Sugar
Season 1 – Episode 7
Episode title: The Friends You Keep
Original release date: May 10, 2024
Plot: Sugar’s fears for the safety of his friends lead him to a clandestine gathering where he learns a dangerous secret—and the truth about Olivia.
* * *
[footsteps approaching]
[door closes]
[sighs]
Okay, then.
Yes.
Don’t hurt him.
What if he runs?
Try not to hurt him.
Of course.
[door closes]
When people are in trouble, they need to talk. But you know the old saying.
[chuckles] What I don’t know can’t hurt me?
[breathes deeply]
Hey.
Hey.
How are you feeling?
[breathing deeply]
[John] How am I feeling? Well, human, but…
[grunts] Better.
You know, Henry told me you’re supposed to be off your feet and resting.
I don’t think he meant passed out on the floor.
I wasn’t passed out. I-I like sleeping on the floor.
Well, apparently. [chuckles]
I mean, you were talking in your sleep.
Huh.
You were calling out to someone.
It sounded like in another language.
[sighs]
Do you speak some other language?
Yeah, I speak many other languages.
What time is it?
It’s after 10:00.
Ooh.
I-I should… I should shower and start my day.
I’ll get some coffee.
No, Melanie. [stammers]
Sugar,
do you seriously, honestly believe that you can drag me
into whatever the fuck this is without having to explain it?
[sighs] Well, apparently not.
I’m gonna go get coffee.
Okay. Coffee.
[door opens, closes]
[John] I’d like to tell her everything, but I can’t. Not ever.
[people chattering]
“Man is like a breath, his days are like a passing shadow.
You sweep men away.
They are like a dream, like grass which is renewed in the morning.
In the morning, it flourishes and grows, but in the evening, it fades and withers.”
[continues indistinctly]
[sighs]
Oh.
Carlos, give us a minute.
When your mother died… it was difficult for me.
But I took some small comfort in knowing…
it was her time.
But this?
[scoffs] This is… This is different.
[sighs] For a parent to outlive their child.
I’m truly sorry.
You still haven’t heard anything from Olivia?
No, I would’ve told you.
However irresponsible she’s been in the past,
even in her darkest days, she would’ve been here.
You really think something happened to her?
Yes, I do.
[Jonathan] Carlos.
[Olivia] ♪ And they sit at the bar Throwing bread in my jar ♪
♪ Saying “Man, what are you doing here?” ♪
[Olivia stammers, breathes shakily]
[footsteps approaching]
[clattering]
[Olivia breathing shakily]
[gasps] You motherfucker, don’t you fucking touch me!
Don’t you fucking touch me.
[cell phone buzzing]
[John] Moss’s phone.
[John] Someone’s looking for him.
[lock beeps, clicks]
I mean, I have so many questions.
Who’s Djen?
That’s the only word I could make out in your dream. Djen. Who’s she?
She’s my sister.
Your sister. Where is she? Did something happen to…
[whispers] Someone’s coming.
[knocking]
It’s Miller.
Who’s Miller?
He’s my boss.
[Miller] Sugar, open the door. I’d like to talk to you.
Is that the guy who tried to stab you?
No. No, he’s a friend.
If he’s a friend, why aren’t you opening the door?
Because I don’t want to.
[knocking]
What if we grab the towel rack?
Towel rack’s not gonna do it.
Out back.
[whimpering]
[whispers] Let’s go.
[rouged woman screams]
[normal] Hey. [grunts]
[whimpers]
Sorry about that. I just wanna talk to you.
[gasping]
[breathes sharply, grunts, pants]
[panting] Get the car. [pants] Here.
[grunts, breathing heavily]
[John] Why is Miller doing this?
Something must have happened. Something must have changed.
[John] Pull over.
Oh, my God. What the fuck just happened?
[sighs] Um…
I mean, that old guy with one hand?
I cracked him. I had to crack him.
