Original subtitles

Chicken didn't rob you, all right?

He... He didn't want nothing more than just to work for you. That's--

And I don't want nothin' more than for you to call that motherfucker.

But I ain't gonna ask but once.

- CHICKEN MAN: Hey. - I hit the number.

- Get out of here. - Two hundred and fifty smackeroos.

You should come by the house in a couple of days.

I'm gonna have Vivian settle up with you.

- But, Chicken! - Come on now, I got you.

Was it the landlord again?

The landlord beating your ass to live?

(GRUNTING)

Give him what the fuck he deserves.

(GROANING)

These gangster niggas put a bounty on your head.

They paid me a visit.

Now you got one move, son, and that's run

and don't look back.

HUDSON: Hey, Andre.

We just wanna ask you a couple questions.

- (GUNSHOTS) - Oh, shit! Shit!

- We gotta go. - Come on, come on.

- You know what your problem is, Hudson? - Oh, what's my problem?

You're more worried about saving all these nig--

- (ALL CLAMORING) - Shut your cracker ass!

You hit a fellow officer in front of me. You're suspended.

- Chicken... - Ain't no Chicken, Viv, hush!

(EXHALES) If it ain't the infamous Chicken Man.

You're dead now, motherfucker.

(GROANS, BREATHES HEAVILY)

SLIM: Wake yo' country ass up!

You wanna tell the truth now? Huh?

Or do you want me to put that bag back on your head

and we beat it the fuck up out of you?

- (BREATH TREMBLING) - SLIM: Huh.

See, you were cooked

the moment you decided to rob me.

Are you in on this too, Viv?

They put a gun to my head, Chicken.

Took you to my damn family's house.

You got a lot of fucking nerve. (BREATH TREMBLING)

You really is a selfish motherfucker.

CHICKEN MAN: I'll tell you what, I may not be perfect...

I ain't never sold you out, Viv.

I ain't never sold you out.

They gonna fucking kill me, Viv.

You sold us all out when you got a big head over this damn party.

CHICKEN MAN: Hey, look here, Slim.

I ain't robbed no party, man.

Funny thing is, now, I don't really give a fuck.

You see, you're something that I call a trump card.

And you best believe I'm gonna play you against the house to win.

You can believe that, Jack.

Get his ass the fuck up outta here.

All right now. All right, all right, now.

- (GRUNTS) Shit. - (GROANING)

What the fuck!

Get up!

(DOGS BARKING)

Li'l motherfucker fast.

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

Where the hell are ya?

Damn.

Fuck!

Goddamn, Gordon.

(PHONE RINGING)

- Faye. - Gordon, you there?

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

Faye, I thought you left me, baby.

Faye?

GORDON JR.: Hey, Dad...

Mom says she was just making sure you was alive.

Oh, why would I not be, son?

Haven't you seen the morning paper?

They say you robbed a party.

Wait, they say what, now?

They said you the "Prime suspect in a bra..."

"brazen late night robbery of a post-fight party,

"believed to be attended by some of the most dangerous criminals in the country."

Daddy?

Hey, uh... Gordon, I want you to listen to me.

(POLICE SIRENS APPROACHING)

Okay.

GORDON JR.: Daddy? OFFICER: Hey, hey.

Yeah, hey.

Hey, son, uh...

Okay, listen, I want you to listen to me real good.

Your mother goin' through a lot right now, and she doin' the best that she can, okay?

That mean I need you to do the best that you can.

So, I'mma need you to look after your sisters...

and I'mma need you to be the man of the house.

Did you really rob those people?

- No. No! - I don't want you to go to jail again.

Hey, Daddy ain't goin' nowhere.

Now, look, I gotta get off the phone.

Before I do that, I want you to know that I love you.

- I love you too, Daddy. - Bye, son.

Chicken Man? Hey, I'm telling you, you got the wrong brother.

- Pipe down, Chicken Man. - We all don't look alike, you know?

Wait a minute. That's not him!

That's Chicken Man!

(FUNKY INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)

Freeze!

(GUN FIRING)

(HAIR DRYER WHIRRING)

(R&B MUSIC PLAYING)

Last I checked, kidnapping is a crime.

Ain't nobody kidnapped your bony ass.

You on the clock.

And we have very strict rules about appearances.

Thus your little makeover.

What am I supposed to be doing for you?

Working off your debt.

- VIVIAN: My debt? - Yeah.

You let that little pint-sized motherfucker get away.

- So you owe me. - He got the drop on y'all.

That ain't got nothing to do with me.

And you know good and damn well Chicken ain't rob you.

- He ain't capable. - (CHUCKLES)

The crime happened at his little soiree...

- (SIGHS) - So that means it's his responsibility.

And since the little nigga in the wind...

the debt flows in your direction.

So, you owe me for my cash money, my jewels,

and for the emotional stress that I went through

when them niggas fucked up my press and curl.

So, uh, let's say $50,000.

