"DONNIE BRASCO" by Paul Attanasio Based on the book, "Donnie Brasco" by Joseph D. Pistone with Richard Woodley REVISED DRAFT July 27, 1992 EXT. DAY. WASHINGTON, D.C. An AERIAL VIEW of the nation's capital, MOVING IN on the stolid limestone box of FBI HEADQUARTERS. Supered below: FBI HEADQUARTERS. WASHINGTON, D.C. 1981. CUT TO: INT. DAY. FBI HEADQUARTERS A spacious corner OFFICE. American flag, FBI seal, and a plush carpet -- Federal blue. CLENDON HOGUE, 40s, barrel chest, shrewd eyes over half-moon glasses, PRESIDES behind a vast desk. The impressive mien of earned authority. Before him: JULES BONOVOLONTA, late 40s, Green Beret veteran, SUPERVISOR, 140 pounds of pugnacity and gristle. Ex-street agent cramped by headquarters. PAT MARSHALL, late 30s, a CASE AGENT, compulsively organized, with haunted choirboy's eyes. CLARENCE LEBOW, early 40s. Assistant SECTION CHIEF. Brooks Brothers, heavy starch. LEBOW It's going down tonight. JULES Says who? A fucking wire. LEBOW A reliable wire. JULES A fiction writer. Hogue peruses SURVEILLANCE PHOTOS of Sonny Red and Sonny Black. Then reads the INFORMANT'S REPORT. MARSHALL Is that the 209, sir? LEBOW There's going to be a war between Sonny Red and Sonny Black -- it's all over the streets. JULES Clarence, you couldn't find the streets with an asphalt detector. MARSHALL Sonny Black goes, everyone with him goes. JULES That's doesn't mean it's tonight. LEBOW Even if it's not tonight -- and I'm not saying it's not tonight -- it could still be tonight because it could be any night. JULES Fuck you, Clarence. LEBOW Hey! I'm a Mormon! HOGUE You have some objection to these guys killing each other? MARSHALL It's just that -- one of them's one of us. HOGUE An informant? JULES An agent. Undercover. HOGUE Then why are you depending on an informant? What does the agent say? (off awkward looks) When's the last time you spoke to him? JULES Three weeks. MARSHALL Three weeks and two days. HOGUE He checks in every three weeks? MARSHALL He checks in when he checks in, sir. JULES We had to make up the rules as we went along -- HOGUE My predecessor started this? JULES His predecessor. LEBOW It's been five years. MARSHALL Five years and three months. JULES I am not gonna blow a chance to cripple the entire fucking Mafia just because some fucking empty suit in Blue Carpet Land -- LEBOW I am so sick of your superior New York attitude -- JULES -- thinks there's gonna be a shootout tonight after the fucking tarantella. LEBOW You're going to risk a man's life just to make cases. JULES (right back) Making those cases is his life. HOGUE And how many cases do we have? MARSHALL (guessing) A hundred, two hundred... HOGUE Which one? JULES The truth is we don't know. HOGUE Let me get this straight. Nobody knows where he is. Nobody's spoken to him. He's been undercover five years. He might very well get killed tonight -- at a fucking wedding -- not because he's one of us, but because he's one of them. I've been on the job one fucking week. And it's my fucking decision? How the hell did this happen? Awkward looks and foot shuffling all around. MARSHALL What time's the wedding? LEBOW Eight o'clock tonight. THE CLOCK on the wall reads "9:36." HOGUE Who is this fucking guy? DISSOLVE TO: INT. NIGHT. BAR — WASHINGTON (1975) CLOSE ON JOE PISTONE, 30s, athlete's build, body languid with a killer's confidence. Eyes dead as a shark's. He chafes at his rep-striped tie and off-the-rack suit. WIDER LeBow, Marshall, and two other SUITS around the table. Jules delivers a TOAST. Supered below: BLACKIE'S. WASHINGTON, D.C. JULES ...And so, Joe, we wish you bon voyage with this farewell drink. We'd give you a farewell dinner -- but why spend all that money when you'll just come crawling back to your old desk? Laughter around the table. The CLINK of glasses... LEBOW I would love to know how you sold them on this. DONNIE I told them I wanted to get far away from you, Clarence, They got it instantly. LEBOW We've had our best guys on this since, what, Valachi? Twenty years? MARSHALL Who knows? We never tried anything like this. LEBOW What does that tell you? MARSHALL The Director thought it would be too corrupting. JULES Then maybe I should do it. I'm in a mood to be corrupted. LEBOW You know what these people are like. They're all married to each other's cousin. JULES (shrugs) It's six months. MARSHALL I think it's great. Undercover's a new area. Get in on the ground floor. LEBOW It's a wild goose chase. I'm saying this as a friend. JOE What do I know? I'm just a dumb guinea. LEBOW Don't talk that way, Joe. (beat) Because, you know, you are just a dumb guinea. LAUGHTER from the group. Joe doesn't know whether to join in or punch somebody. Jules hands him a large beribboned BOX. JULES Here you go, Joe. Joe opens the box. A wide-brimmed Al Capone FEDORA. Uproarious laughter from the group. LEBOW If you already have one, you can return it. JULES Put it on! Against his will, Joe puts on the hat. More laughter from the group. CUT TO: EXT. DAY. SUBURBS Three exuberant TOMBOYS play football on the front lawn of a modest split-level home: TERRY, 13, rebel in a hurry; KERRY, 10, the good girl; and SHERRY, 8, the baby. Terry hikes the ball, drops back to throw... A PASS spirals up into the air... where it's INTERCEPTED by Joe, who appears out of nowhere. SHERRY Daddy, Daddy! Joe feints, tries to dodge the girls... Then sidesteps... JOE I'm out of bounds. Stop! This -- look -- this is out of bounds! They tackle him anyway. Grab his legs till he TOPPLES in a laughing heap. MAGGIE PISTONE, a pretty, strong-willed blonde in her 30s, emerges at the front door. SMILES at the scene. Then FROWNS as she realizes -- CUT TO: INT. LATER. LAUNDRY ROOM Joe stands in his suit jacket and boxer shorts while Maggie tries to remove the GRASS STAINS on the pants knees. MAGGIE I swear to God, Joe, I have to spray you with Scotchgard every morning. Joe embraces her from behind. JOE What am I supposed to do? Terry tackles like her mother. He gropes at her. She moves his hands off... MAGGIE Illegal holding. His hands go back to groping. She smacks them.... JOE Roughing the passer. MAGGIE I suppose I should be grateful that it's not blood stains, or powder burns. Like the old days. JOE I got some good news today. We're going back to Jersey. MAGGIE You're kidding! You got transferred? JOE The kids can see their grandparents. Plus it's GS-13. That's two thousand more. MAGGIE My God! When did this all happen? JOE Just today. MAGGIE What aren't you telling me? JOE Nothing. MAGGIE I know enough about the Bureau that nothing happens this quickly, Joe. Especially if it involves a raise. JOE Remember that guy I met at Quantico, that supervisor? Berada? Be asked for me. Safe and Hijackings, in New York. MAGGIE But this is a desk job, right? (beat) I thought we agreed about you going back on the street again. JOE This is different. It's undercover. MAGGIE What does that mean, undercover? JOE Undercover. You know, undercover. MAGGIE Will you come home at night? JOE It's a good opportunity. MAGGIE Undercover in what? JOE An FBI wife doesn't ask, Maggie. MAGGIE Will you be home on the weekends? JOE It's just six months. MAGGIE You waited till this was all decided. You never asked me -- you knew what I was going to say. What do you want from me, Joe? JOE I want you to say, 'It's okay'. 