Chereads / LAWYERUP / Chapter 6 - FIVE-O

Chapter 6 - FIVE-O

The police officers who met Mike at his house are from Philadelphia.

ABBASI-:Don't know why we had to do it this way...Coulda been friendly and talked at your house. You really want the formal treatment?

MIKE-:Lawyer.

SANDERS-:Come on, Mike. We got a couple questions, is all. Ain't nothin'but a thing MIKE-:Lawyer.

ABBASI-:You're not under arrest. Anyone here say "arrest?" No. You wanna walk, walk... But I gotta say, I expected more cooperation from you on this. Cop to cop

MIKE-:Lawyer.

ABBASI-:Fine. What lawyer?

Mike reaches into his pocket and slides a familiar blue business card across the table. It lands in a nice CLOSE UP on our hero's new catchphrase: "Need a will? Call McGill! .In police hallway .Our very own JIMMY MCGILL, a take-out cup of COFFEE in his hand and a bounce in his step. Sure, doing wills for little old ladies is paying the bills of late... but this particular client call promises to be juicy! Jimmy (who is a familiar face here) calls out to the nearest APD UNIFORM.

JIMMY-:Ehrmantraut. Who's got him, and where?

The uniform cop points to... Sanders and Abbasi, who stand cooling their heels outside the door to the interview room.

JIMMY-:How you fellas doing? James McGill. Here to see my client.

SANDERS-:You look like Matlock

JIMMY-:No, I look like a young Paul Newman, dressed as Matlock. So where's my guy..?

SANDERS-:Say hi to Don Knotts.

JIMMY-:Wrong show -- but thanks for playing !

Jimmy waits for the door to CLUNK closed.

JIMMY-:What, the Mayor didn't give you enough stickers?Are you gonna tell me what we're doing here?Here's your coffee. Hope it's good to the last drop, 'cause I'm billing you the full hour for it.

MIKE-:Coffee's not for me, it's for you.

JIMMY-:Aw. Thoughtful!Seriously..? So why'd you make me bring it to you?

MIKE-:Here's what's going to happen. Those two cops out there are from Philadelphia. They've come a long way to see me. When they come in, we're all going to have a chat. And after it's over, the young one, the one who's gonna be writing everything down in his little notepad... he's gonna put that notepad back in his jacket. And when he does, you're gonna spill that coffee on him. A little accident, that's all

JIMMY-:Uh... and why, pray tell, would I do that? MIKE-:Because I'm asking you to.It's the only reason you're here.

JIMMY-:I'm here because you want me to assault a police officer.

MIKE-:I want you to spill a few ounces of lukewarm coffee on him. I very much doubt that satisfies the definition of "assault," but hey, you're the lawyer.I hate to say "you owe me one," but you do. That assist I gave you with your missing persons problem..? (shrugs)One good turn, and so forth.

JIMMY-:You want a good turn? Here's your good turn: I'm gonna behave like an honest-to-God, law-abiding, licensed attorney. 'Cause clearly you need one, with whatever the hell is going on here. Those jokers out in the hall? I'm gonna make sure they dot their I's and cross their T's -- everything square and above board. That's what I'm gonna do. And you'll be happy as hell that I'm here. But this, this Juan Valdez bump-and-dump? No. Way. Not gonna happen.

Jimmy knocks, signaling to the detectives outside. JIMMY-:Gentlemen! We're prepared to indulge you In the interrogation,

ABBASI-:Okay. You've got your lawyer, Mike. Can we talk already?Great. So, like we said, we're looking into this Hoffman and Fensky thing

SANDERS-:Whatever you can tell us. Anything at all JIMMY-:Hold on, hold on. "Hoffman?" "Fensky?" Fill me in. Assume I know absolutely nothing about my client here. Start at the beginning. ABBASI-:Jesus.Seriously?

JIMMY-:Look, don't be fooled by Mr. Ehrmantraut's dancing eyes and his bubbly, bon vivant personality. He's actually -- believe it or not -- somewhat taciturn.Should I fan you gently so you don't go into shock?Start at the beginning, fellas. I'm talking Book of Genesis.

ABBASI-:Okay, Mr. McGill. As you've probably gathered, we work for the Philadelphia Police Department. As did Mr. Ehrmantraut for nearly thirty years.

JIMMY-:Philadelphia.Go Eagles.

ABBASI-:Mr. Ehrmantraut had a son, Matt. He too was with Philly PD. He was a rookie officer with about two years on the job.

SANDERS-:He was a good cop.

ABBASI-:Yes, he was. About nine months ago, he responded to a shots fired call in some westside rat trap. Matt went in with his partner, Officer Troy Hoffman. They had Sergeant Jack Fensky backing them up. Unfortunately, things got out of hand. The three of them were ambushed. And Matt didn't make it out.Anyway, we kept beating the bushes, kept coming up dry. Until three months ago. That's when Hoffman and Fensky both turned up dead in a vacant lot out in Nicetown. Again, ambush of some kind, looks like. And with whoever killed Matt out there in the wind, we're thinking... Well, our operating theory is that maybe Hoffman and Fensky were mixed up in something. Some bad business. And maybe that got Matt killed.

JIMMY-:Sorry, I gotta do my lawyer thing here. What does my client have to do with any of this..? SANDERS-:Mike, this is a Hail Mary. Beyondthat. But we wouldn't be out here if we had any hard evidence or leads. Anything you know about what Hoffman and Fensky were into. Anything about them at all. ABBASI-:Help us out, Mike. Help us catch the bastard who killed Matty

MIKE-:I don't know much about Hoffman and Fensky. They were Matt's people. I saw them around sometimes.Saw them in a bar the night they died. McClure's? Maybe The Red Dog. Probably McClure's ABBASI-:Were they drinking with anyone? MIKE-:It's a cop bar. They were drinking with everyone. ABBASI-:When'd you come out here to Albuquerque..? Couldn't have been much later. MIKE-:I'm pretty sure it was the very next day .

ABBASI-:Yeah..? The day after Hoffman and Fensky died? Huh You didn't think to stick around once you heard the news?

MIKE-:I don't think I heard the news till I was west of Kansas City.

ABBASI-:Still, you... you didn't come back for the funerals, correct? Even though Hoffman was Matt's partner..?

SANDERS-:Is there anything else you remember about that night at the bar? You talk to Hoffman and Fensky at all.

MIKE-:Sorry. I got nothing. Like I say: they weren't my people

JIMMY-:That it? We done here?I think we're done here.

SANDERS-:See, that wasn't so hard. Thanks, Mike.We'll probably kick around for another day or two, in case you think of anything. I've never been out west before .

Jimmy moves to end the interrogation and spills his coffee on Abbasi.

ABBASI-:Ah, shit!

JIMMY-:Aw, jeez. Sorry! I'm so sorry... Ah, dammit.You guys got any paper towels?

Mike pretends to help Abbasi clean his jacket and steals the notebook from his breast pocket.Jimmy and Mike walk into parking lot. Both deep in thought, but for different reasons

MIKE-:Something on your mind..?

JIMMY-:Nope

Inside the car Mike takes out the stolen NOTEPAD.He pages through it.

JIMMY-:Oh for the love of --! You gotta do that now? Right in front of me?What's so important in there we had to pull that third-rate MarxBrothers routine?

MIKE-:You really want to know?

JIMMY-:And get a piece of an obstruction rap? No, thank you .

MIKE-:Something else you want to ask? JIMMY-:How'd you know? That I'd do it?I'd spill the coffee What the hell is that?What's that supposed to mean.Fine, whatever. You're the strong silent type, hurray for you.But in case you missed it back there... Your friends from Philly think you killed two cops. MIKE-:Yep.

At home, Mike discovers from the notebook that Stacey summoned the detectives to Albuquerque. She tells Mike that after she arrived in Albuquerque, she discovered several thousand dollars hidden in the lining of one of her suitcases. She decided to report it, hoping it would lead to the identification of Matt's killer. She suggests that she believes Matt might have been dirty,

In a flashback to Philadelphia, Mike breaks into a police car parked outside a bar. He then enters the bar, and after a few drinks, confronts Fenske and Hoffman, telling them "I know it was you". A few hours later, Mike is the last customer at closing time, and announces to the bartender that he plans to move to Albuquerque. As he staggers home, Fenske and Hoffman drive up in their patrol car,

HOFFMAN-:Hey Mike!Wanna ride?

FENSKY-:Come on. Let us drive ya. It's colder than my ex-wife's tit out here.

MIKE-:'M good. Just walkin

HOFFMAN-:Don't be an ass. Get in the car. FENSKY-:Yeah, c'mon already. Help him into the back seat. They take his handgun

MIKE-:What're you..?Hey, that's... Gimme that back FENSKY-:Later. Don't want you shooting your foot off, do we ?Mike... Mike, you with us?

MIKE-:(rousing)Wha --?

HOFFMAN-:You tied one on good, buddy FENSKY-:Shit yeah, he did. Put it away like they're fixin' to bring back Prohibition. Hey, back at McClure's, you were talking out your ass. "You know it was us..."What's that supposed to mean, huh? You think you know -- what?

MIKE-:You killed him. Killed Matty.Killed him... for nothing. Just because you were scared. Of what you thought he might do.You got him in that crack house. Staged it. Made it look like some junkie with a gun. But it was you.I know it was you. And I'm gonna prove it.

FENSKY-:Now,Mike. We're gonna work all this out. Okay?

They drive to an abandoned factory. Fenske and Hoffman plan to kill Mike and make it look like suicide,

HOFFMAN-:So, what now?

FENSKY-:Hey. Grief. It's a bitch .He couldn't live with it. Matt dying like he did. Too much for the old man. So Mike here decided to eat his gun.It's tragic, but anyone could see it coming. He was drinking himself to death. We're doing him a favor.

MIKE-:Smart.

Mike reveals that he's not really drunk.

MIKE-:That's what I'd do. If I were you.

Fenske attempts to shoot him, but the gun Fenske took from Mike is empty. Mike shoots Fenske three times using the pistol he hid in the backseat earlier and retrieved while pretending to be drunk. Hoffman tries to draw his pistol, but Mike's shot hits him in the head. Fenske then draws his service pistol and fires twice, with one round hitting Mike in the left shoulder. Mike returns fire and hits Fenske in the neck. Fenske tries to crawl away, but Mike steps on his leg to flip Fenske over. Fenske raises a hand as if to beg for his life, but Mike kills him with a shot to the head. Mike picks up his unloaded handgun and walks off, preparing to depart for Albuquerque.