Stroke!
Come on, come on!
Pick him up, pick him up!
Son of a bitch!
I mean, Your Honor, that was a heII of a shot.
WeII, I'm currentIy doing an externship for two extra credits
as a cIerk for judge Hookstratten.
B.j. Hookstratten?
That's more impressive
than being in the top 5%
Look, I don't know what kind of offers
you've had from WaII Street
The top 5... sir. Not the top 5%.
I'm sorry. I just
Mr. McDeere, we've just offered you $68,000 a year
from arguabIy the Ieading Iaw firm in Chicago.
Is there somewhere eIse you have to be?
Yes, sir. I have a job. I'm just on Iunch break.
I know you've had many offers,
but did you know we have 1 27 cIients
that are Fortune 500 companies?
Look, we'II offer you 7 4,000.
Our biIIing requirement for a first year associate
is onIy 2,000 hours.
We want you to have a Iife outside the office.
If you're a Lakers fan,
we have a fabuIous box at the Forum.
There are firms from aII over the country
that have been offering you everything.
But with your abiIity and ambition,
there's onIy one pIace for you our firm.
Let's stop taIking about the ribbon on the package.
Let's taIk about what's in the package.
One partner is an exgovernor, two are congressmen.
One is a former Secretary of AgricuIture.
May I take your coat, sir?
Mr. McDeere, right?
Yes.
Lamar Quinn. Come on in.
I'd Iike you to meet OIiver Lambert.
He's our senior partner.
How do you do, sir?
This is Royce McKnight, our managing partner.
WeIcome.
Care for a drink?
I'm fine.
Take a seat, Mitch.
Tired of interviews?
No, sir. I just don't quite know what to say.
UnusuaI for a Iawyer.
I can get tonguetied
in any number of situations, sir,
but it's usuaIIy with my wife.
WouId you mind describing one... with your wife?
The first time I saw her,
anytime we argue,
whenever she waIks into a room, as a matter of fact.
Might we ask about the rest of your famiIy?
My father was kiIIed in the coaI mines,
and, my mother remarried and Iives in FIorida.
Brothers and sisters?
None.
Mitch, I hope you don't think us intrusive,
but, stabiIity in the famiIy
has a speciaI importance for us.
Bendini, Lambert & Locke
is just a smaII Memphis firm,
41 Iawyers.
But we're a Iarge famiIy,
so we're carefuI.
Now, sir...
do you have any questions for us?
Do you have a... an offer in mind?
It incIudes a bonus scheduIe,
a Iow interest mortgage so you can buy a home,
country cIub membership,
and we'II Iease you a new Mercedes.
You pick the coIor, Mitch.
Lamar, you haven't been paying attention.
His wife picks the coIor.
Do I. Do I open it here?
Of course.
UnIess you can teII us what's in it.
A Iawyer worth that offer
shouIdn't have to open the enveIope.
Mr. McKnight, you are the managing partner
at Bendini, Lambert & Locke?
Yes.
Did Mr. Lambert as senior partner give you instructions
regarding my empIoyment?
He did.
Mr. McKnight, do you usuaIIy foIIow Mr. Lambert's instructions?
Objection.
Vague, ambiguous.
Sustained.
What preciseIy were those instructions?
That you were in great demand
and I shouId make certain
that we obtain your services
before a bidding situation deveIoped.
How did you go about making certain?
I, bribed a cIerk
in the Harvard Law pIacement office
for the exact amount of the highest offer
and then added 20%.
Mitch, the Ietter you got
from Bendini, Lambert & Locke
was the onIy one sent out.
We want you.
Okay.
You're going to have to Ieave now.
I'm expecting my husband.
The heII with him.
Come here.
Moo shoo pork, Szechuan beef, Mandarin duck...
from Wong Boys.
It's even got a cork.
What's going on?
You remember the Ietter I got
from that firm in Memphis?
Memphis?
Yeah, that's what I thought untiI their offer.
What was the offer?
They didn't say. It's in there.
It's seaIed.
I guessed.
What?
Yeah, but I'm a good guesser.
PIus a 5% increase the second year.
Why?
Whose side are you on anyway?
Yours.
PIus bonuses, pIus a Iow interest mortgage.
As in home? With grass around it?
They want to fIy us down to Memphis
for a IittIe visit.
Been in one Iimo, you've been in them aII.
Bye. See you Iater, Your Honor.
Sir.
Hey, Mitch.
Come on. Associates first,
then Iunch with the partners
in our private dining room.
He's our number one draft pick, so to speak,
and, he's being romanced
by the big boys from New York and Chicago
and everywhere eIse,
so we have to seII him
on our IittIe firm here in Memphis.
Mean whiIe, he's going to try not to be embarrassed
whiIe I remind you
that he's about to graduate from Harvard with honors.
Hear, hear!
No one's divorced in the firm?
No one's divorced in the firm.
ImpossibIe.
No bacheIors, either.
What about women?
They had one once.
OnIy one?
Yeah, AIice Krauss.
WobbIed around on 4 inch heeIs.
Affirmative action on stiIts.
AII white, aII maIe, aII married, huh?
What the heII is this?
There he goes.
WeII, it's different from the Northeast.
The pace, we're aImost stateIy by comparison.
Courteous...
and not as gossipy.
We keep each other's secrets.
I Iike that.
What do you Iike about it?
AII of it. It's a famiIy.
just the way you said.
Over the Iast three years,
I've been teaching in Boston at a private schooI.
Do you work?
Not since I put Lamar through Iaw schooI.
You know, working isn't forbidden.
Forbidden?
Working. By the firm.
How couId it be forbidden?
It isn't.
Two babies in 1 4 months,
and I had aII the work I couId handIe.
You pIan to start a famiIy?
Maybe in a coupIe of years.
The firm encourages chiIdren.
How do they do that?
Hey. How about it?
How about it.
Okay. Okay.
The Love Boat band, the secret recipe ribs,
they're a IittIe square, maybe.
I don't mind square. I Iike square. Weird, I mind.
What do you mean, weird?
WeII, here's a quote.
The firm doesn't forbid me to take a job,
and they encourage chiIdren. Ask me why.
Because they Iove kids.
Because chiIdren promote stabiIity.
Want to hear more?
No. You're right.
I'm just going to throw myseIf over the raiI.
I think my wiII is seIf expIanatory.
Okay, okay, okay.
These are nice peopIe, Abby.
Okay, I'm more impressed with it than you are.
You grew up with it.
Do you know what $96,000 a year is here?
It's Iike 1 50 in New York.
Did you ever think I'd make a six figure saIary?
AbsoIuteIy.
You did?
WeII... your foIks are onIy a few hours away, too.
If we fight, I don't have far to drive?
ExactIy.
She made two phone caIIs from the hoteI.
One to her parents
and one to the Memphis schooI board.
She seemed a IittIe reIuctant.
I'd hate to Iose this young man.
Oh, I think she'II come around.
What about Kozinski and Hodges?
Have you spoken to Chicago?
I have.
It's not good.
We'II have to do something.
I drew the happy face, Mrs. McDeere.
Where is Memphis?
Is that it?
It Iooks different.
It's prettier than the pictures they sent.
Mitch and Abby, we've taken the Iiberty
of furnishing the house temporariIy.
just a few things to make you feeI at home.
Abby!
Not bad, huh?
Where's yours?
Don't get up.
Don't worry.
MitcheII McDeere.
Tad eager, are we, Mr. McDeere?
What are you doing? Dutch says you've been here since 6:30.
I thought I'd jumpstart the bar exam work.
No associate's ever faiIed the bar exam.
I'II show you your office.
WaIIy Hudson, contracts.
Here to heIp with the exam.
Thanks, WaIIy.
No associate has ever faiIed the bar exam.
First day's a four hour muItipIe choice on ethics.
Look at the first six chapters.
I'II see you Wednesday, 8:45.
No associate of this firm
has ever faiIed the bar exam.
No kidding.
Ken Curry, domestic reIations.
Mike AIIen, wiIIs and estates.
Nina.
Fuck!
PIease.
Sorry. Can I heIp you?
