Grady had agreed to cut the pricing down.
- I'm hoping you can honor that. - Let's keep it at ten for now.
You talk to Teddy?
He said the prices ain't changing 'cause the prices ain't the problem.
Know what is? Y'all two.
I see. So you just gonna bend over and do whatever he say?
Well, I hate to break it to you, but everybody's gotta answer to somebody.
And me? I answer to the man who may have disappeared my fucking father.
I need something to give to my bosses.
- I ain't no snitch, Beau. - This is about self-preservation.
So, unless you wanna go back to not having my protection,
I suggest you find somebody to serve up.
I'm gonna miss you.
So much.
The minute your parents touched down in Cuba,
they would have been targeted by any number of intelligence agencies.
I'm talking about the DGI, the KGB.
The truth is I have no idea what's happened to Alton.
I swear to you whatever happened to your father,
I had nothing to do with it.
Mom, we gonna have a baby. Sure wish you was here.
Hello?
Anyone here?
- What do you think? - It's okay.
Young man, do you know, when I was your age,
I slept in the same room with two brothers.
Say, Franklin.
Cissy, this is about our future.
No more drugs. No more violence. Just us.
We can stop all of this.
I want him to walk away.
I just want you to know that what I did...
I did for all of us.
I love you.
SNOWFALL
- We're gonna need a bigger trunk. - Shit, we need more cars.
More cars means more car carriers, nigga.
- Means another driver. - No, you just gotta open the panels up.
Stuff these motherfuckers in there
like I stuffed my dick in your mama pussy last night.
My mama don't even like niggas that...
Shut the fuck up, nigga! You ain't the only smart nigga in the goddamn room.
Yeah, what's cracking? Hey, that's what the fuck I'm talking about.
Look, bro, you got the burgers too, right?
Yeah.
Dang, that shit banging, my nigga.
Renny, turn that shit up!
That shit bangs.
Everybody shut the fuck up.
Where you get that tape?
Weirdo usually riding a skateboard around here.
Skateboard?
- White boy rapping like that? - Nah, he just... I don't know.
Hey! Looking for Maurice.
- Told you. - Get your ass down here, man!
Jump, nigga.
Alright, hold up.
So, what's up? Y'all must want some verses or something?
I haven't really figured out my prices yet.
You think we came down here to pay you to snitch on us?
Based on the tape capacity, there's about 15 hours of snitching.
Snitching or observing the hood? I mean...
Motherfucker, how about putting our business out on front street?
Hey. Put the tapes in the bag, man.
All right. Hold up, wait. Wait, let me just...
Let me just keep these. I don't be writing this shit down.
It's all in your head?
Cool. So if we ever need to get rid of the evidence, all we gotta do...
So y'all just gonna kill my whole album?
- This my life right here. - Is it, motherfucker?
- How long you been rapping? - Slid out my mama rhyming.
Poetry my first love, I just put her on a beat.
- Spit something right now. - I'm an artist. I gotta be motivated.
- Nigga, I'm... - One time! One time!
What the...
He's a fucking kid! He's a fucking kid, call the dog off!
Stupid motherfucker.
- You don't want that. - Really?
- Yeah, you don't want it. - You sure?
It's not even the right size.
Did chivalry die when I moved in or when I decided to have a baby?
Is this a "why buy the cow, milk for free" situation? I wanna know.
You know what, I was actually gonna say the same thing.
- Were you? - Yeah.
So, you know, before you moved in here,
you used to come up in here cooking up a storm.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Waking up to cheese, eggs, and grits.
Used to pack me a little lunch to the side.
Used to come home to baked chicken, macaroni and cheese, grits...
You really about to go there.
I'ma go there, but wait, let me finish. Soon as you got the keys,
and you're in, all of a sudden the kitchen's all clean and unused.
I'm over here losing weight. Look at that.
Touch it. Look at that. See that?
Objection! Relevance to the previous argument?
