Original subtitles

Meister Meyer. How goes it?

Hello, Arnie.

- What is this? - Take a look.

There's a couple of bon mots 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, measured in money,

let us turn to that which can.

Oh, yeah. How we doin'?

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 area,

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 strip 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 talking about in real dollars?

Okay. This is belt and suspenders.

I'm going to figure things are going to go wrong

that I know won't go wrong. All that?

All that, Dave. All that.

Net, net, your end,

two million, four-hundred thousand this fiscal annum

an cumulative net of eight to ten million

within the first three.

That's most gratifying, I must say.

Only the beginning.

But you know something?

It's not so much the money.

That'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 matters.

We'll sit down next week

and start talking about promotion.

Dave, it is always a pleasure.

And, uh, thank you.

Oh, my God, I'm rich!

I'm rich! I'm rich!

I'm rich!

[theme music]

[music continues]

[music continues]

[instrumental music]

You'll be interested to know I am 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. Douglas: It is.

Who're we up against?

Flaherty and Dunne,

Householder and Doyle,

and Cohen, Simon, Goorwitz.

But I've had lengthy conversations

with their house counsel, Kevin McNally,

and I believe we have the inside track.

- Good work, Douglas. Douglas: Thank you.

Hurrying along, I've scheduled

a partner's meeting for 10 a.m.

to discuss an 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 Shaeffer trial?

Uh, started yesterday.

You know I don't get it.

He gets drunk in a bar, says what a billion

other guys've said at one point 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 hit man.

Only to tell him that it was misunderstanding.

The harmless ravings of a guy who'd had a few too many,

going through a lousy divorce.

Which reminds me, Arnie. Can you stay available?

I may want to call you as a witness.

- Why? - He was your client.

You can testify as to his state of mind,

as well to the kind of things

that people say in the heat of a divorce.

You know, I don't think I'm violating a confidence here

when I tell you that Gracy thinks

she's gonna kick your butt on this one.

Well, she did it before, when I was a P.D's office

and she might do it again if I can't locate my key witness.

- Who've you got on it? - A P.I. named Stephanie Hall.

- I hear she's good. - I hear she's gorgeous.

Guilty on both counts.

I hereby sentence her to six months hard labor

at the Becker Penal Colony in Malibu,

I'll fondle.

I mean handle her appeals.

Leland: Gentlemen, gentlemen.

Ah-ha. There's little Kelsey.

- Hi, honey. - Ooh, a baby.

- Hi. - Hi, honey.

- Oh, she is so beautiful. - Yeah. She is.

Can, can I see her?

Sure.

[laughs]

You want to hold her?

Sure.

She's so tiny.

She likes you, Benny.

I like her.

Well, who was it that called you, Mr. Dunham?

John: The contact was a man named Wilie Kosar.

The information was that he wanted me

to kill a Mrs. Joseph Shaeffer.

What exactly did Mr. Kosar tell you, sir?

He said that 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.

Jonathan: Noted.

I'll ask you again, Mr. Dunham.

What did Mr. Kosar tell you?

He said Shaeffer would pay

ten thousand dollars to have his wife killed.

And you accepted.

- I accepted. - Thank you, sir.

I have nothing further.

You never killed Mrs. Shaeffer, did you?

No, I didn't.

Because, in fact, Willi 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 dropped.

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

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 side bar.

Jonathan: We're done for the morning.

I will see counsel in my chambers.

Your Honor, I'd like to move that Ms. Van Owen

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 learned that Ms. Van Owen

has had communications with Mr. Kuzak

regarding this case.

And I think that in the interest of justice here--

I've had no significant communications with Mr. Kuzak

concerning this matter, Judge,

and Mr. Sifuentes has been fully aware

of this relationship long before he took this case.

He simply brought up this motion now

so he can buy extra time

while he continues his manhunt for Willi Kosar.

Your motion is denied, Mr. Sifuentes.

In the alternative then, Your Honor,

I would like some time to look for Mr. Kosar

who's testimony is certainly vital--

There is 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, I think with a little bit of time--

Motion denied. See you at 2:00.

Your Honor...

That's all.

Victor. Victor, you surprise me.

