Original subtitles

Previously on L .A. Law.

Ta -da!

The finished product.

What do you think?

Nice. Very, very nice.

I like the professor credit.

Arnold Becker's Guide to Divorce. They're not going to be able to keep it

shelves. I'm trying to lose weight.

Why? I think I'd look better.

I think you're pretty now.

I'd be prettier if I weighed ten pounds less.

My mother is going to be thrilled when I tell her I went out with an attorney.

Name C. Fuentes.

Well, I don't think I'll tell her that far.

Unless,

um, I see you again.

Well, it's up to you.

Bye.

All right, thanks.

It's Ross Burnett's wife.

Ross is at the airport and he's got a baby for her.

What?

I know, three days old, coming in from Arkansas, and, uh, like it's in 1120.

Meister Meyer, how goes it? Hello, Arnie.

What is this?

Take a look.

There's a couple of Bon Mo's on the underside.

To Arnie Becker, with great appreciation, Dave Meyer.

Dave? I'm a sentimental guy, Arnie. People are important to me. They figure

prominently, not just as demographics or zip code clusters, but as friends and

associates.

It's beautiful. Thank you.

Anyway, having addressed that which can't be financially defined, i .e.

in money, let us now turn to that which can.

Yeah, how are we doing?

It is scary.

Early projections give us sales of over a million units within three years.

And what are you basing the projection on? Market analysis.

We have identified our primary market as what we call the sensitive satyrs and

hausfrau hedonists.

centered around urban areas, new money, voracious consumers with, of course, a

very high rate of divorce.

That's who's buying the tape. In droves. What is surprising is who else is

buying the tape. And here I am talking pulpwood cutting and trip mines, the far

hinterlands, remote exurbia with near zero cable saturation.

What are we talking about in real dollars? You're asking me what are we

about in real dollars.

Okay, this is Belt...

And suspenders. I'm going to figure things to go wrong that I know will not

wrong. All that. All that, Dave. All that. Net, net.

Your end.

$2 ,400 ,000 this fiscal annum. A cumulative net of $8 to $10 million

the first three.

That's most gratifying, I must say.

Only the beginning.

You know something?

It's not so much the money.

It's just... One consequence of many. The ability to reach millions of people,

to be at the leading edge of your discipline.

The simple satisfaction of a job well done.

That's it. That is ultimately what really mattered.

We'll sit down next week and start talking about promotion.

Dave, it is always a pleasure.

And, uh, thank you.

Moots! Moots!

You'll be interested to know I'm off to Chicago on the noon flight in quest of a

major new client, Maxwell Enterprises. What's that?

Maxwell was hit with a hostile takeover attempt last week, and they need to

engage outside counsel, ASAP.

That sounds major. It is. Who are we up against?

Flaherty and Dunn, Householder and Doyle, and Cone Simon -Gorwitz. But I've

lengthy conversations with their house counsel, Kevin McNally, and I believe we

have the inside track.

Good work, Douglas.

Thank you.

Hurrying along, I've scheduled a partner's meeting for 10 a .m. to

issue of some urgency.

Will Mother Markowitz be here, Stuart?

Well, she said she was going to be here. Good, good.

Victor, where do we stand with the Schaefer trial?

Oh, it started yesterday.

You know, I don't get it.

He gets drunk in a bar, says what a billion other guys have said at some

or another.

I'd like to kill my wife.

What's the big deal?

The big deal is that this guy, unlike the other billion guys, actually talked

turkey to a hitman.

Only to tell him that it was a misunderstanding.

The harmless ravings of a guy who'd had a few too many going through a lousy

divorce. Which reminds me, Arnie, could you stay available? I might need to call

you as a witness.

Why? Well, he was your client. You could testify as to his state of mind as well

as to the kind of things that people say in the heat of a divorce.

You know, I don't think I'm violating your confidence here when I tell you

Gracie thinks she's gonna kick your butt on this one.

Uh, well...

She did it before when I was at the PD's office, and she might do it again if I

can't locate my key witness.

Well, who have you got on it? PI named Stephanie Hall.

Oh, I hear she's good.

I hear she's gorgeous.