- Overruled. - Overruled?
So, seeing as I got bamboozled, I'ma get that last egg roll. Okay?
- You really miss me cooking? - Hell yeah.
And now a nigga can't even get a peanut butter jelly sandwich
in this motherfucker.
Sup?
Call you on an outside line. Yeah, five minutes.
Projects got raided.
What?
Let's go then. Make sure everyone's all right.
Yeah?
- Let's go, nigga. Make a move. - Trying to. Damn.
- Hey, he got another. - I'm going. Boom.
You playing or not? And they still gonna run us, though.
It was attack dogs like down in Birmingham back in the day.
Only thing missing were the fucking fire hoses.
- What happened? - They hit us hard.
Busting heads, grabbing corner boys and shit.
It was that motherfucking Buckley.
Buckley? How the fuck that happen? Y'all got him in your pocket, right?
If the cops already had the Projects on their radar,
he was probably doing damage control. He didn't touch Leon or Jerome...
Touched Einstein right into the goddamn hospital! And he ain't the only one.
Motherfucker came right for us, Louie. He need to be dealt with.
Okay. I hear you. He's my guy, I will find out what happened.
All right, what you need?
Me? I don't need nothing. I don't need a damn thing.
It's them cops who's gonna be in need.
They gotta understand, if they come at us, we gonna come right back at them.
- What you saying? - Sherman's March to the Sea.
Who?
William Tecumseh Sherman. Destroyed everything in his motherfucking path.
We are drug dealers, Leon. Cops is gonna come at us from time to time.
Siccing goddamn dogs on us like we animals ain't no fucking game, Louie!
Lee, look, just calm down, all right? We gonna get through this shit.
They've always wanted to wipe us out. White folk, police...
Ever since the Emancipation. So I'm go back and get my people armed and ready
'cause if they want a fucking war, I'm not gonna let them...
Leon.
Mama.
- Mama. How? - Hello, baby.
How the hell?
He's...
Jerome.
You should have told us you was coming.
Mrs. Saint.
Veronique. I came as soon as I heard.
You heard what?
You haven't told 'em?
I'm pregnant.
- What? - What?
Yeah. We gonna have a baby.
- Congratulations. - Thank you.
Gonna name him Jerome.
She don't look happy.
All right, let's have it.
You don't think I got a right to be pissed off?
Think you should be glad it wasn't worse.
Worse than siccin' dogs on your own people?
Since when the fuck are they my people?
These the same motherfuckers who've been calling me Redbone my entire life.
All right, siccing them on my people then.
What you think this is?
What, you throw a little cocaine my way, sit a girl in my lap,
bat your eyes, and I'm supposed to do whatever the fuck you want?
I told you I was gonna find somebody.
And I bet I won't have to ask twice next time. Now are we done?
I need to know that there is trust here.
That you not gonna just fuck me any time you feel like it.
You do what I ask, you'll be fine.
Have a good night, Lou.
Sorry, buddy.
They told me they fixed the traffic while I was gone, but...
Look, Projects got hit yesterday. Leon and his folks.
They've gotten worse, man. Since you've been gone. LAPD.
Even in the last few months, they've been cracking down on my people.
- It's been pretty fucking brutal. - Yeah.
You're moving literal tons of raw cocaine. I mean, what did you expect?
Considering I'm moving those tons of cocaine on behalf of what I thought
was a grateful fucking nation, I'm expecting a little help, please.
Okay, so you asked me here to help
get the Los Angeles Police Department to go easy on your people?
You had contacts at the LAPD before, right?
- Well, I don't anymore. - Why? Why not? What happened?
Are you kidding me? Why not? Your fucking father went to the press.
Remember? So now my people are more wary than ever about exposure.
It's why they sent a goddamn contractor in here after I left.
Okay.
This is bullshit.
Look, they're not coming after you, right? These cops?
- Just your people in the street? - Well, yeah. But...