- $50K? - (CHUCKLES)

Plus 85 for that immaculate 'do.

Do I have "dumb" written on my forehead?

I can put a hole in it if you like.

By the way, I need 10% by the end of the day

to prove to me that you are serious about giving me my money.

And bitch, don't play with me!

Where am I gonna get five grand in a day?

- I don't give a fuck, bitch. Pull it out your ass. - (BELL DINGS)

YOUNG HUSTLER: Chicken Man's on the loose.

Read all about it. Just 10 cents.

Hey, youngsta, I'll cop.

That'll be a dime.

Pay the man.

(SLIM LAUGHS)

This some catch.

Looks like your little boyfriend's famous.

Tick-tock, baby, you got some money to make.

- (SLIM CHUCKLES) - (SIGHS)

(SIGHS)

(BANGING ON DOOR)

(PANTING)

I need help.

They shot at my goddamn back.

What if my family was out there? My kids?

- Where they now? - I had Faye take 'em, put 'em in a car,

go down to her sister's. Way too dangerous out here, right now.

Well, that's good.

The fuck I'm lying to you for?

Faye left me last night.

To be honest with you, I don't even blame her.

I've been selling this woman a bill of goods of me

being a good man for years now.

I guess she finally just got smart and left.

Well, Faye wouldn't have married you in the first place if...

- she didn't think you was a good man, so... - Hmm.

You just call me a good man?

- (CHUCKLES) Oh, hell no, I did not. - Hmm.

I grew up with brothers like you.

Smart, enterprising.

They just couldn't get out their own way.

I mean, I don't get it, Gordon.

You-you got a family that love you,

and a good woman. Why-why you wanna throw all that away

just tryin' to be somethin' you're not?

What exactly am I tryin' to be?

Some kind of big-time player or somethin'.

- Big-time player? - Yeah.

You got it wrong, man.

This man sittin' across from you sits across from you with a fourth-grade education.

I got that, and I got this here skin.

So, you know what I did? I did what was best to feed my damn family.

I feel like I made the right decisions. I kept it small.

Left the damn dope dealin' alone and did what I'd known.

Just gals and numbers, that's all I focused on.

Tried to build myself a legitimate business.

- Legitimate. - I tried to set myself up a legitimate business.

Gordon, you threw a party for some of the most

dangerous, felonious men in this country.

You ain't think that's gonna come back on you somehow?

Look, you can't be one foot in and one foot out on this thing.

You either a gangster or you not.

And you not.

Well, I guess I learned that lesson a little too late, didn't I?

Tell you what, if I don't get out of this town tonight,

- I'm a dead man. - The way I see it,

you either goin' to the cemetery,

or you going to jail.

You can go try and find some place to hide,

or you and I can finish what we started.

We find the robbers and clear your name.

That last one don't sound too bad to me.

Getting good, youngsta.

- Well, I had a good teacher. - (CHUCKLES SOFTLY)

Hey, Mac, how long we gonna be holed up in here, man?

Hopefully a day, tops.

I'm waiting on a call from my guy about his fence.

Once we get paid off, we should be good to go.

This guy your friend?

Yeah, we served together.

You trust him?

I got no choice, Ray.

Hey, so when you gonna tell me what went down between y'all and the landlord?

(CHUCKLING) Oh, we tuned his ass up good.

Damn it, Ray.

Ah, come on, man. Me and you both know he had it comin'.

I don't like you getting all chummy with Willie.

- What's with y'all, man? - Ain't nothin' with us, man.

I done dealt with kats like him before.

Always got something to prove.

But there ain't no light at the end of that tunnel.

Well, at least he stand up for hisself like a real man.

Everybody else I know is some victim.

I ain't tryin' to be no victim.

Look, I'm sorry for getting you into this.

Sorry?

This is the coolest thing I've ever done.

Ray, there ain't nothin' cool about robbing.

This is a one-time thing.

One-time thing.

Put some more paint on that brush.

Got it.

(VIVIAN EXHALES)

I used to dance with this girl named Rena. Rena...

Rena outta New York.

Harlem, to be exact.

This broad used to talk about Harlem like it was Black heaven.

Fashion, the culture, the music.

She told me all about the roaring '20s.

Billie Holliday, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald.

She even told me she's seen fine-ass Malcolm X preachin' on 125th.

(LAUGHS)

But outta all the stories she told me about Harlem, the best one by far

is the one about this woman named Stephanie St. Clair.

They called her Queenie.

Queenie was the biggest numbers boss in New York in the '30s.

Man, this bitch, she was pullin' in millions during the goddamn depression, Jack!

And she ain't answer to no man either.

See, that's gonna be us. A completely dickless operation from here on out.

MAXINE: Is you done yet?

'Cause you could have said all that without the sermon, child.

(SIGHS)

The real question is, how we gonna get these backwards niggas

to run the numbers with us broads?

One thing I learned in life, give a nigga a whiff of pussy

and he'll do anything you want.