Hey, it was worth a shot.

Leland: If the situation was reversed, Arnold,

you'd be taking the same position

we are now and you know it.

Arnie: 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 eleven,

subsection J of our 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 show biz.

Gee, I distinctly remember hearing something about

how it was providing legal services for those in need.

I'm not saying it isn't. But what's making the tape

fly off the shelves is this face,

this voice and this screen presence. Period.

Arnie, you fell into this.

Anything you make from it is gravy.

- My gravy. - No, sir.

Putting the principle aside for a minute,

how much money do you really need to make?

Arnie: Please, Michael,

don't start with the warmed-over Woodstock rap,

do me a favor. You might 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 buy.

Now if you'll excuse me,

I have a flight to catch.

Look, if I had come to you with this before I did it,

you all would've hooted me out of the office

and don't tell me it isn't so.

You would've sniffed and said it was unbefitting an attorney.

That it involved 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.

[plane engine whirring]

Going to Chicago?

I think that's where this flight is headed, yeah.

- Great town. - Yes, it is.

City of big shoulders,

hog butcher to the world.

Astrid: Ms. Joyner?

I'm Astrid, your flight attendant.

Would you care for a cocktail after takeoff?

Club soda will be fine. Thank you.

You choices for lunch today

are navarin of lamb,

pomegranate chicken,

or vegetarian pate with assorted breadsticks.

I'll have the chicken.

Mr. Brackman...

Charles: We've got some good news

and some bad news today...

- Oh, no. Charles: 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 variety.

He's kidding.

Charles: Please bear with us while we check it out.

We 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.

[clears throat]

Excuse me, miss...

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.

Excuse me.

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 by your pilot's indifference.

We're all in this together, sir.

We're not all in this together.

You didn't pay $1500 to be here.

[Judy] Ladies and gentlemen, due to the length of the delay,

we've decided to proceed with the showing of our movie

this afternoon,

"The Good 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 commanding 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 other passengers.

I want you to explain why we've been held captive

in this airplane for two and a half hours.

I want reasons or I want to be allowed to leave.

Charles: Once we pull away from that terminal

your rights as a citizen end.

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 challenge my authority.

Should you persist in doing so,

I am fully empowered by federal aviation law

and 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 am expecting it to be installed shortly.

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

But even if it doesn't,

I trust you will sit in your seat

and do what you're 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.

Shaeffer: I was just sitting at a bar talking

to a guy that I'd never even seen before.

That would be Mr. Kosar?

And I was going on about the divorce.

About how my wife makes my life hell.

And then he says 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, 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.

Till he calls me the next day

he said he set up a meeting with a hit man.

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.

Did you ever give this Mr. Kosar any money?

Of course not. I never even saw him again.

Thank you, Mr. Shaeffer. Nothing further.

You did tell Mr. Kosar

you wanted your wife dead, didn't you?

Shaeffer: Look, I was just rambling.

I had too much to drink.

I was very upset,

and maybe I blurted out a few things

that I shouldn't have said. But--

Well, according to the bartender

who overheard your discussion,

you spoke in a clear hushed tone.

You asked specific deliberate questions

as to where the body should be disposed.

You asked whether the entire ten thousand dollars

would have to be given in advance.

I mean, that's very reflective for a "blurt," Mr. Shaeffer.

- Objection, Your Honor. - Sustained.

Your phone number, your address,

the information as to how you could be reached.

That all just popped out of you.

Look, look, Ms. Van Owen.

See, 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.

I called it off with Kosar long before

the police even showed up, I swear!

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 alright. I-I...

It just blurted out, right?

Objection, Your Honor!

Grace: Withdrawn.

Mr. Shaeffer, what is the net worth

of your community property?

Including the house, a million, two hundred.

And pursuant to your divorce,

you're to split 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.

You can mail it to me. Bye-bye.

- Hi, Jonathan. - Hey, Ab.

You look busy.

Yeah, Douglas is stuck on a plane.

They've been on the runway since noon.

And I'm trying to get a court order to get him off.

Why?

Pamelee, I've gotta get to the judge with this.

Your Honor...

[indistinct chatter]

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 LAX.

