Luke Cage · Season 1, Episode 2
“Code of the Streets” · Season 1, Episode 2
In this episode: Cottonmouth Stokes (3), Luke Cage (2), Mariah Dillard (1), Shades Alvarez (1)
What's your name again?
Luke.
Luke. Mmm, old school. Biblical. I'm all about the old school. You know that eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth kind of thing. Fire and brimstone. See back then do someone wrong, wasn't no beggin' and pleadin'. Just took care of it. Handled your business.
What about turning the other cheek?
Mmm. Jesus saves. I don't.
I ain't guilty. But I ain't innocent either.
You're wasting your gifts, my brother. This gangster life not what our ancestors fought for. Not what our people died for.
This is exactly what they died for. Self-determination, control, power.
What's wrong, Shades?
We should've waited.
Waited? [scoffs] Bump that noise! I got the call. It was me.
What happened?
Look, Turk calls me. Tells me, he saw Chic at the shop, slippin'. I came and ask you if it was important that the nigga was breathing. You seem non-committal, so I make an executive decision. [claps his hands]
[laughs] That's what you call it? An "executive decision"? [Tone nods and smiles] Okay. Mmm, so you caught him slippin' outside?
Nah, bro, I lit that shit up like a Fourth of July. It was all so Django Candieland shit for real. Lights, camera, action, baby! Somebody call Quentin! [laughs]
I suggested we wait.
[turns on Shades, annoyed] Wait? Wait for what, Shades? You ain't even down with the clique! You can't give orders. It was loud 'cause it's supposed to be! Niggas need to know you don't rob Cottonmouth!
[gets in Tone's face] MY NAME IS NOT COTTONMOUTH!!
[Tone slinks back, nervously]
[stammering] My--my bad. My bad.
[tensely] He's dead, right?
Chico's laid out. He's done.
[picks up Chico's backpack] It don't matter. We got the money!
[Cottonmouth dwells for a few seconds as he composes himself]
You had to do it, I guess. Pops can rebuild. He won't like it but I'll donate some money anonymously. It's all gonna be okay...[He notices Tone and Shades are shifting around uneasily, and that Shades has removed his sunglasses] ...What?
[beat] ...Pops is dead.
[Cottonmouth, now furious, turns on Tone]
A casualty of war. You know...shit happens.
[Turk Barrett arrives on the rooftop]
Yo! Where's my money?
[confused] How the hell did you get up here?
I'm Turk Barrett, baby. The door ain't been built yet that can hold me back. Now where's my money?
Okay, Mr. Barrett. Tone promised to pay you for finding Chico, right?
Yeah.
[turns to Tone] That right? [Tone nods yes] Okay.
[Without a moment's hesitation, Cottonmouth grabs Tone, drags him over to the edge, and throws him off the roof. Tone falls and crushes a car parked on the street below, dead on impact]
YOU CAN COLLECT YOUR MONEY FROM TONE DOWNSTAIRS, MR. BARRETT! [buttons his suit] I assume that completes our business.
…y'all Harlem niggas are off the hook. I'm going back to Hell's Kitchen where it's safe.
These quotes come from Wikiquote's Luke Cage pages and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