(SIGHS) So we hookin' too? Girl, I'm retired.

VIVIAN: No, bitch.

We sell a little sex appeal.

All right. Enough of the yik-yak. Who's in? Come on.

Here.

Uh... Oh.

- WOMAN: Ain't this some shit. - VIVIAN: Come on then.

- (WOMEN MUTTERING INDISTINCTLY) - Oh!

(SIGHS, MUMBLING)

Shit. Fuck!

(CLEARS THROAT)

Hmm...

Well, all right, let's get to work.

(PHONE RINGING)

Hey.

So, uh, guess you heard.

Yes, sir.

Heard you put Mason on his ass.

(CHUCKLES)

Well, I still got suspended for it, so.

Hey, look. One of the shooters that died in the woods, we ran his I.D.

He's a hitman connected to Frank Moten.

Big-time gangster outta New York.

Frank Moten, yeah.

- We saw him at the fight. - (BELL DINGS)

I know we didn't find his I.D.

but I'm tellin' you, he was at that damn party too, Romel.

Hold up. Witnesses didn't put him there.

Those witnesses ain't gonna drop a dime on Frank Moten.

They know what that man's capable of.

All right. Well, Chief had him picked up for questioning.

He in the box now.

Wait a minute. He's in the box right now?

ROMEL: Yes, sir.

MASON: According to the NYPD,

you a person of interest in several murder cases.

Not to mention conspiracy, drug trafficking, racketeering.

So?

Since the robbery, we've had six homicides.

Now, we may be a little slow on the uptake, down here in Dixie,

but when two New York hitmen show up dead,

along with the body of a kid suspected in a gangland robbery,

you see why that would spark our interest in you?

My mama taught me, if it walk like a duck,

and talk like a duck, it's a goddamn duck.

Oh, you finished?

I-I'm sorry. I got a little lost in your redneck soliloquy.

Now, who exactly is the duck in this aphorism?

You know what? I'm famished.

I think I'll just take my lunch break early.

I got a tuna fish sandwich with my name on it.

Between you and me,

those fuckers dumb enough to rob some gangster,

then they got what was comin' to 'em.

- It don't mean you won't burn for it. - Lack of evidence

ain't never stopped y'all from lynching or burning a nigga.

So you go ahead on, light your matches...

Porky.

(DOOR CLOSES)

Now, how are we 'posed to be running a dickless operation

- working for another nigga? - Just for a little while

till we pay off the debt.

Well, how much is it?

- $50K. - $50K? Bitch, hell, no. I'm gone.

- Wait, wait, wait, wait, Maxine. - Girl, don't you block me

unless you wanna get cut again.

Okay, Max, I...

Look, I don't mean it like that, all right?

(SIGHS)

I need you with me on this.

Did Ms. Vivian Thomas say she needs my help on something?

Look, I'm being serious, okay? I-I can't do this without you.

(SIGHS)

Well, I need to know what I'm getting myself into.

- Who's squeezing you? - Some country thug that got robbed at the party.

I-I don't know what this nigga capable of.

Now what the hell is that?

VIVIAN: That's our seed money.

- Don't lose it. - Bitch, I ain't touchin' that.

Oh, you touched worse, hoe.

You keep playin'.

(DOOR OPENS)

HUDSON: Hey, how ya doin'? Uh...

- You take it black, I assume. - No, pep milk, heavy.

What can I say, Mama spoiled me.

I'm the baby.

Well, we ain't got none of that. Apologies. (CHUCKLES)

Detective Hudson.

Frank Moten.

Oh, I know you. Yeah, you, uh...

You the Black Godfather. Yeah, you got a nice ring to it there.

- We ain't responsible for what the public calls us. - Mmm-hmm.

They call me a hoodlum.

We call you the pig.

Let me guess.

You the one they send in when the blue klan can't get it done, huh?

(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)

Boy, I bet you come through the door,

niggas let their guard all the way down, don't they?

- When they see your Black ass. (LAUGHING) - Yeah.

Ooh, yeah. Well, I'm sorry though. I...

I can't tell you no more than I told your partner.

Oh, that ain't my partner.

No, I hate that redneck son of a bitch.

- I'm the one that gave him the... - (LAUGHING)

- Well, you learned somethin' from Ali. - Yes, sir.

- Oh, I bet that felt good. - Oh, it did. It did.

I was watching you through the glass. You...

You gave a real savvy interview, Mr. Moten.

Oh, well, this ain't my first rodeo.

But, you know, you... we can cut all the formalities.

Just call me Frank.

Well, Frank, uh...

you surely are interesting to the NYPD.

I'm a real interesting person. (GRUNTS)

They've been after my ass for years, you know?

But I'll tell you something, Detective.

There's way more police in New York

that wish I was greasing their pockets,

than want to put me in cuffs.

That some kind of a subtle bribe?

I'm a multi-millionaire, Detective.

