"BEYOND THE BADGE" by Robert Carl Johnson DreamCatcher Entertainment Robert Carl Johnson FADE IN: EXT. SERIES OF SHOTS - DAY -- The sun seeps from blackness, rising behind the LAPD Academy's stone entrance and hills. JACK (V.O.) Welcome to my world... A hawk flies out of light shards, into the clear sky. Intermittent cries as it flies. JACK (V.O.) ...My name's Jack Hawk. Far below, the Academy athletic field draws closer. A muted chant and the quiet echo of steady, rapid series of gunfire slowly increases. Cadets jog in squad formation on the track and chant, "One two three four - easy living ain't no more. Five six seven eight - L-A-P-D is our fate." They wear gray sweat suits. The hawk soars into the clear blue. The chant subsides. Far below, the steady, rapid series of gunfire gets louder as the hawk dives at the pistol range. Cadets shoot at targets and wear light blue uniforms. The hawk glides over targets and soars toward the -- -- distant Dodger Stadium. The hawk glides past empty stadium bleachers, turns toward the -- -- L.A. City Hall, swinging gracefully, moving closer. The hawk swoops around the City Hall's pointed roof, -- -- floats past skyscraper windows shadowing mundane tasks of blue collar America, then -- -- glides above the Harbor Freeway gridlock traffic toward the Watts Towers where -- -- South Central L.A gang-bangers hang out in a housing project, play basketball and shoot dice. Kids play on a rusty Jungle-Gym and ride battered bikes in the street. JACK (V.O.) Life in America's nasty streets is played and scored by a set of rules... A pimp swaggers from a new Mercedes and argues with two prostitutes on the sidewalk. Distant automatic gunfire. JACK (V.O.) ...that sane people never dream... -- Gang-bangers cruise in a lowrider and fire automatic weapons into an old house. JACK (V.O.) ...in their worst nightmare... The lowrider races past an alley where a man sells a teenage boy a balloon of heroin. -- The hawk circles the Watts towers, its cry blending into the siren's wail as it streaks toward an ambulance and two patrol cars, emergency lights flashing, as they race into a hospital's emergency entrance and skid to a stop. JACK (V.O.) ...This is my beat... Uniformed officers run from their cars to the ambulance. Attendants remove a gurney. An oxygen mask hides the patient's face. JACK (V.O.) ...If you dare, step into my terrifying world beyond the badge. Doctors and nurses rush from the building, examine the patient and push the gurney into the hospital. The hawk's scream fades to laughter, grunts and cheers. EXT. JACK'S HOUSE REAR YARD PATIO - DAY SUPER: "THREE YEARS PREVIOUS" Laughter, grunts and cheers. JACK HAWK, JACK JUNIOR (8, "J.J."), STU LANE and ARTHUR LANE (8) play basketball. JANET LANE places food on a picnic table. A barbecue smolders. The Lane's are African American. CHRIS HAWK carries a tray of four Budweizer beer bottles, bumps open the house back door with her butt and strides to a picnic table. She's a delicate, feisty Latina with an alley cat's street moxie. CHRIS Take a break, guys. Stu and Jack, hot and sweaty, tiredly wave at Chris and collapse into chase lounges. She gives them a beer. They nod thanks, then take huge gulps and grin. Chris and Janet sip beer and set the table. JACK Hey, babe. Good news. Stu's and my transfer to Narcotics been approved. We'll kick ass in South- East Division. CHRIS Watt's? JACK Yeah. JANET I don't like it. That's a dangerous area! STU L-A's dangerous even if your not a cop. And we're still partners. Jack and Stu slap a "high five" and toast beer bottles. JACK Busting dopers will be a blast! CHRIS Did you consider the blast might come your way? JACK I'm allergic to lead, but my pencil's not. CHRIS There's other way's to get it, even for your pencil. JACK Guess I'm a lucky kind of guy. Chris stares at him, hands on hips, shakes her head. Jack grins devilishly. Chris shares worried glances with Janet as they set the table. Jack glances at hamburgers cooking on the barbecue then looks at his wristwatch. INT. JACK'S UNDERCOVER CAR - DAY SUPER: "THREE YEARS LATER" A heartbeat sounds. New two-door car parked on a residential street. Jack grasps the steering wheel, looks at the Watts Towers, then at his watch and nods