Deadly Class (2018) s01e01 Episode Script
Pilot
1 [CLOCK TICKING.]
World War I was started by a teenager with a pistol A Serbian peasant who chose to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
Set in motion the chain reaction culminating in two world wars and today's Cold War.
Character is revealed through choice.
Consider for a moment.
[CLOCK TICKING.]
Sorry, I was just Jesus! [HEAVY BREATHING.]
[LAUGHS.]
Who would be the recipient of your rage: A thief, a child molester, a world leader? This one decision betrays all secrets and unveils true motive.
Ask yourself.
On that dark ledge, poised to strike with clean opportunity [TENSE MUSIC.]
Who would you kill? [SYNTH POP MUSIC.]
- - Happiness is just the absence of pain.
These days, that's the best I can hope for.
Dad would tell me to lighten up.
"Life's not a dress rehearsal.
Trust in God's plan.
" I wonder what he'd think about God's plan if he'd lived to see what happened to me in that boys' home.
If he'd seen what I had to do to get out.
If he'd heard the screams in that fire.
- - Shit, maybe this is God's plan for me.
[INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER.]
Hungry, homeless, and wanted by every cop in the city for a dozen murders.
A positive mental attitude is essential to survival out here.
These fucking people make it hard.
Lunatics, gangbangers, pushers.
You can only stay on your toes for so long before you wake up with a screwdriver in your gut.
All I ever wanted was the mundane shit everyone takes for granted.
Somewhere I belong.
A safe place to sleep.
To know where my next meal is coming from.
I see it in their eyes.
Easier to think I've done something to deserve this.
And in my case, maybe they're right.
Oh, little girl There are times when I feel I'd rather not be What you got for me today, Marcus? Hmm.
Ain't you cute.
- No, no.
- [LAUGHS.]
You retarded, boy? [TENSE MUSIC.]
[GRUNTING.]
Next time you forget who's running shit around here, I'll break your goddamn neck.
Do you hear me? [HEAVY BREATHING.]
[SHARP INHALE.]
Get! Reagan cut funds to the local nuthouses, and released hundreds of schizos on the street.
But I'm sure that money went to a better place.
A cruise missile, a tax cut for some fat prick in a penthouse.
Hey, why not? If you're rich, it's because you deserve it.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
If you end up smoking some hippie's street roach, well, that shit's on you.
Joint hits like a semi.
Oh, shit.
Day of the Dead.
Is that tonight? Oh, this was a bad idea.
So let us remember the children and the future we want for them.
Well, hello, Marcus.
Looks like that joint was laced with angel dust, son.
Bad score.
I tried to tell you, just say no.
[DISTORTED LAUGHTER.]
Head full of static.
Never could handle being high in a public place.
The paranoia sets in.
Someone is definitely watching me.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Yo, you've been made.
[DRIVING ROCK MUSIC.]
Saw the world go up in flames - Tried to smile, stood there watching - [TIRES SCREECH.]
- [ENGINE ROARS.]
- And it doesn't seem Like this is real That's just the way I feel I don't know why [TIRES SCREECH.]
Will I learn from my mistakes? This time I will escape I'm too young to die Get on.
[TIRES SCREECHING.]
[SIRENS WAILING.]
[ENGINE REVS.]
Police! Don't move! Put your weapons on the ground! [DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Don't look like no psychopath to me.
Can't judge a book by its cover.
But you can judge one by its smell.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
[EXHALES.]
- He's cute.
- Yeah.
Total "Hobo Fancy" cover boy material.
What you say, mad dog? You the psycho that did the boys' home massacre? Pretty tough barking at a dude tied to a chair.
Untie this punk-ass bitch.
All right, but my money's on Hepatitis Harry.
Forgive my students.
They forget that viciousness serves only to make them look weak.
Billy, if you'd be so kind.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Are you satisfied with your life? Me? Yeah.
I eat trash and I sleep in piss.
Everything according to plan.
Speak to Master Lin with respect.
Master Lin can eat my shit.
Who the hell are you people? What's important is that we know who you are, Marcus.
And that we know what you've done.
You're a killer.
Few value this particular proficiency, but I do.
What if I told you there's a home for people like you? A school where you'd be surrounded by your peers.
Only what? I dress up like a Viking so you can take tasteful pictures? I'm offering you a chance to harness that fire inside you.
To master the deadly arts.
The deadly arts, yeah.
That, uh that sounds great.
You know, this all seems really sane and normal, and y'all look like a fun bunch, but, uh whatever this is [TENSE MUSIC.]
Later, days.
That son of a bitch stole my wallet.
Where's the kid now? You gotta tell me.
- Has anyone here seen our boy? - [SIREN WHOOPS.]
[INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER.]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
Every single thing I own, gone.
Nowhere left to go.
No future.
No way out.
I tried, Papa.
But there's nothing left to fight for.
[SOFT MUSIC.]
All I have left are memories of sunshine.
Some perfect day, huh, bud? Marcus? Hey, things are better now.
You got to try and snap out of it.
You only get the one turn at this.
You either find a way to be happy and enjoy it, or you don't.
Life isn't a dress rehearsal.
After years of turmoil, Mom and Dad were finally happy.
I tried to be as well, but I didn't trust it.
Reagan cut funds to the mental health facilities, released hundreds of mentally ill onto the streets, including Barbara Salinger, a suicidal schizophrenic.
Barbara Salinger, who made every fear I ever had come true.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
I don't believe in God, but I'm a hypocrite.
Most nights, I pray.
A track running in the background.
I pray for a way out.
Away from another institution.
Away from another monster.
Away from another cage.
I pray for help.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
- What are you waiting for? - Jesus Christ! - What the hell? - Sorry.
Is this kind of a private moment? I'd let you jump, but Lin says I got to bring you back.
Yeah, well, Lin's going to be disappointed.
Master Lin can protect you from the cops, and once he's done with you, you'll be able to protect yourself from anyone.
[SOFT MUSIC.]
Not to be a dick, but what do you have to lose? Nothing.
Wait! Just hear me out, okay? I know all that terrible shit in your head.
What do you know? I know you don't have anyone.
I didn't, either.
You don't have to be alone.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Master Lin has a basic code of conduct.
There is one thing you cannot do.
Give up our location, and we will kill you.
Like, full-on "Conan the Barbarian" style.
Like, you will be eviscerated.
Lin's family has been eviscerating people for centuries.
- They really love it.
- Lin don't flex.