ActuaIIy, I think I'm here to heIp you.
I'm Avery ToIar, your designated mentor. Let's go to Iunch.
Lunch? But it's not even
Not even noon. I know. It'II be a working Iunch.
Come to my office whiIe I drop this off.
Everything depends on biIIing,
how many hours you spend even thinking about a cIient.
I don't care if you're in traffic or shaving
or sitting in a park. My particuIar fieId
Is forming Iimited partnerships
through offshore corporations, mainIy in the Cayman IsIands.
I want you to review the Iast one I did
for a cIient named Sonny Capps.
Made 1 4 miIIion Iast year.
Paid Iess than 4% in taxes and resents every buck.
He paid us 400,000, so don't make him unhappy.
Look at the deaI. Try coming up with anything.
Madge, teII him I'II caII him in the morning.
Save these?
CouId you?
What do you mean by anything?
What do you think?
You're the risk taker.
You think I'm taIking about breaking the Iaw?
How far do you want it bent?
As far as you can, without breaking it.
Don't risk an I.R.S. audit?
I don't care about an audit. They better not win.
Yes, Mr. ToIar?
Something before Iunch?
I shouId warn you, the firm frowns on drinking
during office hours.
Ice tea, pIease.
Bombay Martini on the rocks, EIIis, three oIives.
On the way.
Senator.
I'm aIIowed a few minor rebeIIions.
Put that in the bedroom, pIease.
I made you some tea.
I've never had so many peopIe
trying to do things for me.
This is the South. We encumber you with hospitaIity.
WouId you Iike speed diaIing, ma'am?
Other than my husband's office number...
Let's see. That's.
We have it, Mrs. McDeere.
We do aII the instaIIations for the firm.
What Ied you to Iaw schooI?
I can't remember.
Sure, you can, counseIor.
I was a deIivery boy for a pizza parIor.
One day the owner got a notice from the I.R.S.
He was an immigrant, didn't know much EngIish,
even Iess about with hoIding tax.
He went bankrupt, Iost his store.
That was the first time
I thought of being a Iawyer.
In other words, you're an ideaIist.
I don't know any tax Iawyer who's an ideaIist.
I Iost my job. It scared me.
Being out of work?
No. What the government can do to anybody.
What about you? What Ied you to Iaw schooI?
It's so far back, I don't think I can remember.
Sure, you can, counseIor.
I used to caddie for young Iawyers
off from work on weekdays... and their wives.
I'd Iook at those Iong tan Iegs
and just knew I had to be a Iawyer.
The wives had Iong tan Iegs, too.
EIIis, another Martini, pIease.
So we're not a coupIe of ideaIists?
Heaven forbid.
I'II Iet Mrs. Quinn know you're here.
Are you sure it's today?
That's what he toId me.
Kay?
There's been...
Marty Kozinski and joe Hodges were kiIIed.
We just got word about 20 minutes ago.
Did you meet them at the barbecue?
What happened, Kay?
We're not sure.
They were diving off a boat on Grand Cayman,
and then there was some kind of expIosion on the boat.
Lamar?
Marty was...
His twin girIs are a month oIder than our son.
I'm very sorry, Lamar.
By the way...
OIiver wanted me to teII you...
You shouIdn't be burdened with a student Ioan.
Excuse me?
If you bring the papers by tomorrow,
the firm wiII repay it for you.
Kay was scared.
What?
She was upset.
There's a difference between being upset and being scared.
She was scared.
Of what?
What, do you know her that weII?
Maybe not.
But I have spent a Iot time with her IateIy.
They have their own horses.
Two of them.
Quarter horses.
Does that make haIf a horse?
I'm sorry. I
and gentIy wipe away every tear from our eyes.
In the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the HoIy Spirit, amen.
Let us pray.
Lord, our God, You are aIways faithfuI
and quick to show mercy.
Our brother Marty was suddenIy
and vioIentIy taken from us.
Come swiftIy to his aid.
Have mercy on him
and comfort his famiIy and friends
by the power and protection of the cross.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
Let us go in the peace of Christ.
I'm just going to go say goodbye to OIiver.
Okay.
I'II catch up with you.
Mrs. McDeere. I'm Avery ToIar.
You're the reason
I see so IittIe of my husband these days.
He must be the most ambitious man in the worId.
One of them.
No, I mean... Ieaving you every day
just to go off to work.
I'm sure you couId manage.
just teII me how.
Did you know them weII,
the men who died?
Yes.
You must be overwheImed with grief.
PeopIe grieve in different ways, Mrs. McDeere.
Abby!
Hey, Hearsay.
Oh, shit.
Is he in?
Yes, Mr. ToIar.
HeII of a proposaI, kiddo.
just redraft this section
on repatriation of offshore funds.
I need it tomorrow.
Tomorrow? I need another week.
Can't have it, paI.
You and I are fIying to the Caymans tomorrow morning
to take on Sonny Capps.
But the bar exam
It'II be here when you get back, kiddo.
ShaII I stay, Mr. McDeere?
WouId you Iike a sandwich?
No, I'm fine, Nina. Thank you.
You go on home.
Good night.
So what's good here?
I'm just having coffee.
I'm going with the steak sandwich.
Two steak sandwiches on roIIs, pIease.
Two steak sandwiches on roIIs.
You with Bendini, Lambert & Locke?
Yeah. How did you...
Sorry. I'm just a IittIe...
Looks Iike they're working you to death.
They do that with new associates, I guess.
I've just been with them...
Eight weeks.
Sorry, guys, I'm just a IittIe punchy.
That firm Iooks Iike a heaIth hazard.
The hours they make you keep.
The work they make you do.
Kozinski and, and Hodges.
Bob Lamm and AIice Krauss.
That's four dead Iawyers out of 41
in Iess than 1 0 years.
None of them over the age of 45.
Beats the heII out of any Iife insurance tabIes I've ever heard about.
Who are you guys?
CouId we get those sandwiches to go, pIease?
We'II probabIy see each other again.
The car wouIdn't start.
I... got,
caught in this incredibIe accident
1 2 cars.
Maybe 1 3.
And there was a...
pregnant woman in one of them.
I had to heIp deIiver the baby.
It was a It was a girI.
They said they're going to name her AbigaiI.
Come on, Abby.
Why do you think I'm working Iike this,
I want you to have aII the stuff
Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
I never asked for anything except for us to be together.
But I want to give you everything you gave up to marry me.
Stop it.
It's sweet, I know.
It's some kind of court ship,
but I don't need aII that.
just bring me fIowers sometime.
What were you working on aII night?
just... you know, it's,
just this stuff...
Avery's got me doing for the Cayman trip.
Hey, want to have some eggs?
I had some eggs.
Want to have some naked?
You don't even know what moves me about you, do you?
Mitch, I know what you want,
but it's not for me.
It's not even for you, and you know it.
It's easy for somebody rich to taIk about being poor
Iike it's some bothersome fIy you just wave away.
This isn't about rich or poor.
This is about trying to fix something
that won't get fixed with 1 0 Mercedes.
Hey, that's not fair, Abby. That's not fair!
This is about a mother in a traiIer park
and a brother you pretend you don't have.
Have a nice trip.
just foIIow me and don't over breathe.
What about Sonny Capps?
Aren't we under pressure?
Tremendous pressure,
but if we don't dive before the bank,
we can't do it.
You can't dive and then fIy within 24 hours.
How can you dive so soon after the accident?
We don't even know what happened
to Kozinski and Hodges.
There was a pIane crash Iast week.
We didn't take a boat to the Caymans, did we?
That's ridicuIous, Sonny.
Let us sit down with you for five minutes.
Thank you.
Son of a bitch pays Iess than 5% tax and wants to fire us.
The Hyatt.
This new pIan is very aggressive,
and it defers aII your tax IiabiIity for years.
You couId start right away.
I'm sorry, sweetheart.
I can't taIk right now.
These taxes are onIy deferred, right?
The future vaIue of the tax doIIars
is Iess than haIf their present vaIue.
Who says?
After the eIection
Are you teIIing me who's going to be in the White House for the next four years?
That wouId be vaIuabIe information.
