THE RUNNER/SCREENPLAY, BRIAN R. LUNDIN [best classic books to read .txt] 📗

very attractive white-uniformed waitresses prepared sandwiches to the customers’ specification, all of the sandwiches came with potatoes salad, chips and a pickle. Vito owned the restaurante and used it to launder his illegally obtained money, but recently it had become a favorite of lovers of Italian food. Vito, Jimmy and the sergeant met at the restaurant. Neither Jimmy nor Vito noticed as the sergeant slipped one of the handsome waiters a note containing his private home and office phone numbers. The men slide into the quiet booth in a secluded corner of the restaurant as a waiter placed a bottle of Chianti and hot rolls on the table.


VITO
(hugging and kissing the sergeant on both cheeks)
Cliff, me boy you are looking well.


CLIFF
So are you Uncle Vito.

VITO
(taking a sip from a glass of Chianti) I’m having a problem, hopefully you can help me.

CLIFF
What can I do, uncle?

VITO
Those Nigras especially that Nigra, Jerome McLemore is not giving me respect and I want in his operation.


CLIFF
You mean Jerome McLemore, that nigger policy guy?

VITO
Yes, the police in the district are on his payroll and that Nigra Commander Hollis is his patrone’.

CLIFF
Yeah, I’ve heard of Commander Hollis, I heard he don’t take money.

VITO
Yeah, I know, but that Nigra Jerome is paying all the other coppers off.

CLIFF
What do you want me to do?

VITO
I want you to put the heat on his black ass, and let him know where it’s coming from. I want you to give him the message that either he works for me or he don’t work at all.

CLIFF
No problem, I don’t have to answer to that nigger Hollis.

VITO
Good me boy, how is the family the wife and the girls?

CLIFF
They’re all fine, after this bullshit is over you’ve got to come to dinner.

After the men had a dinner of calamari, stuffed lamb, spaghetti and meatballs they left.

Sergeant Calfino and his undercover police officer met in their office at Chicago Police Headquarters at 11th South State Street and went over the plans for the raids on Jerome policy stations. They would split up into two men teams and each team would have a search warrant for a particular station. They would execute the raid at exactly eight-thirty am and arrest everyone in the station including writers and bettors. This was an unusual procedure, most raids on policy or horse bookie stations resulted in only the policy writer or bookie being arrested not the bettor or patrons, but Calfino wanted to send a message to Jerome McLemore. Sergeant Calfino ordered his men to follow Jerome’s runners to identify where his policy stations were. After identifying, the stations he would have his team of ten detectives conduct simultaneous raids on Jerome’s largest stations. His investigation revealed that the best time to conduct the raid was in the morning, before the runner arrived to collect the bets and money. Early that morning, the police officers raided three of Jerome’s policy stations. Sergeant Calfino was with one team of detectives as they raided the largest station at 4323 South Indiana Avenue. Edwina was sitting behind the cage when the police officers arrived and announced it was a raid. Twenty old people were in the station, some placing their bets and others sitting around drinking coffee. Edwina had been through this before and to her it was no big deal, but when the sergeant announced that everyone was under arrest, many of the older patrons panicked. Some of the women stated they had to get home to take care of their grandkids, other complained that they had left a pot of beans on the stove. One of the older women attempted to brush pass Calfino, but he pushed her and she fell, hitting her head on the corner of the table. Blood began to gush from her forehead and a big knot started to swell as Edwina rushed to the kitchen to get a towel. As Edwina attempted to pass Sergeant Calfano, he smacked her hard in the face. Edwinna stumbled and fell to the floor, bleeding from the nose and mouth.

Cliff
All of you black motherfuckers are going to the shithouse and I don’t give a fuck about your black bastard kids or your beans. Tell that nigger boss of yours that Vito said Hi.

A police squadrol or wagon pulled up in front of the policy station. Edwinna, five old men and ten old women were handcuffed and herded into the police wagon.

CLIFF
(pointing to Edwina and the other woman who was unconscious)
Take them two black bitches to the Nigga Hospital, Provident but bring their black asses downtown once they get fixed up,” he ordered the wagon men.

Pursuant to Chicago Police Arrest Procedures, arrests made by the Vice Control Division are processed at Police Headquarters and not at the district station. After receiving first aid at Provident Hospital, Edwina and the other injured woman were transported to police headquarters and Edwinna called Jerome. The police charged Edwinna with Syndicate Gambling a felony, her bond was set at $5,000, the bettors were charged with “Being a Patron of a Disorderly House,” a misdemeanor, and their bond was set at $500.00 each. The arresting officers placed the men in the Men’s Lockup and the women in the Women’s lockup. The lockup keepers, many of whom were black, were disgusted with Sergeant Calfino decision to arrest all of the old men and women and refused to put the already frighten people into cells, instead they let them sit on the benches in the lockup and gave them coffee and cold drinks. Calfino called Vito and told him of the raid. Vito instructed Calfino to hold on to the policy writing he seized.