'It's great'. MAGGIE You finally got to headquarters and now you're going back on the street. JOE Don't you understand? I buy a Brooks Brothers suit but there's always a button that comes off or a stain that won't come out -- it's like the suit knows I don't belong in it. I sit in a room with Clarence and the rest of them and the only way I know something's funny is when everyone else laughs. Everything, all day, it's just (gestures) This much off. MAGGIE You're as smart as they are. JOE I could be a fucking Ph.D. from Harvard and it wouldn't matter -- I cannot win. To do something that's never been done, that they say can't be done, that they can't do -- don't you see? That's the only way I'm ever gonna fit in with them. On my terms. She looks at him. Smiles. She loves him for who he is, as frustrating as that can be. She embraces, kisses him. MAGGIE Well, at least you warned me. Remember? 'Maggie, if you marry me... JOE (unison) ...you're in for a big adventure.' They kiss again. And kiss. Joe kicks the door to the laundry room SHUT behind him. CUT TO: MONTAGE -- Present day. The CLOCK at FBI headquarters: 10:07. Hogue RIPS through the case file. A LETTER addressed to the Director of the FBI: BERADA (V.O.) 'To Director: Surveillance and informant contacts to date have been negative...' -- Joe is ushered through the fluorescent-lit warren that is the BULLPEN of the New York FBI office. Shakes hands with GUY BERADA, 50s, a Bronx bull with an unlit cigar. BERADA (V.O.) '...regarding being able to penetrate the conveyance of stolen property by La Cosa Nostra...' -- Joe lines up at the DMV. FLASH! -- his photo for a driver's license. Now he's DONNIE BRASCO. The name types out: D-0-N-A-L-D B-R-A-S-C-O BERADA (V.O.) ...UCA Joseph D. Piston utilizing the name 'Donnie Brasco'... -- An FBI COMPUTER prints out a "yellow sheet" of his prior arrests for burglary -- "a.k.a. DON THE JEWELER"... -- In the jewelry district, a HASIDIC JEW tutors Donnie, who looks at a diamond through a loupe... Donnie surveys a small APARTMENT with a REALTOR... Donnie opens a BANK ACCOUNT... BACK TO PRESENT DAY -- Hogue reads down the BUDGET for the operation... Apartment... $491.60 Furniture... $ 90.30 Utilities... $ 35.00 Rental car... $220.00 Spending money $800.00 BERADA (V.O.) '...This would be accomplished by UCA frequenting locations listed below and attempting to engage in conversation and do business with said fences...' FLASH BACK -- Donnie sits in Carmelo's drinking club soda and watching basketball. At the other end of the bar, two TOUGH GUYS play BACKGAMMON... DISSOLVE to another night, another game, another barstool -- CLOSER to the Tough Guys... On the backgammon board, as the pieces move closer to the goal... DISSOLVE to another night, as Donnie moves closer to the game... On the board again, as the pieces move closer... DISSOLVE to another night, as Donnie moves closer... And another... On the board, as the pieces move closer, and the hand moving them... belongs to Donnie. -- Donnie enters his apartment, sparsely furnished with a bed, TV, weight bench and weights... Gets on the phone... STEVE BURSEY, 30s, Donnie's wiry and wild-eyed CONTACT AGENT, on the "hello phone" at the FBI office in New York. BURSEY (to phone) Hello? CROSSCUTTING Donnie at a PAY PHONE. DONNIE (O.S.) Is this Bursey? Bursey cradles the phone on his shoulder, TYPES... BURSEY (V.O.) To the file: Contact with UCA on July 7, 1976... BACK TO PRESENT DAY -- Hogue reviews SURVEILLANCE PHOTOS of Donnie in Carmelo's... In the Rainbow Room. BURSEY (V.O.) ...UCA reported no significant contacts... FLASH BACK -- Donnie in Separate Tables, a restaurant on Third Avenue... BURSEY (V.O.) ...no significant contacts... -- Donnie wanders the aisles at a drug store, searching for a GREETING CARD. Selects one. MATCH CUT to Maggie opening the same card. Inside it reads, "MISS YOU, LOVE," and NO SIGNATURE. -- A TRUCK HIJACKING takes place on an access road to Kennedy Airport. In a choreographed ballet, the DRIVER gives up the keys to a crew of TOUGH GUYS... Then Donnie and VINNIE THE FENCE help unload cartons of PERFUME from the truck... BURSEY (V.O.) ...UCA purchased two dozen cartons Yves St. Laurent 'Eau My Sin' perfume... -- Donnie plays backgammon at Carmello's... On the board, as the pieces move CLOSER... Vinnie introduces him to JILLY GRECA, a tough-looking WISEGUY in his late 40s. BURSEY (V.O.) ...UCA was introduced to Giuliano Greca, a.k.a. Jilly... -- Donnie opens a carton of WATCHES... DONNIE These go for 80 apiece. My end's 20. BURSEY (V.O.) ...UCA sold 50 Pateau Mitsu Boshi Boeki digital watches... He hands them to... Jilly. Who inspects them. Takes the carton. Peels off bills to Donnie. BACK TO PRESENT -- Hogue, with headphones on, stubs out a cigarette... FLASH BACK -- Donnie sits in Hippopotamus... Casa Bella... An after hours joint... The pieces on the backgammon board as they move CLOSER... Donnie collapses heavily on his bed, amidst the spare furnishings of his apartment... BURSEY (V.O.) ...UCA reported no significant contacts... BACK TO PRESENT -- Hogue opens a BUDGET FOLDER... BERADA (V.O.) New York office requests an extension of six months due to... FLASH BACK -- Donnie and Berada at a booth in the Cockeyed Clam, a manila FILE between them. BERADA I got you another six months. I told them it takes time. DONNIE Same budget? BERADA Same budget. Look, Joe, not that I don't see any movement, but -- do you see any movement? I got my neck out on this. DONNIE Whatever it takes, I'm gonna get these bastards. BERADA Do me a favor. Just get one bastard. Donnie READS from the file. DONNIE (frustrated) '...no significant contacts...' BERADA One other thing. You know how it is with the 'B'. They saw some of the surveillance pictures... DONNIE What? BERADA They want you to shave the moustache. DONNIE I'm undercover! BERADA You're still in the FBI. That's the rules. CUT TO: INT. DAY. CASA BELLA WINTER -- fog on the windows. DISCO plays on the jukebox. Drinking DEMITASSE in the late afternoon: BENJAMIN "LEFTY" RUGGIERO, early 50s, gaunt and raspy-voiced, SWITCHED-ON with nerves, testy and restless. He lights up an English Oval. Sitting around him: DOMINIC "SONNY BLACK* NAPOLITANO, middle 40s. Fireplug muscles, dyed black hair. Sleepy as a lion after a big meal. Don't fuck with the lion. NICHOLAS "NICKY" SANTORA, late 30s, teddy bear paunch. Plays the fool. JOHN "BOOBIE" CERASANI, early 40s, gun-metal hard. All business. Nobody's Fool. SUPERED BELOW: CASA BELLA RESTAURANT. LITTLE ITALY. 1976. LEFTY You can't say to me a Lincoln is better than a Cadillac. NICKY It's the better automobile, no question. Head and shoulders. LEFTY Geddadaheah. Geddadaheah before you make me mad. SONNY Lefty, how you gonna be mad at Nicky? LEFTY I ain't mad at him. I'm mad at his stupidity. AT THE BAR A man sits, unfolds a newspaper. The bartender looks up-- it's Donnie. DONNIE Coffee. BACK ON TABLE LEFTY Ain't no comparison. Cadillac got more acceleration, more power, more— better handling, better looking, more legroom for your legs, more power -- BOOBIE You said that. LEFTY Said what? BOOBIE More power. LEFTY Be got me so fucking aggravated, Boobie, I forgot what I said. NICKY I'll tell you one thing -- the Lincoln is longer. LEFTY Longer what? BOOBIE Whaddaya talkin' about? Longer wheelbase? NICKY Longer. Like longer. In inches. It's a longer car. LEFTY You know something, Nicky, you don't make no fucking sense sometimes. NICKY You got two cars. One's longer. All things being equal, the longer car is the one gonna get there first. LEFTY Ain't the question all things being equal. One's a Cadillac and one's a Lincoln. NICKY The one's longer gets there first. That's scientific fact. (to Sonny) What's better, a Lincoln or a Cadillac? LEFTY Why're you asking him? NICKY I'm asking him. LEFTY Why don't you ask me? NICKY I asked you already. LEFTY That's right. And I told you there's no comparison. SONNY What the fuck are you arguing about? Mercedes got it all over both of them. NICKY Fuggedaboudit. Mercedes? That's