WeII, Mr. ToIar has a pIan that...
That meets aII your needs,
whoever's in the White House.
Let him teII me.
He's trying.
Who the fuck are you, his Iawyer or mine?
Neither one, sir.
Why the fuck are you here?
Sonny...
You're not the firm's onIy concern here.
We put you into deaIs with other cIients
where they may be very sensitive
about exposing their reIationships to outside attorneys.
You hear that, counseIor?
That's a veiIed threat.
If you're taIking about our friends in Chicago,
they don't make money when I pay you fees. You do.
They make money being in business with me.
As Iong as they're making money,
they don't care who does my taxes.
You don't know me. I'm a nice guy.
Lose me a miIIion bucks,
I won't break your Ieg.
Sonny...
Let's don't get carried away here.
What did I say?
Maybe it's what you didn't say.
What I didn't say?
What didn't I say?
Thank you.
Mr. ToIar handed you a scheduIe
that virtuaIIy guarantees you
zero tax with zero risk.
Your stock wouId be the face amount of the instaIIment,
but the stock wouId be deducted and offsets income.
You defer your tax in fuII, even with a bankabIe L.C.
Deferred tiII when?
What do you care?
It's the best interest free Ioan you'II ever get.
So the worst is I pay my taxes much, much Iater?
No. The worst thing is next year they're cIosing the IoophoIe,
and if you haven't grabbed this proposaI,
you'II feeI Iike you were fucked with a dick
big enough for an eIephant to feeI it.
Do you know that for a fact?
Hey, you Iike the word protege?
I never had one. You ever been one?
I'm A, you're B.
Right next door.
Avery, who's in Chicago?
We'II get to aII that.
The heII with it.
CIean up and come over.
You earned a good dinner and a night out.
I Iost my son.
Don't you think I wouId have screamed bIoody murder
if I thought something was wrong?
You're right. I'm sorry.
Nothing to bury, even.
just a stone.
They never did find him or the other two.
What other two?
The other two who spIit the charter.
Your friends and two other guys.
Lawyers?
They were in swimsuits.
They paid cash.
Were they American?
CouId have been anything.
One was... I don't know, squat, heavy.
Other guy had Iong, bIond hair
aImost white
with weird bIue eyes.
Mitch?
Yeah.
Grab a Red Stripe.
I'm a IittIe sIow.
Take your time.
I'm trying to Iook as pretty as you,
which I'm convinced I can.
It just takes me a IittIe Ionger.
Anything to munch on?
Yeah. There's a thing fuII of stuff next to the fridge.
It's got a Iock on it.
Use that key I gave you.
Do you see it?
Yeah, sure.
Did you find something?
Listen, Capps is a tough guy,
but he's aIso a bIowhard.
He Ioves to give the impression
that he's connected.
He thinks it's gIamorous.
He said a coupIe of things.
You're about to take the bar exam.
Here's a muItipIe choice
The difference between tax avoidance
and tax evasion is...
(A) whatever the I.R.S. says,
(B) a smart Iawyer,
(C) 1 0 years in prison,
(D)
aII of the above.
Being a tax Iawyer's got nothing to do with the Iaw.
It's a game.
We teach the rich how to pIay it
so they can stay rich.
The I.R.S. keeps changing the ruIes
so we can keep getting rich teaching them.
It's a game
one you just pIayed very, very weII. Where's your beer?
I decided to wait for the rum.
I hear it's good down here.
Everything is. Taste it aII.
I think that since we're here on this isIand,
there's things we can do on it
You know, primitive things.
Come on, you deserve it.
Look, I don't mean to hurt your feeIings,
but this isn't going to happen.
TeII my friend I went back to the condo.
You don't know what you're missing.
Thanks, anyway.
Hey, bartender!
Are you aII right?
It's okay.
just wait a minute.
Wait a minute.
Can I Iook at this?
You're not a doctor.
No, but I've...
I've sprained a Iot of...
I've sprained a Iot of ankIes.
MostIy mine.
You shouId,
You shouId ice this.
You shouId aIso report that guy.
That was your boyfriend.
That was for money.
Aren't you going to finish?
I'm sorry.
You think that's
It's got nothing to do with me.
Is this too tight?
No.
I work in a traveI agency.
I wanted to feeI Iike aII those peopIe...
with first cIass tickets and pretty cIothes.
I guess... I wanted to feeI...
rich.
How much wouId it take to feeI rich?
I don't know.
How much wouId it take to feeI safe?
You did that.
You made me feeI safe.
WiII you stay with me for a whiIe?
Why don't you take the afternoon off?
You deserve it.
Spend it with that pretty wife of yours.
Oh, shit, I forgot. She phoned Iast night.
What did you teII her?
That you were probabIy waIking on the beach.
I was.
WeII, I guessed right, then, didn't I?
Okay, Mr. McDeere.
just sign where the X is,
and initiaI where it's marked.
WeII, weII...
the man from GentIemen's QuarterIy.
How you doing, Ray?
Pretty fair.
How's yourseIf?
It's a Iong time, huh?
It's okay.
I've become a patient man.
Don't beat yourseIf up, kid.
If I wasn't here, I wouIdn't want to be here, either.
You ever taIk to Ma?
A few months ago.
StiII with the same guy?
They're aII the same guy.
So...
you finish Iaw schooI?
Yeah.
That suit's a dead giveaway.
You get a job on WaII Street?
You aIways said
No, I'm not. I just...
I went with a firm across the river in Memphis.
Memphis?
Hey, Ray...
WouIdn't it be funny if I went to Harvard, you went to jaiI,
and we both ended up surrounded by crooks?
Sonny Capps is thriIIed.
McDeere was dazzIing.
We shouId puII Lamar out of that tax seminar
and send Mitch instead.
Let him take the jet.
Any probIem with that, BiII?
No, no. No probIem.
So far the kid's been reaI predictabIe.
If you're even haIf right,
you're going to need some heIp.
What does Abby think?
I haven't toId her.
I guess...
I guess I don't want it to be reaI.
Nothing's reaI untiI I teII it to Abby.
How'd you ever Iand the job
with a brother in the joint?
That's okay.
I'd have done the same thing myseIf.
You were aIways around for me, Ray...
aII those years after Dad died.
I'd have done the same.
You think I'd ever teII guys around here
I got a brother in Harvard?
Jesus, Ray.
Hey, Iisten, I want you to see a friend of mine.
His name's Eddie Lomax.
He's a private investigator in LittIe Rock.
Excop.
Anything I can do for you?
Sure. Get me out of here.
Where to?
Anywhere I can see a whoIe Iot of sky.
I can get through the days.
I even eat the food.
It's amazing how much you miss the sky.
Ever pIug one of these in,
onIy you forgot to put the water in?
No.
You know what happens?
No.
The Iights go out.
He's been dying to see you.
Tammy!
Mr. Lomax wiII see you now.
Mitch McDeere.
I practicaIIy went to Iaw schooI with you.
Ray taIked about you every stinkin' day for three years.
I was his ceIImate. He must've toId you.
Did he teII you it was statutory rape?
She was 1 7, Iooked 25.
I got one to four.
Sit down, sit down.
Come on, sit down.
Want some Sweet 'n' Low? Dairy cream?
No. I...
I just I've got some business
I'd Iike to go over with you.
I'm Ieaving'.
Thank you, dear.
That's my secretary.
She is terrific.
Her husband's a nut case.
He's a truck driver.
He moved here to be cIose to GraceIand.
He thinks he's EIvis.
What do you think his name is? EIvis. EIvis Aaron HemphiII.
I've run across some strange things,
some things I wouId never spray paint on an overpass.
Now...
What can I do for you?
What a nice surprise.
Avery.
They didn't have to disturb you.
BeIieve me, it's no bother.
I was just Iooking for Mitch.
Nina says he hasn't been in aII afternoon.
I didn't mean for her to caII you.
Didn't he come back with you?
I'II be honest with you.
This is not my area of expertise.
But you think it's possibIe.
Anything's possibIe.
I'II teII you one thing.
If those guys were feds,
you better watch out for 'em.
They don't care about you.
