State Of Play Page #3

I'm not even that surprised.

It's just so humiliating,

you know.

Tell me you

didn't know about her.

I didn't.

I did not know

about her, okay?

I'll take the train down.

Will you buy me

a drink after?

Of course. Hey, just call him, all right?

Just call Stephen.

Thanks.

Deshaun Stagg.

Be nice if they could

spell his name right.

No one's even come

to get his stuff yet.

It's appalling.

Never happen

to a white man.

Skip it.

I'm not in the mood.

What, no love,

no politics?

What are we gonna talk about?

We're not.

You gotta get out of here

before we both

get into trouble.

They're saying it was only

one shooter. What do you think?

No idea.

What about drugs?

It's a good bet.

Come on, Cal,

leave that sh*t alone.

Close your eyes. I'm just

checking out his cell phone.

Watch, this will be

the moment they decide

to come and pick

all this sh*t up.

Then what are you gonna do?

Write some articles,

get me my job back?

You know I will.

Cal?

Cal, for Christ's sakes, what

do I tell Jack if he walks in?

Nothing, 'cause I'm done.

I'll give you a hug

next time, all right?

Bye.

Buy me a soda?

Not diet.

Thanks.

Yo, yo, if you want to leave

a message for Kippy,

make sure you leave

your number, all right?

That way I can call you back.

Later for you.

We're sorry. Your call cannot be...

Yo, who this?

It's me, man. Who that?

Me who? B*tch, you the one

got your number blocked!

Don't be fronting me, man.

It's Deshaun. Come on.

No.

Where you at?

Who the hell gave

you my number, fool?

I was just talking to Kippy.

Skippy?

Kippy, man.

This sh*t ain't funny, trick.

Hi. You've reached

Sonia Baker.

I can't take

your call right now,

but if you leave

your name, number,

and the time you called, I'll be

sure to get back to you. Thanks.

Hi. You've reached

Sonia Baker.

I can't take

your call right now,

but if you leave

your name, number,

and the time you called, I'll be

sure to get back to you. Thanks.

Excuse me.

Sonia Baker.

We got any kind of

drug angle on her?

She ever arrested or rehabbed

or anything like that?

Who's asking?

Me.

You're not on the story.

I gave you

the Metro tapes idea, right?

Yeah.

So are you trying to ruin

what's left of her reputation?

Are you doing

this for Collins?

A little context on Sonia?

You gotta be kidding.

Hey, Maurice.

Hey, Cal,

you getting your regular?

Yeah.

Sure. Hey, Jay!

I need a chili cheeseburger, a chili

cheese fry, and a chili half-smoke.

I got the burger on!

Anybody get you yet?

All right.

You're a hungry man, eh?

Yeah.

How's it going, Happy?

That's a long way to

go for another soda.

You want to buy something from

the last bag Deshaun ever stole?

I need 500 bucks.

Did you get the train okay?

What?

Did you get on

the train all right?

Get through.

Everything okay?

You're gonna

make small talk?

I will go

check on the arrangements.

I'm sorry.

It doesn't have to be

a detailed statement.

Short and dignified,

and we'll be out of here.

Dignified. Got it.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank

you for joining us here today.

Mr. and Mrs. Collins would like

to give you a brief statement.

Deshaun boosted

this metal briefcase

from some guy

outside of Starbucks.

That's what we did,

you know?

Grab a guy's bag and

sell it back to him.

Usually we just got, like,

people's business papers and sh*t.

This one?

This one was different.

There was a gun in there, too,

and a little bag of these

weird-looking bullets.

Did you see the guy

that owned the bag?

No.

I told Deshaun we shouldn't

sell this bag back.

I mean, you know,

what about the girl?

But he needed

a fix real bad,

and he and this guy figured

out a time and place.

And that was it.

My boy never came back.

You took these out of

the briefcase first,

and then you called her

from Deshaun's phone.

Her number was there, too.

I figured someone

had to warn her

that this psycho was

following her around.

She just didn't pick up.

Mr. Collins moved to

staunch a growing tide

of hostility towards him

this afternoon

when he appeared

together with his...

...the long line of

politicians' wives.

We've had triumphs

and disappointments,

and we've both made mistakes

that have caused...

apologize for his affair and offer

an apology to his constituents.

Can you believe this?

We're on six channels

simultaneously.

Who might have

wanted Sonia dead?

What? Is there something in her history,

you know, something you

haven't told me about?

Some connections that might

have got her in trouble?

No. No, no. Wait, who...

Am I talking to

my friend now,

or am I talking

to a reporter?

I gotta be both.

You ever heard of a guy

called Deshaun Stagg?

No.

Was a kid. Minor criminal.

Drug addict. Got shot and killed

the night before Sonia died.

Cal, Sonia didn't have

anything to do with drugs.

Look, Stephen,

I'm telling you things

that I haven't even

discussed with the paper.

Okay, you gotta

think about this.

Who might have

wanted Sonia dead?

Who is this man here in all the

photographs where she's crying?

We don't know that yet.

And what was her background before

she started working with Collins?

Well, she has some very

random moments in her rsum.

She was... She waitressed a couple times.

She had

a string of bad debts.

Shoplifting conviction

two years ago.

Don't they do background checks on the Hill?

She wrote position

papers for Collins

about bank regulations

and the SEC.

I mean, a lot of people

thought she was a star.

She was also the lead researcher

on the PointCorp hearings.

So?

Stephen represents the loss of

a lot of money for those guys.

Look, what if all of

this is just an attempt

to marginalize

Stephen Collins?

You've gotta love him

for it, haven't you?

I mean, you give him 24

hours, body in the alley,

and this geezer

will turn it into

a full-blown

corporate conspiracy.

You don't see

any connection?

No.

All right. Let's go

through what we know, okay?

The guy that was

stalking Sonia Baker,

he shot Deshaun Stagg

and Vernon Sando.

Deshaun Stagg, of no fixed

abode, he boosts a briefcase.

Now, in that briefcase

are these photographs,

and according to our source, a

little baggie of weird bullets.

Metro PD ballistics tell me

the casings at the crime scene

were reloads, untraceable.

The slugs were hand cast at twice

the weight of store-bought bullets,

X'ed for expansion.

So that means that the

shooter intended to kill.

Stagg and Sando were

both double-tapped,

one bullet in the spine, one in

the head. That is the mark of a pro,

or at the very least, somebody

with a military background,

perhaps even Special Forces.

PointCorp founded by,

staffed by 100% ex-military.

I think that's a connection we can't ignore.

Chris, how long before

we have to hand these over?

Time to verify,

consult relevant case files,

outside counsel,

But if this is evidence,

don't they need to see it now?

Rate this script:3.7 / 3 votes