So, my advice? Don't worry about it.
'Cause, yeah, CRASH is a scary name.
Sure. At the end of the day, these cops pose no threat to you at all.
And you know why? 'Cause in the grand scheme of things,
nobody fucking cares what happens in South Central.
If it was a white neighborhood, you could be worried.
They'd send the fucking National Guard in here, right?
Just keep yourself insular.
Only deal with your family. They can never touch you.
- Avoid the 110 on your way out. - Yeah.
'Cause it's a fucking parking lot.
Mr. Simmons!
Welcome to Chinatown. Funny place to start following America's pastime.
You like baseball?
America's got a lot of pastimes I ain't too fond of.
Okay.
Look, I need some specialty items.
Some rocket launchers, armor-piercing rounds, anything to fuck some shit up.
Might I inquire as to why you're in need of such lethal devices?
The other boys are blue.
You plan to declare war on the police?
On oppression. On tyranny.
I didn't think I had to come and explain that to you.
That's true. I have witnessed a few uprising in my lifetime,
some more successful than others.
So you'll believe me when I'll tell you
that the conditions do not exist, in or out of the Projects,
to successfully lead that proletarian insurgency that you're dreaming about.
I guess that depends on how you define success, right?
Seems like surviving would be a good idea.
If I get at least one pig before they get me, I figure that's a win.
And what hell do you think will visit upon your people
if you kill one of theirs?
It can't be any worse than what they doing right now.
Really?
Much worse, boychick.
Look, I got money, you got guns.
Are you gonna give me this shit, or do I have to go somewhere else?
Just give me a few days.
As you said, these are specialty items.
- Call me when you got 'em. - Sure thing.
Mr. Owens in 4A, he said he wouldn't pay until his toilet got fixed.
I thought he was just talking shit, told him to show me.
But he wasn't lying. So I went down to the hardware store,
bought an eight-dollar snake, fixed it myself.
Thing is, I used some of the rent money I already collected to buy the snake.
- That okay? - Of course.
Mrs. Saint.
Mama! Welcome to the Westside Development.
My God.
- You look nice. - Thank you, darling. Hi, sweetie.
It's good to be here.
- Hello. - Yeah. I want you to meet Wanda Bell.
Hi, Mrs. Saint.
So, you're the one who's been staying in my home.
I'm so sorry about the mess. I would have cleaned up
if I'd known you was coming, but didn't nobody tell me.
It's fine. I hope it's been a safe space for you.
I'm gonna go get to work.
So nice to meet you.
So what you think?
It is better than I could have imagined.
I am so proud of you. Of both of you.
We're just expanding on the foundation you laid.
Well, Franklin's lucky to have found you.
I left him with a heavy burden, managing all of this on his own.
He's one of the most capable men I've ever met.
- Just like his father. - All right, Mama.
- Come on. Take a seat. - Okay.
So we gonna walk you through everything. There you go.
All right. Including the downtown project.
Okay.
Mrs. Saint, the first phase that we're gonna have, it's warehouse flux, right?
We're really excited about where it's located
and all the options that it gives us.
It gives us a lot of opportunities for growth.
Franklin called.
Hosting a family dinner. In honor of Cissy being back.
That sound nice. What time you heading out?
You being funny?
Well, how about me and you, we take her to dinner on another night.
You know, I don't like you putting me in the middle of you
Franklin and you little beef you got.
Need to patch that shit up.
I hear that. I know there's some static between us.
But this? This is not about Franklin.
- Then what is it? - I'm just exhausted.
It's been one thing after another, after another, after...
And I just wanna sit here in this chair
and watch these white bitches fight over stupid shit.
Nah.
I ain't gonna accept that.
There's a lot of shit going on right now.
Skully cutting off niggas' ears,
the cops, Einstein all fucked up.
And my nephew wants to throw a dinner
for my sister that I ain't seen in over a year.
Bringing the family together.
And you won't do that shit for me?