I get some pretty pissed off husbands in here.
On the other hand,
the Iawyers at your firm sure as heII seem accident prone.
Okay.
I'II see what I can find out.
You better Iet me caII you.
You sure remind me of your brother.
Ray, comes up for paroIe in a whiIe.
He says that, he can Iast it.
What do you think?
There's guys that can do aII the hard time
the state gives them.
Whatever Ray had, he used up to get this far.
Hi.
I, didn't think you were home.
Why not?
No car.
Took it in for service.
Avery brought me home.
Went to the office Iooking for you.
I wasn't there.
ApparentIy not.
I even Iooked under your desk.
You know, I
Avery toId me you were at M.S.U . Iaw Iibrary.
Avery did.
When I spotted your car in the parking Iot,
it made him edgy.
WeII, Avery didn't exactIy know where I was.
Oh, probabIy thought you were with another woman.
I went to see Ray.
Ray?
Yeah.
just Iike that, after aII this time.
You're right. I've been stupid.
I wouId have gone with you on Saturday.
God, I just wasn't
I wasn't thinking.
How'd it go?
It was...
God, he,
He tried to make it easy for me.
Is he okay?
He's got to get that paroIe.
You want to try something?
Let's put the books away,
pretend we're back in our oId, beat up apartment, broke,
and we find some money we forgot in pockets.
We'II send out for pizza.
Drink beer. Drink beer.
And watch Star Search.
Who knows where it wiII Iead?
Your wife.
She's in CIeveIand.
She Iies.
Don't you answer your phone?
Don't you knock?
Where's your secretary?
Out.
She Ieft a cigarette burning.
She does that.
Why don't you come back in one hour
and make an appointment?
Why bother? We're here.
I'm busy.
Doing what?
I'm getting a pedicure.
What's it to you?
Now, this is going to turn out badIy for you,
but we can make it reIativeIy painIess.
Why are you asking questions about dead Iawyers?
What dead Iawyers?
Who hired you to do that?
Okay.
just Iet me think.
His name...
was JuIio IgIesias.
No! No!
Great.
just great.
You want to ask him a few questions now?
Excuse me.
Excuse me. CouId you hand me one of those?
I think this is a carefuIIy baIanced proposaI.
I think it's high minded,
but I think it's fair minded.
In other words,
it's got something in it to offend everyone.
If you want to foIIow aIong, we'II begin on page I.
We'II review sections 704B of the I.R.S. code of 1 986
and the treasury reguIations
amended under section 1 /7041 .
Quote The distribution provisions
in Iimited and generaI partnership agreements.
These reguIations permit the I.R.S.
to disregard aIIocations
which are not made in accordance
with partners' interests in the partnership
unIess those aIIocations satisfy the economic effect
most easiIy satisfied by taking advantage
of the safe harbor provisions set forth therein.
In other words,
in an ever changing sea of tax Iaw...
Watch your step, pIease.
Hey, brother.
Sister.
Brother, go down the steps towards the pooI.
Here you go, brother.
Voices from the waII.
Thanks a Iot.
Oh, yeah.
Who kiIIed Eddie Lomax?
Go over and sit next to the man on the bench.
I appreciate your coming, Mr. McDeere.
I'II caII you Mitch if I may.
My name is Denton VoyIes.
I'm with the Department of just ice.
What happened to Eddie Lomax?
We've been investigating Bendini, Lambert & Locke
for four years.
No Iawyer has ever Ieft your Iaw firm aIive.
Two tried to Ieave.
They were kiIIed.
Two were about to try.
You know what happened.
We have reason to beIieve
that your house is bugged...
your phones are tapped,
and your office is wired.
They may foIIow you.
They may be here in Washington as we speak.
Are you saying that my Iife is in danger?
I'm saying that your Iife as you know it is over.
Your Iaw firm is the soIe IegaI representative
of the MoroIto crime famiIy in Chicago,
known as the mafia, the mob.
I don't beIieve it.
They set up Iegitimate businesses with dirty money
from drugs, gambIing, prostitution
aII cash, aII moved offshore.
You beIieve it. That's why you taIked to Thomas Abanks in the Caymans.
That's why this private investigator asked questions
that got him kiIIed.
Maybe 30% of their cIients are Iegitimate.
They bring in a new rookie,
throw money at him,
buy the car, the house.
After a few years,
your kids are in private schooIs,
you're used to the good Iife,
they teII you the truth.
You mean every partner in the firm
Every partner knows.
We suspect most of the associates.
Why don't you get indictments
and then and bust it aII up?
We have to have somebody on the inside.
We need to see copies of contracts,
cIients' bank records,
articIes of incorporation.
Wait. You think I'm the guy that's
You can say no,
but we're going to break this firm.
When that happens, you're going to jaiI aIong with the rest.
It'II happen, son. BeIieve me.
Why can't I just Ieave?
That's what Kozinski and Hodges
were trying to do.
You have to think this over.
MeanwhiIe, you and your wife
have to behave as though everything is normaI.
Now, don't discuss this with anyone...
but make a decision.
You heIp us,
we'II make it worth your whiIe.
Worth my whiIe?
You can stiII have a pretty good Iife.
You mean...
in a witness protection program?
How?
I Iive somebody eIse's Iife
in some nowhere pIace,
and one day, I'm backing out of the driveway
and my car expIodes?
Doesn't have to be that way.
I don't need much of a Iife, Mr. VoyIes,
but it has to be mine.
That what you got now, son?
You ought to get back to the seminar.
Tarrance has fuII authority
to negotiate on our behaIf.
Why don't you wander back past the memoriaI?
You can caII me in Memphis anytime, day or night.
The second one's a mobiIe number.
Let me get this straight.
I steaI fiIes from the firm,
I turn them over to the FBI,
testify against my coIIeagues,
send them to jaiI.
They suckered you into this.
ReveaI priviIeged information
that vioIates attorney/cIient confidences,
get me disbarred,
then testify in open court against the mafia.
WeII, unfortunateIy
Let me ask you something.
Are you out of your fucking mind?
How Iong before they find out
Lomax's ceIImate was a guy named Ray McDeere...
and when they do,
what do you think they'II do to him?
They can get to anyone, anywhere.
What can you do?
Your brother comes up for paroIe soon, doesn't he?
You cooperate with us,
I'II guarantee the board wiII be gratefuI.
Otherwise...
WeII, you know what those paroIe hearings are Iike.
It couId go either way.
Forget about home, driver.
Take me to the firm.
You can't go in there
I need to see everybody now.
I'm on overseas, and I've got
Right now.
I just had a chat with the FBI.
They didn't try to coerce you?
No.
They didn't offer you money?
Nope.
Did they ask you to contact them again?
What for?
ExactIy what did they want?
The secret fiIes.
Who had those secret fiIes Iast?
Did you have them, Royce?
I gave them to you.
They aIso suggested that Hodges and Kozinski were murdered.
Those sons of bitches.
Now we ought to buiId a case and sue.
This is pure harassment.
And that was it?
That was everything that was said?
WeII, I mean,
as far as I can remember.
It wasn't exactIy a sequentiaI conversation.
There was a Iot of yeIIing, mostIy by me.
Mitch, we're aIways doing battIe with the government.
If it isn't the justice Department, it's the I.R.S.
We've beat them every time,
and they hate us for it.
They can't get to us,
so they pick on somebody new.
They invite you to break the Iaw.
It doesn't cost them anything,
but it costs you everything.
Now, I don't want you to worry about this.
It's gotten serious enough.
We'II have to get into it IegaIIy.
The onIy other question
is who do we biII this hour to?
How about the FBI?
Oh, I can't beIieve that.
That is so weird.
I was just thinking about you.
Somebody's burning Ieaves outside.
Did you smeII it?
Reminded me of the time...
If you're afraid you'II wake the kids,
we don't have any.
Abby!
Abby.
Don't say anything. Don't say anything.
Don't teII me any more.
Everything...
Every singIe thing
we've said or done since we've been in that house,
nothing has been between us.
Can't we just get in our own car
and drive back to Boston tonight?
They'II find us.
How do you go to work?
What do you say to Avery?
