Carlito's Way Page #3

...but there ain't no friends

in this sh*t business.

Adis, primo.

All right, what happened?

Ain't no more rackets out here...

...just a bunch of cowboys

ripping each other off.

I don't invite this sh*t. It just comes to me.

I run, it runs after me.

Gotta be somewhere to hide.

So I took a look at this, Saso's place.

It's good. It's a nice location.

Somebody ran it right,

it could do good business.

Great. I'll advance you $25,000.

No, I'm gonna put my own money in.

Your own money? What money is that?

I ran into Rolando.

He owed me from an old thing, $25,000...

...so, that's the only way

I'm gonna do it, Dave.

You got it. Terrific.

So you'll call Saso,

tell him I'll see him tonight.

Done. I want to talk to you

about something. I need a little favor.

It's no big deal, but I need a bodyguard.

Somebody good.

Who's bothering you? I know 'em?

It's no big deal.

Just a little misunderstanding.

If it's no big deal,

what do you need a bodyguard for?

Will you trust me on this?

It's just temporary.

I'll get someone of my own later,

but I want someone right away.

There's Pachanga,

one of the old barrio crowd. He's good.

Great.

You okay?

I got a good feeling about this club.

I think we're gonna make

some real money.

I got a good feeling about it too...

...but as soon as I make my $75,000...

...I'm splittin'.

That's right.

You're gonna rent Ford Pintos

to tourists in Paradise.

That's right,

with a big smile on my face, too.

Times have changed.

What happened to the miniskirts?

Where's all that marijuana?

Now everything is platforms, cocaine,

and dances I don't dance.

What a man gotta come to

when he loses five years.

But some sh*t never changes, like Saso.

Charlie, my friend! Charlie Brigante!

How you doing?

Hey, Saso.

No, no more Saso.

Now everybody calls me Ron.

- Ron?

- Ron from Reinaldo.

Okay, Ron, let's get to the point.

I hear you're doing good business

with this place.

- Very good.

- So how come you need money?

- Me?

- You gamblin' again, right?

How much you owe?

I don't know, maybe $50,000 or $60,000.

That means about $100,000.

Who you owe the money to?

You know, Charles, some of the boys.

$25,000 will quiet them for now,

and you'll come in for a quarter of my end.

Okay, I'm gonna give you

$25,000 cash tomorrow.

I'm gonna come in for half your end.

What are you trying to do to me?

What I'm trying to do, Saso,

I mean Ron, is save your ass.

Right, because it's either Fat Anthony

or Scooze you owe the money to, right?

Either way, you're gonna end up

in the trunk of a car...

...somewhere on the Belt Parkway

before long.

May be weeks before they find you.

Like DeeDee.

Remember? They open her up.

That's some kind of stink

you're gonna make.

"What's that smell?" Saso, man.

That's Saso. Used to be Ron.

Okay, okay. What time tomorrow?

So here's me in the club

playing Humphrey Bogart.

Things can get very sticky after hours,

so I bring in Pachanga...

...little extra back-up.

He thinks I'm gonna make him rich...

...so he's worried I'm gonna get killed

before he scores.

I heard about that sh*t with your cousin.

Why didn't you call me

so I could watch your ass?

That happened a month ago.

You just found out?

You got me chasin' Kleinberg

in the daytime and then you got me here...

Kleinfeld! I hope you're doin' a better job

with him than you are with me.

The guy got a lot of money.

He got a safe in the office

with stacks of hundreds just waitin'...

Kleinfeld is my brother. Look at me.

He is my brother.

Pachanga's only f***in' around.

Don't f*** around.

Just keep your eyes open.

Watch the bar. They're stealin' money.

I wanna try, but it's so dark in here.

What do you want me to do?

The guy over there says

he don't have to pay.

- What guy is that?

- The guy in the red over there.

What are you doin'?

- Shut up and kiss me.

- Excuse me.

- Something wrong with the check?

- Yeah, there's something wrong with it.

- Baby, come on...

- Mira!

- Benny!

- What, man?

Sh*t. F***. Sh*t, man.

I'm sorry, Mr. Brigante.

I'm sorry. I got no problem.

See, Fat Man Saso there owes me money

and he's a little slow in paying me.

So I'm just working it off for him.

We haven't been formally introduced.

- My name is Benny Blanco from the Bronx.

- You know me?

I know you. You're Carlito Brigante,

motherf***er-to-the-max.

I don't know you.

So I don't owe you. Saso does.

My place now, new rules.

Everybody pays. Okay?

Okay. That's cool, that's groovy.

What's the matter with you?

Pay the f***in' goddamn check, b*tch.

- To the waiter.

- To the waiter, you dumb f***!

And get us some champagne,

some of that French sh*t.

Have a glass, man.

- No, thank you...

- I wanna pick your brain.

Get him a chair. The man is standing!

Get him a chair.

Get the stupid look off your face.

You know who this man is?

This man here, he's the f***in' J.P. Morgan

of the smack business.

First time I ever heard that.

Come on, man. You had 90, 100 guys

on the street. Right?

- Something like that.

- I'm starting out small.

I'm just building my organization.

I'm refining it

and maximizing my potentialities.

I got my finger on some sh*t

that's about to explode.

If you can just give me two minutes...

- Maybe next time. All the best to ya.

- Two minutes of your time.

I'll talk to you again.

Just two minutes. That's all.

F***ing kids.

Move a couple of ounces,

think they're a big shot.

Make a few bucks while I'm in the joint,

I gotta respect 'em.

- F*** that.

- Yeah, f*** that sh*t.

Talk to me about this.

Carlito, I see you was talkin'

to Benny Blanco before.

Benny Blanco from the Bronx.

- They say he's comin' up in the world.

- Do they?

He's got a big future...

...if he can live past next week.

How come a good-Iookin' dude like you...

...doesn't have a woman?

Well, I guess I'm a workaholic.

What's the matter?

Don't you ever see nobody

you like in here?

Nobody but you, Stef.

Jesus, she looks like Gail.

Same color hair. The way she dances.

I met Gail a year before

I went into thejoint.

She was this dancer,

this artistic ballet-type...

...was gonna be a big Broadway star.

I guess she fell in love.

Me too. I swore I'd never break her heart,

but, you know, things happen.

I miss you, Gail.

When you're in thejoint

you spend all your time...

...dopin' out who you're gonna see

the first day you're out.

The second day. The third.

But then you get out, everybody's got

a different face than you remember.

Maybe you do too.

You pray for one face that didn't change.

One face that still knows you...

...looks at you the same way it always did.

I couldn't figure it out.

I couldn't get that thing to save my life.

- Bye, Gail.

- See you next week.

- I know you, lady.

- Buzz off.

Sure, you used to go out with that guy.

What's his name? That good-Iooking guy.

Yeah, Carlito Brigante. That's right.

Hello, Gail.

I was in the road company

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