Guilty on both counts.

I hear by sentencing her to six months hard labor at the Becker penal colony in

Malibu. I'll fondle, I mean handle her appeal.

Handle, handle.

Aha. There's the county.

Hi, honey.

Oh, a baby.

Hi. Hi, honey. Oh, she's so beautiful.

Can I see her?

Sure.

You want to hold her?

Sure.

She's so tiny.

She likes you, Benny.

I like her?

Who was it that called you, Mr. Dunham? The contact was a man named Willie

Kosar. The information was that he wanted me to kill a Mrs. Joseph

What exactly did Mr. Kosar tell you, sir?

He said the woman's husband wanted... Objection.

Hearsay. Goes to show state of mind that a deal was being made, Your Honor. That

doesn't matter. It's totem pole. She's asking the witness to tell her what Mr.

Kosar told him about what my client told Mr. Kosar.

I'm overruling the objection.

Exception.

Noted. I'll ask you again, Mr. Dunham.

What did Mr.

Kosar tell you?

He said Schaefer would pay $10 ,000 to have his wife killed.

And you accepted?

I accepted.

Thank you, sir.

I have nothing further.

You never killed Mrs. Schaefer, did you?

No, I didn't. Because, in fact, Willie Kosar called you back and told you to

cancel it.

Isn't that right?

That's not right.

I just decided to tell the police about it. You just decided to tell the police.

And this sudden attack of candor occurred after you were arrested on

racketeering charges, didn't it? I made a deal. So what?

Yeah, you made a deal. You made a great deal. You give them a murder conspiracy

in exchange for total immunity and all racketeering charges against you

What's the point? The point is you were looking at 12 years minimum.

And since you had to give the police something to avoid growing old at

Vacaville, you decided to give them this murder conspiracy, leaving out the part

of how Kosar canceled it.

That didn't happen.

Your client's guilty.

Because you say so, right?

Tell me, Mr. Dunham, you murder people for a living?

I refuse to answer that on the grounds that it might incriminate me.

Oh, I'm sorry. We wouldn't want anything to incriminate you.

Nothing further.

You can step down, Mr. Dunham.

Your Honor, I'd like to request a sidebar.

We're done for the morning.

I will see counsel in my chambers.

Your Honor, I'd like to move that Ms. Van Ohm be disqualified from this trial.

What? On what grounds?

Conflict of interest, Judge. She is personally involved with a member of my

firm, and I think that... Give me a break.

I didn't think it would pose any conflicts, Your Honor, but I have just

that Miss Van Owen has had communications with Mr. Cusack regarding

And I think that in the interest of justice here... I have had no

communications with Mr. Cusack concerning this matter, Judge. And Mr.

has been fully aware of this relationship long before he took this

He simply brought up this motion now so that he could buy extra time while he

continues his manhunt for Willie Kosar.

The motion is denied, Mr. Sapuentes.

In the alternative, then, Your Honor, I would like some time to look for Mr.

Kosar. His testimony is certainly vital. There's no reasonable expectation that

he will ever be found.

We've looked for him, too, Judge. He's gone.

Do you know where he is, Counselor? No, Your Honor, but I think with a little

bit of time... Motion denied.

See you at two.

Your Honor.

That's all.

Victor. Victor, you surprised me.

Hey, it was worth a shot.

If the situation was reversed, Arnold, you'd be taking the same position we are

now, and you know it.

No, I wouldn't. Absolutely not.

This firm is not entitled to one dime off of my videotape. Time out.

I direct your attention to paragraph 11, subsection J of the partnership

agreement. All revenues attributed to or connected with the practice of law

shall inure to the benefit of the firm.

But this isn't the practice of law.

This is showbiz.

Gee, I distinctly remember hearing something about how it was providing

services for those in need. I'm not saying it isn't, but what's making this

fly off the shelves is this face.

This voice and this screen presence.

Period. Arnie, you fell into this. Anything you make from is gravy.

My gravy.

No, sir. Putting the principle aside for a minute, how much money do you really

need to make?

Please, Michael, don't start with the warmed -over Woodstock rap. Do me a

You may look to avoid the trappings of wealth. I don't. Well, you're just going

to have to make do with the trappings that one -sixth of your royalties can

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a flight to carry.