Got a worldwide rep to maintain.
The rest of the rules are simple.
No disobedience, no drugs, and no sex.
We find ways around the last one.
Well, hopefully not in here.
[LAUGHS.]
What is this? [DOOR CLICKS, CREAKS OPEN.]
["THE HOLY HOUR" BY THE CURE.]
Welcome to King's Dominion.
I kneel And wait in silence As one by one, the people slip away Into the night The quiet and empty bodies Kiss the ground before they pray Kiss the ground and slip away Zhou dynasty.
That sword filled the Yangtze with blood.
Our species may delude itself under a more noble veneer, but we share one primary goal with other animals.
Survival.
However, when in service to the greater good, there can be nobility in killing.
It is a stark truth: Some people deserve to die.
My great-grandfather came here in search of the American dream.
What he discovered was a nightmare of indentured servitude and abuse.
So he taught himself to kill; found a purpose in revenge.
He founded this school, dedicated his life to the self-liberation of oppressed people.
People like you.
Primarily, I train creative problem-solvers.
Over time, our curriculum and focus has broadened, but we must not forget my ancestor's primary goal: To give peasants the required skill to dethrone their corrupt masters.
And if you do as I say I'll give your rage a voice loud enough to be heard around the world.
Fuck it.
[ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN'S "THE KILLING MOON" PLAYING.]
Under blue moon, I saw you So soon you'll take me Up in your arms, too late to beg you Or cancel it though I know it must be The killing time Unwillingly mine Fate Up against your will Through the thick and thin He will wait until Dude, what's your problem? Punk-ass bitches is my problem.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
The locals all strike the same disaffected front.
Hey, Saya, what's up? These are posers from every corner of the globe.
Yakuza don't consort with wetbacks, dipshit.
It doesn't matter where they're from.
Kids are all the same: Assholes.
Only difference is, in this place? The dagger in your back is real.
- [TENSE MUSIC.]
- [LOUD THUD.]
You Mexican? Uh Dad was Nicaraguan.
Mom was from Kansas.
Yeah, whatever you are, some rep you got.
Half of the class is scared shitless.
The other half want to see if your rep's for real.
So what's your affiliation? Oh, I don't vote.
[LAUGHS.]
I'm Maria.
You can run with Soto Vato.
Yeah, rain check.
That's, um that's not really my thing.
[LAUGHS.]
[SPEAKS SPANISH.]
Being in a gang is mandatory for survival.
You'll be safer with your own people.
Plus, it'll make it easier for me to get to know you.
[GRUNTS.]
You like this pendejo? As if.
I'm just looking for new recruits, baby.
- Man, get off her.
- Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Tranquilo.
The blade.
Bad memories.
You like Maria, huh? Meet my other lady.
Not here.
He'll block.
Come on, let's go.
Tonight, me and you are going on a date.
Wear something nice.
We're going to bury you in it.
Aw.
- [BELL RINGS.]
- Go.
Jesus! [HEAVY BREATHING.]
[LAUGHS.]
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Who would be the recipient of your rage: a thief, a child molester, a world leader? This one decision betrays all secrets and unveils true motive.
Ask yourself.
On that dark ledge, poised to strike with clean opportunity.
Who would you kill? Your homework tonight, half your semester grade, will tell me who you really are.
Use your training.
Search the city for a worthy target.
Someone you think deserves to die, and kill them.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
[BELL RINGS.]
Discard the body, hide all evidence.
Bring me proof.
No way this is a coincidence.
Was it designed to fuck with me? No problem for a killer like you.
Someone who deserves to die.
Rory.
It was an open secret around camp.
If anyone went missing, we knew who did it.
And eventually, he stopped hiding the bodies.
There was talk about going to the police, but Rory knew one thing: Cops don't care about dead homeless.
- - When the Republic of Texas openly declared genocide, which Indian tribe survived for another 40 years? Well, they all got done in the end.
[LAUGHS.]
[CLEARS THROAT.]
Sorry, Ms.
DeLuca.
The fierce Comanche survived due only to strength and cunning.
Remember, hand-wringing liberal ideals won't keep you safe.
The world respects those who can protect themselves.
Every opponent has a weakness.
Pick a partner.
Find theirs.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
- No, no, I'm good.
- Come on.
[GRUNTING.]
Dude, I know you got me in this leg shear, but your boner's digging into my chest cavity.
I get it, soft and warm.
I use lotion.
[GRUNTS.]
Hey, sorry about Chico.
I'll fix that.
Look, I know you're crazy or whatever, but you shouldn't mess with him.
You shouldn't date such an asshole.
It's complicated.
[GRUNTS.]
Girls always go for dickheads? [GRUNTS.]
Guys always go for girls they can't have.
[GRUNTING.]
This is No, no, no, don't do it.
No, no, no, no, no.
[BONE CRACKS.]
[YELLS.]
[LAUGHS.]
- Is someone going to help him? - Bogus move.
Should have elbow-knee escaped into a triangle.
And size doesn't matter.
[LAUGHS.]
It's okay, I'll show you.
Hand here and here.
Why'd you come back? I needed a place to hide from the pigs.
I think you need a better reason.
[GRUNTING.]
Think of any? [HEAVY BREATHING.]
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Heart racing like I got a knife to my throat.
This is insane.
Did I just join a cult? Thanks.
Fuck, I think I just joined a cult.
Master Lin tells me that my reputation has already spread.
It'll cause me grief with the local savages.
Still, unsanctioned killing of another student is against his rules, so I got that going for me.
In this case, the victim dies in a spectacularly nasty fashion, as blood seeps from every orifice.
Prepare your poison, students.
We will be killing - these animals in two minutes.
- Dude.
Hey, hello? Dude, be rad.
Get Viktor's attention for me.
Why? The good of the common people.
Come on.
Hey, sorry, could you grab that for me? Pick up your own book, soft boy.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Name one common industrial poison ideal for making a statement.
- Viktor.
- Sodium cyanide.
Victim is dead in seconds.
You want to make a statement, strychnine leaves your victim contorted and convulsing for hours.
Good, Petra.
And why do we want it known that this wasn't an accident? Poison delivers a clear message.
No one is safe from you - Anywhere.
- Outstanding.
Hey.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Maybe you and me, we study tonight? - Are you serious? - Pale face, black hair.
Here, they say "goth.
" In Soviet Union, they would call you beautiful.
[STOMACH GURGLING.]
Sit down, Viktor.
