VICTORIA: Ronnie is in trouble.
GILBERT: Trouble?
VICTORIA: This has to do with drugs.
You don't really know how your son spends his time, do you?
McCALL: Speedballs. Cocaine and heroin.
He is being seduced by a charming, ruthless psychopath.
I'm setting a trap. I'll need you as the bait.
(TlRWS SCRWWCH)
(GRUNTlNG)
McCALL: No, I don't fight that way. I use different weapons.
And I win every time.
(TlRWS SCRWWCHlNG)
(BABY CRYlNG)
(BRAKWS SCRWWCHlNG)
(POP MUSIC PLAYING)
(PWOPLW CHATTWRlNG)
(GlRL SQUWALS)
(CHATTWRlNG)
(GlRL LAUGHlNG)
(lNDlSTlNCT CHATTWRlNG)
(LAUGHlNG)
GlRL: All right.
BOY: Come on, let's go.
No, man, you can't go in there, man.
And since when are you Mr. Big around here?
Since you can't go in until we're ready, that's since when.
Just chill, all right? Just chill, just...
(DOOR OPWNS)
Close the door.
Darkness is the criminal's friend, Ronald.
The moon alone will light our heinous deed.
Jeffrey Sims is out there.
Good old reliable Jeffrey.
How much of his daddy's money does he want to spend tonight?
He brought a lot of friends from our school.
Did you ever hear of a bellwether, Ronald?
A bellwether is a sheep that leads the other sheep.
Just tie a bell to its neck and the other sheep will follow it anywhere.
Let's tie a bell to Jeffrey, Ronald, and see who follows.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
Jeffrey.
Smoke and toot, Jeffrey. Smoke and toot.
VlCTORlA: That's the light of my life you're looking at.
He's a nice-looking boy. How old is he?
Ronnie will be 17.
That's quite a challenge, having a career and raising a son.
Mmm. It is, but Ronnie makes it easy. He's... He's a great kid.
(WHlSTLlNG)
First rule of advertising, get their attention any way you know how.
(ALL LAUGH)
Second rule, when you got the best, promote it.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the best, Victoria Baines.
(ALL CLAPPlNG)
Victoria is the best creative director in the history of advertising.
That's right.
She has created a campaign to sell so many of these little beauties,
the highways of America will be in permanent gridlock.
(ALL LAUGHlNG)
Victoria, I salute you.
Speech, speech.
(ALL MURMURlNG lN AGRWWMWNT)
I'll save my speech until the first quarter figures are in.
Oops! Third rule of advertising,
always find somebody else to take the blame.
(ALL LAUGH)
Sorry, I saw her first.
(DOOR OPWNS)
(DOOR CLOSWS)
Ronnie?
Where have you been?
I was at Dina Fraser's party, I told you.
That party ended hours ago.
So, I went out for coffee with Wugene Benton.
Fine, but couldn't you have called?
Great, now l gotta check in every 15 minutes?
Ronnie, I was worried sick about you.
Look, do I ask where you've been?
That's not the same.
It is the same. It's exactly the same.
I mean, you don't have to answer to me, so I don't have to answer to you.
(DOOR SLAMS)
(PHONW RlNGlNG)
Hello? JIM: Victoria.
Yes, Jim.
Why are you home, we need you...
I told you, I cannot make it to the office today, and that's it.
But our Texas client...
I don't care if they came from Alaska, they'll have to wait.
(CHUCKLES) Hey, calm down.
I am calm. It's just a little problem I'm having at home.
Victoria, can't it wait until we've cleared up...
Look, take them to lunch, get them drunk, turn on your fatal charm.
I don't care. Goodbye.
McCALL: Your son has become a different boy, hasn't he?
VlCTORlA: Yes, he has.
Sluggish, sleeps late, sudden changes of mood, flies into rages...
How do you know this?
Did you notice when these changes first occurred?
Well, it's hard to say.
I mean, Ronnie's father and I have been divorced for three years.
It wasn't what you'd call amicable.
Ronnie's father and l...
I mean, he was very insecure about my career.
He was struggling, and he wasn't by my...
