L.A. Confidential Page #16

CARLISLE:

F*** you, Vincennes. It's our

collar.

Breuning actually has to restrain his partner.

EXLEY:

Quiet. I'm ranking officer here.

We go as a team. End of story.

INT. CORRIDOR - TEVERE HOTEL - DAY

Breuning and Carlisle lead the way with Jack and Exley

bringing up the rear. Squinting, Exley reaches to his

pocket for something. Not there.

EXLEY:

Damnit...

JACK:

What?

EXLEY:

Glasses.

JACK:

(chuckling)

Just don't shoot me.

The door to 414. Two men on either side. Breuning rears

back. Jack rears back. They kick at the same instant.

The door flies off its hinges to reveal two young black

men, LARRY FONTAINE and TY JONES, waking from a couple

of flop mattresses.

ROOM 414

Fontaine jumps up. Entering, Carlisle aims, but Exley

grabs his arm. The BLAST rips the ceiling. Jack aims.

JACK:

Freeze!

Fontaine freezes. Jones doesn't dare get up.

CARLISLE:

Ace him, Jack.

EXLEY:

Shut up, Carlisle!

Jack and Exley burst into a...

SECOND BEDROOM:

Another black, RAY COATES, passed out on mattress, sur-

rounded by empty beer cans. Jack sticks his .38 in his

back, starts to cuff him. As the cuff ratchets down...

INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - DAY

Dudley watches intently as Ed Exley skims a report,

memorizing names and dates. Jack and other brass are

also here along with a stenographer. So's Bud. One of

these guys killed Stensland. Through tinted glass, the

three suspects in three different rooms.

EXLEY:

Casitas Youth Camp... Coates

twenty-two, a boxer... Manager

saw them burning clothes.

Satisfied, Exley sets the report down.

DUDLEY:

Ed, I want confessions.

EXLEY:

I'll break them, sir.

As Exley steps into the #1 room, Jack joins Dudley.

JACK:

You think golden boy can handle

it, Cap?

DUDLEY:

I think you'll be surprised what

Edmund's capable of.

INT. #1 ROOM - DAY

Exley closes the door. Ray Coates is cuffed to a chair,

dressed in baggy County denims. One eye swollen shut,

lip split, a smashed nose with one nostril split.

Exley unlocks his cuffs. drops cigarettes and amtches

on the table. As Coates rubs his wrists...

EXLEY:

They call you Sugar Ray because

of Ray Robinson?

(no answer)

They say Robinson can throw a

four punch combination in one

second. Do you believe that?

Coates just stares at him.

EXLEY:

You're twenty-two, aren't you, Ray?

COATES:

Say what and so what.

EXLEY:

Did one of the officers work you

over a little?

No bite. Coates just stares back.

EXLEY:

You look like Robinson after

that last LaMotta fight. 'Course

LaMotta looked a lot worse. So

you're twenty-two, right?

COATES:

Man, why do you keep asking me

that?

EXLEY:

Just getting my facts straight.

Twenty-two makes it a gas chamber

bounce.

You should have pulled this caper

a couple of years ago. Get life,

do a little Youth Authority jolt,

transfer to Folsom a big man.

Orbit on some of that good prison

brew, get yourself a sissy --

COATES:

I never truck with no sissies!

EXLEY:

That f***ing Larry. I almost

believed him.

COATES:

Believed what?

EXLEY:

Nothing, Ray.

(laughs)

That Larry, he's a pisser. You

did the Casitas Youth Camp with

him, didn't you?

COATES:

Man, why're you talkin' about

Larry? His business is his

business.

Unseen by Coates, Exley reaches under the table, takes

hold of one of three toggle switches.

EXLEY:

Sugar, Larry told me you went

sissy up at Casitas. You

couldn't do the time so you

found yourself a big white boy

to look after you. He said

they call you 'Sugar' because

you gave it out so sweet.

Exley flips the toggle.

#3 ROOM

The speaker over Larry Fontaine's head crackles to life.

COATES (V.O.)

Larry gave it at Casitas! Man,

I was the f***in' boss jocker on

my dorm! Larry's the sissy!

Larry gave it for candy bars!

#1 ROOM

Exley flips up the second toggle.

EXLEY:

Ray, you protected Ty and Larry

up in Casitas, didn't you?

COATES:

You ain't woofin' I did. Stupid

down home n*ggers got no more

sense than a f***in' dog.

Exley flips the switches off.

EXLEY:

I heard you like to shoot dogs.

COATES:

Dogs got no reason to live.

EXLEY:

Oh? you feel that way about

people, too?

COATES:

Man, what're you saying?

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