
[man knocking door]
Anybody in there? Hello?
What fresh ray of "fuck
your mother" is this?
[man] Open up!
I know you're fucking in there.
[Sal] Burt! Oh, shit! Fuck!
Jesus, what the fuck is this?
-[man] Look, I don't
have time for this.
-[Sal] No, we can't.
-Who's this?
-[man] It's the big,
bad fucking wolf.
-Would you let me in?
-[woman] Sorry, Sal.
[Sal] No-- fuck no! You can't.
This can't happen right now.
[man] Oh!
Stay.
Don't fuckin' look at me.
-Sal, you might
wanna close that door?
-What the hell is this?
Hey, Burt. Shut up.
So sorry.
This bullshit errand fell
right into our laps, and you're
the only friendly in the area.
-What bullshit errand?
-Bat?
This piece of shit
misappropriated some funds that
came through Mercer's crew.
Hard cash. Not-- not--
not the electronic stuff.
Anyway, we pick him up,
now we gotta fucking get
him to tell us where he's
got it stashed, right?
So, cou-- could you please
stop rolling around on the
floor and get him in a chair
-where I can work on him?
-You get him into a chair.
He's oozing all over
the place. I didn't exactly
dress for this today.
Oh, Adele? Don't be such a girl.
I am a girl, asshole.
And this blouse costs more
than your piece of shit car.
Would you just please fuckin'
do it? Pretty fuckin' please!
Hey, hey, hey.
You can't do this here.
I have to do this here.
-We open in less than an hour.
You understand that, right?
-[man] Then open later, man.
This is my fucking bar,
and I'm telling you, you
are not doing this here.
Oh shit, come on!
Sal, you got any seltzer?
That gets out blood, right?
[Sal] Yep.
-Where would you have me go?
-Oh, I dunno, go to
a goddamn motel!
A motel? Oh great, great idea.
Hey, you got any luggage
other than this blood-soaked
asshole you're torturing?
-No, that won't raise
any eyebrows, right?
-Well you can figure it out.
Look. They told me to come
here, okay? We work for
the same people, right?
They told me, so you
wanna call them? Call 'em.
All right, but not here.
Get him in the back.
Thank you, Burt.
We're in business.
-Oh! Christ Almighty.
-[coughing]
Would you fucking man up?
Adele, there's gonna be spray.
Why do you think I put
the tarp down? To tie
the room together?
We have been asking
you politely, Jack.
I think considering what
you've done, we've been
really sweet about things.
This money doesn't
belong to you, and it's
time to tell us where it is.
I tell you, you're
gonna kill me.
-Excuse me?
-If I tell...
Not if you're a friend!
Show us you're a friend.
This is not how friends behave.
He's not gonna talk.
You guys turned up the volume
on the thing way too quickly.
You have no room to escalate.
Excuse me? You wanna--
you wanna-- you wanna
step up in here?
I mean since
you're Yoda and all?
Yeah, I didn't think so.
Come on, Adele.
Do it.
Jack, look at me.
Hey.
Look at me.
You have to understand
something.
What's happening here
is entirely a consequence
of your actions.
A predictable
consequence honestly.
But this is about
more than money.
A lot more.
This is about loyalty.
You betrayed us.
You betrayed our trust in you.
And the time that we invested
in our relationship with you.
And when you betray
someone, when you betray
us, there is a consequence.
There is a cost.
What you've done can't just be
forgiven and it can't be undone.
There is a debt that
has to be paid, and
the longer you hold out,
the bigger that debt gets, and
the more you will have to pay.
And you owe it us.
You owe it to us to pay
this debt you've incurred
with your betrayal.
With stabbing us in the back.
We trusted you, and
you broke that trust.
So, what are you gonna
do about it, Jack?
What are you gonna...
-Oh God! Fucking dammit!
-What the fuck?
[man] I don't know.
No, I-- I-- I don't know
because we never got an answer.
Yeah-- no-- that-- he--
he--just shot him.
Right in the face.
Yeah, I'll- I'll check
on that, okay, yeah.
Yes, sir.
I'll call you right back.
Fuck! Fuck, fuck.
Fuck. God fuck, god fuck.
You unmitigated asshole,
you just dipped me
face-first into a vat of shit!
How am I gonna find
that money now, huh?
It's not in his apartment,
it's not in his car, now I gotta
play goddamn detective?
Not my problem, Grimmer.
Told you not to bring
him through my door.
You are a real piece,
you know that?
Maybe I ought to take
a page out of your book.
Hmm? Unload this into
your smug fucking face.
There are some people you can
shoot and some people you can't.
And we both know that I
am somebody you can't.
I've earned that.
But you,
if I wanted to, I could
tear you open and wear
you like a fucking coat.
Now, this is my place
and you have been rude.
And I've been real
patient up till now.
But you wanna take a little
spin on the bad side?
