Different Sides of the Fence

Transcript

If I could just get this fucking thing to. .. shit.

You see anybody out there? Hello? Fuck.

Fucking rookies, man. Look I said- oh shit. Hi officer.

This isn't what it looks like. No, no, no, no, no, no, not stealing the car. Just I lost my keys and I don't want to wait for AAA and thought I'd just do this.

Yeah, hot wiring my own car. Come on man, cut me some slack. All right, all right, I'm getting out, I'm getting out, no need to get pushy.

Where the hell is- he ran off. Fucking rookies. This is why you don't trust the fucking rookies to watch your back.

They fucking run at the first sign of a cop. So what? You're gonna fucking arrest me? You didn't actually catch me doing anything.

I didn't steal the car. I was sitting in a car with wires in my hands, so you don't really have anything. Wait, it's you.

You're a fucking cop now? Forgive my bluntness, but I thought you fucking died. Uh, yeah.

No way did I think that you would end up as a fucking cop, especially one that's gonna fucking arrest me. Thanks. No, no, I'm not going anywhere with you.

No, you're gonna have to fucking do it the hard way. It's been two years. Yeah, the day that we were raided and we all took off in separate directions, everybody ended up at the safe point, but you.

We just assumed you didn't make it. Well, to be fair, you were kind of a cream puff, so. You were, so, yeah, fucking rich kid trying to rebel against mommy and daddy by joining the gang of kids that were stealing cars.

Uh-huh. The rest of us actually knew how to fucking look after ourselves. Not you.

Oh, fuck, man. Do you know what I fucking went through when I thought you didn't make it? No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

I thought it was my fault that you fucking died, okay? Yeah, because I was supposed to be looking out for you. I knew you weren't the same as the rest of us.

I knew you didn't have what it took to fucking do this, to make it out here. You didn't grow up on the streets. You didn't fucking grow up with nobody giving a shit, and you sure as fuck wouldn't know how to get away from a police raid.

I should have stuck with you, but I didn't, because I was afraid of fucking getting my own ass caught, and when push came to shove and I had to choose between you and me, I chose me, because that's just what I do. And then when I thought you didn't make it, I, fuck, I felt so guilty, and now you're standing in front of me, and you're a fucking police officer. You jumped sides, man.

What the fuck am I supposed to think about that? What did you do, go home that day and tell your parents that you fucked up and just decided to go straight? Oh.

All right, well, sure. They don't let rookie cops work this beat. What the fuck are you doing out here? No, no, no, no, no.

I've been out here long enough to know. They don't send us the new guys. They send us the guys that aren't afraid to kick our asses, because they've got enough tenure to know that they're safe if they do.

So why are you out here? You can't have been on the force that long. Why the fuck are you looking for me? Apparently that was just another life for you.

Look, you were lost. What the fuck was I supposed to do? You wandered into that auto repair shop thinking that you were going to get a job because you tinkered with some shit in fucking shop class in high school.

The guys were going to eat you alive. Yeah, they would have if it wasn't for me. Yeah, they would have.

Very much so. Well, I certainly wasn't going to leave you to those assholes. No, you're right.

It wasn't my problem. Maybe I felt bad for you. Maybe I wanted to live vicariously through the kid that had a family.

I don't know. I just knew that if I left you to your own devices, one of them was going to fucking kill you. Or worse, you were going to get us all arrested, which almost happened, though, to be fair, not your fault.

Yeah, I know it was scary. Being out here isn't exactly easy, especially when you're used to being in a home with parents who give a shit and food on the table every day. Yeah, it's kind of shitty.

But we manage. And you're costing me a meal or six right now by getting in my way. You think the hotshot that owns this fucking car is actually going to give a shit that it's gone? They're just going to call their insurance company.

The insurance company will replace the fucking thing and nobody will be any the wiser. And a bunch of street kids will get to eat this weekend. So what skin is that off your ass again? You remember how it was.

We get a car like this. We get to fucking eat. We don't.

We end up dumpster diving or begging at shelters. Nobody wants to have to beg. So can you just turn the other way or something? Of course not.

Oh, you think it's that simple? You got your shit together so I can, too. What is this? A public service announcement? Sorry, I don't, I don't pay attention to those.

I have bigger things to worry about. Well, yeah, it's easy to fucking straighten out when you've got parents and when you've got money and when you've got people who want you to straighten out. What have I got? Fucking nobody.

My mom kicked me out when I was 14 because her fucking pimp didn't like me because I wouldn't sleep with him. Yeah. Yeah.

So who's going to be rooting for me? Fucking nobody. I sure as fuck ain't going to the police academy, thanks.

Kind of smarts I got ain't going to do shit for me in the real world. I think I'm going to walk into some corporate job and tell them that I know how to hotwire this car or that I can pick a pocket without anybody noticing me. Yeah, my skills don't mean shit out there.

They mean a lot here. They mean we get to fucking eat and we get to survive. And that's all that I care.

Bullshit. Ugh. If this is what you were looking for me for, you can fuck right off.

