EXT. LOU’S HOUSE JACOB’s pickup, carrying him, HANK, and LOU pulls up to the driveway. INT. LOU’S HOUSE – LIVING ROOM The three men are sitting together in the living room. Hank and Lou are getting drunk and having a good time while Jacob sits solemnly on the couch. LOU And then and then he says ‘hey, my wife’s over here!” HANK (laughing) That’s a good one! LOU (standing up) Looks like we’re runnin’ low. I’m gonna get us some more beer. Lou wanders off into the kitchen. HANK (leaning over to Jacob) What’s keeping you? JACOB I’m not gonna to do this, Hank. There is a moment of silence before Lou strolls back in with three fresh bottles of beer. He hands one to Hank then tries to hand one to Jacob, who declines. LOU Aw, come on! JACOB I don’t want one. LOU (sits down in his easy chair) Hell, you haven’t barely touched your last one! Are you okay, Jacob? Jacob remains silent. HANK He’s just sick; probably one of those colds that have been floating around recently. LOU I’m sick too. Sick of my wife! (laughs) HANK Lemme guess, always nagging you to wash the dishes and take out the trash. Wives: They’re nag machines! Nag! Nag! Nag! Nag! Nag! LOU (laughing and pointing at Hank) Yeah, you know what it’s like! JACOB (looking at Hank) What the fuck’s wrong with you? HANK (looking confused) What? JACOB This! Hank, wouldn’t know what Lou was talking about even if you tried! You have a good wife and kid! HANK Sarah and I fight. JACOB Not that often! When was the last time you and Sarah fought? HANK Um JACOB When? HANK About two weeks ago JACOB Lou and Nancy fight every day! LOU We’re getting better. JACOB Still, how can you act like you relate to him? You went to college, got a good job! Dad gave everything for you and now you’re here pretending that you know what it’s like to be Lou! HANK Hey, you leave dad out of this! JACOB No! If you were his son, you wouldn’t be acting like this! LOU Guys, guys! Calm down, you’re brothers! JACOB He’s not my brother. You’re more of a brother to me than he ever is. LOU Aw, you don’t mean that! HANK Jacob, let’s just go home JACOB No. I ain’t going home. HANK Jacob JACOB I said no! (turns to Lou) Do you know what Hank tried to talk me into? He wanted me to get you to confess to killing [dead guy], and then record it and turn you in to Carl! LOU (laughs) That’s a good one! JACOB I ain’t shittin’ you; I’m serious. He tried to bribe me with the farm and everything. He’s just trying to save his sorry ass! LOU (pauses, then turns to Hank) Is that true? HANK (laughs) No, Jacob’s just playing around, he doesn’t mean any of it. JACOB No, Hank, I’m not letting you do this! Jacob grabs Hank’s coat, much to the dismay of his brother, and fumbles around the pockets until he finally produces the tape recorder. JACOB I can’t sacrifice my best friend. LOU You son of a bitch. Lou shoves Hank, knocking him backwards onto the couch LOU Trying to backstab me, huh! Hank scrambles to get off the couch. Lou grabs Hank by the shirt and punches him in the face. Hank throws a punch back, freeing himself of Lou’s grasp. The two men begin fighting. Jacob stands on the sidelines, wanting to stop the fight, but afraid that it might be too dangerous. Hank gets knocked down by the fireplace where he sees a fire poker leaned up against the brick. Above it hangs two stockings with the phrases “Peace on earth” and “Good will towards men” sewn into them. Hank grabs the poker and swings at Lou. JACOB Hank, put the poker down! EXT. LOU’S HOUSE NANCY’s car pulls into the driveway. INT. LOU’S HOUSE Hank continues to swing the poker at Lou. Lou blocks the attacks with his arms while trying to find an opening for attack. Once he sees one, he rushes Hank EXT. LOU’S HOUSE Nancy gets out of her car and walks up the pathway. As she opens the door, Hank and Lou tumble out into the snow. NANCY (surprised) Oh my god! Hank and Lou wrestle for the fire poker. Hank manages to hold onto the poker. Lou stumbles to his feet and attacks Hank, even though he’s unarmed. Nancy tries to hold her husband back. NANCY No! Baby, please! Get away from him! Please, listen to me! Nancy becomes terrified when she sees Hank swing the poker at Lou. NANCY No! Nancy runs in front of Lou as Hank swings again. The poker slams swiftly into Nancy’s temple, killing her instantly. JACOB Oh my god. HANK (recoils once he recognizes Nancy) Oh god! Oh god! LOU Nancy! (he holds her) Baby, wake up, please! Wake up! Nancy! HANK Lou, I... LOU (sobbing, looks up at Hank) You murderer! Lou lunges at Hank. The force of the impact causes the poker to fly out of Hank’s hand. It lands, handle up, nearly vertically in the snow. Lou wraps his hands around Hank’s neck and begins choking him. Jacob rushes to get Lou off of his brother. JACOB (Trying to pry Lou off of Hank) Lou, get off of him! LOU No! He’s a murderer! A cold blooded, fucking murderer! JACOB It was an accident! He didn’t mean to! LOU The fucker deserves to die! My Nancy is gone! In a moment of weakness, Jacob manages to pry Lou off of Hank and flings him backwards. Lou stumbles backwards a few steps and looses his balance, falling onto the fire poker which impales him. JACOB Lou! (rushes to him) Lou! Lou mumbles something incoherent before going limp. JACOB (sobbing) No! Oh god, no! Lou! INT. LOU’S HOUSE – BASEMENT Jacob sits on the stairs, silent. Hank walks down, crouching in front of Jacob. HANK I called the police. They’re going to be here in a few minutes, so we need to get our stories straight. Jacob remains silent. HANK When the police ask, we’re going to say that Lou and Nancy were fighting- a real bad argument- and it got taken outside. Lou hit Nancy with the poker and then went after me. You tried to get him off, but when you did, he fell on the poker. It was an accident. It wasn’t your fault at all. Jacob solemnly looks up at Hank, but quickly casts them down again.