Next of Kin

Uptown, Saturday night.

A hell of a place.

Fucking hillbilly heaven is what it is.

The hell with this. Let's go upstairs and get this asshole.

We'll wait for Gates. These are his people.

- Sorry to take you away from dinner. - What do you got?

A goddamn hillbilly wacko tore up two men at a bar.

Took the head off one guy with a bottle...

...and the other was dead before he hit the floor.

What the fuck gets into these people of yours, Gates?

Sometimes folks make us a mite testy, Zimmer. Got a name?

Willy Simpson. The manager said you might know him.

Hey, Gates, I'm gonna give you 15 minutes.

Then I'm going in. I'll put some hair on the wall.

You follow what I'm saying?

- Herman. - You watch yourself, officer.

Like a junkyard dog.

What kind of shape is he in?

They pulled a knife on him first. They was messing with his woman.

- I'll see he gets a good lawyer. - Back home he wouldn't need one.

Well, he should have drove them home and cut them there.

It would have saved us a shitload of trouble.

Willy?

It's Truman Gates.

I was wondering if I could come in and talk.

- Are you alone? - Yes, sir, I am.

Come on in.

I heard of you.

Your family's from up in Perry County, ain't they?

Yeah, up near Hazard.

Mind if I sit down?

Damn things ride up on me.

So you wanna watch the TV?

She pissed me off.

You wanna see a doctor?

Shit, man, I've known worse than this.

Where'd that be?

Allegheny Mining Corporation, Number 3.

Harlan County, yeah?

I used to hunt up there with my brothers up on Daggots Ridge.

Shit, I know just where you're talking about.

Hey, there are ghosts up on that ridge.

No kidding?

Yeah. One time my dogs took me straight down this hollow.

There weren't no wind or nothing. It just got real cold.

Then all at once, them dogs started to howl like...

Like they was talking to the dead.

Yeah, man, there are ghosts up on that ridge.

They're coming for you, Willy.

I know you'll take a couple of them with you, but they'll get you just the same.

Or we could ride down to the station together.

Just a couple of fellas from the hills.

You've got my word on that.

I know you ain't scared to die, Willy.

You just ain't in no place to leave your ghost.

Good work, Truman.

- Lenny, grab him. - Oh, no. Zimmer.

This piece of shit's Homicide's now, pal!

What are you doing, you asshole? What are you doing?

Touch my prisoner again, I'll break every bone in your body. You hear me, huh?

You follow what I'm saying?

Do you follow what I'm saying?

- Hey. - Hey, brother.

Catch any thieves lately?

Same old, same old.

So, what happened to you the other night? Jessie and I waited two hours.

I had a late pickup out in Cicero.

I thought we left it loose about dinner.

Hey, no big deal. She only spent half the day making your favorite dinner.

Tell her I'm sorry.

So you heard from Briar lately? He still after you to stay clear of me?

Give me a break, Mom.

- "Mom"? - Yeah.

Are you afraid I'll talk you into staying here and leaving the mountains behind?

- Well, ain't you? - Yeah.

You can make your own decisions. I'm just trying to make things easier.

Bullshit. You're just as bad as Briar. You're just smoother.

- Now wait a minute, little brother. - No, you wait a second.

I feel like one of them little countries stuck between two big superpowers.

Both claim to be helping. They're just trying to outdo one another.

And I'm the one in the middle catching all the shit.

The fact is, I don't like it here.

As soon as I earn me enough to put down on a coal truck, I'm heading home.

Now, that ain't Briar talking. That's me.

Let's go, David.

The string section's wonderful.

Well. What a surprise, you were late.

- Sorry. - It's okay.

- You was wonderful, from what I heard. - Thank you.

How was Gerald?

He got another letter from Briar.

I pushed him a little hard...

...so he probably won't speak to me again for a month or so, but...

Other than that, everything's great.

And he says that I do it just to get back at Briar.

And he's right. You do.

