INT. HOUSE - KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS ACTION - SUNSET SNIPER and MORENO, big and intimidating like Smiley, have been playing poker around a beer-bottle covered table. Smiley, Alonzo and Jake enter. SMILEY Put it on the counter. Alonzo and Jake place the boxes on the counter. Sniper, Moreno, ignore Alonzo. And vice versa. ALONZO Can I use the head? SMILEY Go for it. ALONZO (to Jake) I'll be two seconds. We're already late. Alonzo exits to a hallway. Smiley opens a box. Pulls out a nice CD player. MORENO That's nice. Lemme get that. SMILEY You get the Osterizer. This is mine. Smiley opens a microwave box. Jake reacts. JAKE'S POV The box is crammed with cash from Roger's locker. BACK TO SCENE SMILEY Dreamer! Got your bony a** in here! DREAMER, 19, an attractive young lady, enters. Smiley stacks the heavy packages in her arms. He tops it off with the pillowcase of Jake's money. SMILEY Count that sh** in the bedroom. DREAMER Thanks, eh. I was doing stuff. Learn to count, math whiz. SMILEY Wait up. Smiley pulls a small electric money counter from a drawer. Dreamer's hands are full. So he balances it on her head. SMILEY Don't drop it. She gives him a dirty look and exits. Smiley takes his seat and picks up his cards. He eyes Moreno. SNIPER You looked at 'em. MORENO No I didn't. Smiley tosses them to Sniper. SMILEY Deal again. SNIPER Play cards, cop? JAKE Not really. MORENO Beer? Moreno offers one. Sniper deals in Jake. JAKE No thanks. SNIPER C'mon and play a hand. MORENO Don't be rude, dude. One hand. SMILEY Don't sweat it. We ain't playin' for money. JAKE We gotta go. SMILEY Alonzo's probably taking a dump -- Go ahead and have a seat. Sniper finishes dealing. Jake looks at the cards intended for him. JAKE Okay. One hand. Jake sits. Now he can see a shotgun against the wall by Moreno. The three Cholos check their hands, signal for more cards. Jake checks his cards. MORENO How long you been a cop? You look like you're in high school. JAKE Nineteen months. MORENO Like it? JAKE I should'a been a fireman. MORENO My cousin's a fireman. And his kid's a Police Explorer. Gonna be our man on the inside. SNIPER I'd love to be a jura. Drive around all day getting f**ed up. Talkin' to the ladies. Any heads that talk sh**, f** 'em up. SMILEY Listen to your bullsh**. You couldn't hack takin' orders -- They order you around all the time. You gotta do everything they say, huh? JAKE Yeah, it's pretty strict. Especially when you're just starting out. SMILEY Sounds like the service. You serve? JAKE No. Never been in the military. But half the guys I work with were. SMILEY I was in the Army. Ranger Alert Battalion. Carried a machine gun. SNIPER Kick back, Rambo -- Waddaya got, dog? JAKE Huh? SNIPER Your hand, homes. Oh -- Jake lays down his cards. JAKE Three of a kind. SMILEY Man... didn't get squat. He tosses away his hand, Moreno, too. Sniper shows his cards with a grin. SNIPER Two pair. Sniper collects the cards. Shuffles. SMILEY What are you doing? The cop won. SNIPER I got two pair. SMILEY Three of a kind beats two pair, dumba**. MORENO See why we don't play for money? Smiley slides the deck to Jake. SMILEY Your deal. Jake looks down the hall. Getting up: JAKE We have to go. I'm gonna get Alonzo. SMILEY Kick back and party. Smiley pulls aside the curtain. JAKE'S POV An empty street. The G-Ride is gone. SMILEY (O.S.) Ain't nobody out there for you. ON JAKE He feels like a toddler lost in a department store. He sits back down. Moreno laughs. MORENO Alonzo played you like a booger. SMILEY Deal. Jake shuffles. Smiley lights a joint. Offers it to him. SMILEY It's P.C.P. Wanna hit? JAKE No thanks. I already smoked out today. SNIPER sh**. I'll step on that P-dog. Sniper takes it, inhales. Jake dealing cards. The joint rounds the table. MORENO Lemme see your cohete. SNIPER Your gun, dude. Let him see your gun. Under your shirt. Jake is outnumbered, outsized, outgunned. All he can do is take the pistol from his holster and show Moreno. MORENO That's down. What is it? A three eighty? JAKE Three eighty stainless. Double action. Nine round mag. MORENO Lemme see it. Ain't gonna blast no one. Jake hands it over. Moreno examines it with sk**ed hands. MORENO f** a vat up with this. He hands it back. To Jake's relief. SNIPER Gimme two cards. Jake does. Dreamer enters. DREAMER There's extra. SMILEY I know. That's ours. Set it aside. Sure about the count? DREAMER You count it if you don't believe me. SMILEY Okay. Thanks -- Gimme three. Dreamer grabs a beer and exits. Jake deals three. SMILEY Alonzo pulled off a miracle, huh? Times are tight. That's a lotta cash. SNIPER Who'd he jack? JAKE (dealing cards) I dunno. SMILEY He jacked Roger. Blasted the dude. Moreno guffaws. Sniper chuckles. MORENO