- I must use lavatory.
- I said sit down! [GRUNTS.]
Do it! Sit! [TENSE MUSIC.]
[STOMACH GURGLES.]
[MUFFLED LAUGHTER.]
[SNIFFS.]
Learn from his shame, class.
Viktor invited this attack with his arrogance.
You, always remember this.
[LAUGHS.]
And you.
Get a mop.
[STOMACH GURGLES.]
- [ROCK MUSIC.]
- Oh, '80s! Whoa, I'm living in the '80s '80s! Well, I have to push, I have to struggle Oh, '80s I think Chico's got a crush on you.
Or he wants to kill you.
Probably kill.
Tomorrow, this can be you.
Famous! Fuck that bully.
He pushed a girl.
[EXHALES.]
- What his deal, anyway? - Mm, Chico's cartel, número uno on campus.
Like the star football kids at a normal school.
- Dicks.
- Top of the legacies.
Kids from government or criminal organizations.
- As in, not like us.
- Us? My old man's an abusive, low-rank cop dialed into the mob.
You're a bloodthirsty orphan.
We're losers, dude.
[LAUGHS.]
- What about them? - Preps.
Rich kids.
Mostly CIA, FBI.
- Fascists.
- Exactly.
Dixie mob.
Confederate cousin-diddlers.
- White nationalists.
- Nazis? You can't seem to keep those rascally varmints down.
Oh, white power! Ah-ha-ha.
[GROANS.]
Dude in the Iron Maiden tee, that's Leonard.
Leads the Hessians.
Lower on the totem pole, - but he's got weed.
- And what? You got to join his D&D campaign to get any? I'm an elfish thief named Jizzledim.
[BOTH LAUGH.]
Final World Order out of Watts.
Party bummers.
- Leader is Willie.
- What about her? Oh, young man's got his eye on the unobtainable Saya.
Mmm.
Part valedictorian, part prom queen.
100% bitch.
And leads the Kuroki Syndicate, Yakuza kids.
Gnarly.
No, dude.
No, no, no.
You're a Rat.
- Harsh.
- As in not from a legacy.
You got the welcoming rat bones and seasonal cheese basket.
Yeah, we're at the bottom of the food chain.
No affiliation.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Come on, I want to show you something.
[UPBEAT MUSIC.]
This is the Graveyard.
Hideaway of the kooks, subculture elitists, and the disenfranchised substance of losers.
Those who in general don't mix well with others.
It's a simple solution, okay? You have a John Hughes screening in a theatre-shaped furnace, right? And then, light her up.
[IMITATES EXPLOSION.]
You know? You torch one crowd after the other until the world is safe from baby boomer innocents.
I'd like to sign up for your newsletter.
Petra, Lex, meet Marcus, the new Rat.
The orphanage killer that's got to fight Chico? Looks like a proper asshole.
Lex is head of the Civility Club.
Civility is just lying to people about your true feelings, wanker.
Not an affliction you suffer from.
Oh, extra credit for making Suzie Sue smile.
Smile? Hard to tell through all that makeup.
How long does it take you to paint that ghoulish, sad clown face, Petra, love? Oh, holy mope, Batman! Rain check on the "Black Celebration.
" Last kid has this much buzz was the son of that hippie serial killer, no? Turtle, Tweedle, whatever his name was.
- He got what he deserved.
- Yeah, it turns out patchouli and Birkenstocks don't protect from a mace to the noggin.
Does that scare you, asshole? Patchouli? Absolutely.
[LAUGHS.]
[PUNK MUSIC.]
Don't listen to Lex, all right? You'll be fine.
Just going to hang up here with us, and these most awesome years of your life will fly by.
You can even use this place to do some good.
Change the world with a bullet, as Lin loves to say.
I plan on changing a proper big bit of it.
Heads of state, blam.
Bankers, blam.
- Oil executives - Bono, don't forget Bono.
What about it, new friend? What barbaric ambition inspires you? I'm going to kill the guy who ruined my life.
I'm going to assassinate Ronald Reagan.
[LAUGHTER.]
He said he's going to kill the bloody Gipper! Better do it before your hot date with Chico, huh? That guy's all talk.
The last bloke who looked at Maria was Chico's cousin.
Chico jammed a barbecue fork into his back.
Left him a bloody paraplegic.
Yeah, but the rules, they prevent you from Chico doesn't give a shit about rules, man.
- He's a butcher.
- No joke.
And ready or not, after school today, one of you is going to die.
[LAUGHS.]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
[SOFT RATTLING.]
[TENSE MUSIC.]
[GRUNTS.]
[SPEAKS SPANISH.]
Valproate? Maria, chill.
Maria! I got to talk to you.
- Get lost.
- Please.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Chico? - You started shit with Chico - He was choking Maria.
Maria.
Well, good luck with that, psycho.
It's all bullshit.
This stupid reputation.
When I was nine, my dad and my mom, they died right in front of me.
Court sent me to a boys' home.
The place was just a sweatshop.
They they tortured us, they They they did a lot of bad shit.
I hurt some guards when I bailed, but I I didn't kill those kids.
- The newspapers, cops? - They got it all wrong, and that's not the point.
I'm not what you think I am.
I'm not like you.
Well, if it's all bullshit, then why did you come here? You told me to.
You kissed me.
Dude, that was an assignment.
Lin would have failed me if I didn't bring you back.
You told me I didn't have to be alone.
I didn't tell you to go start shit with the cartel.
- I didn't know.
- Didn't know what? That the tatted-up vato was a legitimate killer, and not a theatre kid? [SOFT MUSIC.]
Do you have any idea where you are? That's why I'm asking for help.
He's going to kill you.
So what should I do? Only thing you can.
Run.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Ay! - Jesus, Maria.
- It's nothing.
He said he'll do a lot worse to you.
So just forget it, okay? - Son of a bitch.
- Just leave it alone, Marcus.
It's bullshit, ese? Trickle down.
That shit don't trickle.
- It's stuck up there - Hey! [DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Oh, but you fucking [SPEAKS SPANISH.]
Good on you.
Taking the initiative.
[SPEAKS SPANISH.]
- What's up? - Come on, Chico, fuck him up.
Say Chico's the man, and you're his bitch.
- Say it! - You're just a dickless rich kid in a prep school, playing the role Daddy assigned.
You got something to lose.
I don't.
I fought a guy who carves people up for fun.
- You're just a poser.
- You really think they'll kick me out for gutting a Rat? Go on then.