grimly at OTIS. Otis grins, rolls his eyes like an African American Groucho Marks wearing a gold-chained and pimp rags. Jack wears an Oakland Raider football tee-shirt, Levis and tennis shoes. OTIS What's the secret word, Jack? JACK Survival. Otis looks serious, puffs a large cigar and nods. Jack speaks into a mike. JACK Eight Y Four Twenty-one to... INT. PATROL CAR - SAME A heartbeat. Parked behind Jack's car. Uniformed officers LEONARD MCDUFFY and CLOVIS MILLS, African American, share crazy grins. They're nicknamed the "Leper-Coons." JACK (V.O.) (radio broadcast) ...Eight A Forty-seven and Y Four Twenty-one Adam. It's a go, Stu. Take your pad. CLOVIS The party's startin', you fuckin', leper. LEONARD Let's tap-dance, you fuckin' coon. They laugh. SERIES OF SHOTS - SAME - SIMULTANEOUS RAIDS -- The heartbeat tempo increases. Jack and Otis bail out of the undercover car and grip .38 revolvers. Leonard and Clovis blast out of the patrol car and race behind Jack and Otis toward an old stucco house. Leonard grips a 12 gauge shotgun; Clovis a .9 mm automatic. -- The heartbeat tempo increases. Otis' back is against the house, next to the back door. Clovis, at the house's left back corner, glances around. -- Leonard grins at Jack from the house's right front corner. Jack pounds a fist on the front door, shouts, gun in hand, and stands off to the side of the door. -- RUDY and Stu jump out of a new two-door undercover car and sprint toward the sidewalk. Rudy grips a .45 automatic; Stu a .38 revolver. Rudy wears camouflage pants, Hawaiian shirt and combat boots. Stu's dressed like a gang member with a red bandana (dew-rag) on his head. Two uniformed officers bail out of a patrol car, carrying a 12 gauge shotgun and a .9 mm automatic, and run behind Rudy and Stu toward an old wooden house. -- OPIE HUGHES sits on a bed and snorts cocaine lines through a straw from a mirror on his lap. He wears only pants. IDA MAE (18) pouts and sits in bed nude. He gives her the straw. She snorts several lines. They're African American. EXT. WASHINGTON'S HOUSE - SAME Leonard grins at Jack from the stucco house's right front corner. Jack pounds a fist on the front door. JACK Open the door! L-A-P-D! We have a search warrant! He wipes sweat from his brow, takes deep breath and kicks the door open. The last heartbeat pounds and the hawk's screams. INT. WASHINGTON'S LIVING ROOM - SAME Jack and Leonard cautiously enter. Jack looks into a -- BEDROOM, rushes to AMBROSE WASHINGTON and sticks the revolver into his face. He yanks back bed covers, rolls Washington over, cuff his hands behind his back and he stirs awake. He's African American. Otis runs into the room, revolver in hand. OTIS Wish all raids went down this easy. They grin at Washington. JACK Your local narcs wish you a good morning, Ambrose. WASHINGTON What you want? JACK Your ass in jail. Tell me everything about Derrick Strom, the Lord, and I'll ask the D-A to have mercy on your soul. WASHINGTON Who's Strom? JACK (to Otis) He wants to play games... Washington watches Otis and Jack share crazy grins. JACK (to Washington) ...I love games. Let's play my favorite. Called K-G-B... Washington appears confused. JACK ...Kill Greedy Bastards. WASHINGTON I don't wants to play your game. JACK You'll get a big bang out of it. Believe me. A real bang. Washington watches Jack open his gun cylinder, remove all bullets and put one back into the cylinder. Jack turns to Otis, closes gun cylinder and share crazy grins. JACK (to Washington) You play, you pay. He spins the cylinder, sticks the gun barrel into Washington's mouth and pulls the trigger. The firing pin snaps. Jack grins at Washington's terror. JACK You win round one. Five to go... He pulls the trigger. The firing pin snaps. He grins at Otis. JACK ...Wow, two! This doesn't happen very often, Otis. Ambrose is a real lucky guy... (grins at Washington) ...I never loose. Washington, wild-eyed, shakes his head. Jack pulls the trigger twice. The firing pin snaps. He pulls the gun barrel out of Washington's mouth. Washington's ready for insanity commitment. WASHINGTON What you wants to know about Strom? Jack turns to Otis, opens the empty cylinder and reloads six bullets. They grin. JACK Works every time. EXT. HUGHES' HOUSE - FRONT / BACK - SAME An uniformed officer at a wooden house's right front side grips a .9 mm automatic. Rudy pounds on the front door, shouts and holds a .45 automatic. RUDY L-A-P-D! Open the door! We have a search warrant! He draws a leg back, ready to kick a solid, wooden door. An uniformed officer holds a 12 gauge shotgun, glances around the house's back area and looks at Stu; back against wooden siding at left of the back door, holding a .38 revolver. INT. HUGHES' BEDROOM - SAME A door kick. Wood breaks. Ida Mae screams and clutches the sheet to her neck. Hughes jerks the straw from his nose, grabs a .45 automatic and ammo clips from a night stand drawer and runs from the room. EXT. HUGHES' HOUSE - SAME Rudy kicks the front door and it holds solid. Bullets rip through it and one nips off a chunk of boot sole and exits a camouflaged spot on Rudy's pants. He dives onto the porch and crawls away as bullets rip through the door. Stu's leg is drawn back to kick the back door and it bursts open. Hughes appears startled, shoots Stu in chest, blasts him onto a garbage pile at the bottom of the steps, chest bloody, arm outstretched, revolver loose in his hand. JACK (V.O.) I'll radio Stu that all's secure. An uniformed officer points a 12 gauge shotgun at Hughes, crouched and pointing a .45 automatic at the officer. The officer blasts holes into the wooden siding, next to the back door. Filthy paint chips and wood splinters tear into Hughes' face. He slams the door closed and -- INT. KITCHEN - SAME dives to the floor. A shotgun blast. Pellets rip through the door and destroy a filthy stove, blasting a pot of beans against the wall. INT. JACK'S UNDERCOVER CAR - SAME Jack takes a mike from the glove compartment, turns on the police radio. Three shrill beeps. He looks anxious. A heartbeat booms. MALE (V.O.) (radio broadcast) All units in the vicinity of sixty- seven East One Fourteen Street, and Eight A Thirty-two. Shooting in progress... EXT. HUGHES' HOUSE BACKYARD - SAME An uniformed officer fires a 12 gauge shotgun at the house and shreds wood. Stu lays in garbage. Filthy paint chips and wood splinters fall on him. MALE (V.O.) (radio broadcast) ...Officer's need help. Officer down. Ambulance responding. Eight A Thirty-two, your call's code three. INT. HUGHES' LIVING ROOM - SAME Hughes fires from the front window at an uniformed officer crouched behind the corner of a neighbor's house. Bullets slam through windows and walls and spray debris. EXT. HUGHES AND NEIGHBOR'S HOUSES / STREET - SAME Excited neighbors run out of houses. Distant sirens. Rudy fires a .45 automatic over the undercover car's hood. Incoming bullets punch metal, glass and ricochet off the pavement. Jack's undercover car skids to a stop. He leaps out and sprints in a crouch. Bullets chip pavement at his feet. He dives behind Rudy's car and grasps a .38 revolver. Bullets destroy Rudy's car as he fires at Hughes' house. Jack points at Hughes' neighbor's house and sprints from the car. Bullets zing and ricochet off pavement at his feet. He races to the sidewalk and across the neighbor's front lawn. A bullet smacks a tree by his head. He dashes down the DRIVEWAY, skids to a stop in the BACK YARD, gasps for breath and sees a Garden Of Eden. A low- trimmed hedge separates Eden from Hughes' filthy yard. Distant pistol shots. Jack spots Stu sprawled in garbage at the foot of Hughes' rear door. Movement catches his eye. He spins and points his gun at the uniformed officer holding a 12 gauge shotgun. He lowers his gun and gives a "thumbs up" signal. The officer fires at Hughes' house. Jack crawls across the YARD, through a hedge hole, over to Stu. Shredded wood and paint chips fall on them. He gently touches Stu's face and puts his ear to Stu's mouth. Tears fill his eyes. He kisses Stu's forehead. INT. HUGHES' BEDROOM - SAME Distant shotgun blasts and pistol shots. Pellets rip through the wall and zing through the air. Debris falls onto a sheet covered body. The sheet explodes back. Naked and terrified, Ida Mae runs into a closet and slams the door closed. Pellets rip through the door and spray the room. She blasts out, chest bloody, spins and dances death's jig and slams face up onto the bed. LIVING ROOM Hughes frenziedly fires the .45 automatic