Gang Related (2014) s01e05 Episode Script

When you were a chavalito, I used to bring you here all the time.
You used to love chasing them geese.
Well, I ain't chasing the geese now, am I? Looks like Curo's handiwork.
It's beautiful, ¿que no? I could do better.
Yeah, maybe.
If you tried.
What, you still on me about that therapist? - That ése had it coming.
- No, he didn't have it coming.
He was trying to help you.
Your father was trying to help you.
And that's how you say thanks? I'm sorry, tio, okay? But look at me.
I mean, what can I do? Start using your brains, ése.
Your mind.
Not your fist.
Tonight after the family dinner, we're gonna have a junta, talk about the family business.
You should roll up to the table - in your rightful spot.
- No, you and me both know, tio, my dad does not care about what I have to say.
Then say something worth listening to, ése.
Let's get to it.
Based on DEA intel, we know that Los Angelicos now sits firmly atop the pyramid controlling fishscale in Los Angeles.
And we need to find a way inside their operation.
To get an informant inside Los Angelicos is practically impossible.
Nothing's impossible but until we do, we need to find alternative means of entry.
Cassius.
Well, Acostas recently made deals with the Skins, the Dokkaebis, the Jamaican Order and the Guatemalan Faction to help move his fishscale.
If we can turn some of the gangs' foot soldiers into informants, we get a clearer understanding of the pyramid's operation.
And tear 'em down brick by brick.
Of these five soldiers, we think this one is the most likely to flip.
His name is Eddy Lin.
Two-strike loser affiliated with the Dokkaebis.
Now, he's been trafficking a new designer drug called Butter.
This stuff is becoming very popular on the club scene.
It's like GHB or Molly but twice the potency.
Users say that the high is so good, it melts your mind.
Hence the name, Butter.
Hello, third-strike Eddy.
Tae, you take point on this.
I want the 4-1-1 on Eddy by tomorrow.
Come on, you stupid chair.
Here.
Let me help.
Haven't seen you in a while.
I know.
You know, Ryan, ever since I got shot, I've been doing a lot of thinking about exactly what happened that day.
Pops said you got four of the Lords who shot me.
What happened to the fifth? Hey.
Don't even think about it.
The war with the Lords is over.
No, Ryan, you got it all wrong about what you said about me being the biggest threat to the family.
I'm sorry for what I put you through.
And I'm sorry for what happened to you, but that doesn't change the fact that my partner's dead.
So if you're asking me to just forgive you for that, - I can't.
- I don't need you to forgive me, ése.
I just need you to know that I am sorry.
Come on.
Let's eat.
Man, it's getting late.
We we got a we got a big day tomorrow.
Potential investment opportunity.
- We? - We're going to Remar Canyon Country Club with some of his old buddies from Stanford.
Yeah, my my friends run this this big hedge fund.
They're getting just insane returns for their investors.
Be careful.
Don't let their fancy clubs fool you, man.
These big money types - can be as gangster as anyone.
- Hey, I'm an Acosta.
If I can handle Peacock Hill, - I can handle Wall Street, okay? - Please.
It sounds like things are working out the way you always hoped, man.
Yeah.
I'm really happy for you two.
- Thanks, man.
- All right, - good night, you two.
- I'll see you, brother.
- All right, brother.
- Night.
Before we start, there's a very serious issue we need to discuss.
Ryan.
Word's out you've been keeping secrets from the family.
Right, tio? What's this I hear about some mysterious new vieja of yours? Huh? When do we get to meet her? I don't think that's such a good idea.
Oh, she can't be that ugly, no? Okay.
Now let's get down to business.
Ryan? Chapel's looking for informants to help take down our fishscale operation.
He's doing that by looking into some of the other gangs in the pipeline.
These are the guys he's targeted.
Nice work.
Gordo? Come in.
Carlitos.
I wasn't expecting you.
It's cool that I'm here, right? There's always been a place for you at this table.
You just never chose to take it.
All right, let's get down to business.
Fishscale profits are up.
But with the Russians refusing to do business with us, we're gonna be a little short on the rent this month for the Metas.
Why are the Russians refusing? They were gonna be our biggest distributor.