Show 'em, come on.
- Do it! - Enough.
Good.
You're learning.
Just a friendly spar with my new amigo.
Get some rest, Marcus.
We'll finish this later.
[SPITS.]
Vámonos.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Fuck this place! [HIP-HOP MUSIC.]
Why you back in that bunk-ass jacket? Yo, I got to ace this Black Arts assignment, and you're my new lab partner.
Why would I help you? Homeboy, Lin ain't here, and I ain't no bitch like Chico.
Get in the damn car.
I met this girl, her name is Jill She loved the way I rock on the microphone When I met Jill, I tried to I get it.
First day jitters.
I remember my first day.
Mesmerized by that fat ass on Ms.
DeLuca.
DeLuca's my new white whale.
It was that redneck ho, Brandy, till I broke through the Mason-Dixon line.
- Brandy's your girlfriend? - Girlfriend? What? Hell no.
She a Nazi, Marcus.
That ain't girlfriend material.
Hell is wrong with you? I mean, we knocked boots a few times.
But DeLuca? Now, I'd wife that up.
[LAUGHS.]
Okay, you don't want to chit-chat.
Want to act a punk, that's cool.
But so we clear, you going to help me cap this bad hombre you was telling Chico about.
- Unless it's some bullshit.
- Oh, he's real.
- Rory's an animal.
- Ooh, scary.
What's this fool look like? [TENSE MUSIC.]
[LAUGHS.]
Good thing you ain't trying to be no artist.
That's some wack-ass indie-type shit right there.
The best comics are indie.
"Flaming Carrot," "American Flagg.
" Uh, "X-Men"? The Dark Phoenix? That bitch be jacking everybody up.
Male fantasy, mainstream melodrama bullshit.
[TIRES SCREECH.]
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
The Dark Phoenix Saga owns all of that.
Chris Claremont and John Byrne, motherfucker.
- Say it! - Right, right.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
- It's better.
- Damn straight.
[LAUGHS.]
Here's the deal.
You help me do this, I drop you off anywhere you want to go, and you won't ever have to see my black ass or King's Dominion again.
Scout's honor.
Make a left.
Here we go.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
This what you running back to? Come on, be quiet.
What? Go ahead and call me a punk.
I know you dying to.
I'm not the one who brought you out here.
Fronting all this OG shit, I hate it.
The shit ain't me, man.
None of this shit's me.
- I'm a pacifist, man.
- You're a what? What's this, now? Run, maggots! [DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Split up! Shit! [GRUNTS.]
Where do you think you're going? No, no, no, no! No! Hey, you boys coming up in the city for me? No, man.
I don't want no trouble.
You not leaving.
I like leaving.
- Come on, man.
- Old Rory going to still your heart.
[WHISTLES.]
[GRUNTS.]
[TENSE MUSIC.]
We got to get out of here.
Come on, man.
Let's go.
Marcus? Marcus! [YELLS.]
He dies over and over.
Shit! [TENSE MUSIC.]
His face disappears on an endless loop.
What did you do? I killed someone who deserved it.
I ain't cut out for this shit.
My moms, she the OG for real.
She just and she knows it.
She sent me to King's to make me a man.
Ready? [BOTH GRUNT.]
And she's right.
I'm just a punk.
You're not a punk.
Your mom's just an asshole.
Yeah, Mom don't think that way.
And maybe you got the right idea leaving.
Nobody telling you what to do.
Nobody to respect and shit.
No, it's awful.
No one cares if I live or die.
Nowhere to sleep, nothing normal.
Shit, nothing normal at King's.
Maybe this is as close to normal as kids like us get.
I thought you said you wanted Hey, the hard part's already done.
We passed.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Dude, this ain't the worst of Lin's assignments.
You'll need someone to do those for you, too.
And the truth of it is I got nowhere else to go.
I need a minute.
No kind god watching over us.
Life is insignificant.
A short, dull buzz.
A brief flicker.
None of it means anything.
Just shit that happens.
You embarrassed Chico.
He'll never let this go.
What the hell happened to your black eye? Makeup.
You wanted to play hero.
I just gave you an excuse.
Jesus Christ.
That's why you pretended to like me? So I'd fight your boyfriend? So you'd kill him.
I need him gone.
- Well, sorry I let you down.
- The Soto Vatos, they're going to keep coming at you.
- Yeah, because of you.
- I'm sorry.
Sorry? You're sorry? I I almost got killed.
I tricked you.
But I wasn't pretending.
[SOFT MUSIC.]
No one's ever fought for me before.
Chico gets in fights about me, but not for me.
I I have enough problems.
Petra cooked up some moonshine.
Everyone's getting wasted in the graveyard.
You should come.
Maybe.
Um, I mean, yeah, sure.
"Maybe, I mean, yeah, sure.
" You're a real crack-up, para veño.
[SOFT MUSIC.]
What do you want here, Marcus? [TENSE MUSIC.]
A reason to wake up.
Tragedy will always find you.
That won't change here.
But how you respond to it will.
Yeah, well, shitty things just happen.
What's the response to that? My daughter, Naya, was two when she and my wife were killed.
The people I loved most, taken by the faulty brakes of a freight liner.
And my response? I found the drug-addled truck driver, the greedy owner who couldn't check the brake lines, and the judge who called my family's murder an act of God.
They were my first kills.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
But your family was still gone.
As are the men responsible.
- And it helped? - Not at first.
Even with my training, the weight of it haunted me.
Years of sleepless guilt.
Then, over time, I accepted it was my right to exact justice.
Why should they enjoy another single day? It's like you said.
Some people deserve to die.
Once you shed your fear of choosing who does and who doesn't, you'll see.
Strength feels better than weakness.
[SOFT MUSIC.]
[TENSE MUSIC.]
[KNOCKING.]
Come in.
Am I done with the assignment? Not yet.
["MELODY LEE" BY THE DAMNED.]
When was the last time I felt like I belonged anywhere? Really belonged.
Maybe this is who I am.
What else is there? Some desk job? Suburbia? An overweight, pill-popping wife raising the next generation of automatons? Why participate in that? Is that what I really want? Bet it isn't.
An ethical compass would be fine if everyone had one.
But it's a cold, cruel world, and you can't survive without a family.
Even if they are liars and murderers.
And I'd be no different than a cop, or a soldier, or a politician.
Killing is just a part of the profession.
Maybe I finally found a reason to live.
In a place surrounded by death.