Now, if I was asking you to do me a special favor...

(CHUCKLES) wouldn't be nothin' subtle about it.

Okay.

Uh, recall your Heights robbery.

What you know about it? I mean, you was there.

Unfortunate ending to a very special night.

How much they get off you?

Oh, you know, just some cash and bullshit jewelry.

I got way more of that shit at home.

Still, I'd like to try to get a number.

If you don't mind. I mean, that way, uh,

we can get a accurate counting.

In case we're able to, you know,

- recover your property. - Huh.

You ever been robbed, Detective?

No, I can't say that I have.

You know, robbery is a very special violation.

See, when you get robbed, they take more than just your valuables.

- They take your reputation. - Hmm.

They take your dignity, your pride.

Things that is hard to put a quantifiable dollar amount to.

HUDSON: Hmm.

Not too far from the party in the woods,

I found Lena Mosley dead with a bullet in her head.

And stretched out on the lawn was Boone Davis, shotgun blast through the chest.

Just last night in the woods,

Andre Muse, a bunch of bullets in the back.

And right here in this room,

young Tommy Hayes died right on that spot.

Now, you ask their parents and their loved ones to put a price on their lives,

I imagine they'd come up with a very similar answer that you gave.

Except for the whole pride and dignity, and all that bullshit,

'cause that's all that is.

- Georgia? - Born and raised.

(LAUGHS)

Look at us.

Ah, two Georgia niggas done carved out their own space in the world.

I bet we have more in common than we like to believe.

No.

I'm not lookin' to make no new friends, Mr. Moten.

And you officially on my radar.

Well, I guess we better make sure we don't run into each other no more.

Now, that sound like a threat.

And that sounds like, you think you worthy of being threatened.

(CAR DOOR OPENS)

Guess who I just had a chat with.

- Who? - Frank Moten.

What's the matter?

Cat got your tongue?

Yeah. Frank was at your party, Chicken.

Shit, at your party. He was probably the guest of honor.

I didn't know that being at a party was a crime.

- You lied to me, man. - Oh, stop it, Hudson.

Look, the only thing I care about right now is protecting my goddamn family.

Then fucking come clean, man!

Come clean about what, Hudson?

You wanna know if I saw Frank Moten shoot somebody in the face right in front of me?

Or maybe that I overheard him strangle Silky to death on the goddamn phone?

I mean, fuck! If we got to ask people in the streets

about the 20 tales and what they know, we'll be here all goddamn day!

And none of it matter, 'cause ain't nobody gonna testify.

Now, I may be a two-bit hustler, but what I'm not is a fool.

Now, it was Frank's party. Okay? I told you that.

But I ain't seen him afterwards.

And I damn sure know nothin' about him killing no robbers.

And that's the truth.

Now, we doin' this or not?

Where we goin'?

Gonna pay Andre's uncle a visit.

Why we gonna go see Ed? Andre dead.

Exactly.

Man ain't got no reason to try and protect him now.

- Yeah. - (CAR ENGINE STARTS)

LAMAR: Hey, boss.

Nothin' I like better than starting my day

being interrogated by the fucking police.

- I'm sorry, boss. - Thought I told you to keep things quiet.

Whose idea was it

to have motherfuckers running around with a machine gun?

I thought the chopper was an excellent choice.

So it was your goddamn idea.

Just didn't anticipate the pig.

In the midst of all this noise,

you still ain't found the Chicken Man.

I've got some good news on that front.

- (SCOFFS) - (PHONE RINGING)

Look like I need to have the Atlanta Register on my payroll.

Hello? It's Cadillac, boss.

(SIGHS) The fuck this nigga want?

FRANK: Cadillac.

How's things at my favorite Jersey juke joint?

It's booming, Frank.

Like always.

Listen, um, I know it's been a pretty rough week for you and all.

I was thinking maybe you might wanna take a little time off, you know?

I'll come down there and take over this great Chicken hunt.

And let you get a little R&R while I deal with the Firm and their little mess.

And, um, just why would the Firm need dealing with?

It ain't nothing you really need to concern yourself with, Frank.

Oh, I'll be the judge of what needs my concern.

And, uh, there's been some utterance,

you know, some chitter chatter about...

about people questioning your leadership qualities right now.

And just who would that be, Lac?

HUDSON: Yeah, we did everything we could to save Andre's life.

Damn. Damn. Damn!

God damn it!

And the same man that killed Andre,

they tryin' to kill Chicken Man. We...

We just wanna put a stop to it.

God, that boy was doomed from the start, man.

And all due respect, Chicken,

I didn't even think that you had the pills to do some type of score like that, man.

Yeah, why don't you go on and tell that to the Black Mob.

Better yet, even the cops.

I'm just gonna give it to you straight. I got about 24 hours to clear my name.

And if I don't get it done in that time, well, then,

me and mines...

well, we gonna be lookin' to flippin' 'em toe tags as well.