There's been a dispute.
- What kind of dispute? - Doesn't matter.
Yes, it does.
We miss our payment, the Metas collect in blood.
I'm not gonna let that happen.
We'll find a way to get the money.
That still doesn't explain why the Russians are refusing.
Come on.
If I'm gonna be part of this junta, I need to know everything.
Look, the RMF wanted a favor, and I wouldn't grant it.
You what? That's not your call to make, Ryan.
That's my father's.
Carlos, that's not how we do business here.
The past is the past.
Tio, how short are we? $3 million by Wednesday.
We miss the rent, the Metas are gonna collect in blood, no doubt.
It's not going to happen.
I'll figure out a way to find the money.
I think I might know a way.
Expand the drug business.
Pharmaceuticals, meth, club drugs.
Cheap to produce, high profit margin.
Might be the quickest way to score the cash we need.
Absolutely not.
We start pushing into others' territories, it might start another gang war.
Yeah, well, you put us in this mess.
You got a better idea? - Carlitos.
- The last thing we want right now with the amount of fishscale we're moving is any more attention on the family.
- Isn't that where you come in, Ryan? - Yes.
But I can only do that when we're being careful about this.
Well, then you should've thought about that before you screwed us with the biggest seller.
Carlos! Ryan! Enough.
Carlos, Ryan has a point.
Now, if you can figure out a way to do this without starting a war with another gang, I'm willing to talk about it.
Vato, you want to hit this? Nah.
We got to keep our heads on straight, eh? I'm telling you that felt good tonight.
Making decisions.
I can tell, man, my pop, he's gonna start looking to me now.
Ain't gonna be no minor soldier no more.
Hey! _ _ _ _ If I'm stepping up, you're stepping up, too.
What you talking about? My pop.
He ain't gonna be running this game forever.
You and me, Jesus, we're the future of Los Angelicos.
About time we started acting like it.
What do you say, homes? From the cradle to the grave.
We're gonna run this.
Yo, what's up, Benito? It's Carlos.
Got some business I want to discuss with you, eh? About our dealer Eddy Lin moving that fishscale for Acosta? Tae's got the location on him in an apartment over on 8th Street.
Eddy Lin, drop the gun! Drop the gun now! Put your hands up now! Drop the gun! - Drop the gun! - I don't think he speaks English.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - What's he saying? - Something about monsters.
That he keeps seeing them everywhere.
He scratched his eyes out so it would stop.
You tell him to drop the gun or we're gonna drop his ass like a bad habit! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ We need an ambulance.
This is Butter.
Looks like he was getting high on his own supply.
We've got $15 million in our offshore accounts, but that money's not clean.
It won't satisfy the Metas.
As far as clean money goes, there's roughly $3 million in Daniel's personal account.
Maybe you could get him to sign that over to you.
No.
That was set aside as collateral for his bank.
My house? The club? Selling them could take months.
That's that's time we don't have, Javier.
What about the lot in Peacock Hill? I've made my position clear about that, Malcolm.
- I will not sell it.
- It's nothing but a vacant lot.
I've got numerous long-standing offers on the table that'll get us out of this mess.
I said no.
Why do you keep refusing to sell it? I've got plans for that lot.
Are those plans gonna pay off the Metas? Eddy Lin's toxicology report just came back.
It seems he only ingested two pills of Butter, but it was cut with a high level of cathinone.
In fact, the whole supply is tampered.
Cathinone's the main ingredient of bath salts.
Wouldn't that be like mixing PCP into crack? Yeah.
The side effects are hallucinations, schizophrenia, and extreme violent behavior.
Would explain why he scratched his own eyes out.
It stands to reason there's more of that laced Butter out there.
Techs cracked Eddy's cell phone.
Turns out he sold a package to Tony Kang this morning.
Yeah, Kang's a real pillar of the community.
Guy fuels his 24-hour underground parties by moving drugs to kids who come from all over Los Angeles.
This bastard got daytime parties everywhere.
How do we know which one to hit? The one that hit us.
LAPD just got a "shots fired" call - at the mothership party in K-town.
- Let's go.
Ryan! Cassius! Find the shooter! I want Tony Kang.