Look, if I'd come to you with this idea before I did it, you all would have

hooted me out of the office and don't tell me it isn't so.

You would have sniffed and said it was unbefitting an attorney, that it

a schlock merchant like Dave Meyer.

Crass Arnie, Hollywood Arnie, unrefined Arnie, undignified Arnie. I am stunned

that you would turn on your partners with this vehemence over money.

Put your hand in my pocket, Leland.

I will turn on you every time.

Going to Chicago?

I think that's where this flight is headed.

Great town.

Yes, it is.

City of big shoulders, hog butcher to the world.

Miss Joyner, I'm Astrid, your flight attendant.

Would you care for a cocktail after takeoff?

Club soda will be fine, thank you. Your choices for lunch today are Navarone of

lamb, pomegranate chicken, or vegetarian pate with assorted breadsticks.

I'll have the chicken.

Mr. Bragman?

We've got some good news and some bad news today.

Oh, no. The good news is we have perfect flying weather both here and over the

Midwest. The bad news is that we've got a red warning light on the instrument

panel of the no -go... He's kidding.

Please bear with us while we check it out.

Hope to get you where you're going just as soon as we can.

Thanks.

Excuse me one moment. I've got a meeting in Chicago.

You're not the only one.

Excuse me, miss.

Hello, this is Adrian. At what point will passengers be allowed to make other

arrangements? Excuse me? How long does this delay have to run until the pilot

lets us return to the terminal?

Oh, right now we don't anticipate that being necessary, sir.

When do you anticipate it being necessary?

That's the pilot's decision, sir.

Excuse me.

Okay. Bye -bye.

This is unbelievable.

We might as well have been taken over by the Hezbollah.

I really do have to get off this plane.

Mr. Brackman, I'm sorry, but we're all out of the lamb and the chicken.

I don't care about that.

What I care about is that the entire purpose of my trip is being frustrated

your pilot's indifference.

We're all in this together, sir. We're not all in this together. You didn't pay

$1 ,500 to be here. Ladies and gentlemen...

We've decided to proceed with the showing of our movie this afternoon, The

Mother, starring Diane Keaton. That's it. I've got a meeting in Chicago.

I'm leaving this airplane.

Mr. Brackman, please.

Captain, we're having a problem with one of our passengers. Mr. Brackman, sit

back down.

I won't sit down.

Sir, Mr.

Brackman, please.

Get away from that door. Ah, the captain emerges.

Get back in your seat, sir. No, this isn't the army and you're not my

officer. I said return to your seat.

No, you will deal with me rationally. I cannot deal with you rationally until

you return to your seat and stop endangering the safety of the other

I want you to explain why we've been held captive in this airplane for two

half hours. I want reasons or I want to be allowed to leave. Once we pull away

from that terminal.

Your right as a citizen in. Now, I am in sole charge of this plane and everyone

on it.

Now, you may be unhappy with my decisions, but you may do nothing to

my authority.

Should you persist in doing so, I am fully empowered by federal aviation law

the rules of the Warsaw Convention to take any and all measures required to

restrain you, up to and including having you shot dead.

Right now, we are waiting for a part.

I'm expecting it to be installed shortly.

I hope that suffices as an explanation for you, sir.

But even if it doesn't, I trust that you'll sit in your seat and do what

told.

Let me know if he acts up again.

I admire your nerve, even if it didn't work.

Let me borrow that phone of yours, and I'll make a call that will.

I was sitting at a bar talking to a guy that I'd never been seen before. That

would be Mr.

Kosar, right?

And I was going on about the divorce, about how my wife makes my life hell.

And then he said that he could arrange for her not to bother me anymore.

He could put her on ice.

How did you respond to that? I thought he was puffing. I mean, you know, two

guys sitting at a bar talking tough.

So we went on about...

killing her, but it was talk, really, just talk.

I mean, I didn't take it seriously. I sure as hell didn't think he took it

seriously.

Until he called me the next day. He said he set up a meeting with a hitman.

Well, what was your reaction to that?

I told him, forget it.