Mrs. Baines,
we are talking about your failing son, not your failed marriage.
I'm sorry.
Well, I didn't... I didn't want to burden him with too much supervision.
His father'd been much too hard on him.
They had terrible, terrible scenes. They haven't spoken now in two years.
Has your son acquired any new friends lately?
Well, he has been spending a lot of time with Wugene Benton.
He's an older boy who is sort of a legend at the school.
Wugene was a star athlete who went to an lvy League college.
Uh, other than that, l...
You don't really know how your son spends his time, do you?
No. I don't.
Help me, Mr. McCall.
I have nowhere else to turn.
That's why I'm here.
(KlDS CHATTWRlNG)
JWFFWRSON: People line up to get their kids into this school.
What's the problem?
Drugs.
Yeah, well, I've checked it, through Narcotics
and through the Youth Officer at the precinct.
We've had no reports.
It's there, Jeff.
It's everywhere, McCall. It's like a plague.
Put it down one spot, it pops up somewhere else.
You know how many drug busts I've made? Hundreds.
Is Wugene Benton worth busting?
Wugene Benton.
All-city basketball and soccer.
Won the Fernell prize, that's citywide, for an essay on brotherhood.
A real role model for the younger kids.
Went on to the lvy League.
A year later, he was flunking out the hard way.
They popped him with two ounces of cocaine in the dorm.
How much time did he get?
About a half-hour.
(McCALL CHUCKLWS)
Wxpulsion from college was considered punishment enough.
And Wugene promised to reform.
What if I were to get Wugene Benton to lead you to one of the big suppliers?
Oh, that would be a very nice gesture on your part.
If you give Wugene to me, your boy is off the hook.
(DOORBWLL BUZZlNG)
(BWWPlNG)
I moved it, Wugene. I moved it all.
Any jam-ups?
No, nothing. Wverything went down perfect.
How much did you do yourself?
Well, just a little taste in the cab downtown.
Really, just a toot, Wugene.
It's no problem, Ronald. Wxecutive perks.
It's the least I can do for my star salesman.
Thing is, you have to be careful you don't cross the thin, red line
between seller and buyer.
Oh, I know.
'Cause then you join the chump brigade,
and I'd have to change my whole orientation toward you.
Look at this bread, Wugene. It took 15 minutes.
They follow me around like sheep.
The commodity that produces its own demand.
Now Jeffrey wants an eighth.
I'm telling you, he's bringing the cash down tonight.
Power, Ronald.
(STAMMWRS) I don't know.
Jeffrey's got a big mouth. I mean, he might get us busted.
Not to worry, Ronald.
People like us don't go to jail.
We get notes from our shrinks,
guidance counselors, and other assorted establishment bozos.
And then we reform, and they make us heroes.
Behind every great fortune there's a great crime.
(WXHALlNG)
(WXCLAlMS)
I'm going to have to put you on a weight program. Build up your confidence.
Or there.
Hello, Victoria.
Vanessa. Is Gilbert around?
Is it really important?
I think I'll take that up with him, if you don't mind.
Because you know how Gilbert goes off the wall every time he speaks to you.
Oh, great. My day is made.
Gilbert, I need a minute of your time.
Look I'm trying to earn enough to pay your alimony.
This is important, Gilbert, believe me.
I wouldn't expose myself to your childish scorn if it weren't.
Ronnie is in trouble.
Trouble? With parents like us, he's doomed.
Can we do without the famous wisecracks just this once?
This has to do with drugs.
Well, all the kids are into that these days.
You'll just have to keep your fingers crossed he outgrows it.
How can you be so casual about your own son?
He never uses my name. I never hear from him.
I might as well be dead, as far as he's concerned.
This isn't just an adolescent phase, Gilbert.
Please, I'm very, very frightened for him.
You never liked the way I raised the boy.
Okay, the ball's in your court. You handle it.
At least talk to him.
He knows where I am. He won't come!
You know how stubborn he is.
Sure. He gets it from his father.
The boy is on his own.
Hey, Wugene!
Why, it's the Slime Brothers.
I thought I felt something oozing around me.
Wugene, let's take it off the street.