-You wanna see
how rough it can get?
-No, thank you.
You know what, Walker?
I'm not the only one who
thinks you're a hard on.
-Is that so?
-Yeah, that is so.
You know, I hear things.
I hear things up on high.
It seems that some folks
in management are getting
a little sick of your shit.
Management is quite pleased
with me. I can assure you.
No, not everyone's a fan.
They need me.
Long as they do,
I'm untouchable.
No one's untouchable.
[clock ticking]
[humming]
Hey, baby.
You're up early.
Can't sleep.
Well, you live like
a fucking vampire.
I sure couldn't do it.
I'm not surprised you're
having trouble, your
whole system's in denial.
You expecting company?
Yeah, um, Darci and a couple
of other girls from the
fundraising committee
are coming over tonight.
Why don't you play hooky
from the bar and join us?
Is that really what you want?
For me to stick around?
Now what is that?
What are you talking about?
Is this work stuff?
Let me guess.
We're not discussing it.
Okay.
Come here.
Come on.
Mm-hmm.
Okay, let's get you
back to sleep.
What time you gotta
be back at the bar, four?
Something like that.
All right.
You relax.
I'll make sure
you're up by three.
Until then, you don't
get out of this bed, deal?
Do you love me?
Do I love you?
Yeah, of course I love you.
What kind of question
is that? Of course.
Hey.
Hey, hey.
You know you can
tell me things, right?
I know you think you
can't, but you can.
I don't need you to protect
me from the world you're in.
There is nothing that
you could say to me that
would be harder to take
than watching you die
in silence like this.
What are you chewing over?
Seven bucks.
How about instead,
I take you to dinner.
-You mean your wife?
-No, no, no, she's dead.
She called here an hour ago.
Agh! Zombie bitch.
Fuck.
-Easy. Easy, easy.
-You fucking stupid? What
the fuck are you doing here?
You come along with me. This is
a neighborhood establishment,
and the last thing anyone
wants is any trouble.
I just wanna talk
to him I just...
You-- Burt, you don't
have to worry about this, all
right? I'm happy to handle...
-What do you want?
-Just a word. Just one
quick word please.
-Only one?
-Yes.
Can I suggest that we do
not escalate things?
Because with all due respect,
-you've got a lot...
-Sal.
Keep pouring. I got this.
Hey. Whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Hey, I'm not looking'
for more trouble.
You got a funny way
of showing it, pal.
Okay. That's all right.
That's fair.
Showing up here probably
not the best move, I just-
I didn't have another way
of getting in touch with you.
Th-- the only other thing
I could think about was maybe
showing up to your house,
but obviously that
would've been a big fucking
disaster, so I didn't do it.
What do you want?
I'm just checking in.
You know, we-- we left things
kinda shaky, so I just wanted
to make sure that we're cool.
-That we're cool?
-Well, yeah, I mean
that we're okay.
That we're okay? I'd say we're
pretty fucking far from okay.
I'd say like maybe fucking
light years from being okay.
Okay, all right.
Look, I wronged you, okay?
I fu- I fucked up and
I wronged you and I-
I didn't mean to
do it, but I did.
I'm just trying to make things
right here, I mean, you can
appreciate that, can't you?
-Is this about money?
-What?
-Is that what you want?
You want money from me?
-Money? No.
Hey, I-- I just wanna go
through the rest of my life not
having to worry about someone
lurking around a corner ready
to take my fucking head off.
That's it.
That's all.
Tell you what.
I won't put a gun in your
face as long as I never
have to see it again.
[sighs]
All right.
That works for me. It's more
than fair. Thank you.
Thank you.
Hey, so what happened
after I told you?
Just, you know, with
your wife, I just-- did
you work it out or-
Whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, hey, hey.
What happens between me
and my wife is none
of your fuckin' business.
All right.
All right, I'm sorry.
Sorry.
I didn't say anything to her.
You didn't?
How do you say something
like that to somebody?
-Aw, how about
we just, uh, go out to eat?
-You can't afford to feed me.
-Is- is it under seven dollars?
-No.
Oh.
Damn man.
I-- I tell you, you're a
better man than me.
Fine, I've never been married,
true, but just picturing it.
Being in your situation? Fuck.
I would have done
some bad things, I think.
You know?
-So, you're just gonna let
it ride then? Is that the plan?
-I dunno what the plan is.
What is there some
sorta fucking time table
I need to be aware of?
Wha- no.
So why don't you let
me figure this shit out.
Yeah, of course.
Look, you can do
whatever you want.
I mean, obviously, right?
I don't even know why
the fuck I am talking to you.
You don't? Seriously?
You wanna know why?
Yeah, why don't you
enlighten me, genius?
You didn't talk
to your wife, yeah?
You didn't talk to anyone
else, any of your guys,
that bartender chick
-that works for you, anyone?