I said, look, I may hate my wife, but there's no way, there's no way I'm going

to hire somebody to kill her.

All right. Did you ever give this Mr. Kosar any money? Of course not. I never

even saw him again.

Thank you, Mr. Schaefer. Nothing further.

You did tell Mr.

Kosar you wanted your wife dead, didn't you?

Look, I was just rambling. I had too much to drink. I was very upset, and

I blurted out a few things that I shouldn't have said, but... Well,

the bartender who overheard your discussion, you spoke in a clear, hushed

You asked specific, deliberate questions as to...

Where the body should be disposed.

You asked whether the entire $10 ,000 would have to be given in advance. I

that's very reflective for a blurt, Mr. Schaefer.

Objection, Your Honor.

Sustained. Your phone number, your address, the information as to how you

be reached, that all just popped out of you? Look, look, Ms. Van Horn.

I'm not denying that I said any of those things.

But I never, never meant to go through with it.

You meant to go through with it up until the time the police arrested you.

That's not true.

Now, I called it off with Kosar long before the police even showed up, I

You called it off, so at some point in your mind it was on then.

No. Well, why bother to call off something that's never on?

I just misspoke just now, all right? It just blurted out, right?

Objection, Your Honor.

Withdrawn.

Mr. Schaefer, what is the net worth of your community property?

Including the house, $1 ,200 ,000. And pursuant to your divorce, you're to

this with your wife, correct?

Yes. But if she, for some reason, should die before the divorce were final,

you'd get it all, wouldn't you?

I don't know.

I guess so.

You guess?

I have nothing further.

Here you go.

You mail it to me. Bye -bye.

Hey, Jonathan.

Hey, Ab. You look busy.

Yeah, Douglas and Tuck on a plane. They've been on the runway since noon,

I'm trying to get a court order to get them off.

Why?

Pamela, I've got to get to the judge with this.

Douglas Brackman versus Omni Airways and Captain Charles Laughlin emergency ex

parte application.

Approach, counsel.

Your Honor, Douglas Brackman boarded flight 725 at noon.

I'm here now because that flight is still sitting marooned on the tarmac at

Unless he is permitted to make alternate travel arrangements, the firm he

represents will suffer permanent irreversible damage.

Cut through it. You're asking for what? A court order requiring the pilot to

return to the terminal and permit those passengers that wish to to get off that

plane. It's been on the runway how long?

Four hours.

Uh -huh.

I believe that such relief is not terribly extreme relative to the

harm threatened.

Right. Furthermore, there is judicial precedent for the court intervening.

mind, counsel.

With all due respect, Your Honor, in the case of Banta v. Sacramento Air, the

Court of Appeals affirmed an award of damages based on excessive delay and

specifically stated... You made your point.

I'm more than happy to grant your motion.

Furthermore, I'm going to keep it on my next time I get stuck out there.

Enter the order. Call the next case.

He's a ghost, Victor.

Cozart is nowhere to be found. Jesus, he's got it, because this guy's the only

chance that we have at proving that this hit was canceled.

I've got my mole in the FBI moonlighting. I've called in every favor

to me by the police, and I've got trunk lines on his family's telephone.

Trunk lines? How'd you manage that?

You know, this lecher at the phone company has been chasing me, so I let

my knee the other night while I whispered sweet telephone digits in his

And he's tapping them for you? What can I say? He likes high cheekbones.

So, if Mama Cozar gives little Willie a ring, we might know something.

That sounds promising.

I'm gonna find this slug, Victor. You just gotta do whatever you can to buy me

some time.

Okay, okay.

I got Arnie Becker on the stand tomorrow. That'll string it out for

Top. Other than that, there's not much more that I can do.

Let me just throw something out for your consideration.

I've got the names and addresses and incomes of every juror.

Sometimes these jurors can be a little susceptible to some anonymous influence.

I don't work that way. Neither do I.

But sometimes it is an option some attorneys do explore. I don't, Duff.

Let's find Corsacro.

I'm trying, Victor.

Believe me, I'm trying.

If we stay here much

longer, all I'm going to do when we get to Chicago is turn around and come home.

I know. We'll probably sit on the runway there, too.

