- Who is that on the trumpet? - That's Daniel, baby, he's the owner.
He's terrific. Would you be so kind as to invite him over after his set?
- I gotta buy him a drink. - Sure thing, darling.
No, now, see, I was about 19, bussing tables right here.
The money wasn't shit, but that wasn't the point.
It was about being around the music. And I was.
I mean, take this one night.
July 22nd, 1964. Who you think walks through that door?
Bye, baby.
Miles Davis. That's right.
- In the flesh? - That's right.
I'm talking about, through those doors, the coolest man on the planet.
Jesus.
Anyway, he had been at a recording session
up at Columbia, up on Vine. So Miles comes through that door.
Before you know it, he's up on the bandstand, jamming with the band.
- I mean, it had to be... - Oh, it was scary.
I mean, the dude was so focused, man.
Plus, he was kind of a scary cat anyway, man.
I mean, everybody and their mama knew
that you don't just come up and talk to Miles Davis.
I mean, he may have looked like he was chilling, but he was absorbed.
This one young, hip couple, one of them tried to shake his hand one day.
And the guy says, "Hi, my name is..."
Miles said, "Get the fuck out of my face, you jive motherfucker.
Take your silly bitch with you."
You know? That's... That was Miles, man.
That's the way he was when he was in his musical headspace. Fierce.
But did you get to talk to him?
- Better than that. - No.
- I played for about 20 minutes. - Unbelievable.
- How'd you do? - How'd I do?
Well, you really ain't shit when you're playing next to Miles Davis.
But he carried my ass.
- What'd he say? - He said one word, "Cool."
- "Cool"? - Yeah.
- That's it? - Yeah.
That meant, "Good, but not ready."
It meant, "Look me up when you are."
- Did you? - No.
I got drafted and got into some other things.
And by the time I got back to music, the season had passed.
But, you know, I was born in 1945,
but that night was the moment of my conception.
- Right here in this room. - Crowd's not here now.
Well, jazz ain't the draw that it used to be.
What a great story.
I gotta tell the people in Culiacán and Cartagena that story.
You know the folks in Culiacán and Cartagena?
Afraid so.
Man, just when I thought you were a cool guy.
I am a cool guy, with a job I contracted to do.
Come on, Vincent, give the dude a pass.
- I'm working here. - Listen. You the one
talking about improvisation. You like the guy, you like how he plays.
- Let's just play a little jazz. Come on. - Improvi...
That's funny, coming from you.
How's this? I'll ask a question.
- What question? - A jazz question.
Now, you get it right, we roll.
You disappear tonight.
If I walk out of here tonight,
I will go so far away, it'll be just like I was dead.
And one more thing:
These people and their rep here, Felix.
Well, you tell them I'm sorry.
You tell them I had to. They laid a grant of immunity on me.
I was compelled. It was either play ball or go back inside.
And I'm not going back inside.
Yeah.
Lay it on me.
Where did Miles learn music?
I know everything there is to know about Miles.
Then let's have it.
Music school. He got into music school, right?
His father was a dentist, East St. Louis.
Invested in agriculture, made plenty of money.
He sent Miles to Juilliard School of Music,
New York, 1945.
Man.
Dropped out of Juilliard after less than a year.
Tracked down Charlie Parker on 52nd Street,
who mentored him for the next three years.
- Hey. - No. No, I'm done.
- Find you another cab. - Max.
Leave me alone. I'm collateral anyway.
I am not playing.
You played him, man.
He got the answer right, would you have let him go?
This is 102. This is 102. Max?
- What is it with this guy? - Max?
- You hassling my driver again? - Who are you?
The same guy you talked to last time.
Max's mother's driving me crazy. Put him on the line, please.
Hang on.
Carefully.
- Yeah. - Your mother's calling
every ten minutes. Why didn't you show?
Are you all right? Where are you?
Show for what?
Tell her I can't make it tonight.
I'm not related to you. You tell her yourself.
Show up for what?
She's in the hospital.
- You visit every night? - Yeah. What difference does it make?
- You don't show up, it breaks routine. - So?
So people start looking for you, this cab. That's not good.
I'm not taking you to see my mother.
Since when was any of this negotiable?
Two paces ahead, one to the left.
Hey. Flowers?
It's a waste of money. Won't mean a thing to her.
She carried you in her womb for nine months.
People buy flowers. Buy flowers.