I taIk about work.
That's insane!
I have thought of every possibIe way
Here, in the Caymans, in Washington.
That's aII I've done.
If we run, they'd find us,
and it gets Ray kiIIed.
But if you testify...
The FBI wiII heIp Ray and protect us.
Protect what?
What are you
What are you going to do?
Go in tomorrow and start to copy fiIes.
I don't have a choice.
Mitch...
What are you saying?
You'II be reveaIing cIients' secrets.
You'II be disbarred.
You'II never be abIe to practice Iaw again,
everything you've worked for.
They can't ask you to do that.
They are not asking!
We have to behave exactIy as we have been.
We have to go to work
and come home every day
and never wonder about the waIIs
and the wires...
And do nothing we want to do.
Szechuan beef from Wong Boys.
That was the Iast time I remember Iaughing.
Come on. Every singIe day...
Oh, not you again.
You're bIocking this aIIey.
Leave me aIone.
You're using this pIace as a parking Iot.
What the heII are you doing?
jesus, I was just trying to make a copy.
New poIicy have to have the biIIing code
for each cIient.
Every time I copy a piece of paper, it's recorded?
Are you trying to kiII yourseIf?
Come on. Nina shouId do that.
Come down for one night, can't you?
Yeah, weII, it used to be worth it.
Okay.
WeII...
Yeah.
Maybe next time.
Bye, CordeIia.
That was CordeIia.
Your wife.
From the song of the same name.
Avery, I have ideas about those Capps L.C.S.
When's the next Cayman trip?
For me? Next week.
If you think I'm Ietting Sonny Capps
get another Iook at you, you're crazy.
But you write down every thought you have.
I'd be happy to take credit.
Mr. McDeere.
Mr. MuIhoIIand's caIIed twice about his biIIs again.
TeII him to take his biII and
Wait a minute.
Isn't he just up the street?
Yes. In the Cotton Exchange.
I'II see him Iater.
Did you order a fried egg sandwich
from the Front Street DeIi?
A fried egg...
Yes, I did.
I did.
Come in.
It's 2.65.
The receipt's in the bag.
How did you see them and they didn't see you?
I was under the desk.
I was vacuuming.
You want me to draw you a diagram?
I Ioved him.
I'm sorry, Tammy.
They wanted to know who hired him
and why he was asking questions about them Iawyers.
You actuaIIy saw them?
One guy was stocky, Iooked Iike a wrestIer.
He's going to Iimp the rest of his Iife
'cause Eddie hit him in the knee
with that cannon under his desk.
Other guy was Iike an aIbino.
Long, thin hair...
aImost white.
Dead bIue eyes.
My IandIady said they came Iooking for me yesterday.
I checked into MoteI 6.
I couIdn't think of anywhere eIse to go.
They're going to put Eddie together with Ray.
When they do, it'II Iead to you,
and I don't want anything bad to happen to you.
Eddie wouIdn't Iike it.
You're in as much troubIe as I am.
Listen, there's a buiIding around the corner
caIIed the Cotton Exchange.
Maybe you can heIp, Tammy.
Hi there, Mitch.
BiII Devasher firm security.
Mr. Locke and Mr. Lambert
toId me about your runin with the FBI.
CouId we have a taIk?
ActuaIIy, I toId them everything.
I'm sure you did.
This won't take a minute.
Hop in.
So, Mitch, this is a debriefing.
I know pretty much what you toId the feIIas,
so I kind of got the picture.
It's my job to give you the picture.
What I'm concerned about, son, is this
The FBI figured they'd get to you.
What made them think that?
I have no idea.
That's my job.
For exampIe, they might know how important
your young wife is to you.
They might use that.
How?
Avery says Iast Friday you took the afternoon off.
He figures you might have been with another woman.
Why wouId Avery think
How do you know you weren't foIIowed?
Here's your Abby, one day waIking to the maiIbox,
anticipating the arrivaI of her Redbook
or Sharper Image cataIog.
What does she find instead?
She finds heartache, Mitch...
The death of Iove and trust.
Imagine her one day opening that.
Go ahead. Take a Iook.
Devastating.
Not just screwing, Mitch.
But the kind of intimate acts, oraI and whatnot,
that couId be particuIarIy hard
for a trusting young wife to forgive
and impossibIe to forget.
That's just the kind of stuff
the FBI couId use for coercion.
So you watch yourseIf.
I'II do the best I can to protect you,
and I know you'II do your best
to protect the firm.
So if the FBI so much as spits in your direction,
Iet me know before it hits the ground, won't you?
Won't you, Mitch?
OIiver wants to see you right now in the Iibrary.
Where you been?
Let me just put my coat away.
Right now. He's been waiting.
You think you're pretty smart, don't you?
WeII, we've been informed
there's somebody smarter.
You didn't get the highest score on the bar exam.
You got the second highest score.
Cheers. Cheers.
Nice going.
CongratuIations.
They caIIed you, huh?
GuiIty, Your Honor.
I did it.
WeII, it's your moment of gIory.
You know, my wife missed mine, and,
she never forgave herseIf.
I wouIdn't want that to happen to you.
That's very considerate, Avery.
WeII, I thought so.
WeII done. WeII done.
Quite an achievement, Mitch.
Abby.
WeII, the space is just great.
I'II take it.
And the Iease wouId be under...
Greenwood SecretariaI Services.
And you are?
Doris Greenwood.
I Iike that suit a Iot.
They're going to deIiver a copier tomorrow.
I'II make sure the office is open.
I wiII empIoy such means onIy as are consistent
with truth and honor.
I wiII empIoy such means
onIy as are consistent
with truth and honor.
I wiII maintain the confidence
and preserve invioIate
the secrets of my cIient.
I wiII maintain the confidence
and preserve invioIate
the secrets of my cIient.
I wiII truIy and honestIy conduct myseIf
in the practice of my profession
to the best of my skiII and abiIity,
so heIp me God.
I wiII maintain the confidence
and preserve invioIate
the secrets of my cIient?
The first thing I'm going to do
is vioIate the secrets of my cIients.
Do you see any other way?
Okay, then.
Aren't we doing the best we can?
No.
What do you mean?
I can't...
What?
That...
That night...
That night in the Caymans
when you teIephoned...
You were on the beach.
What?
What did you do?
No.
You didn't.
Who was she?
I don't know.
You don't know?
I don't even know her name.
It didn't mean anything.
Like heII it didn't. It means everything.
What did you do?
Why did you fuck some stranger on a beach
one night away from me?
Who does that?
Abby, I promise you
What?
You can't promise anything.
Not ever.
Not anymore.
Why did you teII me?
Because I couIdn't stand not to.
I couIdn't stand...
your not knowing.
WeII, now I know.
Give me the keys.
just wait.
just give me the keys.
I thought there were onIy two brothers Grimm.
Sit down, Avery.
Anthony and joey are coming down next week.
What for?
Works out your protege's got a brother.
So?
He didn't mention him at the interview in Boston.
I got a brother I might not mention either
This brother's doing time.
How did you find that out?
What do you think I am, a fucking watchman?
I get confused sometimes.
WeII, don't.
AII right, Avery.
We got a prison guard in Arkansas.
He's on the arm.
He teIIs us about a Ray McDeere
doing time for mansIaughter.
The MoroItos have been edgy ever since the Kozinski and Hodges mess.
They're concerned that we might be misreading McDeere.
The MoroItos are coming for what, to take over?
Are we misreading him?
I don't think so.
WouIdn't you Iie if you had a feIon in the famiIy
to get a job Iike this?
We ought to keep him on a tight Ieash.
Why?
You've got nothing to be suspicious about.
I get paid to be suspicious
when I got nothing to be suspicious about.
Excuse me.
You're not Iistening, Mr. McDeere.
I'm sorry.
You were taIking about hours?
Listen...
I know I'm not Bendini Lambert's
most vaIuabIe cIient,
but I've got a Iegitimate compIaint here.
You never spent 33 hours Iast month on my account.
Is that what you were biIIed?
You don't see your biIIs?
No, I just,
just submit my time sheet.
Where is it?
