"Michael Clayton" "Michael." "Dear Michael." "Of course it's you." "Who else could they send?" "Who else could be trusted?" "And I know it's a long way and you're ready to go to work." "All I'm saying is just wait, just please hear me out." "Because this is not an episode, relapse, fuckup." "I'm begging you, Michael, I'm begging you." "Try to make believe this is not just madness... because this is not just madness." "Two weeks ago, I came out of the building, okay?" "I'm running across 6th Avenue, there's a car waiting." "I got exactly 38 minutes to get to the airport, and I'm dictating." "There's this panicked associate sprinting along beside me... scribbling in a notepad, and suddenly she starts screaming..." "And I realize we're standing in the middle of the street... the light's changed and there's this wall of traffic, speeding towards us." "And I freeze, I can't move." "And I'm suddenly consumed with the overwhelming sensation... that I'm covered with some sort of film." "And it's in my hair, in my face." "It's like a glaze, like a coating." "And at first I thought:" ""Oh, my God, I know what this is"." "This is some sort of amniotic, embryonic fluid." "I'm drenched in afterbirth, the chrysalis." "I've been reborn"." "But then, the traffic, the stampede, the cars, the trucks, the horns... this poor woman screaming, and I'm thinking "No, this is not rebirth"." "This is some kind of giddy illusion of renewal... that happens in the final moment before death"." "And then, I realize, "No, no, this is completely wrong"... because I looked back at the building... and I had the most stunning moment of clarity." "I realized, Michael... that I had emerged, not through the doors of Kenner, Bach  Ledeen... not through the portals of our vast and powertul law firm... but from the asshole of an organism... whose sole function is to excrete the poison... the ammo, the defoliant necessary for other larger... more powertul organisms to destroy the miracle of humanity." "And that I had been coated in this patina of shit... for the best part of my life." "And the stench of it, and the stain of it, would in all likelihood... take the rest of my life to undo." "I took a deep, cleansing breath and I set that notion aside." "I tabled it." "I said to myself: "As clear as this may be, as potent a feeling as this is... as true a thing as I believe that I have witnessed today, I must wait." "It must stand the test of time"." "And, Michael, the time is now." "I'm not sure what else I can tell you that I haven't already told you." "Tell me about U/North, Barry." "They're your clients." "Why you're settling a six-year-old case on the fly at midnight?" "'Cause I'm writing this story whether you like it or not." "What does that exactly mean?" "Give me something I can print." "We found 97." "I've got that cunt from the Wall Street Journal on my cell phone." "She will not go away." "Marty Bach." "How can I help you?" "Hi, Marty." "It's Bridget Klein." "We're going with a story tomorrow... about a settlement in the U/North defoliant case." "You wanna comment?" "Case you're referring to is now, as it has been for the past six years... pending and unresolved." "Till such time as our client has their day in court... or the plaintiffs come to their senses and drop the suit..." "I'll have nothing of value to tell you." "You're closing the U/North case, you're settling." "You're up there right now with like 600 people jamming this thing through." "You deadline was 20 minutes ago." "You're fishing for a story or trying to get out of writing a retraction..." "In either case, I wish you the best of luck." "Where the fuck is Karen Crowder?" "I'll see the turn." "Check." "Check." "Check." "Half the pot. 200." "$200 to go." "You don't remember me?" "We playd together a couple times." "That lamp place on Bower." "That guy's showroom?" " The Galaxy." " That's it." "You had a restaurant you were opening, right?" "My old partner bid that job, the plumbing." " You don't remember me?" " I remember you." "'Cause I lost a lot of weight since then." "You bought some hair, too." "With your money." "What happened with the bar?" "You just had to be a rock star." "I want to listen to Larry King, I go home and put the TV on." "That was a good location." "That's what my partner kept telling me." "Good to see you again." "Hello?" " Michael." " Walter." "Thank God, there you are." "Look, I got a situation." "A big problem." "A client of mine, he just called, he hit a guy with his car." "He thinks he did." "He thinks he hit him." "Just now?" "Yes, ten, 15 minutes ago." "He's driving home." "He's home now." "He's there waiting." "Where?" "Westchester." "I'm down here in Bermuda." "He just got me up." "I'm half asleep here." "Is he drunk?" "No, no." "It's the first thing I asked him." "He's sober." "Tell him to stay off the phone." "All right." "But you're on it?" "I mean, you can get up there?" "Because this guy he's a huge client, Michael." "This is half my book, this guy, okay?" "I'm walking to the car right now." "Okay." "Let me call him right back and I'll get the address." "Let me know you're on the way and I'll get right back to you with the details." "All right." "I'll be in the car." "What they did, you see, they changed the grade there." "They widened the street." "I'm sure somebody told them that was an improvement." "But now, when it rains and when there is fog... and with this new angle... these sodium lamps, it's blinding." "That corner right there." "It is just blinding." "Well, they're gonna have to work that out." "Yeah." "And it's not just tonight." "I've been saying this for years." "How many times have we talked about that corner?" "Dell?" "Mr. Greer, we don't have a lot of time here." "The circumstances, the road conditions, none of this holds any interest for you?" "What interests me is finding the strongest possible criminal attorney... that can be here in the next 15 minutes." "Well, that sounds ominous." "We have some good relationships up here in Westchester." "So, what are you?" "What are you?" "You're not a lawyer?" " Not the kind you need." " What kind is that?" "A trial lawyer." "Somebody who can see this all the way through." "That's not what I do." "Okay." "I think we're gonna have to pull Walter back in on this." "I wanna get Walter back on the phone." "I wanna get him back into the mix." "Because, I'll be frank with you, I don't like the way this is going." "We don't have time for Walter." "Your options here are gonna get very smaller." "What options?" "I'm not hearing any options!" "I'm suggesting that you go local." "And I'm telling you that there are some people up here that I like for this." "Great." "That's it?" "That's what you got for me?" "Unbelieveble!" "I have been a client at Kenner  Bach for 12 years!" "Do you think that I have paid that retainer every month... so I can get a place at the back of the line?" "You left the scene of an accident on a slow weeknight... six miles from the State Police barracks." "Believe me, if there's a line, you're right up front." "I can get a lawyer any time I want to, I don't need you for that." "We're not sitting here for 45 minutes waiting for a goddamn referral!" "I don't know what Walter promised you, but I can tell you this." "A miracle worker." "That's Walter on the phone, 20 minutes ago." ""Hang tight." "I'm a sending you a miracle worker"." " He misspoke." " About what?" "About the fact that you're the firm's fixer?" "Elliot." "The guy was running in the street!" "You take that, you add the fog, the lamps, the angle." "Why is he doing running in the middle of the street at midnight?" "Answer me!" "What if someone had stolen the car?" "Happens all the time." "Cops like hit and runs." "The work them hard, they clear them fast." "Right now there's a B.C.I. Unit pulling paint chips off a guard rail." "Tomorrow, they're going to be looking for the owner of a custom-painted... hand-rubbed Jaguar XJ-12." "And the guy you hit?" "If he got a look at the plates, it won't even take that long." "There's no play here." "There's no champagne room." "I'm a janitor." "I'm not a miracle worker." "The math on this is