Melody Lee A broken mind, and a broken dream
World War I was started by a teenager with a pistol A Serbian peasant who chose to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
Set in motion the chain reaction culminating in two world wars and today's Cold War.
Character is revealed through choice.
Consider for a moment.
[CLOCK TICKING.]
Sorry, I was just Jesus! [HEAVY BREATHING.]
[LAUGHS.]
Who would be the recipient of your rage: A thief, a child molester, a world leader? This one decision betrays all secrets and unveils true motive.
Ask yourself.
On that dark ledge, poised to strike with clean opportunity [TENSE MUSIC.]
Who would you kill? [SYNTH POP MUSIC.]
- - Happiness is just the absence of pain.
These days, that's the best I can hope for.
Dad would tell me to lighten up.
"Life's not a dress rehearsal.
Trust in God's plan.
" I wonder what he'd think about God's plan if he'd lived to see what happened to me in that boys' home.
If he'd seen what I had to do to get out.
If he'd heard the screams in that fire.
- - Shit, maybe this is God's plan for me.
[INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER.]
Hungry, homeless, and wanted by every cop in the city for a dozen murders.
A positive mental attitude is essential to survival out here.
These fucking people make it hard.
Lunatics, gangbangers, pushers.
You can only stay on your toes for so long before you wake up with a screwdriver in your gut.
All I ever wanted was the mundane shit everyone takes for granted.
Somewhere I belong.
A safe place to sleep.
To know where my next meal is coming from.
I see it in their eyes.
Easier to think I've done something to deserve this.
And in my case, maybe they're right.
Oh, little girl There are times when I feel I'd rather not be What you got for me today, Marcus? Hmm.
Ain't you cute.
- No, no.
- [LAUGHS.]
You retarded, boy? [TENSE MUSIC.]
[GRUNTING.]
Next time you forget who's running shit around here, I'll break your goddamn neck.
Do you hear me? [HEAVY BREATHING.]
[SHARP INHALE.]
Get! Reagan cut funds to the local nuthouses, and released hundreds of schizos on the street.
But I'm sure that money went to a better place.
A cruise missile, a tax cut for some fat prick in a penthouse.
Hey, why not? If you're rich, it's because you deserve it.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
If you end up smoking some hippie's street roach, well, that shit's on you.
Joint hits like a semi.
Oh, shit.
Day of the Dead.
Is that tonight? Oh, this was a bad idea.
So let us remember the children and the future we want for them.
Well, hello, Marcus.
Looks like that joint was laced with angel dust, son.
Bad score.
I tried to tell you, just say no.
[DISTORTED LAUGHTER.]
Head full of static.
Never could handle being high in a public place.
The paranoia sets in.
Someone is definitely watching me.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Yo, you've been made.
[DRIVING ROCK MUSIC.]
Saw the world go up in flames - Tried to smile, stood there watching - [TIRES SCREECH.]
- [ENGINE ROARS.]
- And it doesn't seem Like this is real That's just the way I feel I don't know why [TIRES SCREECH.]
Will I learn from my mistakes? This time I will escape I'm too young to die Get on.
[TIRES SCREECHING.]
[SIRENS WAILING.]
[ENGINE REVS.]
Police! Don't move! Put your weapons on the ground! [DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Don't look like no psychopath to me.
Can't judge a book by its cover.
But you can judge one by its smell.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
[EXHALES.]
- He's cute.
- Yeah.
Total "Hobo Fancy" cover boy material.
What you say, mad dog? You the psycho that did the boys' home massacre? Pretty tough barking at a dude tied to a chair.
Untie this punk-ass bitch.
All right, but my money's on Hepatitis Harry.
Forgive my students.
They forget that viciousness serves only to make them look weak.
Billy, if you'd be so kind.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Are you satisfied with your life? Me? Yeah.
I eat trash and I sleep in piss.
Everything according to plan.
Speak to Master Lin with respect.
Master Lin can eat my shit.
Who the hell are you people? What's important is that we know who you are, Marcus.
And that we know what you've done.
You're a killer.
Few value this particular proficiency, but I do.
What if I told you there's a home for people like you? A school where you'd be surrounded by your peers.
Only what? I dress up like a Viking so you can take tasteful pictures? I'm offering you a chance to harness that fire inside you.
To master the deadly arts.
The deadly arts, yeah.
That, uh that sounds great.
You know, this all seems really sane and normal, and y'all look like a fun bunch, but, uh whatever this is [TENSE MUSIC.]
Later, days.
That son of a bitch stole my wallet.
Where's the kid now? You gotta tell me.
- Has anyone here seen our boy? - [SIREN WHOOPS.]
[INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER.]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
Every single thing I own, gone.
Nowhere left to go.
No future.
No way out.
I tried, Papa.
But there's nothing left to fight for.
[SOFT MUSIC.]
All I have left are memories of sunshine.
Some perfect day, huh, bud? Marcus? Hey, things are better now.
You got to try and snap out of it.
You only get the one turn at this.
You either find a way to be happy and enjoy it, or you don't.
Life isn't a dress rehearsal.
After years of turmoil, Mom and Dad were finally happy.
I tried to be as well, but I didn't trust it.
Reagan cut funds to the mental health facilities, released hundreds of mentally ill onto the streets, including Barbara Salinger, a suicidal schizophrenic.
Barbara Salinger, who made every fear I ever had come true.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
I don't believe in God, but I'm a hypocrite.
Most nights, I pray.
A track running in the background.
I pray for a way out.
Away from another institution.
Away from another monster.
Away from another cage.
I pray for help.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
- What are you waiting for? - Jesus Christ! - What the hell? - Sorry.
Is this kind of a private moment? I'd let you jump, but Lin says I got to bring you back.
Yeah, well, Lin's going to be disappointed.
Master Lin can protect you from the cops, and once he's done with you, you'll be able to protect yourself from anyone.
[SOFT MUSIC.]
Not to be a dick, but what do you have to lose? Nothing.
Wait! Just hear me out, okay? I know all that terrible shit in your head.
What do you know? I know you don't have anyone.
I didn't, either.
You don't have to be alone.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Master Lin has a basic code of conduct.
There is one thing you cannot do.
Give up our location, and we will kill you.
Like, full-on "Conan the Barbarian" style.
Like, you will be eviscerated.
Lin's family has been eviscerating people for centuries.
- They really love it.
- Lin don't flex.
Got a worldwide rep to maintain.