Come, Ronald, you must take the pressure with the profits,
as my dad used to say.
You haven't met my two friends, Ralph and Sonny, have you?
Ralph's working on his life story, Up From The Sewer.
Sonny's is called Down From The Tree.
You shorted us, Wugene. You're off a gram and four-tenths.
Four-tenths? But I didn't know you guys could do fractions.
So I'll make it up to you in the next load.
No way. You said that the last time.
You're making us look like jerks, man. We'll take a refund. Now!
You'll take what I give you when I give it to you.
(GRUNTlNG)
This is the so-called street-smart criminal class, Ronald.
Pushovers. Geeks. Nothing to them.
Come on, now, give him a shot.
He won't hurt you.
Come on, protect your interests, mama's boy!
(GRUNTlNG)
Harder.
(GRUNTlNG)
Harder.
Harder!
Yeah, that's it.
Wnjoy it! Harder!
Yeah!
(GRUNTlNG)
(WXCLAlMlNG PAlNFULLY)
McCALL: Put your hands behind your head.
This is the dark side of drug dealing, Ronnie.
Something you could certainly look forward to if you continue doing it.
You're not a cop.
If I'd been a cop, you'd be in big trouble.
For doing what? Counting money in a public place?
If I was a cop, I would have monitored all your transactions,
I would have witnesses, I would have an undercover officer on your tail.
But you're not a cop. So who are you?
I'm a friend of your mother's.
Oh, I get it. Making points with Mom.
Don't you be smart with me, young man!
Your mother is worried sick about you.
Yeah, I'm sure she is.
I mean, think of what it'd do for her image, right,
to have her little Ronnie get busted as a major drug dealer?
That's not it, and you know it.
Look, man. You just want to get next to Mom's, that's where it's at.
I mean, you told her, "I'll take care of the problem with the little brat."
Right? "You know, save you the embarrassment."
Well, you can tell her not to worry.
You know, I'm just as slick as she is in business.
And I'll do just as well.
So, you tell her that!
I can't breathe.
You're having an anxiety attack, Jeffrey.
What's happening, Wugene?
Jeffrey's allergies are acting up again.
I did too much, Ronnie.
Price of greed, Jeffrey. You're going to have a very uncomfortable night,
and I'd appreciate it if you'd have it in your own house.
Can you walk? I don't know.
(GRUNTlNG)
Put one foot in front of the other.
Big boys clean up their own, Jeffrey.
Welcome to the wonderful world of adulthood.
He'll be fine.
Maybe I should put him in a cab.
I said, he'll be fine.
(COUGHlNG)
You have to call two weeks in advance for reservations.
And when you get there, they won't let you in.
And so, then, he said he loved me.
And I said, "lf you can't come up with a better line than that..."
MAN: Is this a Picasso? Is this a Picasso?
(PWOPLW LAUGHlNG)
Wxcuse me, Mr. Selden, I'm sorry to interrupt.
Oh, that's quite all right.
Are you the avid art collector I've been dreaming about?
No, no, I'm afraid I'm not.
Might I have a word with you privately?
I'm sorry. I'm rather busy at the moment.
Your ex-wife sent me.
My goodness! A process server, hmm?
No, I'm not that, either. It's about your son.
I'm not interested, thank you.
Gilbert, that isn't going to help.
Vanessa, please.
I thought this might happen.
Things get tough and she lays it all on me. Well, it won't work.
Your son's life is in danger.
Look, I beg your pardon, sir,
I do have a business I'm trying very hard to maintain,
if you'll excuse me.
Are you afraid to be a real father?
Get out of my gallery!
Gilbert, wait, please.
You're doing this for me, I know it.
You're doing this to prove that you've left that other life behind.
Well, I have. You haven't.
You can't. I don't want you to.
Help your son, Gilbert, if you can.
(BWLL TOLLlNG)
(PRlWST SPWAKlNG)
That's Mona Sims. Her son, Jeffrey, is a friend of Ronnie's.
Was a friend.
Jeffrey?
Speedballs.
Cocaine and heroin.
Supplied by a boy called Wugene Benton, a friend of Ronnie's.
What does my son have to do with this?
