02x03 - Don't Mess Around with Jim

[bunniefuu]

♪ Look at what's
happened to me ♪

♪ I can't believe it myself ♪

♪ Suddenly I'm up
on top of the world ♪

♪ It should have
been somebody else ♪

♪ Believe it or not
I'm walking on air ♪

♪ I never thought I
could feel so free ♪

♪ Flying away on a
wing and a prayer ♪

♪ Who could it be ♪

♪ Believe it or
not it's just me ♪

♪ Just like the
light of a new day ♪

♪ It hit me from
out of the blue ♪

♪ Breaking me out
of the spell I was in ♪

♪ Making all of my
wishes come true ♪

♪ Believe it or not
I'm walking on air ♪

♪ I never thought I
could feel so free ♪

♪ Flying away on a
wing and a prayer ♪

♪ Who could it be ♪

♪ Believe it or
not it's just me ♪

♪ Who could it be ♪

♪ Believe it or
not it's just me ♪♪

As dignitaries gather for
this last rite for James J. Beck,

it seems only fitting to recount
his enormous accomplishments.

Born in poverty
when this country...

was struggling for
its economic life,

he rose, in six decades, to such an
awesome position of wealth and power...

that one can only
marvel at the feat.

How did he do it?

How did the son of a Kansas tractor salesman
become one of the richest men in the world?

Well, for that part of the story,
we go to Jerry Dunphy in New York.

Thank you, Keith.

America is a
nation with a dream,

and James J. Beck was the
leading salesman of that dream.

A man with no formal
education... a high school dropout...

You hear that, Mr. H.? This
guy dropped out of high school.

And went every day to the
public library and read every book,

from soil cultivation
to nuclear physics.

You hear that, Tony? The guy
had a job, and he went to the library.

Legends are made, and
James J. Beck is a legend.

The legend started in Kansas, in
1920, on property very much like this.

With his dead father's life insurance
money... a mere 3,000 in cash...

I wonder if some of you
could hold it down a little bit,

because some others are
trying to watch this thing, okay?

Hey, just eat your burger, huh?

Guy's gonna be in there forever.

Mr. Dunn wants this
to go down smooth.

You got the gas? I've
always wanted to gas a fed.

I wanna thank the room...

for being real social-minded
and real understanding.

Bye.

Excuse me. Excuse me, sir. Yeah?

What do we got here, boys? We're
canvassing the area this morning.

We've got a petition here to increase
the wages of federal employees.

- Parking lots you're canvassing?
- We need all the signatures
we can get, sir.

Federal employees' salaries, huh? Well,
I'm a federal employee. My salary stinks.

Somebody ought to do somethin'.

Uh, you got a lot of
fine print here. Let's see.

Uh... Yeah, that looks
okay. I'll sign that. Let's see.

Mr. Heath, please, if you
don't mind. Just for a moment.

I'm here with Jordan Heath who
is president of Beck Industries.

Mr. Heath, tell us, what's in
the future for Beck Industries?

Well, the company will miss the
insightful leadership that Jim provided,

but we know that the 10-year plan
set up by J.J. Beck before he died...

will continue to
carry us forward.

Thank you very much.
Okay, there you have it.

Rhonda, will you
get the lights for me.

- No money. No connections.
- No education.

Come on, Tony.

The guy went to the library every
day and read a book, for his entire life.

Tony averages a book a
day... A book of matches.

Oh, yeah, man. For sure, and he
goes to the library all the time too.

Right? It's, like, the best
place in town to steal bicycles.

These are just jokes, Mr. H.
Don't take this too serious.

I'll try not to, Tony. See, what I'm
interested in here is this missin' will.

A guy like Beck dies, and
nobody knows who gets what.

Now, what is that?
The man's an eccentric.

Yeah, but not to leave a will?

I don't understand it.

Billions of dollars at stake,
and the guy doesn't leave a will.

Maybe he did. We
don't know, Rhonda.

The facts haven't all
been tabulated yet.

We'll probably be learning
new things for weeks.

Have a good day, everybody.

Tony, got a minute?