I've put so much time into preparing for this. I cannot believe that I'm...

Inspector on the ground watching it all go to waste.

Ladies and gentlemen, you'll notice we've started our engines.

I wish I could say we were preparing for takeoff. Unfortunately, I have to

inform you that the passenger in seat 3A, Mr. Douglas Brackman, an attorney

Los Angeles, has obtained a court order requiring me to return to the terminal.

Thank you. It's okay.

I'm not ready to fly. I know that.

It's too confining.

Mr. Crackman?

Yeah? Place your hands against that pillow, please.

What's going on? I'm placing you under arrest for reckless endangerment,

interfering with a flight crew, and the execution of their duties.

We'll call you on the phone while I'm boarding the aircraft.

You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney.

If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you by the court.

Anything you say from this point forward can and will be used against you.

Any revenue that derives either from your practice of law or from your

gained in the practice of law while a partner of Mackenzie Brackman shall be

deemed money subject to all the terms and conditions of the partnership.

In other words, what's mine is theirs.

Unless you sign it under duress, you don't have a leg to stand on.

That partnership agreement clearly never anticipated a situation like this.

Well, no agreement between parties ever anticipates every situation that could

arise.

That's all we have, lawyer.

Well, you're mine.

What if they do?

You'd lose.

And I think you'd lose a lot more than money.

Mackenzie Brackman is a great firm.

Much of your reputation derives from your relationship with him.

Are you prepared to lose that?

But it's my money.

Giving up five -sixths of it with absolutely no input from them, it isn't

No. Stuart Markowitz and Ann Kelsey are married. Is it fair that they should

make more money from my guy to divorce than me?

Arnie, you're a masterful negotiator. This is a unique situation.

I suggest you reconvene the partners, throw yourself on the mercy of the

and negotiate a settlement you can all live with.

What if they refuse to negotiate?

You're a valued member of the firm.

And your partners, by and large, are fair -minded men and women.

I'm sure there's a way out of the thicket.

Lawyers. A greedy bunch of bastards.

Who better than a lawyer knows?

A difficult divorce can be emotionally crippling for all parties involved.

And it isn't at all uncommon for a spouse to be given to volatile threats

outbursts. Now, in the course of your representation of Mr. Schaefer, did he

ever manifest any kind of...

Criminal intentions towards his wife?

He never had any criminal intentions.

That business at the bar is very simply Joseph exfoliating his frustration at...

Objection. This man has no foundation to render psychiatric opinions.

He has represented the defendant in his divorce for the past three years, and he

can certainly speak to a state of mind.

I'll give you a little latitude, Counselor, but that's it.

Joseph Schaefer is a law -abiding and extremely moral person.

He would never hire somebody to commit a murder.

You're sure? If a client of mine had criminal propensities of that nature,

know it.

Believe me.

Okay, thank you very much, Mr. Becker.

Let her pray.

Two years ago, Mr. Becker, a client of yours by the name of Carolyn Glasspan

walked into a settlement conference with you at her side and blasted her husband

with a pistol, didn't she?

Yes. Did you know of her plan, sir, when you scheduled that meeting?

Of course I didn't. Then I guess it would be possible for one of your

harbor criminal propensities without you having a clue, wouldn't it?

That was a one -time thing.

A one -time thing.

And last year, a client of yours kidnapped his child from his estranged

who'd been awarded custody, right?

Yes, but... Did you see that one coming, sir? No, I didn't, but again... Joseph

Schaefer himself once threatened to strangle his wife in a settlement

conference, didn't he? All he was doing was venting. He certainly didn't mean

it. Because you would have known if he did, right?

I think I would, yes.

That's fine.

Joseph Schaefer is a client of yours, isn't he, Mr. Becker?

He is.

And as such, you have a duty, an obligation to protect his interests,

That would be correct.

And in fact, if you were privileged with any incriminating information about Mr.

Schaefer, you wouldn't share it with us, would you?

No, I wouldn't.

Attorney -client privilege would prevent me from doing so.

Thank you, sir. I'm sure the jury will have no trouble in evaluating your

totally objective opinion then.

Objection! Withdrawn.