out windows. Metallic click. Bullets slam through walls, destroy a pool table. Balls burst into colorful chips. He races into the -- KITCHEN, grabs an ammo clip from a pocket, reloads, and shoots from a window. Metallic click. He dashes into the -- BEDROOM It's surreal. Normal Sound and motion's suspended. Pellets slam through walls and shower debris. Ida Mae's body jumps from pellets impact. Pellets rip into Hughes' shoulder. He spins, drops on top of Ida Mae, gazes into vacant eyes, rolls off the bed and his face slams the floor. Fingers crawl - a giant tarantula - the thread-bare carpet, and under the bed they slide over a sawed-off double barrel 12 guage shotgun's chopped-off wooden stock. A finger wraps around the trigger. Normal sound and motion's restored: moaning, shotgun blasts, pistol shots, approaching sirens. EXT. HUGHES' AND NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE - SAME Jack, filthy and exhausted, drags Stu across Hughes' BACK YARD, through the hedge hole and across the neighbor's yard. Shotgun blasts. Pistol shots. Approaching sirens. He crawls and drags Stu onto the driveway. Zigzag tire tread roll and stop two feet from his head. The DRIVER and ATTENDANT leap from an ambulance, remove a gurney and roll it to Stu. ATTENDANT You okay? JACK Yeah! Help Stu! Shot in the chest! The attendants place a compress over Stu's chest wound, put him on the gurney and slide it into ambulance. The ambulance speeds away - siren - emergency lights. Leonard and Clovis race around the house's corner, dodge the ambulance fender and run to Jack. Leonard has a 12 gauge shotgun; Clovis a .9 mm automatic. LEONARD There's nothin' you can do. Stu's gonna be okay. Distant sirens. Jack's dull gaze turns from the empty driveway and stares at wildness in Leonard's eyes. JACK How'd you get here? LEONARD Saw you drive crazy from Washington's pad, turned on our car radio and responded here. JACK Oh. CLOVIS You gonna be okay? JACK Yeah. I should've been with Stu. LEONARD Bullshit! You both had ah pad to cover. Did it by the book! Jack takes a deep breath and yanks a revolver from a hip holster, under the Raider tee-shirt. JACK It's time to play catch up! Jack, Leonard and Clovis stampede up the driveway and across the NEIGHBOR'S FRONT YARD toward Hughes' house. Rudy runs from his car and joins the pack, .45 automatic in hand. They leap onto HUGHES' PORCH. Jack kicks the door open. INT. HUGHES' LIVING ROOM - SAME The front door smashes open. Jack, Clovis, Leonard and Rudy burst inside. Jack and Clovis cautiously enter different doorways. Leonard and Rudy cautiously enter a -- BEDROOM Ida Mae's corpus sprawls on the bed. Surrealistically, Hughes struggles up from behind the bed, swings the sawed-off shotgun toward Leonard and Rudy, diving in opposite directions. Gun flashes overlap, rumble like thunder and crash deafeningly as flame and pellets spit from Hughes and Leonard's shotgun barrels and .45 bullets spray the air. Hughes is blown onto his back; a bloody heap on the floor. Sounds and motion's normal. Jack and Clovis run inside and stare at Ida Mae and Hughes. Leonard leaps to his feet, strolls to Hughes, nudges his shoe against Hughes' head and it rolls to one side. Rudy levers off floor and jams the .45 automatic in a shoulder holster. Everyone stares at the carnage, then enter the -- LIVING ROOM Pieces of balls crunch under their feet. Leonard reverently lays the shotgun on the destroyed pool table, grins, claps his hands and tap-dances a few steps. LEONARD Two in the side pocket. Games over. You don't get ah shot. A dark skin hand lifts the chipped que ball off the floor. Clovis seriously examines the ball and grins. EXT. HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ENTRANCE - SAME (Page 2 scene) The hawk circles the Watts towers, its cry blending into the siren's wail as it streaks toward an ambulance and two patrol cars, emergency lights flashing, as they race into a hospital's emergency entrance and skid to a stop. CLOVIS (V.O.) You crackers sho can gang-bang a righteous pool table. Uniformed officers run from their cars to the ambulance. Attendants remove a gurney. An oxygen mask hides the patient's face. Doctors and nurses rush from the building, examine the patient