simple." "The smaller the mess, the easier it is for me to clean up." "That's the police, isn't it?" "No." "They don't call." "Hello." "Jerry, it's Michael Clayton." "I'm sorry to wake you up." "No." "I'm in the neighborhood." "You got a pen?" "FOUR DAYS EARLIER" "Mom, where's my cards?" "Where's my cards?" "Is my other deck in here?" "Did you eat?" "Dad's down there waiting already." "There were cards in our bathroom." "Yes, I had a waffle." "Since we're out of waffles, I don't see how that's possible." "It's a miracle." "Gloves?" "Henry!" "Come on!" "Get in." "Got it?" "No one's even sure exactly where they are... because there's no borders of landmarks or anything." "And the town?" "It's not even a town really." "It just is this camp where all these people have gathered to hide." "Right." "All these deserters and guys that got cut off from their armies." "All these people that are hiding in the woods and trying to stay alive." "This is where they all came." "There's Thieves, Gray Mages, Unbidden Warriors..." "Dark Avians, Riverwynders and Sappers." "There's like 15 different characters." "Okay." "And nobody has any alliances." "You can't even say who you are because, you don't know... maybe the person you're talking to... maybe they're like your mortal enemy in the wars." "So it's just completely like everybody for themselves." "Sounds familiar." "It's really good." "I'm serious." "You should really read it." "Right." "But by the time I finish it, you'll be on to something else." " How much you wanna bet?" " I don't know." "How much you got?" " You got your bus pass?" " It's in my locker." "You're not even gonna look at it, are you?" " The book?" " Yes." "Bring it on Saturday and I'll..." "I did already!" "I left in your kitchen." "It's got a red cover." "Okay." "Well, here we go." "Go!" "Teach these people something." " See you later, Dad!" " Yeah, kiddo." "Thanks." "Lot number 52, lot of assorted mixing bowls, assorted sizes." "30 dollars to start." "30 dollars. 30 dollars I have now." "You can get me to 40 and I got." "And 50 now." "I have 60 dollars back there." "60 dollars." "Get me to 70." "I got 70 dollars here." "70 dollars." "I have now 70 dollars." "I have 80 dollars there." "80 dollars, this gentleman here." "80 dollars I have now." "90 dollars." "Give me the 100?" "I have 100 dollars now." "He says you're still gonna be short." "How short?" "$60.000 plus the points, $75.000." " That's liquor and everything?" " What'd you think it was gonna be?" "I don't know." "Less. $30, $20." "He took $1.500 on a refrigerator I paid $4.000." "Make a bid." "Are you telling me you don't have the $75.000?" "Just lying around, no." "We both know it's your brother I should be talking to." "Forget that." "Michael, you wanna front this, that's up to you." "But Timmy's name stays in the book till we're clear." "If I know where he is, I don't have to keep asking." "He's upstate." "His wife took him back." "I don't know where he is." "He's got to have something." "Yeah, he's got the two kids with her." "He's got Jennifer, the coke-dealing waitress that he knocked up." "He's got four Michelin Radials that he stole from my sister's garage." "Make an offer." "I had a wife who was a drunk." "It was a beautiful girl." "Young girl." "But live like that?" "Even they do a program, she did once, two years." "And then they slip." "Forget it." "It's like you're strapped to a bomb." "What's my timeframe here?" "I don't know." "I didn't think it'd be a problem." "I'll ask." " Hey, Michael." " Morning, Carl." "I don't know." "Del, I don't know how hard you want me to press here." "You have to let me know how brave he wants to be." "I'm not sure how brave he can be right now." "We just got a confirmation hearing scheduled for end of the month." "Any chance she knows that?" "Well, it was in the paper." "Maybe she got someone to read it to her." "She called his wife yesterday." "This is a total nightmare!" "My guess is she's gonna want to hang onto the condo." "Come on, that's insane!" "What can I tell you?" "Don't piss off a motivated stripper." "It's just unbelievable." "Find out his pain threshold and get back to me." "Or you can tell him to call me directly." "I hear you." "Let me get into it." "Thanks." "Where are we with Marty?" "We left word!" "Hold on." "How old is the kid?" "He's not a kid." "He's 22." " This is Miami?" " Nope, Key Biscayne." "They charged him." "Reckless endangerment." "My client..." "Really what they want' a reality check on the attorney down there." "Wayne said you have some connections there?" " Yeah, let me get a pen." " Thank you." "Now if she calls the INS directly, she's gonna get nowhere." "Even with the appointment?" "It's retail, Evan." "It's like the DMV over there." "Unless they get a call from a district supervisor, then nobody moves." " But your guy can do that?" " He's a former Commissioner." "And none of this comes back to me, ok?" "'Cause that doesn't do any good." "No, look, I'm gonna be the one that's asking." " Can you hang on a minute?" " Yeah, sure." "Are we merging?" "Marty Bach's in London." "First they said he was in Atlanta, then Lara said he was in the building... so I called back up, I know you want this meeting." "She tells me the truth." "He's really in London." "Are we merging?" "That's what everyone's saying." "All these Brits that this time it's real." "Like I would know." "I don't know." "But even if we are, even if they merged, it wouldn't affect us, right?" "Your phone's ringing." "Evan?" "Here's what I'll do." "Let me give him a call and set up a meeting for next week." "I'll walk her in, I'll make the introduction." "At the moment, U/North currently has 70.000 employees... in 62 countries around the world... around the planet." "Operating in 62 countries around the planet." "At work in more than 60 countries around the globe." "We have, right now, we have..." "At U/North right now, we've got 75.000 employees... in over 60 countries around the planet." "We are a very successful and highly diversified company." "So you can imagine the volume... and the variety of legal issues we have to deal with is... overwhelming." "It just enormous." "So, you can imagine the volume of legal issues." "It's quite substantial." "And as General Counsel, what I do... what our in-house department does... is to analyze the dimension of the problem or the opportunity... to determine the jurisdiction... and to outsource our business... to those firms and talents that we think can help us the most." "So, with all that pressure and workload... how do you keep a balance between work and life?" "Balance?" "I think that's, that's something that... you search for your whole life, isn't it?" "It's a shifting balance, really." "It's, you know, you try to..." "When you really are enjoying what it is you do... who needs balance?" "There's your balance." "There's your balance." "When you're really enjoying what it is you do' there's your balance." "When Don asked me to take..." "When Don Jeffries brought..." "Don Jeffries brought me." "Don Jeffries brought me in here 12 years ago... trusted me, mentored me." "Welcomed me into the U/North family." "And when he moved up to the boardroom, I never really dreamt... that I would have the opportunity to move into his position." "But, is it challenging?" "Yes." "I think that it's possible that those first few months were a little shaky." "But you realize you've been taught to be ready, and you take the helm." "Because if you're not comfortable with that level of responsibility... you're in the wrong place." "It's your department... your capacity to make tough decisions in real time..." "We're in the middle of an interview." "They said it was urgent." "Jesus!" "Oh, for Chrissake!" "You're saying he did this in..." "Oh, my God." "Barry." "Hang on." "Arthur Edens just stripped down naked in a deposition room in Milwaukee." "Oh, Michael..." "I took a deep, cleansing breath and set that notion aside." "I tabled it." "I said to myself:" ""As clear as this may be... as potent as I believe I have witnessed today, it must wait." "It must stand the test of time"." "And Michael, the time is now." "This moment, today, here, this room, this air... and this, especially this, Michael, that you're here." "There's a reason." "A reason it's you, Michael." "Surely, you have some sense of that, how it pulls together, how it gathers." "Nurse Michael, the secret hero, the keeper of the hidden sins." "Tell me you can see that, for God's sake." "But, I mean, yeah, yeah." "The nudity, the parking lot, I admit it." "It was a mistake." "It was wrong." "It was lame." "It was obvious, and therapeutically, it was completely useless... because, I swear to you, I could stand here and tear off my skin... and I could not get down to where this thing is living!" "Six years, Michael, Six years, I've absorbed this poison." "400 depositions, a hundred motions, five changes of venue... 