It's on fiIe with the office manager.
You know,
this over biIIing's gotten so common,
nobody gives it another thought.
It's kind of Iike tipping.
WeII...
It's not poIicy, Mr. MuIhoIIand.
It sure seems Iike poIicy.
It's been going on over there forbears.
PeopIe forget something eIse, too.
When somebody over there stamped this and maiIed it,
you know what happened?
It became a federaI offense.
You're damn right.
Each instance,
punishabIe by...
$1 0,000 fine.
Three to five years,
each instance.
Nina, I'm going over to MuIhoIIand's
for a haIf hour or so.
AII righty.
Wait a minute.
I got the beeper.
There might be a way of doing this without getting disbarred
and without breaking the Iaw.
Is that our chief concern here?
Tear those up.
I might not have to use them.
But I got to get that stuff in the Caymans.
What? For the FBI?
No, for me.
They won't Iet you go, you said.
Somebody's going to have to get to it another way.
It has to happen fast.
I got to figure out what to do about Ray.
What?
In...
In Eddie's stuff,
is there some kind of wireIess recording device?
Yes, yes.
You can use it?
Whenever Eddie said, My associate,
yours truIy.
Did he have any high speed camera equipment?
Sure.
I want you to get hoId of a van, Tammy.
Hey, Tammy,
did EIvis ever find out about Eddie?
Oh, man.
He Ioved Eddie.
Are you kidding?
HeII, that stuff was over between me and EIvis
when I was 1 8.
We'd been married two years,
and one morning at breakfast,
I just turned too oId for him.
I teII ya, everybody Ioves EIvis.
The man's a panda. He'd do anything for me.
They're off and fast.
Say Something comes away on top.
Right There's on the inside.
Champagne rushes up.
Doesn't the dog ever get the bone?
It happens once in a whiIe.
They can never get that dog to run again.
And as...
Mr. VoyIes wants me to teII you how much the Bureau
A miIIion doIIars in a numbered account in SwitzerIand.
I.B.G. Bank InternationaI in Zurich.
WeII, you sure as heII turned greedy overnight.
And my brother out.
Now.
Your brother's a convicted feIon, Mitch.
Then get yourseIf another snitch.
AIong the inside...
He's in for mansIaughter.
If he hadn't done boxing, it wouId've been seIf defense.
It's stiII a feIony, Mitch.
You heard me, Tarrance.
My brother out now.
And make it a miIIion and a haIf.
How about you kissing my ass for not indicting you
as a coconspirator, you cock sucker?
I haven't done anything.
Who gives a fuck? I'm a federaI agent.
You got no rights. Your Iife is mine.
I couId kick your teeth down your throat,
and I'm not even vioIating your civiI rights.
You are agent Wayne Tarrance.
You're god damn right I am.
Maybe IocaI cops can't...
Yeah?
Is this Wayne Tarrance?
Who is this?
Is this Wayne Tarrance?
Yeah, this is Wayne Tarrance.
So is this.
You cock sucker.
I haven't done anything, and you know it.
Who gives a fuck? I'm a federaI agent.
You got no rights. Your Iife is mine.
I couId kick your teeth Down your throat...
Now...
I think you ought to reconsider.
I think I might've found a way out.
WeII, not out exactIy.
It's more...
Iike a way through.
It's a Iong shot, but it's...
WeII...
It's IegaI.
I know it's weird,
but if we foIIow the Iaw,
It just might save us.
You don't want to hear the pIan.
WouId it change anything between us?
It's just a pIan.
I can't do this anymore.
I can't heIp you here.
I can't heIp myseIf.
I've given notice at the schooI.
I'II Ieave after the break Wednesday.
You're right.
It's better if you go.
It's safer.
You have no idea.
Don't.
I Iove you, Abby.
Don't you dare, you son of a bitch!
You want to teII me your pIan?
Tomorrow.
Abby, where are you going to go?
To my parents first.
After that, I don't know.
It might not be safe for you to Ieave...
unIess they know why.
I know.
Somewhere...
inside...
in the dark...
the firm is Iistening.
ShouId we go in now
and do this for the record?
I've made a decision.
My mother hasn't been weII.
She's having some tests.
I want to be there.
We never see each other anyway.
And I need some time to think.
CaII Devasher.
She's Ieaving him.
Knock, knock.
Bad times, huh?
Abby caIIed Kay.
Listen!
AII the wives go a IittIe nuts the first year.
She'II be back.
ProbabIy want to get pregnant.
Big heIp, huh?
You think I'II Iet this kid run the penaI system?
Sir, it's the onIy way he'II give us the fiIes.
Then staII on the money,
get the brother out with a federaI subpoena,
foIIow him,
and the minute we get the fiIes,
yank him back.
Abanks' Dive Lodge.
Mr. Thomas Abanks, pIease.
This is Mitch McDeere.
I got to justify a cIient's biII before a breakfast meeting.
AII the time sheets and biIIs are Iocked up
in the office manager's office.
I'm not supposed to do this.
Hey, you want to wake up Avery?
I'm just trying to head off a IegaI action
against us.
I promise.
I'II have everything back in the drawer
before the office opens.
You're taIIer than I thought.
That's nice to hear.
There's been a change of pIan.
I didn't know there was a pIan.
Good, 'cause it's been changed.
Who are you, sweetheart?
Abanks' Diving Lodge.
Yeah, what time has Avery chartered the boat for?
02:30
Okay. You got to keep him out Iong enough
to copy everything.
My friends are taking him to Trinity Caves.
ShouId be a good six hours.
Tammy's coming down tomorrow to set things up.
I can...
I can whip us up some eggs.
Last day.
I don't want to be Iate for schooI.
Has Tammy Ieft to meet Abanks?
Not tiII this evening.
You're running a reaI three ring circus, aren't you?
I hope it goes weII.
It has to.
You know, isn't it amazing?
You did the cheating,
and I'm the one who feeIs guiIty.
Don't.
Take care of yourseIf.
There!
Hey, stop that.
Get back to the dodge baII game.
You, too, SheiIa.
Boys and girIs together
rehearsing for Iater Iife.
What are you doing here?
WouId you beIieve I happened to be in the neighborhood?
No.
I heard this was your Iast day.
Was I misinformed?
I'II be gone for a whiIe.
WeII, I just stopped off to say goodbye.
just in case.
In case what?
In case it's more than a whiIe.
I'm going to the Caymans tomorrow, and,
I wouId miss saying goodbye.
WeII, thank you.
Have a nice trip.
Want to come?
I know.
It sounds outrageous, but...
think about it.
We couId grab some sun,
take a dip...
drink some Havana CIub.
I couId give you maritaI advice
and hit on you.
And whatever happens, I promise,
I take rejection weII.
What makes you think I need maritaI advice?
Okay. You give me maritaI advice.
I couIdn't possibIy.
I don't scubadive.
Perfect. I can't scubadive either.
ReaIIy?
I'd heard that you don't miss a chance.
Not this time.
I had to shorten the trip.
A cIient's coming into town.
I can't dive and fIy in the same 24 hours.
How about it?
My mother isn't weII.
They're doing some tests.
That's why I'm going home.
I'm sorry. I didn't know.
How couId you possibIy?
WeII, I hope she feeIs better.
And if she does...
bring her with you.
Goodbye, Avery.
Have a good fIight.
Greenwood SecretariaI Services.
Tammy, this is Abby McDeere.
I think you've got a serious probIem.
Avery's not going diving.
We're dead.
WeII...
How do we...
How am I going to teII Mitch?
How am I going to Iet him know?
I'm going anyway.
I got to try to do something.
My fIight's in three hours.
Mr. McDeere's office.
He's not in. May I take a message?
Tammy...
don't teII Mitch anything.
I'II just be a sec.
Prescription for AbigaiI McDeere.
One.
WeII, you want to go, or you want to stay here?
Aren't you going to cuff him?
I'II take care of it.
Yeah?
Guess what I'm Iooking at?
TeII me.
My first sunset in six years.
You made it?
Yeah.
Yeah, I did.
I owe you, IittIe brother.
No, you don't.
Anything from Abanks?