and push the gurney into the hospital. The hawk's scream fades. INT. EMERGENCY LOBBY / HALLWAY - SAME Explosive tension. Doctors, nurses, attendants and uniformed officers rush around - shout orders - roll a crash cart - examine the patient being pushed into an -- EXAMINATION ROOM The patient's lifted onto a table. A feverish effort to save the patient's life: machines - IV - plastic bags - patient's shirt is cut open. A nurse removes the oxygen mask. Stu's unconscious. She examines the inside his mouth then replaces the oxygen mask. INT. HUGHES' LIVING ROOM - SAME Clovis sets the chipped que ball on the pool table - chalks a stick - lines up a shot - hits the que ball - wobbles it across the table - bank shoots it into a pocket. He grins and gives Leonard the stick. INT. EMERGENCY ROOM - SAME Doctors and nurses feverishly try to save Stu's life. CLOVIS (V.O.) That's how us bro's shoot. INT. HUGHES' LIVING ROOM - SAME Leonard, Jack, Clovis and Rudy stand by the pool table. JACK Clovis! Tell blue-suiters to crime tape the house and perimeter. Only O-I-S-T dicks get inside. CLOVIS Yas sir, boss man. (runs out front door) JACK What kind of ammo did you use? RUDY Hollow points. INT. HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM - SAME A feverishly effort to save Stu's life. Distant siren. JACK (V.O.) Nice job but you missed his head. I should have taken him down. It's a good shooting but bad ammo. INT. HUGHES' LIVING ROOM - SAME Siren increases, then stops. Jack, Leonard and Rudy are by the pool table. RUDY Suspension's cheaper than buying the farm. Two ambulance attendants rush in. One carries a medical box. Jack points at Hughes' open bedroom door. The attendants rush into the -- BEDROOM One attendant removes bandages from the box. The other attendant puts a stethoscope on Hughes' bloody chest, listens, looks at partner and shakes his head. Jack casually leans against the doorjamb. JACK Don't use lights or siren. No need to rush to the hospital. The attendants stare at Jack's cold expression, then share disbelief looks. INT. HOSPITAL SURGERY ROOM - LATER Jack grimly watches through a door window at Stu in surgery. INT. HOSPITAL WAITING ROOM - LATER Soothing music. Jack holds Janet's hand and sit on a couch. JANET Oh, Jack. Why? He has a look of remembrance. FLASHBACK SEQUENCE - NIGHT / DAY - THE PLAN / FRIENDSHIP -- The Academy bar's very active. Rock and Roll music. Cops dance, drink, eat popcorn from bowls and wear suits and casual clothes. Two cops argue, then storm out a rear door. Jack and Stu drink at a table and watch the cops fight in the rock garden. STU Going after Strom and his gang's the Major Violators' job. Not ours. He's to big for us. JACK They operate in our area. That makes them fair game. When it comes to dopers, rules don't count. JACK (V.O.) Keep the faith and good thoughts. -- The Hawk's and Lane's double church wedding. -- Janet lies in a hospital bed and holds a baby. Stu holds her hand. Chris, very pregnant, puts flowers into a vase. Jack ties balloons on the end of the bed. -- Chris and Janet watch Jack, Stu, Arthur and "J.J." play in beach surf. Boy's (4). -- The Hawk's and Lane's enjoy a Disneyland ride. Arthur and J.J. (8). BACK TO SCENE Jack forces a tight smile and comforts Janet. INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY - NIGHT Clovis and Leonard wear uniforms, grimly swagger from an elevator, give nurses a lascivious look as they pass and continue around a corner. Jack paces the floor, surprised to see them. CLOVIS We volunteered for the morning watch relief. Leonard rubs his stubble jaw and glares at doors 459 and 460. LEONARD More like graveyard relief. JACK I can't believe Hughes is alive. LEONARD Heard a nurse say, if he lived, he'd piss and shit in ah sack. CLOVIS (rubs his crouch) He's ah candidate for lieutenant. Ms. Shotgun gave his last blow job. LEONARD I'd blown the dew-rag off his head, but he wasn't wearin' one! CLOVIS Well, Leper, least you chopped his bones into dog meat. Now that raggedy dude ain't ever walkin' and is gonna talk lady like. Clovis and Leonard tap-dance a few steps and perform a complicated hand and elbow slap routine. JACK Cut the crap! Hughes hasn't began to pay for shooting Stu. He strides to the