-No.
Uh, this is not something
that you wanna advertise.
It's fucking embarrassing.
So, you didn't talk to anyone.
There's your answer.
Look, you need to vent.
Talk it out, get
it off your chest.
Me, I'm already in the
know, I'm safe harbor.
I mean, if you're not gonna
shoot me, you might as well
bend my ear about it, right?
Lemonade out of lemons, isn't
that what you're supposed to do?
Why would she do this to me?
I dunno.
Bored?
I don't know her,
I dunno. I can't say.
She the souvenir type?
-What?
-You know, the kinda
chick who keeps souvenirs.
-People or places,
things, whatever.
-No.
I-- w-- this is awkward.
I wasn't even gonna
bring this up, but, um,
you know, I can't--
can't find my class ring.
You know, I had
it the other night.
When I was, um...
You know, I just think
maybe it's at your place.
-You know, so...
-Is that what this is about?
-What?
-Are you fucking kidding me?
-About a class ring! Huh?
-Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Jesus fucking Christ,
easy. Easy, easy man.
I'm on your fucking side.
I'm on your side here.
I don't even know why
I'm fuckin talking to you.
-Walker. Walker!
-What?
She texted me, again.
Today.
Yeah, no shit.
Look.
It's not her number.
Well, that's the
one she gave me.
I mean, clearly, she uses it.
Maybe she has a second
phone. You know, for-- whatever.
Look, I didn't respond,
all right? I'll never get
near her again, I'm just-
just thought you should know.
Just an idea here?
Maybe you find that phone.
-[door slamming]
-[gasping]
Jesus.
Burt.
What--
Is everything okay?
Yeah.
You're home early.
-Special occasion or you
finally taking my advice?
-Are you alone?
What?
Oh, uh, yeah.
The girls left
a little while ago.
I was just getting ready
to pack it in for the night.
You, uh, staying in for once?
Yeah, I think so.
Should probably
take your advice.
Take a night off.
Good.
Well, I am bushed.
-You coming to bed?
-In a minute.
Okay.
I'll see you in there.
[water running]
[light cracking]
I'm, uh, I'm thinking maybe
I should fuck off now.
Your enemy's at home, Walker.
Be careful.
[music playing loudly]
[beep]
Oh, fuck.
[woman on TV] Here
at the seventh annual
Newport Beach Film Festival.
It is the opening night
of one of...
[man on TV] This Larry.
Time is a funny thing.
A single moment
can contain an event
which alters history forever.
Like Hiroshima.
[beeps]
[clears throat]
So, you think you could
squeeze me in? I know, I know,
I don't have a reservation,
but if you could go talk
to the chef on my behalf,
I'd really appreciate it.
You know, I've just heard
wonders about the
grilled cheese here.
All right smart guy.
You think that you can handle
this level of responsibility?
Hey.
We doing this?
Might as well.
I can't sleep anyway.
Here's a fun fact.
Sleep is for pussies.
[scoffs]
Grace.
Um, up here.
Nah, it's just pretty.
-Oh.
-It's classy, it suits you.
Thank you.
-And, by what name are
you known, stranger?
-Ah, I'm just some guy.
And that, uh, suits you.
So, what brings you to our
happening little establishment?
Clearly, you've heard
that this is the place to be.
Just a stressful night.
My heart's beating a million
miles a minute, and I-- I gotta
ride the adrenaline out,
and this place just seems calm.
Well, yeah, it is-- it's calm.
-[laughing] I'll give it that.
-Yeah.
-So, what happened?
-Oh, the details
aren't important.
It's convoluted and
lengthy, and frankly if I
get into it again, I'm just,
um, gonna re-live everything
in my head, and that's the
exact opposite of what I want.
Let's just say I, uh, I played
chicken with death,
and death flinched first.
So, what, like, you almost
got into a car accident
or something?
Scarier than that.
Scarier than that?
So, what- what happened?
There you go with
the details again.
But you're okay.
Yeah.
Yeah, I believe so.
You know what? You get pie.
On the house.
There's apple, cherry, and
pecan, and you know why?
-Why?
-Because survivors get pie.
Let me give you a minute
to look that over.
[man on TV] Week on whether
or not to send more to send
more troops to the region,
or if air support...
[man] Resulting in a head-on
collision that shut down the
highway for several hours.
Both the driver and
three passengers...
[man] Style was a victim of a
seriously jaw-dropping wardrobe
malfunction at the premiere...
[man] When federal troops
raided what our sources
are telling us was
a veritable fortress...
[man] Domestic dispute
that turned into an
apparent murder-suicide,
with the husband allegedly
shooting his wife multiple times
before turning
the gun on himself.
Karen Silverman is on
the scene with more.
[Karen] Thank you, Dale.
We're here at the scene of
a bloody domestic crime that
has left two people dead.