Yeah. Yeah, he’ll be fine.
He’s gonna be okay, right?
Okay. How is he your friend?
Uh, I… I’ve known him a long time.
“I just want to talk.” I mean, what was that?
Talk about what? What did you do?
Okay, look.
Listen, I-I, uh… [sighs]
I-I am listening.
Yeah, but… Well… [sighs] …his name is Miller.
He and some others, we, uh… we all work together.
W-W-What do you mean? Like private investigators?
No, not-not… I mean… [stammers] Well, that’s my day job,
but each of them has their own day job.
We’re members of a group.
Like a-a-an organization that no one is allowed to know anything about.
Something I-I, uh… Well, I-I can’t tell you.
I just cracked a guy over his head with a towel bar.
So you’re gonna tell me.
And I appreciate it.
But the reason I can’t tell you is because it’s dangerous.
Not only for you, which it would be,
but it’s dangerous for me and for many of my friends. People I care about.
Uh, it’s a secret I’ve kept for a while now.
We all have.
I’ve never wanted to tell it to anyone
as much as I want to tell it to you, but… I can’t.
You’re a spy.
Huh?
The languages.
Always watching, always listening.
More curious about others than you are… than talking about yourself.
I mean, [chuckles] oh, my God. I should’ve known.
Even by Virgo standards, I should’ve wondered at that.
The only reason I ever asked you any questions
was because I wanted to know the answers for myself.
You’re a spy.
[stammers] I mean, that’s what this is, right? You’re a foreign spy.
We’re just here to observe.
Holy shit.
That’s our mission. That’s our only mission.
Oh, God. I wish I had a cigarette.
[inhales sharply, exhales]
What about Thorpe?
What about him?
He’s one of you too, right?
Yeah.
But he’s not after you. He’s helping you?
Damn it.
What?
Henry. That’s who they’re gonna go next.
We gotta go. We gotta go to the university.
And so, yes, some of that Larsen chapter will be covered.
When last we met, we were in the late Paleolithic era.
[phone line ringing]
And just up ahead on the horizon was the Mesolithic.
[ringing continues]
Talking about 30,000 years ago, Neanderthals, Homo sapiens,
and the divergence of species.
[cell phone buzzing]
Come on, Henry.
He’s not answering.
Complexity and contradiction.
The ability to hold a variety of opposing feelings
and thoughts at the exact same time.
[bell rings]
This is why you’re still here and your distant ancestors are not.
[door closes]
[guard] Can I help you?
Yeah, I’m looking for a friend. Professor Henry Thorpe, anthropology.
He’s a real popular person today.
Why would you say that?
[knocking]
[door closes]
[both breathing heavily]
[Melanie] Maybe we just missed him?
[John] Shit. It’s gotta be Miller.
{\an8}[breathing heavily]
[breathing heavily]
[cell phone buzzing]
[John] Someone’s covering their tracks.
Rolling up everyone connected to Stallings.
So?
[John] I gotta get to Moss before they do. Henry will have to wait.
Okay, let’s go.
I gotta tell you something that’s gonna make you angry.
But just know that I’m angry too.
[Melanie] What?
My people… Miller, and some others…
They’ve been trying to stop me from finding Olivia.
Wait. Your people took Olivia?
No, no, no. No, no. No, they…
What did they do to her?
Nothing.
Oh, my God.
We don’t hurt people. It’s not who we are. Okay? I promise.
[Melanie sighs]
I’m gonna fix this.
Oh, God. [sighs]
[Melanie] You think she’s in there?
No, it’s one of Stallings’s crew.
Lives there and he might know some things we need to know.
[sighs] I’d like you to stay here. Okay?
It’s fine ’cause I don’t wanna go in there.
Okay.
Psst.
What are you doing?
I changed my mind. I’m going with you.
Stay close.
Okay.
Sugar.
Okay. Let’s go. Come on
[John] Things have gotten out of hand.