There he is! Hey, you got the wrong guy! - What happened? Who was the shooter? - He's just a kid.
I sold him some Butter.
He flipped out.
Let's go, let's go, let's move, move, move! Drop the gun! Now! The monsters! Get the monsters away! There are no monsters, kid.
The drugs you took were laced.
- It's okay, we're here to help.
- Come on, kid, this ain't no video game.
Put it down.
All right, kid, look at me.
I'm putting mine away, right? - Lopez, what the hell you doing, man? - It's okay.
It's okay.
It's all right.
Calm down.
It's just me and you, man.
All right? There's no monsters.
It's all good, kid.
All right? Just look at me.
Hey.
Look at me.
You okay? Yeah.
I'm good.
Cassius? Man, Danny boy is on fire.
Speaking of on fire, I hear your hedge fund is killing.
Yeah.
It's up 27% this year.
Those kind of returns, I could really expand my bank's holdings, offer my customers a phenomenal rate of return.
You might want to crawl before you run there, Danny.
- High yields mean high risks.
- Jared's right this is big-boy money.
Look, with a nice little young bank like yours, I'd play it safe, Danny.
Wait till you have more surplus reserves before you leverage yourself like that.
Okay? Yeah.
Sounds good.
Tony Kang just fessed up to avoid a third strike gave us the name of his Butter cook.
Guy's name is Benito Cruz.
Tae, Vee, hit the streets.
I want this guy by tonight.
Hold on, Captain.
I'm in on this one.
I got to make this thing right.
Actually, Cassius I need you to come with me.
That's my DEA rep.
What the hell he's doing here? Kid was only 16 years old, man.
Damn waste.
So it was a clean shoot, Neal.
Witnesses at the club confirm it.
Why are we still talking? Because the reality of what happened and the perception of what happened are two different things.
Andy Schiller's father Clark Schiller has already filed a massive lawsuit against the agency.
He's making a lot of noise about how his son was shot by a black law enforcement officer.
So what, white America needs a poster boy for reverse racism? This one isn't gonna go away easy, Sam.
In the meantime, I need green's badge and gun.
- Oh, come on, Neal, don't do this.
- I'm sorry, gentlemen, but my hands are tied.
Lead story on the 6:00 news will be that a black cop shot a white kid.
A white kid who was doped up on Butter and shot one of my He shot one of my people! Well, that's not how America's gonna see it? You know it and I know it.
Ten years, Briggs.
Ten years, man.
DEA's just posturing, aren't they? I mean, once public outcry fades, Cassius'll be fine, right? No.
This isn't posturing, Ryan.
This is real.
They want to get out in front of Schiller's lawsuit before it's too late.
Cassius didn't do anything wrong; He did his job.
I know, and you know that, but Clark Schiller's lawyer is gonna make his son seem like some sweet, angelic-faced future Harvard student.
And on the other hand, he's going to paint a picture of Cassius that makes him seem like he's some angry black cop holding a smoking gun.
How much you think that's worth in damages? - $50, $100 million? - That's if they win.
It's when they win.
- They don't have a case.
- I know, but the city's not gonna play chicken with that kind of money on the line.
I'm sorry.
Can't keep a good cop down long, you know that, right? Yeah, but they could keep a black cop down a lot longer.
Maybe it's karmic retribution.
I did shoot a kid.
That kid shot me, and you did it by the book.
All right? I would've done the same thing.
We're gonna fight this to the bitter end, all right? Appreciate that, partner, but, uh, truth is, there's nothing we could do about it.
You can't roll over like this, Cassius.
Look, just find out who got that Butter on the streets, cut the supply line, find the chef.
Me, I'll be all right.
Maybe I'll go back and live out my NBA dreams, right? The last of it, homey.
Between this and what we already put out there, there's no way anyone's ever gonna buy from those ants again.
You did good, little homey.
So I'm in? Your dad's a legend around here.
A real carnal.
But you you betrayed us by working for the other side, Benito.
But now he's proved he's loyal.
You're one of us, aren't you, Benito? _ My father's not here.
He's not who I'm looking for.
At the junta, you mentioned about getting into the club drug business.
Thought you said that was a bad idea.
- It is.
