Leopard Skin (2022) s01e02 Episode Script

Self-made millionaire
Archibaldo de la Colmena
lived life in the fast lane,
but shunned the spotlight.
A globetrotting jet setter
who loved to gamble and win big,
he was equally at home opening
restaurants in exotic islands
as he was advising political leaders,
as long as a beautiful woman
was by his side.
So what was it
about American documentarian
Alba Fontana that made him
finally settle down?
I believe he saw
something selfless in Alba.
Something he perhaps lost along the way.
And, if I may,
the air of doom in her eyes.
She possesses the beautiful look
of a martyr suffering in ecstasy.
Inocencia, how old were you
when you started working for Archibaldo?
A teenager. I was 16, 17.
And you worked for him
during his marriage to Alba?
Yes. Miss Alba taught me how to read.
She was not the most patient teacher.
She pushed me very hard
and she sometimes was disappointed
in my choice of books.
She would say, "If I have known
you would learn how to read
just so you could read
tabloid magazines and the Bible,
I would've never taught you anything!"
Why do you think Alba
was so offended by the Bible?
It's because of
what happened to her, you know.
When Archibaldo fell in love with Alba,
her tragedy in the Amazon
had just happened.
What do you think happened?
She would never speak of it.
I only know the official story.
The massacre of her crew
and the fact she escaped barely alive.
It's a miracle.
I think those images captured
the heart of Archibaldo.
And when he learned her backstory,
about how when she was
making the documentary
about the organic
coffee farmers in Oaxaca,
that earthquake decimated
the entire village except her.
Those two horrible tragedies
back to back
and her survival spirit,
I think that was irresistible
for a man like Archibaldo.
I think he wanted to save her.
Did you ever think at
any point maybe Alba is cursed?
- No.
- Never?
No.
Hmm.
Even after what happened when
she and Archibaldo were married?
We all have different crosses to bear.
Telling the story of the Sisters
of the Holy Tears convent
was very dear to Archibaldo
and Alba, his proud new bride,
wanted to please him.
It is unthinkable what happened next.
How did you know?
Know what?
That my name is Fausto.
- I didn't.
- Right.
You just picked a random name
and it happened to be Fausto?
You know the chances of that
are like one in 700 million?
I never thought about it like that.
She's psychic.
I'm, I'm not, not exactly.
My grandmother Mima was.
I only sometimes get
random flashes, stuff
that comes to me that doesn't add up.
She doesn't know how to interpret them.
Like junk DNA.
Sometimes they're right, sometimes not.
You a witch too?
I don't believe in witches.
That doesn't answer my question.
98% of our DNA is non-coding,
so-called junk DNA.
You know a lot about numbers.
I trust numbers.
This thing really is very uncomfortable.
Just get in.
Does that mean you forgive me?
Just get in.
Fausto, my knight in shining armor.
- Are they awake?
- I don't know.
I'm really embarrassed.
I don't really know these people.
Can you call me a taxi?
No.
Can you give me a ride,
if you're going into town?
No.
- Can you make me a coffee?
- No.
- Boy, you've changed.
- Sit down, Maru.
Oh, you're the ghost.
You're the flamenco dancer.
Flamenco dancer?
Could it be you
don't remember last night?
I wasn't dancing.
Was I dancing?
Oh, God.
Do me a favor
and wake the ladies of the house
and have them come downstairs.
I can't do that.
Maru, you're not among friends here.
Okay.
Alba.
Hello.
Hello.
Alba?
It's me, Maru.
Hello?
- What are they doing?
- I am so sorry.
I, I never drink this much,
and I could blame
a lot of things but, um, I ultimately
Shh, shh!
What are they doing?
Your butler?
He has a girlfriend and she has a gun.
- Tell him you didn't find us.
- What?
- Go.
- What uh
- They're not in the bedroom.
- Where are they?
I
You seem like a smart person.
Appearances can be deceiving.
Let me ask you one last time.
On it.
Lay down. Hands behind your head.
Okay, this is
I don't know what's happening.
This is what happens
when you drink excessively,
kill a bunch of brain cells,
and wake up in the wrong house.
Hands behind your head.
You deserve a gold medal
for even trying.
If you make a move to get up,
you're dead.
What do you want?
Shh. Go back to sleep.
Malone!
You don't want to be my target.
Next one, I aim at your back.
You know, if I were in your shoes,
I would have done the same thing.
But now you tried it and
you know you're outmatched.
No point in trying it again, okay?
- Okay?
- Okay.
The worst part
about a self-fulfilling prophecy
is you feel stupid about it coming true.
And just think
about how stupid you'd feel
lying crippled in bed
the rest of your life
because I put a bullet in your spine.
Pretty fucking stupid,
wouldn't you think?
