Godfather of Harlem (2019) s02e07 Episode Script

1
Fuckin' guineas.
You guys been trying to
kill me for three months.
- He should die like a dog!
- Fuck you.
I'd rather have my dope.
I'm proposing a distribution network
that eliminates the Italians.
Together, we're 10 Harlems.
Ellsworth Johnson is a lot more
influential than I thought.
Don't move, motherfucker,
or you're next.
Consider that a warning.
Capisce?
Maybe it's crazy that you and I thought
this thing between us would work out.
We have a warrant out for your arrest.
Cuff him.
What is happening?
Call Duncan. Arrange bail.
- You have much to lose.
- I don't snitch.
Bumpy Johnson is doing
some very valuable work
for the federal government.
Where are the Freedom Riders?!
The activists were found
only after an informant
passed along a tip to
Federal authorities.
She's already seeing the
world for what it is.
Is it fair to let her live with a lie?
You think she wasn't traumatized enough?
Tell her you were a drug
addict for 10 years.
Let's just hope she doesn't
end up hating us both.
If your loyalty lies with Malcolm
Oh, no, we're not here to sit in.
you must leave this mosque at once.
We came to stand up.
I don't want to stay
if you're not there.
I understand, but I'd
like to have someone
be my eyes and ears.
This is for Teddy, you fucking asshole.
- What the fuck did you do?!
- Fucking shoot her!
- No!
- You can't say nothing to no one.
Secret to the day we die.
- What are we talking about here?
- We're talking about Benny!
He's not in fuckin' Miami!
It's the pornography
that got him killed.
That's Bonanno's territory.
Listen, you're gonna need to testify.
I already told you everything I know.
Don't you ever call me again.
Ladies and gentlemen,
distinguished guests, good evening.
It is great to see so many people
here to honor our good friend
and neighbor, Ellsworth Raymond Johnson,
better known to his friends
and enemies as "Bumpy."
When the Lennox Hill Society
wondered aloud who should receive
this Man of the Year Award,
the answer was unequivocal.
We have gathered here today
to bring a new member into this family.
A A new member,
but it's more than that.
It's a a new beginning.
Hey.
Relax. Today's the day.
Alright? You look like
you're gonna shit your pants.
Yeah. Fucking chills I get.
Alright.
Are you ready to take a blood
oath and swear your loyalty?
Yes, I am.
Trigger finger.
This drop of blood, it symbolizes
your birth into our family.
And we are one until death.
Do you swear on your honor
to be faithful to this family?
I do.
Burn my flesh like the image of
this saint if I ever betray you.
As burns this saint, so burns my soul.
I swear to enter this family
alive and exit it dead.
In accordance with the laws
of the Lennox Hill Society,
I declare this court
open for initiation.
Cometh thou hither of
thine own free will
to be initiated into the
secrets of this fraternity?
I do.
And are you willing to take upon
yourself the responsibilities,
obligations, and trusts of our order
and be obedient to its
laws and regulations?
I am.
It was a balmy, clear evening
when you started your journey
across the Dead Sea.
All beasts that have
traveled on this sea
have chosen which breed they
desire whilst on this journey.
What breed of beast are you?
A wolfhound.
In order to gain entrance to our
sacred chamber, Bumpy Johnson,
will you get down on all fours
and become the wolfhound?
You're fucking with me, right?
You're not serious.
Okay, we can skip that part.
You must never divulge the
secrets of this Cosa Nostra.
You must never violate the wife
or the children of another member.
You must never become
involved in narcotics.
I swear to disown my
father and my mother,
my brothers, my sisters in
the interests of this family.
I swear to you.
From this day forward,
you are now a member
of the Genovese Family.
Alright. Alright.
Okay.
Your day, Ernie. Your day.
Since 1932, the Lennox Hill Society
has comprised men of
influence and integrity.
Do you solemnly swear
never to divulge any secret
or bring reproach upon the
name and honor of the society?
I solemnly swear and affirm.
Brother Johnson
I sincerely and fraternally
welcome you to our society
and bestow upon you the
honor of Man of the Year
for your good deeds to the community.
Thank you. I'm honored.
Thank you for your generosity.
It is most appreciated.
Hope this buys me plenty
of influence and integrity.
Bumpy, your membership
in the Lennox Hill Society
offers us a unique opportunity.