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 potential harm threatened.

Right.

Furthermore, there's judicial precedent

for the court intervening.

Never mind, counselor.

With all due respect, Your Honor,

in the case of Banta versus Sacramento Air,

the Court of Appeals affirmed an award of damages

based on excessive delay and specifically stated...

Harlan: You made your point.

I'm more than happy to grant your motion.

Furthermore, I'm going to keep it in mind next time

I get stuck out there.

Enter the order. Call the next case.

He's a ghost, Victor.

Kosar is nowhere to be found.

Jesus, he's got to be found.

This guy's our only chance that we have

at proving that his hit was cancelled.

I got my mole in the FBI moonlighting.

I've called in every favor ever owed to me by the police

and, and I've got trunk lines on his family's telephones.

Trunk line? How'd you manage that?

This lech at the phone company's been chasing me.

So... I let him rub my knee the other night

while I whispered sweet telephone digits in his ear.

And he's tapping them for you?

What can I say, he likes high cheekbones.

So if mama Kosar gives little Willi 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've got Arnie Becker on the stand tomorrow.

That'll string it out another day, tops.

Other than that, there's not much 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, Steph. Okay?

Just find Kosar for me.

I'm trying, Victor.

Believe me, I'm trying.

If we stay here much longer

all I'm gonna 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 can not believe I'm struck here on the ground

watching it all go to waste.

Charles: Ladies and gentlemen,

you'll notice we've started our engines.

I wish I could say we were preparing for take-off.

Unfortunately, I have to inform you

that the passenger in seat 3-A, Mr. Douglas Brackman,

an attorney from Los Angeles,

has obtained a court order

requiring me to return to the terminal.

- Thank you. - It's okay.

I am really not ready to fly. I know this now.

It's too confining.

- Douglas Brackman? - Yeah?

Place your hands against that pillar, please.

- What's going on? - I'm placing your under arrest

for reckless endangerment,

interfering with a flight crew

in the execution of their duties,

and use of a cellular phone while on board an 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 in a court of law.

Any revenue that derives either from your practice of law

or from your expertise

gained in the practice of law

while a partner at McKenzie-Brackman

shall be deemed moneys subject

to all the terms and conditions of the partnership.

In other words, what's mine is theirs.

Unless you signed 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 why we have lawyers.

Well, you're mine.

What if they sue?

You'd lose.

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

McKenzie, Brackman is a great firm.

Much of your reputation derives from your relationship with it.

Are you prepared to lose that?

But it's my money!

Giving up five sixths of it,

with absolutely no input from them isn't fair.

Hell, Stuart Markowitz

and Ann Kelsey are married.

Is it fair that they should make more money

from my guide 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 court,

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... What a greedy bunch of bastards.

[chuckles]

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 and outbursts.

Now, in the course of your representation of Mr. Shaeffer,

did he ever manifest any kind of

criminal intentions toward his wife?

He never had any criminal intentions.

That business in the bar was very simply

Joseph exfoliating his frustrations--

Objection, this man has no foundation

to render psychiatric opinions.

He's represented the defendant and his divorce

for the past three years

and he can certainly speak to his state of mind.

I'll give you a little latitude, counselor,

but that's it.

Joseph Shaeffer is a law-abiding

and extremely moral person.

He would never hire somebody to commit a murder.

Victor: You're sure.

If a client of mine had criminal propensities

of that nature, I'd know it, believe me.

Okay. Thank you, Mr. Becker.

Nothing further.

Two years ago, Mr. Becker,

a client of yours by the name of Carolyn Glasband

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 plans, Sir,

when you scheduled that meeting?

Of course, I didn't.

Then I guess it would be possible

for one of your clients

to 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 wife

who'd been awarded custody, right?

- Yes, but-- - Did you see that one coming?

No, I didn't, but again--

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

He is.

And as such,

you have a duty and obligation

to protect his interests, don't you?

That would be correct.

And in fact,

if you were privileged with any

incriminating information

about Mr. Shaeffer, 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. Grace: Withdrawn.

I have nothing further.

You should have been objecting up and down.

You never let your witness get savaged

when they're there to help.

