I. Derrick The Counterfeiter

A. TOMMY (V.O.)

A.”If you ask me if I have any regret I would say no.  I chose my life.  It wasn’t bad parenting, TV, movies, video games, or any other bull shit.  I am not a violent person.  Sometimes life requires violence, and I am not afraid to step up and be forceful.  I chose to live this way and I accept the consequences.”

B. Derrick makes counterfeit $100 bills.  He only uses the bills in places where he knows they can't turn him in for counterfeiting, but he also is careful to not to get killed in the process.

C. Derrick sells a little coke to help him make real money that he can put in the bank and use when he is afraid that the counterfeit would be noticed.

D. Derrick is the scum of the earth and he looks like it.  He lives in a piece of shit house with 2 or 3 hangers on.  Derrick dabbles in everything, protrusion, drugs, and counterfeiting.  He will basically do anything for a buck.  He would sample himself broke if it hadn’t been for the counterfeiting. 

II. Tommy the Distributor

A.  Tommy is a smart thug, or he thinks he is smart anyhow.  He could have been something other than a drug dealer if he wanted to, but due to his lack of ambition for school work, and his lack of interest in the skilled trades he has decided to become a drug dealer (Which he conceders to be a skilled trade).  He has become fairly successful as a dealer and is now a distributor.  He buys in bulk from an international supplier and distributes the product to his street dealers. 

B.  Tommy has a decent apartment, a dog and a girlfriend.  He has a middle income lifestyle. 

      C.  Tommy Sells to Derrick who pays in counterfeit $100 bills

III. Manuel the Supplier

A.  Manuel is a no nonsense kind of guy.  He makes blunt decisions based upon making money in a cut throat business.  He trusts no one except his Cousin/body guard. 

B.  Manuel is ruthless and cold.  He has no close relationships and no friends.  He will not allow anyone to compromise his business by becoming a hostage.  He lives a wealthy lifestyle. 

B.  Manuel Sells to Tommy who pays with the money he collects from his dealer including Derrick's

IV. Confrontation

A. Manuel notices that the money is counterfeit.  This makes Manuel very angry because this could ruin his business and he could wind up in jail.  Manuel traces the money back to Tommy.  He waits until Tommy's next purchase and checks to see if there is counterfeit money in his bag.  Finding the counterfeit currency they rough him up a bit and force him to put his hand on a table.  Manuel takes a stiletto and pins Tommy's hand to the table with it.  Tommy pleads for his life and swears that he didn't know that the money was counterfeit. 

B. Manuel tells Tommy he has 2 days to come up with $30,000 and that he had better never bring any counterfeit money to him ever again or he and everyone he cares about will be dead.  Tommy agrees to pay the money in two days and they let him go.

V. Complication

A. Tommy now facing death if he doesn't come up with the money fast drives to his brother's trailer to come up with a solution.  His brother (James) thinks they should steal a car and see if they will take it.  Tommy doesn’t think that they will accept a stolen car in exchange for $30,000 in debt, but his brother thinks it may at least buy them some time.  They may hold it for Collateral. 

B. Tommy and James steal the car and take it to Manuel's. 

C. Manuel is furious that they would bring a stolen car to his home.  He tells Tommy to get the car out of there and he decides that Tommy needs more motivation so he keeps his brother as collateral. 

VI. Importune

A. Tommy is running out of time.  His brother is being held by a villainous criminal who is not treating him well to be sure.  Tommy tries to think of anyone who can help him.

B. Tommy goes to his friend Henry who is a lawyer.  He begs Henry to lend him $20,000 so he can pay off Manuel and get his brother back.  Henry tells him that he didn’t have the money in cash, and even if he did he wouldn’t give it to him.  If he thought that he was buying him out of the lifestyle then he would, but he would just be throwing his money away.  Sooner or later he was going to get caught and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

C. Tommy angrily leaves to think of how he can come up with the money.

D. Henry worried that his friend, his friend’s brother or both will wind up dead telephones the police.  He talks to a friend who is an officer.  He asks his friend to tail Tommy and gives him Tommy’s address.  He tells him what he knows, and tells him that he will be representing Tommy in the event he is arrested.

VII. Desperation

A. Tommy leaves Henry’s house frustrated and desperate.  He drives around thinking of what he can do to raise $15,000 in the time he has left.  (Background is surreal (Like Natural Born Killers, or Pulp Fiction.)

B. He decides to rob a local pornographer/Sensual Massage parlor owner.  He calls someone to ask where his place is called and uses the phone book at the pay phone to rip out the address. 

C. Tommy drives to the place and walks toward the back.  Security is light, nobody is armed.  The pornographer (Frankie) is in the back in a small kitchen.  The place is kinda’ dirty, but not too bad. 

D. Tommy immediately goes for the shakedown.  He pulls his gun and demands money from Frankie.  Frankie who has never had to deal with this kind of treatment locks up and begins to mumble incoherently.  Tommy demands again and again, but Frankie can not snap out of it.  Tommy looks around for something on the table to hit Frankie with.  Within reach is a can of Tomato Soup.   He picks up the can and hits Frankie a few times.  And asks again where is the money?  Frankie can only reply ‘What money?’  Tommy begins to hit him harder, ‘Any fucking money you have.’  Frankie nearly knocked out and a bit bloodied points to his jeans draped over a chair.  Tommy throws Frankie to the floor and walks over to the chair.  He takes the pats the jeans looking for anything in the pockets, he removes all of the items.  He rummages through the items and finely removes $2000 from the wallet mostly in $100 bills.  Tommy ‘This is it?’  Frankie nods as much as he can being nearly knocked out.  Tommy very angrily grabs him by his shirt and lifts him up.  ‘Where is the money from your business?  Is this a Whore holiday?”  Frankie flops around half awake.  Tommy slams him again with the can and demands the money from his business.  Frankie just mutters no money.  Tommy hits him harder and harder until he drops him realizing he is probably dead.  He stands up and looks at the soup can.  It is dented in and leaking soup that is mixing with the blood.  It is hard to tell if he is covered in soup or blood.  Tommy kicks Frankie’s limp body a couple to times. He looks down and realizes he is covered in blood.  He takes a shirt from the chair where the jeans are and quickly wipes the blood off with his shirt and puts on the new shirt.  He makes a hasty exit with the $2000. 