I am pleased to introduce
Brother Dayton,
president of the United Bank of Harlem;
and Brother Clinkscale,
New York's only Negro
Superior Court judge.
Pleasure.
Nice.
Please, Brothers, have a seat.
I've had a look at your
financials, Brother Johnson,
and it seems you're already
quite sophisticated
in methods of turning
let's call it "suspicious"
income into clean money.
For years, I've done my placement
and layering through different
shell companies in the Bahamas,
but, um, due to the
political situation there,
and my recent business success,
I'm, uh, seeking more local avenues.
Which is why I joined the society.
And of course, the wonderful
social and intellectual gatherings
that the society promotes.
Yeah, yeah. Of course.
Does this have anything to
do with Robert Morgenthau?
You're sharp, Judge.
As I'm sure you're aware,
Morgenthau is investigating
the Five Families.
And you as well.
Well, not my group.
- The Italians. Not me.
- Mm.
As a result, I'm going
to have to have to raise
the standard commission from 6% to 12%.
12%?
You promised me 6%.
You didn't say anything
about Robert Morgenthau.
Take it or leave it, Brother Johnson.
I see the influence.
Just not the integrity.
Sandra.
You look so much better today.
Thanks to you, and the other sisters.
Thanks to Allah.
You asked him to help you kick
that duji, and he listened.
Yeah, well, as long as
my baby is born safe,
and not hooked on the
drug, I'll be happy.
In Islam, we ask for
blessings for others,
not just for ourselves. It's called Dua.
I'll be praying for you both.
One of the sisters said you're
Bumpy Johnson's daughter.
I am.
Well, Bumpy Johnson had the best shit.
And now his daughter's
here helping me get well.
Don't you think that's funny?
I just I pray my baby never
gets hooked on the duji.
If she's raised as a Muslim,
she'll have all the tools she
needs to live a clean life,
free from drugs, alcohol, promiscuity.
I'd like that.
I don't want my child
to turn out like me.
Daddy, I'm so excited to
go to the Geechee tonight.
If you're done with your
homework, then maybe.
But they're giving you an
award, and I wanna see it.
It ain't much.
Mommy and I put an
advertisement in the ad book.
Ah.
What's an ad book for?
Ah, awards like this, people
buy pages in an ad book
- Mm-hmm.
- to say congratulations.
But really, it's just a way
for the organization
- to make some money. That's it.
- Hmm.
So it's a hustler move?
Where'd you hear that?
Isn't that what you always say?
Yeah, an ad book is a
is a hustler move.
Give me a hug.
Okay, you study hard in
school today, alright?
- Mm-hmm, alright.
- Hi, Margaret.
Elise. What're you doing here?
I needed a word with your daddy.
Yeah.
- See you later.
- Don't be late, alright?
I wanted to talk to you.
About what?
Margaret.
Alright.
What's going on?
I'm gonna tell her the truth.
I'm not her sister. I'm her mother.
You're not gonna start
this now, are you?
- We made a decision.
- We did. I did.
But things are different now.
I've got my life together.
I want to raise her as a Muslim.
How 'bout we wait a couple of years?
Uh, she'll be older, and
she can decide for herself.
No, Daddy. It's time.
Look, we need to, uh, ease into this.
How about we start off with, uh,
getting you a better apartment
so she can come over and
spend the night sometimes?
- You can't buy your way out of this.
- I'll tell you this
My daughter's not gonna be a Muslim.
Your granddaughter.
And besides, when I was sick,
you took me to a Muslim detox.
That religion got me straight.
- You don't even have a faith.
- What are you gonna tell her
when she wants to know
who her father is?
- The truth. Coulda been anyone.
- Goddamnit, Elise.
I'm begging you. Don't do this.
Why is the truth so frightening to you?
What're you hiding?
I got nothing to hide.
You pretend to be an honest businessman,
but you sell drugs and run numbers.
You pretend to be a father,
but you are a grandfather.
Don't you want to stop pretending?
And you pretended to be a goddamn saint
when for years you were a prostitute
selling yourself for drugs.
Which you supplied.
Ain't that the word on the street?
Bumpy Johnson has the best shit.