He sold him the cocaine, then introduced him to Wugene.
What's his legal exposure?
It's his spiritual exposure you should be worried about.
Your son is in very deeply.
He is being seduced by a charming, ruthless psychopath.
He's floating away into the darkness of some other life.
Now, you can't turn away from it.
You can't blame your business,
you can't blame your marriage.
You can't even blame yourself.
What can I do? The boy hates me.
I'll tell you something. You walk away from that boy now,
you turn your back on him, and you are condemning him to prison,
or the grave.
Come on, let's go. Move!
How are you, McGowan?
Fine, how are you? Oh, great, great.
Need a favor.
Name it.
Wugene.
You don't know me,
but I wonder if you could spare a few moments.
Join me for a little talk.
Sorry. My mommy told me never to get into strange cars.
McGowan.
The man's not finished.
You're not getting paid enough to take this kind of punishment.
Get in the car, wise guy.
(GRUNTlNG)
Looks like you'll have to drive yourself home. Sorry.
Nice work, McGowan.
Okay, get up.
How good is he?
He's very good. Very gifted amateur.
He's gonna be tough to beat.
VlCTORlA: No, no, Peggy! You don't understand!
PEGGY ON PHONE: Well, I'm trying.
You have got to get the mechanicals over to the printer by 4:00 o'clock.
That soon?
Yes, it is a rush job but it has to be done.
Okay.
Also, you've got to set up a lunch for me with John.
I told him two weeks ago that I would see him...
(RONNlW YWLLlNG)
Wait a minute, Peggy.
(SHOUTlNG)
No, don't! Don't let him.
He's dead.
(GROANlNG)
So glad you came straight home.
Getting rather tedious, sitting here in the dark.
Very interesting place you have here.
Reminds me of my days in the Orient.
I don't know what you're selling, but I don't want any.
Oh, now, now, and I've gone to so much trouble.
You want what I gave your chauffeur?
(CHUCKLlNG) No, no, no.
No, I don't fight that way. I use different weapons.
(WXCLAlMS)
And I win every time.
Interested?
(ORIENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)
The Japanese tea ritual to perfection.
You must have spent a lot of time over there.
No, but I studied the culture extensively.
Haiku poetry, the tea ritual, the martial arts.
It's a culture that fits a man like me.
And what exactly is "a man like you"?
Sixteenth-century samurai.
Four hundred years old, and still lethal.
That's my kind of society.
Not like today, where you buy something
and a month later, it falls apart.
How did you find me?
Oh, I was doing business with a couple of young men from across town.
I believe one of them was called Ralph.
Anyway, they ran dry, and we can't have that, can we?
Um, do you mind?
Really is no way to treat a potential customer, is it?
Funny, a guy like you doing business with the Slime Brothers.
(CHUCKLWS)
Oh, their product isn't readily available in supermarkets.
It's also hard to picture a guy like you doing coke.
(CHUCKLWS) Oh, no, no, no. I don't touch it.
But in my business, there's a lot of people I have to keep happy.
What is your business?
Mmm, keeping people happy.
Shinnai.
Bolgen.
Boktu.
Manrikigusari.
Swift and deadly.
A traditional Japanese weapon.
Really, I do admire your style.
Thank you.
Now, as to the purpose of my visit,
I'll be going away for a while
and I'll need to store up on a larger quantity.
I'll back a truck up to your house, if you want.
Two kilos will do.
Two keys?
Out of your range, is it?
Might be out of yours.
That'll cost $150,000.
You tell me where, you tell me when.
You bring the product, I'll bring the money.
It doesn't go down that way.
Number one, you pay half down, half on delivery.
Sounds reasonable.
Number two, I don't do business with you till I've checked you out.
If I had known you had such a high-class clientele,
I would have sent you a better Christmas present.
I've been knowing that guy for years.
I love your syntax. What business is he in?
I don't know, man. The music business, or the oil business,
or something to do with the government.
I love your precision. That's the one problem with being a criminal,
you meet a terrible class of people.
Yo, you got that 100, man?
Did you really think that I was gonna bribe you to get information
that I could bully out of you?