85.000 documents in discovery!" "Six years of scheming and stalling and screaming, and what have I got?" "I've spent 12º% of my life defending the reputation of a deadly weed killer!" "We had an agreement, Arthur." "One night, I look up and there's Marty in my office." "He's got some champagne." "He tells me we just hit 30.000 hours on U/North and he wants to celebrate." "So, an hour later, I find myself in a whorehouse Chelsea... with two Lithuaniana redheads taking turns sucking my dick." "I'm laying there and I'm trying not to come and I wanna... make it last, so I start doing the math." "I think: "30,000 hours, what is that?" That's 24 times 30." "That's 720 hours in a month, 8.760 hours in a year." " Arthur!" " No, wait, wait!" "Because it's years!" "It's lives!" "And the numbers are making me dizzy and, you know... now instead of trying not to come, I'm trying not to think, I can't stop." "Is this me?" "Am I this freak organism that has been sent here to sleep, and eat... and defend this one horrific chain of carcinogenic molecules?" "Is that my destiny?" "Is that my fate?" " Listen, you promised me." " Is that it, Michael?" "Is that my grail?" "Two Lithuanian mouths on my cock?" "Is that the correct answer to the multiple choice of me?" "You wanna go off your medication, that's fine, but you call me first." " That was our agreement!" " Sue me!" "We okay in there?" "We're fine." "We're fine." "They killed them, Michael." "Those small farms, the family farms." "Did you meet Anna?" "No." "You gotta see her, you gotta talk to her." "She's a miracle." "She's God's perfect little creature." "And for 50 million dollars in fees, I've spent 12 percent of my life... destroying perfect Anna, her dead parents and her dying brother." "When was the last time you took one of these?" "No, I'm not losing this." "Everything is now finally significant." "The world is a beautiful and radiant place." "I'm not trading that for this." "If it's real, the pill won't kill it." "I have blood on my hands!" "You are the senior litigating partner of one of the largest... most respected law firms in the world." "You are a legend." " I'm an accomplice!" " You're a maniac-depressive." "I'm Shiva, the god of death." "Let's get out of Milwaukee and we'll talk about it." "We can back from the hospital and everybody was crying... and we were in shock, but we still, we had to milk." "The cows won't wait, will they?" "No." "And when you went to the barn?" "We found the note." "My sister found it." "From your mother?" "Yes." "Could you read it for us, please?" "Just read the third paragraph, just the highlighted section there." ""I don't want you blaming Ned Hardy or any of the people down at the..."" "Anna." "It's all right, Anna, go on." " I'm just..." " Excuse me." " Anna, they're..." " What's he doing?" "Excuse me." "She..." "No, this is testimony." "Excuse me, I have an objection." "You can be a witness here." "You can be a witness." "I am not a witness to this..." "Anna, I love you." "And I'm sitting here, and I'm listening to you and I swear... that I love you more than anything in the world." "And this is my moment." "This strange conference table moment." " This is my offering!" " I want this on the record!" "How do you turn it off?" "This is my offering." "My clothes are my offering." "This is my shame." "My credentials!" "I'm ashamed!" "And I love you and I swear to God..." "I guess that's it." "When do we get Don?" "She said to try back in half an hour." "And how about the flights?" "What's the story at O'Hare?" " Closed four minutes ago." " Shit." "There is a foot of snow in Detroit already." "Todd, could I get that coffee now?" "Who is this guy they sent from New York?" "I never heard of him." "Michael Raymond Clayton." "Born September 9, 1959, Saint Joseph Hospital, Bronx, New York." "Father is NYPD patrolman Raymond Xavier Clayton." "Mother, Alice Mary Clayton." "Graduates Washingtonville Central High School, New York, in 1977." "Graduates Saint John's University, 1980." "Fordham Law, 82." "82 through 86, he's ADA with the Queens District Attorney's office." "And 1986, he's with the Joint Manhattan Queens Organized Crime Task Force." "And then in 1990, he starts at Kenner, Bach  Ledeen." "So, he's a partner?" "No." "He's listed as Special Counsel." "Says he specializes in wills and trusts." "He goes from criminal prosecution to wills and trusts?" "He's been there 17 years, he's not a partner?" "This is the guy they send?" "Who is this guy?" " Hi." " Close the door." "All right." "So, none of you had any ideal he was coming?" "To Milwaukee?" "For a deposition?" "We thought there was some kind of settlement in the works." "We thought it had something to do with that." "Okay." "Look, it's very simple." "Arthur has a chemical imbalance." "He's supposed to take his medication, he's fallen behind on that." "He's back on the mend." "He's gonna be fine in three or four days." "I wanna make this crystal clear." "What happened here stays in this room." "This is not a piece of information that you wanna be out in front of." "Anybody has a problem with that, I need to know right now." "All right." "We're stuck here overnight." "I'm gonna take him home tomorrow if I can." "Who's in charge of the deposition schedule?" " I am." " Where do we stand with that?" "I guess it's on hold." "We didn't know what to do." "You keep doing what you were planning on doing." "The other side wants to talk about it, they can call N.Y. I need his briefcase." "Arthur's?" "I don't..." "I didn't see it." "He said it was in the room." "It might be the stuff Jody grabbed." "Find it." "So, all these people start having these dreams, okay?" "You know what a vision quest is?" "You know, for like Navajos and stuff?" "Yeah." "I think so." "Like a... like a special dream." "Except this is like a whole bunch of people having the same dream." "They're all having this dream that they should go to this one place." "They don't know why or anything." "They just have this feeling that they have to go there." "That they've been summoned." "That's the chapter." "Seriously, that's what it's called:" ""Summons to Conquest"." "That's the title." "But do they know?" "Do they know they're all having the same dream?" "No." "That's what's so cool." "They all think it's just them." "That maybe they're like going crazy, so they don't wanna admit it." "Yeah, but they're not crazy, are they?" "No, It's real." "It's really happening." "Yeah, it is happening, isn't it?" "Something larger than themselves and they're not ready, are they... to hear it?" "Yeah, but later they will." "So, if you're gonna read it, I don't wanna spoil it." "What are you doing?" "Who you talking to?" "I called my dad." "It's a friend of his." " Who?" " Mr. Edens." "You don't know him." " Hello?" " Henry, it's ater eleven." "I gotta get off now." "No, wait, wait." "The book." "I need the book." "The title." "The book is "Realm and Conquest"." ""Realm and Conquest"." "It's Book One with the red cover." "Henry, give me the phone." "I gotta go." "Tell my dad I called." "Okay?" "Yeah." "Thank, thank, thank you, Henry, thank." ""Realm and Conquest"." "Thank." "Karen?" "Hi, I'm Michael Clayton." " You're late." " I know." "Sorry." "It was a little more complicated than we thought." "Where is he?" "We've been here since 5:30." " He's asleep." " Well, wake him up." "That's not gonna