Hold up, wait a minute ♪
Hold up, wait a minute ♪
There's something
I'd like to say, yeah ♪
Don't pretend that you ain't in it ♪
'Cause Lord knows we're in it ♪
We've all got a part to play, yeah ♪
They want us in opposition? ♪
I've got a proposition ♪
Don't turn and look away, no ♪
You're awake but are you woke? ♪
Che bella. Buongiorno.
Uh, I wanted to talk to you.
You got a minute?
Sure. Siddown.
What's going on in that noggin of yours?
I know I've been acting
kind of weird lately
and that you've been worried about me.
I think I know what'll help.
What's that?
I need to tell the truth.
It's good to be honest.
I mean, without the truth,
there's no trust between friends.
And especially family.
I mean, I-I'm your father.
We should be able to talk
about anything, right?
I shot Benny.
Don't fuck around.
I want you to forgive
me like I forgave you
for what happened to Teddy.
Then we would be even.
That ain't funny, Stella.
I shot him.
- Jesus Christ.
- In the leg.
- Come on! What are you doing?
- Ernie finished him off.
Are you going mental again?
Have you been taking your pills?
I knew you couldn't deal with the truth.
Come on! Stella, come on!
O-Okay. W-Where's Benny's body?
Ernie drove it up to Brocco's farm.
You know, in Duchess County,
where you guys dump your bodies.
He buried him there next
to the big old apple tree.
Did Ernie tell you that?
What What What What's going on?
I'm just tired of secrets.
You're back.
I thought you were
going straight to work.
Okay, which dress do you
think I should wear tonight?
The red one, which I
haven't worn in years?
Or this black one, which I always wear?
Hmm.
- I think you look beautiful in both.
- Some help.
By the way, we got
copies of the ad book.
It's gorgeous.
Mm.
You don't seem impressed.
Elise came by the school today.
She says she wants to tell
Margaret that she's her mother
and she wants to raise her as a Muslim.
What?
She says she's gonna tell her tonight,
- despite what we've all agreed.
- Oh, Lord, I knew it.
She has been hinting at this for months.
- What are we gonna do?
- I tried to talk some sense into her,
- but she wouldn't listen to me.
- Oh, raise her as a Muslim?
- It's ridiculous.
- First things first
What are we gonna do if she tells
Margaret that she's her mother?
Well, she's not gonna get the chance.
We are done with her,
Ellsworth. She's out.
- It's not that simple.
- It is for me.
She's your fucking daughter. Fix this.
I don't care how you get it done.
Come on.
Mayme.
My father had the nerve
to try to bribe me.
It's my right to raise my
daughter as a Muslim.
I believe that's your right, too.
What do you think, Betty?
Yes. Of course.
But
perhaps it was wrong to
spring it on him like that.
The only way for her to deal with this
is to be direct and to the point.
When I was talking to
this young pregnant girl
in detox about raising
her child in Islam,
I knew what I had to do.
But I'm not sure you're taking
into account the many years
Mayme spent devoted to that child.
I am quite aware, and I am grateful.
And for Margaret, her
real mother is Mayme.
Betty, I think you're
I think you're missing the point.
Am I?
The child's whole upbringing
is based on a lie.
And Mayme is raising my daughter
in the white man's Christianity.
It's a Black church,
run by a Black minister.
Still, it's the white
man's Christianity.
Muslim or Christian,
a mother's a mother.
And as a mother, I'm hoping I
can get Mayme to understand.
It's my father who I'm worried about.
Bumpy's a man of reason.
Let me have a word with him.
Maybe I can help him see your point.
I would so appreciate that.
How would she know that we use
the farm in Duchess County?
How would she know that?
I got no idea.
And you didn't tell her?
Are you fucking crazy? Of course not.
Maybe she heard somebody
talkin' in here.
You know how these fucking momos are.
They got big mouths.
Yeah.
Look
Why would she tell me that
her and Ernie killed Benny?
Why?
Boss, she ain't right in the head.
That's why you sent her to that
nuthouse in the first place.
She's still fucked up over that
mulignan that Benny clipped.
No, no, no, no, no, no,
that's not what I'm saying.
I'm saying why why that lie?
Why?
What, because she hates
me so fucking much?
Maybe 'cause she loves you.
You ever think of that?
What?
Stella did not kill Benny.
This is fucking nuts.
But maybe she wants you to forgive her
for hating Benny so much,
because you banished
Benny because of her.
Now she's feeling guilty.
It's like psychological.
You know, in the head.