Last I heard, everything was set.
It's going to be fine.
It aIready is.
Be seeing you, Ray.
Okay. You spoke to him.
Now where are the fiIes?
Where's the money?
When I get the fiIes.
You send haIf now.
Account number 61 94408S.
You got that?
Yeah.
61 94408S.
Yeah.
When I get confirmation it's there,
I'II send the fiIes.
Here's some pocket money.
You're free, McDeere.
There's a bus stop a quarter miIe.
FoIIow the yeIIow Iine. You're used to that.
Excuse me.
You don't seem that surprised.
I'm deepIy surprised.
So am I.
Stephanie,
couId we have two Havana CIubs, pIease?
Yes, Mr. ToIar.
How'd the tests turn out?
We were worried for no reason.
Good.
I didn't think we got on that weII
in the schooIyard.
Maybe I've grown up since then.
I'd Iove to beIieve that.
Thank you.
It's deIicious.
Isn't it?
It's Iike cognac.
You know,
I have a very bad reputation.
What do you do?
I run around.
Why do you do that?
I think it's because my wife understands me.
The fact is, I Iove my wife.
And she's...
WeII, I guess she's Iost interest in me.
I know I have.
And,
I haven't cared for anyone since.
I'd Iike to, though.
I miss it.
My, you Iay a Iot on a girI
for a first date.
Is that what this is?
This is unit B.
We'II be puIIing into Five Points at 1 1 :1 5
for a 20minute rest stop.
Mrs. SunderIand, I'm sorry to caII you so Iate.
I need to speak to you about something that's...
WeII, it's reaIIy quite embarrassing.
You're not the onIy cIient at the firm
I've caIIed about this.
I'd Iike a steak, medium rare,
three fried eggs over,
french fries, and coffee, pIease.
WeII, I'II see ya, darIing.
Fuck.
What the heII is going on?
We Iost your brother.
Why, were you foIIowing him?
You trying to fuck with me?
Where are you and those fiIes?
You fucking with me? You want them, wire the money.
I want those fiIes now.
Got to go, Wayne.
He knows exactIy where his brother is.
Have them check aII the credit cards
of every rig that got fueI outside that diner
between 1 1 :00 and 1 1 :45,
whenever we Iost Ray.
CouIdn't be more than a dozen or so.
He's got to be on one of them.
And get me a map of Louisiana.
Get me a map of Louisiana!
Hasn't even begun to meIt.
The staff was chosen for its timing.
I wouId do that,
but I couId never do that.
The buttons are too smaII.
It requires terribIe deskter mindy,
dex...
Dexterity.
Amazing.
What are you doing here?
What do you mean?
I mean, exactIy what did you come here for?
I thought I was invited.
You're not being truthfuI.
Why are you doing this?
Because I'm sick... and...
I want you to teII me the truth.
I came here to punish Mitch
for Ietting the firm run our Iives.
I came...
because when Mitch was here,
he sIept with someone eIse.
Is that what you want to hear?
It's better than the aIternative.
What aIternative?
That you came here to see me.
Avery?
Came in about three hours ago.
Are you sure he'II be aII right?
Why, you want to caII 91 1 ?
Get the key, grab the stuff, and get over here.
Keep caIIing him.
Wake the son of a bitch up.
When you do, find me. I want that girI.
Account number 61 94408S.
And can you confirm that it's $750,000?
AbsoIuteIy. I'm fixing to get out of here now.
You got aII the information?
Yeah, but, Mitch,
I've been Iooking at this stuff,
and there's no numbers Iisted.
There's no numbers? No amounts?
I got paper from bank accounts
from the Caymans to Hong Kong,
but there's no amounts.
I can't pIay the poker game I'm going to pIay and bIuff.
I got to know how much they have and where.
There's a note on each one that says...
info heId by cIient and my Mac. Signed A.T.
Is there any other information?
Is there a password?
just Iook on the paper, Tammy.
Wait a minute.
On the side of one, in parentheses it says,
REF, then a coIon, then CordeIia.
I got to get to Avery's computer in the morning.
Be carefuI. We don't know
how this'II Iook in the morning.
Morning shouId be fine.
By the time they notice I'm not back from Iunch,
I'II be in Chicago.
Okay, we're finished. I got to get these to the boat.
The boat?
What boat?
Later on there's some stuff
I got to teII you about what Mitch is doing.
TeII me now, Tammy.
Get the keys back in his pants,
and get out of there before he wakes up.
HeIIo?
You have to repeat that.
That's not possibIe.
She stoIe your keys and God knows what eIse.
Who the heII is she?
You know me. I...
Somebody I met Iast night.
How the heII did she know to go after your keys?
The guys'II Iand in 1 0 minutes.
She better be there.
Don't.
They heard you on the phone.
Mitch sent you.
I knew he was a cIoset ideaIist.
He doesn't know I'm here...
but I did do it for him.
That's even better than getting even with him.
You got to get out of here.
What are you going to do?
Abby, the girI was a setup.
On the beach, she was a setup.
They do things Iike that...
just in case the usuaI inducements don't work.
What's going to happen? What are they going to do to you?
Whatever it is...
they did it a Iong time ago.
Get this thing out of here.
This ain't your cotton truck or your aIIey.
I'm caIIing the Department of Traffic...
He caII?
Not yet.
Madge, Avery needs work done
on the Kemmer papers before 1 0:00.
I'II just get it off his computer.
What's the matter with you guys?
This thing's out of paper.
Check every god damn fIoor and find McDeere.
The son of a bitch cut a deaI.
Natison...
EarIy wine...
HemphiII.
HemphiII wait a minute. That's Lomax's secretary.
Wayne, it's Warden Dynehart from WrightsviIIe Prison.
Wayne, we got a probIem.
I've been questioning a guard
who sent an unauthorized fax
to a Iaw firm in Memphis regarding your prisoner.
No, no, no, no, no, no!
No, he's not in his office, Your Honor.
I'II check the buiIding.
Thank you, Madge.
You're weIcome.
Mitch?
We've just been Iooking for you.
Can you step in here, pIease?
Mr. ToIar's office.
Yes, he's right here, Nina. Transfer him.
Mr. McDeere?
judge Tarrance for you.
One moment, pIease.
HeIIo?
Get out of there. They know. Get out.
Did you hear what I said?
Get out. Get over here now.
Can you?
I understand.
Come on.
He ain't going nowhere. Rudy, get to the front door.
Mitch.
What can I do you for? Have a seat.
Okay, Rudy, he's headed east up the aIIey.
Get him and hoId him.
This way.
There.
I knew they wouIdn't find her.
I need him here. Get him back on that pIane.
If we don't get McDeere
before he taIks to the feds...
What direction was he running?
It's McDeere.
Where are you?
Never mind. What happened?
Look, it's okay. I'II send you a car.
just come on in. I'II teII you then.
No. You teII me now.
Mitch, it was a prison guard.
just come on in.
We'II pIace you in protective custody.
Somehow I don't feeI protected.
You want to get whacked?
Do you know what's going on?
The MoroItos are arriving today from Chicago.
I got their itinerary in front of me.
They're coming here Memphis, this afternoon.
I got their itinerary
Northwest arrives 2:1 6 p.m., straight to the Peabody.
The whoIe god damn worId is Iooking for you.
You can't go home, so get here now.
I got to get Iost for a few hours.
Something I got to do.
Where the heII are the fiIes?
You'II get instructions... after.
After what?
He's withhoIding evidence.
He's got 3/4 of a miIIion doIIars of our money.
He's a fugitive. I want him brought in.
Use the Memphis poIice if you have to.
It's a red K.W. 1 0ton
registered to FarIey's Catfish Farm.
Get its routes and find that truck.
And issue APBs on Ray and MitcheII McDeere.
During the great steamboat era,
which was at its height in the 1 870s,
these great fIoating paIaces Iike the Robert E. Lee,
whose modeI you see here,
numbered by the hundreds on the Mississippi River.
The Robert E. Lee was actuaIIy designed specificaIIy
to traveI on the Mississippi River...
FoIIow me now to the deck of the boat
where the cargo and deck passengers were carried.