VIII. Revelations

A. Tommy returns home to get what money he has and to try to think of what he can do.

B. An unmarked Police car is setting across the street from Tommy’s apartment with the officer that Henry called earlier.

C. Tommy digs frantically to find anything of value to try and sell.  He calls some people to tell them he is selling anything he can.  He and his girlfriend get into an argument and she leaves.

D. Tommy breaks down and cries. 

E. In his breakdown he knocks over his stack of money and realizes that the counterfeit money is all $100 and all together in the pile.  He flashes back to getting money from Derrick and to all of the money lying on his table.

F. Tommy quickly jumps up and makes a hasty call to Manuel telling him that he knew who had screwed them both and that he would bring the culprit to him.  

G. Tommy Calls up Derrick and tells him that he has the deal of a lifetime.  His brother is in real trouble and he is trying to get him and get out of town.  Derrick has heard rumors and asks him how much money he needs to get his brother back from Manuel.  Tommy tells him he needs about $15,000.  Derrick is wondering why Tommy would waste time with him to get $5,000 but he wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.  He tells Tommy to throw in his _____ and they had a deal.  Tommy asks him if they can meet at the warehouse that Manuel is holding James at.  Derrick ask why the cloak and dagger shit?  Why can’t they meet at their regular drop, and Tommy tells him that he needs to make a quick swap and head out of town.  Slightly suspicious, but still willing to make the deal Derrick agrees to meet at the warehouse. 

IX. Pursue

A. Tommy goes out to his car and drives to the warehouse not knowing that he has a tail.

B.  Tommy arrives at the location and goes into the warehouse.  The DEA agent drives by parks around the corner and calls in backup.

C. Tommy goes in to the warehouse, and talks to Manuel.  He explains how he figured out who it was that was screwing him and that he had convinced him to meet him at the warehouse.  Manuel is pissed, but is willing to see if he is telling the truth. 

D. They are sitting and waiting, Manuel’s men look bored, Tommy and James look very nervous.

E. James getting nervous, “I need something to calm my nerves.  Anyone got anything?”    Manuel, “I can’t believe you, you have some balls asking for drugs now.”  James, “Sorry, I just thought I could use something to calm my nerves.” Manuel, “In the back.”  James, “What do you have?”  Manuel, “Now you are being picky about your free drugs?”  James, “No, no.  I just didn’t know what was there and what was cool.”  Manuel, “You smoke some pot; I don’t think you need any coke.” 

F. The DEA agents are listening in now.  The agent who has been following says, “That is what we needed boys lets move in.”

G. The agents storm in. 

H. Manuel is furious.  He thinks that the entire thing is a setup.  “You fucking prick!  You set me up!.”  He pulls a gun and points it at Tommy.  Manuel’s men point guns at the DEA agents, the Agents point guns at everyone.  James, “I didn’t set you up.”  Manuel, “I suppose your brother really wanted something to calm his nerves.”  James, “I swear we didn’t set you up.”  Manuel, “Shut up!  I wasn’t talking to you.”  James, “You have been holding my brother since yesterday, how would he have known to set you up?”  Manuel, “Perhaps you set this whole thing up to lure me into a trap.  Well it won’t work.”  Manuel shoots Tommy which causes the standoff to turn into a shoot out. 

I. The shoot out fills the room with bullets.  Manuel is gunned down first by a single shot to the chest. James is hit several times from the automatic weapons of the DEA agents into the back and Tommy is dropped with the shot from Manuel.  The Agents and Manuel’s men shoot it out for about 5 min, until it is just 2 Agents and 1 of Manuel’s men.  The agents are yelling at the man to come out.  The man a Columbian speaks in Spanish to them, cursing them.  They tell him to put his hands up.  He puts one bloody hand up then he springs up and shoots, getting shot down the second after he shoots.  The two DEA agents are standing there, and you realize one has been gut shot.  He puts his hand down to the blood on his belly and looks in shock.  He drops dead.  The last agent goes over to the dead body and spits on it.  He is looking around when he notices Tommy shot through the abdomen still alive and pointing a gun at him.  Rage is burning in his eyes.  The agent tries to convince him not to shoot, but he fires the shot, and we fade to black.

X. Dues

A. Derrick pulls up and looks around at the cars that are parked outside.  He cautiously enters.

B. Looking around at all the carnage.  He begins to figure out what happened.  He looks around for whatever he can scavenge.  He was about to leave when Tommy shouts out, laying in a pool of his own blood (Ala Reservoir Dogs). 

C. Tommy begs Derrick to take him to the hospital.  Derrick looks around at the carnage and takes the gun from a DEA agent laying on the ground near by.  He looks at Tommy and says, “I wouldn’t want to mess up my car.” Or maybe they discuss what happened and Derrick find out what happened and shoots him.  The camera raises up to show all the carnage as we get a closing V.O           

D. Derrick (V.O)  “Regret is for squares in their business suits, living their 9 to 5 lives.  Fuck that.  I chose to live my life this way.  I chose to cheat and steel, I chose to pimp and to pass counterfeit bills.  You can’t judge me, you don’t even know me.  Don’t go expecting me to feel bad about what I done.”