door 459 and yanks it open. HUGHES' ROOM Jack glares at Hughes, asleep, on a life-support machine: lips quiver as he moans, sheet rises and falls as he breaths. Jack's head touches the pillow, lips at Hughes' ear; lovers exchanging tender thoughts. JACK Listen close, asshole. You're going to die. Hughes' moans roll to feverish pitch. Eyes snap open in terror. Jack goes nose-to-nose. JACK Welcome to reality. I'm snapping your stick and sending you to hell. He steps back, stares at the life support machine, then reaches for electrical plug. Hughes' terrible scream. Jack jerks his hand back, strides to the door and glares at Hughes. HALLWAY Leonard and Clovis sit and watch Jack stride from the room 460 and drop into a chair. Hughes' muted screams. CLOVIS How's Janet holdin' up? JACK Trying to sleep downstairs. It's a bitch being a cop's wife. I called Chris. She held it together but her inflection shook me. INT. STU'S ROOM - LATER Jack glances at the life support machine, holds Stu's hand, looks compassionately at him and wipes away tears. JACK My friend. There's nothing I won't do for you. HALLWAY Jack shuts the door and watches the Leper-Coons play a forceful game of ROCK, SIZZORS and PAPER. JACK Knock it off! It's time to shove and break torment's stick off in Opie's ass. Leonard and Clovis grin mischievously, saunter in opposite directions and stand guard. Jack strides into Hughes' room. INT. HOSPITAL WAITING ROOM - DAY Jack's at the doorway watching Janet sleep on a couch. A man's distant screams. The sound of a stick snapping. The screams stop. She jerks awake, frightened, goes unsteadyly to a window, grasps the sill and stares at the sunrise. He comforts her. She lays her cheek on his chest and weeps. INT. JACK'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Jack's asleep. Chris gently rubs his neck and shoulders. JACK (V.O.) Everything will be okay. CHRIS Jack. Wake up. JACK Chris? Oh. What time? CHRIS Nine thirty. JACK Morning? CHRIS No, honey. We have to talk. JACK Stu? CHRIS Lieutenant Burnett phoned and said Stu went quietly. They embrace and weep. Bagpipes mournful music. EXT. FOREST LAWN CEMETERY - ANOTHER DAY Bagpipes mournful music. A beautiful day. Jack holds Janet's hand and sits with Chris, J.J. and Arthur. All try to hold their emotions together. An American Flag drapes a casket. Lots of flowers. A collage of profound sadness expressed by rows of plain-clothed and uniformed officers standing at "parade rest" in front of a large crowd. Leonard and Clovis remove the Flag from the casket, fold it and present it to Chief of Police KENDRICK. They wear uniforms and white gloves. Kendrick presents Janet and Arthur the Flag and expresses sympathy. J.J. touches Jack's hand and they share a sad look. Chris fights off grief and stares at Jack's despair. He looks away, unable to face her pain. An officer stops playing the bagpipe and wears a kilt. Honor Guards stands at attention. A trumpeter sounds taps. Seven riflemen fire three times. Four LAPD helicopters fly in formation. One trails off, soars into sky and is lost into the sun. EXT. LAPD PARKER CENTER MEMORIAL - ANOTHER DAY Sun rays pierce blue sky behind the memorial's four gray, black marble pillars. Jack gazes at names etched into the marble base, then at an -- INSCRIPTION. JACK (V.O.) "IN MEMORY OF MEN AND WOMEN OF THE LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT WHO HAD GIVEN THEIR LIVES IN THE LINE OF DUTY. FROM THE PEOPLE OF LOS ANGELES. DEDICATED OCTOBER ONE, NINETEEN SEVENTY-ONE." His gaze moves over officer's names and stops on STEWART "STU" LANE. JACK (O.S.) The war's just started. Who'll be the next to test chisel and hammer? EXT. STROM'S MANSION - NIGHT Large carp swim in a huge fountain. Angel statues line a circular driveway and stand guard at the main entrance front doors. A new burgundy El Dorado Cadillac's parked. STROM (V.O.) I's control the streets and alleys... INT. STROM'S BEDROOM - SAME DERRICK STROM gazes into a mirror and adjusts a black bow tie. He's African American. A tuxedo can't disguise this murderous psychopath's epitome. STROM ...Violate my laws, I's point the finger and you be dead... (cruel laugh - points finger at mirror) ...I's the Lord. This be my kingdom. The City of Angles.