Get the fuck outta here.
What, are you fucking kidding me?
Come on.
You got to find out what
the fuck is going on.
You go up to that fucking Brocco's
farm, you understand?
And you tell me what's what.
Alright? Psychological.
What? Psychological?
Really? Psychological?
Get the fuck outta here.
What, are you fucking Sigmund Freud?
Get the fuck outta here! Psychological.
I've been doing this for days.
My fingers feel like they're bleeding.
Yeah. I found it.
Found what, Miss Willa?
You know, whoever put this together,
they're really, really clever.
How so?
Well, this has been going
on for about three months.
So the money coming in,
you know, it meets the
monthly projections,
until you compare the
amount of cut we're using
on the unadulterated duji.
I failed math.
What the hell are you
talking about, Miss Willa?
I'm sorry. I don't mean to
tell you how to do your job.
- No.
- I-I This is all about my numbers
- and my figures.
- Right. Okay, but, please,
explain your figures.
The numbers are good, okay?
No one is stealing money.
Nobody's coming in and taking cash.
But it appears someone
may be stealing dope.
How can you tell?
Well, for three months,
the amount of pure dope
in the cut was 9%,
and then Bumpy came and, you
know, adjusted it down to 8%
- and then to 7%.
- Mm-hmm.
So whoever is reporting these numbers
is not reporting them accurately,
because, frankly, there
should be more money here.
How much more?
Well, over three months?
At least $200,000.
You know, so, whosever
job this is, you know,
it's probably the same person
who's ripping off Bumpy.
Junie Byrd?
It cannot be.
Listen, I've found that
in life and in business,
it's very hard to find
people you can trust.
Especially when it comes to duji.
Well, if it ain't the Man of the Year.
Oh, you heard about that?
Yeah, it seems you're being, uh, honored
for your "civic contributions."
I'm helping the Lennox Hill Society
raise some money, man.
Yeah, I bet you are.
All those bourgeois Negroes
paying $100 a plate
to sit with a real live "gangster."
So, what was so important that
you needed to see me now?
Elise.
Oh. I see.
She brought you in on this too.
Figures.
Well, I'd like to stay neutral if I can.
I'm just trying to help.
You want to help?
Get Elise to stop all this bullshit.
She wants to raise Margaret as a Muslim,
and that just ain't gonna happen, man.
Well, in every crisis
there is opportunity.
And perhaps this is an
opportunity for you to grow.
What do you mean?
Bumpy, you, uh you are a man of
many contradictions.
You write poetry in the morning,
and yet you slash someone's
throat later in the day.
You're to receive an award
for your community work,
yet you poison the community with drugs.
Brother, if you were to acknowledge
what your business does to your people,
you wouldn't even show
up to accept that award.
Half the men who follow you
are criminals with blood on their hands.
Who have sought redemption
through their faith.
Faith is an opiate that you peddle.
- You think you're so superior.
- I've never said that.
All you do is talk.
Me? I do shit.
I send people to college.
I help people get jobs.
I provide for my family.
What's so criminal about that?
Brother, I love you.
I do.
But you are a man of contradictions.
And at some point, those
different parts of you
have to come together.
So, what are you offering me, Malcolm?
What's your sage advice?
Make yourself whole.
If you face the truth,
perhaps the good parts of
you will reject the bad.
If you want to do right by Margaret,
my suggestion is that
you tell her the truth.
You're dreaming, Malcolm.
Me? I'm practical.
I know how the world works.
I can't have just one personality.
I got to have many, or else
everything that I care about,
everything I hold dear,
everything that's in my
heart will just go away.
I think Miss Willa did
some wrong figuring.
Why would Junie steal from us?
If Miss Willa says 200 grand
is missing, it's missing.
But that's insane.
Bumpy trusts Junie almost
as much as he trusts us.
Money has a way of turning anybody.
Hmm.
I don't believe it.
Why? Hmm?
Why would he betray Bumpy?
'Cause he thinks he
can get away with it.
'Cause Bumpy would never doubt him.
Hmm.
You ain't got no trust for no one, huh?
You're damn right.
I don't even trust my own mama.
She used to slap me around
in the fuckin' crib,
and she loved me more than anybody.
- Del, I'm worried for you, man.
- Oh, go worry about yourself.
So, let's go have a little
talk with little old Junie.
- Mm.