happen." "We just got him sedated." "Once he gets back on his regular medication, it's just a matter of time." " Have you seen the v-deo?" "The tape?" " I heard about it." "What happened after is worse." "This is in the parking lot." "People running for their cars." "He's there in his socks, nothing else." ""I'm sorry." "I'm so sorry." "I will not sit with this sickness any longer." "I cannot aid this sickness any longer"." "What does this mean?" "I'm not sure." "You've been with him the whole evening." "What's he saying?" "This is totally unacceptable." "This is a three billion dollar class action lawsuit." "In the morning, I have to call my board." "I have to tell them that the architect of our entire defense has been arrested... for running naked in a snowstorm chasing the plaintiffs through a parking lot." "I understand." "What sickness is he talking about?" " I don't know." "It could be anything." " Well, give me one." "Frostbite." "You think this is funny?" "His wife was sick and she died last year." "His daughter doesn't talk to him." "He's all alone." "All he does is your case." "He skipped his pills." "He had a bad day." "That's it." "And you're somehow the authority on this?" "His last episode was eight years ago." "I was there." "I helped bring him home, I watched him get better." "That's it." "Come on!" "You didn't hire this guy because of his low-key regularity... you hired him because he's a killer." "And because he's brilliant and because he's crazy enough to grind away... on a case like this for six years without a break." "We pay for his time." "I thought you wanted an explanation." "In the morning, I'm calling Marty Bach... but then you know that." "Thank you, Michael." "He was mostly just quiet." "I heard him moving around, I gave him another pill about 15 minutes ago." " He took it?" " A deal's a deal, right?" "A super job, Elston." "You get to NY, you need tickets to the game, you let me know." "I'll do that for sure." "Did you see her?" " Who?" " Anna." "No." "No, I didn't see her." "She probably went back to the farm." "Well, we need her." "Marty, even then, and the rest of them, they won't understand." "Well, if anybody can explain it to them, it's you, Arthur." "No, they're lost." " They have what they want." " Let it go, man." "This what you wanted?" "To be a janitor?" "Live like this?" "All this?" "Do what you do?" "It can't be." "It's a burden, that's what I'm trying to tell you." "That's how it feels." "Well, I know that we've been summoned." "Get some sleep." "Hello." "Hi, I'm looking for Vern." "You have a number?" "Don Jeffries gave me the number." "He said that I could call at any time." "No, the account number." "The code?" "I do." "I have it right here." "One moment." "Excuse me one moment." "It's right here. 12-BKR-6." "12-BKR-6." "Am I speaking with Vern?" "It's Mr. Verne." "Mr. Verne, I'm sorry, it's so late." "Don said that I could..." "I'm not exactly sure how this works." " Do you have email at your current?" " I do." " Are you alone?" " I am." "Okay, I'm gonna upload you a little encryption package we like to use." "It's pretty self-explanatory." "You're gonna have to give me a minute to get to my desk." "Okay?" "Hold on." "Okay." "Thank you." "UNITED-NORTHFIELD, CULCITATE-INTERNAL RESEARCH MEMORANDUM 229" "THE RELEASE OF THESE MARKETING OF CULCITATE" "ARE AT RISK FOR HUMAN TISSUE DAMAGE" "IT IS TASTELESS, COLORLESS, POTENTIALLY LETHAL EXPOSURE" "What I was wondering is..." "I have an option on the lease for six more years... and I was wondering if there's any way that I could lay that off." "Is the lease worth anything?" "89 hundred a month." "It's..." "The fixtures are gone, but there's the bar... there's a kitchen, it's a great space." "But there's a..." "Yeah, I understand." "No, I understand." "Okay, right." "Thanks." "Right, thanks." "Come on, Arthur!" "Arthur!" "Arthur, open the door." "Arthur, open the door!" "Arthur, open the goddamned door!" "Arthur, open..." "Open the fucking door!" "Arthur!" "Goddamn it, Arthur!" "Open the fucking..." "Arthur?" "MAKE BELIEVE IT'S NOT JUST MADNESS" " Mr. Verne, hey!" " Hey, Danny." "You guys are early." "I was just pulling the other bags." "You can put them back." "There's been a change of plans, sorry." " You ready?" " Yep." "For Christ's sake." "Don Jeffries signed this?" "That's really his signature?" "Where's the original?" "We had a warehouse fire years ago." "We lost a number of documents." "What the hell is this doing in Arthur's bag?" "I don't know, Marty." "That's something I was hoping you might be able to tell me." "What are we looking for?" "If it says U/North, pull it aside." "Anything that says U/North." "What a mess this is." "I want all this... everything here, I want it all packed up and sent up to the house." "Any luck, Michael?" "He booked a limo from Newark Airport at three... got out at West Fourth Street... tipped the driver a hundred bucks and walked away." " Did you try his apartment?" " He moved." "I know." "It's a loft, there's no doorman." "I rang, nobody answered." " I called." "I got the machine." " So, basically, he could be anywhere." "Arthur downtown is not a good idea." "Some goddamn loft." " Where's his daughter?" " I don't know." "Spain, India." "Mars!" "She's crazier than he'll ever be." "Barry's taking over on U/North." "We got a lot of groveling to do with them." "You didn't exactly charm Karen Crowder, you know?" "I was punting." "You gotta saddle up here, and get things under control." "Saddle up?" "He needs to be under a doctor's care immediately." "He needs to be admitted." " Where?" " Does that really matter?" "Michael, U/North needs to know he's under control." "He's in a facility." "They've been shook up." "They need to be reassured." " It's just not gonna be that easy." " Why the hell not?" "Because the laws in the state of NY are pretty tough on involuntary commitment." "Did you see this fucking tape?" "I'm not arguing with you." "I'm telling you how it is." "You know what, guys?" "We got 600 lawyers in this place." "Let's find out who knows the most about psychiatric commitment statutes?" "I can tell you that right now." "It's Arthur." "I'm at the door." "We're good to go." "Roger that." "Let's keep a radio check every five, okay?" "Every five minutes, copy that." "REALM + CONQUEST BOOK ONE" "Hello, you've reached Arthur's machine." "If you wish to leave a message, please do so after the tone." "Arthur, pick up the phone." "Arthur, pick up the phone and talk to me." "No?" "Not gonna do it?" "What happened yesterday morning, forget it." "It doesn't matter." "Someday you and I are gonna laugh about it, but you gotta call me back." "You gotta call me back soon, Arthur." "I'll tell you what." "Because you said it yourself, part of this is definitely madness... and there's a chemical part to this, and you know it and I know it." "But if you're willing to start with that... then I'm more than willing to meet you halfway and say that... this situation sucks." "This case sucks." "U/North' sucks." "We can start with that." "You hear me?" "I'm saying that you're right about what we are." "You're crazy." "I'm saying that your behavior is out of control... but I'm telling you you're right." "You called it." "We're janitors, I get you." "But we came to this, Arthur." "We made decisions." "It didn't happen overnight." "You can't just suddenly stop and say, "Game over." "I'm into miracles"." "Arthur, come on!" "Pick up the phone and talk to me!" "Because whatever else the hell you think is so important... you better let me help you with this because I'm telling you straight up... janitor to janitor, I don't see anybody else with a broom on the horizon." "It's me, buddy." "I'm the..." "Mailbox is full." "Your message cannot be recorded." "Hello?" "Hello." "Is Anna there?" "Hang on." "Anna!" "Where is she?" "Anna!" "Anna!" "Anna, you've got a phone call!" "Where is she?" "Anna!" "Hello?" "Anna, hi." "It's Arthur." "Did you get some sleep?" "I guess." "Did you think about what we said?" "Yeah." "You didn't tell anybody, did you?" "No." "My sister's spying on me, but that's normal." "Yeah, because I meant what I said." "I