I have nothing further.

You should have been objecting up and down. Never let your witness get savaged

when they're there to help. Savaged?

I think Grace has a grudge against me. Oh, come on, Arnie.

She was just doing her job.

Oh, that's beautiful. Defend her.

I'll tell you, the support I'm getting from my co -workers these days is really

overwhelming.

Victor.

Guess what?

I found him.

Kosar? Good deal.

Arizona Probation had a new alias, which I plugged into our local computer.

And then I tracked down a job that he had. And then a friend of a friend who

worked with him at that job. And he pointed me to a loan shark in Glendale.

Where's he at right now?

Hold up in a downtown rooming house.

Landlady says he's out days, in, night.

I'll grab him tonight. I'm going with you. No, that won't be necessary. I can

handle it. I'm going, Steph. I need to talk to him first anyway.

Okay. I'll pick you up at your apartment at 8 o 'clock.

Dress casual.

So my thinking is, rather than make a big deal about it, an equitable split

say, 5 % per partner would be a fair division of profits.

In other words, the five of us split 25%, and you get 75 %?

This isn't in the nature of legal fees, Douglas, and you know it. Arnie, what

about the firm's 30 % allocation to overhead?

That come out of our cut, too? All right, we each throw in 5 % to the pot.

Leaving you with 73 % and the rest of us with 3%. Not but greed laid bare.

Douglas is right, Arnie. It hardly seems equitable.

Equitable?

You want to talk about equitable?

I put my ass out there in front of the camera, not you.

If the thing stinks up the joint, I'm the laughingstock of the industry, not

you. Whoa, whoa, whoa. What if you represented Mackenzie Brackman in a

You'd be claiming the profits from that video were community property. But this

isn't a divorce, Stuart. Because, you know, if it was, you'd lose.

All right, all right, people.

I've listened to both sides, and there's merit to both arguments.

But in the interest of peace, Arnold, and given that there is a binding

agreement, may I suggest the following?

You get 50 % of your net profits.

50. The rest of us split the other 50%, with the 30 % overhead charge being

borne equally amongst the six partners. Is that acceptable?

Sounds fine to me.

Fine.

Fine. I bow to the will of the majority.

I don't like it.

But I guess I can live with it.

Thank you, Pepe.

Douglas, a moment.

It appears we've lost Maxwell Enterprises. Kevin McNally hasn't

single call of mine.

Nor mine.

You indulged a childish temper tantrum.

A considerable expense to this firm.

It wasn't my fault.

No? Whose was it? The pilot's. That nasty bastard.

Not the pilot. Yours.

I can be in a plane tomorrow, right after my preliminary hearing.

Tomorrow is the deadline, and I doubt if they push it to accommodate your

schedule. Maybe you could go?

Or Cusack? You're the only one conversant in the case, Douglas.

Face it.

You behave like an ass.

Now we're all paying the price for it.

I'm sorry. Sorry?

Sorry doesn't begin to cover our losses here.

Not to mention what could happen to you if the court decides to make an example

of you.

I'll get on a plane tomorrow anyhow, just on the chance.

Well, if you do, I suggest you book your ticket under an alias.

Well, there's no change, will there?

When?

Don't. What did you expect?

Okay, here it is, 2 .32.

There's no time.

Who's there?

Private investigator, Willie. Could you please open up?

Ah, get the hell lost.

Oh, rude, rude.

You got no egress, Willie.

Well, I got a bodyguard and a gun.

Now, open up real fast, sweetie, before I call the cops and tell them where to

find you.

Okay, what?

Ms. Kosher, my name is Victor Fuentes. I'm an attorney. If we could just come

and talk to you for a second?

Of course we can.

We're guests.

Hey, nice digs, Willie.

What do you want?

I represent Justice Schaefer.

The man on whose behalf you hired Edward Dunham?

Come on, to kill his wife?

I don't know what you're talking about. Look, we need you to testify. We need

you to tell the jury that you called the hit off.

Oh, yeah, right.

I'm going to go into court and tell them I ordered a hit.

I think that there's a way that you could do it without really incriminating

yourself. Why don't you get the hell out of here, counsel?