Six math papers behind,
guy. Is it six already?

I'd send a note home to your uncle,
but he doesn't seem to read 'em.

You know my uncle. It's pretty hard to
read through the bottom of a beer bottle.

Well, listen.

If you flunk, you're not gonna graduate
next year. Hey, Beck didn't graduate.

Tony, I'm trying to show you that a
guy can make it to the top from anywhere.

Yeah, yeah. I get
your drift. Hey, listen.

Uh, why don't you meet me
at my house in about an hour,

and I'll run over some of the
algebra with you, help you out.

Gee, Mr. H., I'd love to, but I
gotta go to my job at the drugstore.

- I'm savin' up
to buy a wheat field.
- I'll flunk you, Tony.

And all your friends are
gonna pass you right on by.

- That's blackmail.
- That's life.

See ya in an hour.

Let's take him. Right.

We're with the teachers' union,
and we'd like you to sign this petition.

All right. You got a pen?

I sure have.

Take these keys. It's in the
spare-tire well in the back.

What's in this thing,
Mr. Dunn? You got Hinkley?

He's in the backseat.
Get them both in that car.

Then wait here.
I'll drive it in.

So, the funeral is over, the casket
has been lowered into the ground...

and the last rites have been
said over James J. Beck.

This is Keith
Asherman once again,

back at the grave
site of J.J. Beck,

where the mourners
are filing out slowly now,

each pondering the
future of Beck Industries...

The industrial giant
that was J.J. Beck.

Friends and relatives and
business associates alike...

have all come here
today to pay their respects.

I have to say, Jerry,

J.J. Beck was perhaps
the most controversial...

It's been accomplished.

A long journey, Marshall.

Made a couple of
wrong turns, I think.

But there are still unanswered questions:
the missing will, the vast assets,

the struggle for power and control of
the biggest corporate structure in America.

One can only guess
at how it all will end.

He's alive. You're alive.

Mr. Beck, I don't understand.
Why are you alive?

It's a long story, and,
like most long stories,

it's complicated
and full of intrigue.

Oh, that's for a costume party.

You see, I'm a teacher, and
we're having a dance at school.

I got that from United
Costume Rentals.

Off of me!

He's a schoolteacher,
just like he said.

Over the last six months,

I've read several accounts
of Agent Maxwell's arrests.

Oh, Mr. Maxwell is
a remarkable agent...

with a, uh...
Resourceful instincts.

Agent William Maxwell
is a very average,

middle-level federal agent with
a record of mediocre service.

Hard-headed, uninspired...
In short, a drone...

With a limited performance
record for 30 years.

Well, I think that's a kind of
a narrow, limited view of it,

if you don't mind
my saying so, sir.

You two were in
some secluded spot.

You were approached by an
alien spacecraft, given this suit.

It has superpowers.

You've been working as a team,

fightin' evil influences
in this hemisphere.

I don't know what they're puttin'
in your air bottle there, Mr. Beck,

but you're beginning to sound like
the after-dinner speaker at Bellevue.

I need your help.

And if I don't get it, I'll
expose you to the world.

- How many other people know about this, sir?
- Only Marshall and myself.

The men outside were hired
by Marshall. They know nothing.

Jordan Heath and
my top officers were...

They were feeding Mr. Beck
food that had no nutritional value.

He started to fade
away, developed pleurisy.

Finally, we were able to fly
down Dr. David Springfield,

who was his personal physician
for almost the last 40 years.

Drew up a will,
had it notarized...

and Dr. Springfield pronounced him dead
so that we could get him out of that room.

We crashed the plane that was
carrying his body back home supposedly.

The body we buried this
afternoon was that of an indigent...

who was burned beyond
recognition in a skid row fire.

I only have a few
months left to live.

Dr. Springfield was chosen to take
the will to the federal government.

That was a couple of days ago.

He never did arrive
at his destination.

Uh-huh. k*lled.

Uh, bushwhacked, dead. Right?

Of course not. How
could you be so stupid?

I'm-I'm becoming very
disappointed in you, Mr. Maxwell.