That's what I love about you, Jessie darling, the way you sugarcoat things.

Let's get out of here.

George. George, how's that sister of yours?

Not bad.

Hey, where you been?

- Chasing girls? - I'm sorry I'm late, PappaJohn.

Gabrielle, forgive me.

You're late. That doesn't matter. You're here, that's all that counts.

This is a special occasion.

Joey.

I want you to meet Lawrence lsabella, my son.

Lawrence, Joey Rosselini I was telling you about.

Lawrence is my son from my first wife, Sylvia, who died.

It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard a lot about you.

Yeah. Good things, I hope.

- He's been bragging about you. - Hey.

I've been telling Lawrence how much he could learn from you.

- Like what? - Business, Joey.

He wants to go to work for his papa. I couldn't be prouder.

- Honey? - What?

Do you believe in the hereafter?

- Then you know what I'm here after. - Not now. Go away.

- Bravo. - You wanna play on the teeter-totter?

I love you.

You know what happens when you say that to a mountain boy?

All right, stay close.

- No problem. - Let's go.

It's time to teach these fucking punks a lesson.

Hey, I don't bitch when you listen to that... What you call it? Rat music.

Rap. Rap, not rat.

You ever try to hum any rat?

Look, homeboy, you don't mix rap and hum music. They're different flavors.

Okay.

Damn it. We're being pulled over.

That ain't no cop, man. That's a hit.

- What are you doing, Gerald? - Hold on.

What are you doing?

Gerald. Gerald, stop!

Yeah!

Yeah, boy.

Get them, Paulie.

Gerald, let them have it, man. It ain't worth it!

- Why isn't he stopping? - He'll stop.

What the hell is wrong with you?

Stop!

- This guy... - Holy fuck!

Wait. Wait, wait. Hold it.

Leo, get the door.

Hey, Lawrence, come on. You wanna learn the family business.

Let me show you how we negotiate. Come on.

Come on, Lawrence. Come on. Come on up.

What's wrong with you, huh?

Don't you watch TV?

Don't you know when someone wants you to pull over and talk to them?

I didn't tell you to get up.

You ain't taking my truck.

"You ain't"?

You're a fucking hillbilly, aren't you?

No wonder you didn't pull over. You never seen a TV before.

What's your name?

Gerald Gates.

What the fuck is this?

You know, Gerald...

...I've dealt with niggers...

...kikes, Polacks, Chinks, spics.

If God made it, I've seen it.

But you fucking hillbillies, you are the dumbest I ever met.

Go to hell.

You know, Gerald, I gotta hand it to you. You got balls.

- Stupid as shit, but major balls. - Hey. Hey, what are you doing?

The owner of the restaurant asked for the machine to be removed last night.

It was an outfit setup.

Gerald just happened to be the driver.

God, Truman, I'm sorry.

You act like I was supposed to know his brother was a cop.

He was a fucking hillbilly. How many hillbilly cops do you know about, Frank?

PappaJohn, in 40 years, you ever hear of a hillbilly cop?

I did what I had to do.

It was clean. Am I right, Frank? Clean?

Bottom line is, did we get what we wanted here?

I'm supposed to meet Northside's lawyers at 3 to discuss our proposal.

That's good. That's real good.

- Relax, Frank. Quit worrying. - I'm paid to worry.

Not the first time you've made me anxious.

You do your job and I'll do mine.

Go home, Frank. Get some sleep.

Good night, Frank.

You shot him in cold blood, Joey.

Did Lawrence tell you that?

PappaJohn, you gave me two instructions:

Teach him the business...

...and take care of him.

Joey.

Thanks.

Jessie.

You best wait here, hon. They ain't real quick with strangers.

- I'm your wife. - No, I ain't talking about you, honey.

I'm talking about me.

- Okay? - Okay.

- Grandpa. - Truman.

Briar.

Goddamn it, you're still brothers, ain't you?

Truman.

- Truman. - Cousin Hollis. Snake.