The husband,
sixty-three-year-old
Hector Sanchez
returned home from his job
at a neighborhood grocery store,
and less than an hour
later, allegedly shot his
wife Maria to death.
Upon hearing the shots...
[man on radio] Local news
at the top of the hour,
the bizarre series of events
that led to a massive fire
in an LAX. baggage claim.
Hold on to your seats, folks,
this one's so crazy that
if you saw it in a movie,
you'd never believe it.
[door opening]
[starting car]
Well, okay.
[starting car]
Mm-hmm. Yeah, everything's fine.
I'll head back
in a couple days.
Yeah, a couple.
I dunno sis, a couple,
hmm? As in two or three.
Yeah, I'm aware that
a couple means two.
Why do you do this? You
know, I'm-- I'm-- the work
takes as long as it takes,
I'm not here partying.
Well yeah, of course
I can't fucking sleep.
[takes deep breath]
No, it's just how
it is when I travel.
[door opens, beeps]
Hey!
Uh, wow.
Again.
Uh, you should have been
here fifteen minutes ago,
it was a party in here.
I'm sure it was an animal house.
Mm.
-Please wait to be ate?
-Should I be worried?
Cause you know,
I am pretty delicious.
Huh.
[scoffs]
Back so soon.
-Does that mean that
you still can't sleep?
-Guilty as charged.
So, does that mean that
you faced off again
with death or whatever?
If you work for the bomb squad
or something, that is so hot.
No. No death, no bomb squad.
Although yeah, yeah
that would be pretty cool.
No, just, uh, work
stuff, you know.
Sometimes the wheels
are turning and you
just can't shut 'em off.
Work, huh? So, what
is it you said you do?
How about I tell you when
I get to know you better?
You're gonna get
to know me better?
We live in a world full
of endless possibilities.
[phone vibrating]
Oh, that's me, sorry.
-Uh, you said you
wanted coffee, right?
-Yeah.
What do you want?
[cutlery dropping]
Oh, so stupid.
Here you go.
-Everything okay?
-Yeah.
Everything's Jake.
Who was on the phone?
-That was my ex.
-Your ex.
Explains why you were
so happy to take the call.
You know, exes
are always a delight.
Yeah.
Well that's what
he is, all right.
A delight.
'Course.
Being an ex and all.
Uh, like he's- he's--
[chuckles] Oh yeah,
he has got some issues.
Yeah? Like what?
How about I tell you when
I get to know you better?
Am I gonna get
to know you better?
Well someone once told me
that we live in a world full
of endless possibilities.
You know what you want?
Think I need a minute.
Take your time.
[man on radio] Authorities
have released an update on
the body discovered last night
in the Glendale aqueduct.
The victim has been identified
as Kip Desmond of Studio City.
While no suspects
or motive have been
established, police have...
[man] Oh! Next week
I think I get a route.
If I get this route, I'll be
able to pay you back.
I mean, I'll probably
have to pay a couple
things first, but um...
-I mean you're looking pretty
good right now, but...
-Stu, will you listen to me?
Please, hear me this time, okay?
I don't want you coming
here where I work
and talking about this.
You can call me
on my cell phone.
You could be a good waitress
if you didn't say such
stupid shit all the time.
Stu...
-Hey, random stranger guy.
-Hey.
Sorry about that.
-Um, were you
doing coffee tonight?
-Yeah, sure.
-Okay.
-Who's that?
Uh, w-- uh, nobody.
Nobody.
Nobody that you
need to worry about.
That's your ex.
Isn't it?
Yeah.
And he's come here to,
uh, what? Harass you?
Really?
That's right.
Let me get you that coffee.
Hang on.
Tell me about him.
-Tell you about him?
-Yeah.
Anything.
Okay.
He's a piece of shit.
-How's that?
-Oh.
Like, what does he want
from you? Uh, what does
he do for a living?
Is he the oldest or the
youngest in his family?
Did he serve in the military?
Do time? Shit like that.
What? [chuckling] Who cares?
Like, trust me, you do not
want to be pulled into this.
Hey.
Just humor me.
[sighs]
His name's Stu.
He's a truck driver.
But he drove stoned a few years
back and crashed his rig, so now
he scrapes by between disability
and working as a fill-in
driver for whoever.
Older sister, younger
brother, both parents dead.
Got kicked out of
the army reserve.
Uh, what else?
He's a big-time homophobe
neo-Nazi N.R.A. asshole.
And he thinks
showers are optional.
-Are we done here?
-What does he want from you?
Money.
Isn't that a laugh?
Look at where I work.
Do I have money?
I guess he thinks that
if he bothers me enough,
I'll pay him whatever I have
handy just to get rid of him.
Did he ever cheat on you?
When you were together?
That is a totally
out-of-bounds question.
Yeah it is.
Now answer it.
Of course he cheated on me.
Once? Or a lot?
