Poker Night Page #2

I get on the horn to the chief.

Hey, Captain. This is Cunningham.

I found them.

The next day

we dug those two up.

That prick's serving

double life now.

See, that's what it's all about.

That comes from years of being on the job.

You can't teach that.

Whole point of poker night,

young buck.

You listen, you learn,

you go and you do likewise.

And you always use

your best weapon,

and that's your brain.

You always trust your heart.

Yeah, thanks

for that, Confucius.

Getting all teary over here.

Are we gonna play cards or are

we just gonna shoot the sh*t?

That's what we're here for.

All right.

Time for you to lose money.

Hey.

Hey?

I'm not happy

about you being here.

If I had a say,

you wouldn't be getting this promotion.

Listen,

Maxwell... Am I wearing a f***ing dress?

Don't interrupt me.

You knew my rules.

You broke my rules.

If this all goes wrong,

I'm gonna f*** you up.

Girls doing okay here?

Fine.

Just need a few more of these in me,

I'll be right as rain.

You hear anything, Floyd?

No.

But I got my cell.

You know my wife threw me out?

She says I'm driving her crazy.

Short f***ing trip.

Wanna play some cards? You know how

I like taking your money, don't you?

- I know you like taking my money.

- I love taking your money.

I brought extra. Good.

I'm a little short.

Hey, can I borrow

20 before we start?

Of course.

Sit down.

Come on in, gentlemen.

So, this is how it works, kid.

You against us.

We win a hand,

we tell you a story.

And, uh, you ought to listen up 'cause these

stories are worth a year of street experience.

So, put yourself in our shoes,

you, uh, think like we think,

and then one day when you

find yourself in a bad spot,

you'll remember

what we taught you.

Hopefully,

you'll make it out alive.

We were there making mistakes.

You listen, you learn.

Maybe you don't have

to make the same ones.

We ain't good for much else

except these stories.

It's all we got left

to contribute to you young kids.

Speak for yourself,

Calabrese, old b*tch.

I'm still out there kicking

ass and breaking balls.

I seen you, Calabrese. I could limp

faster than you with Bernard on my back.

I could take a sh*t

faster than you.

Hey. Hey. F*** all

you all, motherfuckers.

You grumpy-ass motherf... I'll kick all your

f***ing asses, right here and right now.

- Aw, sh*t. Come on. Sit down, Calabrese.

- All right. I'll sit down.

You're supposed to get wisdom as you get

older, not leak it out when you piss.

About 10 years ago, the chief

made a decision to start...

bringing in some heavy hitters.

We're a small town,

but crime was rising.

He figured you bring in some big

city vets about ready to retire...

and give them a couple years

here training the rookies,

they might just be able

to stay ahead of the curve.

He brought in some of the best.

Jason Cunningham.

This guy survived the Richmond drug

wars and took down over 300 collars.

Incorruptible and unsociable.

A.J. Bernard,

one of Memphis's finest.

A.J. solved over 45 homicides,

retired here seven years ago.

Been one of the poker squad

ever since.

Byron Davis, Chicago PD.

Toughest cop I ever met.

Had an accident four years ago

and headed for greener pastures.

Floyd Maxwell,

15 years on the front lines.

Doesn't say much,

but when he does, listen.

They call him "the Hawk,"

and the Hawk was watching me.

The lieutenant, Mike Calabrese.

Maybe the most beloved

senior officer ever.

Always looking out for his men.

Always there to lend a hand.

Last year he saved my life.

Through the, uh, gravel pit

up where the...

Shot fired. Sh*t.

Get your head

out of your ass, Jeter!

Thank you.

Stay close.

Lieutenant.

I want to say thank you.

You saved my f***ing life.

No, you did. Y-You...

I would be dead and un-un-under

the ground if it wasn't for...

Get the f*** out of here

with this sympathetic bullshit.

Crying in your beer.

Somebody want to get

this f***ing guy a dress?

You don't say thank you to me.

You do better.

You come onto the scene

ready for action.

You pay attention.

You learn.

And the next time

you help out the new guy.

You save his life.

That's all the thanks I need.

Hey, boys, get this.

This drunk f***

wants to buy us all a round.

Hey!

Go figure.

So, nurse!

- Here we go.

- How did I get so lucky?

Five card draw. Straight up.

Oh, wait, wait. Wait a minute.

- Ah, here it comes.

- Jesus Christ.

Oh, my God.

You gotta be kidding.

We haven't even started yet and

you're asking a question? Hey, hey.

That is not how this works.

We ask the questions, we do the talking,

you do the listening.

Okay, but I'm serious.

I have a question. Just one. Oh, my God.

Jesus Christ, ask the f***ing question before

our pensions run out, for Christ's sake.

What if I win?

Listen. Ten years of playing poker night,

rookie's never won, never will.

Okay, but if I do.

Say I get that, that one great hand.

What then?

Hey, look here.

If you win, all bets are off.

All right?

You tell the stories and we start learning.

And we'd be pretty bad cheaters

if we're dealing you good cards.

All right.

First lesson.

I wasn't looking at your card.

I saw you peeking.

It's an easy one.

It's about perspective.

We deal with three percent of

the population 97% of the time.

And now everyone in the world

is not a lowlife, lying,

backstabbing, ass-covering

son of a b*tch.

But. But it's mostly who we

deal with on a daily basis.

And they all think

they're smarter than you.

So here's your lesson.

- They're not.

- Except for the ones who actually are.

We never catch those bastards.

We just pretend they don't exist.

But sometimes they do exist.

The monsters

from your nightmares.

They're real,

and you can't wake up.

There you are.

So tell me, Detective.

How old are you?

Twenty-five?

Twenty-six?

Take a little from column A

to fix column B.

Am I right?

I don't know what you're talking about.

I can make us a deal. Okay?

I-I-I got connections.

A deal?

Yeah.

Okay.

I was just like you once.

Just a normal guy

with a normal life...

who went to a normal job

day after day after day.

I was a forecaster, Stan.

Predicting behavior

and regulating change.

Just another one of the

worker bees buzzing around.

I just never seemed

to make ends meet.

I got to the point where I just

couldn't take it anymore, Stan.

I wasn't going to be just

another one of those sheeple...

marching to the beat

of someone else's drum.

So I decided,

right then and there,

I was going to change my life.

But in order to do that, Stan,

I needed goals.

It took me a while

to be honest with myself.

I had to look into

my inner recesses, Stan.

I had to look deep,

and then I found them.

Two to be exact.

Making the rules was easy.

Crossing the line is what

separates the men from the boys.

But I was diligent.

I was a hard worker.

Well, Stan, we're gonna have to

pick this up at another time.

- Just wait a second. Okay?

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote