i never was much for the holidays. stares at the pictures for a moment, wistful. nick snores, turns over. rudy climbs atop his bunk again, with the pen this time. and crosses december 18th off the calendar. haven't thought about it. get to thinking about it, it won't happen. ain't there yet. not yet. hot chocolate. get a hot mug of chocolate. first thing i'm gonna do. and some pecan pie. yeah. yeah. yeah. fuckin' christmas. all those pictures she's sent. y'know. you sure they're all of her, nick? you hear sometimes they don't send their real pictures. could be her cousin or something. i'm just saying. i'm just talking. for twenty-five, she sounds pretty mature. what if she sees you, man, sees what you look like. and it's not there. you just don't do it for her. she's using a new perfume. oh. mornin', gorgeous. more egg nog? all i want. is to make it to sidnaw, and sit down for christmas dinner. watch some ball with my old man, sleep in my old bed, and have leftovers for bout six months. just taste that christmas turkey. five years, nicky. five years. i just want to go home. shit. alamo's back. pinscher told me alamo thinks i'm the one ratted on him beating up cree. since i was there, i saw it, he thinks i got him sent to solitary. count me outta mealtime -- i'm not hungry, i'm gonna -- it wasn't me, alamo -- what, working security? i don't know, i've seen the business world. the hell you doing, zookerman? good for you. protein. two days, we got two days! don't do nothing. don't touch nothing -- standing right here, man! nick! guard! guard! guard!!! take it, man! you're all right! hold it in! guard! guard!!! no, man! no, no, no! you're gonna be there! we're getting outta here! take it! you tell her! no!!! nick!!! nick!!! the man had two days. turns back, starts toward his bunk. and stops. his eyes on nick's empty bed. and the wall behind. takes a seat on nick's bed. there's a shoebox at the foot of it. he was burning for you too. drops his head, looks away. climbs onto the shuttle bus. don't do it, rudy. don't do it . you ashley? i'm nick. i like your coat. this -- this is just something they gave me at the door. wasn't snowing when we signed up, y'know? how's your coffee? gotta be ten degrees out there. negative five? i don't think it's negative five. wind chill. that's probably what they meant. i was scared. scared you were gonna take one look at me and change your mind. scared i was walking into heartache. all those words. you put a picture in your mind of where they come from and when you see where maybe it's not the same as your picture. no, no -- no, hey, i like your coat -- ashley, no. that was me, that's what i was scared of. i mean, be serious. i ain't exactly looking like mr. universe here. i can get another one going. y'know, hey, whatever you want me to -- do that again. smile. one more. smile. one more. i've been dreaming about that smile, ashley mercer. for a long time. tell me something. this the first time you've ever done this? no, not that, no. i mean this, the whole thing. start writing to a guy, guy in the bricks. get a boyfriend like this. tell me the truth. yeah. me too. why? i mean i know why for me, why i paid for the ad. but you. why start writing to some guy -- some con -- you don't even know? tell me again. had some bad relationships, didn't you. well, wasn't all me, y'know. guy i was in with. he helped sometimes. some of the romantic stuff, actually. you'd like him -- y'know, some of the heart mighta been his too. where the hell are you going? ashley, jesus -- ash. didn't you write me that you don't eat chocolate? ash, you've gotten me enough -- baby, c'mon, all this stuff. i haven't gotten you anything -- it's two hundred dollars, ash -- beauty and fragrances. just for the holidays, nick. then we'll tell her. we'll let her. have her holidays. well, i don't know about that -- security, ash, i just worked security. they wouldn't be rolling out the red carpet -- we'll have more fun in detroit. ashley. we're not going anywhere i used to work. hey. i been in prison for two years, ash. believe me. those guys wouldn't want to see me. i'll see what i can do. i have no gifts to bring, parum-pum- pum-pum. no treasures for the king, pa-rum-pum-pum-pum. but i got a girl to be with, rum- pum-pum-pum. what the fuck -- heyyy!!! in here!!! heyyy!!! you. you don't know me -- no, you can't -- ashley! no! i'm. not. nick. i'm not him. i. you want something from nick, you got the wrong guy. you got the wrong guy! she thinks i'm nick, i'm not! i was in the joint with him! i knew about him and her, okay!? i took his place! i got out, nick didn't! i pretended i was him! i knew about her letters! jesus christ, whatever you want from him -- i'm not nick! i -- i just wanted to be -- i shared his cell! yes! yes! yes! your brother. the truck driver. what the fuck is going on. what's going on!!! you motherfucker. you sold him out. when'd you decide to do it, ash? after which of his letters, huh? the fortieth? the fiftieth? the first?! i'm not nick! you thought you'd fuck him over?! well he's fucked you! i've never worked at some casino! i can't help you! because he's not me! jesus christ! i'm not nick! get the hell off of me! you're not hearing me here -- he didn't "find" nick's letters, did he. you told him about nick's letters. you're in on this. y'know, in a way, i'm glad it's me. 