- So what are you doing here? I've been chasing a tainted batch of Butter.
I need to know if you have anything to do with it.
You accusing me, orphan? I'm asking you if you know anything about it.
And if I did, why would I tell you? People are dying, Carlos! All right? My partner's career's on the line.
You said you've changed.
Prove it.
Oh, I've changed.
I've changed to help my father to help my family, not to help you and some Puercos put more people behind bars.
Guess what, Ryan? You ain't no real cop, homey.
But you're walking around, acting like you are one.
Well, check it, that already cost us the deal with the Russians.
So I suggest you take a long look in the mirror, and you figure it out are you one of us or have you turned into one of them? I know where my loyalty lies, Carlos.
I'm sure you do.
I really wish I could help you out.
I do, but turns out I don't know anybody that cooks up Butter.
Sorry.
Who doesn't? She's amazing.
Oh, speaking of which, Jason said they're gonna sponsor Danny for membership.
That's great, huh? Hey.
Look, guys.
I love them, but I don't know, do you think it's a good idea? I mean, do we really want to bring that element into the club? Um, Alabama called, Linds.
They need you back at the Klan rally.
Oh, please.
This has nothing to do with race.
It has everything to do with our safety.
I mean, we bring our kids here.
We all know the rumors about Daniel's father, right? Am I the only one that's concerned that some gangbangers might show up and pull a drive-by? Enough, Linds.
That's unfair.
Daniel's father is a businessman.
He owns apartment complexes Really, Rachel, you sound like Diane Keaton in The Godfather.
Actually that would be Silvia.
Oh what? I can't believe you.
A whorehouse, really? It's not a whorehouse.
It's a hostess bar.
Good to see you again, Demon.
We need to talk to you about your Butter operation, Su-Jin.
Yeah, your cook Benito Cruz might have cooked up a bad batch.
Two kids are dead.
Where is he? I know more about you than you think, Su-Jin.
And I know a lot more about you than you think, Seon-U.
Still want to talk? Hey, Vee.
Why don't you go grab a drink at the bar? I got this.
Happy to.
She's buying.
Seon-U.
How'd you get that name? After we first met, I was curious to know more about you.
I ran your prints off the bottle I handed you and reached out to my friends back home in Seoul.
Friends who are police officers.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ You okay? Yeah.
Why'd she call you Seon-U? It's just an old Korean term of endearment.
Important thing is I know how to find Benito Cruz.
Put a black and white on each end of the street, we should be all right.
Got a location on Benito Cruz.
Yeah, he's in hiding.
But we got his cell number, we pinged it to a trailer park in Sylmar.
Let's go.
We nail this guy, maybe it'll turn the heat down on Cassius.
Ryan.
Since you're short a partner, you want some company? Think you can keep up? Can you? - Do it again soon, huh? - Absolutely, man.
Thanks again for having us.
- Bye.
Anytime.
- Yeah.
- Bye.
- All right, bye.
Take care.
All right, guys.
What's wrong? I overheard Lindsey talking in the bathroom.
She's worried that if we join, some gangsters might come and shoot up the place.
Come on, that's impossible.
Not even a gangster could shoot straight out here.
I mean, that course is brutal.
Look, don't worry about what she said, okay? We earned the right to be here.
Besides, they're probably just pissed off you mopped the courts with their spoiled little asses.
Oh, I definitely did that.
Come on, let's get out of here.
I'll chat with Jason later about this.
Come on, man, pick up, pick up.
_ _ Everybody cover their exits.
There he is.
Someday, I'm gonna teach you to shoot like that.
He was trippin' off some of the Butter you cut with cathinone.
It did this.
Care to see some more results of your handiwork, Benito? Why'd you lace it, Benito? No hablo inglés.
Okay.
Here's some of that batch you cooked.
I suppose since it's not laced, you don't have a problem sampling your own product, right? Right? Be interesting to see what Butter does to you.
It only took two pills for Eddy Lin to claw his own eyes out.
Let's see if you can top that, huh? Where's the rest of the batch? Huh, Benito? Where is it? Storage facility in North Hollywood.
It's where I cook.
Please, man, it wasn't my idea, I swear.
No? Then whose was it, huh? - Whose was it? - All right.