Excuse me. Keep the change.
Hold that elevator, please.
- Floor? - Five. Thanks.
- Having a good night? - Mezzo e mezzo. You?
Excuse me.
Hey, Ma.
- I've been calling and calling. - Yeah, well, I got caught up at work.
Why couldn't you call me on the telephone?
I'm lying here wondering if something terrible happened to you.
- I brought you flowers. - What am I gonna do with flowers?
- Cheer up. - How?
By worrying that you spend money on stuff that's just gonna wilt and die?
See what I mean? I didn't buy you the flowers, Mom. He did.
Who?
Why didn't you tell me we had company?
What's your name? Sorry my son is rude.
No harm done, ma'am.
You paid for my flowers?
They're beautiful.
Well, Max?
Mother, this is Vincent. Vincent, this is my mother, Ida.
I'm very happy to meet you, Mrs. Durocher.
Oh, just call me Ida.
Ida. I was with Max when he got the call.
And you came all the way over here to see me?
- It's nothing, ma'am. - Tell my son.
You have to hold a gun to his head to make him do anything.
You must be one of Max's important clients.
Client? I... You know, I like to think of myself as his friend.
Max never had many friends.
Always talking to himself in the mirror. It's unhealthy.
How many times I got to ask you? Please don't do that.
Do what?
Don't talk about me like I'm not right here in the room here.
What's he saying?
He says he's standing right here, in the room here.
Yes, you are. He's sensitive.
I know. But I'm sure you're very proud of him.
Of course I'm proud. He started with nothing, you know.
- Look at him today. Here, Vegas... - Mom. Mom.
Mom. Mom, he is not interested in hearing about all that, okay?
I came to see you, I saw you, you look good, let's go.
No, no, no. No, no, no. I am very interested, Ida. Please.
- Limousine companies. - Is that right?
He drives famous people around.
Famous people. Limousine companies.
Now, that's quite an achievement.
What did you say your name was again?
My name's Vincent, ma'am.
- Visit again? - No, I'm just in town tonight.
- When you come back. - Sure.
Max!
Don't!
All my prep was in there. You are screwing with my work.
Let's see what else you can do.
Well, I've had four come in tonight. Maybe one's your guy.
No, not Ramone. Let's see this one.
No, next.
You know, something's funny about this, though, you know?
These three all came in within half an hour of each other, right?
The kid and that last guy, both done by the same shooter, I think.
- Why do you say that? - Wound pattern.
Two in the sternum, one in the head.
This guy, he's shooting tight groups too, all right? Check this out.
Double taps are a couple millimeters apart.
Let's see this one.
See what I mean?
- Holy shit. Can I use your phone? - Yeah.
Come on, come on, wake up.
- Hello. - Hey, it's Fanning.
I'm still down here at the morgue at Sisters of Charity.
The John Does didn't pan out, but you'll never guess
- who I got here in the meat locker. - Who?
Sylvester Clarke, criminal attorney turned lawyer-criminal.
Including Ramone, who he represented,
who's still missing.
The both of whom are in the exotic-substances business together.
There's something going on,
and I don't think the feds know about it.
Tell you what, stay on your cell phone. I got the ASAC's phone. I'll hook up
- with you in 30 minutes. - Good.
You're gonna go to a place called El Rodeo.
It's on Washington Boulevard in Pico Rivera.
- Where at on Washington? - Look it up.
Limos, huh?
Don't start.
Hey, I'm not the one lying to my mother.
She hears what she wants to hear. I don't disillusion her.
Yeah, right. Maybe she hears what you tell her.
Whatever I tell her is never good enough anyway.
It's always been that way.
- So, what's at El Rodeo? - Just drive.
They project onto you their flaws.
What they don't like about themselves, their lives, whatever.
They rank on you instead.
- How do you know? - I had a father like that.
Mothers are worse.
Wouldn't know. My mother died before I remember.
What happened to your father?
Hated everything I did.
Got drunk, beat me up, foster homes. Went back with him. Like that.
Then what?
I killed him.
I was 12.
I'm kidding.
He died of liver disease.
- Well, I'm sorry. - No, you're not.
So, what is this "driving a cab temporarily"? It's just all bullshit, huh?
- It is not bullshit. - Twelve years isn't temporary, Max.
Gotta get the cash together. Insurance, bonds, maintenance, tires.
