An Act of War

1

Sanchez.

What's this kid's name again?

Hello.

Jacob?

Who's this?

Sweetie, it's me.

Mom?

You don't sound too good.

I'm okay, baby.

I'm just tired.

Yeah.

Hang in there, you'll be okay.

Has your brother been by lately?

- No.

- But I... I thought...

- I don't want him coming over here. No.

- I just...

No.

Ma, I gotta go to work.

Okay.

Ma, I'll come visit you

real soon.

Jacob.

Yeah.

I want you to know

how proud I am of you.

For everything you've done.

Get some sleep now.

I love you, sweetie.

I love you so much.

Everything all right, Jacob?

Everything's going okay by you?

You sure about that, son?

Yes, sir.

I'm late heading home.

If you need anything,

you let me know, all right?

Take care of yourself, son.

Well, Wednesday night

is my only night off, Frank.

I can't give you

another night off, Nicks.

I don't want another night off.

It's just that,

every day is the same.

I like it that way,

but Wednesday nights I gotta kinda reset.

And it throws me off

a little bit.

All right.

I'm gonna give you

Wednesday nights.

I'll move Tito to the day shift.

Thanks, Frank, I appreciate it.

You think I give a f***

about you?

I don't give a sh*t about you.

You're making my life easier.

Tito falls asleep

halfway through

the f***ing picture anyway.

At least with you,

I don't got to worry about that.

You don't f***ing sleep.

Do I know you from somewhere?

Uh, um, no.

Am I confusing you

for someone else?

Do you know a guy named Pete?

Pete? No.

You mind if I sit down?

Did you know that marijuana

was the most commonly used

illegal drug

in the United States?

That a hundred million Americans

have tried it at least once?

And, uh, twenty-five million have

smoked it within the last year?

I get it.

What?

Why you came over here.

I get it.

You get what?

You're, um...

You're a salesman.

Oh, no, no. No.

No, it's okay.

Look I...

That's not the reason why I came over here.

I really did think that, like,

uh, that I'd seen you somewhere before,

but I guess not.

Anyway, if you're looking

for a good time...

You know, I can...

You know I can get you anything.

Anything you need.

I'll keep that in mind, uh...

Oh, my name is,

my name is Marlon.

Jacob.

But, uh,

everyone calls me Nicks.

It's a pleasure

to meet you, Nicks.

Can I get you a cup of coffee

or something?

Oh, no.

Don't get me wrong, I would...

I would love to have

a cup of coffee but I...

I don't think

that's a good idea.

Why not?

With, um, the people here...

They don't...

They don't really

like me that much.

What do you mean

they don't like you?

Just forget it, man.

You know I'm afraid to ask

myself this question,

but I ask myself

this question sometimes.

You know, like,

if I owned this place,

would I want a person

like me to be in here?

I mean, look at me, man.

You know.

You know.

The way I comb my hair and

the stylish clothes I wear.

It is like...

I mean, can you blame them, really?

I mean...

You know?

Not everybody's like them.

Not me.

You know, there's some good left

in the world if you look for it.

I'm gonna end this thing

right now.

Is there anything

I can get for you, sir?

Yeah, there is actually.

I need a cup of coffee

for my friend.

Your friend?

Yeah, my friend.

He's my friend.

What's so hard to believe about that?

He's a nice guy.

Is there a problem with him sitting

and having a cup of coffee with me?

Well, of course not, sir.

Got you that goddamn coffee,

didn't we?

Sugar tits.

Marlon, I think you're the most

interesting person I've ever met.

Sh*t, I got to go.

Yeah?

Yeah, um, they have, uh,

the shelter.

It serves food at 6:00 a.m. and

when food is gone, it's gone, so...

I can get you

something to eat here.

Oh, no, I couldn't.

You've done enough for me.

Really, I insist.

Oh, maybe some other time,

you know?

If you want to buy me dinner,

Thursday would be great.

Um, they have

a great strip special.

Whatever you want.

All right, I'm gonna

hold you to that.

I hope you do.

It was a pleasure, Nicks.

Likewise.

All right, I'll see you around.

Thanks for the coffee.

Yeah, sure thing.

Can I get my check, please?

Wait one second,

I'll be right back.

Um...

Oh, you're early.

Oh, all right. I'll, um...

I'll get him out of here.

Wait around the corner.

All right,

I'll see you tomorrow, Vinnie.

Well, come on.

I was thinking maybe you could

come over to my place next week.

You know,

I always charge more for outcalls.

I mean, for dinner,

or something.

You know,

it doesn't always have to be about this.

It doesn't always

have to be about what?

Sex.

Just sayin',

it doesn't have to be.

I don't think

it's going to happen.

I'm just not interested

in getting involved with

any of my clients like that.

I'd like to think I was more

than one of your clients.

All right.

I'll come over next week.

And we'll see where it goes.

Okay?

I'll see you next week.

Hey, Sully, how are you?

How am I?

Terrible. That's how I am.

Seventy years old, three kids,

and not one of them had the decency to

call their old man on his birthday.

Can you believe that sh*t?

It was yesterday, right?

- What was that?

- Yesterday.

Yeah, yesterday, yesterday.

I'm the reason those

little f***ers are alive.

And they had the nerve

not to call me

on my 70th birthday.

Yeah, I'm sorry to hear that.

I bet you call your father every

year on his birthday, huh?

You're a good kid, Nicks.

So, what is it?

16 millimeter, right?

- Yeah, 16.

- Let me see where it is.

I got it here somewhere.

Here you go.

Ah, no, no, no, no,

you get me next time.

My register's broken.

You're a good friend.

Hey,

beautiful footage, by the way.

- Thanks, Sully.

- Mmm-hmm.

So Nicks, tell me,

how's that girl of yours?

Ivana?

She's great.

I was just over at

her place before.

You havin' fun, huh?

Ooh, I'd love to hear

all the juicy details.

But I don't want you thinking

I'm a dirty old man, you know?

You're a lucky guy, Nicks.

You hold onto her.

Don't let her get away,

you know?

Not everybody's so fortunate.

I will.

You got something for me?

Can I have that one

ready by tomorrow?

Sure, you got it, kid.

Thanks, Sully.

You be safe out there, huh?

So, tell me

what happened to you.

Nicks, what happened to you?

I don't want to talk about it.

- Just tell me...

- I don't want to talk about it.

We were ambushed.

Coming from all sides.

It seemed like it lasted hours.

Probably only a minute.

They started coming down

toward us.

I was laying next to

a good buddy of mine.

I'd been with him since basic.

I tried calling his name,

he didn't respond.

I turned him over, he had...

a bullet in his neck.

So much blood,

was covering his entire face.

His...

His eyes were open,

he was staring straight back

into my eyes.

And I'm staring at his,

but he was already dead.

There was only two of us left.

Me and this kid.

He was 18, maybe 19 years old.

He was just a kid.

They dragged us to an old truck,

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