a Jewish car. They didn't get it enough from the Germans in the war -- now they gotta be robbed by them. JUDY approaches -- the WAITRESS, early 20s. NEW to the job. Sonny takes her hand, KISSES it. SONNY Angel, how about some pastries for the table? LEFTY WATCHES DONNIE sipping coffee at the bar. Leans over to Nicky. LEFTY Who's that? NICKY Don. Don the Jeweler. Jilly brought him around. LEFTY Jilly Four Eyes? NICKY Not Jilly Four Eyes. You know, Jilly. From Queens Jilly. LEFTY He's a jewel guy? He knows jewels? NICKY What -- you got a thing to lay off? LEFTY Ain't the question, I got a thing. I'm saying, if I had a thing, he could lay it off? NICKY Whaddayou got to lay off? SONNY WITH JUDY as he punctuates his order with KISSES of her hand. SONNY A little cannoli. (kiss) Svingi. (kiss) Zeppole. (kiss) Sfogliatelli. (kiss) JUDY We're out of sfogliatelli. SONNY Oh. Then you gotta give me that kiss back. She giggles, kisses Sonny on the cheek. JUDY Can I ask you guys something? You guys are wiseguys, right? SONNY What makes you think we're wiseguys? JUDY What other grown men would have nothing better to do than sit here all afternoon drinking coffee and nobody says anything? They all look at each other. NICKY We could be cops. LAUGHTER all around. Lefty steals another look at Donnie as he sits placidly drinking his coffee. CUT TO: EXT. LATER. LITTLE ITALY Lefty RUMMAGES in the trunk of his Cadillac. Takes out several DESIGNER DRESSES, on hangers. Two cartons of TUNA FISH. Two large STEREO SPEAKERS. Rummages some more. Finds A JEWEL BOX. CUT TO: INT. LATER. CASA BELLA Donnie sips his coffee at the bar, reads the paper. The restaurant is otherwise DESERTED -- Sonny and the other guys have left. Lefty approaches him. LEFTY You Don the Jeweler? Donnie looks up to the Bartender. The Bartender nods. Lefty reaches in his pocket, produces A FIVE-CARAT DIAMOND RING LEFTY That's a beauty, eh? That's some beautiful thing. Donnie looks it over. Gives it to Lefty. DONNIE Give it to your wife. LEFTY How'm I gonna give it to my wife? I ain't married. DONNIE You got a girlfriend? LEFTY Yeah. Louise. He returns the diamond to Lefty. DONNIE Marry her. LEFTY Are you for real? I'm asking if you want to middle a diamond here. All I want for my end's eight thousand. DONNIE I'm saying give it to somebody don't know any better. It's a fugazy. LEFTY How can you say it's a fugazy? You looked at it two seconds. DONNIE Go ahead, try and sell it, you wanna be a dunsky. LEFTY (angry) I'm a dunsky? Let me tell you something, my friend -- do you know who you're talking to? The Bartender, SCARED -- he knows what Lefty's capable of. Quickly mixes a SPRITZER. BARTENDER Here, Left, have a spritzer. LEFTY (sputtering) My family, my children -- my mother can hold her head up in any neighborhood in the city when she walks down the block. In all the Five Boroughs I'm known, fuggedaboudit -- I'm known all over the world. You ask around -- ask anybody about Lefty from Mulberry Street. DONNIE I'm sorry. It was just a misunderstanding. Okay? Donnie backs off, EXITS. Lefty takes the diamond out, looks at it -- FUMES. The Bartender slides the spritzer over. BARTENDER On the arm. LEFTY Fugazy. Fugazy my fucking ass. CUT TO: EXT. LATER. CASA BELLA Donnie exhales out his tension -- unwinds from the dicey moment with Lefty. Pulls his collar up against the cold, heads up the block. Takes a last look back inside at Lefty. CUT TO: INT. LATER. JEWELER A JEWELER, loupe in his eye, examines the diamond. JEWELER It's a fake. LEFTY This's a fake? JEWELER Nothing is what it seems. Lefty takes the fugazy back. Pockets it. LEFTY Because that's what I'm thinking. I thought it was a fake. (beat) It's a good fake, though, ain't it. JEWELER It's a very good fake. LEFTY That's what I'm saying. I thought it was a fake. That's what I thought. Lefty takes the fugazy back. Pockets it. CUT TO: EXT. DAY. NEW JERSEY — SUBURBS Donnie drives the big station wagon, Maggie alongside him. The girls in back. SHERRY Daddy, will you be home Easter? MAGGIE Don't ask Daddy those questions. SHERRY Mommy, will Daddy be home Easter? TERRY You still believe in the Easter bunny? KERRY You're such a snot, Terry. MAGGIE (to Terry) He'll try his best. TERRY (to Kerry) Don't look at me. I think it's great he's never home. SHERRY Denise in school asked me today what Daddy's job is. MAGGIE What'd you tell her? SHERRY None of her beeswax. TERRY Just tell her he's a salesman on the road a lot. I mean, who cares what he really does? MAGGIE (stern) You be proud of what your father does. Do you understand me? Your father is an outstanding individual. TERRY Jesus. Lighten up. That's not the point. KERRY Shut up, Terry. CUT TO: EXT. LATER. GRANDPARENTS' HOUSE The station wagon pulls up. The kids run out into the embrace of Maggie's PARENTS. Maggie climbs out, turns. MAGGIE You said it was going to be six months, Joe. CUT TO: INT. DAY. ACERG, INC. A storefront for fenced goods. WISEGUYS play cards, smoke cigarettes. The PAY PHONE rings. Jilly picks it up. CUT TO: INT. SAME TIME. FBI SAFEHOUSE A phone line patched into a reel-to-reel TAPE RECORDER among rows of tape recorders. VOICE-ACTIVATED—it clicks on, UNSPOOLS... JILLY (O.S.) Hello? CUT TO: INT. MORNING. CASA BELLA Lefty talks on a pay phone. Watches a MAN, indistinct in the background, sipping coffee at the bar. LEFTY He's okay? PHONE (O.S.) Don the Jeweler? Stand-up guy. Ain't a leech, good earner. Keeps to himself. RACK FOCUS to Donnie at the bar, sipping coffee. Lefty watches him. FLASH CUT TO: INT. THE PRESENT. FBI HEADQUARTERS Hogue listens on headphones. LEFTY (O.S.) Where's he from? PHONE (O.S.) California. He's a jewel guy. LEFTY (O.S.) Where California? L.A.? PHONE (O.S.) Do you know how fucking big California is? How the fuck should I know? He's a jewel guy. THE CLOCK reads "10:25". LEFTY (O.S.) Jilly -- he's a stand-up guy, Jilly? PHONE (O.S.) Look, Left, I said I knew him. I didn't say I fucked him. Hogue hits FAST FORWARD... The tape SQUEALS... MATCH SOUND FLASH CUT TO: EXT. THE PAST. CADILLAC The SCREECH of rubber and THE CADILLAC LOGO as Donnie pulls away from the curb in a screaming-yellow Coupe de Ville. Lefty lights an English Oval. LEFTY Nice car. (beat) Go to 46th and 1st, I gotta make a collection. DONNIE What happened with that fugazy? LEFTY Man oh man, I gotta school you, my friend. Di'n't Jilly school you? The smoke is thick now... Donnie powers down his window. DONNIE School me in what? LEFTY Donnie, put your window up, Donnie. I' m gonna catch a draft. Donnie powers his window back up. LEFTY A non-wiseguy never asks a wiseguy a question. A non-wiseguy don't even talk to a wiseguy unless the wiseguy talks to him first. Capeesh? DONNIE Yeah. I got it. LEFTY You don't raise your hands to a wiseguy. You don't mess with his women -- wife or girlfriend or daughter. Just keep your mouth shut -- don't put business on the street. DONNIE Follow the rules. A CAB cuts them off. Lefty leans over. HONKS the horn. LEFTY Cocksucker! Motherfucker cutting you off. (resuming) You gotta have rules. Otherwise, what are we? We're like animals. He leans over. VICIOUSLY honks the horn again. RESUMES with one eye on the cab... LEFTY Wiseguy has a bag, you pick up the bag. Wiseguy runs a tab, you pick up the tab. Wiseguy is always right -- even if he's wrong he's right. All the way up the line. Connected guy to wiseguy to skipper to boss. DONNIE Like the Army. LEFTY What? DONNIE I said it's like the Army. Chain of command. LEFTY Ain't nothing like the Army. The Army, it's some guy you don't know sends you to whack out some other guy you don't know. The Army's a jerkoff outfit. DONNIE I mean the same principle. LEFTY