The Firm (57 page)

“No,” she answered shortly.

It rang a fourth time.

“And why not?” he demanded.

She ignored him. After the fifth ring, Wally threw down his newspaper, jumped to his feet, and headed for a phone on the wall near the copier. “I wouldn’t get that if I were you,” Ms. Gibson said.

He stopped. “And why not?”

“It’s a bill collector.”

“How do you know?” Wally stared at the phone. Caller ID revealed “NAME UNKNOWN.”

“I just do. He calls this time every week.”

The phone went silent, and Wally returned to the table and his newspaper. He hid behind it, wondering which bill had not been paid, which supplier was irritated enough to call a law office and put the squeeze on lawyers. Rochelle knew, of course, because she kept the books and knew almost everything, but he preferred not to ask her. If he did, then they would soon be bickering over the bills and unpaid fees and lack of money in general, and this could easily spiral down into a heated discussion about overall strategies of the firm, its future, and the shortcomings of its partners.

Neither wanted this.

Abner took great pride in his Bloody Marys. He used precise amounts of tomato juice, vodka, horseradish, lemon, lime, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, Tabasco, and salt. He always added two green olives, then finished it with a stalk of celery.

It had been a long time since David had enjoyed such a fine breakfast. After two of Abner’s creations, consumed rapidly, he was grinning goofily and proud of his decision to chuck it all. The drunk at the end of the bar was snoring. There were no other customers. Abner was a man about his business, washing and drying cocktail glasses, taking inventory of his booze, and fiddling with the beer taps while offering commentary on a wide variety of subjects.

David’s phone finally rang. It was his secretary, Lana. “Oh, boy,” he said.

“Who is it?” Abner asked.

“The office.”

“A man’s entitled to breakfast, isn’t he?”

David grinned again and said, “Hello.”

Lana said, “David, where are you? It’s eight thirty.”

“I have a watch, dear. I’m having breakfast.”

“Are you okay? Word’s out that you were last seen diving back into an elevator.”

“Just a rumor, dear, just a rumor.”

“Good. What time will you be in? Roy Barton has already called.”

“Let me finish breakfast, okay?”

“Sure. Just keep in touch.”

David put down his phone, sucked hard on the straw, then announced, “I’ll have another.” Abner frowned and said, “You might want to pace yourself.”

“I am pacing myself.”

“Okay.” Abner pulled down a clean glass and started mixing. “I take it you’re not going to the office today.”

“I am not. I quit. I’m walking away.”

“What type of office?”

“Law. Rogan Rothberg. You know the outfit?”

“Heard of it. Big firm, right?”

“Six hundred lawyers here in the Chicago office. Couple of thousand around the world. Currently in third place when it comes to size, fifth place in hours billed per lawyer, fourth place when looking at net profits per partner, second place when comparing associates’ salaries, and, without question, first place when counting assholes per square foot.”

“Sorry I asked.”

David picked up his phone and asked, “You see this phone?”

“You think I’m blind?”

“This thing has ruled my life for the past five years. Can’t go anywhere without it. Firm policy. It stays with me at all times. It’s interrupted nice dinners in restaurants. It’s dragged me out of the shower. It’s woken me up at all hours of the night. On one occasion it’s interrupted sex with my poor neglected wife. I was at a Cubs game last summer, great seats, me and two buddies from college, top of the second inning, and this thing starts vibrating. It was Roy Barton. Have I told you about Roy Barton?”

“Not yet.”

“My supervising partner, a pernicious little bastard. Forty years old, warped ego, God’s gift to the legal profession. Makes a million bucks a year but he’ll never make enough. Works fifteen hours a day, seven days a week, because at Rogan Rothberg all Big Men work nonstop. And Roy fancies himself a really Big Man.”

“Nice guy, huh?”

“I hate him. I hope I never see his face again.”

Abner slid the third Bloody Mary across the counter and said, “Looks like you’re on the right track, pal. Cheers.”

Read on for bonus content on the new NBC series,
The Firm:

An Introduction to the NBC Series

Script Pages from Episode One

It may not have happened exactly this way, but this is how I remember it:

I was standing in a rundown building in Far Rockaway, Queens, in an area overseen by the NYPD’s 101 Precinct in New York. I was a young prosecutor—a member of the Homicide Investigations Bureau of the Queens County District Attorney’s Office. At that moment, I was working with the police to investigate the shooting death of a young boy when it occurred to me that it might be nice to have a job with better hours and where all the homicides were fictional.

Not long after, I made the transition to writing and producing TV. And while the hours aren’t much better, the good news is all the murder victims are acting. For over a decade now, I’ve been working on mostly legal dramas, and more recently on developing shows of my own.

All of which is to say, I spend a lot of time thinking about legal stories, especially the great ones of our time. And THE FIRM has always been at the top of my list. Like so many others, I was completely swept up by the story of Mitch and Abby McDeere—first in the novel and then in the film, both of which I very much love.

I’ve said before that lawyers and writers have one critical trait in common—the ability to think about the same thing for an
irrational
amount of time. And so, once THE FIRM got into my head, it stayed there. I wondered why John Grisham had never continued his story—never told us more about Mitch and Abby, something fans like me have hoped for from the minute we finished the last page of the novel.

I started to have thoughts about how the story might continue. I suppose I wasn’t intimidated by the prospect because it was just me and, anyway, I was just thinking. But the more I considered it, the more I got excited by the creative direction a new chapter of their story could take. So I took a shot.