Savaged? I think Grace has a grudge against me.

Come on, Arnie. She was just doing her job in there.

That's beautiful, defend her.

I tell you, the support I'm getting from my co-workers

these days is really overwhelming.

Stephanie: Victor!

Guess what?

I found him!

Kosar?! Good deal!

Arizona probation had a new alias,

which I plugged into our local computer.

I tracked down a job he had,

and then a friend of a friend

who worked with him at the job

and he pointed me to a loan shark in Glendale--

Where's he at right now?

Holed up in a downtown rooming house.

Landlady says he's out days, in nights.

- 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, 8 o'clock.

Dress casual.

So my thinking is, rather than make a big deal out of it,

an equitable split of, say, five percent per partner,

would be 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

thirty percent allocation against overhead?

That come out of our cut, too?

Alright... we each throw in five percent into the pot.

Leaving you with seventy-three percent

and the rest of us with three percent.

Naught but greed laid bare...

Douglas is right, Arnie. It hardly seems equitable.

Equitable?

Oh, you want to talk about equitable?

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

The thing stinks up the joint,

I'm the laughing stock of the industry, not you.

Whoa, whoa! What if you were representing

McKenzie-Brackman in a divorce--

- But this-- - You'd be claiming the profits

from that video were community property,

But this isn't a divorce, Stuart.

'Cause you know if it was, you'd lose.

Alright, alright, people, that's enough.

Now I've listened to both sides,

and there's merit to both arguments.

But in the interests of peace,

Arnold, and given that there is a binding agreement,

may I suggest the following

you get 50% of your net profits...

Fifty?

The rest of us split the other 50%,

with the 30% overhead charge being borne

equally by 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, people.

Douglas... a moment?

It appears we've lost Maxwell Enterprises.

Kevin McNally hasn't returned a single call of mine.

Nor mine.

You indulged a childish temper tantrum

at considerable expense to this firm.

It wasn't my fault.

No? Whose was it?

The pilot's, that Nazi bastard.

Not the pilot, yours.

I can be on a plane tomorrow

right after my preliminary hearing.

Tomorrow is their deadline.

I doubt if they'll push it to accommodate your schedule.

Maybe you could go. Or Kuzak.

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

Face it.

You behaved 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.

[indistinct chatter]

What a dump.

What'd you expect?

Okay, here it is. Two thirty two.

[knocking in door]

It's showtime.

Willie: Who's there?

Private investigator, Willi, could you please open up?

Willie: Ah, get the hell lost!

Oh, rude, rude.

You got no egress, Willi,

while 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?

Mr. Kosar, my name is Victor Sifuentes.

I'm an attorney. If we could just

come in and talk to you for a second.

Course we can, we're guests.

- Hey, nice digs, Willi. - What do you want?

Mr. Kosar, I represent Joseph Shaeffer.

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.

I need you to tell the jury

that you called the hit off.

[laughs] Yeah, right.

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

Yeah, right.

I-I think there's a way that you could do it

without really incriminating yourself,

Why don't you get the hell out of here, counselor?

Hey, drugs. And gambling chits.

What lovely evidentiary trinkets.

Hey, you can't be doing that!

I'm not police, Willi, I don't need a warrant.

I can just turn this over to the cops

and it's all admissible in court.

- You listen to me, bitch... - Hey!

No, you listen, slug head .

Now, we tried polite,

but since that didn't work, you now get plan B!

These are the facts of life.

My little search for you turned up

all kinds of interesting things.

Including a connection to a murder

of one Stevie Bennison in Torrance last April.

I got names, 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! [chuckles]

Yeah, well, that's the first thing

you've gotten right, big boy!

Now you either testify in court

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

After I blow your stones off.

You go three seconds to decide.

[gun clicking]

[heavy breathing]

Okay! For God's sake! Okay! Okay! Okay!

Alright, Willi, good.

So now we're a team!

You and me and this is what we're gonna do.

We're gonna go over your evidence real careful,

to make sure we get it right.

It's gonna be so much fun.

And cheer up now Willi.

Hey, you're the luckiest guy in town, you know.

Because after we finish reviewing

you get to spend the night with me.