Hey, drugs, gambling chits, what lovely evidentiary trinkets. Hey, you can't be

doing that. I'm not police, Willie. I don't need a warrant.

Well, I can just turn all this over to the cops and it's all admissible in

court. You listen to me, bitch. No, you listen to me, you plughead.

Now, we tried polite, but since that didn't work, you now get plan B.

Now leave the facts of life.

My little search for you turned up all kinds of interesting things, including

the connection to a murder of one Stevie Benison in Torrance last April. I got

names and dates the police would kill for, not to mention this little bag of

illegal substances.

So, in short, I can deliver you.

You're crazy.

Yeah, well, that's the first thing you've gotten right, big boy. Now, you

testify in court or I haul your ass down to the police right now.

After I blow your stones off.

You got three seconds to decide.

Okay, for God's sake, okay, okay, okay.

All right, really good.

So now we're a team, you and me.

And this... is what we're going to do.

We're going to go over your evidence real careful to make sure we get it

It's going to be so much fun.

And cheer up now, Willie.

You're the luckiest guy in town, you know, because after we finish reviewing,

you get to spend the night with me.

And I knew he'd been drinking a lot, but I still thought he was serious.

Till the next day.

And what happened the next day, Mr. Kosar?

I called Mr.

Schaefer back to tell him about the meeting with Mr. Dunham I'd set up. And

tells me that he doesn't want to really go through with it, that he was just

talking in the bar to hear himself talk.

How did you respond to that?

I said, you sure? He says, yeah.

And then he says, I don't want to have a meeting with Mr. Dunham and for me to

forget the whole thing.

Okay.

So what happened then, sir? I called Dunham back and I told him the deal was

off.

Thank you, Mr. Kosar.

Your witness.

Would you tell us, Mr. Kosar, why it is that you suddenly decided to appear here

today and incriminate yourself in a murder conspiracy?

It wasn't any conspiracy.

Like I said, it was just a misunderstanding.

Not in your mind, sir. I wasn't conspiring anything.

I was just passing on a message, and I got the message wrong.

Your Honor, I request a 15 -minute recess so that I may confer with defense

counsel. Any objections, Mr. Cifuentes?

Uh, no, Your Honor, no.

15 minutes.

Jury will stay.

I know Stephanie Hall, Victor.

And I know Kosar doesn't come prancing in here like this unless you've got him

jacked up pretty good. He's telling the truth, Grace. We sometimes use the

lovely Miss Hall ourselves, okay? I mean, we're talking about a woman who

bounty hunting on her vacations.

Now, I am willing to bet that she threatened Kosar physically as well as

whatever dirt she dug up on him.

So, cross -examine him.

I can do better than that.

I just might offer him immunity on whatever it is you got him on. What good

that going to do? In exchange for that, he'll gladly tell the jury exactly how

you motivated him to come forward. Who knows? If I removed arrest, his

might even change.

Grace, look.

I am not going to deny that we pushed this guy's hand a little, just like you

did with Dunham, but there is no way that I would put false testimony up on

stand. Now, you know me.

You know what we both know, Victor, is that even if your guy did call it off,

initially agreed to commission the hit. At a time when he was drunk and he

lacked the mental capacity to form an opinion? Uh -uh, no go.

Grace, you're never going to get a conviction here.

Now, you can go, you can push Kosar all you want, but he just established

reasonable doubt, and we both know that, too. I'll get whatever I can get.

But I'm not kicking him, Victor.

Right. Great.

Off the record, okay?

We both know what went down in there.

Schaefer agreed to the hit, and the next day he changed his mind. Now, the guy's

not a saint, but he's no murderer either, and we should... We should be

work this thing out.

I can give you conspiracy to commit assault. That's the best I can do. I

recommend probation.

No, one year suspended.

Come on, Victor, no jail time. It is a bargain.

I think you'll go for that.

I think you will.

Deal.

And did you ever threaten anybody, Mr. Brackman?

Absolutely not.

Put up any physical struggle against the captain and his co -pilot?

Not I. How about the flight attendants? I'm not a bully, sir.

I just asked for permission to leave.

Your witness.