Well, you haven't seen
me do my card trick yet.

Dr. Springfield is
selling you out, isn't he?

He took the will, and he's selling
it to Jordan Heath for money.

Yeah. That was my
backup theory too.

Show 'em the doctor's picture.

He's in Las Vegas now.

He's being paid across the
roulette table in a hotel we own there.

I need you and this suit to stop
the payoff and recover the will.

Why should we
help you, Mr. Beck?

Because I left the entire
proceeds of my fortune to charity.

Why don't you just
write a new will?

I'd have to surface to
admit this deception...

and die in the
glare of publicity.

I want these last
months to pass in private.

I need your help.

Marshall here is too old,
and I can't trust anybody else.

I've researched you two.

I don't think you would have been given
this suit unless you could be trusted.

It's a gamble, I know, but
then I'm used to taking chances.

Now, will you help me?

You know, it's, uh, a chance
to make a big difference.

Think of all the poor
that it would help.

Well, come on, Ralph.
Let's not get all misty here.

Because in his whole life, Mr. Beck
never fed so much as a parking meter.

I'm dyin', Mr. Maxwell.

There comes a time, you
know, when you start thinking...

about what you are and
how you've behaved...

and how you'll account for
those things in the world beyond.

If you get the will
back, you read it.

You'll see that I'm
telling you the truth.

And then, when you're convinced,

you'll give it over
to the authorities.

Bill.

It's a chance to do something,

a chance to make
a huge difference.

I'm thinkin', weighing it...

in my mediocre, uninspired,
middle-level mind.

Where's he get off callin'
my career mediocre?

Next to his, everybody's career is
mediocre. What is so hot about his career?

- Anybody can make money.
- I can't believe
I met J.J. Beck.

He should have had my
section leader in Detroit.

His career would've
looked pretty crummy too.

We'll be in Las Vegas in a few
minutes. I can't be seen with you.

You go to the Desert Air Hotel. That's
the one that the Beck Industries own.

That's where Jordan and his associates...
all of his executives... headquarter.

Now, use the suit to start
winning. We don't have much time.

You don't tell us what to do. I run
the field operation, and I run the kid.

Excuse me, but, uh, I
run the kid. Okay? Go on.

Mr. Maxwell, you're a very
shrewd and dedicated federal agent.

I apologize for Mr. Beck's brusque
way. He doesn't spare people's feelings.

We have great respect for you and
your position, and we are in your debt.

Well, look, pal. He
said it, I heard it...

and I don't need a rubdown
from the team doctor.

Um, excuse me, Mr. Dunn,
but how do I clean out the bank?

You use the telekinesis powers of
the suit to control physical matter.

Yeah. That's the
way you do it, Ralph.

Excuse me, but uh,
I don't, uh, follow.

How do I, uh...
How do I do that?

You make your mind
a blank and push hard.

Please don't pretend ignorance. I
thought you were gonna try and be helpful.

A lot is at stake.

I'm tellin' ya. These
guys make me nervous.

Blank and push. Blank and push.

Ralph?

Ralph!

I did it. I did it. I moved it.

All I have to do is make my
mind perfectly blank, and I push.

I don't think of anything. I just
leave it open. It's kind of a vagueness.

It was a terrific trick, kid.
Why don't you try it again?

Drop a plate of eggs on my lap. Better
yet, a Mexican dinner or something.

You wanna see me do it again? Watch this.
I'll bring this magazine right over to you.

- Now don't move.
- Ralph?

Will you knock it off?

I'm sorry, Bill. It's kind of got a
pull to the left, but I'll work on it.

I'm startin' to lose my
middle-level temper here, Ralph.

Bill.

Bill.

How did he know that?

Ralph, I'm just
trying to show you...

why Beck has got this
unnatural opinion of my abilities.

That's all. In
Phoenix, for example,

I had this terrible
district chief... Kiel Kline.

"First in line" Kline
we used to call him,

'cause he always stole
everybody's collars.

You're not gonna be able to
get very much career traction...

when your supervisor is
stealin' your... your busts.

So, that's what happened.