Now come on, let's go back.
Normally, I'd just
strip you down bare-ass
and duct tape your mouths shut,
but I think you know
we're serious, right?
Doesn't mean I won't,
if you start hollering.
As you can see, the door is open
so we can watch you from the patio.
My associates and I
are gonna have a quick chat
and we'll inform you
as to what our plan is.
Now sit.
Sit.
I've never seen the point
in crying over spilled milk.
Let's agree it's a
little worse than spilled milk.
Something felt wrong. In my gut.
That's all I have to go on.
Well, thanks to your gut
now we're fucked.
Give it a fucking rest.
You ever done any time, Clover?
- Why do you ask?
- How about you, Sierra?
Never. Why?
A person who has done terms inside
tends to be snake-bit,
be wary and nervous,
and willing to do most anything
to avoid going back inside.
That's why, given the choice,
I prefer not to work with ex-cons.
Which brings me to Ray Lasalle.
- Who?
- Doesn't ring a bell?
You?
This must be what
lawyers feel like in court,
knowing the answers
when they ask the questions.
Ray Lasalle is a hotshot criminal judge
with a spotless record.
Along the way, he's collected a few
criminals he let slip
through the cracks,
spared them serious jail time
in exchange for doing his dirty work.
Almost as snake-bit as the ex-cons,
these are compromised types
trying to get out from under.
Do I really need to keep going?
Well, depends where
you're going with it.
I like the story so far, in theory.
Okay
Here's a theory.
How would you describe
our working relationship?
What are you talking about?
Cards on the table time.
I put my career on the line for you.
You owe me your life.
Does that make you grateful or scared?
"Your career on the line"?
What do you want, Ray?
See, that's the right
question. You're quick.
But first be candid.
Well I I do little jobs for you,
and I let you fuck me once in a while
because you have me over a barrel,
but if I could get away with
killing a judge, I would've.
Thank you for sharing that.
The first time I sucked your cock,
I got a headache that lasted three days.
Now you're just trying to make a point.
Maybe I'm exaggerating.
It was only two days.
What's this?
I closed out your file.
Erased your records on the computer.
Everything.
Let's pretend I believe you.
You can have a spotless record
for 20 years
but once it's not spotless,
it's only a matter of time
before some ambitious
do-gooder starts digging around
and finds some irregularities
in the records.
Wheels turn slowly,
but they do indeed turn.
So now you're asking yourself
what's this got to do with me.
I'm gonna tell you.
See, I may or may not be
under investigation.
That means anywhere from
six to eight weeks from now,
the court is going to hand down
a revised order
and revoke your bail.
So now that I know
you're listening to me,
let me tell you about the job.
It's a traveling show out of Houston.
Diamonds.
They're gonna be held in a
storage facility in Puerto Vallarta
before they are put
on exhibited for some charity.
I don't have contacts in Mexico.
I do.
None of the principals
will know each other.
- Better that way.
- Better for who?
"Better for whom".
Let me lay it out for you,
get to the part
where the choice comes in.
You see, I want you
to have all the facts,
at least all the foreseeable ones.
You want a drink?
I'd rather stay sober for this.
Suit yourself.
How many in the string?
You plus two, the way I figure it.
That's a small crew for a foreign job.
What kind of security?
Motion sensors, safes, locks,
nothing you can't handle.
And how do we get out of the country?
That is where
my Mexican contacts come in.
We will fly you out with the diamonds.
You, the pilot, and the diamonds.
And what about the other two?
That is where the choice comes in.
What if I don't wanna play ball?
I'd get over it,
but I'd feel a little stupid.
Killing is never the best idea.
Human nature is a fascinating thing.
My mother taught me to be an advocate,
stand up for what's right,
never compromise my values.
I often wonder what she would've
made of this upside-down world.
How do you know
I don't know these people?
You don't.
You don't know everybody
I've ever worked with.
You ever worked
with someone named Malone?
No.
How about Loba? You remember that name?
Doesn't ring a bell.
Well, that's because they work
in different places than you do.
You know, I didn't suddenly
wake up this morning
and put this together.
I've been working on it for a while.
And I need a wheelman.
Why not get a bigger plane?
Ah, there's still hope for you.
All things being equal, of course,
there's probably a way
we can get a bigger plane.
But see, then the split
doesn't make sense for my partners
or, if I'm honest, for me.
- Why me?
- You have limited options.
I have a job for you.
You're gonna work
with a team of professionals
that I will assemble, go into Mexico,
steal some diamonds, be flown out.
You will get a hundred grand.
So what's so fucking hard about that?
All I do is drive.
Well, that's your job description,
so that's what you do.
Anything that happens to the others
is outside my need to know.
That's the right attitude.