I knew he'd been drinking a lot

but I still thought he was serious.

Until the next day.

And what happened the next day, Mr. Kosar?

I called Mr. Shaeffer back to tell him about the meeting

with Mr. Dunham I'd set up.

Then he tells me 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?" And 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 you suddenly decided to appear here today

and incriminate yourself in a murder conspiracy?

There 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. Sifuentes?

Ah, no, Your Honor. No.

Fifteen 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 is telling the truth, Grace.

We sometimes use the lovely Miss Hall ourselves. Okay?

I mean, we're talking about a woman

who goes bounty hunting on her vacations.

Now I am willing to bet.

that she threatened Kosar physically

as well as with 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 is 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 remove duress,

his testimony 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's no way that I would put false testimony

up on the stand. Now, you know me.

You know, what we both know, Victor,

is that even if your guy did call it off,

he initially agreed to commission the hit.

At a time when he was drunk and he lacked

the mental capacity to form an opinion...

Grace: Ah-uh, no go.

Grace, you are 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.

Grace...

off the record, okay?

We both know what went down in there.

Shaeffer did agree 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 able to work this thing out.

I can give you conspiracy to commit assault.

That's the best I can do.

- Recommend probation? - No, one year suspended.

C'mon, Victor, no jail time, it is a bargain.

I think he'll go for that.

I think he will.

Deal?

Deal.

And did you ever threaten anybody, Mr. Brackman?

Douglas: Absolutely not.

Put up any physical struggle?

Against the captain and his copilot? Not I.

Jonathan: How about the flight attendants?

Douglas: I'm not a bully, sir.

I just asked for permission to leave.

Jonathan: 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've walked back to the terminal

when you get right down to it.

Ask that the witness confine his comments

to answering the question.

C'mon, counsellor, 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 plane 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 time 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 to make sense to me.

And sitting on a runway at LAX for four-and-a-half hours

on Wednesday, things didn't.

man 1: Here, here!

Your Honor, I have to ask

that the witness be instructed to stop making speeches.

Alright, step back, Mr. Appel.

Without specifically endorsing the actions

taken by the defendant, I'm convinced

there was sufficient provocation

for all kinds of things to have happened.

Insofar as the court finds

probably cause lacking as to criminal intent,

I'm dismissing the charges.

- Your Honor-- - That's it. Gentlemen.

Any airline that tangles with McKenzie Brackman

will know they've been in a fight.

Is your firm gonna make a specialty of taking them on?

We don't shy away from anyone.

Mr. Brackman, one more question?

[indistinct chatter]

The inspiration was all Mr. Brackman's.

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.

Well, you're getting that court order,

that allowed me to charter a plane

and make my meeting in Chicago.

Is that right?

By God, you are one resourceful woman.

I'm also an attorney with 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 afternoon.

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.

Rox? Dammit!

Roxanne!

Roxanne, wh...

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.

[sighs]

Okay. You want to know what's bugging me?

I make this videotape, right?

It's tearing up the market place.

They're projecting sales in the ten million dollar 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 with 30%.

Five percent of that has to go to overhead,

which leaves me with a lousy 25%.

That's what's bugging me!

25% of ten million is still a fortune, Arnie.

Roxanne, do you realize that you and Dave

are gonna make more money off my videotape than I am?

That if you divorced him tomorrow,

you'd come out with two million bucks cash

in community property?

Is that fair?

Rox?

Roxanne?

[knock on door]

I talked to McNally an hour ago.

You can unpack your briefcase.

- Who'd they pick? - You.

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.

[chuckles]

Congratulations, Douglas.

[laughing]

[car siren beeping]

Grace: Victor!

Victor, I didn't get a chance--

What?

I wanted to tell you. [laughs]

Wow! A preview of hell?

I know. It's terrible.

I refuse to put an alarm in my car.

Anyway, I didn't get 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 lot coming from you.

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

one of these days.

Me, too.

See you.

Grace...

Mike and I are friends...

I know.

I'm sorry.

I just always wanted to do that.

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

It will never happen again.

I promise.

You okay?

Yeah, okay.

Good night.

[instrumental music]

[theme music]