'cause you woulda broken his heart. your pen palls dead, lady. nick died for me. maybe i die for nick. i never worked at no casino. that's the guy i was in with, i did my last ten months with him. he rode a two-year bit for manslaughter -- split a guy's skull open at a bar for harassing his girl. that's nick mason. he worked at that casino. he's the one who wrote her letters. me, i'm a damn mechanic, my last job was a quickie lube, i did five for lifting cars. i don't know shit about blackjack, i don't know shit about indians. i'm not him. what do you want to know! about the tomahawk! what the hell do you want to know! i spend six months writing poetry and my goddamn pen pal fucks me over. thanks for the stamps, ash. you want me, you got me. whaddya want to know. she says a lot of things. wish i had a brother like you. i had better sex in prison. what? j.c. penney. beauty and fragrances. samantha. bam bam. what college. canada. a station wagon in canada. her brother. no. it's her brother. nick don't talk till nick gets something. hot. chocolate. i been in iron mountain for two years, truck driver. i do one more crime, i'm back there for good, so fuck you and fuck your sister and fuck your trucker friends. you want to hear about some goddamn job of mine? i want some hot-goddamn-chocolate. and some pecan-fucking-pie. hey. y'know, i could really go for some onion rings. i don't know. five million? christmas. eve. hey, it's. been two years -- goddamn it, rudy. goddamn it. goddamn girl, goddamn nick. you're so smart, so fucking smart. where's your christmas dinner now. hell. ten? who the hell made this map. i said, who the hell made the map? this isn't the tomahawk. this is the front entrance, right? you get through the slots, you hit craps here, not blackjack. blackjack's here to here -- lined up. what's this, the cage? cage is over there, hard to get to, you got it all mixed around -- since when? what the hell is this room? buffet is by the goddamn bar! what the hell kind of map is this?! and i worked there. for a year. they changed the layout. they changed the layout -- whadda they call you? mr. monster? they remodeled the place. when i worked there -- listen to me -- guy that managed the joint, guy who ran it-- right, jack bangs. uh. guy was always talking bout fixing the place up. maybe get a better crowd. musta gone and done it while i was in the mountain. i don't know this map, man. how the hell am i supposed to tell you what door goes where? when i worked there, this was bangs, office. back here. he kept a little safe in the. uh, the wall, money held take for himself, skim from the indians. called it the. uh. . the powwow safe. his personal safe, he gave it a name. now you're telling me they've taken his office, put the buffet there? then who knows what else they changed. you'd have to get me inside. get inside, watch where the money's moving, see where the guards are going. then i could work with your map. they won't recognize me. trust me. they won't recognize me. 'cause you're gonna get me a disguise. i give you the wrong information, you're gonna shoot me. well, i don't know your damn map. so you can either find a way to get me in there. or you can shoot me right now. more than you know. what the hell is this? what happened to working together? might as well be. get your own room. but you knew why. knew why, didn't ya. for what? you to talk me into "helping"? what, he promise you a share of the winnings? well, shit, judas, you shoulda at least gotten that -- so get him outta your life. get out of michigan. they got perfume counters in chicago, don't they? since when do some trucker pals start thinking big, anyway? he working for them on this one? and i'm his ticket. what's the last place they took down? gabriel and his guys. what's the last place they robbed? they've never done a robbery? then they do need me, don't they. they really need me. we? what "we". get your own room, ashley. get your own room. they've never done a robbery. christmas is looking up. not with you. a cowboy. you're going to send me into an indian casino disguised as a cowboy. have you thought this entirely through? what kind of half-ass cowboy plays the slots? at least gimme video poker. do i get a country-western name? y'know what, guys? i woke up this morning, i got a really lucky