The rest of the rules are simple.
No disobedience, no drugs, and no sex.
We find ways around the last one.
Well, hopefully not in here.
[LAUGHS.]
What is this? [DOOR CLICKS, CREAKS OPEN.]
["THE HOLY HOUR" BY THE CURE.]
Welcome to King's Dominion.
I kneel And wait in silence As one by one, the people slip away Into the night The quiet and empty bodies Kiss the ground before they pray Kiss the ground and slip away Zhou dynasty.
That sword filled the Yangtze with blood.
Our species may delude itself under a more noble veneer, but we share one primary goal with other animals.
Survival.
However, when in service to the greater good, there can be nobility in killing.
It is a stark truth: Some people deserve to die.
My great-grandfather came here in search of the American dream.
What he discovered was a nightmare of indentured servitude and abuse.
So he taught himself to kill; found a purpose in revenge.
He founded this school, dedicated his life to the self-liberation of oppressed people.
People like you.
Primarily, I train creative problem-solvers.
Over time, our curriculum and focus has broadened, but we must not forget my ancestor's primary goal: To give peasants the required skill to dethrone their corrupt masters.
And if you do as I say I'll give your rage a voice loud enough to be heard around the world.
Fuck it.
[ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN'S "THE KILLING MOON" PLAYING.]
Under blue moon, I saw you So soon you'll take me Up in your arms, too late to beg you Or cancel it though I know it must be The killing time Unwillingly mine Fate Up against your will Through the thick and thin He will wait until Dude, what's your problem? Punk-ass bitches is my problem.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
The locals all strike the same disaffected front.
Hey, Saya, what's up? These are posers from every corner of the globe.
Yakuza don't consort with wetbacks, dipshit.
It doesn't matter where they're from.
Kids are all the same: Assholes.
Only difference is, in this place? The dagger in your back is real.
- [TENSE MUSIC.]
- [LOUD THUD.]
You Mexican? Uh Dad was Nicaraguan.
Mom was from Kansas.
Yeah, whatever you are, some rep you got.
Half of the class is scared shitless.
The other half want to see if your rep's for real.
So what's your affiliation? Oh, I don't vote.
[LAUGHS.]
I'm Maria.
You can run with Soto Vato.
Yeah, rain check.
That's, um that's not really my thing.
[LAUGHS.]
[SPEAKS SPANISH.]
Being in a gang is mandatory for survival.
You'll be safer with your own people.
Plus, it'll make it easier for me to get to know you.
[GRUNTS.]
You like this pendejo? As if.
I'm just looking for new recruits, baby.
- Man, get off her.
- Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Tranquilo.
The blade.
Bad memories.
You like Maria, huh? Meet my other lady.
Not here.
He'll block.
Come on, let's go.
Tonight, me and you are going on a date.
Wear something nice.
We're going to bury you in it.
Aw.
- [BELL RINGS.]
- Go.
Jesus! [HEAVY BREATHING.]
[LAUGHS.]
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Who would be the recipient of your rage: a thief, a child molester, a world leader? This one decision betrays all secrets and unveils true motive.
Ask yourself.
On that dark ledge, poised to strike with clean opportunity.
Who would you kill? Your homework tonight, half your semester grade, will tell me who you really are.
Use your training.
Search the city for a worthy target.
Someone you think deserves to die, and kill them.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
[BELL RINGS.]
Discard the body, hide all evidence.
Bring me proof.
No way this is a coincidence.
Was it designed to fuck with me? No problem for a killer like you.
Someone who deserves to die.
Rory.
It was an open secret around camp.
If anyone went missing, we knew who did it.
And eventually, he stopped hiding the bodies.
There was talk about going to the police, but Rory knew one thing: Cops don't care about dead homeless.
- - When the Republic of Texas openly declared genocide, which Indian tribe survived for another 40 years? Well, they all got done in the end.
[LAUGHS.]
[CLEARS THROAT.]
Sorry, Ms.
DeLuca.
The fierce Comanche survived due only to strength and cunning.
Remember, hand-wringing liberal ideals won't keep you safe.
The world respects those who can protect themselves.
Every opponent has a weakness.
Pick a partner.
Find theirs.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
- No, no, I'm good.
- Come on.
[GRUNTING.]
Dude, I know you got me in this leg shear, but your boner's digging into my chest cavity.
I get it, soft and warm.
I use lotion.
[GRUNTS.]
Hey, sorry about Chico.
I'll fix that.
Look, I know you're crazy or whatever, but you shouldn't mess with him.
You shouldn't date such an asshole.
It's complicated.
[GRUNTS.]
Girls always go for dickheads? [GRUNTS.]
Guys always go for girls they can't have.
[GRUNTING.]
This is No, no, no, don't do it.
No, no, no, no, no.
[BONE CRACKS.]
[YELLS.]
[LAUGHS.]
- Is someone going to help him? - Bogus move.
Should have elbow-knee escaped into a triangle.
And size doesn't matter.
[LAUGHS.]
It's okay, I'll show you.
Hand here and here.
Why'd you come back? I needed a place to hide from the pigs.
I think you need a better reason.
[GRUNTING.]
Think of any? [HEAVY BREATHING.]
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Heart racing like I got a knife to my throat.
This is insane.
Did I just join a cult? Thanks.
Fuck, I think I just joined a cult.
Master Lin tells me that my reputation has already spread.
It'll cause me grief with the local savages.
Still, unsanctioned killing of another student is against his rules, so I got that going for me.
In this case, the victim dies in a spectacularly nasty fashion, as blood seeps from every orifice.
Prepare your poison, students.
We will be killing - these animals in two minutes.
- Dude.
Hey, hello? Dude, be rad.
Get Viktor's attention for me.
Why? The good of the common people.
Come on.
Hey, sorry, could you grab that for me? Pick up your own book, soft boy.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Name one common industrial poison ideal for making a statement.
- Viktor.
- Sodium cyanide.
Victim is dead in seconds.
You want to make a statement, strychnine leaves your victim contorted and convulsing for hours.
Good, Petra.
And why do we want it known that this wasn't an accident? Poison delivers a clear message.
No one is safe from you - Anywhere.
- Outstanding.
Hey.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Maybe you and me, we study tonight? - Are you serious? - Pale face, black hair.
Here, they say "goth.
" In Soviet Union, they would call you beautiful.
[STOMACH GURGLING.]
Sit down, Viktor.
- I must use lavatory.
- I said sit down! [GRUNTS.]
