Empire Page #2

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and the Furious Five...

and, of course, my first pair

of British Walkers.

Yep, he was the man...

and those were the days.

I miss him.

- Yo, what's up?.

- What's up, little midget?.

How you doin?.

Where's your moms?.

Who's the little player hater, huh?.

Jason, from Prospect.

Yo, if I ask you somethin',

you promise not to tell my mom?.

No, I don't make no promises.

Just tell me what it is.

My mom don't like me

asking anyone for anything...

but the new Playstation's out.

Cut to the chase.

How much is it?.

I think about $400.

No, it ain't.

It's, like, $395.

What ever happened to

water pistols and f***in' yo-yos, man?.

Wait, wait.

I been saving up mad money, you know,

and my mom be taking it all.

- Now I ain't got jack.

- Your mom taking your money?.

- No jack.

- Listen to me.

Tomorrow you go to Boltron's

and you ask for Weebs.

I'm gonna hook you up with a Playstation

and three games. All right?.

- Thanks, Vic. Come on.

- Yo, yo, hold up.

- Come here.

- What you want?.

Yo, I ain't Santa Claus, man.

You're gonna clean my car

for two months...

twice a week.

Make sure that car's clean inside out

or I'm gonna go off on you.

- Damn!

- What?.

- Done.

- All right, get the hell outta here.

There's no tongue

allowed in here.

Yo, Vic, what's up, man?.

That's all right.

He just needs a minute with your girl.

Me?. What's up?.

What'd I do?.

Your son's gonna come home with a

Playstation tomorrow. I gave it to him.

- But I didn't-

- Shut the f*** up!

Cheena, just shut the f*** up.

- Listen to me.

- I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

He's bringing a Playstation tomorrow

night. Can you understand that?.

I understand.

You got it for him. Thank you.

I'm gonna check up

on that Playstation...

and if I don't see it

I'm gonna assume you sold it.

You got me?.

Don't answer.

It doesn't need an answer.

And by the way,

that money your son saved up?.

I want it. Friday.

Okay. Okay.

With the kind of money we make

out here, you can't go to a bank.

You make huge cash deposits

three times a week...

and you don't think

they're gonna get suspicious?

I got me a $40,000 truck.

I park in one of the poorest

neighborhoods in the country.

But no one touches it.

Why?

Because they know who I am.

Respect, remember?

There's only so much you can do

with the money without being stupid.

Jimmy likes to spend it all

on his crazy safari jungle furniture.

He loves that sh*t.

Chedda had the world's

biggest stereo system...

in the world's puniest apartment.

Sometimes you just can't help

doing something special, though.

What's that, 17,000?.

- Got you something.

- Oh, yeah?.

I was always alone...

always had to prove myself...

always had to be better

than everybody.

That's the way

you have to be down here.

That is, till I met Carmen.

She's been my girl

for a long time now.

I don't mean to brag...

but she's the only girl

who was ever as smart as me.

She's going to college for her BA...

and we've been living together now

for about a year...

which makes her moms crazy.

I mean, who wants their daughter

to be a drug dealer's honey, right?

But Carmen's mom hated me

from the get-go.

Carmen doesnt like what I do...

but she don't have any illusions

about a guy like me either.

It's times like this

that make it all worthwhile.

Everything that happens, all this sh*t,

it just disappears.

Look at that.

You look beautiful.

I wish I could've told Carmen I could

never really stop or slow down...

'cause I could never stop

or slow down.

I had to keep operating.

My life depended on it.

Dealing made me feel alive. I had

to show them. I had to show everybody.

Did you get al I that?.

I couldn't understand what

he was talking about by the end.

I think so. Why?.

Did you read the chapters last night?.

I tried.

It's just so damn boring.

I want to show you something.

Look what Vic got me.

Isn't it beautiful?.

- Is it your birthday?.

- No.

He just got it for me

out of the blue.

Oh, my God.

Carmen, these diamonds,

they're huge.

I don't even wanna tell you

where he bought it.

I mean, this must have cost

at least $15,000-$20,000.

- No way.

- Yes!

What does your boyfriend do?.

He's in business.

Business?.

What business is he in that he can buy

a $20,000 necklace for no reason?.

Don't answer that.

Listen, I gotta get going.

My boyfriend's having a party tonight.

- Why dont you and Vic come by?.

- Yeah- You sure?.

Yeah. I mean, it's all his friends.

I'd love to have someone to talk to.

It's a cocktail party- kinda dressy.

Your necklace will look fabulous.

Well, I'll be there.

Bring that boyfriend. I wanna see

who's taking such good care of you.

- You're not gonna have lunch?.

- No. And I can't find a match either.

- Bye.

- Bye.

Under the Giuliani dictatorship...

there's more than your usual number

of neighborhood sweeps.

They target a few blocks, try to shut

things down, then move on to the next.

You just gotta find

a way to survive.

Undercover units are always on the spot,

but they ain't foolin 'nobody.

There's always a constant flow

of money out here.

You can't let something like this

stop you or get at you.

So if they're gonna watch you,

then you gotta watch them back.

My God! Where are you going

so beautiful?.

To a party.

Here's your plate back.

Thank you.

You coming straight from the office?.

Yeah, I got a promotion. I'm not a

street pharmacist anymore. I'm a doctor.

Don't start, mami.

We have to go. Kiss.

- Have fun, honey.

- Okay, I'll call you later.

Bye.

National Geographic

should do a special on us.

F*** Bosnia.

I mean, this city, man.

'Cause we got invisible

but well-known boundaries here.

Different ways of life,

different rules, but no mixing.

Drive just a couple miles

over the bridge...

and abracadabra,

bodegas turn to fine boutiques...

tenement buildings

turn into brown stones.

Well, you gotta have

someplace to go.

Some boring-ass white people

who can't dance-

Oh, will you stop.

Sometimes you catch a white guy

in my neighborhood...

but that's only when

they're buying from me.

But when I come down to their ritzy

neighborhoods, they get uncomfortable.

- I s this it?.

- Yep.

- Come on, baby.

- Ah, come over here.

- Let's not go.

- Come on.

- I'll take you to the Copa.

- I don't want to go to the Copa.

- This'll be boring.

- Well, Trish is my friend.

I want you to meet her.

Come on, you have to take a hit.

That way, you'll change your mind.

- Baby.

- What?.

If it's awful, we'll leave.

- Promise?.

- I promise.

- Five minutes.

- Five minutes is not enough.

Exactly. That's my point.

All right.

- Can I help you?.

- Yeah.

We're looking for a Jack Wimmer.

That would be the penthouse.

Here.

You can finish it, man.

So, do you guys know

this new artist Brian Ferrill?.

I bought these two paintings

for Jack.

Aren't they pretty?.

This is disgusting.

You've got company.

- Get me a beer and get her a Cosmo-

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