The Soloist Page #8

You'll eat it, dust and all.

Okay.

It's good, see.

Sh*t.

Don't put your hands on me!

- Nathaniel!

- Back the hell off!

Don't you ever touch me!

Don't ever put your hands on me!

Please, don't. Nathaniel.

Don't you ever touch me.

Stop.

Nathaniel!

What am I supposed to do?

I should have support.

Hi, Nathaniel.

It's freezing out here.

Don't you wanna come home?

I can't go back there. It's not safe.

Come on, home, Nathaniel.

Nathaniel?

Where are you gonna sleep?

David, sorry, it's Steve. Listen.

Can you call me back

when you have a second?

There was an incident

with Nathaniel tonight. I'm a little

worried. Anyway, call back

when you have a sec.

All right, let's go.

It's my thing!

I claim my right to those possessions!

Show me your stuff!

- Linda!

- What?

- Hey, where's Nathaniel?

- I don't know. I haven't seen him.

- I haven't seen him.

- Hey! Hey!

Is it Darryl?

Hey, stay back. Who the hell are you?

LA Times. That's the last guy

you should be arresting.

- Come on, man! Come on.

- Skid row cleanup, sir. Let's go.

Steve! Steve!

This man is in illegal possession

of a shopping cart and a milk crate.

Are you gonna arrest him

for possession of a milk crate?

- Steve! Steve!

- That's correct, sir.

Take it easy.

Help! Help!

Come on!

Officer, what happened?

A couple of kids came out here

with some baseball bats

and beat the sh*t out of this poor guy.

- Get a name?

- Negative, sir.

Sorry, excuse me. I'm sorry.

Is this Admits? May I make

an enquiry about a... Excuse me.

- This way?

- What?

Yeah, down here.

It's usually on the... I'm sorry.

It's usually on the screen.

Excuse me, ma'am. Recent ER

admits named Ayers, A-Y-E-R-S.

Thank you, by the way.

No.

Hi. Thank you.

I'm looking for a recent admission.

I'm hoping you have a recent admission

with a man named Ayers, A-Y-E-R-S.

I know. Contreras was the reporting

officer. He was the officer on site.

It's not the... It's not the...

Mr. Ayers. A-Y-E-R-S.

Nathaniel Anthony Ayers.

Hi. It's me again.

It's gonna be a long shift.

What's your name?

N-A-T-H-A-N-l-E-L A...

I do words for a living. It doesn't matter.

Whoever has two stripes

on their arm or more.

Ayers! A-Y-E-R-S.

N-A-T-H-A-N-l-E-L

A-N-T-H-O-N-Y A-Y-E-R-S.

No! Do not put me on hold again!

A-Y-E-R-S!

- Lopez.

- Steve, David.

I got your message, what's up?

There was a beating of a homeless man

on Winston Street,

- it was right in Nathaniel's spot.

- It wasn't him.

What? How do you know?

'Cause he's here,

eating a crazy-big breakfast.

I guess sleeping inside

can give a man an appetite.

What?

He spent last night in the apartment.

He came inside.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

I thought I lost it forever.

Hi.

You good?

I literally looked everywhere else

in Los Angeles but here.

Not that I was worried.

What happened? What made you

decide to sleep in here?

Oh, well, a body can only take

so much, Mr. Lopez.

I'm not young anymore,

I'm a middle-aged man.

- You know how it is.

- Sure.

I mean, a body gets weary, a body...

Housewarming gift.

Thank you, Mr. Lopez.

Thank you, Mr. Lopez. Thank you.

I've done good by you, haven't I?

I mean, things aren't so bad, right?

Say, things are set for Jennifer

to become your executor.

I can't believe Beethoven himself

is in my own apartment.

Are you still okay with that?

Having Jennifer handle things for you?

It's all right with me

if it's all right with Beethoven.

Well, you guys let me know.

'Cause there's papers you gotta sign.

They just got back from...

You should read them

so you know what you're signing.

All right, yeah, I'll just sign them

Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, Jr.,

apartment B-116, and the B stands for

Beethoven.

- Read them and sign them.

- All right.

- Okay.

- All right.

What do you...

You got anything to drink?

Yes, sir, Mr. Lopez.

Absolutely, Mr. Lopez,

help yourself to some water, it's where

the dripping sound is coming from.

- At your leisure.

- All right.

Is there a...

What's with Neil Diamond?

I thought that was you.

Well, I'm flattered.

He's a good-Iooking guy.

What's wrong?

What's this business about me

having a schizophrenic mind?

It's, it's... It's legal jargon.

It says that I have a schizophrenic mind.

I do not.

It doesn't mean anything.

- I have a schizophrenic mind.

- That's not what I think.

Nathaniel, they try to put people in a...

- I'm not going anywhere.

- And the good news is that

it has nothing to do with you.

I don't go where you say to go.

I go where I want to go.

You don't put me away, Mr. Lopez.

You don't put me away.

- Okay. Okay.

- You don't put me away.

I'm not gonna... I don't...

- No, no, you don't have to go...

- Yes, you are. Yes, you are.

...to court.

You don't have to go anywhere.

Jennifer will take care of you.

My sister's not coming near me.

She is not coming near me.

- She's not coming near me.

- Okay, remember when you said...

If I say she's not coming

then she's not coming.

You said... Nathaniel, you said...

Listen, I'm not going to have anymore...

I'm not going to have anymore...

I will tell you. I will tell you. I'm sick

of being Nathaniel and you Mr. Lopez.

Okay. I'm not just...

Wait. I'm not your boy.

I am not Mr. Colonel Sanders's boy.

You know, I'm sorry I was wrong.

I'm sorry I was wrong.

I can take care of myself.

I can take care of myself, Mr. Lopez.

I don't need you. I don't need this city.

I despise this city and I despise you.

And if I ever see you again,

I'll cut you open

and gut you like a fish.

Because I'm Nathaniel Anthony Ayers Jr.

Mr. Ayers.

I'm Nathaniel Anthony Ayers Jr.

N-A-T-H-A...

N-A-T-H-A...

- N-A-T-H-A...

- You're of no consequence.

- Hi.

- Hi.

So, that was my first mistake.

The Northridge Quake, '94, remember?

I smelled the toast.

We'd been here two days.

All our crap still in boxes.

And at 4:
00 a.m. It hit.

God, that terror.

You, me and Thomas.

What was he, nine?

All huddled

under that bedroom door frame.

I told him it was a good omen.

Welcoming us to our new life.

Better life.

In LA.

I should have had us

on the first flight back to Philly.

I thought I was helping someone.

And it was a guy who's got a gift.

He's lost his way. I'm gonna...

Inevitably backfired.

He's backlashed to the...

And the very person I was trying to be of

some redeeming service to turns on me.

I'm the enemy. You know?

A stranger.

And...

I don't know who to fault.

I can't see any outcome to support.

Can't believe in anything worthwhile.

Done trying. I resign. I resign.

From everything.

It's... It's official.

You couldn't stop that earthquake.

You can't fix LA in just...

And you're never gonna cure Nathaniel.

Just be his friend and show up.

Good? I'll be right here if you need me.

...go, next to the gold store.

You know what I mean.

He wanted to drink and everything.

Okay, okay, okay. B*tch, slow down.

Do you still love me?

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