Setting: A living room. It's not a nice one. Circa 2012.
Jordan: *With apprehension* Hey, Corbin? *He sounds like he meant to say more but gets cut off*
Corbin: *Flatly* What. *You get the sense that, even though they don't hate each other yet, Corbin isn't really up for chatting*
Jordan: *steeling himself* I have something I have to tell you.
Corbin: ...
Jordan: And I've been trying to find the words for a long time.
Corbin: *Dawning realization* O-oh. OK?
Jordan: Now, I know this may come as a shock-
*There's sirens in the distance. Jordan notices them, Corbin does not*
Corbin: *Eyes wide* OH right, of course. Always thought Terry looked a bit manly-
Jordan: WHAT?!
Corbin: I mean, that's what-
Jordan: TERRY PAIGE WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN TO WALK THIS EARTH! SHE WAS AN ANGEL TAKEN FROM US TOO SOON! [Have the actor playing Jordan Ryder improv several overly poetic lines here] -AND SHE MOST CERTAINLY WAS NOT 'MANLY' IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM!
Corbin: *Realizing he came to the wrong conclusion* What the HELL are you talking about then?!
Jordan: *Still seething but he needs to get this out as the sirens grow louder* I NEED YOU TO TAKE CARE OF PARKER
Corbin: Excuse me?!
Jordan: I. Need. You. To. Take. Care. Of. Parker.
Corbin: You are her FATHER!
Jordan: YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT?!
Corbin: *Breaking State v. Ryder special instruction 16* ...No?
Jordan: WHAT DO YOU MEAN, NO?!
Corbin: I mean, I know you know you're her father??
Jordan: Right. Good.
Corbin: ...
Jordan: Soon I won't be there for her anymore.
Corbin: *Sounding exactly like Ethaniel when he says this phrase* What do you MEAN?!
Jordan: *Speaking Quickly* I've-Been-Selling-Drugs-And-The-Police-Found-Out
Corbin: *He stands, charging Jordan, seizing his shirt, and backing Jordan up against a wall. It's only then that he bellows,* YOU DID WHAT?! *We see an older brother who has just watched his younger brother shoot himself. Corbin's anger comes from concern.*
Jordan: *Quietly, as though grieving* Take care of her for me, Corbin.
Corbin: *Silence. For all their fighting, he's never wanted this. He lets go of Jordan.*
Jordan: *Angry, but suppressing it as right now his daughter matters more* Corbin, you have to. You. Have. To. I won't have her going into the system. Keep her safe, Corbin. She's her mother's daughter. She deserves the world. Raise her so that she knows she does.
*The sirens become deafening. We can't hear Corbin say that he will, but we can see his lips move. Corbin steps back away from Jordan. They both stand, frozen, as lights mimicking those of police cars begin to flash on the stage. At the first thud of the door being hammered in, Jordan, for quite possibly the first time in his life, rushes towards Corbin and pulls him into a brief hug. They pull apart by the second thud. On the third, the door splinters, and police officers flood the room. Although Jordan doesn't try to resist arrest, it's far from gentle. Corbin closes his eyes so he can't see Jordan being dragged off. For possibly the first time is his life, Corbin is thinking of Jordan as his baby brother instead of as a nuisance. Jordan and officers exit. The lights stop, the sirens fade. Corbin is left alone on stage, surrounded by deafening silence. After a while, he sinks back down onto the couch. He sits with his hands over his face. Then he pulls out a cell phone and makes a call.*
Corbin: *Sounding just like Lopez did in scene one when Quincy called him* ...Elias?
Scene end