feeling going on. i mean it, i'm feeling that good. i wouldn't be surprised if i walk in there, pull a handle and hit jackpot. hell, we wouldn't even have to -- i'm gonna need some money. ten dollars? what do i do with ten dollars? monster. if we're working together here, we gotta be working together. i can't walk in there looking like the lone fucking ranger with ten bucks to throw down. you don't want me getting noticed, right? not getting noticed costs a guy at least a couple hundred. you ready to gamble, darlin'? y'all take care of my guitar. here and there. restaurant, uh, that's the main expansion. tables've been moved around; the big man's office, i dunno, might be upstairs now. yeah, uh. mike. that's mike. you start spending your brother's money. i'm gonna take a circuit around the joint, check for any new ins and outs. i'll snag us some drinks. couple rum and cokes, please. roadside casino? prison. he didn't recognize me. back off, willya? he didn't recognize me. heyyyy! there went my. damn. well, doesn't seem like security's all that switched. ash, shit, this mustache is starting to fall off. i gotta fix this thing -- -- drink this for me. hundred bucks to wear this jacket -- nobody's killing you, kid. santa's giving you a rhinestone jacket and a hundred bucks. go! go! medium rare?! you call this medium rare??!! that's for reading her mail. come on. we get to the bridge, we're all right! get to the bridge! hey! hey! down here! looks to the truckers in pursuit. coming down the ridge. i-i-i-i have n-n-no g-g-gifts to br- br-bring, pa rum-p-p-p-p-p . pum-pum-pum. n-n-no treasures for the k-k-k . king. pa-rum-pum-pum-pum. never. tried. ttt. tt. two out of three? nnn. nothing. nothing. i promise-nothing. no! he thought i was some gambler. he didn't know me. he didn't recognize me! no, gabriel. no. he. he asked me. how i'd heard about his place. he didn't know it was me. man, monster. just. just don't start trying to hit me. he had some points to make. all i wanted. was to make it home. for a little of dad's turkey, and mom's stuffing. aunt lisbeth's acorn gravy. aunt mary's cranberry buns. haven't had cranberry buns. in five whole years. you saved me. guy i was in with. car thief. i used to read your letters to him. i know they were private. i know, but. you spend twenty-four hours a day with somebody, you gotta talk, y'know? you gotta share. or the room gets even smaller. and sometimes, i'd be reading them, and he'd close his eyes, get a smile on his face. and i'd know somewhere inside he was pretending you were writing to him -- he'd see your face, your pictures on the wall. some nights i think he fell in love with you, too. you gave a couple guys hope, ashley. and with hope, there ain't nothing you can't survive. don't say my name. ash. don't say it. don't say my name. they'll have guns. you said they've run guns, in their trucks. so they'll have guns. to do this robbery. they'll have serious guns. we'll need one. i'm going to have to be inside that casino. when it happens. i'll need to be part of it. i can't just be drawing some map. we need to find a way to make me part of it. if we're helping them with their robbery, we're gonna be doing more than just walking away. like that's some christmas bonus. you want him outta your life? you want a real new year to look forward to? if we're gonna do this. we're gonna do it to get it all. i have no gifts to bring, pa-rumpum- pum-pum what you gotta worry about first is the guards. place doesn't look much richer than when i worked there, so let's figure you're gonna have to deal with ten of 'em. there'll be two on the floor, walking the room, that leaves eight up above. eyes in the sky. they see something up, they're the ones who'll hit the silent alarm and you're fucked. you gotta get someone upstairs. across from blackjack, there's a security doorway. keypad access. uh. they change it every month. i wouldn't know. if there's trouble on the floor, you'll get security coming through. what you gotta do, is get inside that doorway once they do. you gotta draw 'em out. i got an idea on that one. once you're up there, you gotta hold those guards down till some backup can get there. there's a security camera room that videotapes everything. you've gotta destroy every last one of those tapes. you lock down security, you move behind the cage. you hit the count room. there'll be a guy in there but he's got no guns; room's accessed by another code. cashiers'll know it. they'll have alarms. what? oh. right. yeah. that's, uh upstairs. uh. here. powwow safe. so. you're gonna need a man through here, two men at the cage, one to cover the count. you're gonna need a lookout outside, a sweeper through the back, and a gun guarding the front. you need six. you need six. you go in with five, you're either leaving an alarm free or an exit free. someone