Ain't the question, Donnie. You see, that's why I gotta school you. Because otherwise you get everything upside down. (beat) You got a girl? DONNIE Yeah. In California. LEFTY Good. Let her enjoy herself in California. The cab CUTS OFF Donnie again... And Lefty BLOWS... LEFTY Donnie, catch up with that cocksucker. DONNIE Which cocksucker? LEFTY He cut you off again, (pointing) That fucking -- The cab! That one! Donnie -- Donnie SPEEDS up, chases the cab... Lefty opens the GLOVE COMPARTMENT. Hits a BUTTON and the TRUNK pops OPEN. A RED LIGHT The cab stops. Lefty JUMPS out of the Cadillac... IN THE TRUNK Lefty pulls out a JACK, hustles up to the cab. THE CABBIE A PAKISTANI, 30s, oblivious. Then he sees Lefty approach in his sideview mirror. LEFTY What's fucking wrong with you? Hah? There's no fucking etiquette of the road with you? The Cabbie flips a "FUCK YOU" signal with his middle finger... Rolls up his window. LEFTY Fuck who? Fuck me? DONNIE OUT of the Cadillac, running toward Lefty... INSIDE the cab, a nervous PASSENGER gathers her shopping bags... SMASH! as the Cabbie's window CAVES IN... Lefty with the JACK... SWINGS down hard on the windshield. From INSIDE, a spider's web of shattered glass. DONNIE APPROACHES Worry on his face. The Passenger FLEES down the block. THE CABBIE hangs out the window, grabbing and punching at Lefty. Lefty YANKS him out of the car. DONNIE Left, c'mon. Enough. Donnie grabs Lefty, trying to pull him off. A DRIVER heckles from a passing car. DRIVER Fuck you! DONNIE Hey, fuck you! The Cabbie hangs onto Lefty. Lefty SNAPS off the cab's ANTENNA, starts to WHIP the Cabbie with it. The Cabbie BITES Lefty. Lefty YELPS, backs off. ON—THE ACCELERATOR as the Cabbie SLAMS his foot down. The light turns RED. The cab FISHTAILS through crossing traffic... The Cabbie trembles with fear, looks in his rear-view mirror as he speeds away. WATCHING HIM Donnie and Lefty, as DRIVERS in passing cars shoot looks of disapproval their way. Lefty lights a cigarette. LEFTY These fucking guys. They come to this country, they flaunt the rules of the road. They give the 'fuck you' sign to a man in the street... DONNIE What kind of bullshit is that? LEFTY Fucking sand nigger. I will never fucking understand it. Why is it always the guy who drives a car for a living is the worst fucking driver there is? CUT TO: INT. DAY. RESTAURANT Donnie sits at a bar with a drink. Lefty listens to the OWNER, toughlooking, 30s, as he WRIGGLES. LEFTY I just want what's owed. OWNER You know, you're not the only guy's owed money. DONNIE You didn't wanna pay it you shouldn't've borrowed it. OWNER Who's this cocksucker? Like LIGHTNING, Donnie SLAPS the owner hard -- forehand, backhand. GRABS HIS COLLAR BELTS HIM HARD an uppercut in the solar plexus. The Owner SAGS to his knees. NAUSEA in waves. Donnie finds the Owner's WALLET in his jacket pocket. Takes the money from the wallet. Peels off a five, STUFFS it in the Owner's mouth. DONNIE That's for the drink. CUT TO: INT. LATER. CADILLAC CASH as Lefty counts it out. Donnie drives through the Lower East Side WATERFRONT. LEFTY (scolding) Donnie -- why'd you pay for that drink? Wiseguy never pays for a drink. DONNIE Okay. I didn't know. LEFTY Always on the arm. (chuckles) You scared that guy, though, managgia -- that cracks me up. I got 26 fucking hits under my belt and you're the one he's scared of. Lefty CATCHES himself -- shouldn't have said that about the hits. BROODS a beat. LEFTY Hey, Donnie, pull over. CUT TO: INT. LATER. CADILLAC TOOLS out on the front seat. Lefty UNSCREWS the dashboard. Donnie leans in. LEFTY Hand me them pliers. DONNIE The vise grip or the needle nose? LEFTY Fuggedaboudit. I'll get it myself. He leans out. Takes the pliers. Goes back to work dismantling the dashboard. DONNIE I don't know, Left. This is the best car I ever had. LEFTY You didn't hear that? That rattling? DONNIE I never had any trouble with this car. LEFTY Give me a hand with this. Lefty and Donnie PULL OFF the dashboard. Lefty looks inside. Feels around. LEFTY (satisfied) It's clean. DONNIE (getting it) Hey, you got something to say to me, Left, say it to my face. LEFTY I ain't saying nothing, Donnie. DONNIE You think I got a fucking wire in my car? LEFTY Did I say that? DONNIE What do you think -- you think I'm a fucking rat stoolpigeon? LEFTY You can't be too careful these days. Even the ears have ears. (beat) C'mon. They need some bodies on the street down at Toyland. CUT TO: EXT. DAY. TOYLAND — LITTLE ITALY A CAR pulls up and two prosperous-looking SKIPPERS get out -- DOMINICK "BIG TRIN" TRINCHERA, fat and fortyish, and PHILIP "PHILLY LUCKY" GIACCONE, 40s, shrewd eyes behind glasses. They disappear into an unimposing SOCIAL CLUB. WISEGUYS stand guard in the cold outside. Lefty arrives with Donnie in tow. LEFTY Nicky, this's Donnie. (they nod) How'd Minx's Magic do in the fifth? WISEGUY #1 He lost. LEFTY How could he lose? WISEGUY #1 What the fuck does he give a fuck? He's a horse. You're the one that's out ten grand. LEFTY Fuck! Now I gotta bet another dime Sunday just to get to where I was yesterday. RED COWBOY BOOTS move up the block... They belong to ALPHONSE "SONNY RED" INDELICATO, 50s, barrel chest. With him, his son, ANTHONY BRUNO INDELICATO, 20s, pale and balding, COKED OUT. LEFTY (aside, to Donnie) Fucking Sonny Red. Sonny Red stops, confronts Lefty. SONNY RED (nods to Donnie) Who's this? LEFTY This's Donnie, a friend of mine. BRUNO Just stand there and look dangerous, friend. LEFTY (proud) Yeah, he does look dangerous, don't he? Bruno SNORTS in disgust as he and his father move along. LEFTY Sonny Red, everything's a beef with him, him and Bruno, that son of his. DONNIE He don't look so dangerous himself. LEFTY Ah, he's a stone degenerate, he's coked-up half the time. Like all these fucking kids nowadays. A huge LINCOLN pulls up. BODYGUARDS jump out of the car. And CARMINE "LILO" GALANTE, 69, fat and bald, huge CIGAR, emerges from the Lincoln. AWESTRUCK, all watch as, surrounded by WISEGUYS, Galante disappears into the club. Lefty watches, stubs out his cigarette. Turns to Donnie. LEFTY The boss. CUT TO: EXT. SUNSET. ROOF Lefty tends to the PIGEON COOPS on his roof, Donnie alongside him. LOUISE, early 30s, a good-looking woman in stretch pants, brings Lefty a SPRITZER. LOUISE Here you go, Bennie. You sure you don't wanna spritzer, Donnie? DONNIE No thanks, Louise. LOUISE You change your mind, I'm downstairs. She heads downstairs. Donnie turns back to Lefty. LEFTY Not for nothing, but... how'd you know that was a fugazy? DONNIE Jewels are my business. If I buy a fugazy, I lose. I hate to lose. LEFTY That's a good business, jewels? Good money in it? DONNIE Pretty good. LEFTY You keep your nose clean, be a good earner, listen to what I school you -- there ain't a crystal ball big enough for what we could do. DONNIE (off pigeon) Did you know there used to be falcons in New York? LEFTY They got everything in this fucking city. DONNIE Peregrine falcons. They lived across the river. LEFTY In Queens? DONNIE In the Palisades. LEFTY The Palisades is Jersey, Donnie. DONNIE I'm saying that's why there's so many pigeons now. The falcons used to hunt 'em and kill 'em off. LEFTY I love these fucking pigeons. I'd die before I'd let anybody touch these pigeons. DONNIE Those falcons could read a newspaper from a mile up. LEFTY A bird could read the newspaper? DONNIE I'm saying their eyesight. LEFTY Hey, Donnie -- you got a couple hundred, Donnie? I got some things I gotta take care of. Donnie reaches in his wallet. DONNIE What do you want, two hundred? Lefty leans over, PEERS into his wallet. LEFTY Whaddaya got there, three hundred? Gimme three hundred. Donnie hands over the $300 -- EMPTIES his wallet. Lefty takes it, folds it into a ROLL. Puts the hundred on the outside... LEFTY Don't be carrying your money in a wallet no more. Wiseguy got his money in a roll, like this. Beaner on the outside. DONNIE You're the boss. LEFTY I'm not the boss, Donnie. The boss ends up dead or in jail. Why the fuck would I want to be the boss? DONNIE It's just an expression. LEFTY And shave off that moustache. That's against the rules. DONNIE Hey, Left, if it's okay, I'm gonna run. I'll see you tomorrow. LEFTY Do I gotta school you in everything? Tomorrow's Mother's Day. Wiseguys don't work on Mother's Day. CUT TO: INT. NIGHT. THE COCKEYED CLAM Donnie sits with Berada as he reads over some documents. BERADA Benjamin Ruggiero. a.k.a. 