Look, we just need any info you can give us, Ed. Anything.

- Okay? Any info at all. - Listen, listen.

I wish I could, fellas.

- I wish I could. - Hey, Ed, look, look, we...

We got a lot more in common than you think, man.

What in the hell do we got in common?

Our love for this city.

Hey, look, we all community men here.

We got some lawbreakers among us, but there's a big difference

between making a buck or two under the table

and what's goin' on in them streets out there right now, man.

- Man... - Ed, listen. Young Atlantans is dying.

And if we don't put a stop to it,

we're gonna lose everything that we done fought for.

- And Andre would've died for nothing. - (SIGHS)

How about it?

I'm gonna give you one name.

And you mustn't talk in my doorstep again.

- McKinley Rogers. - McKinley Rogers?

McKinley Rogers.

Come on.

- You know who that is? - CHICKEN MAN: No.

VIVIAN: If we gonna earn enough to pay Mo Slim back and earn a damn profit,

we gonna have to upgrade our clientele.

Now, how you figure we gonna do that?

We gonna integrate the numbers game.

Hmm.

(R&B MUSIC PLAYING)

♪ Gimme the bridge now ♪

MAN: Well, well, well.

♪ I feel like busting loose Busting loose ♪

♪ Gimme the bridge now ♪

♪ I feel like busting loose Busting loose now ♪

♪ Busting loose in the evening Busting loose Can be pleasing ♪

♪ Talking 'bout Busting loose y'all ♪

♪ Busting loose In the meantime... ♪

VIVIAN: We just changin' our strategy, goin' after the big fish.

Hey, there, sugar. You wanna play the numbers?

Oh, I'll play any game with you.

How's it work?

Oh, it's really simple.

All you gotta do is bet any amount or any three number combination,

and if your number hits by the end of the day,

- you get paid. - So it's like a lottery.

Baby, this better than the lottery

'cause we all about our customer service.

MAN: Can you teach me how to play?

Well, you got money, sugar?

Then get your pasty ass up here.

♪ I feel like busting loose Busting loose ♪

♪ I said sha la, come on ♪

CHICKEN MAN: What you doing all this for?

Why don't you just kick open the goddamn door like they do in Dragnet?

- HUDSON: Man, that's a fake door. - You shittin' me?

- Not on Dragnet. - HUDSON: Hey, McKinley, you in here?

- Hang on a second. Hang on. - I got you.

(SIGHS)

There's stuff everywhere. Looks like we got ourselves a family man.

- That's his daughter. - Yeah, a hero, too.

Military man.

Why you tryin' to act like you care about these medals?

Come on, go somewhere with that bullshit right now, Chicken.

(EXHALES) Okay, I'm just telling what it is.

Hey, J.D.

What? What you got?

I know him.

- Him? - I know him.

That's the goddamn man that was with Silky at the Clermont.

That's who was gonna host the party.

I thought you hosted the party.

No, not in the beginning.

This dead-eyed nigga here,

he had the job originally, right?

He was the original host. When I found that out, I tried to smooth talk Silky.

Silky then hit him with the bait and switch. That's how I got the gig.

Mmm-hmm. And when was you gonna tell me this?

What'd I tell you about that for?

I ain't thinking that much, he just a nigga I met.

Think, Chicken. You stole this man's gig.

- Come on, now. - He got motive from here to Timbuktu.

So, you think he like the mastermind behind this?

Well, he's definitely a person of interest.

You get a name?

I don't remember no name.

Just keep looking.

(SIGHS) Oh, dog.

Hey, hang on.

Well, who do you think Charmaine is?

I don't know.

Let's see if we can find out.

(SIGHS)

CHICKEN MAN: McKinley's wife works here?

Sure your people ain't give you no bad information?

I mean, the only Black people working in that building

is ones cleaning the goddamn toilets.

Nah, Romel said she work at the makeup counter.

Okay, I'mma go talk to her. You stay out of sight.

You gonna go in there and arrest her?

Maybe do that. Maybe you could scare her into turning over on McKinley.

What I'mma arrest her for?

I don't know. Go make somethin' up.

- Quite sure it ain't your first time doin' it. - You wanna go do it?

My face is all over the goddamn papers.

- No, I don't. - All right, hang tight.

- Jesus. - Hurry up, man.

Hi. Have you tried our new sample?

- WOMAN: Yes, thank you. - There you go.

WOMAN: Thank you. I appreciate it.

- Hi. This is our new scent of the week. - WOMAN: Hi.

Hello. Oh, yes. Thank you.

HUDSON: Ms. Charmaine Johnson?

I'm Detective J.D. Hudson.

If this is about Mac, it ain't got nothing to do with me.

Ma'am, there are some very dangerous men looking for your ex-husband,

and I need to find him.

(SIGHS) What did he do?

Well, right now, he's just a person of interest on a robbery case.

The one all over the news?

Yes, ma'am.

Look, whatever Mac's in is on him.

