Chapter 13 of 22 · 3'18"
Vic is on parole, and the men work out how to keep him out of trouble: set him up in a fake dock-worker job so his record looks clean. 'But as far as the records are concerned, you do,' Eddie explains. Then Eddie suggests bringing Vic in on a new job.
❝ Monologue · 6 lines Eddie's Fake Dock-Worker Plan
Vic has a parole officer who keeps him under strict rules, so he cannot return to work with the crew. Eddie's solution is to give him a fake dock-worker job at Long Beach: no real crates, but a time card, a paycheck, and a clean record. Then Eddie proposes using Vic on the next robbery.
The scene is a business meeting dressed up as a favour. Vic's parole is a practical problem for the crew: he cannot work unless he has a legitimate job on paper, and a parole officer watching him is a risk for everyone. Eddie's answer is paperwork — a dock worker's time card that is clocked for him, a paycheck every week, and an employer who will lie if the officer comes asking. 'But as far as the records are concerned, you do,' he says, and the phrase captures how the crew operates: reality matters less than what can be proven. What looks generous is also self-interested. By the end of the scene Eddie is not just solving Vic's problem, he is recruiting him, calling him a lucky rabbit's foot and asking how he would feel about pulling a job with five other guys. Joe's hesitation and Eddie's push make the family business feel like a negotiation.
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
“I can't come back to work for you guys if I gotta worry about making some silly-ass ten o'clock curfew every fuckin' night.”
It states his condition plainly: no real job if he is still chained to a curfew.
Informal
“But as far as the records are concerned, you do.”
It splits reality from paperwork: he never works there, yet the records say he does.
Neutral
“Part of your job is going different places, that's the beauty of it.”
It turns the job's messy travel into a selling point, patching the cover story.
Neutral
“You know he can handle himself and you damn sure know you can trust him.”
Two guarantees in one breath: he can handle himself, and he is utterly trustworthy.
Informal
I'll call Matthews the foreman, and tell him he's got a new guy - you're on the rotation. You get a time card, it's clocked in and out for you every day. At the end of the week you get a nice paycheck. Dock workers do very well. So you can move into a halfway decent place without Scagnetti going, "Where the fuck's the money come from?" And if he decides to make a surprise visit, that's the day we've sent you to Tustin, to pick up a load of shit and bring it back.
Up next · 14the stonesThe scene: Joe Demands the Stolen StonesHe is on parole and has a strict officer, Seymour Scagnetti, who will not even let him leave the halfway house without a regular job.
He gets Vic a fake dock-worker job at Long Beach: no real work, but a time card, a paycheck, and a record that satisfies his parole officer.
Eddie has an excuse ready: the officer will be told Vic was sent out of town to pick up a load, which fits the travel that dock work involves.
He says Vic brings good luck, can handle himself, and can be trusted, and he argues for him to his father Joe.
Joe is cautious and would rather not use the boys on jobs, but Eddie keeps pushing, and the scene ends with him asking Vic how he would feel about pulling a job with five others.