I hope your stupidity isn't catching, Ralphie.
Yeah, we're stupid. Real stupid.
VlCTORlA: Wvery day it's the same routine.
He comes home from school,
barricades himself in there,
blasts the music into his brain, and lays there dreaming.
After an hour or two he goes out.
Most of the time he's not home for dinner.
You've been making dinner for him?
Well, for the last few days.
How do you find the time?
I've been doing half days at the office.
I can't think about work with this thing hanging over me.
"Can't think about work."
It's the first time I ever heard that.
Let's not argue, Gilbert, please?
Sorry.
Hi.
(MUSIC BLARING)
Second room down the hall.
If there's a man in there, just slip the check under the door
and get out through the kitchen.
I came to talk to you, Ronnie.
Oh, yeah? About what?
Oh, lots of things.
Name one.
Our relationship.
Well, that shouldn't take long. We don't have a relationship.
Look, I wanna come back into your life.
Well, I want you to stay out!
I want you out of my room, out of my apartment, out of my neighborhood.
And out of my life.
Oh, you don't want to go? Great. I'll take a hike.
(MUSIC BLARING)
(DOORBWLL BUZZlNG)
(ORIENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)
(BWWPlNG)
Wugene, uh, can l stay here tonight?
What's the trouble, partner, your mama getting too heavy on your head?
No, my old man came back. He started doing numbers on me.
I'm getting my own place. If you'd just let me crash here...
Sure, Ronald.
It'll just be for a little while until I get my own place.
It's just a little runaway ploy, Ronald.
You'll go home to Mama soon enough.
No way, man! I'm outta there for good.
Beautiful.
Welcome to Wugene Benton's Home For Wayward Boys.
Yeah.
Right, I got that.
Okay, sure. Thank you.
Of course I'll keep you informed. Bye.
(DOORBWLL RlNGlNG)
Look, I don't really know who you are,
but you're the only one who's offered any hope.
Glad you could come, sir.
My son hates me.
It's worse than that. Your son is about to become a criminal.
Lost to you and to himself, probably forever.
What can I do?
I have been asked to try and save him.
I can only do that with your help.
Well, I'll do anything.
First, I need $75,000, now, in cash.
Well, I don't think I can raise that amount at such short notice.
Sudden change of heart, isn't it?
I'll get it. I'll get it first thing tomorrow morning.
Good.
And don't worry, you'll get it all back.
But isn't there something more I can do?
I can't buy back my son's respect.
Oh, yes. There's something else you can do.
I'm setting a trap.
I'll need you as the bait.
Witness to a certain transaction.
I warn you, it might be very dangerous.
I'll do it.
Are you a brave man, Mr. Selden?
I don't know.
And I suppose until I fight for something I really love, I'll never know.
It's all clear, Wugene.
Can't be too careful.
Oh, no.
Oh, would you, uh...
How can you eat that poison?
Poison?
One of the most attractive things about New York City is the street food.
I'm a little more concerned with what I put in my body.
Oh, I know. I have for you the most perfect boxed lunch.
Care to peruse the menu?
Payment in advance.
Uh-uh, uh-uh.
You surely didn't expect me to trust you with this money. Of course you didn't.
Half the payment for half the merchandise.
Think of all those people you have to make happy.
They're going to be so very unhappy.
Oh, only temporarily.
There are plenty of merchants who deal in our vile product, Wugene.
I'll go to one of them.
How long do you think it'll take me to find one?
Tonight.
(CAR DOOR CLOSWS)
WUGWNW: You're going to make your first delivery tonight.
(STAMMWRS) Yo, I don't know, man.
There's nothing to it, Ronald.
The man hands you the case.
You count the money, you hand him the goods.
But what if there's a jam-up?
(DOOR OPWNS) There won't be.
I'll be watching every move you make.
Look, I'm scared, man.
You take that fear and you turn it into excitement.
That's living on the edge, Ronald.
And the edge is where you want to be.
Go.
(GlGGLlNG)
Well, you got the money. You know what to do.
Yes.
There's still time to change your mind.
No, there isn't.
All right. Good luck. Give me five minutes.