And if someone else come knockin', I'm gonna tell 'em the same.

Come on, Hudson, goddamn.

Charmaine, these men are killers,

okay?

They gonna have no problem killin' again.

Now, let me help this man.

Listen, I can't get involved.

It's best for me and my family, okay?

Now, if you're not buying anything,

I'm gonna have to ask you to move on.

If you care about this man at all, convince him to come in.

- WOMAN: Hi. - Here.

Thank you.

Shit.

HUDSON: Hey, freeze. (CHUCKLES) I'm just messing with you.

- Officer J.D. Hudson. Downtown. Detective. - OFFICER: Yeah.

Uh, ain't y'all boys a little bit off the reservation?

You-You District Two, ain't you?

Oh, yeah. You guarded Ali.

Guilty as charged.

Jenkins wants all hands on deck, trying to find a Chicken Man.

- Chicken Man? - OFFICER: Yes, sir.

Well, good luck with that scoundrel.

Don't let me keep you. Appreciate you, officers.

(SIGHS)

- (EXHALES) - Look like you got a little hustle in you, too.

Yeah. I think you may be rubbing off on me.

- (ENGINE STARTS) - Damn, "Looking for Chicken Man."

VIVIAN: All right, step right up, gentlemen. That's right.

Make sure y'all have y'all money.

- MAXINE: Today could be your lucky day. - (OVERLAPPING CHATTER)

- That's right. Come on. - Here you go, baby.

- MAN: Oh. - VIVIAN: That's right.

- That's right. Mmm-hmm. Next. - Thank you, thank you.

Yeah!

- What-What's going on? - MAXINE: Good Lord!

- Who y'all playing the numbers with? - Come on. That's right.

- MAN: Maxine fine ass. - Right here, baby. Right here. Oh, man.

Her and Viv took over from Chicken Man.

- They what? - Yeah.

And I ain't got paid one red cent of my winnings.

- What? - VIVIAN: Today is your lucky day! That's right.

If y'all know what's good by you, you take your money

and spend it someplace else.

Uh, what are you talkin' about, Sully?

Huh? You-you been playing the numbers with us for years.

Bad them days is over, sista',

'cause the other day, I hit for 250 smackeroos

and Chicken Man ain't paid me squat.

Well, it looks like you need to be taking that up with Chicken.

Well, he a fugitive from justice, so I'm takin' it up with y'all.

Besides, y'all affiliated. I'm telling ya, no, they don't pay their winners.

If I was y'all, I'd get my money back.

- That true, Viv? Wait, wait. - Yeah, but... (STUTTERS)

Did you say that they're colleagues of that robber all over the news?

He ain't rob nobody.

- SULLY: I'm just saying. - Here you go, Sully.

- Oh, what... - Five hundred smackeroos.

(SULLY LAUGHING)

Viv, you didn't owe me but $250.

Call it interest, sugar.

- Yeah! (EXCLAIMING EXCITEDLY) - VIVIAN: See that?

None of our clients have to wait to get paid.

So y'all go tell all your friends.

- Mmm-hmm. - (SIGHS)

- Now, what the fuck you do that for, Viv? - Look.

Numbers is about confidence, okay.

If they think we ain't out here paying people, we dead in the water, Jack.

- How much we done brought in? - Just a little over $1,200.

Minus the five that we just had to surrender over to Sully.

What you gonna tell Mo Slim?

You know he gonna be expectin' that five grand.

(SIGHS)

I'll figure somethin' out.

Yeah, I hope so.

- Boy, don't give me that shit right there. (CHUCKLES) - Ah...

I thought you country motherfuckers supposed to be good at spades, man.

- I mean, we are. - Yeah.

I just been lettin' you cheat.

You holdin' back a card,

been dealin' from the bottom since the second frame.

You got a sharp eye.

Why you keep quiet?

You the one with the gun.

(CHUCKLES)

Hey, man, I have a question.

Is the pizza up north as good as they say it is?

A slice'll change your life.

- (BLOWS) - What else do you know?

Only what I see from the movies.

- I ain't been past Augusta. - Past Augusta?

- Yeah. - Aw, shit. Now, you a country boy for real.

- (LAUGHS) - Nah, we gotta expand your horizons, young one.

We ought to get you out there, huh, dozer?

(CHUCKLES)

Yeah.

Your boy Mac been gone a long time.

- What ain't you telling me? - I told you, man.

- Hmm? - He had an emergency with his kid.

And you believe that shit?

Mac ain't never lied to me.

Hey, what's going on? Is everything okay?

- Where's Shelly? - CHARMAINE: No, Mac.

- Mac. - Where she at?

The police came to my job looking for you.

- What they want? - Some dangerous men are after you.

And he was trying to help you.

(SCOFFS) Is that what he said?

Come on, Charmaine. That's some cop bullshit.

They say that shit to make you think they care, then they try to fuck you.

You got some real nerve, Mac.