Gotta staff up, get the right client list.
It's not just simply get the car and put asses in the seats.
- Why not? - Because Island Limos
is more than just a ride. It's a... Like a club experience. Cool groove.
Don't want it to end. It's gotta be perfect.
Perfect.
It's up here. Turn right.
- Give me your wallet. Come on. - Give you my wallet. For what?
I'll hold it for you in case the people inside search you.
- Who's searching? - The people inside.
Go in, ask for Felix. He's expecting you.
- Felix. - Yeah.
- What does he look like? - I don't know, I've never met him.
Who is he?
He's connected to the guys who hired me.
- I don't get it. - You destroyed my workups.
Number four's due. What'd you think, night's over? Called on account of rain?
You go in there, say you're me. Score the backups.
They'll be on flash drive or CD.
- Me? How come you don't go? - I don't meet people.
Risk management. Anonymity. I protect mine. You're not gonna screw that up.
I got a contract with their bosses. These guys don't get to meet me.
They don't know what I look like.
If I don't pull it off, then...
They will kill you. Now, you got ten minutes.
At 10:01, I drive to the hospital
and execute your mother on my way out of town.
- And don't pretend indifference. - I can't do this.
- I can't. - What are you talking about?
Sure you can, man. Come on. Hey. Hey.
Look, man, if I do this, I'm just gonna end up getting other people killed.
Out of options, Max. Just take comfort in knowing you never had a choice.
- How long you been doing this? - Why?
Just in case they ask me.
- Private sector, six years. - Okay. All right, six years.
You get benefits? Or, you know, like, insurance? Pension?
No. No paid sick leave. Quit stalling. Get out of the cab.
- Yeah? Hold up. - Hold on, man.
Who is this?
Mark the time.
All right, it's cool.
- What's up, homes? - Hey. What's up?
I'm here to see Felix. He has something for me.
Don't know no Felix.
Tell him...
Vince... Say it's Vincent.
I'm Vincent.
Copy.
Let him in. Let him in right now. Go ahead.
Detective Richard Weidner, L.A.P.D., Major Narcotics Division.
Detective Ray Fanning,
- L.A.P.D., Major Narcotics. - Hi, okay. Agent Frank Pedrosa.
Good. Thanks for seeing us, Frank.
Yeah, you're welcome. How can I help?
Why do you wanna know about our case?
- Any unusual activity tonight? - Like what?
That relates to a murder or a series of murders
in Wilshire Central or West Hollywood?
All quiet on the western front.
Various people are asleep. Various people are not.
They come and go in cars, pickups, taxis.
Other than that, we watch air move.
- Your interest in our case? - Well, our interest...
We got a situation. Two bodies.
Could be a coincidence, could not be a coincidence. It doesn't look like one.
- We got an attorney and his client... - Roof's all beat to shit.
Roof's all beat to shit.
- Can you zoom in on this, please? - On what?
On that.
- Look at that right there. - What is it?
Yeah. 5-Queen-49974.
5Q49974.
I thought you'd be taller.
So, Vincent...
- What are the two names? - Ramone Ayala and Clarke.
Are you telling me Ramone Ayala and Clarke were murdered tonight?
- Both killed? - Sylvester Clarke for sure.
- Ramone, I don't know. - I got another DOA.
Daniel Baker out of South Central, Leimert Park.
That's three.
- Three what? - Witnesses.
"Vincent meet their people in Culiacán or Cartagena.
But he don't meet you." Okay.
Now you're here.
Why?
I lost my stuff.
The list.
I want you to listen to me real well.
Special groups put together the list of dedos.
- Dedos? - Fingers. Informants.
Signal interceptions with voice-recognition software,
surveillance.
A very expensive counterintelligence worked up that list.
An important list. Wouldn't you say?
And you lost it?
Yeah.
I'm sorry.
Sorry.
Sorry? Sorry does not put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
- Do you believe in Humpty Dumpty? - No.
- Do you believe in Santa Claus? - No.
Nor do I. Nor do I, but my children do. They are still small.
But do you know who they like even better than Santa Claus? His helper,
Pedro el Negro. Black Peter. Yeah.
There's an old Mexican tale that tells of how Santa Claus
got so very busy looking out for the good children
that he had to hire some help to look out for the bad children.
So he hired Pedro.
And Santa Claus gave him a list
with all the names of all the bad children.