know, I know." "It's just... there's like 450 people in this lawsuit." "Why are you choosing me?" "I don't know." "I'm crazy, right?" "That's for sure." "I mean, does it really matter?" "I mean, isn't it what we wait for?" "To meet someone?" "And they're like a lens." "And suddenly you're looking through them and everything changes... and nothing can ever be the same again." "Who you talking to?" "It's for me, okay?" "I get calls, too." "That guy?" "Same guy." "Same guy." "Sorry." "No." "That's okay." "My mother used to listen to my calls." "She can't believe I can do anything on my own." "Well, that'll change." "I guess." "But see, that's something we can show her." "That you can do something." "That we could do that together if you want." "I mean that I can help you do that." "I can get you twelve by Monday." "Twelve's weak." "Twelve looks bad." "How do you figure that?" "They look at 75, they look at you, they're wondering what the problem is." "Now you say twelve." "That's just gonna make people nervous." "Gabe, this was the day before." "Give me some time to get my ducks in order here." "What's the car worth?" "It's lease." "It's the firm's." "So?" "You go to the bank." "You've got the apartment." "You refinance." "I can't." "I did that three months ago." "Are you back at the tables?" "Like I need that kind of action." "I don't have enough going on!" "I hope you're kidding." "If he finds out you're playing cards with his money, there's no dialogue." "Do everyone a favor." "Get out the treasure map and start digging." "You got a week." " Hey, Michael." "How are you?" " Hi, Cindy." "I'm good." "Come in." "He's been on the phone all morning." "What else is new?" "I am trying to get him out of here in 15 minutes." " Is he upstairs?" " Yes, he's taken over the living room." "What are you guys doing?" "Get down here." "Soroyo, keep an eye on these kids, make sure they're downstairs." "Marty?" "You know what he's doing?" "He's making their case." "I'm going through his files here, I'm reading this." "He's building a case against U/North." " Nobody's gonna let him do that." " Let him?" "Who the hell's gonna stop him?" "You know what I just heard?" "He's calling these plaintiffs." "This woman from the deposition, he's calling these people now." "He's got these discovery documents." "This is a fucking nightmare." "I've been trying him all morning." "Can't even leave a message." "He's got the whole machine jammed up." " Is that his briefcase?" " Yes." " Why?" " Because we've been looking for it." "I don't know." "It came up here with all the other stuff from his office." "You can't believe the crap he's got in here." "Listen, Marty..." "I'm in a bind here." "I need a loan." "I need 80 grand." " I thought you were done with all that." " It's nothing like that." "It's not the cards." "It's none of that." "It's the restaurant." "Eighty thousand." "I'm sorry to jump you like this... but I've been trying to get a meeting alone with you for the last two weeks." "And I know about the merger, whether I'm supposed to or not." "There's nothing final on the merger." "Well, that's why I'm asking you now." "You're my meal ticket." "Once you're out then it's me and Barry with a room full of strangers... and I'm trying to explain what the hell it is I do." "Everybody knows how valuable you are." "Everybody who needs to know." "I'm 45 years old and I'm broke." "I've been riding shotgun for 12 years and I got no equity." "I'm sorry, I don't feel reassured." " No one forced you to buy a bar." " I only opened it... so that I'd have something else, I'd have a way out." "I had no idea you were so unhappy." "How many times did I ask you to put me back on a litigation team?" " Hom many times?" " You think that's so special?" " I was good at it." " Wonderful." "So are a lot of people." "At this, what you do, you're great." "For Christ's sake, you got something everybody wants." "You have a niche." "You made a place." "You made a niche for yourself." "And if it's nostalgia, "Boy, you should have seen me when I was a DA in Queens"." "Let me give you a serious piece of advice:" "Leave it there." "God forbid you're not as good as you remember, 'cause I've seen that happen." "But I didn't come here for advice, did I?" "So this is what?" "I give you the loan or you don't help out with Arthur?" "I never said that!" "No?" "Maybe you should have." "I don't know how you're gonna take care of this, but is cancer, or something... we don't get it reined in and cleaned up soon." "Everything's vulnerable." "Everything." " What are you telling me?" " That I'm counting on you." "I'm telling you that by this time next week, Arthur will be under control... and everybody who needs to will have been reminded of your infinite value." "Jesus, Marty!" "When did you get so fucking delicate?" "I'm late." "Why don't you just call Uncle Gene and get the cops to help you?" "It's not that kind of a problem." " How much longer are we doing this?" " I don't know." "If he comes back to get his car, you call that number and let me know." " Thank you very much." " Okay." "You're welcome." "If we're not gonna get to the movie, why don't you just say so?" " What?" " I wanna go home." "Come on, Henry!" "Hold up!" "Stay in the car." "Lock the door." "Arthur!" "Arthur!" "Wait up!" "Michael." "Jeez." "You scared me!" " Making a delivery?" " No, no." "Very funny." "No, nothing like that." "Here, take one, please." "Really, it's still warm." "It's the best bread I ever tasted." "So, welcome home." "I know, the hotel." "I'm sorry." "I was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed." "But you're feeling better now?" " Much better, definitely." " Just not enough to call me back." "Well, I was trying to gather my thoughts... before I called you, and that's what I was doing." "And how's that going?" "It's very good." "I just..." "I just need to make my thoughts a little bit more precise." "That's my goal." "As good as this feels, you know where it goes." "No, you're wrong." "What makes this feel good is that I don't know where it goes." "How do I talk to you, Arthur?" "So you hear me?" "Like a child?" "Like a nut?" "Like everything's fine?" "What's the secret?" "Because I need you to hear me." " Well, I hear everything." " Then hear this." "You need help." "Before this goes too far." "You got great cards here." "If you keep your clothes on, you can do pretty much any goddamn thing you want." "You want out, you're out;" "you wanna bake bread, go with God." "There's only one wrong answer in this whole goddamn pile... and you've got your arms wrapped around it." "Well, I said I was sorry." "You thought the hotel was overwhelming?" "You keep pissing on this case and they're gonna cut you off at the knees." "I don't know what you're talking about." "I'm out there covering for you." "I'm telling them everything's fine." "You're fine." "Everything is gonna be fine." "Everybody is cool." "I'm out there running this "price of genius" story to anybody who'll listen." "I wake up this morning and I hear that you're calling this girl from Wisconsin and you're messing with documents." "How can you know that?" "They're gonna take everything from you." "Your partnership, your equity, they're gonna pull your license." " How do you know I called Anna?" " Marty told me." "Are you denying it?" "How does he know?" "I don't know and I don't give a shit!" " You're tapping my phone." " Jesus, Arthur!" "Then explain it." "Tell me how Marty knows!" "Because you're walking through a parking lot... you're chasing a girl through a parking lot with your dick hanging out." "You think she didn't get off the phone with you and speed-dial her attorney?" "No." "She wouldn't do that." "Really?" "You think that your judgment is state of the art right now?" "They're putting everything on the table." "You need to stop and think this through." "I'll find somebody to help you think this through." "Don't do this." "You're making it easy for them." "Michael, I have great affection for you." "Your life is interesting... but you're a bagman, not an attorney." "If your intention was to have me committed... you should have kept me in