No, no! Please don't.
Please please, don't! Please, don't! It was El Lisiado.
El Lisiado! What did you just say? What what cripple? What are you talking about? Carlos Acosta.
He said Los Angelicos was moving into the Butter game.
If I did this, I could finally clique up with them.
So why taint the Koreans' supply? Carlos said it would scare the customers away.
Bring them our way.
Who gave Carlos the order Javier? No, he said his dad didn't know.
It was our secret.
First Tanner, now Cassius.
What's with Carlos Acosta and your partners, man? Okay, North Hollywood division just seized Benito's lab and collected what was left - of Carlos Acosta's tainted Butter.
- Great.
What are we waiting for? Let's go nail this bastard.
No.
Why go after the rook when we want the king? I mean, think about it.
Carlos had to have made this move without his dad's consent.
This isn't Javier's style.
What does that tell you? That there might be dissension in the ranks of Los Angelicos.
Exactly.
Javier could be losing control of those closest to him.
Look, we got the drugs off the street.
I say we keep Carlos in play for now.
Give him his rope.
Chances are he's gonna lead us directly to Javier.
That's the Acosta you want.
Okay.
We wait for now.
We need to talk.
No, Ryan, I found the money to pay the Metas, we It's not about that.
What's wrong? A batch of tainted Butter hit the streets.
People died.
Even a kid.
I I heard.
It's the Koreans.
No.
It was Carlos.
He made a deal with their cook to taint the batch so he could take over their customer base.
No, look.
I didn't authorize that.
- Are you sure? - Yes.
And when I confronted him, he lied to my face.
We're supposed to be on the same side here.
How bad is it? Chapel knows it was Carlos.
But I got him and the GTF to wait until Carlos does something that'll help take you down.
Well, a smart move, I suppose.
It still doesn't solve the problem.
It's the second time I've had to clean up Carlos's mess.
There won't be a third, Javier.
What are you saying? I want Carlos removed from the family juntas, removed from any decisions involving the family from this day forward.
Ryan, he is my son.
And he betrayed you! Us! You say you want to take this family legit? You want to change our lives? Then start by changing Carlos.
Hey.
Great work getting the tainted Butter off the streets.
That must feel good.
Yeah, thanks.
It'd, uh, feel a lot better if it helped get Cassius out of his mess.
- How's he doing? - He's holding up.
You know, how good can anyone be who's about to lose their career they spent their whole life building? I know.
I wish there was something I could do.
The whole department's up in arms.
Yeah, I'm surprised my dad hasn't strong-armed the plaintiff.
Forced him to drop the lawsuit.
Maybe he has changed.
Yeah.
Maybe.
I, uh, I got to go.
Um You like food? No, um Of course you like food, uh, um Dinner tomorrow, my place.
Yeah.
I would love that.
Okay.
There it is.
There we go.
All the paperwork signed.
Are you sure about selling this lot? What made you change your mind? This is where my parents worked when we first came to this country, and, uh, after the day shift ended, the illegals who were kept in the basement were brought up, and they worked the night shift.
One night, the factory caught on fire.
Faulty electrical wires because the owner shirked on safety protocols or something.
Some of us escaped from the basement, but everyone on the workfloor, they they died.
Including my parents, you know I remember standing right here, looking at all the fire, waiting for my parents to come out.
Never did.
Oh, but the owner paid off the cops, a few city officials.
They lied, said my parents and the others were squatters, they weren't supposed to be here.
Case was closed.
So when I had the money, I bought this property and I tore that factory down.
I've been waiting this time, hoping one day I could build something important here.
You know? Hospital or a school.
Just wanted to honor the memory of my parents.
Well, I'm sorry you had to sell it, Javier.
Sometimes, to secure the future, have to let go of the past.
Who is it? Clark Schiller? Detective Ryan Lopez.
Can we talk? Hold on a sec.
My lawyer says I have to record all conversations with the police.
You were saying Detective Lopez? Mr.
Schiller, I'm here to ask you to reconsider your lawsuit against my partner, Cassius Green.
The man who shot my son.
Yes, that's right.
But I think you need to know the circumstances.