- And let's hope this is all a mistake,
- 'cause Bumpy's been very clear.
- Mm.
- Any nigger
- Mm.
- that steals duji
- Come on.
gets a bullet.
Hey.
How did it go?
Malcolm's on her side.
He's not gonna be of any help to us.
Well, what are we gonna do?
I'm not sure. Yet.
Can we get Archie to file some
kind of a preemptive lawsuit?
Any court in the state's gonna
grant her maternity rights.
I mean, we never officially
even adopted her.
That was a goddamn mistake.
We tried. Remember?
Elise wouldn't allow it.
Mayme, maybe it's time
we told Margaret the truth.
I mean, she's gonna find out eventually.
When she's an adult.
Right now she is a child, and
I'm not gonna let that happen.
Where you going?
To talk to that daughter
of yours, woman to woman,
before she destroys our family.
I hear you're no longer working
with that mulignan Bumpy Johnson.
It's about time you came to your senses.
This is a great opportunity for us.
You got to listen to me.
You know what? Go fuck yourself, Joe.
You killed Benny Mangano.
- Mangano?
- Yeah.
Why would I touch that scumbag?
Because he was horning in on
your pornography business.
He was a made man.
You know he was my friend.
Is that why you killed Rocco Capisi?
He had nothing to do
with Mangano's death.
That dumb fuck was fencing jewelry.
That ain't what I heard.
Come on. Smarten up, you degenerate.
We We got bigger
problems to worry about.
I think Bumpy Johnson killed Jean Jehan.
I mean, he's trying to take
over our dope connection.
You know what, Joe? Go fuck yourself.
Come on.
Shut the door.
You went to Duchess County?
Yeah, I went up to Brocco's farm.
He's fucking half blind.
- He doesn't even know
- Look, I don't fucking care about Brocco, alright?
Did Did you find something?
Tell me you didn't find Benny.
I don't know how to tell you this, boss.
I found Benny's body.
Just where she said it was gonna be.
Next to the apple tree,
just like you said she said.
I dug him up.
I looked at the body.
Shot in the leg?
Yeah. The thigh.
And also one between the eyes.
Mother of Mary, what did she do?
This means that Bonanno
had nothing to do with it.
This means Ernie and your
daughter killed a made man
Shut the fuck up! I know what it means!
What am I stupid?!
Sorry. I'm just saying.
No one can know about this.
You understand that, Gino?
This thing goes to your grave.
That goes without saying, boss. Come on.
Yeah.
Tell Ernie to meet
me at 8:00 tonight.
Don't tell him nothing.
Okay.
Alright, give me a few minutes, huh?
Boss, if you need anything,
you let me know.
And if you need me to put a
bullet in Ernie's fucking head,
just ask.
Be my fuckin' pleasure.
Everybody clear out!
Get the fuck out of here now!
- What? What's going on?
- Go to the bathroom!
Go to the automat!
Don't disappear! This shift ain't over!
Get the fuck over here.
How come you stealing dope from Bumpy?
- I would never steal from Bumpy.
- You got a gambling debt?
- You owe a loan shark?
- Come on. Hell no!
It's missing, Junie.
200 grand worth of dope
disappeared into thin air.
- I didn't take it.
- Then who did?
You in charge of this whole
motherfucking operation.
Chance, listen. I don't
think it was him, alright?
- Let's Let's Let's leave him be.
- Shut the fuck up.
Goddamnit, Chance.
What the fuck are you doing?
I'm gonna need an answer, Junie.
I'm gonna count from 10.
10, 9, 8
- Chance, please.
- Come on, man.
- Chance, put the fucking gun away!
- 4
- Please.
- 3, 2!
Come on, damn it! Come on, man!
Let me talk to you right now!
Come on, man! Let's get out of here!
It don't smell right!
- Come on! Let's go, man!
- Stop pushing me!
- Let me talk to you Let me talk to you now!
- Get the fuck off of me!
Let me talk to you!
I remember seeing you
lying in one of those beds.
Sweating. Trying to get off the dope.
And succeeding.
The Muslim faith and its
practices saved my life.
And I saved your baby's life
when you weren't there
to take care of her.
You carried her to term,
but I was her mother.
I raised her. She calls me Mama.
Why can't you have
your own child, Mayme?
Let me take what's mine.
I can't have children.