(SIGHS) Look, I'm-I'm telling you, this cop is different.

You should talk to him.

He was a vet like you.

Like me?

Yeah, this is good work here, Detective.

(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)

You really love that watermelon-head motherfucker, huh?

You know, you a real asshole.

You gotta get sharper, man.

Think about what the next man trying to figure out.

See what he thinking.

I bet you Mac ain't never taught you that shit, huh?

Mac is the salt of the earth. He helped raise me.

Lena and Tommy, too.

Yeah, and look what it did for them.

See, I could use a sharp young motherfucker like you,

up in the city. See, you like that?

Imagine what we could do up there.

You'd make a fuckin' killin'.

All them jive-ass gangsters got too much money than they can even fucking count.

They won't even notice that shit missin'.

All right. So when we gonna go over there and make the arrest?

Eh, we ain't. All we got now is pretty thin.

CHICKEN MAN: What you mean, pretty thin?

What the hell we doing here if we're not gonna go over there

- and grab the suspect that can help clear my name? - We're gonna follow McKinley.

He's gonna take us to the loot.

- That's evidence, then we can arrest him. - No, come on.

That's too risky and you know it.

We need to go over there and grab him and have him take us to the loot...

- That's what we do right now. - No. Hey... Shut the door, Chicken.

Listen... (SIGHS) I can't.

What you mean, you can't?

I'm not a cop right now.

After the shit show last night,

Jenkins took my badge.

Okay? I'm not a cop right now.

If we don't do this thing right,

it's not just suspensions we gonna be talking about.

We both gonna go to the clink.

Why can't we do a citizen arrest then?

Them crackers do it all the time in the movies.

- Why can't we go over there and do that? - All we got is the uncle

of a dead robbery suspect who gave us this guy's name.

That ain't no evidence.

Besides, we don't even know who's all mixed up in this thing.

Who's at the top of it.

You don't think it's McKinley?

Why would you do that robbery and then hang around Atlanta, just waiting to get caught?

CHICKEN MAN: Yeah.

No, I-I'm thinking that these locals, they're taking their orders

- from somebody else. - Who?

Well, we follow McKinley, hopefully we gonna find that out.

Okay, you just gonna have to trust me on this one.

Best shot we got at clearing your name.

(BELL DINGS)

If it ain't my favorite hen. You better have some eggs for the coop.

Looking a little light in the ass there, sugar.

VIVIAN: Look, we gonna need some more time.

They still connecting us to Chicken.

And his name ain't shit right now.

He should've thought of that when he was hiring security.

I didn't get this far in the game

by lettin' motherfuckers short me for my cash.

So we'll have to find other ways for you to work off your debt.

(CHUCKLES)

Look, honey, why don't you go get you somethin' to eat.

And why don't you come over here and make me feel good.

Excuse me?

I ain't askin'!

Yeah.

These dogs ain't gonna wash themselves, baby.

(LAUGHING)

Yeah.

There you go, baby.

There you go.

(BELL DINGS)

What happened? You bust your toenail lettin' Chicken get away? Again.

(CHUCKLES)

Found the little nigga one time when you jive turkeys couldn't.

I'll find him again,

as long as I got his bitch.

Me and you got some shit we need to talk about without her.

(SLIM CLICKS TONGUE)

I don't hide nothing

from my pets.

It has come to my attention

that certain members of the Firm are displeased

with my strategic vision. By certain members,

I mean your ass.

(CHUCKLES)

Ah. (SIGHS)

Look, pops...

You had a Hall of Fame run. It was stellar.

But you old as fuck now, nigga. Why don't you move to the side

and let some new blood in?

Did you rob me,

Missouri Slim?

Did you just disrespect me, Frank Moten?

FRANK: Oh, I'm sorry, sir!

Did you rob me, you dog-dick motherfucker?

SLIM: No, pops.

I didn't rob you 'cause if I did, you'd be dead.

You old decrepit son of a bitch!

Fuck, give--

(BREATH TREMBLING)

We gonna leave you to it.

(WHIMPERING)

(R&B MUSIC PLAYING)

♪ Don't you ever be sad ♪

♪ Lean on me When the times are bad ♪

♪ When the day comes And you are down ♪

♪ In a river of trouble And about to drown ♪

(INAUDIBLE)

♪ Just hold on, I'm comin' ♪

♪ Hold on, I'm comin' ♪

♪ I'm on my way, your lover ♪

♪ If you get cold, yeah I will be your cover ♪

♪ Don't have to worry 'Cause I'm here ♪

♪ No need to suffer, baby 'Cause I'm near ♪

♪ Just hold on, I'm comin' ♪

♪ Hold on, I'm comin' ♪

♪ Hold on, I'm comin' ♪

♪ Hold on, I'm comin' ♪

♪ Lookie here Reach out to me ♪

♪ For satisfaction, yeah ♪

(GRUNTS)

♪ Call my name, yeah ♪

Guess what I heard.