Do it! Sit! [TENSE MUSIC.]
[STOMACH GURGLES.]
[MUFFLED LAUGHTER.]
[SNIFFS.]
Learn from his shame, class.
Viktor invited this attack with his arrogance.
You, always remember this.
[LAUGHS.]
And you.
Get a mop.
[STOMACH GURGLES.]
- [ROCK MUSIC.]
- Oh, '80s! Whoa, I'm living in the '80s '80s! Well, I have to push, I have to struggle Oh, '80s I think Chico's got a crush on you.
Or he wants to kill you.
Probably kill.
Tomorrow, this can be you.
Famous! Fuck that bully.
He pushed a girl.
[EXHALES.]
- What his deal, anyway? - Mm, Chico's cartel, número uno on campus.
Like the star football kids at a normal school.
- Dicks.
- Top of the legacies.
Kids from government or criminal organizations.
- As in, not like us.
- Us? My old man's an abusive, low-rank cop dialed into the mob.
You're a bloodthirsty orphan.
We're losers, dude.
[LAUGHS.]
- What about them? - Preps.
Rich kids.
Mostly CIA, FBI.
- Fascists.
- Exactly.
Dixie mob.
Confederate cousin-diddlers.
- White nationalists.
- Nazis? You can't seem to keep those rascally varmints down.
Oh, white power! Ah-ha-ha.
[GROANS.]
Dude in the Iron Maiden tee, that's Leonard.
Leads the Hessians.
Lower on the totem pole, - but he's got weed.
- And what? You got to join his D&D campaign to get any? I'm an elfish thief named Jizzledim.
[BOTH LAUGH.]
Final World Order out of Watts.
Party bummers.
- Leader is Willie.
- What about her? Oh, young man's got his eye on the unobtainable Saya.
Mmm.
Part valedictorian, part prom queen.
100% bitch.
And leads the Kuroki Syndicate, Yakuza kids.
Gnarly.
No, dude.
No, no, no.
You're a Rat.
- Harsh.
- As in not from a legacy.
You got the welcoming rat bones and seasonal cheese basket.
Yeah, we're at the bottom of the food chain.
No affiliation.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Come on, I want to show you something.
[UPBEAT MUSIC.]
This is the Graveyard.
Hideaway of the kooks, subculture elitists, and the disenfranchised substance of losers.
Those who in general don't mix well with others.
It's a simple solution, okay? You have a John Hughes screening in a theatre-shaped furnace, right? And then, light her up.
[IMITATES EXPLOSION.]
You know? You torch one crowd after the other until the world is safe from baby boomer innocents.
I'd like to sign up for your newsletter.
Petra, Lex, meet Marcus, the new Rat.
The orphanage killer that's got to fight Chico? Looks like a proper asshole.
Lex is head of the Civility Club.
Civility is just lying to people about your true feelings, wanker.
Not an affliction you suffer from.
Oh, extra credit for making Suzie Sue smile.
Smile? Hard to tell through all that makeup.
How long does it take you to paint that ghoulish, sad clown face, Petra, love? Oh, holy mope, Batman! Rain check on the "Black Celebration.
" Last kid has this much buzz was the son of that hippie serial killer, no? Turtle, Tweedle, whatever his name was.
- He got what he deserved.
- Yeah, it turns out patchouli and Birkenstocks don't protect from a mace to the noggin.
Does that scare you, asshole? Patchouli? Absolutely.
[LAUGHS.]
[PUNK MUSIC.]
Don't listen to Lex, all right? You'll be fine.
Just going to hang up here with us, and these most awesome years of your life will fly by.
You can even use this place to do some good.
Change the world with a bullet, as Lin loves to say.
I plan on changing a proper big bit of it.
Heads of state, blam.
Bankers, blam.
- Oil executives - Bono, don't forget Bono.
What about it, new friend? What barbaric ambition inspires you? I'm going to kill the guy who ruined my life.
I'm going to assassinate Ronald Reagan.
[LAUGHTER.]
He said he's going to kill the bloody Gipper! Better do it before your hot date with Chico, huh? That guy's all talk.
The last bloke who looked at Maria was Chico's cousin.
Chico jammed a barbecue fork into his back.
Left him a bloody paraplegic.
Yeah, but the rules, they prevent you from Chico doesn't give a shit about rules, man.
- He's a butcher.
- No joke.
And ready or not, after school today, one of you is going to die.
[LAUGHS.]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
[SOFT RATTLING.]
[TENSE MUSIC.]
[GRUNTS.]
[SPEAKS SPANISH.]
Valproate? Maria, chill.
Maria! I got to talk to you.
- Get lost.
- Please.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Chico? - You started shit with Chico - He was choking Maria.
Maria.
Well, good luck with that, psycho.
It's all bullshit.
This stupid reputation.
When I was nine, my dad and my mom, they died right in front of me.
Court sent me to a boys' home.
The place was just a sweatshop.
They they tortured us, they They they did a lot of bad shit.
I hurt some guards when I bailed, but I I didn't kill those kids.
- The newspapers, cops? - They got it all wrong, and that's not the point.
I'm not what you think I am.
I'm not like you.
Well, if it's all bullshit, then why did you come here? You told me to.
You kissed me.
Dude, that was an assignment.
Lin would have failed me if I didn't bring you back.
You told me I didn't have to be alone.
I didn't tell you to go start shit with the cartel.
- I didn't know.
- Didn't know what? That the tatted-up vato was a legitimate killer, and not a theatre kid? [SOFT MUSIC.]
Do you have any idea where you are? That's why I'm asking for help.
He's going to kill you.
So what should I do? Only thing you can.
Run.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Ay! - Jesus, Maria.
- It's nothing.
He said he'll do a lot worse to you.
So just forget it, okay? - Son of a bitch.
- Just leave it alone, Marcus.
It's bullshit, ese? Trickle down.
That shit don't trickle.
- It's stuck up there - Hey! [DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Oh, but you fucking [SPEAKS SPANISH.]
Good on you.
Taking the initiative.
[SPEAKS SPANISH.]
- What's up? - Come on, Chico, fuck him up.
Say Chico's the man, and you're his bitch.
- Say it! - You're just a dickless rich kid in a prep school, playing the role Daddy assigned.
You got something to lose.
I don't.
I fought a guy who carves people up for fun.
- You're just a poser.
- You really think they'll kick me out for gutting a Rat? Go on then.
Show 'em, come on.