Wisconsin, where the arrest report, the videotape... and eyewitness of my behavior would have jurisdictional relevance." "I have no criminal record in the state of New York." "And the single determining criterion... for involuntary incarceration is danger." "Is the defendant a danger to himself or others." "You think you got the horses for that?" "Well, good luck and God bless, but tell you this." "The last place you want to see me is in court." "I'm not your enemy." "Then who are you?" "We find the seed." "We shape the soil." "We speed the harvest." "We feed the planet." "We find the seed." "We shape the soil." "We speed the harvest." "We feed the planet." "What the hell is he doing?" "You've reached the voicemail of Arthur Edens, at Kenner, Bach  Ledeen." "Please leave your message after the tone." "Here we are, all together." "Is everyone listening?" "'Cause this is the moment you've been waiting for." "A special piece of paper." "So, let's have a big, paranoid, malignant round of applause... for United Northfield Culcitate Internal Research Memorandum Number 229." "June 19th, 1991." ""Conclusion." "The unanticipated market growth for Culcitate... by small farms in colder climates... demands immediate cost-benefit analysis"." "Would you guys like a little bit of legal advice?" "Never let a scientist use the words..." ""unanticipated" e "immediate" in the same sentence." "Okay?" "Okay." ""In-house field studies have indicated... that small short-reason farms... dependent on well water for human consumption... are at risk for toxic particulate concentrations at levels... significant enough to cause serious human tissue damage"." "Well, this is a long way of saying that... you don't even have to leave your house to be killed by our product." "We'll pipe it into your kitchen sink." " "Culcitate's great market advantage..." " Give me the phone." "That it is tasteless, colorless and does not precipitate... has the potential to mask and intensify... these potentially lethal exposures"." "Now, I love this." "Not only is this a great product... it is a superb cancer delivery system." ""Chemical modifications of the Culcitate product... the addition of a detector molecule, such as an odorant or colorant... would require a top-down redesign of the Culcitate manufacturing process." "These costs, while assumed to be significant, were not summarized here"." "Which, loosely translated, means." ""It's going to cost a fortune to go back on this and I'm an asshole in a lab." "So could someone else please make the decision?"" ""Clearly, the release of these internal research documents... would compromise the effective marketing of Culcitate... and must be kept within the protective confines... of United-Northfield's trade secret language"." "You don't need me to tell you what that means." "Good-bye." " It seemed to warrant my coming to." " Yes." "You have contain this." "Contain?" "Right." "Well, that's my question:" "What are the options that we're looking at?" "Along those lines." "You're talking about the paper, the data?" "Well, I'm wondering if there is some other option." "I mean something I'm not thinking of?" "We deal in absolutes." "Okay." "I understand that." "I do." "The material, the papers..." "I'm not a lawyer." "We do what we can." "Well, the other way?" "Is the other way." "Maybe you wanna bring Don in on this." "No." "This is nothing to do with Don." "He's busy." "Do you think it's doable?" "Yeah." "We have some good ideas." "You say move, we move." "If the ideas don't look so good, we back off, reassess." "Okay." "Is that "Okay, you understand" or "Okay, proceed?"" "Are you one?" "Are you two?" "Are you three?" "Are you four?" "Are you five?" "Are you six?" "Are you seven?" "Are you eight?" "Are you nine?" "Come on." "Come on." "Come on, I said." "Come on." "Go on, Dad, make a wish." "If I get what I wish for, it'll kill me!" "You're a maniac." "Unbelievable!" "Give me a hand, Eddie." "All right, Eddie." "Now I did not make this myself and I don't wanna hear any complaints." "You have time for cake?" "Yeah, I'll take one to go." "You going in?" " I'm late already." " Shit." "You're not both running out?" "I got a situation." " You can't hang?" " You're going in." " Yeah, I got a shift." " So do I." "Come on, man?" "You haven't been up here in months." "If you go back now, Mickey, Henry's staying here." "Good." "You can drive him home." "Just stay for an hour." "The girls did all this stuff." "He'll be asleep by then." "Timmy's been calling me." "He's afraid to talk to you." "He should be." " It closed out bad, right?" " Is that what he told you?" "The kids are freaking out." "The in-laws are freaking out." "Pammy can't stop crying long enough to start freaking out." " She took him back." " So what?" "Fuck her and the kids?" "No, fuck Timmy." "And nothing's closed, okay?" "I sold everything but the walls and we're still short." "So don't talk to me about Pammy and the kids." "I've got my hands full." "If it was you, he'd be in traction." "Yeah, he's sick, all right?" " He's sick." "It's a sickness." " There's a fresh perspective!" "I've seen a lot of people falling off the wagon lately." "It's going around." "Is that pointed at me?" "When do I see you?" "How do I know what you're up to?" "I haven't bet on a game in over a year." "I haven't been in a card room in ten months." "I gambled on the bar, I bet on Timmy and he wiped me out." "That was my big play, all right?" "I put up my walk-away money and it's gone and I'm scrambling." "Okay, okay." "Cool down, I hear you." "I'd be pissed off, too." "Just hang for an hour." " Okay?" " Yeah." "Ready?" "And lift!" "Ready and go." "Wipe." "You better hit it." "Ready!" "Okay, I found it." "That's his number." "Dr. Mullien." "See if you have any more luck." "If I can." "As soon as I get a chance." "They're just running us in circles with this." "I can pull..." "Let him go." "He's got a date." "I've got a date with a maniac attorney." " Take a night off, Mickey." " You look tired." " I'm okay." "See you soon." " Be good." "All right." "Bye." "Bye, Pop." " Uncle Timmy, hey!" " How you doing, Henry?" "Henry, get in the car." "Good to see you, Hen." " What do you want?" " I've been sober eight days now." "Been back at the meetings." "I wanted you to know." "In front of the kid?" "Mickey, please." "I know how bad I did, I swear." "I don't know how to make it right." "It's all I think about." "What do I do?" "I don't know what to do." "Get Stephanie her tires back." " Is he crying?" " I don't know." "Because of drugs, right?" "That and everything else." "What?" "Your Uncle Timmy... and I mean this, on his best day, was never as tough as you." "I'm not talking about crying or the drugs or anything." "I'm talking about in his heart, you understand me?" "And all his charming bullshit, this Big Tim, Uncle, Boss." "And I know you love him, and I know why." "But when you see him like that... you don't have to worry, because that's not how it's gonna be for you." "You're not gonna be one of these people that goes through life... wondering why shit keeps falling out of the sky around them." "I know that." "I know it." "Okay?" "I see it every time I look at you." "I see it right now." "I don't know where you got it from, but you got it." "Okay?" "The neighbors came by." "They're renovating the loft downstairs." "They had water flooding from his bathroom down to their place." "His front door, fire escape, he had everything locked up pretty good." "It took our guys ten minutes." "They had to knock the thing down." "There's pills all over the place." "Just the scene alone is pretty definitive for suicide." "Then I spoke to some of your partners... who ran down these problems he'd been having lately, so." " Is there a note?" " No." "They looked." "It could be an accident or he was gonna write a note and just messed up." "Can I get in there?" "His place?" "Not now." "It's sealed." "Once the seal goes up, it's frozen." "We're gonna try and reach his daughter." "I guess she's off in Europe, but she's got to come in." "Or the M.E.'s got to come back with a toxicology report." "That's a couple of weeks at least that it's