hits an alarm, you're fucked. someone gets to a phone, gets outside, 'cross the street, whatever, you're fucked. you need six. six is me. you guys get caught, i go away for good. i got an interest in making sure you don't. you need a sixth man covering an exit. what're you gonna do about it. six men means six guns. i'm no threat without a gun. there'll be people in that casino. i can't keep them from leaving if i don't get a gun. i don't need bullets, monster. but i gotta be a threat. well. what you guys have to plan out, then. is how you're going to get to that cage and that security level before anybody realizes anything's wrong. running in with ski masks and bullets flying ain't gonna do it. what. we all gonna dress up like cowboys? you gotta be kidding me. what, we walking in there and delivering toys? i'm almost done. if he wanted a photographic memory, he shoulda kidnapped one. i'm working on it here. you're the getaway girl. the money's gonna get to you eventually. gonna be my job to be the guy who walks outta there with it. but i can't do that without a gun. any luck talking to him? is there any way you could get into his truck? we need a gun, ash. we need a gun. here's the picasso. is he in his room? keep 'em there for a little while. we're gonna get you out of detroit, ash. get you out of beauty and fragrances. remember that. after all this is over, when you know me, when you really know me. remember it was me. gun, gun, c'mon, boys like you gotta be keeping a gun. here's my present to you, truck drivers -- catch, dammit, catch! like riding a bike, it's like riding a bike! how far you gonna get, rudy. hey. you guys were paying for the room, i just figured -- this time right now. dad's stacking wood out back, getting ready for tomorrow. little blaze in the fireplace. mom's setting out the good silver, hanging her cinammon sticks, up in the doorways. getting out her scratchy old records. singing along. i don't know where you're going. but i'm going home. well. i'm going home. hey jumpy, i want to ask you something. you have any problem with the fact that we're on our way to take millions of dollars from an indian casino? hey-hey, egg nog for everybody! let's win some money! money-money- money! we're out of work tonight, that's how! christmas eve! we're out of work! we're all outta gifts, boys and girls, but we got charitable donations! i got wampum for the cocktail waitress civil defense fund! are there any representatives here present? santa drinks american beer. that was my card, pop! my card! you hit for my card! that was my king! careful. watch out for this guy. pop! that was my card! you're hitting for my cards! that is my card, guy. my card. he didn't hit. you didn't hit. you're not hitting. switch seats with me. you're taking my money. switch seats with me. switch seats with me if you're not taking my money -- then get yourself another table! you're hitting santa's cards and you're taking santa's money! they'll open one! stay down, pop! trust me, stay down! drop the guns! now! sorry, guys. but what the hell were you doing here an christmas eve anyway. get down and stay down, and you're gonna be fine. just don't do anything. my friends are disturbed -- yeah. that's love. merlin, i didn't know -- i promise you, i didn't know! fucked the wrong guy, ashley. story of your life. i did time with nick mason, monster. told you that from the start. we still gonna spend christmas together? hey! hey! there is a powwow safe! i did time with nick mason, remember? i knew he worked here, didn't i!? well, some shit he told me! nick told me his manager kept a safe in his office, his stealing safe. his powwow safe. i swear, please. nick told me. behind the liquor cabinet. pow. wow. me too. smoke 'em if you got 'em. i'm sorry. was it your plan, monster? or was it hers. i saved your life. he did love you, you know. nick. he did love you. maybe this is where you wanted him, ashley. at the bottom of a ravine, dead as ice with a burnt-up heart. maybe. but it didn't happen. 'cause what you did for him was make him the happiest held ever been. you showed him hope and taught him mercy. and he died a peaceful man. you wanted to destroy some convict. and all you did was save his soul. remember that. love your money and remember that. i'm glad it was me. how'd you know my name. rudy. how'd you know my name? you said merry christmas, rudy. no -- but i never said rudy. i never told you my name. how'd you know my name was rudy. how'd you know my name. where is he. she set them up. all of them. and you set me up. how'd you know i'd do it. walk outta there and tell her i was you. talked about the old man's weapons stash, probably forgot i'd remember you gave them me. like riding a bike, like riding a bike, like riding a biiiiike! rule one! never put a car thief behind the wheel! rule two!