- Do it! - Enough.
Good.
You're learning.
Just a friendly spar with my new amigo.
Get some rest, Marcus.
We'll finish this later.
[SPITS.]
Vámonos.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Fuck this place! [HIP-HOP MUSIC.]
Why you back in that bunk-ass jacket? Yo, I got to ace this Black Arts assignment, and you're my new lab partner.
Why would I help you? Homeboy, Lin ain't here, and I ain't no bitch like Chico.
Get in the damn car.
I met this girl, her name is Jill She loved the way I rock on the microphone When I met Jill, I tried to I get it.
First day jitters.
I remember my first day.
Mesmerized by that fat ass on Ms.
DeLuca.
DeLuca's my new white whale.
It was that redneck ho, Brandy, till I broke through the Mason-Dixon line.
- Brandy's your girlfriend? - Girlfriend? What? Hell no.
She a Nazi, Marcus.
That ain't girlfriend material.
Hell is wrong with you? I mean, we knocked boots a few times.
But DeLuca? Now, I'd wife that up.
[LAUGHS.]
Okay, you don't want to chit-chat.
Want to act a punk, that's cool.
But so we clear, you going to help me cap this bad hombre you was telling Chico about.
- Unless it's some bullshit.
- Oh, he's real.
- Rory's an animal.
- Ooh, scary.
What's this fool look like? [TENSE MUSIC.]
[LAUGHS.]
Good thing you ain't trying to be no artist.
That's some wack-ass indie-type shit right there.
The best comics are indie.
"Flaming Carrot," "American Flagg.
" Uh, "X-Men"? The Dark Phoenix? That bitch be jacking everybody up.
Male fantasy, mainstream melodrama bullshit.
[TIRES SCREECH.]
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
The Dark Phoenix Saga owns all of that.
Chris Claremont and John Byrne, motherfucker.
- Say it! - Right, right.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
- It's better.
- Damn straight.
[LAUGHS.]
Here's the deal.
You help me do this, I drop you off anywhere you want to go, and you won't ever have to see my black ass or King's Dominion again.
Scout's honor.
Make a left.
Here we go.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
This what you running back to? Come on, be quiet.
What? Go ahead and call me a punk.
I know you dying to.
I'm not the one who brought you out here.
Fronting all this OG shit, I hate it.
The shit ain't me, man.
None of this shit's me.
- I'm a pacifist, man.
- You're a what? What's this, now? Run, maggots! [DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Split up! Shit! [GRUNTS.]
Where do you think you're going? No, no, no, no! No! Hey, you boys coming up in the city for me? No, man.
I don't want no trouble.
You not leaving.
I like leaving.
- Come on, man.
- Old Rory going to still your heart.
[WHISTLES.]
[GRUNTS.]
[TENSE MUSIC.]
We got to get out of here.
Come on, man.
Let's go.
Marcus? Marcus! [YELLS.]
He dies over and over.
Shit! [TENSE MUSIC.]
His face disappears on an endless loop.
What did you do? I killed someone who deserved it.
I ain't cut out for this shit.
My moms, she the OG for real.
She just and she knows it.
She sent me to King's to make me a man.
Ready? [BOTH GRUNT.]
And she's right.
I'm just a punk.
You're not a punk.
Your mom's just an asshole.
Yeah, Mom don't think that way.
And maybe you got the right idea leaving.
Nobody telling you what to do.
Nobody to respect and shit.
No, it's awful.
No one cares if I live or die.
Nowhere to sleep, nothing normal.
Shit, nothing normal at King's.
Maybe this is as close to normal as kids like us get.
I thought you said you wanted Hey, the hard part's already done.
We passed.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Dude, this ain't the worst of Lin's assignments.
You'll need someone to do those for you, too.
And the truth of it is I got nowhere else to go.
I need a minute.
No kind god watching over us.
Life is insignificant.
A short, dull buzz.
A brief flicker.
None of it means anything.
Just shit that happens.
You embarrassed Chico.
He'll never let this go.
What the hell happened to your black eye? Makeup.
You wanted to play hero.
I just gave you an excuse.
Jesus Christ.
That's why you pretended to like me? So I'd fight your boyfriend? So you'd kill him.
I need him gone.
- Well, sorry I let you down.
- The Soto Vatos, they're going to keep coming at you.
- Yeah, because of you.
- I'm sorry.
Sorry? You're sorry? I I almost got killed.
I tricked you.
But I wasn't pretending.
[SOFT MUSIC.]
No one's ever fought for me before.
Chico gets in fights about me, but not for me.
I I have enough problems.
Petra cooked up some moonshine.
Everyone's getting wasted in the graveyard.
You should come.
Maybe.
Um, I mean, yeah, sure.
"Maybe, I mean, yeah, sure.
" You're a real crack-up, para veño.
[SOFT MUSIC.]
What do you want here, Marcus? [TENSE MUSIC.]
A reason to wake up.
Tragedy will always find you.
That won't change here.
But how you respond to it will.
Yeah, well, shitty things just happen.
What's the response to that? My daughter, Naya, was two when she and my wife were killed.
The people I loved most, taken by the faulty brakes of a freight liner.
And my response? I found the drug-addled truck driver, the greedy owner who couldn't check the brake lines, and the judge who called my family's murder an act of God.
They were my first kills.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
But your family was still gone.
As are the men responsible.
- And it helped? - Not at first.
Even with my training, the weight of it haunted me.
Years of sleepless guilt.
Then, over time, I accepted it was my right to exact justice.
Why should they enjoy another single day? It's like you said.
Some people deserve to die.
Once you shed your fear of choosing who does and who doesn't, you'll see.
Strength feels better than weakness.
[SOFT MUSIC.]
[TENSE MUSIC.]
[KNOCKING.]
Come in.
Am I done with the assignment? Not yet.
["MELODY LEE" BY THE DAMNED.]
When was the last time I felt like I belonged anywhere? Really belonged.
Maybe this is who I am.
What else is there? Some desk job? Suburbia? An overweight, pill-popping wife raising the next generation of automatons? Why participate in that? Is that what I really want? Bet it isn't.
An ethical compass would be fine if everyone had one.
But it's a cold, cruel world, and you can't survive without a family.
Even if they are liars and murderers.
And I'd be no different than a cop, or a soldier, or a politician.
Killing is just a part of the profession.
Maybe I finally found a reason to live.
In a place surrounded by death.
Melody Lee A broken mind, and a broken dream