Cotton Comes to Harlem Page #4

And you better believe it.

And that means we gonna

take care of business.

Right, reverend?

'Cause I found it.

I finally found

that bale of cotton.

Brother barry,

you are beautiful.

Where is

that bale of cotton?

Goodman's junkyard.

Goodman's junkyard?

Now, is that

kosher enough for you?

Ha ha ha!

Deke o'malley

and all the little foxes

present

and accounted for.

Hold on there.

What's your rush?

Don't you remember

what your mama says?

I don't play that.

First, brer fox

gobbles brer rabbit...

and then the wolf

gobbles brer fox.

Your move, mother goose.

Okay. Stay put until you see

the white of the rabbit's ass.

Come on.

Let's move. Move out.

White sh*t

about to hit black fan.

Aah!

Hello, reverend.

Now back up.

Nice and easy.

Turn around!

Hold it right there.

The white fox?

He left tracks

across my behind.

The black fox?

Likewise.

Body count is 6,

lieutenant.

Yeah.

To steal junk,

I can understand.

A man is desperate,

he needs the money.

But to kill for junk?

I don't get it.

Don't be a boy scout,

goodman.

A lot of people get killed

every day up here for nothing.

What could be here that anyone

could possibly want that badly?

$87,000.

What?

$87,000.

Seen any cotton

around here lately?

A bale of cotton, sure.

Uncle budd brought over

a bale of cotton.

I bought it from him

for $25.

Where is it now?

What?

What happened to it?

He came back later,

he bought it back

from me for $30.

He hauled it away.

Wait a minute.

He brought it in and then

he brung it out again?

It don't add up,

goodman.

That's what happened.

Hauled it away where?

He didn't say.

Put out a reader

on uncle budd.

Come on, digger.

To kill for junk.

Well! Did you find it?

What do we got here,

an outraged citizen?

Oh, reverend

o'malley.

Did you find the man who

stole my people's money?

What were you doing at the junkyard

this hour of the night, reverend?

Holding a revival meeting?

He was white,

whoever he was.

You know the man?

What do you mean,

do I know him?

What I mean, sir, is did

you ever meet the man before?

Oh, sure. Same one

who hijacked the rally.

Funny. All the guys

at the rally had on masks.

And, of course, you could

see right through the masks.

Unless, of course, you knew

that they were white in advance.

Have a cigarette.

Where'd you get that?

Mabel hill's apartment,

right where you left it.

That's police brutality.

No, brother.

That's

cancer prevention.

Reverend o'malley, there are

6 dead bodies in the morgue.

All we're asking you to do is

- now, look!

How many times do I

have to tell you idiots?

We're only asking you to tell

us what you know. Now, look!

Easy, digger, easy.

Look, I am due in my pulpit

at 11:
00 this morning,

and if I ain't there-

if my people were

to find out

that you had me locked up in this filthy,

pissy pigsty, there'll be all hell to pay!

What's that

supposed to mean?

Draw your own

conclusions.

And you can tell bryce, the

commissioner, and the mayor!

Reverend o'malley-

take me back

to my cell... honky!

O'malley!

You forgot your lighter.

Something else you forgot.

Iris, baby,

who hit you?

You, you son of a b*tch!

But I got your black ass now! Cool it!

Don't tell me to cool it!

You left me for the cops.

N*gger, I oughta kill you!

You already did, baby.

You have nailed his ass

onto the wall,

right here

in black and white.

That's right.

I told them everything.

I spilled my guts out.

All about your phony

"back to africa" swindle.

Names, dates, places.

The way you were gonna

hit all the big cities

and get the money and split.

Iris

- how you set up the switch at the rally,

with the cat supposed to be

from the d.a.'s office.

The way they were gonna pretend

to take you and the money downtown.

But something happened,

and john hill got wasted.

And mabel hill found out and

was going straight to the cops.

And you found her and tried

to kill her. That's a lie.

I was there!

I saw you, you bastard!

You took that ship, that big,

old black ship black beauty,

and you smashed it down

on that poor girl's head.

I never touched that boat!

Fractured skull.

Negative.

Assault with

intent to kill.

If she dies, it's murder one.

Which means

we burn you.

Burn me?

Burn me with what?

Lieutenant!

I hope that some

of you damn fools

had the good sense to examine

that model boat for fingerprints.

Of course we did, reverend.

Tell these two dumb-ass

uncle tom n*gger cops of yours

whose prints you found on that boat

- that broad's or mine?

He did it! He took those

people's money. He did it!

You shut your mouth!

I'll get you, o'malley!

I swear on my mother's grave

I'll get you for this!

I swear I will!

I'll get you!

One more word,

soul brother.

You had it made.

Black folks would have

followed you anywhere.

You could have been

another marcus garvey

or even another

malcolm x.

But instead,

you ain't nothin'

but a pimp with

a chickenshit backbone.

Break his goddamn head.

No.

Keep him on ice

for 24 hours.

Then he'll bust his own head.

24 hours?

Bryce'll never

stand for it.

The hell with bryce!

O'malley'll break.

Not only for us.

Everybody in harlem

will know the son of a b*tch

for the evil bastard

that he is.

You hold him

one more day.

Don't you guys ever

listen to the buzzer?

What's up?

The word just came

over the squawk box.

They just found uncle budd.

Did they find

a bale of cotton?

Don't ask me.

Ask the squawk box.

Anderson:

Poor uncle budd.

What do you suppose

they did to him?

My guess'd be the river.

Oh, my god.

We're dragging

the river, luddy.

You set it up.

Yes, sir.

White fox tasted black blood.

Maybe yes,

and maybe no.

Where the hell's

that rabbit?

All right, stop it.

A vicious son of a b*tch

murders uncle budd,

and you two

talk nonsense.

You gotta look on the bright

side, lieutenant.

You saw that white

joker last night.

You identify him?

I don't know,

lieutenant.

Maybe yes, maybe no.

All those kind of people

look alike to me.

Cut the crap.

That's an order.

Drop whatever the hell

else you're doing,

and you find him!

And that's final.

We're going home

we're going to see the sun

going home

a new life has begun

we're going home

oh, yes?

Where we can all be free

in the land

where there's sand

and I got liberty

so steal away

my lord, steal away

take me

and I will tell you

we're going home

oh, going home!

Hey, children,

going home

wait here.

We're going home

where this world

was born

and where life with the strif

e won't be tight

we're going home

captain, o'malley's

people are coming.

O'malley's people?

Just like the good book said

we're going home

brothers and sisters,

we have marched all the way

from o'malley's tabernacle

this afternoon,

not merely for the purpose

of gift-bringing,

but to offer prayers

for his release.

Amen.

Amen.

What do you think?

How many men we got?

It's sunday.

Half the men are off.

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