'Lefty,' 'Lefty Guns,' 'Lefty Two Guns.' A couple of bullshit cases, never did time. DONNIE This is way beyond what we talked about -- fences and hijackers. This is a made guy. Do you know what that means? There's only maybe 3000 made guys in the whole fucking country. BERADA (smiles) It means you're in, kid. DONNIE Can you believe it -- a made guy? (muses) A very peculiar made guy. FLASH CUT TO: INT. THE PRESENT. FBI HEADQUARTERS Hogue reads a memorandum. LeBow on the phone. BERADA (V.O.) ...In light of the above contacts, we request an additional six months... HOGUE Berada's the guy who ran this? JULES I took over when he retired. LeBow covers the receiver with his hand. LEBOW The surveillance is in place at the church hall. CUT TO: EXT. DAY. CHURCH HALL — NEW JERSEY A large RECEPTION HALL adjoining a Catholic CHURCH. Sounds of a BIG BAND tuning up inside. Up the block: MA BELL REPAIR VAN parked by a telephone pole. FBI #1, in the guise of a telephone LINESMAN, climbs the pole... CUT TO: INT. SAME TIME. SURVEILLANCE VAN An FBI TECH TEAM monitors listening devices. An array of SURVEILLANCE PHOTOS and MUG SHOTS as they're spread over a small table. TECH #1 looks with BINOCULARS through ONE-WAY GLASS. TECH #1 (to phone) ...By tonight we'll have a guy inside... CUT TO: INT. SAME TIME. FBI HEADQUARTERS LeBow covers the phone, turns to Hogue. LEBOW They're gonna put in one of our guys as a busboy tonight. JULES Who? LEBOW I don't know. JULES I want to know. If we're gonna put a guy inside, I want it to be one of our best guys. LeBow goes back to the phone. Hogue turns to Jules. HOGUE I want to talk to Berada. FLASH CUT TO: INT. THE PAST. PISTONE HOME Donnie SHAVES his moustache in the bathroom. Sounds of the FRONT DOOR unlocking and then closing downstairs. MAGGIE (O.S.) Joe? DONNIE Up here. ON MAGGIE as she heads up the stairs... MAGGIE I had no idea you were coming home. I'm supposed to go to the movies tonight with the Grants. She enters the bathroom as he wipes the shaving cream off his face. He looks up, half his moustache SHAVED OFF. Her face FALLS. MAGGIE Oh, Joe, don't -- (beat) Forget it. DONNIE What's the matter? MAGGIE I liked your moustache. It's the only thing I liked about this thing of yours. DONNIE Well, what do you want me to do now? MAGGIE I want you to ask me. DONNIE You could've said something. MAGGIE What would you suggest I do -- tell Berada to get a message to you that I like your moustache? DONNIE That's not the point. MAGGIE I have to ask you about every frigging thing. She jockeys for room at the mirror to put on her makeup. DONNIE Maggie, I'll be two seconds. MAGGIE They were supposed to pick me up five minutes ago. DONNIE You're going to the movies with the Grants? MAGGIE Why don't you come? DONNIE The last thing I want to do tonight is go to the movies with the Grants. MAGGIE I'm not canceling. Agitated, he starts to compulsively organize the medicine chest, the shelves. DONNIE Where is everybody? I didn't say anything? I'm sure I said something. MAGGIE Joseph -- I think I'd remember. DONNIE Well, they should be home anyway. What time is it? MAGGIE Sherry's sleeping over at Mom's, she's teaching her how to sew. Kerry's at choir practice. DONNIE Where's Terry? MAGGIE She's with her boyfriend. (off his rearranging) Leave my stuff alone. DONNIE What boyfriend? MAGGIE Kenny. What are you worried about? I was 14 when we started dating. DONNIE That's what I'm worried about. MAGGIE He's a nice kid. Nice family. He's on the wrestling team. DONNIE I'm sure he is. I 'm sure he's practicing his takedowns right now. MAGGIE Maybe I'11 shave my head next time -- see how you like it. A car horn HONKS outside. Donnie's rearranging grows more agitated... DONNIE (angry) I expect you to have some sense of priorities. I put a roof over your head. I put clothes on everybody's back. I put gas in the car. Maggie grabs his wrists... He wrestles her off. MAGGIE Leave my stuff alone. DONNIE I give you whatever I can give. What I can't give you is a moustache. I don't have a choice. I have to shave the moustache. MAGGIE I don't give a shit about the moustache. But if you're gonna live your life however the fuck you want then let me live mine. She storms out. He balls up a towel, HURLS it against the wall. CUT TO: INT. NIGHT. PISTONE HOME—BEDROOM Maggie sleeps. Donnie, WIDE AWAKE, stares at the ceiling. Hears an ENGINE. A car door. 4:32 A.M. on the clock. He gets up. Looks through the blinds. Sees his daughter Terry as she kisses her boyfriend good night. DONNIE'S POV Terry kisses and kisses... And kisses... Falls back onto the hood of the car and slides down it. Donnie senses that he's losing control of his family. CUT TO: INT. DAY. FBI HEADQUARTERS Hogue looks up at the clock. 12 NOON A tape plays on the TAPE RECORDER... LEFTY (O.S.) Hello? DONNIE (O.S.) Left? Donnie. I'm just checking in. LEFTY (O.S.) Where you been, Donnie? You gotta check in. DONNIE (O.S.) That's what I said. I'm checking in. LEFTY (O.S.) Did you see the paper? DONNIE (O.S.) I just woke up. LEFTY (O.S.) How come every morning you're reading the paper except this morning? DONNIE (O.S.) I just woke up, Left. LEFTY (O.S.) Fuggedaboudit. You better fucking get down here. Click! And a DIAL TONE... CUT TO: INT. DAY. CADILLAC The FRONT PAGE of the New York Post -- a PHOTOGRAPH of Carmine Galante, his cigar still clenched in his teeth, sprawled bloody, DEAD in a Brooklyn restaurant. Under the headline: RUBOUT Lefty folds the paper in disgust, lights an English Oval -- even more JUMPY than usual. Donnie drives Lefty's Cadillac across the Brooklyn Bridge. LEFTY The Boss gets whacked. The fucking boss -- you don't even know the fucking boss exists until he gets whacked, and then your whole fucking life gets turned around. DONNIE Where're we going? LEFTY Brooklyn. I got sent for. (mutters) The boss gets whacked. Another thing I get left out of. DONNIE What does that mean, you got sent for? LEFTY What do you think it means? I got sent for by Sonny Black. I'm telling you, I'm sick with this. DONNIE Sonny Red? LEFTY Did I say Sonny Red? Not Sonny Red. Sonny Black. (gestures) And don't ride the brake. Don't drive my Cadillac the way you drive your car. DONNIE How do you know what he wants? LEFTY That fucking Sonny Black. I know him. He gets upped to skipper, first thing he's gonna do is go out and buy a big fucking Mercedes. DONNIE They should up you before they up Sonny Black. LEFTY It's his reward for whacking the boss. Do I have to explain every fucking thing to you? DONNIE I thought you and Sonny Black were friends. LEFTY If you ever whacked a guy, Donnie, you wouldn't ask such stupid questions. DONNIE I whacked a guy once. LEFTY When? DONNIE In an argument. LEFTY An argument don't count. (derisive) An argument -- you whack your wife in an argument. DONNIE I'm just saying. LEFTY Ain't the question. Don't say you know when you don't know. DONNIE It could be anything Sonny sent for you for. LEFTY I got sent for, Donnie. With This Thing, you go in alive and you come out dead. And the one that kills you is your best fucking friend. Lefty lights another cigarette. Donnie powers the window down a crack. Lefty glares at him. Donnie powers the window back up. CUT TO: EXT. DAY. TEE MOTION LOUNGE — BROOKLYN Donnie drives up Withers Street. Pulls up to a three-story building in a working-class neighborhood. Lefty takes a last drag of his cigarette, climbs out. LEFTY Anything happens, make sure Louise gets the Cadillac. CUT TO: INT. DAY. MOTION LOUNGE Nicky and Boobie play gin. Neil Diamond's "Love on the Rocks" plays on the JUKEBOX. Lefty enters. NICKY (sings) 'Love on the rocks, ain't no surprise.' Look't this hand. This ain't a hand. This's a deformed fucking Creature of the Black Lagoon fucking claw. BOOBIE Left. NICKY Left. 