The Nickel Ride

In Los Angeles, Cooper works as a key-man for crime boss Carl, tasked with securing a new block of warehouses. He aims to bribe Elias O'Neil to broker the sale with city officials, with a one-week deadline looming. The stakes are high as Cooper seeks to lock in the deal before Carl's patience runs out.

Carl orders Cooper to fix the boxing match after their fixer Paulie failed. The pressure to deliver a clean outcome mounts as Cooper contemplates how to control Tonozzi and save face with the syndicate. Cooper steps in to handle the dirty job himself.

Cooper approaches Tonozzi and tells him to take a dive, warning that Paulie will be hurt if he refuses. Tonozzi reluctantly agrees to throw the fight, deepening Cooper's entanglement with the criminal underworld. The plan advances but risks exposure and retaliation.

A surprise birthday party unfolds, after which Cooper is taken to a prospective warehouse with Carl. Turner is introduced as Carl's new protege and the clock starts ticking toward the Saturday deadline. The underworld's pressures tighten around Cooper.

Paulie arrives to report that Tonozzi won the fight, leaving Cooper's plan exposed to Carl. Paulie begs for Cooper's help to smooth things over, signaling the fragility of loyalties and the danger of failure. The tension escalates as Cooper seeks a way out without breaking the code.

Cooper visits Elias at a barbershop to close the warehouse deal, but Elias demands another $15,000 in bribes. Cooper agrees to pay an extra $10,000, while Elias questions whether Cooper even has authority to do so, given rumors that he is on his way out. Negotiations strain Cooper's standing.

After presenting the weekly payoffs to Carl, Cooper exits the office where Turner has become his driver. Bobby, Carl's enforcer, brags about killing Paulie, prompting Cooper to angrily beat and break two of Bobby's ribs. The violent boundary of success and loyalty is crossed.

Turner drives Cooper toward Carl's office, during which Cooper seizes a gun from Carl's desk and hides it under his coat. Turner questions Cooper about his carnival days, but Cooper stays silent, signaling his growing paranoia and willingness to take personal risk.

Cooper and his girlfriend Sarah retreat to a cabin to decompress, but paranoia follows. They notice wet footprints and find Cooper's gun missing. Turner arrives, waiting for the warehouse decision, forcing Cooper to delay and keep the 'business' separate from personal life. The couple's trust frays as danger closes in.

Cooper sleeps with Turner looming in a dream where Turner holds a rifle and Sarah is endangered. In the dream, Turner forces Cooper to act; when Sarah appears, the moment ends with Turner grabbing a rifle and firing. The dream foreshadows real danger and destabilizes their relationship.

Upon returning to the city, Cooper learns Elias never arrived and that Carl already knows the warehouse deal has fallen through. He arranges for Sarah to be put on a train to Las Vegas and resolves to confront Carl for dropping the contract, signaling the end of the immediate warehouse plan.

Cooper tracks down Carl at a restaurant and threatens to kill him if he doesn't remove the hit. Carl insists the mob cannot lose their 'key man' and vows to find other warehouses, revealing the immovable nature of power in the syndicate and the impossibility of quitting cleanly.

Back home, Turner ambushes Cooper with a gun. A brutal struggle ensues, Cooper is shot multiple times, but overpowers and kills Turner by strangulation. He collapses exhausted, dying from his wounds, bringing the cycle of violence to a fatal close.