EMERSON: What, boss?

- Frank retired Mo Slim. - Jesus.

Uh, he gonna start a war. What you wanna do?

Nothing whatsoever.

You know, when I planned the robbery...

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

I anticipated that the Firm would finally see that Frank wasn't that all powerful,

and an invincible entity everybody assumed he was.

All these other dominos

would fall into their respective places,

and the Firm would ultimately,

want me to put things back in their relative order.

Speaking of the robbery, they all lookin' to up their stake.

It's hazard pay since their crew been dropping.

You have autonomy to give them whatever they ask,

just as long as they never receive it.

Now, come on, Lac. I made promises.

Come on in the cage.

No, you ain't gonna need that.

You gonna be my catcher.

- Help me focus. - I ain't got no glove.

Get set.

Did I ever tell you that I used to play shortstop for the Jacksonville Suns?

My mama was so proud.

(GRUNTS)

Her boy was playing for the Triple-A.

(PANTING)

You know, one night, one of my fellow teammates

wanted to celebrate his birthday at some little...

resort town called Jekyll Island.

He had heard that Otis Redding was gonna be playin' at this little hot spot

called The Dolphin Club.

Unfortunately, we never got to see Otis Redding play

'cause shortly after we arrived...

we got into a quarrel

with some local inbred crackers.

Long story short.

They took a bat to my knee and ended my career.

My dreams died that day.

And so should theirs.

So I want you to take those boys out to...

Jekyll Island and take care of 'em.

Including Willie Black.

I don't need that loudmouth motherfucker coming back to bite me.

Okay, look. Fuck Willie Black, all right.

I dig that, but Mac is my peoples.

I owe that man my life.

(YELPS) Fuck!

(GROANS) Fuck!

Perhaps you didn't hear me clearly.

I need them to be retired permanently.

EMERSON: Fuck!

CHICKEN MAN: You think that's where they holed up at?

This don't look like no bad air to me.

I don't see nothin' seedy.

Yeah, well...

only one way to know for sure. I'm gonna go take a look. Just stay in the car.

Hey, man. Shelly okay?

- Yeah, she's all right. - Where the fuck you been?

Man just told you, didn't he? Checkin' on my daughter.

Yeah, but how I know you was really doing that?

Well, you could've been out there talkin' to the cops or some shit.

The cops? Get the hell outta here, man.

No, Mac. We've been here all motherfucking day

while you been outside prancin' around.

I just wanna know where the fuck you was at.

Not right now, all right? Get the fuck out of my way.

McKINLEY: If you don't get the fuck out of my face...

WILLIE: Look, nigga, give me the fucking answer.

Call your bitch.

Get her on the phone. I wanna ask her.

Get the fuck out of my way, nigga. I ain't gonna ask you again.

Before this shit gets real worse.

(PHONE RINGING)

Hello?

Yeah, it's Emerson.

Nigga, where the fuck you been at?

(SIGHS) I had a little hiccup.

I need y'all to meet me in Jekyll Island.

All right? The fence will meet us there.

There's too much heat in Atlanta.

Fuck all that. Now, I lost four of my peoples

to this shit. I ain't movin' a goddamn inch until you

tell me what the fuck I need to know.

EMERSON: Mac! Man, it's me talking to you, nigga.

Enough of your crew is dead.

I'm tryin' to get you as far away from this shit as possible.

Jekyll Island, The Dolphin Club.

You'll get your answers.

(LINE DISCONNECTS)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

What'd he say?

To Jekyll Island.

We'll fence the loot there.

- Mmm. - McKINLEY: Move it.

Let's roll.

(R&B MUSIC PLAYING)

Sounds good.

McKINLEY: That sound good? Yeah, get in and drive.

Yeah, they headin' out. Couldn't do nothin',

not with them kids showin' up. It's too risky.

Hold up.

Here they go.

♪ I'm gonna stand over here ♪

♪ Watch you work it out... ♪

CHICKEN MAN: Where do you think they goin'?

No idea.

♪ I'm gonna stand over here ♪

So what now?

Now we follow 'em.

Wait till we can get the drop.

♪ Hey, girl, don't believe I can make it ♪

♪ I don't believe I can take it ♪

Let's finish this.

♪ I'll just stand here And fake it, oh ♪

♪ And watch you shakin' And workin' it all night ♪

♪ Come on now, baby ♪

♪ All right ♪

♪ Baby, one more time For the fellas ♪

♪ And just let me Tell you here ♪

♪ Now when you move Like that ♪

♪ Girl, I just have to say ♪

♪ Now when you move Like that ♪

♪ Girl, I just have to say ♪

♪ Oh, yeah ♪

♪ Hey, girl, now Can you do it? ♪

♪ You turn me on When you do it ♪

♪ You said you would And I knew it, oh ♪

♪ Back up too And just work it all out ♪

♪ Do that for me now ♪

♪ Come on, fellas Play it real pretty for me ♪