-You mean that I can prove
or that I suspect?
-That you know of.
You don't need proof for that.
I think if his junk earned
frequent flyer miles,
he could trade them in
for a trip to another planet.
Wow.
Yeah.
Wow.
Is that enough?
We finished with this root canal
into my romantic feelings?
Yeah.
Yeah, I think so.
Wait, where are you-- what?
[whispering]
-Wh-- what just happened?
-He's gone.
I got rid of him.
How?
I just thought of the
right thing to say.
I mean, based on
what you told me.
-Look, I can't promise that he
won't be back eventually, but...
-No, no.
Wait, wait, wait a second.
What- what did you say to him?
Look, from what you told me,
that guy has some serious
self-esteem issues, okay?
Especially when it comes
to being manly in some
macho bullshit kinda way,
so I just preyed on that.
He's got a lot to think about
now, and hopefully that'll keep
him outta your hair for a while.
[sighs]
-Well, thank you, I guess.
-You're welcome.
And seriously, I'm sorry
about the inquisition before,
but I needed the ammo.
Handsome, uh, funny.
Now I find out that you've got
all these people skills, wow.
Tell you, for some
random guy off the street,
you are certainly proving
to be very intriguing.
Well, that's me.
Man of mystery.
So, what're you a psychiatrist?
Don't you need a, uh, pipe and
a sweater vest for that? Right?
[chuckling] See, that's funny.
Okay, come on, what do you do?
-I'll tell you when I...
-When you get to know me better.
You don't get to play that card
now, because I just told you
some really disgusting,
personal stuff about me
and that ass-lover that
just crawled out of here.
So, unless clothes are
coming off, uh, I think
we kinda plateaued
on the whole getting to
know one another better
front, wouldn't you say?
I eliminate people.
-You what?
-I eliminate people.
Like kill, people?
Murder?
Oh, you're not seriously sitting
here and telling me that
you're some kind of psycho...
-No, no.
-Serial killer?
No. No, no, no.
Psychopaths kill for recreation.
Like for fun. That's
crazy, that's sick.
Uh, yeah.
No, I do it for work.
Oh, like a hit man?
Yeah, like that.
-For real?
-Yeah, for real.
And what do you, like,
shoot 'em, or stab 'em,
or poison 'em, blow 'em up?
No. Nothing so-- no,
that's not what I do.
I'm more specialized.
What does that mean?
Okay.
Let's take your ex, Stu.
Let's say you wanted
to kill him, okay?
Oh, okay. Yeah, or yeah, sure
let's, uh, yeah, why don't we...
-Right.
-Why don't we say that?
-So, you shoot him.
Or stab him.
-Ooh.
Whatever. It's murder.
And the cops know it's murder.
Who do they immediately suspect?
-Okay.
-Even if you have
an air-tight alibi,
they're gonna be
all up in your grill.
Poking holes, looking for
weakness in the seams.
And if they look hard
enough, eventually they're
gonna find something.
See because when it's
murder? Clearly murder.
Everyone is looking for
the killer, and usually
who that person is, well,
it's pretty obvious.
Okay, so you-- you make
it look like an accident.
-No. No, no, no that's...
-No.
...too risky.
It's tough to spin all the
physical evidence right.
Look, you can't have anyone
suspect any foul play.
Hmm.
So, what do you do? I just...
Okay, in movies,
in the spaceship,
in the villain's lair,
there's always -this auto
self-destruct switch, right?
Uh-huh. Yeah.
I--I mean, I guess, yeah.
Okay. People have those.
Every single person
has a self-destruct switch.
A button, that if you press
it hard enough, they'll do
all the work themselves.
All you gotta do is find it.
-And they'll kill themselves?
-Sometimes.
Sometimes they'll just
do something reckless.
Drive drunk, overdose, you know.
Kill someone else
in a fit of passion.
And then, when they realize
what they've done, they'll
turn the gun on themselves,
or end up in jail,
or psycho out. Whatever,
it doesn't matter,
as long as they self-destruct
themselves outta the picture.
[sighs] Jesus Christ.
Well, you asked.
So how do you do it?
I mean how do you determine
wh-- what somebody's
self-destruct switch is?
-What's gonna
make them snap?
-It's really not that hard.
All it takes is a
little research.
A little intuition.
You gotta find that one
thing that someone loves
above everything else.
That one thing
that we hang onto.
That thing that makes
all the awful stuff we have
to do and endure in life
worth the effort.
You find what it is, you insert
yourself into their life, and
you take that something away.
And just like dominos,
everything else just falls.
It's a pretty particular
approach.
Can't trace it
back to the client.
No one knows who hired you.
But it's risky.
Because if you get close
enough to someone to push
their self-destruct button?
Ooh!
[Guy] You run the risk
of getting caught
in the explosion yourself.
Can I help you?
No.
-And everyone has one of
these self-destruct switches?