'Love on the rocks, ain't no surprise.' (to Boobie) Ming'! I knew you was gonna grab that! Lefty, white with fear, sits down with his back to the wall. NICKY 'Love on the rocks, ain't no surprise.' BOOBIE It ain't no fucking surprise neither. NICKY (laying out cards) Gin. BOOBIE Nicky, that ain't gin. NICKY Geddadaheah, that's gin. BOOBIE You got two sevens. Boobie shows him his cards. NICKY Whaddaya mean I got two sevens? I know I had three sevens. BOOBIE From now on we play the honor system. You don't even show me your hand. CUT TO: EXT. DAY. MOTION LOUNGE Donnie sits in the car. Drums his fingers on the wheel. THINKS... Then reaches behind himself -- UNSNAPS THE HOLSTER strapped to his belt, holding his COMBAT KNIFE. Climbs out of the car. Up a couple of steps. And through the door... CUT TO: INT. MOTION LOUNGE ...into the Motion Lounge. Nicky and Boobie shoot wary looks at him. Who's this? Lefty turns to them. LEFTY It's okay. He's a friend of mine. Lefty glares at Donnie -- ACCUSES him with his eyes: who told you to come in here? Donnie sits down -- something in the placid atmosphere that tells him: this is how it happens. Nicky peers over as Boobie writes on the SCOREPAD. NICKY You giving me credit for that? Boobie slides him the scorepad. BOOBIE Fine. You keep score. NICKY I don't know how. BOOBIE How the hell can you play gin if you don't know how to keep score? NICKY I'm a natural. THE FLUSH OF A TOILET as Sonny emerges from the bathroom, reading a slip of paper. Crumples it, throws it in the trash. SONNY (complaining) Two hundred in action and we came out with 35. That fucking Bootshe runs that book like an old lady. That's gonna change. (off Donnie) Who's this fucking guy? BOOBIE He's with Lefty. SONNY (to Lefty) C'mon. Let's go take a ride. (to Donnie) You too. Donnie and Lefty share a look of FEAR. CUT TO: EXT. DAY. MOTION LOUNGE They emerge. Parked in the back -- a brand-new MERCEDES. Lefty looks at it. Turns to Donnie. LEFTY (mutters) What the fuck did I tell you? Sonny unlocks the car. SONNY Hey, Left -- ride up front with me. CUT TO: INT. DAY. MERCEDES Sonny drives on the Long Island Expressway. Lefty in the front seat, EDGY. Boobie and Nicky flank Donnie in back. He glances nervously at them. Sizes them up. SONNY Ain't this beautiful, the ride on this? NICKY Hey, Sonny -- can't you drive any faster? I got a date tonight out in Jersey. SONNY Which broad is this? NICKY This is the one from the calendar. Remember that calendar I showed you? Miss Pennzoil Air Filter of 1976. Sonny and Boobie MIME holding two big BREASTS. SONNY AND BOOBIE (unison) CHE MENNEL. NICKY That's the one. Lefty, NERVOUS, pulls down the sun visor. Looks at Boobie in the mirror. SONNY Hey, Left, what'cha doing? LEFTY Just checking my part. SONNY (chuckling) Ah, Left -- what am I gonna do without you? (to Donnie) What would you do without this guy, hah, kid? You'd have to find yourself a new goombah. Lefty getting VERY NERVOUS... NICKY That was something about the boss, wasn't it? SONNY We all gotta go sometime. Lefty, TERRIFIED, looks at Boobie again. Boobie nods. Donnie WATCHES this... Thinks: what to do? CUT TO: EXT. DAY. KENNEDY AIRPORT They walk from the parked Mercedes toward a FREIGHT HANGAR. The scene is otherwise DESERTED. Lefty NERVOUS, lights a cigarette. Planes periodically ROAR overhead. NICKY (sings) 'Love on the rocks, ain't no surprise.' LEFTY Sonny, what is this? We glomming something? Sonny opens the door. SONNY After you. Lefty walks into the DARKNESS... A terrifying SILENCE... Then -- RRRRRRROAR! CUT TO: INT. HANGAR The LIGHTS come up. A pale and shaken Lefty looks straight into the eyes of a LION CUB as it GROWLS. A bluff FREIGHT HANDLER holds the lion on a leash. LEFTY Christ. I think I shit my pants. FREIGHT HANDLER It was supposed to go to some animal dealer. Fuck him. I'll tell him it got lost. SONNY Look, Left, he likes you. The cub nuzzles and sniffs at Lefty. LEFTY (to Lion) Get the fuck outta here. SONNY That's for you, Left. For your birthday. Batter late than never. LEFTY That's why you sent for me? SONNY Yeah, why? Whaddayou think, you was gonna get whacked? (laughing) Lefty thought he's gonna get whacked! NICKY (laughing) What a pisser! SONNY What, over that 175 grand you owe down in Little Italy? Don't worry, chooch. (hard) Now you owe it to me. CUT TO: EXT. NIGHT. THE MOTION LOUNGE Donnie, Lefty and the Lion pile into the Cadillac. Sonny, Nicky and Boobie wave as they drive off. CUT TO: INT. NIGHT. CADILLAC They drive back to Manhattan, the Lion GROWLING in the back seat. Lefty turns around. LEFTY (to Lion) Jesus Christ -- shaddup already! DONNIE He's hungry, Left, INT. NIGHT. WHITE CASTLE CUT TO: "Home of the Square Hamburger." Lefty and Donnie approach the counter. LEFTY Forty hamburgers. CUT TO: EXT. NIGHT. WHITE CASTLE Donnie and a melancholy Lefty sit on the hood of the Cadillac, throwing hamburgers to the Lion. LEFTY Thirty years, there ever was a piece of work to be done -- call Lefty -- I never complained. But do I get upped? They passed me by. Sonny Black gets upped. I don't get fucking upped. DONNIE At least you got Louise. LEFTY Sonny Black has four broads don't add up to Louise. You got a girl? DONNIE Yeah. I told you, in California. LEFTY That's a good thing. One broad's enough. She's a good woman, Louise. My son Tommy, she's more of a mother to him than my ex-wife, that bitch, (beat) My own fucking son's a junkie, you believe it? DONNIE You should give him a smack in the mouth once in a while. LEFTY Believe me, I got bruises on my hands. My daughter, Janet -- 28 years old, she ain't married. My daughter Francine, she's out in California. She ain't married. I'm telling you, Donnie, I gotta worry 24 hours a day. A woman like Louise, I can't do right by her -- I ain't got three bucks in my pocket. I got cancer of the prick. My ex-wife, she still lives in the building. I see her on the stairs, I gotta have three spritzers just to calm down. DONNIE What do you mean, cancer of the prick? LEFTY Cancer of the prick. Oh, yeah, you didn't know that? Fuggedaboudit. I'm in the medical books with that. DONNIE I never heard of that. LEFTY I ain't a mutt -- 30 years busting my hump, for what? Sonny Black they up to skipper. Do I get upped? I'm like Claude Rains -- I'm the Invisible fucking Man. DONNIE You know, Left, not for nothing, but six hours ago you thought you's gonna get whacked. LEFTY Ain't the question, Donnie. Did I say I was gonna get whacked? DONNIE No. LEFTY Don't say you know when you don't know, Donnie. You don't know. DONNIE I don't know 'cause you don't tell me. How come you didn't tell me about that money you owe? LEFTY Fugggedabqudit. You know what the vig is on that? That fucking Blackstein is gonna have the arm on me every fucking week. DONNIE Maybe I could help you