Did you know that?
No.
I was raped by a family friend
when I was 14.
I got pregnant.
Had to get it taken care of by myself.
I couldn't tell anyone.
I felt such shame.
You had an abortion.
By a butcher.
For $5. He messed me for good.
I'm so sorry.
I never told Bumpy.
I didn't have the courage.
So
when Bumpy said w
we were going to raise your little girl,
you can imagine how overjoyed I felt.
I understand.
It's not easy living with your father.
Out all hours of the night and day,
not knowing if he's gonna
come back dead or alive.
Margaret is my only constant.
Please don't take that away from me.
I honestly think I will die without her.
I honestly think I will.
Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.
What do you wish to confess?
It's my daughter my daughter.
Vincent, are you alright?
Stella she shot a man.
She committed a mortal
sin because of me.
Because of something that I did,
because of something I
should have taken care of.
- I don't believe it.
- Is she gonna burn in hell?
Tell me, is she gonna burn in hell?
Am I?
Vincent, get ahold of yourself.
Now, Stella confessed to me
that she was thinking
about hurting someone,
but I believe I talked her out of it.
Now, we we all have
these feelings, Vincent,
where we get so angry that we want
Fuck you! You shut the fuck up!
You shut the fuck up and
tell me what I do! Huh?!
How do I punish her?!
Just fucking tell me!
Tell me what I do, please!
Huh?!
Fuck.
Oh, Christ the Redeemer,
cast out Satan's influence
from this family.
So, what was so important that
you had to pull me out of there?
It was me.
What was you?
I stole the duji, not not Junie.
What?
What?! Why?
Why?
The first time, it was
just a quarter of a key.
It was a stupid gambling bet.
Come on, man, you know
how I like them horses.
It was that fucking Lambchops, man.
I thought it was a sure thing.
That horse that had a
heart attack at Aqueduct?
Chance, I bet the mother
lode on that race.
I-I bet $50,000 on it.
So, of course, I had to make it back.
So you doubled down.
Tripled down.
You been with me for 15 years.
You couldn't just come to me for help?
I mean, what the fuck, Nat?
Man, it was too much.
A-And you're always busting my balls
- for gambling and shit.
- And now you know why.
Look, I'm gonna pay it back, man.
Every dime.
Bumpy don't never need to know.
How'd you steal the dope?
You know how I go up to
Maine to get the quinine?
Mm-hmm.
When I brought it to Junie,
it wasn't hard to lift a key or two.
Who'd you sell the duji to?
Who else was part of this?
I put it up to Reggie in Baltimore.
Look, he ain't down with
this "10 Harlems" thing.
Thinks it's bunk.
That's it? Nobody else?
Come on, Chance. You know me.
Nobody knows about this.
Listen, I swear, man, I will
pay Bumpy back every dime,
no matter how long it takes.
I'll pay it back.
Nat, I think your horse just came in,
and his name is Lucky Motherfucker.
Yeah.
You really are fucking
nuts, you know that?
You got a death wish, or are
you just trying to murder me?
- Or what is it? You hate me?
- No, I don't hate you.
- Yeah, you fucking hate me, right?
- I don't.
Then why the fuck would you do that?
Why would you tell your
father we killed Benny?
I just wanted to tell him the truth.
- I'm tired of lying.
- Oh, you're tired of lying?
Your father wants to have
a fucking sit-down with me.
I've been made for two days,
and I'm gonna be a dead man.
Two days.
You just need to go out of
town for a couple of days.
What the fuck does that mean?
Just go out of town
for a couple of days,
and I'll figure out the rest.
And how are you gonna do that?
I'm gonna figure it out.
You trust me?
I don't know how to trust you.
Go. Trust me.
Joe. Hey, listen, uh, you were right.
You didn't have nothing
to do with Benny.
Fucking right I didn't.
Alright, so what's this
thing about Johnson?
I know a way we can take
back the Marseille dope
and bury that Black motherfucker
once and for all.
He ain't the man he thinks he is.
Hey.
What's going on?
I invited her to the award ceremony.
I think we've come to a compromise.
What's that?
I think we should tell
Margaret the truth.
Elise has agreed to let her stay with us
until she is old enough
to choose her own path.
I see.
But we're gonna wait to
tell her till tomorrow
so we don't ruin your big night.
I was looking at that ad book.