-Everyone.
You just gotta
know them a little.
Okay.
So, what's mine?
I don't know.
You do.
Seriously, I don't.
- I barely know you.
-That is such bullshit.
You just got Stu packing
outta here, and you barely
had anything on him.
Wait a minute.
-Is Stu gonna kill himself?
-No.
No, no. I mean I doubt it.
I barely spoke to him.
Oh, okay. Okay.
But clearly you were
able to determine what
his switch was, right?
So,
what's mine?
I don't think you wanna know.
Are you kidding me?
Of course I wanna know.
I mean, what if-- what
if Stu hires some guy
like you to come after me?
If I know what my
switch is, then I can
protect myself, right?
Come on.
Come on.
Okay.
Okay.
I think your switch
has to do with time.
-With time?
-Time.
You are a beautiful woman.
Oh. Thank you.
You're smart.
Too smart for this job.
-Yeah.
-You're funny.
You're clever.
Obviously well-educated.
You started your adult life
with a wealth of possibilities.
But now some time has passed.
A lot of time.
And those opportunities
that you'd hoped for either
weren't taken advantage of
or just didn't
present themselves.
So, you're stuck here.
Broke.
Working at a crappy diner.
Your beauty is fading.
Time is passing you by,
and there's not a lot of it left
for you to become something more
than you already are.
So, you dream of better things.
Read romance novels,
flirt with guys nearly a
decade younger than you.
You bear your dreary life
because you're hoping
that maybe it's not too late.
You're hoping that you
still have a little time left
to realize your potential.
So, your self-destruct switch
is making you realize you don't.
I'm gonna get you that coffee.
Can I help you?
No.
Freak.
[Burt] Expecting company?
Yeah, Darci and a couple
of other girls from the
fundraising committee
are coming over tonight.
Why don't you play hooky
from the bar and join us?
-[Teri] Oh, this was so great.
-[Darci] Ah, so fun,
thank you so much.
-Good night!
-[Teri] Good night, sweetheart.
Thank you. Next time, we'll
do my place, okay? Okay.
No, no, no, fuck that.
Next time it's Planet
Hollywood in Vegas.
Oh my god, you guys, if we're
doing Sin City, we're totally
gonna do Mandalay Bay.
Hey, Darci? Are
you okay to drive?
Don't worry, I can see the
road. I can see both of them.
-[chuckling]
-Excuse me.
Wait, who's that?
You're the guy from the store.
Yeah.
I dunno who you think you are,
but I am married to someone
you do not wanna mess with.
I know exactly who your
husband is, Mrs. Walker.
-[Darci] Teri, is
everything okay?
-Get rid of them.
Yeah, everything's fine.
I'll see you guys later.
-All right, bye!
-Bye.
[Guy] You alone in the house?
Yeah.
You sure?
-No party guests still
lingering in the bathroom?
-Yeah, I'm sure.
All the same to you
if I go confirm that?
Yeah, fine.
Whatever.
Stay here.
[clears throat]
-You wanna grab those plates
from the table for me?
-Teri, we need to talk.
So, talk.
-It's a serious discussion.
-I'll bet.
Doesn't mean I can't multitask,
right? Hey! Watch it.
Your husband's a
really bad guy, you're
aware of this, right?
I don't know what
you're talking about.
Of course you don't.
This is all a big mystery
to you? The F.B.I.? What
could we possibly want?
If you'll excuse me,
I think I'll be giving
our lawyer a call.
No need for that, be
got Burt dead to rights.
He's gone.
You've arrested him?
No, not yet.
But we will.
Soon as I make the call.
You know your husband
runs a lot of cash
through that bar of his?
We'll be able to seize all
your assets immediately.
You'll lose everything.
The house, cars, all of it.
Of course, between the two of
you, Burt will be okay because,
at least in federal prison,
he'll have a roof over his head.
So what? Are you waiting for a
medal or something? You think
you got such a sure thing,
-why don't you go ahead
and make the call?
-Oh, is that what you want?
You wanna get rid of your
husband? Because truth
be told, I don't want him.
I want who he works for.
I want The Organization.
See with what I got,
I can nail your husband
straight to that wall, easy.
But I can't touch them.
So, you want Burt
to give up his bosses?
He tells you how to get
them, and you let him go?
-Something like that?
-Oh yeah, I'd love that.
But you know as well as I do
that your husband would sooner
dance in ladies' lingerie
than become
an informer for us.
Am I right? No.
He'd never help us,
no matter what it costs him.
But you.
See, I think you'd
tell us anything.
Get the fuck away from me.
Teri. Teri.
-Teri!
-I don't know anything.
I don't know anything
about his business, okay?
And even if I did, wouldn't
I be fucking crazy to tell you?
No, you would tell me, because
you love your husband.
Because you wanna keep him.
Do you really give a shit about
the faceless assholes that he
works for? Really? Seriously?