out. LEFTY I'll tell you something -- I went in front of all the skippers, Sonny Red and Philly Lucky and all of them. I went on the record with you. You know what that means? DONNIE I don't know. LEFTY You don't? DONNIE I do? LEFTY You got no fucking idea, my friend. I'm your man now -- Jesus Christ can't touch you because I represent you. DONNIE You and me, Left. LEFTY I got Louise and I got you. They toss hamburgers to the Lion, the White Castle beside them, lit bright against the bleak urban landscape. CUT TO: INT. DAY. PISTONE HOME A party for Kerry's CONFIRMATION. A PRIEST hobnobs with Donnie's extended family. UNCLE BOB arrives, looks for Kerry. UNCLE BOB Where's Kerry? (finding her) Kerry, that's the prettiest confirmation dress I've ever seen. Terry sulks in a corner. Maggie enters with a tray of cookies. UNCLE BOB Is Joe here? MAGGIE He's on the phone. The cheery hubbub subsides as the noise of Donnie's hollering CRESCENDOES in the next room... DONNIE (O.S.) I don't give a fuck, Left!... What the fuck do you want me to do?... I don't give a fuck what that motherfucker says -- you believe him or me? Awkward looks all around. MRS. PISTONE, 60s, Donnie's MOTHER, sidles up to Maggie. MRS. PISTONE Who's bothering Joseph? CUT TO: INT. NIGHT. PISTONE BEDROOM Donnie sleeps. Maggie lies awake. MAGGIE I want a divorce. DONNIE There hasn't been a divorce in my family back to Julius Caesar. Divorce someone else. MAGGIE I'm serious. DONNIE Maggie, I'm tired. Go to sleep. MAGGIE Will you see a therapist? DONNIE It's just another six months. MAGGIE I can't sleep for six months, Joe. CUT TO: INT. DAY. OFFICE SHELLY BERGER, late 40s, flannel shirt, earth shoes -- PSYCHOTHERAPIST -- sits with Donnie and Maggie. MAGGIE ...He comes home at all hours of the night, without announcing when or why, or where he's been for three weeks. Or three months. Then he expects everything to be just the way he wants it. He vacuums the entire house. Do you know another man who vacuums? It's abnormal. Of course, he expects the girls to drop their lives when he shows up... DONNIE I'm their father, Maggie. I ring that doorbell I expect them home. MAGGIE They think it's a Jehovah's witness. (to Berger) You'd think he'd tell me where he goes or what he's doing -- DONNIE That's for your own protection. MAGGIE Ha! (to Berger) I know he's cheating on me -- DONNIE I don't have to listen to that bullshit. MAGGIE No, why don't you just leave? That's what you're good at. BERGER Please just listen without saying anything -- that's the task for today. Otherwise you just replay the old pathology. (beat) Maggie, you were talking about Joe's disappearances. MAGGIE I never go out anymore. What couple wants to go out with a third wheel? Even when he's home it's not like we have any friends any more. BERGER So you resent him for expressing your autonomy needs? MAGGIE Yes, I resent him. BERGER For expressing your autonomy needs. MAGGIE (unsure) Yes. BERGER And you, Joe -- what do you think you're running from? DONNIE I ain't runnin' from nothin'. MAGGIE (mimics) 'I ain't runnin' from nuttin'. The man I married was a college man. (to Berger) Sorry. BERGER (resuming, to Donnie) Being the distancer forces Maggie into the role of the pursuer. That gives you a feeling of power. Simultaneously you resent Maggie for expressing the very intimacy needs that in your own life you've -- DONNIE I'm an undercover agent for the FBI! MAGGIE I didn't marry the FBI, Joe. He writes on a pad. Donnie tries to peek at what he's writing. BERGER Okay. I want you to split the week in half. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are Joe's intimacy days. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays are Maggie's. On your day, you make one intimacy request. Your partner agrees in advance to meet it. Whatever it is. DONNIE What's that -- an intimacy request? BERGER An intimacy request. Like 'Rub my back,' or 'Help me work out this problem with the kids.' Odd day, even day, Sunday's off. (beat) And masturbate. I recommend it, for both of you. It's a good way to blow off stress. CUT TO: INT. EVENING. CADILLAC Donnie drives. Maggie SULKS, looks out the window. DONNIE Can I ask you something? MAGGIE NO. DONNIE How much is this costing? Maggie doesn't say anything. DONNIE Okay, Maggie -- I want you to answer my question. This is my intimacy request. MAGGIE A hundred dollars. DONNIE That was a hundred dollars? MAGGIE That's what I said, Joe. DONNIE A hundred dollars. And how many of these do you think we'll need? MAGGIE I don't know. DONNIE One hundred dollars. MAGGIE Is this still your intimacy request? Because otherwise I'd rather not discuss it anymore. DONNIE I gotta work a ten hour day risking my life to make a hundred dollars! MAGGIE Who are you risking your life for? Not me, Joe. DONNIE (mincing) 'Will you rub my back'? Va'a'fonaooll. MAGGIE You're an animal. DONNIE You know what my intimacy request is for him? It's very intimate. He can take that bill he's gonna send me and shove it up his ass. Maggie starts to PUNCH him. MAGGIE You're an animal! Animal! Donnie tries to fend her off while he drives. The car swings wildly. Approaching the opposite way: A TRACTOR TRAILER Donnie SWERVES. The car tumbles off the road onto a soft shoulder. Maggie continues to hit at Donnie. He wrestles with her. MAGGIE I hope (punch) those guys you're hanging out with (punch) are laying you (punch) because I'm (punch) not anymore! He looks at her. She looks at him. And they KISS PASSIONATELY grappling in the front seat... He grabs her. Pulls her toward him. Realizes that she is encumbered by something. She deftly unhooks the belt. Kisses his neck... MAGGIE (under her breath) Do it. But he's not buying. DONNIE Maggie -- who told you to wear a seat belt? MAGGIE What? DONNIE It's a simple question. You never wore a seat belt before, Maggie. MAGGIE Wait a minute -- is this -- you think I'm having an affair? DONNIE I didn't say that. It's interesting that you would say that, though. MAGGIE You're right -- I'm secretly seeing a man who wants me to 'Buckle Up for Safety'. We have three children, Joe -- remember them? One of us has to play it safe. She SLAMS out of the car... OUT ON THE SHOULDER with cars whipping by... Donnie chases after her. DONNIE I just asked a simple question. You're the one that brought it up with the affair. MAGGIE Bullshit. It's so frigging ironic that you'd think I'm up to something. My nights are homework and basketball games. What are your nights? DONNIE You know what I'm doing. MAGGIE I don't know a goddam thing. DONNIE I'm doing the job. That's the job. MAGGIE I live like a widow, Joe. That's the only way I can deal with this, with the photographs and memories and our children, and I go on with my life. Like you're already dead. DONNIE It's for your own protection. MAGGIE It's not protecting me -- it's killing me. CUT TO: INT. NIGHT. PISTONE HOME Maggie sleeps. Donnie lies awake. DONNIE When did you all of a sudden from nowhere start saying, 'Do it', Maggie? MAGGIE What? Go to sleep. DONNIE 'Do it.' You never said that -- 'Do it'. You never talked that way before. CUT TO: INT. MORNING. PISTONE HOME Kerry wakes up to an odd groaning and whining noise... DOWNSTAIRS Donnie compulsively vacuums the living room. CUT TO: INT. LATER. PISTONE BEDROOM Bursey INSTALLS a special BLACK PHONE. The girls WATCH with Donnie. BURSEY This is a New York number -- it patches through to here. Maggie flutters through wearing her SWEATSUIT. MAGGIE I'm sorry to run out, honey. I have an aerobics class. Take care of yourself. She gives him a peck on the cheek, exits. Donnie turns to the girls DONNIE That's a special phone. You don't call on it. You