You don't like to be kept waiting, do you?

I'm not the most patient of men, no. But what would it have taken to permit

passengers to leave?

A flight of stairs pushed up to the plane? Excuse me.

I don't believe you've been qualified as an expert witness in airport ground

operations, have you? I'm just trying to use a little common sense.

That's all I was trying to do on the plane.

I could have walked back to the terminal when you get right down to it. Ask that

the witness confine his comments to answering the question. Come on,

there's no jury here. What are you worried about?

All I wanted on that plane was to be dealt with reasonably. We get on a

and we entrust our lives to a company.

We trust that the pilot's competent, that the plane has been properly

maintained. We trust that we'll get where we're going somewhere around the

designated. The company spends millions of dollars to encourage that very trust.

Tell me what happens when they're not trustworthy.

What do I do?

Watch the movie?

Wait it out?

I'm not a violent person, and I'm not particularly reckless, but things have

make sense to me. And sitting on a runway at LAX for four and a half hours

Wednesday, things didn't.

Your Honor,

I have to ask that the witness be instructed to stop making speeches.

All right. Step back, Mr. Appel.

Without specifically endorsing the actions taken by the defendant, I'm

there was sufficient provocation. All kinds of things have happened.

Insofar as the court finds probable cause lacking as to criminal intent, I'm

dismissing the charges.

Your Honor.

That's it.

Gentlemen.

Any airline that tangles with Mackenzie Brackman will know they've been in a

fight. Is your firm going to make a specialty of taking them on? We don't

away from anyone. Mr. Brackman. Mr. Brackman, one more question.

I didn't get a chance to thank you. You came here just to do that? No, as a

matter of fact, I came here to testify for you, but you were doing such a good

job that it wasn't even necessary. I certainly appreciate the gesture. You're

getting that court order. That allowed me to charter a plane and make my

in Chicago.

Is that right?

By God, you're one resourceful woman.

I'm also an attorney for Householder and Doyle.

Householder and Doyle. That's right.

I was going to Chicago for the very same reason as you.

Well, any word?

Still waiting. It's probably a lost cause, but I'm flying out this

Well, if it isn't us, I hope it's you.

Likewise.

Mr. Brackman, win or lose, will you let me take you to dinner when you get back

from Chicago?

I'd like that a lot.

Where the hell is the Rosen file?

Here.

What's the matter with you?

What's the matter with you?

Nothing. I'm just having one of those days.

Well, I have a lot of those days, and I don't take it out on you. I'm sorry,

okay? Very heartfelt, Arnie.

Okay, you want to know what's bugging me?

I make this videotape, right?

It's tearing up the marketplace.

They're projecting sales in the $10 million range. People are starting to

actually recognize me in restaurants.

So I should be ecstatic, right?

Wrong. Because suddenly everyone wants a piece of me.

Your husband gets 40%. The partnership gets 50 % of my 60%, which leaves me

30%. 5 % of that has to go to overhead, which leaves me with a lousy 25%. That's

what's bugging me.

25 % of $10 million is still a fortune, Arnie.

Roxanne, do you realize that you and Dave are going to make more money off my

videotape than I am? That if you divorced him tomorrow, you'd come out

million cash in community property.

Is that fair?

Rox?

Roxanne?

Talked to McNally an hour ago. You can unpack your briefcase.

Who'd they pick?

You.

Yeah.

They read about your ruckus in the Chicago papers.

McNally said something about any lawyer aggressive enough to find a legal way to

get off an airplane caught in a holding pattern should be smart enough to fight

off a hostile takeover.

Congratulations, Douglas.

you of hell, huh? I know. It's terrible.

I refuse to put an alarm in my car.

Anyway, I didn't have a chance to see you after we closed.

And I just wanted to tell you what a first -rate lawyer you are, Victor.

Your client was really lucky to have you.

Thanks, Grace. Thanks. That means a whole lot coming from you.

I just hope you and I get to go up against each other again one of these

Me too.

Mike and I are friends.

I know.

I'm sorry.

I've just always wanted to do that.

From the first time I ever saw you in the PD's office.

It'll never happen again.

I promise.

You okay?

Yeah, okay.