Yeah. Uh, because I don't do charity. What? You're going to swoop in and save me? You're going to take the girl that you met on the streets a couple of years ago who helped you survive and, you know, made your experience a good one, you're going to save her?

What am I, the criminal with a heart of gold? No, that's not how this works. How do you know I'm not like the rest of them? Why? Because I spent all of your time with us saving your ass and keeping them from kicking it? That doesn't mean shit.

So what? So what if I run the numbers? That doesn't mean anything.

Somebody has to. It's a team effort. We bring in the cars.

They chop them up. I help with the numbers to make sure nobody's getting screwed. That's how it works.

Oh, right. I'm going to go to school and be a fucking accountant. Because I learned how to do math by working with drug dealers on stolen car math? Awesome.

I'm sure the college admissions people would love that in an essay. Seriously, if you're not going to arrest me or whatever, just get the fuck out of my face. I have shit to do.

I have people waiting on me. I don't know how you think that's going to work. I don't even have a place to live right now.

I'm at the fucking woman's shelter. Yeah. No, the guys are staying at the shop and I'll be damned if I'm going to fucking live there with all of them.

You smelled that place? At least at the shelter I get a shower. Food's scarce, but it's a bed and it's a place to be clean.

No. You know I don't touch that shit. Because I can't keep myself alive if I'm baked out of my mind.

Are we done? I'm sure your cop buddies would love that, you shacking up with a known criminal. They all know who I am, especially the ones that work this beat.

How are you so calm about this? You just asked me to stay at your place. Like it's just something you do.

Like you just asked me to have lunch with you or something. How is that a thing? Paying it forward.

Do me a favor. Pay it forward to somebody else. Somebody that you can actually help.

Why are you really doing this? What do you want from me? We promised not to talk about that.

Yeah. We don't have to bring that up. We don't have to bring that up.

So what? The guy was going to knife you so I got him first. That's a big deal.

Well I wasn't going to just stand there and let it happen. Of course not. I may steal cars and shit, but I'm not a trash human being.

Fuck. Like I said, we're not supposed to talk about that. I told you I'm not going with you.

Okay, if you're not taking me in then where do you think we're going? Just food? This isn't some fucking plot of yours to get me in your car and then never let me out or something, right?

I don't fucking know. You went from fucking running around with us to being a cop. I don't know what you're capable of.

Just food. Yeah. It's been a couple days.

No, we've got a couple of younger kids that we just took in and I've been giving them what I have just to keep them going. They're not used to being hungry yet. Anyway, it doesn't matter.

If you're offering a meal, I'm not going to say no. But that's it. A meal.

That'll make today a pretty damn good day. Yeah. Woke up in a bed this morning.

Had a shower. Feel pretty good. And I am going to steal this car.

So we're going to eat and then you're going to fuck right off. Okay? Now we'll see.

That's what's going to happen. Alright, alright. Oh, pretty nice digs.

Even has that new car smell. Yeah, it's not a typical cop car. Oh, they give you one of the hidden cars, huh? The ones that they think are inconspicuous? Oh, they give you one of the hidden cars, huh? The ones that they think are inconspicuous? But really stand out just as much as the ones with the lights on the top.

Fuck. Why are you really doing this? Yeah, I know.

I know what you said. Because of that. But.

.. That seems so. ..

It just doesn't seem right. Yeah. We did get pretty tight while you were running with us.

You were always so nice to me. I mean, the other guys are alright, but you were actually a decent human being. A decent human being.

You actually listened when I spoke. You missed me. I think that's the first time in my life anybody's ever actually said that to me.

It's a weird feeling. Yeah, people don't miss me. I'm the kind of person that just kind of fades away, you know? Intentionally.

I made myself stop missing you. When I thought. ..

When I thought you didn't make it. It. ..

It hurt. I know. I didn't think it would, but it did.

I just thought you were this pain in the ass guy that I had to keep from getting fucking bumped off because he was so fucking naive. I didn't actually realize that I started to give a shit about you. You were my best friend.

It's so strange. It's one of the things that we don't allow around here. We don't allow becoming actual friends.

It's too easy to get hurt that way. And when you disappeared, I figured out why. We come and go, sometimes with no explanation.

It's easier not to get attached. When I got attached to you, I didn't want to, but I did. That's why I'm so fucking angry with you now.

You're a cop, for fuck's sakes. You're actually on the other side of the fence from me now. Yeah, you say that.

You say, I don't have to be where I am, but. .. We've already established that that's not true.

Anyway. What? You look sad.

No time for sad. Food. There's time for food.

Don't be sad for me. I'm fine. I got you.

All kinds of places to be and things to do. People are just a distraction. It's okay.

You're still looking at me. Yeah. I know.

That's not really something that I think about either. Friends are hard enough. Anything else is.

.. is. ..

dangerous. Is that why you didn't come back after? Is that why you.

.. stayed. ..

away? Because you couldn't handle feeling like that? About someone like me? Good enough.

That's a new one. I don't need to be saved. You didn't need to make yourself good enough to save me.