Jerry and Tom

Tom and Jerry sit in a dim Chicago bar, waiting for clearance to kill Stanley. Their mood is tense, with Jerry eager to pull the trigger and Tom holding back. The phone finally rings, signaling the operation's start, and the moment the call arrives triggers a pivot to a flashback.

The flashback opens with Karl narrating a brutal assault on his nephew by a local gangster. Tom promises to investigate, but as they enter Tom's car, the tension escalates and Tom betrays Karl, strangling him after an apology. Jerry witnesses the murder, vomits, and then insists he is fine, hinting at a darker pattern.

Tom and Jerry travel out of state for another hit, with Jerry along for the ride. They attend a cinema where they witness the hit and encounter an unnamed man irritated by their loud talk about a domestic dispute. The man tells a story about his fiancée Vicki Torrance and mob troubles on her set, which unsettles Jerry and foreshadows a personal reckoning.

The duo tails a target to a Chinese restaurant for their first real kill together. Jerry's nerves show and Tom calms him with a reference to Reagan era fiction about a cold blooded hit man. The plan proceeds and the target is killed.

When the next target arrives, Jerry asks to take the shot. Tom allows him to try and watches as Jerry shoots the man head on, leaving with a grim sense of satisfaction. The moment deepens their uneasy bond and hints at Jerry's rising confidence.

The trio shares a meal with Vic, during which Vic discusses memoirs, a film adaptation, and talk show appearances. Jerry reveals he is diabetic and abruptly stabs Vic with a syringe, brutalizing the moment. Tom chastises Jerry, arguing they had planned a cleaner murder for Vic.

During their final hit, Jerry's fear overtakes him and he accidentally kills an innocent bystander. He confesses unsettling fantasies about killing his own family, including aiming a pistol at his infant son's head. The moment marks a severing of their professional veneer.

Back in the present, the phone rings again and Tom takes the call, delivering the hit on Jerry. He then frees Stanley, who reveals that Stanley has his own orders to end Tom's life. The scene tightens the film's tension as loyalties blur.

Tom frees Stanley, who reveals that he has orders to kill Tom, flipping the dynamic and turning the tables on the hunter. The revelation shifts the balance of power and casts a shadow over Tom's control of the situation.

Stanley's quiet, unsettling question about knowing any good jokes closes the film. The line underscores a chilling blend of humor and violence that defines the story's atmosphere. It leaves Tom's fate and their shared history unresolved.