You're right.
I'm sorry.
You want me there, I am there.
Sorry about that, man.
I meant what I said.
Anything you need down here, all you gotta do is ask.
All right. That's it?
No, actually, I'm having a little get-together for Moms tonight.
Mean a lot if you came through.
I'll never forget what your moms did for me, but I can't.
Look, I know you've been through it down here. I know.
But this is about family, you know? Nothing more important.
Look, I'm not sure if that's true for me anymore.
Or maybe it's just that right now,
my people need me more.
What you mean? Folks here in the Projects?
I mean Black folks everywhere. We're making all this money.
Supposed to have some power with this shit, and what are we doing?
Instead of lifting them up, we're putting them in position
to either get hurt, fall to the pipe or get arrested.
Look, I understand you wanna help your people. I get it.
But you could do that and show up for me tonight, okay?
Sorry, Saint. But I can't sit up there celebrating,
eating steak and shit while my folks out here getting hurt.
Give your mom my best.
Hey, here we go.
I took the liberty of starting us off with a little taste of Cuba.
Mojitos from a Japanese restaurant?
Jerome, do you order sushi from Lucy's on Pico too?
Okay, I had my mouth open for that one! Alright!
That's my lady right there.
My goodness. You getting all comfortable.
Try that.
Brother, I can't. Keeps me up at night. Can't do it no more, man.
What?
Where's Leon? Is he coming?
He apologizes. He wanted to be here,
but he's got a lot on his mind after what happened in the Projects.
- Okay. - All right.
Yeah.
This right here. It's what it's all about, you know? Family.
Wouldn't be here tonight if it wasn't for Moms, so...
Cissy Saint, you built this house.
Welcome home, Mama. To Cissy.
- To Cissy. - I love y'all.
I love y'all, and I'm really happy to see you.
All right now. We got to talk about these two.
Yes. Let's talk about these two. Please.
Keeping up the family tradition. Bringing another generation.
Are we gonna talk about marriage?
Has somebody said something about marriage? Can we please?
No, we discussed it, but she just moved in, and...
You know, we got this baby to think about, so...
We gonna take a beat on the wedding.
My little nephew a goddamn daddy! How the fuck that happen?
You really need me to explain it to you, Unc?
Is that why you came back? For the baby?
I guess it was the push that I needed.
Truth be told, there wasn't
anything for me back there, so...
It was time to come home.
Everyone, ready to order?
Yeah. Let's eat.
You've been in the hood. All this money.
And now you gonna be up all night.
It's mostly watered down anyway.
- Alton would've loved this. - Yeah.
Dinner with the family.
Knowing he's going to be a grandfather.
Jerome tell you they got a horse?
My God.
You ever find out what happened to him? Alton.
No, we don't have to talk about that right now.
Never officially. No.
But we all know what happened.
Teddy McDonald killed him.
Yeah, we can't say that without proof.
- Franklin. - Hey.
Ex-Panther in Cuba.
There's no amount of people that might've been interested in him.
To wipe him off the face of the earth. Only one man wanted that.
What's going on between the two of you?
Y'all been kicking each other under the table all night.
What's going on?
It's nothing. Forget about it. It's fine, Mom.
- Let's finish dinner. - What do y'all know that I don't?
She deserves to know.
Franklin?
Teddy's back.
I wanna be there for you, Franklin.
But I realize now that I can't fully do that if you keep me in the dark.
I'm talking about the business.
Mrs. Saint. It's an open book. Just ask and I'll walk you...
Not that business, baby.
- You want in on the game? - I've been in.
I lost my husband because of it.
And now the man responsible is back in our lives.
Even if that's true, how does you being back in the game make things better?
When I first walked into the club and saw Veronique standing there,
I knew you had found the right woman. You know why?
'Cause she was there.
Someone you could trust with that part of your life.
- Someone you didn't have to lie to. - I don't take her on drops with me.