Maybe it’s time we all slowed down. Take a breath.
One of those “let cooler heads prevail” kind of things.
[actor] A lot of people tell me I’m a very gifted man.
[chuckles] But I still can’t see around corners.
[John] Sure. That’s one way to go.
Clinton’s gonna come by and move you to a different room,
just in case. And I’ll be back in, uh, say…
[sighs] I-I don’t know. But I’ll be back.
[Melanie] Okay.
Okay.
Hey. You all right?
I won’t come back without her.
Good.
[John] This is it.
Tonight’s the night I get some answers.
One way or the other.
[John] I meant what I said to her.
This isn’t who we are.
Kidnapping. Murder.
It doesn’t matter that Moss was a lowlife.
We’re not supposed to hurt people.
Our sole reason for being here is to preserve our peaceful way of life.
But this place is changing us.
It’s changing us all.
[thunder rumbling]
[murmuring]
What’s going on?
[sighs] Mission’s over.
We’re being called back.
What?
[Henry] It’s true.
Henry.
I’m okay. I… You… You better listen to her.
Wait, wait, wait. Wait. [stammers] What?
[Ruby] We got word from home this morning.
That’s why Miller wanted to speak with you.
That’s why we’re here.
We’re going over the exit plans.
The mission’s not over.
[Ruby] Yes, it is.
In a day or so, you and everyone in this room,
all of our associates, will be off-planet.
Says who?
[Ruby] Says home.
Now, you’ll talk with Miller about the exit details.
No, no. Nice try. But I’m not going without her.
Yes, you are.
I am not going without her.
Olivia Siegel.
The woman that I’ve been looking for.
A woman who some people in this room mysteriously
and unmistakably don’t want me to find!
And now what?
After all this time, suddenly, without warning,
we’re just supposed to pick up and leave? No!
Olivia Siegel is not the mission, Sugar.
You’ve lost track of the greater good here.
Where the fuck is she?
John.
No, wait. No more evasions. No more lies.
John.
Wait, Henry! Please.
[breathes shakily] Someone better tell me right now where she is.
I know someone in this room knows.
I agree. I’ll tell you.
[Ruby] No. You will do no such thing, Henry.
You won. We’re all leaving. So what does it matter now?
I’m telling you. Come on.
[Ruby sighs]
I just found out all this today. And I…
And you know where she is? Tell me.
They gave me an address. Yeah.
Okay. So let me see it.
Fine. Let me write it down.
Address. After all this, there’s an address. I…
[Henry breathes deeply]
[Henry] Shall I explain as best I can?
[John] Please.
[Henry] Okay. So…
They found out about us… the humans.
Yes. Some did.
And this is who we’ve been protecting?
These are powerful people.
I’m sure.
So we just look the other way?
We do nothing, and we let this kind of thing happen?
To protect our own.
They can exterminate us at anytime if they want to.
And now the mission’s over.
Yes.
And now I can be told.
No matter what might’ve happened to Olivia.
No matter how she might have suffered.
And this… Whoever this is…
Someone’s son. A politician.
This scumbag was a client of Stallings?
Yeah.
How did it happen?
How did we… How did they find out about us?
I don’t know that part. And at this point, does it even matter?
Of course it matters.
More than anything. This isn’t who we are, Henry.
You know, you’re not the only one who’s upset. No one out there is happy.
Happy? You think Olivia’s happy about this?
This should never have happened, Henry!
Okay. But it did.
[groans]
Now, we’re leaving. So try and fix it.
Because if she’s alive, that’s where you’re gonna find her.
Wait. [sighs] They told me what happened at this Stallings’s house.
They said that you killed three people.
Is that true?
I defended myself.
So you had to?
The first two, I had to kill.
A man and a woman. [stammers]
It was self-defense.
But the third one, it…
it wasn’t.
[John] I kept running through these thoughts.
“I’m in danger.” “He’s a bad man.” “What if he reaches for”…
“Maybe it’s justice.