My terrific agent, Peter Micelli, set up a meeting with David Gernert, Mr. Grisham’s agent in New York. And one afternoon in September 2008, David and I sat

down to talk about my hope that Mr. Grisham might continue the story of Mitch McDeere and his family as a television series. David generously agreed to pass on my thoughts to Mr. Grisham. And just days later, he called to say that Mr. Grisham was interested enough to want to know more.

That’s how it started. And now, three years later, with Mr. Grisham’s help as an Executive Producer, our series is ready to go.

Those who know THE FIRM may remember that the ending of the novel is quite different from the ending of the movie. Our series picks up where the movie left off, assuming that Mitch and Abby return to Boston, having helped the Feds take down Bendini, Lambert & Locke without incurring the wrath of the Morolto Mob.

As our first episode reveals, however, Mitch was not as free and clear as he was initially led to believe. Mitch and Abby soon find themselves the focus of the Mob’s desire for revenge. And while Mitch’s initial instinct is to run—staying true to his independent spirit—a new discovery makes running untenable. Mitch and Abby make the agonizing but necessary decision to join Witness Protection.

That backstory sets the table for our show. When we begin, Mitch and Abby have come out of Witness Protection, deciding to leave the program. Joey Morolto, Sr.,has died in prison, so they believe the past is behind them and it’s finally time to reclaim their lives and their future. But Grisham fans will be glad to know that past dangers are still lurking and new threats are everywhere.

THE FIRM is an action drama, a legal thriller, and at its core, the story of a family—an extremely intelligent and resourceful family that cares about Good winning out in the end and will stop at nothing to protect one another. Ray McDeere, Mitch’s older brother, and the eccentric Tammy Hemphill are also big parts of the ride.

I hope you enjoy this sneak peek at the first pages of our premiere episode. My thanks to John Grisham for all his help and generosity in telling this new story and letting me be part of it.

—Lukas Reiter
December 8, 2011

Entertainment One

THE
FIRM

Episode 1:

“A New Beginning”

Written by
Lukas Reiter

Based on Characters From the Novel “THE FIRM” by:

John Grisham

08/18/11 PRODUCTION DRAFT

All rights reserved. Copyright © 2011 Entertainment One. No portion of this script may be performed, published, reproduced, sold, or distributed by any means or quoted or published in any medium, including on any website, without the prior written consent of Entertainment One. Disposal of this script copy does not alter any of the restrictions set forth above.

THE FIRM

Episode 1: “A New Beginning”

ACT ONE

OVER BLACK:

We HEAR a man GASPING for air. As he desperately fights for oxygen, we suddenly:

SMASH CLOSE ON:

TWO WINGTIPS. A pair of black, expensive shoes hit the pavement, one after another. These shoes weren’t made for running and neither was the:

BUSINESS SUIT the man is wearing. But he’s quick, strong, athletic. From above, we REVEAL:

1 EXT. 23RD STREET - WASHINGTON D.C. – DAY 1

The man clutches a BRIEFCASE as he blows past the people around him. At top speed, he approaches the:

2 EXT. LINCOLN MEMORIAL - CONTINUOUS 2

It’s crowded. Visitors snap photos. A GUIDE leads some TEENAGERS on a tour. As the man leaps down the steps, he COLLIDES with the Guide, sending both men flying. A few pages from the briefcase scatter.

The man scrambles to his knees. And now, the CAMERA ZOOMS IN for our CLOSE introduction to MITCHELL McDEERE, mid-thirties. He’s sweating, intense, afraid.

ANGLE MITCH’S POV: in the distance, we can see TWO MEN IN DARK SUITS following. He should abandon his briefcase, but he doesn’t. At great risk, he takes precious seconds to snatch up the pages. Then, moving quickly:

3 EXT. REFLECTING POOL - CONTINUOUS 3

Mitch races down the grass along the large reflecting pool. The Two Men are close behind. And then, Mitch sees a THIRD MAN approaching from the FRONT.

Mitch stops cold. He has nowhere to go. Finally, with no other option, he goes ACROSS THE REFLECTING POOL. He wades across, knee-deep in the icy water. The Three Men don’t follow. Instead, they circle around the perimeter.

4 EXT. WASHINGTON D.C. STREET - MOMENTS LATER 4

We FIND Mitch as he reaches a nearby street. Without stopping, he spots a PICK-UP TRUCK as it passes. Mitch hurls himself into the open bed of the truck, landing inside with a thud. The truck drives on, allowing Mitch to get away. OFF the Three Men, watching him go, we:

CUT TO:

5 EXT. D.C. GAS STATION - DAY 5

On the cut, Mitch enters an old-school PHONE BOOTH. He’s soaked from the knees down. He throws a few COINS in the slot and dials quickly. We INTERCUT:

6 EXT. WASHINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL - THAT MOMENT 6

ABBY McDEERE, mid-thirties, answers. She’s in a great mood. She walks toward the school, dressed for work.

ABBY

Abby McDeere.

MITCH

Abby–

ABBY

Mitch? Hey. What number are you calling me from?

MITCH

Abby
. We are in a Code Red. You need to get out of there. We are in a Code Red–

ABBY

What? Why?

MITCH

I can’t explain. They might be listening.

ABBY

Who’s listening? What are you talking about–

MITCH

Baby, please. I’ll explain later, I promise. But right now, I need you to lose your phone and follow the emergency plan. You remember what we said?

ABBY

Yes. You want me to go–

MITCH