Got a picture of the family in it.
But my daughter Elise,
she's missing from it.
They want to give me the
Man of the Year Award,
but I got to pay for it.
It's bullshit. I can't
stand for it anymore.
You're right.
We should tell Margaret the truth.
We need to tell her now.
What are you doing?
Getting ready to clip
this cocksucker Ernie.
No. No. Benny, he was
my best friend, okay?
I should be the one to do it.
Stella, what the fuck
are you doing here?
Just wanted to see
how mob justice works.
No, no, no. You go home.
Lorenzo and Teddy both died
because they loved me,
and now you're getting
ready to kill Ernie, too?
We're not gonna kill anybody.
We just want to talk to him.
That's bullshit.
Ernie killed a made guy.
I know how this works. He has to pay.
But I'm the one that shot Benny,
so if you kill him, you got to kill me.
Go on! Do it.
- Kill me for killing Benny Mangano.
- Shut up!
- No.
- Shut up!
No!
You need to take your daughter home.
I'll go find Ernie.
If you touch him, I'll kill you, too.
- Whoa, whoa.
- Hey, whoa.
- Why are you doing this?!
- Isn't this what you would do?
No, this stuff ain't your concern.
You understand? Just
tell us where Ernie is!
- I don't know.
- This is family business!
Right. This family or your
own flesh and blood?
Which one's more important, Dad?
You need to control your daughter, boss.
He's been trying to do that my
whole life. Which is it, Dad?
Is it this, or is it your family?
'Cause you got to make a choice.
You got to choose
between me and this shit.
'Cause if you kill Ernie, you're
never gonna see me again.
With respect to you, boss,
I'll never mention your
daughter's involvement in this.
- But Ernie? He's got to go.
- If he goes, so do I.
Boss, you took an oath,
just like the rest of us.
This thing of ours is above family,
above even God.
If it's above God, why don't you
let this fucking punk kill me now?
Shut the fuck up, puttana.
We're in this shit because
I'm not sure I should've done that.
But nobody knows who
killed Benny, right? So
I mean, except you, Ernie, and me.
So, this secret here,
it stays between us.
You understand?
Sometimes we keep things from each other
'cause we wanna protect
each other from pain.
And sometimes we do
it for selfish reasons
because we want to keep
something that isn't ours.
That's not right, Daddy.
No.
It's not, little one.
But just remember that we're a family.
We love you, and that
will never, ever change.
But
sometimes there are secrets that,
um, are not meant to be kept,
and this is one of them.
What your daddy's saying is
Margaret.
I'm not your daddy.
What?
And I wasn't a good daddy to Elise.
I was so caught up in my
life and in my business.
I was absent,
and in that absence,
I almost wrecked the child I loved.
Then you came along,
and I thought, through you,
I thought I had a second chance.
I could protect you like
I couldn't protect Elise.
But protecting someone from the truth
is not protecting them at all.
And the truth is
I'm your birth mother, Margaret.
And I wasn't able to take
care of you at the time,
and that was my fault.
Why?
Because I was a drug addict.
So, Mayme is the one who raised you.
So, "mama" and "daddy" and "sister,"
they're just words.
What really matters is that
the three of us love you
to the end of the earth.
In Islam, we say that heaven
lies under the feet of your mother.
Now you got plenty of heaven, Margaret.
- Because I have two mommies?
- Yes.
And, Margaret, you're gonna hear
a lot of things about your
your daddy.
I mean, your your granddaddy.
Some of them will be good,
and some of them will be bad.
Like Malcolm said, I'm a man
of many contradictions, but
one day, when you're older,
I'm gonna explain everything to you.
No more secrets.
Ellsworth, we can probably
make the award ceremony.
To hell with it. Let's go
get some ice cream.
Mm.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am
proud to introduce a man
no, not a man, a legend
whose generosity knows no bounds.
The Harlem Community Center,
the annual Christmas jamboree,
and most recently,
the Harlem Voter drive,
all address the problems that
Ellsworth thought needed fixing,
a family man whose
character is unassailable.
Thus, when the Lennox Hill Society
wondered aloud who should receive
this Man of the Year Award,
the answer was unequivocal
Bumpy Johnson.
Let's give a big round of
applause to Bumpy Johnson.
Where's our Man of the Year?
Bumpy? Are you in the house?
Where are you, my man?