got to stay like that." "Sorry." "Sure." "Okay." "I know your brother." "My wife works the 190 out in Queens." "I'll tell him hello." "If something comes in, I'll get back to you." "Yeah." "I appreciate it." "Sorry for your loss." "Michael." "Jeff." "This is tough." "Yeah." "He in here?" "Dumb son-of-a-bitch!" "What a thing." " I'm so sorry." " Yeah, all right." "I didn't even get a chance to talk to him." "That crazy goddam bastard!" "What a waste." "What the hell was he thinking?" "Marty?" "I got to set this up." "Go, go." "You okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine." "Come on, let's get you a drink." "I just keep replaying all this back." "Like, did I push him too hard?" "Not a chance!" "I just couldn't get through to him, I couldn't." "What?" "You scared him to death?" "Come on, the man was a bull." "Never happened." "Why does he fold, then?" "Why does he?" "It's got to be an accident." "No." "Arthur without a note?" "He couldn't take a piss without leaving a memo." "It has to be an accident." "I don't get that." "I don't understand that either, though." "One minute he's pumped up, he's gonna take on the whole world... and then twelve hours later, he's sucking down pills." "Why?" "Why?" "Because people fucking incomprehensible." "Why?" "Thirty years I know Arthur." "Good years." "And what I feel right now, if I'm honest?" "I can't even say, it's so awful." "You can say it." "We caught a lucky break." "We did, didn't we?" "Marty?" "We need to get up to the office." "They accepted?" "In princ-ple." "Don Jeffries wants us on the phone in half an hour." "I tried to explain about Arthur, but they're a little short on sympathy." "A U/North is settling?" "They see a window." "They wanna try." "What are we gonna do?" "You did what you could, Michael." "We all did." "It's what we got." " You need a ride?" " No, thanks." "Hello." "I'm looking for Anna Kysersun." "Who is this?" "Michael Clayton, attorney in New York." "I got your number from Arthur." "You have got some nerve!" "Excuse me?" "You get her all the way out to New York City and then leave her at the airport?" "This is a girl who's never been farther away home than Milwaukee." " Wait a minute." " No, you wait." "She's coming home tomorrow." "And if you call here again, I'm warning you..." "Are you telling me she's in New York right now?" "This is a young girl, do you hear me?" "She's in the city right now?" "What kind of people are you?" "All right, you just stay on the phone one a second." "Anna?" "My name's Michael Clayton, I'm a friend of Arthur's." "I spoke with your sister." "She told me you were here." "Please, open the door." "What are you thinking?" "I don't know." "I'll watch the door." "You check his car." "Let's get some details." "He didn't want to say exactly what it was." "Just that when I got there, he would pick me up... and show me, and I would see... that is was something that would win the whole case." "Even this morning..." "I mean, I thought:" ""If I get to the airport and the ticket's not there, I'll know." "You're stupid, and you can go home now"." "But it was there and he paid, like 800 dollars... for a first-class ticket." "And I just..." "I got on the plane." "I believe him." "You think maybe he was in some way disappointed?" "Let's say that he knew that you told somebody else about all of this... and, I don't know, in some crazy way, he was disappointed by that?" " But I didn't." " You must have told somebody else." "No." "He made me promise." "You didn't tell anybody else about this?" "Not one other person?" "No." "He really was crazy, wasn't he?" "190 PRECINT" " You talking about this?" " Let me see." " You know what that is?" " Yeah." "You said a favor." "That's more than a favor." "Nobody's gonna know where it came from." " Are you that jammed up?" " What are you talking about?" "Who asked for this?" "It's the restaurant, right?" "One of these guys you owe?" ""Get me a seal"." "You really wanna know?" "This just gets better and better." "What are we doing?" "BESTYPES COPIES" " BINDING C.O.D. LESS 10º% DEPOSIT" "Freeze!" "Right there, asshole!" "Don't move!" "It's all right, I'm a friend." "Get your hands up!" "Get your hands up, now!" " What's in your hand?" " It's a book." "Drop it!" "Drop it, now!" "Turn around." "Slowly." "All right." "Okay." " Who else is here?" " Nobody." " I said who else is here?" " Nobody's here!" "Check in there." "You move, I'll take your head off." "Now I owe this scumbag and his wife... who's a piece of shit in my unit, I owe them both my balls for this." " I'm sorry." " "Nobody's gonna know it's me"." "You know what happens they don't bury this, that I gave you this thing?" "I know it's bad." "I'm 18 months away from my 20." "You just put my pension in jeopardy." " You made your point." " It's not a point, Mickey!" " Who called 911?" " What?" "The building was empty." "I wasn't there very long." "Who called it in?" "Does that make sense to you, this happening like?" "This is never happened." "You got all these cops thinking you're a lawyer... and you got all these lawyers thinking you're some kind of cop." "You got everybody fooled, don't you?" "Everybody but you." "You know exactly what you are." "We tried calling you like six times." "But your machine must be busted." "We gave it our best shot." "We ran out of red covers." "We only had 2000 in stock." "So we did the other thousand in blue." "U/NORTH, CULCITATE, INTERNAL MEMORANDUM 229" "Is everything all right?" "It's fine, yeah." "You have a van or something?" "Because I have 25 boxes back there..." "Do me a favor, hang on to them." "I'll come back and pick everything up next week, okay?" "Seriously?" "Thanks, man." "Don!" "You go ahead." "I'll catch up to you." "What?" "Do you know Michael Clayton?" "Yeah, why?" "We have a situation." " Did they find you?" " Who?" "Marty." "I don't think they've gone in yet." "Marty." "There's way too much going on for your phone to be off." " I need a minute." " We're late now, so." "We never got to finish last night." "What did you do, close the place?" "You look like hell." " I left right after you left." " Lf you say so..." "We've been here all night." "We had to make an announcement." "Jean!" "I need the thing..." "the envelope." "I wanted your input." "I couldn't get you." "I had to pull the trigger." "I put Bob Nast and Kim." "Probably a mistake." "They're gonna try a memorial service by the end of the week." "I told them to call you if they need any help, okay?" "No, no." "The other one, the other one." "So we cut you a check this morning." "There's some strings attached." "And Barry... there's no way around this, Barry's gonna have to be involved." "What if Arthur was on to something?" "What do you mean?" "On to what?" "U/North." "What if he wasn't crazy?" "What if he was right?" "That we're on the wrong side?" "Wrong side, wrong way, everything, all of it." "This is news!" "This case reeked from day one." "15 years in, I got to tell you how we pay the rent?" "But what would they do?" "What would they do if he went public?" "What would they do?" "They're doing it." "We don't straighten this settlement out in the next 24 hours... they're gonna withhold nine million dollars in fees." "They'll pull out the video of Arthur doing his flashdance in Milwaukee." "They're gonna sue us for legal malpractice." "Except they won't win 'cause the merger with London will be dead... and we'll be selling off the goddamn furniture." "That's $80,000." "We're calling it a bonus." "You got a three-year contract." "That's assuming this all works out." "You're doing this now?" "I agreed to this." "But there's rules now." "You want the contract, you're signing a confidentiality agreement." "It's gonna be bulletproof and it's gonna be retroactive." "But with everything you know about this place... and the clients here and the people who work here... it makes it a little weird when you come in adn ask for $80 grand." "If I was gonna shake anybody down, I'd come directly to you." "And it wouldn't be for $80 grand." "Is this him, or is this you?" " Lf I'm wrong, I apologize." " You're way the fuck wrong." "So there you