Has Burt been acting funny
lately? He knows we're
closing in on him, Teri.
He's scared.
Are you okay with that? Or
do you wanna help him out?
You know what?
It doesn't matter.
Because, for the cheap seats
now, I don't know anything.
No, no, no. That's not true.
See, you know a lot more
than you think you do.
You may not realize it, but
there's a lot of information
in that pretty little
head of yours.
You just, yeah, you don't
know how to apply it.
But I do.
Look, it's simple.
You help us out, we go after
The Organization, and we
leave your husband alone.
That's it.
Oh yeah, that's a great idea.
I testify, you leave him
alone, and he does god
knows what to me for doing it.
-Do you think
I'm fucking crazy?
-You won't have to testify.
No one will know.
You give us information,
we run it down, and we
build a case from there.
This never touches you.
No one will know.
Burt will never know.
It's my personal cell.
You wanna help us out?
Wanna keep your husband?
Use it.
Excuse me.
[opens door]
[closes door]
[Burt] You alone?
What?
Oh, uh, yeah.
The girls left
a little while ago.
I was just getting ready
to pack it in for the night.
You, uh, staying in for once?
Yeah, I think so.
Should probably take your
advice, take a night off.
Good.
Well.
I am bushed.
You, uh, you coming to bed?
In a minute.
Okay.
I'll see you in there.
[light cracking]
[humming]
[dripping]
[door closing]
Burt?
Burt.
-Babe.
-Go back inside.
-Burt, what is it?
-Go!
[revving]
[woman on TV] ...this
morning are facing a four
car pile-up on the one...
[man on TV] Hundreds
gathered for a protest at
city hall early this morning
in response to the recent
"not guilty" verdict in the
Dylan Grace shooting.
[phone vibrating]
The activist...
Hello, Teri.
How did you know it was me?
We're the F.B.I.
That's kind of what we do.
Can I help you?
It's Burt.
You said he might
be acting weird.
You said he-- he
knows you guys are
closing in on him.
Yeah.
We are closing in on him,
and I expect he does know it.
Last night when he came home I-
He was--
I've never seen him
like that before.
Okay, okay, stay calm.
What happened, what'd he do?
He had a gun.
I thought maybe he was gonna
shoot himself or maybe shoot me.
Why would he wanna shoot me?
Does he know
that I talked to you?
Uh, where is he now?
-Is he still in the house?
-No, no.
He left right after he came home
and he took off so fast he
left marks in the driveway.
I've been trying to call him,
but he's not picking up.
Your husband is in a
really bad place, Teri.
Okay, he's caught between us
and the men that he works for.
Now, if he would just cooperate
with us, I can make it right.
But he won't.
That's why I came to you.
Teri?
Will you help us?
He would kill me.
He would kill me if I did that.
He'll never find out.
I can guarantee it.
[crying]
What do I have to do?
You give us an interview.
Couple of hours tonight
at a neutral location.
Okay.
Where?
Do you have a favorite
hotel downtown?
You? What the fuck do you want?
[Guy] Walker. Hey.
-You've been here all night?
-[closing door]
Hey, look man, your wife
texted me again today.
I just thought you should know.
-That so?
-Yeah.
She wants to meet
at the Starlighter
Hotel downtown, tonight.
She said she's
getting a room for us.
What do you want me to do?
Hey! Look, this has to stop.
Okay, I'm not gonna be caught
between you and your wife
anymore, you gotta settle this.
Man up.
Okay, look, or don't.
Whatever, I don't care.
I don't care what you
do, but do something.
She's getting a room for us,
and she's gonna leave me a key.
You meet me in the lobby
at eight, and I'll give you
the key and then I'm gone.
You use the key,
and you finish this.
[opens door]
[closes door]
Room four-two-seven.
Go ahead, just
take a seat. Relax.
My guys are gonna be here
in ten minutes, all right?
We're gonna record everything.
I hope you're okay with
that, because that's just
how it's gotta be done.
All right? We'll just rifle
through a bunch of questions
and get you out of here by ten.
Okay?
Fine.
Teri.
You know that you're doing
the right thing here, yeah?
If you say so.
Talking to you behind
my husband's back.
Well, what's a marriage
without a little betrayal
every now and then.
Am I right?
Have you ever been married?
No.
Well then you won't be
offended if I tell you
to go fuck yourself.
[scoffs]
All right, well, having
never been married,
I guess I'll have to.
Excuse me.
[clears throat]
Yeah.
Speaking.
Yeah, yeah, she's here.
Yeah, she's with me.
What?
Are you fucking--
Are you fucking kidding me?
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
[sighs] Okay.
Fuck.
-What is it?
-We have a leak
in the department.
Somehow, someone
knows you're involved.
-What?
-All right, you're
not safe here.
We're gonna take
you into custody.