VITO
Without those writings that coon McLemore will have to pay anybody who said he hit and that would wipe him out and he will probably be willing to pay a big buck to get them back, can you decode them.

CLIFF
Naw, we never bothered with that nigger game.

VITO
Well, try to find some black mutherfucker who can read that bullshit and find out much action is on them maybe we can sell them back to that Nigra Jerome for ten or fifteen percent, understood?

CLIFF
Understood!

But what Vito or the sergeant did not know was there was always duplicate copies of the writings. Shortly Jerome, Ted, Madame Bourneis and Marque arrived at the Ist District Police Station located at 1121 South State to post the ten percent required for bond. After posting the bond and waiting for the release of his people, Sergeant Calfino confronted Jerome.

CLIFF
You McLemore?
JEROME
Yes.
CLIFF
I’ve got a message for you, let’s step outside.

Jerome followed the sergeant outside. It was a cold and windy night. Large, study snowflakes were falling coating the streets with a white blanket. The temperature had started dropping and the snow flurries blew out of a low-ceiling gray sky. The study falling snow was rapidly turning into one of Chicago’s infamous blizzards; gale-force winds were blowing off Lake Michigan, which was only four blocks from the police station. Sergeant Calfino moved close to Jerome.

CLIFF
(whispering)
I’ve got a message for you from Vito. He wanted me to tell you that he wants half your policy action and if you don’t comply all hell is going to come down on your black ass and if you want your writing slips back it will cost you twenty grand.

JEROME
You tell that fat wop bastard to kiss my black ass and that goes for you too

CLIFF
(incensed)
Who in the fuck do you think you are talking to nigger?

Jerome turned to walk back into the police station the sergeant struck him in the back of his head with a zap knocking Jerome unconscious to the snow covered ground. As the sergeant was attempting to kick Jerome, Madame Bourneis and Marque walked out the door. Neither said anything, but Madame Bourneis locked her black eyes onto the Sergeant the sergeant froze and recoiled as if struck. He wanted to reach for his gun, but he could not move, he tried to call for help, no sound came out. He felt his breathing becoming shallow and his heart was racing. His face turned red and his nose was running. The sergeant did not believe what he was seeing, as Marque and Madame Bourneis shift changed into large black panthers. They made a deep, low growl and displayed their long fangs. The sergeant began to cry and started shaking; he let out a weak scream as he ran north on State Street. Madame Bourneis knelt over Jerome and rubbed his face and Jerome awakened and they helped him to his feet.

JEROME
Where is that lowlife asshole!

MADAME BOURNEIS
He left.

When Jerome returned to the desk his people had made bond. Some were crying and others were hugging Jerome. Outside waiting for them were four of Jerome’s cabs and Ted helped the old people to the cars. Jerome wanted to insure that his people would be comfortable; he knew that most of them were old and was probable tired from their exhausting day. As they pulled off he looked north on State Street and saw a man running and slipping on the icy streets, the man looked like Sergeant Calfino. Jerome had reserved the private dining room at Glady’s Restaurant and he treated all of the people to a soul food dinner.


INT. COMMANDER’S OFFICE-MORNING
Commander Hollis and Reggie were reading the police report on the raid.

REGGIE
That Calfino is a total asshole.

HOLLIS
I agree, I don’t have a problem with him making the raids, but out of professional courtesy he could have let us know and to make it worse, he arrested all those old people, look at the ages, asshole supreme! Well, I was told by a FBI friend that they have an investigation going on Calfino and his association with Pauli’s crime family; he’s going to step on his dick, believe me.

Sergeant Calfino still shaken by his experience the night before sat across the desk from Vito.

VITO
Good work yesterday.

Vito slide a fat envelope over to the sergeant but the sergeant did not acknowledge the congratulation or the envelope.

CLIFF
What happened in that warehouse?

VITO

Fuck if I know, when I got there the placed had damn near burned down and three of my men were dead, all fucked up,” Vito answered lighting a cigar.

CLIFF
Something very strange is happening with that nigger Jerome. Last night I was giving him your message and he started talking shit, I cracked his black ass with my zap, when this extremely beautiful black bitch and a black dude almost as pretty as she was, came out the station. The black bitch didn’t say a word, she just looked at me and right in front of my eyes these two mutherfuckers turned into big black panthers. I have never in my life saw eyes so dark and scary. I couldn’t move or talk, if was like I was paralysis.

JIMMY
Why didn’t you shoot the bitch?


CLIFF
I couldn’t move, I musta stood there outside in the cold and snow, scared shitless.

VITO
(gave an uneasy laugh)
You are working too hard, take a week off and go to my place in Cancun, get a couple of hot ass black bitches and