go." "Enough, okay?" "He's an asshole, but he knows it." "And you're on the record." "Everybody happy?" " Don Jeffries is here." " We're on the way." "Call Bob Nast." "Just see if they need help with this thing." "You're welcome!" "You said $12, this is $75." "Don't get too excited." "You want a drink?" "No." "I'm working." "So, we're square, then." "No bad blood." "Just doing your job." "That's right." "Take it easy, Gabe." "Michael." "Check." "Check." "Check." "Half the pot. $200." "Two hundred to go." "So what happened with the bar?" "You just had to be a rock star." "What are you doing?" "You just got here." "Guy plays nine hands, walk away." "I scare you away?" "What did I do?" "Did I scare you away?" "Get out." "Get out of the car now." "Walter?" "Michael." "Thank God you're there." "You have eight... six... five... four... three..." "Get out of the car." "Tell him to stay off the phone." "Yeah, but you're on it, right?" "Am I clean?" "Just keep walking." "You copy?" "Am I clean?" "Just keep moving." "He's walking to the car." "Just to let him know you're on the way, Then I'll get back to you with details." " Just give me like two minutes." " All right." "I'll be in the car." "I didn't finish." "It's in, but I don't know." "It's loose." "I got a pulse." "He's up there somewhere, but..." "Let's find a way to boost the signal." " I don't know what Walter promisd you." " A miracle worker!" "Walter on the phone, 20 minutes ago, direct quote." ""Hang tight." "I'm sending you a miracle worker"." " Well, he misspoke." " About what?" "About the fact that you're the firm's fixer?" "Or that you're any good at it?" "We're up." "Just got a signal." "There's nothing back this way." "What's he doing?" "Maybe he's lost." " Wait a minute." " That's him." "He was alone, right?" " Yeah, I think so." " Call it, yes or no?" "We got to turn around." "Talk to me." "Now it's strobing." "No, we're good." "I think we're good." "Just keep going." "Now he turned." "Somehow he turned." "Where?" " He took a left." " I don't have a left." "East." "He's southeast." " So we missed it?" " Or the grid is wrong." "All right, hang on." "We got to go back to one." "Where's our one?" "Half a mile straight ahead." "Just keep driving." "Just go." "It says we're closing." "We're green, but that's west." "It cant' be west." "Is the signal or the grid?" " Both." "It's just keeps dropping out." " Damn it!" "Give me the cell." "Our signal's good." "What?" "Thanks, Mickey." "Just get me out of here." "I wanna get a meeting scheduled on this, soon." "I think Thursday at the latest." "We should have someone from the equity group there." "McDonnell, maybe." "Did you hear?" " They closed U/North." " No, Michael Clayton." "What?" "Car bomb." "Upstate." "This morning." "He was killed." "What?" "Holy shit!" "It has been and it remains the U/North position... that this lawsuit is baseless and without merit." "And reinforced by the plaintiffs demand for settlement... in excess of three billion dollars." "The reason that we are all here today is... that several key elements in the case have changed." "You all have a tentative proposal packet... which outlines the details, but the bottom lines is this... over the past several months we had gotten word... that the plaintiffs were growing impatient... and were in the process of revising their settlement numbers." "We also learned that the plaintiffs attorneys... fees were capped at 32º... up to $400 million dollars." "Above which, their fees dropped to 24%." "So we knew that there would be this motivational dead zone for them... in the middle there." "Finally... our finance team informed us that they had run the numbers... and that the tax benefit... provided that we bring the settlement in under 600 million... and within this fiscal year... that the write-off on this settlement would essentially pay for itself." "The package that you have before you represents, in my judgment... the strongest possible position for our company, under the circumstances." "And, as Chief Counsel... it is my recommendation that this proposal be confirmed." "Thank you, Karen." "If you just give us a few minutes to talk about it." "Certainly." "I'll be right outside." "Well..." "How'd it go in there?" "Pretty freaky?" "Did you see Arthur?" "He's wandering around here somewhere." "I'm kidding." "Lighten up." "You got one of these?" "It's a great memo." "It's an oldie but a goodie." "I got your heart racing, don't I?" "I don't know what the hell it is you think you're doing." "What do you think I'm doing?" "The suit's over." "We have a deal." "Whatever that is, it's meaningless at this point." "You think?" "I must have gotten it wrong." "I thought you had a tentative proposal." "I didn't realize you'd signed all those checks." "That's a drag." "I got much of these things." "What am I gonna do with them?" "I'm calling Marty." "Good, do it." "That's a great place to start." "Let's find out who told him that Arthur was calling Anna Kysersun." "Let's find out who tapped those phones." "This memorandum, even if it's authentic, which I doubt, I highly doubt..." " I know what you did to Arthur." " It's protected." "It belongs to U/North." "I know you killed him." "It's a cut-and-dried case of attorney-client privilege." "That's just not the way to go here, Karen." "For such a smart person, you really are lost, aren't you?" "This conversation is over." "I'm not the guy that you kill, I'm the guy that you buy!" "Are you so blind you don't even see what I am?" "I'm the easiest part of your whole problem and you're gonna kill me?" "Don't you know who I am?" "I'm a fixer." "I'm a bagman..." "I do everything from shoplifting housewives to bent congressmen." "And you're gonna kill me?" "What do you need, Karen?" "Lay it on me!" "You want a carry permit or a heads-up on an insider trading subpoena?" "I sold out Arthur for 80000 and a three year contract and you're gonna kill me?" "What do you want?" "What do I want?" "I want more." "I want out." "And with this, I want everything." "Is there a number?" "Ten is a number." "Ten?" "Ten what?" "Ten million?" "Where do you think I'm gonna get ten million dollars?" "You know what's great about this?" "Did you read it all the way to the end?" "You see who signed it?" "Let's go into that ballroom and ask Don Jeffries... if he wants to pass the hat for a worthy cause." "This would have to be a longer conversation... and it would have to take place somewhere else." "Where?" "My car?" "All right." "I'm gonna make it easy." "Let's make it five." "Five and I'll forget about Arthur." "Five is easier." "Yeah, five is something that we could talk about." "Good." "And then the other five is to forget about the 468 people... that you knocked off with your weed killer!" "Let me finish up this meeting." "I'll talk to Don." "Do I look like I'm negotiating?" "Karen?" " One second." " Everything okay?" "Yes." "Ten million dollars." "Bank of my choosing." "Offshore." "Immediately!" " Yes." " Say it!" "Ten million dollars, your account, the moment this meeting is through." " Karen!" "Everyone's waiting." " I'm coming, Don." "You have a deal." "You're so fucked." "What?" " You're fucked." " What do you mean?" "Take a wild guess!" " Is there a problem?" " I don't understand." "Let me get a picture while I'm at it." " You don't want the money?" " You keep the money." "You'll need it." "Is this fellow bothering you?" "Am I bothering you?" "I've got a whole board waiting." "What the hell's going on?" "Who are you?" "I'm Shiva, the god of death." "Ron!" "Ronny, I need security out here immediately!" "Here we go." "That guy right there, stop him." "Grab thay guy." "What are you doing?" "We're detectives with NY." "Come with us and we'll explain everything." "Check on her." "Make sure she doesn't need any medical attention." "You guys go into the ballroom." "Nobody leaves." "You guys cover every exit in the back." "Will you please explain to me what's going on here?" "Did you get all that?" "Yeah." "Got it." " You okay?" " Yeah, just got to get some air." "Sure." " Just... stay close, okay?" " Okay." "So, what are we doing?" "Give me 50 dollars worth." "Just drive."