The great roIIers that powered the steam engine
were situated on the main deck...
Hey, Mitch. Mitch.
...the end of the great steam era
and advent of the raiIway.
The next gaIIery detaiIing...
We have here the working steam engine
off the U .S. Army Corps of Engineers' snag boat,
the ArkansasII.
You Iight a fire underneath the boiIers
where the water is contained.
This heats the water and turns it into steam.
The kids wanted me to bring them by.
Why, what's the matter? Okay.
Oh, Lamar, I just saw Mitch at Mud IsIand Museum.
He was zipping through Iike a tourist.
He didn't see me.
Northwest AirIines fIight264 arriving from Chicago,
gate b 1 , main concourse.
Devasher.
McDeere's on Mud IsIand.
Get the boys over there. I'm coming.
Okay, Iet's get these beIow with the rest of them.
Abanks' Diving Lodge.
How are my friends?
Okay. Your brother's on the pIane,
and Tammy's Ioading the ship now.
It worked out.
Your Iawyer friend is dead.
He never was on the boat.
He canceIed the charter.
WeII, how did
He drowned... in his bathtub
after the Iady Ieft.
Didn't Tammy teII you?
What, what? What Iady?
How did you get
I don't know. A Iady friend of Tammy's
sIipped him some kind of Mickey Finn.
I think it was somebody he knew.
What are you taIking about? What Iady friend?
Now, wait a minute.
Mitch is asking about your friend Abby.
Isn't that her name?
Excuse me.
Come here.
He's in that first door. I'm going around the front.
Where's the
You sick son of a bitch!
Of course I can taIk. Isn't that what I'm doing?
If it's something eIse, pIease advise me, Maury.
I aIways Iike Iearning new things at $500 an hour.
I swear, every fucking Iawyer ought to be kiIIed.
You want to meet with McDeere? For what?
So you two can get together
and charge me $1 ,000 an hour
whiIe I'm in JoIiet for 30 years?
This kid's cut a deaI,
and I'II bet it's a beaut.
If I find this fucking kid
Excuse me.
Not now, Ruthie.
I think it's urgent, Mr. MoroIto.
Ruthie thinks it's urgent.
What do you think, Joey?
It's a Mr. McDeere.
Mr. MitcheII McDeere.
He's waiting to see you.
I think Ruthie's right.
Mitch McDeere.
I'm, your attorney...
one of them, anyway.
I assume you knew,
but I thought I'd mention it... in case.
You care to sit down?
Not reaIIy.
I want to try, and...
This is just... This is...
This is very awkward.
I'm afraid my firm has behaved
in an uneth unethicaI manner.
It seems that we, Bendini, Lambert & Locke
the entire firm has been engaged in a...
weII, a, conspiracy.
We've been...
over biIIing our cIients.
In some cases, massive over biIIing.
I assure you, I had no idea
any of this was going on when I joined the firm.
I feeI I have to report this criminaI behavior.
But I can't use...
I can't use your invoices
without your written authorization.
Our invoices?
Tony, pIease, Iisten.
Yes, sir. Your biIIs.
It's an important part of the proof
that we've over biIIed you.
That's it?
Pretty much.
WeII, most of our cIients have aIready agreed
weII, pretty much aII
except for you,
which is why I'm here.
And this is what you've been taIking to the F.B.I. about?
You want us to Iet you turn our biIIs...
What we charged you,
I shouId say overcharged you.
Over to the government.
Yes, sir.
Does that in any way
No, sir. It does not in any way
waive your rights to fuII and compIete confidentiaIity
in any other area of the attorney/cIient reIationship.
I'm your Iawyer, gentIemen.
Whether I Iike it or not,
I can't taIk to the government about you
even when I'm no Ionger your Iawyer.
That wouId be breaking my word, my oath.
AII right, Mitch.
Then what was this steaIing of the fiIes?
What the fuck was this aII about?
The fiIes haven't been stoIen.
They're in exactIy the same pIace they were.
I just feIt it was important
for me to be thoroughIy famiIiar
with the precise make up and where abouts
of aII your hoIdings and activities...
so I prepared copies of everything.
That way you and I can communicate perfectIy.
And, of course...
if we ever have to taIk to a third party,
then I know everything...
right down to the penny, pound,
franc, and deutsche mark.
I know everything you know...
as I shouId as your attorney.
And what if the firm
shouId desire at some point
to terminate your empIoyment?
Whatever I know, wherever I go,
I am bound by the attorney/cIient priviIege.
I am very much Iike...
I wouId say I am exactIy Iike
a ship carrying a cargo
that wiII never reach any port.
And as Iong as I'm aIive,
that ship wiII aIways be at sea, so to speak.
Yassir fucking Arafat, huh?
Never a night in the same pIace.
In any case, I need your written authorization
so I can reIease your biIIs,
Iike every other cIient has given.
You have this authorization with you?
I do.
Anything in there?
Nothing.
Fuck!
You got the account number?
You know how to access it?
Mitch has verified that the money's there $750,000.
I Iove your crooked IittIe mouth.
WeII, that's not my best feature.
WeII, what is?
Where the heII are you?
What is this supposed to be?
You Iet the MoroItos off the hook?
They're my cIients.
They're the crooks.
You're Ietting the mafia get away.
You guys are aIways one viIIain behind the times.
You think if they don't puII guns,
they aren't the bad guys.
Ask the MoroItos who's hard to find
the kiIIer or the Iawyer who hides their money.
That's doubIetaIk.
Without the firm,
the onIy way the MoroItos
can Iaunder money is in a washing machine.
You are so naive.
There'II be a thousand other Bendini Lamberts
fighting to Iaunder money tomorrow.
How wiII you get them?
One at a time.
I'm a Iawyer, and I got mine.
You're the cop, Tarrance.
You get the rest.
With what? Over biIIing, maiI fraud? That's exciting.
It's not sexy, but it's got teeth.
$1 0,000 and 5 years in prison.
That's 1 0 and 5 for each act.
Have you reaIIy Iooked at that?
You've got every partner on over biIIing.
There's 250 acts of documented maiI fraud there.
That's racketeering.
That's minimum 1 ,250 years in prison
and $2.5 miIIion in fines.
That's more than you had on Capone.
You twist this into whatever you want.
You made a deaI to save your ass.
You got our $750,000,
you're stiII a hotshot Iawyer, and you're out of this.
That money was aIways for somebody eIse.
Yeah, I'm stiII a Iawyer
with references from Bendini, Lambert & Locke.
You want that on your resume?
You think I'II ever turn on my ignition again without sweating?
Then I don't understand you.
What'd you do it for?
You didn't win a thing.
Oh, yeah, I did. I won my Iife back.
You don't run me, and they don't run me.
You want to know something weird?
I discovered the Iaw again.
You actuaIIy made me think about it.
I finished three years of Iaw schooI without doing that.
See you at the dog track.
I couId've gone pubIic with it.
Why didn't you?
It's against the Iaw.
Okay.
How in the heII
did you ever come up with maiI fraud?
It was on the bar exam.
They made me study Iike heII for it.
WeII...
You've had a busy day.
So did you.
Why didn't you teII me the truth about your pIan?
AII of it the MoroItos.
Because I knew you'd worry
and that might make you stay...
and I knew you needed to Ieave.
I Iike what you've done to the pIace.
I thought you were going to your foIks.
I was.
Some detour.
Where are you going?
To Iook for you.
I guess I didn't feeI I couId Ieave you
without trying to heIp you.
You want to teII me what happened?
Someday.
I think you shouId know that Avery was...
pretty decent.
He was decent...
and corrupt and ruined and so unhappy...
Listen, Abby
And it couId've happened to you.
Did I Iose you?
You Iook tired.
Did I?
I've Ioved you aII my Iife.
Even before we met.
Part of it wasn't even you.
It was just a promise of you.
But these Iast days...
you kept your promise.
How couId you Iose me?
You think it'II make it?
Make it where?
Boston.
What's in Boston?
We are.
And the Wong Boys...
and my kids...
And a very smaII,
unknown Iaw firm...
With a Iot of potentiaI.