Reveal by Eli INT. DON'S MUSTANG - DAY Don sits in his car. An SUV behind him pulls in front of his car. Another car pulls up to the rear. DON Fuck! He reaches for the 1911 Defender in his waistband. A police cruiser pulls into the side. The office inside of it, OFFICER TURNER, (mid-20s) steps out, gun in hand. DON What the shit... DETECTIVE MORETTI, (32) steps out, badge and gun in hand. MORETTI Get out. EXT. CITY STREET - DAY Don steps out of his car. MORETTI Drop the gun, get on the ground, now! Don drops his 1911 and kicks it to the side. He gets on the ground. Moretti cuffs Don and leans into his ear. MORETTI (whispering) We gotta make this look good. DON What? Moretti grabs Don's gun, then puts him in the back of the SUV. MCDOWELL (O.S.) Get his car impounded. Inside, CAPTAIN MCDOWELL, (early-50s) sits there. Moretti gets in. A confused Don is thrown into INT. SUV - DAY DON You can't just fucking do this! I want my fucking lawyer! The SUV guns it down the road. MORETTI Shut up, Paulsen! The SUV pulls into an alley. Moretti gets out. McDowell gets out and opens the door to the SUV. MCDOWELL Get out. Don, wide eyed and fearful looks at this. DON Is this it? MCDOWELL We're not here to kill you. DON Then why did you kidnap me? MCDOWELL Get out. With a reluctant look in his eyes, Don steps out of the SUV. EXT. ALLEY - DAY He steps out, still cuffed. MCDOWELL We need to talk about your wife. DON She's got a nice ass, right? It's mine, not yours. MORETTI Can you stop being a smartass for just a- MCDOWELL Moretti. Moretti stops and lets out an annoyed sigh. MORETTI We have a bunch more guys we can use, why are we using this guy? He's never been a cop before! MCDOWELL Uncuff him. Don looks at both of them with a confused look. Moretti uncuffs Don. MCDOWELL His gun too. Moretti gives a look of concern. McDowell nods. Moretti gives Don his gun back. Don draws on McDowell. DON Give me a reason not to put both of you in the ground right now. Moretti takes out his and points it to Don's head. MCDOWELL PUT THE GUN DOWN MORETTI! MORETTI I WILL FUCKING END HIM! MCDOWELL PUT IT DOWN. Moretti lowers his gun, then looks at Don. MCDOWELL You're not a cop killer and your wife is on the take. DON Bullshit. On both accounts. McDowell reaches into the SUV and takes out a manila folder. MCDOWELL The Irish mob and Italians have moved their operations out here in Hartford. MCDOWELL We're asking you to help us out in this. Don, a look of confusion on his face looks at the folder. With one, he grabs it. DON Why not pull any of your guys on this? MCDOWELL Plausible deniability. Your wife missed a payment and we have reason to believe that they intend on attacking your wife and daughter. It's also because most of are detectives are leaving. Times are hard, Donny. DON Don't fucking call me that. Don reholsters his handgun. MCDOWELL Very well then. We want you to get in with the Irish. Contact us every two to three days as need be. DON What about my family? McDowell takes out a shred of paper and passes it to Don. Don takes it and his eyes widen. MCDOWELL Tax free. DON I have to think about this. Don looks over at Moretti. Moretti puts his hand up. McDowell passes Don his business card. MCDOWELL Make a decision and burn this thing after. It's your call, Paulsen. DON Why me? MCDOWELL Most of your records were expunged. We couldn't find a thing about you outside your MSR Hous- Don winces. DON Alright, I get it. Shut up. Fine. I'll think about it. MCDOWELL Get in. Don gets into the SUV. INT. SUV - DAY Don looks out the window. McDowell continues to drive. MCDOWELL (O.S.) You got a lot of experience, Paulsen. Be a shame for you to use that being a beat cop. EXT. IMPOUND LOT - DAY Don opens the door to his Mustang. He looks down at the card and sighs, a look of skepticism on his face. He sets it next to him, then gets into his own car. CUT TO: EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY Don's car turns a corner. He pulls up to. EXT. JACKIE'S HOUSE - DAY A Cadillac sits outside of Jackie's house. Don backs into the driveway and parks his car facing toward the street. INT. DON'S MUSTANG - DAY Don eyes the Cadillac and watches it. Two men step out. Don rolls his window down. CRAIG, (mid-20s) walks up to Don's car. DARBY, (mid-20s) comes up on the passenger side. CRAIG You live here? DON Yeah. Can I help you? CRAIG We're with a collection agency of sorts. Craig takes out a yellow envelope and passes it onto Don. CRAIG You think you could pass this onto your wife? Don takes the envelope. DON Yeah, uh- No problem. Craig nods. The two walk away and get into their car. With a confused expression, Don watches as the two of them drive off. He looks at the envelope. Don steps out of his car and goes inside. INT. JACKIE'S HOUSE - DAY Don steps inside and opens the envelope. He reaches inside and takes out a stack of money. DON Holy fucking shit. A note inside the envelope reads, "You know the drill." Don takes the money and the note and goes into LIVING ROOM Don sets the money on the coffee table. DISSOLVE TO: Day passes to night. A look of uncertainty washes over Don's face He hears Jackie's car pull up to the driveway. Don sits there and waits. The door opens. Jackie has a relaxed, washed over look on her face. JACKIE Hi, sweetie! Don looks at her, a look of shock in his eyes. DON You said this house was possible through my home loan and you getting promoted while working. Jackie looks confused. She walks into the kitchen and sees the yellow envelope. JACKIE What are you talking about? DON Your car. JACKIE Yeah, you helped with that. You okay? She sees the money on the table and lets out a sigh. JACKIE It's a bonus from work, Donny. Relax. DON Most bonuses come in paychecks, Jack. JACKIE They laid off the payroll- DON Come on, don't give me that. Two guys in a cadillac give you a yellow envelope at your home? You fucking serious? How long has this been? JACKIE Donny, times are hard. DON So you're a cop taking bribes. You're making them harder. JACKIE So is everyone else! DON So what if everyone else drinking bleach? What? It's completely cool for you to do that too, Jack? JACKIE Just play along, Donny! It's just money. Keep your mouth shut, take the payments, and play along. DON What if they turn on you? Turn you into IA or have you start whacking people. Ash isn't going to have a mom and because I put my fucking hands on that money, I'm going in as an accessory. I did not extend my fucking enlistment just for you to take bribes! JACKIE Then how the hell did I pay for this house? DON You? Paying for this fucking house? ! That was my VA loan! Jackie comes closer to Don. JACKIE They've been cutting my pay at work. She gets in Don's face. DON Tough. Fucking. Shit. Now they have leverage against you. The front door opens. Ash walks in. The two stop to look at her. JACKIE Hi sweetie. How was school? Ash feels the tension in the room. ASH I'll... Just be going upstairs. Ash goes to her room. Don comes closer to Jackie. DON Who is it? The money. Who gives it to you? JACKIE It's just some Irish guys that approached me when they did the first paycut. DON When was that? JACKIE When you were on deployment and it was me and Ash. DON Jesus christ. JACKIE Just go along with it, Don. If you're lucky, you'll even get some for yourself. DON You're fucking crazy. Sort your shit out, Jack. I'm going on a drive. JACKIE Think about it. Please, for our family. DON Jesus, Jackie. And here I thought you had values. Don steps out of the house. He gets into INT. DON'S MUSTANG - NIGHT Don pulls out of his driveway. CUT TO: INT. JACKIE'S HOUSE - NIGHT Jackie looks at the money. JACKIE Fuck. He knows. INT. DON'S MUSTANG - NIGHT Don takes the card out of his back pocket and takes out his phone. DON Hey- McDowell. I'm in. FADE OUT.