I was there, and he was high on what we now know was a tainted batch of drugs.
He shot me, and then He was about to shoot my partner.
My partner, Cassius did not have a choice.
Your son he was a victim of those drugs, not of the police.
You're gonna end the career of a good cop.
He's been doing great work in this community.
Look, you done with your little sob story now? 'Cause if you think I'm gonna drop this lawsuit, you are crazy.
My lawyer tells me it's a gold mine.
I'm gonna sue this whole damn city.
Now, you either get the hell out of here, or you're gonna join that black peg partner of yours on the unemployment line.
Thank you so much for your concern, Detective.
I'm really happy you came by.
Thanks again, Detective.
Wait.
What the what the hell are you ? A gun.
This gun was used in an unsolved homicide a week ago.
Corday Willie, enforcer for the Long Beach Lords.
I went to Biggs's house.
He had pictures of his son everywhere.
Unlike you, he actually cares about his son, so you can imagine how torn up he is right now.
How badly he wants to know who fired this gun into his boy.
You're gonna try to pin this on me? That is never gonna hold up in court.
Court? All that matters is that Biggs Willie is gonna believe it, and you're gonna wish to God you never heard the name Cassius Green.
Lopez.
What's up, buddy? Come on in.
Oh, man.
Well, uh I put in a request for a new partner, man, but you're in the clear.
- What you talking about? - I just got word that Clark Schiller decided to drop the lawsuit.
- You serious, man? - Yeah.
But how? I guess someone decided to talk some reason into him.
Figure I'd better tell you before you head home to Harlem, make a fool out of yourself trying out for the New York Knicks.
Wow, man.
I don't know how to thank you.
Guess I'm stuck with your ass.
You know, that bastard Carlos Acosta was the one that poisoned that Butter.
Because of him, I shot a 16-year-old kid and almost lost job.
You and me we're gonna take down anybody with the name Acosta.
I'm with you.
- Wait.
- Hey.
Hey, buddy.
Said we should do it again soon.
I just didn't think you meant tonight.
You still a scotch man? You know it.
He's got a nice place.
Some real talent here.
Yeah.
Dad's.
So, I wanted to talk to you about that investment.
Our hedge fund? I thought we I'm gonna wire you $2 million first thing tomorrow morning.
What? You worried about me taking a risk? Or what happens if that investment goes south? What's that supposed to mean? The bank is mine, not my father's.
So you can tell your wife she doesn't have to worry about a gangster shooting up her country club.
Are you serious? Look, I don't know what Lindsey Jason, cut the crap, man.
Let's do some business.
All right.
You want in? You're in.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Lucho, visiting hours are over.
Come with me.
You're gonna be okay, son.
My word.
What's that? That's a prison transfer.
Your son is right.
He is never gonna make it on the inside, and I'm gonna make sure of that.
I'm gonna send him where there's no Angelicos protection.
How many brothers you think will want to run a train on him? Five? Ten? Is that some kind of threat? That depends on how much you are willing to tell me about Javier Acosta's fishscale operation.
_ Hey, pop, what are we doing out here, huh? What's this place? I know what you did, Carlos, with the Koreans' Butter supply.
You think that was a good idea, huh? Well, maybe even I would have thought that was a good idea when I was younger, inexperienced.
Too inexperienced to understand that was a bad idea, son.
But it worked, you know? The ants' supply is tainted.
Now these fools on the streets are all craving for somebody to provide them a fix.
You acted without my permission.
Now, Chapel and his task force they got you in their sights, Carlos.
You keep putting the family at risk.
Why didn't you come to me? I could've helped you.
Ryan could've helped you.
Ryan could have helped me? I am so sick of hearing about Ryan.
What about me, your son? My future in this family? Your future? You'll be fine, son.
As long as I'm alive, you'll never want for anything.
Money? I don't want money.
Quiero respeto.
Why can't you respect me? Because you let me down too many times, son.
Finally, you tell me the truth, huh? You.
You go along with this plan? He was just following my lead.
And as a leader, Carlos, you must learn that if you lead a man down the wrong path, there must be a price to pay.
No.
He's my carnal, pop.
Perhaps, but he's my soldier, and he should've known better.
Wait, pop.