You fucking asshole.
-This is bullshit!
-Yeah, well I'm not
thrilled about it either.
You said no one would know.
I was wrong.
Mother fucker, get off of
your phone and look at me.
Does Burt know?
We have to assume he does, yeah.
My God.
Hey, we're gonna get you
out of here, okay? We're
gonna get you to a safe house,
but in order to do that,
I have to go downstairs
and make sure that we have
a safe way out of here.
You understand?
You've destroyed my life.
Hey, you understand?
Yeah.
I understand.
Okay. I-- I need
a key to this room.
Over there.
Okay, give me ten minutes.
Don't let anyone else in
here but me. This is it?
-Is this it?
-Yeah.
Okay.
-You know how to use this?
-Oh, my God.
Hey. Do you?
-In theory, yeah.
-Okay well this is
just in case, okay?
Safety's off.
Teri.
Before I come in, I'm
gonna knock like this.
If you don't hear
that, it's not me.
You use that.
Got it?
Hey! Got it?
Yeah.
Ten minutes.
[ding]
All right, she's up there.
Room uh, four twenty-seven.
I'll give you the key.
Do, uh, whatever
you have to do.
Good luck.
I think you should join me.
What? No, no, no, that--
that's not a good idea.
Oh yeah, yeah, I think it is.
Walker, Walker? This is
between you and your wife.
This has nothing to do with me.
Doesn't it though?
I have absolutely nothing to--
Oh, man, come on man.
Walker, just- slow down.
Here.
-What're you gonna do?
-I'm gonna finish this.
Just like you said.
-You don't need me
for this, okay?
-Humor me.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Walker,
Walker, Walker, what
do you want me to do?
Open it.
Oh, fuck.
This is crazy.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Let's think about this.
No knock.
Go.
Teri! Teri, it's him.
It's him! It's Walker! It's...
How could you do this
to me? How could you
do this to me with him.
-Aw, fuck!
-Burt, I was doing this for you.
Oh, I bet.
I bet you were thinking about
me the whole goddamn time.
Yeah, and where the hell
were you? You're out
every night, all night!
[Burt] Don't give me that shit.
You weren't there.
And then this one comes along.
What was I supposed to do?
What're you supposed to do?
What do you think you're
supposed to do? You are with me.
-Me!
-Please, Burt.
-I love you.
-[Burt] God damn you.
-Please.
-Teri. Teri, shoot him.
He's gonna kill you, Teri.
Shoot him.
Shoot him!
Where'd you get that gun?
Did he put you up to this?
No. No, no, no, no.
Is that really what
you wanna do?
To shoot me?
Get me outta the picture?
-No.
-Teri, shoot him.
-Shoot him right now!
-Burt, I love you!
I don't want any of this.
-I'm just scared.
-Shoot him!
[Teri] I'm just scared.
Please.
Oh, fuck.
Something's come
between us, Teri.
Whoa. Whoa, whoa.
-Yeah.
-No, no, no.
-Uh, oh, no, no!
-Let's get rid of it.
-No, no, no, no, no, no! Whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
-Yeah.
Whoa, no, no! I don't-- Jes--
Jesus fucking Christ don't-
-whoa, whoa, whoa,
please, please, please...
-Put this whole thing behind us.
Yeah.
Please, please. No, no,
please, please, please, please.
-Please!
-I love you.
Jesus fucking Christ!
No, no, no, no! No! No!
[phone ringing]
Hello?
[reception] Hello sir,
we've gotten some
serious noise complaints?
-Yeah-- yes it was,
uh, it was the T.V.
-Oh, it's the T.V.?
Yeah, I-- I couldn't
hear the dialogue,
so I cranked it up really loud,
then the action part came in.
I understand sir, but from this
point forward, would you
mind lowering the volume?
Of course, we'll keep it down.
-Well, we appreciate it sir,
thank you very much.
-My apologies.
-You have a good...
-It's okay.
Hey, it's okay, it's okay.
All right?
Look at me, Ter.
It's okay.
It's not easy, is it?
-That was hardcore.
-I know.
Now you know why I don't
wanna talk about my day.
Yeah. It really sucks ass.
It does.
-Burt, what about the cops?
-Don't worry about it.
But there's so much
blood, they're gonna know
what we did in here, and I...
No, hey, hey, Ter,
it's okay, it's okay.
We have a cleanup crew,
it's just a quick phone call.
-But the Feds, what about
the Feds babe? They're...
-Hey, shh.
We're gonna move past
this, you and I, okay?
You are the most important
thing in my life, and nothing
is gonna change that.
Ever.
We'll get through this.
Together.
Together.
Yeah.
And if you want me around
more, if you need me
to stay home more?
Whatever you need, you got it.
You're my knight in shining
armor, Burt Walker.
You really are.
[gurgling]
You- you're welcome.
I guess.

[music ends]