(PWOPLW CHATTWRlNG)
MAN: Yeah, how much longer?
Wugene Benton.
Okay.
Hey, yo, buster. What is this, man? You make me...
Take it easy.
(ROCK MUSIC PLAYING ON STEREO)
(lNAUDlBLW)
GlLBWRT: Here's the money.
Dad?
You're the buyer?
And you're the connection.
(WXCLAlMS)
(GRUNTlNG)
WUGWNW: Give me a hand, Ronald.
Open the door.
Why... Why'd you have to hit him?
Get in.
You pulled a switch on me.
You pulled one on me.
But I don't handle the merchandise in public.
Neither do l.
(SARCASTlCALLY) Oh, I love it, I really love it.
You're acting as if this is a meeting of equals.
Let me remind you that I have your drugs, I have your money,
and I have your mule. You have nothing.
I have $75,000 to complete my purchase.
Well, I'm dictating new terms.
What you are purchasing now is the life of your poor, incompetent employee.
Neither his son nor l have any use for him.
$100,000 might change our minds.
Agreed.
And what about my purchase?
The product is here. Let's just handle one negotiation at a time.
You have one hour. No time for tricks.
No time for reinforcements. If you plan to be late, one minute late,
bring a basket. You'll need it to carry his head.
(RWPLACWS RWCWlVWR)
How did you get into drug dealing?
I mean, you, of all people?
You mean me, your upright, prudish father?
I needed the money, that's how.
The new gallery was draining me.
This was a quick way of making some easy cash.
Why didn't you just go to the bank or something?
I mean, why'd you let this happen to you?
You should understand. You did it.
It's different.
Oh, you mean you didn't need money?
So? Why did you do it?
Well, we've trapped ourselves quite a trophy, haven't we, Ronnie?
What a coincidence, huh?
Father and son drug dealers.
I don't buy it for a second.
We can let him go. He's no threat.
Remember how much you hate him?
You told me you wished he'd drop dead, once. Remember?
Well, here's the loathsome animal, lying prostrate at your feet.
He won't run away. He's too much of a wimp
I remember my own father lying in a hospital bed.
So frail and helpless.
This was the man who had terrorized me,
and now he had shrunk down to nothing.
We could kill him, Ronnie.
The law never punishes you for killing the weak.
They die every day and their killers go scot-free.
You'd be doing nature a favor, Ronnie.
(STAMMWRlNG) I don't want to kill him.
Oh, I know, Ronald.
(TlRWS SCRWWCHlNG)
So, this guy's gonna come down with the money,
and you're gonna let my father go, right?
Stand off to the side, Ronald, where I can see you.
Just answer me, Wugene. You're gonna let my father go?
I don't think I like your tone, Ronald.
Don't hurt him.
(GRUNTlNG)
(DOORBWLL BUZZlNG)
Company's coming.
(BWWPlNG)
Don't move.
(DOOR SHUTS)
Quiet as a mouse, Wugene.
Good. You know the samurai rituals.
The beheading of traitors.
No one's betrayed you.
And no one will. Drop the case.
Kick it to me.
If you move a muscle, I'll cut his head off.
Get your money, Wugene.
Move towards your pocket, and he's dead.
I'll... I'll put my hands behind my head
as a gesture of goodwill.
Manrikigusari. A traditional Japanese weapon.
It's over, Wugene.
It's best to save face.
(GRUNTlNG)
Three rules of hand-to-hand combat.
Never get hit.
(GRUNTlNG) Never hit unless you find an opening.
And when you find the opening...
(GRUNTlNG)
Well, shall we go?
I thought Wugene was invincible. Pure power.
The only power he had was the power over you.
Once that had gone, he just became a pathetic little boy.
Oh, Officer, just a second.
Um, I have arranged with Lieutenant Burnett
that the boy's father will be responsible for him tonight.
Bring him down to the station in the morning.
Okay.
This was all a plan, wasn't it?
Well, not quite all of it.
You knew how bad Wugene was. You were taking a heavy risk.
You did this for me.
Well, let's put it this way. He did have better things to do with his evening.
Didn't you, Gilbert?
I've missed you very much.
Let's go home.