Death Before Dishonor

Part 1

[Bately High. Midmorning]

[Kids are walking down the hallway, talking, going into classrooms, when the door on the right opens and two policemen in civilian clothes walk into the hallway]

Detective Jenson: [walks up to a male student] Do you know Ramon Taylor?
Boy: Naw.
Detective Jenson: You sure?
Boy: Yeah.
Detective Jenson: You know anything about a gang called "DBD"?
Boy: No. I'm about to be late. [walks away]
Detective Borden: Any luck?
Detective Jenson: No. You?
Detective Borden: None. We'll try again after school. [Turns and sees a girl at her locker] Excuse Me, do you know Ramon Taylor, Renee Taylor, Jamal Kanel, Brandon Smith-
Girl: Why?
Detective Jenson: Do you know them or not?
Girl: You want to tell me why?
Detective Jenson: We can't.
Girl: Then I can't tell you if I know them or not.

[As she closes her locker Detective Borden notices a picture of six kids with the letters
"DBD" written underneath]

Detective Borden: You sure you don't know them?
Girl: I'm sure I'm about to go to class. [walks away]
Detective Borden: Did you see that?
Detective Jenson: What?
Detective Borden: She's one of them. There's a picture in her locker.
Detective Jenson: Then let's get that picture.

[Later that day at Bately High School. In the library. Six kids are sitting at a table talking
Including the girl from earlier (Liya)]

Liya: Why the cops looking for y'all?
Renee: Not "y'all". Us. J.T. said they asked him about a gang called "DBD".
Ramon: What y'all think this about?
Jamal: I don't know. They been here all day though.
Dantrella: Y'all think they know about—
Brandon: No. Who the fuck would tell them? We were the only ones there.
Liya: It could be that though. I seen on the news—
Ramon: Stop fucking talking. It ain't about that shit. And since when is "DBD" a gang?
Jamal: I don't know. Maybe it's because of the tats.
Renee: That wouldn't make nobody think we're a gang.
Dantrella: Six black kids with the same tattoo. We might be a gang.
Ramon: I'm too pretty to be in a gang. [rubs his head]
Liya: Me too.
[In the cafeteria. Kids are sitting down eating; others are talking and walking to the tables.]
Detective Jenson: Who should we ask?
Detective Borden: Anyone.
[A boy walks by and Det. Borden stops him]
Det. Borden: What can you tell me about Ramon and Renee Taylor?
Boy: I can tell you that Renee look good and her brother can fight.
Det. Borden: So they have a history of violence?
Boy: I ain't say that.
Det. Jenson: But you said they can fight.
Boy: No, I said Ramon can fight.
Det. Borden: What about the "DBD" gang?
Boy: The what?
Det. Jenson: The "DBD" gang. We have information that suggests Ramon might be part of this—
Boy: I don't know nothing about this gang, but Ramon and his sister don't hang around nobody
but they little clique.
Det. Borden: Clique?
Boy: Yeah.
Det. Jenson: You mean Jamal Kanel, Brandon Smith, Liya James, and Dantrella Houston?
Boy: I guess that's their names. I told you they don't hang around nobody but themselves.
Det. Jenson: Then how do you know Ramon can fight?
Boy: I've seen him fight. Beat some dude down, went straight off the hands with him. It was
nasty.
Det. Borden: Does he fight a lot?
Boy: I just seen him the one time.
Det. Jenson: Thank you.
Boy: You asked me all that because you think Ramon might be in gang?
Det. Borden: Thank you.
Boy: [walks away mumbling]
Det. Jenson: Now what?
Det Borden: Now we search lockers.
Det. Jenson: In the middle of the day? Why not wait until they leave and come back in the
Morning?
Det. Borden: So they can feel the pressure. Let's see how they like being watched.
[After school, on the street. Ramon, Brandon, Jamal, Renee, Liya, and Dantrella are
Walking towards some apartment buildings]
Ramon: Somebody said the cops was asking about us at lunch.
Liya: Somebody told me that too.
Renee: That car been following us the last six blocks.
Brandon: I seen that shit too.
Jamal: Probably the cops.
Dantrella: Ain't no probably, that's them.
Renee: What else they been asking?
Brandon: I don't know, but if they asking they don't nothing and they trying to get some
answers.
Ramon: True.
Liya: But y'all, what if they know?
Jamal: How they go know? Ain't one of us say nothing, and don't nobody else know.
Renee: But our names didn't just pop up out of nowhere, and they asking about "DBD".
How they know about that?
Dantrella: That's all they know about. Nothing else, just the three letters.
Renee: That's true. They don't know what it stands for.
Brandon: Do you know what it stands for?
Jamal: Nigga, do you know what it stands for?
Ramon: I know what it stands for.
Renee: Me too.
Liya: Off top.
Dantrella: As long as we know what we know and they know what they know, we good.

[They stop in front of an apartment complex and Ramon, Renee, and Jamal walk in.
The other three continue walking.]

[In the undercover police cruiser. Det. Jenson and Det. Borden are talking. Det Jenson is
Driving.]

Det. Borden: What do you think they were talking about?
Det. Jenson: Us following them. If we make them nervous enough, they'll give us what we need.
Det. Borden: Find out anything about what "DBD" means?
Det. Jenson: None of the kids I talked to knew anything about it.
Det. Borden: Let's head back to the station and look over what we do know.
Det. Jenson: This is going to be a difficult case if we can't get anyone to speak up about it.
Det. Borden: And the people that did talk had nothing bad to say about them.
Det. Jenson: You can't say anything worse than they killed a person.