But she knows about Teddy. Don't you?
I do.
So you wanna come on drops now.
Move product? I mean, what're you even asking me?
I didn't come back here to be a burden, Franklin. I wanna help.
But I also don't wanna be kept in the dark.
Not anymore.
- This all from... - The raid. Yeah.
You want something to drink?
Just wanted to see you. Check in with you.
Anything I can do to ease what you're going through?
I appreciate it. But I don't think there's much you could do here.
You know one of the things I learned about Cuba that surprised me?
The literacy rate is 100%.
Everybody in Cuba, no matter the color or class, can read and write.
Go to decent schools. Get good medical care.
They really do care about their people.
I mean it all can't be good.
Yeah, well, yeah. I mean, there are problems.
But not like here. Not like this.
But look what it took for them to get there. A revolution, right?
That's what the fuck we're trying to do.
Right.
But there are other ways to wage revolution.
When we were with the Panthers,
a lot of times we made changes without firing a shot.
- Well, maybe you should have. - Maybe.
But then violence becomes the story, not justice.
And you end up dead, or in jail.
And the worst part of it? That's what they want to happen.
Not only do you lose, but they win.
So what you do then?
There are other ways to fight.
Other ways to make change.
And there are more people out in this world who wanna help than you know.
Clearly our energy's funky right now, so...
- Let's talk. - All right.
- No bullshit? - No bullshit.
You downplayed Teddy.
How dangerous is the man that killed your father
and just showed up a few days ago?
My father went after him and lost.
Wasn't sure what happened to him till I saw my mother.
Teddy's different.
Maybe paranoid, all business.
As long as I keep the money flowing, I'm safe.
We're safe. For now.
And that's the truth. All right?
It's a two-way street.
How do you feel now after hearing from her?
Your mom?
That you are the mama's boy I thought you were from jump.
Can't do no wrong in her eyes.
And she seemed kind of cool to me.
Maybe I'm imagining it.
And please don't shut her down if she has something to say
just 'cause you don't wanna hear it.
Okay?
When you asked me to move in, I asked if it was safe.
And you said yes.
I was looking around at your books. I was being nosy, and I found that.
I bought this place because of the security and the location.
This is just extra.
I can get rid of it if you don't want it around.
I don't care about the gun.
I told you what I wanted from you.
Maybe this place is safe, but nowhere else is.
And some strippers and a weirdly quiet vet, they don't cut it.
You need more. We need more.
I agree. I'll get on it tomorrow, first thing.
Where'd you learn how to do that?
Told you how I grew up.
You think my mom pulled all that bullshit
and didn't teach me how to come save her if I needed to?
Save her? What about you?
Come here.
Think she'll ever come back?
Walk into the office?
Say she wants to be in our lives?
If she does, we're moving to Africa.
Same day. I'm not looking back, 'cause once she's in,
she's fuckin' in.
'Scuse me?
But have we met before?
I'm not sure. I just returned from Mexico City.
I have good friends there as well.
Thanks.
It's so nice to finally meet you.
Ana told me so much.
My name is Ruben. Ruben.
Cissy. It's nice to meet you too.
Nice to meet you Cissy.
So, how was your trip?
Cissy, I want you to know...
I think it's an incredibly brave thing you're doing,
and I'm sorry for all that you've been through.
It must have been a very difficult time.
So how does all this work?
Well, now that we established contact, we'll set up regular meetings.
Sometimes here, sometimes elsewhere.
As long as neither of us are under surveillance,
we can meet out in the open.
No, what I actually meant...
I've made contact with my family.
My son has confirmed that he's back. Just like Ana said he would.
Teddy McDonald?
So what do you need from me to do what you gotta do?
I know what you want, Cissy,
and I share your indignation over what the CIA has done to you and your family.
Let me be clear. I want answers first.
What exactly happened to Alton?
And I wanna make sure my family is safe.
And then, you can kill Teddy McDonald.