And Pedro would come every night to check them out.
And the people, the little kids that were misbehaving,
that were not saying their prayers,
Pedro would leave a little toy donkey on their windows.
A little burro.
And he would come back. And if the children were still misbehaving,
Pedro would take them away,
and nobody would ever see them again.
Now, if I am being Santa Claus, and you are Pedro,
how do you think jolly old Santa Claus would feel
if one day Pedro came into his office and said, "I lost the list"?
How fucking furious do you think he would get?
Tell me, Vincent.
Tell me what you think.
What?
I think...
I think you should tell the guy
behind me to put that gun down.
What did you say?
I said, I think you should tell the guy behind me to put his gun away
before I take it and beat his bitch ass to death with it.
I picked up a tail.
- Federal? - I don't know, you tell me.
That's why I tossed the list.
The workups, all of that shit.
To protect, in part, your...
...Hermès, Façonnable ass.
What do you think, I like coming in here?
But, hey,
shit happens.
Gotta roll with it. Adapt.
Darwin. I Ching.
- Has...? - The fat man, the penthouse guy,
the jazz man.
That leaves two.
Can you finish?
In six years...
...when have I not?
Say it's Vincent.
I'm Vincent.
Say it's Vincent.
I'm Vincent.
Say it's Vincent.
I'm Vincent.
- Say it's Vincent. - Vincent?
- That's what I'm hearing. - I'm Vincent.
Your last two.
And by the way, as a token of my appreciation,
I would like to offer you a discount.
For all my services, 25 percent.
- Very generous. - Hell, make it 35.
And, by the way...
...Daniel said he was sorry.
Interesting.
Go to Fever.
If something goes wrong
kill him.
- E-mail me his license. - All right?
- Right. - To my cell phone.
No, no, I'll wait.
Hey, is there anybody else in that cab?
Vegas odds would've been against you walking out of there.
Yeah, I'm very impressive.
Sixth Street by Alexandria, a club called Fever. You know it?
Locate our witness, Peter Lim. Get him evacuated, get him safe.
- L.A. 101 to chase units. - Yeah.
African-American, medium build.
The assault team, when in place, will do the takedown.
- You sure? - Do not spook him before.
I want air support up and to maintain at 1500 feet.
Thank you.
- How long? - Twelve minutes.
According to the cab company's dispatch unit,
this guy's been driving that cab for 12 years.
- So what? - So you're telling me
the guy walks into a phone booth and, shazam,
changes into a meat-eater super-assassin?
What's he do, squeeze them in between fares?
No, the real driver is floating down a storm drain.
The guy who walked out of there looks like this guy.
- He picked a driver who looks like him. - Yeah, I don't know.
I do. Zee?
We see private-sector security companies hiring out to cartels
in Colombia, Russia, Mexico,
hiring ex-Special Forces, Stasi, ex-KGB, like that, all the time.
Guys with trigger time, skill sets, real tradecraft, like look like a cab driver.
What are you gonna do?
Take his ass down. Save our witness.
What if these guys are wrong?
They got the guy admitting his name is Vincent.
- He's in there talking to the bad guys. - There is something else going on.
Ray, there's nothing else going on. I thought there was, there isn't.
It's their ball, it's their game. There's nothing in it for us.
- There's nothing in it for you. - That's right.
It's late. I'm going home. You know what time it is?
They locate Peter Lim yet?
Sheila's on with the wife. She thinks he's at Fever.
Sixth and Alexandria. Move it.
L.A. 101 to L.A. 103, L.A. 105, L.A. 108.
Witness is in a club called Fever, Sixth and Alexandria.
That's where Vincent is going.
Assault team and remaining unit, you will take Vincent.
First unit on the scene will get the witness, Peter Lim. Get him out.
L.A. 105 to L.A. 101. We copy that.
- You gonna call her? - Who?
You know, your lady friend. The one who gave you her business card.
- I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. - What?
Pick up the phone.
Life's short. One day, it's gone.
You and I make it out of this alive, you should call her.
That's what I think.
Anyway...
There he is. Hit it.
Let's do it.
The table towards the back is where he hangs.
Wilke, take the right. Brian, hold the door.
Clean shots. Watch your backgrounds. Watch your backgrounds.
L.A.P.D.
You move 15 feet ahead, 3 feet to the left.
Wander, innocent bystanders get the first rounds. Clear?