Or at least justified.”
But then just before I-I, um…
Just before I pulled the trigger…
all those thoughts just went away and everything became quiet.
And, uh…
I killed him because I felt like it.
It’s madness. I know.
I think that the longer we stay here, the more human we become.
I-I gotta go.
In your work… in all your time here… you found, what, dozens of people,
yeah? At least. Maybe more.
You’re j… You’re always searching for men or women, children.
Perhaps this Olivia today. I hope you find her.
But without your sister, I’m afraid you’re always gonna be lost.
[John] So it these humans of power and privilege
who were behind Olivia’s disappearance.
I get it now.
We were being blackmailed with the threat of exposure.
“Tell Sugar to back off his case, or we spill your secret to the world.
‘Aliens walk amongst us.’ That would be the headline.”
That’d be bad.
I don’t like it, but I get it.
Henry’s right. We’ve stayed too long. It’s time to go home.
[breathes deeply, sighs]
[beeps]
[guard] Freeze! Security. Hands up.
Hands up.
Look. My hands are up.
Drop the weapon.
All right. Just take it…
Put the gun on the ground.
Okay. I’m on your side. I’m just gonna put the gun…
I said “Freeze!”
[grunts]
You gotta listen to me. We can’t leave.
I’m a private investigator. I’ve been hired to find a missing woman.
I’ve heard a lot of excuses for breaking and entering before.
Do I look like a tweaker? Listen to me.
My wallet, my PI license, my driver’s license,
my identification, everything’s in my wallet.
Left breast pocket. There, inside. Yes.
Left breast pocket?
-“John Sugar.” Is that your real name?
My real n… Yes, sir.
Is that your blue car over there?
Yes, sir.
Look, maybe I’ve got the wrong address. I don’t know. Maybe I’m wrong.
But if someday you hear about a woman being tortured
and brutalized in this house,
and you didn’t take one minute of your day to try and help her…
You just left without checking…
You don’t want that kind of regret, man. Trust me.
Now’s the time. You don’t want to think,
“If I could have the moments back. If I could turn back time.”
[door closes]
[breathing heavily]
Don’t move.
{\an8}I’ll check the basement.
{\an8}[door opens]
{\an8}Hello?
{\an8}Is there anyone down there?
Is there anyone down there?
[John] Right. The senator’s son.
Hello?
[chuckles] Of course.
Hey.
Hey.
[door opens, closes]
Well, what did you find?
Nothing. Well, a hammer.
[hammer clatters]
But it’s a basement, so that’s where I’d keep my hammer.
You sure you looked everywhere?
Pretty much.
Well, my mistake.
[chuckles] You got that right.
So what’s now?
Who told you there was someone down there?
[sighs]
A friend. Um, it was bad intel.
You know, it happens. But it’s embarrassing.
What friend?
What fr… You know I can’t tell you what friend.
Confidential sources… a prerequisite of my business.
Who told you there was someone in my basement?
I didn’t think I tripped any alarms.
You were good.
Yeah?
I was just coming back from work.
[both chuckle]
[chuckles] Lucky me.
Unlucky you.
Hey, it doesn’t have to be like this.
I mean, no one else has to get hurt.
Including you.
Actually, I don’t mind people getting hurt.
To me, the question is, “Do I start with the hammer?”
[both panting, grunting]
[screams]
[both panting, grunting]
[grunting continues]
[grunting]
[breathing heavily] What’s your name?
[breathing heavily]
Ryan. [breathes heavily]
Ryan.
It’s over. All right? Why don’t we just call it a day, okay?
Yeah.
Don’t. Don’t!
[panting]
[grunts]
[breathing heavily]
[flashlight clicks]
[breathing heavily]
[flashlight clicks]
[flashlight clicks]
[breathing heavily, grunts]
[grunts, breathing shakily]
Olivia.
[“Anemone” playing]
