Message from the King Page #3

Bianca left me your name.

She also left me something else.

I'm looking after it for her.

It's something I think you want.

I can't imagine what that would be.

I'm afraid...

there wasn't much Bianca had that anyone

in their right mind would want.

Apart from her looks, of course.

And her teeth.

They must be beautiful now,

with all the work she had done on them.

I wasn't expecting to be paid,

if that's what you're suggesting.

This isn't about money.

It nearly always is.

You know, part of me's been wondering

if someone would come looking for her.

Hoping, in fact.

I hated the idea that she was just

another Los Angeles orphan

who might sink without trace.

I always meant to ask her

if she had any family.

Well... you're my last appointment

of the morning.

Can I buy you some lunch?

The average middle-class American

spends almost a thousand bucks

on each of those teeth in their lifetime.

You multiply that four or five times

in a place like this.

My point is,

I have a very good reputation...

I have a very good practice,

and, all in all, a very good life.

There would be very little sense in me

jeopardizing that.

Let me tell you something.

Dentists are for men

what gynecologists are for women.

Once you have them wide open

and your hand is inside them...

their sense of shame just drops away.

You become trusted with their confidences.

Sometimes, you send them home

with a prescription

that's a little more fun

than what the problem requires.

And other times...

Well, if you can help out

a little more substantively

and nobody's going to get hurt,

then why not help out?

What if somebody did get hurt?

Bianca?

Why would you say that?

She could be anywhere right now.

She could be sitting in the Starbucks

around the corner, for all we know.

She was always disappearing,

and she always turns up again.

You know Bianca.

I used to think so.

I'm not sure if I do anymore.

- Where did you meet?

- At a party.

She had a lot going for her.

I know people. She wanted me

to make some introductions,

- and so I did. I helped her out.

- Did you sleep with her?

No. As a matter of fact, I didn't.

- I'm married.

- So was she.

Look, I'm not apologizing for it.

She needed the money.

She never did anything

she didn't want to do.

Why did some man move out

all her things...

- and pay all her debt?

- I'm the wrong one to ask, I'm afraid.

All I know is that her husband

got himself into some serious trouble,

owed some money to the wrong guys.

Last I heard,

he wound up in a ditch somewhere.

After he was gone,

Bianca got strung out. She...

She started doing stuff

she shouldn't have been doing.

If she has any sense,

she's probably got the hell out of Dodge

for a while.

That's most likely what she did.

Well, goodbye then, Mr...?

I guess it must be King.

Bianca's maiden name, right? King.

She told me. Bianca King.

Yeah.

I'm sorry I can't be any more help,

but you'll find her, I'm sure.

Bianca plays the innocent,

but she's a survivor.

Trust me, she's fine.

And if there's anything else I can do,

just give me a call, okay?

I run 20 hours a day.

Nineteen I work.

One I get to myself, one.

You know what I do?

I come down here, alone.

No staffers. Nothing.

We had an agreement.

Until the campaign was over,

your office in Beverly Hills,

me in the chair,

is the only place we'd meet.

We did. We agreed.

I've got a situation, Frank.

What do you want?

Something I want to get rid of.

I need one of your special favors.

I thought you had associates

who could handle that kind of thing.

This is way out of their league.

I need this done right.

That's why I've come to you.

Two men. 25 each.

Fifty grand? Jesus.

I don't know what this is about,

and I don't want to know.

- You don't nickel and dime me on it.

- All right. I understand.

If anybody saw you here...

you're my dentist.

You came down here personally

to give me a campaign donation.

Fine. You've got my vote.

Don't forget to floss, Frank.

- Hello, Dr. Wentworth.

- Martine, how are you?

- Good, how are you?

- Very well.

- I've been flossing like you said.

- Let's have a look.

Very good. Where's Mike?

Tom, you gotta hold steady.

Just focus on the positives.

There's a core audience out there,

you know. We can build on that.

I've been down this road

a hundred times, and so have you.

Yeah. Now trust me on this.

All right, I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Okay, till then.

Hey, you still there? Okay, listen to me.

I don't care what the contractor says.

I don't care what the engineer says.

I hate that bathroom,

and I f***ing hate that kitchen.

You do what I say, or you can go back

to designing those strip malls, okay?

Jesus.

I ask my architect

to change one little thing,

move one little door, he freaks out.

- Artists.

- Eh, tell me about it.

He's worse than a f***ing director.

I got a $100 million movie

that's tracking like a turkey,

and it opens in two weeks.

I got a TV series that's just been

picked up, I still haven't cast it.

And then my dentist... Ho-ho.

My dentist leaves me a message

saying he's got to meet me at my house,

and then he doesn't pick up the phone.

This better be good, Paul.

So, what is it?

What have you come to say?

It's Bianca.

She's got a brother.

He's in town,

says he has what we've been looking for.

He's out of control, Mike.

You told me Bianca

was not a problem anymore.

Bianca isn't a problem anymore.

I'm afraid that's his problem.

Oh, my God, you didn't.

- Your guys didn't... Please tell me no.

- Look, spare me the hand-wringing.

You said handle it, it got handled.

- What does he want?

- $750,000.

Three quarters of a million bucks,

is he f***ing nuts?

Yes.

I spent three hours

in my office this morning

patching up one of Duke's men.

This isn't negotiable, Mike.

You've got no leverage here.

I've seen what this guy can do.

He's not like his sister.

Sounds to me

he's just like his f***ing sister.

- His teeth...

- His teeth?

They're not like hers.

Compound fillings, recent bridge...

This guy takes care of himself.

- You've seen this guy's teeth?

- Oh, yes.

You can tell a lot from a person's teeth.

- Like what?

- Like he's not going to go away.

Like he's not going to screw up.

- We have to deal with him, Mike.

- Seven hundred and fif...?

No f***ing way.

Did Bianca ever talk to you

about where she was from?

- South Africa somewhere.

- Cape Flats.

Has one of the highest murder rates

in the world.

The Number gangs, you heard of them?

Bianca got out.

Her brother stayed.

We have no idea what he's capable of.

There is an alternative, but...

you probably won't want to consider it.

Try me.

I spoke to Leary.

- He's willing to help us out.

- Leary? Are you out of your f***ing mind?

Leary is running for office,

for Christ's sake.

He finds out he's on that thing too,

we're all dead.

This is your mess, Mike.

How much does Leary want?

A hundred grand. Cash.

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