don't answer it. Nobody touches that phone under any circumstances. Understood? TERRY Jawohl, Herr Commandant! Terry gives Donnie a NAZI SALUTE. Goosesteps out of the bedroom. DONNIE Hey. Hey! Donnie CHASES her a couple of steps. She HURTLES down the stairs. SLAMS out the door. Donnie turns back. Bursey shrugs, continues to install the phone. Kerry and Sherry indict him with their eyes. Exit the bedroom. CUT TO: INT. MORNING. CADILLAC Donnie drives through a driving RAIN. Looks in the REAR-VIEW MIRROR. Gets suspicious. Turns. A car turns with him... FOLLOWING him. DONNIE TENSE He turns again. Again, the car FOLLOWS. Donnie looks again in the rear-view mirror. Something FAMILIAR about that car... Turns again. A scowl of RECOGNITION plays across Donnie's face. And he goes COLD... Approaching an intersection: A YELLOW LIGHT Donnie slows, then SPEEDS through the intersection as the yellow light goes RED... Checks his mirror—the other car is STUCK at the light. INSIDE THE OTHER CAR It's Maggie. She SMACKS the steering wheel in ANGER. MAGGIE Fuck you. Fuck fuck fuck you. FLASH CUT TO: EXT. THE PRESENT. FBI HEADQUARTERS A HELICOPTER whips across the familiar face of Washington, D.C. Lands on the roof of FBI headquarters. FBI MEN, including Marshall, rush to meet it. Emerging from the chopper -- IT'S BERADA. Indomitable black eyes burn in a face grey with illness. CUT TO: INT. DAY. FBI HEADQUARTERS Berada, surrounded by suits. Hogue paces with DOCUMENTS. HOGUE $9,000 for miscellaneous -- miscellaneous what?... A $22,000 car... $40,000 for X-rated videotapes? FLASH CUT TO: INT. THE PAST. THE COCKEYED CLAM Donnie meets with a younger Berada. BERADA ...I got an agent down in Florida, Fred Calvin -- I got my finger in the dike and he's got his thumb up his ass. A million bucks in it and Calvin's got nothing. DONNIE Meanwhile three years I've been undercover and I can't get a fucking two thousand dollar raise. BERADA Joe -- DONNIE (correcting him) Donnie. Call me Donnie -- I don't wanna get confused. BERADA We've been through this. To get a raise you gotta go up to supervisor grade. DONNIE I supervise my prick. Not even three years -- three and a half years. BERADA GS-14 is supervisors. That's the rules. DONNIE Fuggedaboudit. BERADA Now what the hell's this about porno tapes? DONNIE I need 40 grand, I gotta middle some porno tapes. BERADA Forty grand for porno tapes? DONNIE You'll get it back. It's nothing. Half of them are for fags. BERADA Oh, that makes me feel much better. You don't watch it, you're gonna be back in the buckets listening to the Bulgarians all day. FLASH CUT TO: INT. THE PRESENT. FBI HEADQUARTERS Berada addresses Hogue from his wheelchair. BERADA He has to do some not-so-nice things, sir. He's not undercover in the Camp Fire Girls. HOGUE (reading) 'UCA requests four handguns, preferably .38 caliber, to assist in a bank robbery'? CUT TO: INT. THE PAST. THE COCKEYED CLAM DONNIE You take out the firing pin. The guns don't work. What the fuck are you worried about? BERADA NO. DONNIE Why not? BERADA How'm' I gonna explain that to Washington? DONNIE Hey, Guy, you have to explain this to Washington, that's your fucking job. For me to do my job I need the fucking guns. BERADA There's no procedures for this. DONNIE I don't give a fuck about the fucking procedures. You think (gestures) they have fucking procedures? Hah? I want the fucking guns and I want the fucking money. Understood? Berada stares at Donnie, frightened. On his face we see his doubts about what's happening to Donnie. FLASH CUT TO: INT. THE PRESENT. FBI BERADA You guys said no to the guns. I don't see why it's coming up now. LEBOW There's a 209 that says Sonny Black might get hit tonight. And Joe would get hit as one of his crew. BERADA What does Joe say? MARSHALL We don't know where Joe is. BERADA What do you mean -- you lost him? HOGUE Didn't you think at any point that this was getting a little out there? BERADA Everything in this operation was a judgement call, sir. And we relied on his judgement. He was the one in the field. HOGUE (with documents) These requests have your name on them. Why the hell did you go ahead with this? CUT TO: INT. THE PAST. THE COCKEYED CLAM DONNIE Santo Trafficante -- how long's he been the boss of Florida? You could put his head on your wall. (Berada thinks) If I go down to Florida and vouch for this jerkoff, whatever his name is -- BERADA Fred Calvin. DONNIE Every door in Florida will open for this guy Calvin like it was on ball fucking bearings. But I want the guns. The money. And no more fucking bullshit. BERADA Don't talk to me like you're talking to them, Joe. DONNIE Donnie. BERADA Joe. DONNIE Don't waste my time. With all this bullshit about procedures, you'll do whatever it takes to get these guys. Same as me. Berada mulls it over a beat. BERADA You really think we could get Trafficante? Donnie gets up. Turns. DONNIE If I vouch for this guy and he fucks up -- I'll put a bullet in his fucking head. Donnie exits. Berada WORRIES that this is getting out of hand. CUT TO: INT. THE PRESENT. FBI HEADQUARTERS Berada stares at Hogue, stone-faced. BERADA There was never any moment when I thought Joe or the operation was out of control, sir. CUT TO: EXT. THE PAST. MOTION LOUNGE A LION IN WINTER. Lefty in his overcoat, the Lion on its leash. A cold DRIZZLE falls. The Lion stops, sniffs at an AUTOMOBILE. Lifts a leg: PEES ON THE TIRE Lefty, embarrassed, looks around. NEIGHBORS watch from windows -- some amused, some disapproving. The Lion moves to the next car. Sniffs. Pees on the tire. And then to the next: SONNY'S MERCEDES The Lion sniffs. Lefty tugs on the leash. The Lion resists, sniffs some more. Lefty tugs harder. The Lion lifts its leg... Lefty YANKS on the leash -- the Lion ROARS. Lefty DRAGS the Lion into the Motion Lounge. CUT TO: INT. DAY. MOTION LOUNGE Donnie takes a football bet on the pay phone. DONNIE We got the Colts giving two and a- half. Yeah, (writing) nickel on the Colts. INSIDE Sonny presides over a BOARD MEETING of the Sonny Black Corporation. Nicky, Boobie and other WISEGUYS -- including BOOTS and LEGS -- pore over crumpled scraps of paper. Sonny makes notes in a little spiral NOTEBOOK. Donnie joins them. BOOBIE We had that load of jeans -- remember? Two hundred grand on that... The Lion shakes its mane, SPRAYS WATER over everyone. NICKY Va'n'aool', all over everything! Lefty -- how'm I gonna read this? LEFTY That'll teach you to improve your penmanship. Lefty lays a PARKING METER out on a card table. Picks up a SLEDGE HAMMER. BOOTS There's that guy that's making the Quaaludes for us. DONNIE What're we selling that for? I know a guy I think I could off them to. NICKY Sixty cents apiece. I think it's 60. Is it 60? BOOTS We're doing a dime a week. WHAM! an echoing CLANGOR as Lefty whacks at the parking meter with the sledge hammer. SONNY If you're holding out on me, Boots, I'm gonna chop you up. BOOTS I ain't holding out. It's ten grand a week. That's it. SONNY It should be 25. (to Boobie) You ever off that load of sunglasses? Boobie nods, gives thumbs up. NICKY Bullshit, Boobie. BOOBIE I did so, Nicky. NICKY Who you gonna lay off 18 cases of sunglasses to? BOOBIE I laid it off... to the same guy I heisted it from. (to Sonny) Twenty-five grand. Sonny writes in his notebook. WHAM! Another deafening smash at the parking meter. SONNY Will you stop it with that? LEFTY How else'm I gonna open it? Open sesame? SONNY What are you gonna get out of that, Left? Fifty bucks? LEFTY Ain't the question. SONNY You know, you guys -- you don't fucking think. I'm the skipper now -- I gotta answer. Sonny Red's got 75 million alone just with that trucking company out in Jersey and