Tell me about Braun and Loba.
What do you want to hear?
That they're a couple intellectuals
who go out of their way
to make the world a better place?
- Does that make a difference?
- It might.
Why?
You really wanna go down
this road, Your Honor?
I'm telling you how it is
because I'm in a bind
and I can't protect you anymore.
This is me looking out for myself.
Cashing in.
Now if that gets you a passport
and a hundred grand,
that's one hell
of a running start, isn't it?
I got you a present.
For good luck.
What if it doesn't work?
Why wouldn't it?
Like someone wise said,
the map is not the territory.
You must have a set
of contingencies planned out.
I do.
I do this job and we're even.
I get my cut
and we don't see each other.
- That's your pitch?
- Yes.
You have a cash-flow problem.
Yes.
And you are under investigation.
Yes.
And you don't wanna go for seconds?
What, you have another meeting
or something?
I think you still haven't lost
your sense of rhythm.
I got you a present.
What is it? A tracker bracelet?
Why don't you wear them for good luck?
Now or during the job?
That is up to you,
but if you wear them now,
they probably won't stay on very long.
I don't like it.
If somebody kills your mother,
would you want to kill them?
I wasn't too keen on her
but out of principle, sure.
Does it matter if when you find them
they're sitting at the table
eating cereal,
or would you only kill them
if they had a gun pointed at you?
It would help.
When it comes down to it,
if it's you or them,
what does it matter?
Oh, so now it's me or them.
The reason it's not you
is because I made my partners
understand that I need you.
And why is that?
Because I like you.
Try again.
Because I have feelings for you.
Complicated feelings, yes.
Try one more time.
Because if they could
cut me out, they would.
So I need someone I trust
to bring me the diamonds.
But like I said,
this is all just a theory.
None of this really happened.
This is just a coincidence.
Do not even.
We seem to have a trust problem.
- We certainly do.
- Any ideas?
- Not right off.
- I have an idea.
Well, take your fuckin' time, Clover.
This is only a theory, like yours.
But if all three of us agreed to the job
knowing that the other two
wouldn't make it,
then we're all the same, right?
Nobody's better than anybody else here.
- So?
- So maybe
I read this book once
Well, I didn't read it,
somebody else read it,
but it basically explains
how after you do something
for 10,000 hours you get the hang of it.
Did you guys ever read that book?
This is not a book club, Clover,
- get to the fucking point!
- Let her finish.
What if I didn't panic
at that checkpoint?
What if some part of me
knew something was wrong
because I've been a getaway
driver for over 10,000 hours?
Because there shouldn't
have been a police checkpoint
off an access road that wasn't
any sort of main artery
where you could smuggle drugs.
What are you talking about?
I hate having ideas like this
because I know who they make work for,
which is me, but I think
we should bring our guns down.
- Not a fuckin' hope in hell.
- What's your idea?
Well, I'm thinking
that the cops at the checkpoint
were not in it with Clover
and they were not in it with me,
so that means they were in it with you.
- That doesn't even make sense.
- No, it does.
It does makes sense.
Ray could've meant
what he said and picked me
as the one to make it out alive,
had his Mexican contacts pose as cops.
Or maybe they really are cops.
True, maybe they really are cops.
And we could've killed you two
right then and there.
- But why there?
- Why not there?
There was another dirt road
past the checkpoint.
I studied it on the map.
Maybe that was a shortcut
to the airfield.
If there was an airfield.
Fuck, right,
maybe there never was an airfield
if the Mexican cops
were gonna kill two of us.
Or all of us.
- Who is it?
- It's me, Inocencia.
I'm looking for Miss Alba.
Can I come in?
Just a minute!
- Who is she?
- The housekeeper.
- Ex-housekeeper.
- And why is she here?
I, I, I don't know.
Get rid of her or I kill her.
- Inocencia.
- Miss Alba.
What are you doing here?
You are a sight for sore eyes.
I brought oranges from my tree,
your favorites.
Oh. How did you even get here?
Oh, I took the bus.
I left my village like three hours ago.
Can I come in?
It isn't a good time for me, I'm sorry.
This is not a good time
for anyone, Miss Alba.
Just this morning,
a terrorist group launched
a new series of attacks.
Some crazy kamikazes
blew themselves up in the market
on their way to the synagogue.
There were windows broken,
smoke everywhere.
I'm hungry
and I would love to swim nude
in the ocean like a mermaid,
but first, I have to tell you
something important.
I must get it off my chest
because I can no longer live
with it on my conscience.
So with the Lord as my witness,
I'm coming in,
whether you like it or not.
Woman, you should've told me
you have people over.
Let me clean up this mess
and I will tell you the whole thing,
from soup to nuts.
You little bitch!