Guatemalan Coffee
A man's drug infested house is raided by the FBI as he struggles with the worst vice of all....Guatemalan Coffee.
Being drug dealer’s no easy stock and trade. Moralize if one must. But to succeed in that literally cut-throat business, a man needs… serious SKILLS. Among them: tons of risk tolerance. Ability to think on one’s feet. Oh – and then there’s that third little “must”: Nerves and Cojones of absolute STEEL.
Which is apparently a pair Jeter Cobbs does possess.
Because as Paul D. Pena’s Guatemalan Coffee opens up, Jeter awakes to the kind of morning alarm no drug dealer hopes to hear:
VOICE
FBI!! Open the door!
Inexplicably, Jeter doesn’t find that order distressing. Instead he shuffles across the living room, and obeys - doing his best to stifle a yawn.
On the other side of the door: Special Agent Jackson and three law enforcement pals – each bristling with authoritarian aggression. And guns.
Jackson kicks the door open, cop movie style. That doesn’t phase Jeter, either. Backing away, he simply quips:
JETER
Is that really necessary?
Maybe not, but it’s dramatic. Almost on cue, the Feds flow in. Jackson and a partner pat Jeter down. The other agents race upstairs; armed with a search warrant too, they’re eager to ransack the place.
Not that searching proves particularly complex. Jeter may have some qualifications for dealing, but as for creative-stashing of contraband… well, Jeter seems to have failed THAT Law-Breakers 101 class. Either that, or he just doesn’t care. Detained by Jackson in the kitchen, Jeter listens and waits patiently. Too patiently, perhaps? No-one’s THAT cool and collected, right?
Jackson struts around the kitchen like it's his. He rifles through a few drawers, then his eyes land on the Cellophane bundles. He crouches and inspects the contents closely.
JACKSON
Meth. Out in the open. Boy, you scum
bags are getting more brazen with
every passing day. I'd say there's
one life sentence here already.
Jackson rises and looks around at the barren walls and the lone desk with a coffee pot.
JACKSON
Imagine what my guys will find in
the next 20 minutes.
JETER
Oh, a hell of a lot more I guess!
Jackson seems caught off guard by his indifference.
JETER
Hey you ever had Guatemalan coffee?
This stuff is insane.
Meanwhile, the upstairs agents crow about the bonanza of bad stuff they’ve uncovered:
AGENT #1 (O.S.)
Holy crap! Jackpot baby!
Pounds of Fentanyl AND cocaine!
Jackson gloats – but Jeter doesn’t even flinch. Unphased by the prospect of 5 consecutive life sentences, he seems content to sip his Guatemalan coffee… not a care in the world.
Why?
Both audiences and Agent Jackson will find that out in due time.
A single location shoot filled with tension, banter and gritty crime vibes, Guatemalan Coffee is something indie directors should “sample”, too. You won’t regret it. Though – maybe – Jackson will!