Damnnnn. Alonzo's scandalous. SNIPER That's some cold sh**. Vato'll jack anyone. MORENO Alonzo's a low-down dirty ruthless vato. SMILEY That's why I never shake his hand. He don't respect sh**. (to Jake) Know what all the money's for? JAKE No. SMILEY Alonzo's a hothead. Last week in Vegas some dude was talking sh** so Alonzo beat his a** and k**ed him. Turns out the dude was somebody. He ran a big game and owed big money. Now Alonzo owes the money. JAKE How do you know? SMILEY I'm the man in the middle. I hear sh**. They gave Alonzo till today to pay up. His name's already on a list. There's a crew up from Sinaloa to do the mission. They're gonna blast him. No one thought he could get cash like that. SNIPER Dude made a pact with the devil or some sh** 'cause only a miracle could'a saved his a**. JAKE It's no miracle. SNIPER Alonzo takes care of business. SMILEY Cops get crafty in a clinch. MORENO And get away with it -- Been to jail, cop? SNIPER That's a stupid question. If he's been to jail, he wouldn't be cop. JAKE You can be a cop as long as you've never been convicted of a felony. MORENO There goes my chance. I got like eighty strikes. SNIPER f** cops. Cops turned out my little brother. That went over Jake's head. SNIPER You hear me? JAKE What? He got arrested? SNIPER No. Two f**in' juras turned him out. They took his manhood. They booty-tagged him in the back of a black and white. JAKE That can't be true. SNIPER Do I look like I'm lyin', motherf**er? JAKE I didn't say you were lying. I just haven't ever heard anything like that. SMILEY 'Cause you're a rookie. Put in a few years' work and you'll know what's up. MORENO Makes me wanna turn out a cop -- Ever had your sh** pushed in? JAKE What? MORENO I had my sh** pushed in. SNIPER Me too. My sh**'s been pushed in. Smiley? SMILEY (grins) I'm always gettin' love from the homies. Smiley caresses Jake's thigh under the table. He almost leaps from his chair. Everyone laughs. SMILEY Jumpy motherf**er. SNIPER (disgusted) He's a f**in' buster. MORENO You never been booty-busted? Jake tries to laugh. But it's getting weird. SMILEY Hey, cop. Win this hand and we won't bust you out. MORENO Unless you want us to. Laughs. Sniper reveals his cards. SNIPER I got two pair again. MORENO (tossing his cards) Didn't get sh**. SMILEY (grins) Gotta straight. SNIPER Uh-oh. This jura's gonna be wearin' a dress. Everyone looks at Jake -- well? He lays down his cards. JAKE Full house. SMILEY Lucky f**er. SNIPER You won. Deal again. Smiley taps the deck. Jake looks at it. At them. MORENO Deal, homie. Jake picks up the deck. Starts dealing. SNIPER There's a new chick in the neighborhood. SMILEY Oh yeah? What's her name? MORENO Vanessa... Vanessa Salguero. Everyone but Jake laughs. SMILEY I seen her around. Think she's a good girl or a bad girl? SNIPER She's a good girl. Innocent. Easy to play. MORENO How's she like the neighborhood? SNIPER Dunno. (to Jake) How you like the neighborhood? Jake realizes he's Vanessa. Laughter. Jake finishes dealing. Sets down the deck. Smiley arranges his hand. SMILEY Gimme three. MORENO f** this buster. Let's get this sh** over with. Looks of agreement are traded. Moreno grins at his shotgun. Sniper shifts his weight. Smiley whiteknuckling his beer. SMILEY Hurry up, cop. Gimme three. Jake reaches for the deck. This happens fast: Jake flings the deck in Sniper's face. Smack! Cards scatter. Jumps up from the chair, flips the table into Moreno. Smiley SMASHES a beer BOTTLE on Jake's head. Moreno grabbing the shotgun. Crack! Jake socks Smiley's jaw. He goes down, amazed to find himself on his a**. Crack! Sniper uppercuts Jake. Smiley grabs Jake's legs, yanks him to the deck -- kerchack! JAKE'S POV The bore of a 12 gauge and Moreno's leering face. BACK TO SCENE Jake gives up, his broken scalp gushing blood. JAKE ... uncle... Dreamer pops her head in. DREAMER Dang! You guys f**ed him up. MORENO Get outta here. Take the girls next door. Or you're next. She gives him the finger, pops out. Smiley pats Jake down. Pockets the gun. SMILEY You f**ed up, fool. You know that. He finds Jake's handcuffs -- clicks his wrists together behind his back. He takes his badge, clips it on his belt. SMILEY Look. I'm a cop. Gonna start taxing. Smiley commences kicking the hell out of Jake: SMILEY You're under arrest. For being a cop. For being a buster. For dogging me in the mouth in my own pad. And for bleeding on my clean kitchen floor. You have the right to be kicked. And the right to be slapped. Smack! He slaps him. Everyone laughs. Smiley finishes, panting. SMILEY There. Get him in the bathtub. Moreno grabs Jake's hair, Sniper grabs an arm, they jerk him to his feet. SMILEY Gotta f** this vato up. They run him out of the kitchen, Smiley follows.