You know, I've never been to
Vegas. This is kind of exciting.

Yeah, as long as
you dress right...

You know, conservative,
not too garish.

Driver, uh, Desert Air Hotel.

So, uh, Bill, how long
you had that coat?

Huh? Oh, uh, this old rag?

Well, I... You like it? Well,
it's... It's different. Yeah.

Well, I just pulled this out of the
old footlocker. You did, huh? Here.

- What's that?
- Price tag.

Oh. Well, imagine that.

After all those times to the
dry cleaner and everything.

Anyhow, uh, with this
new power of yours...

With this new power, I ought
to be able to clean up in no time.

Power?

System. We're system bettors.

You wanna keep your nose on the
yellow line, pal? You're payin' the meter.

We can have this
conversation without you.

- Wait a minute, Bill. I'm getting something.
- Huh?

Yeah. Some guys are after Dunn!

- You see it?
- I see that!

He's runnin' back to the plane.
Go! They got him. They got him.

- They're putting him into
the back of a station wagon.
- I'm not drivin' no crazies.

Get out!

Ralph. Ralph! Ralph!
This is a public street.

There's a bush
over there. Come on.

You guys should get helmets.

Hurry up, Ralph. You've
gotta get back to that airport.

Uh! Ohh!

This is Global American
Airlines, Flight 505,

coming in for a final approach.

Las Vegas Terminal,
are we clear to land?

Stand by, Global American.

Global American 505, we got
a U.F.O. comin' into Grid 16.

Pull up! Pull up!

You're on a collision course
with a fast-closing object!

- Watch out!
- Whoa!

- No!
- What was that?

I can't believe you let two guys in
painted shirts take Dunn away from you.

- That's unreal.
- I almost went into
the intake of a 747.

What are you talkin' about? I'm
not interested in creative excuses.

You're startin' to
sound like Carlisle.

The only thing you've been interested
in since Beck stepped on your ego...

is grousing about
your old bosses.

Will you stop yakking at me? I'm getting a
headache... a migraine. I haven't had one since Korea.

I almost go through a 20-ton Cuisinart,
and you got a migraine headache.

There it is. That's
the one there.

And that looks
like Dr. Springfield.

All bets are down.
20,000 down on 36.

He's a half-million
dollars ahead.

See if you can put
a jinx on the wheel.

Try not to knock
everybody's drink in their lap.

Make my mind blank
and push. Blank and push.

Mind is blank. It is blank.

Hi.

Thirty-six red. Winner.

Great. That's really
great work, Ralph. Well...

Will you stop foolin' around?

My senses are being accosted
here. Would you give me a break.

It's not easy to concentrate.
Let's get a little closer.

Oh, no. I don't believe it.
Well, well. Look who's here.

Buster Billy. Who let you out?

Who is he? Who are
you? Name of Mathews.

See all them little holes on his face? He got
those tryin' to learn how to eat with a fork.

Your clock just
ran out, Maxwell.

I don't know who you are,
but stay away from him.

He's about to do a
jackknife into a coffin.

Colorful. Real colorful.

Gee! Who's sittin'
on that parole board?

I had that guy up on a real good,
solid second-degree m*rder beef.

Got interesting friends, Bill.
He's a wind machine. Forget him.

Look. You gotta... You gotta concentrate
and make your mind a total blank.

In this place, it's not real
easy. You know what I mean?

Well, think of a piece of white
paper or something like that.

White paper. That's a
good idea. White paper.

White paper.

Holy... Moly!

It's unbelievable!

Oh, boy. I didn't
mean to do that.

Ralph, look what you
did. I didn't mean to do it.

Yeah, but, um... Listen.
This is not the right time,

but I got a couple
weeks off in August.

We might think about comin' back up
here. We could, uh, well, you know...

Use the suit for, uh,
personal gains, Bill? Huh?

Roll some dice? Hit
a couple jackpots?

Well, uh...

No. I mean, we could also... We could
have enough so that we could have our own,

you know, crime-fighting,
uh, center. All bets are down.

Yeah? Will it have a pool and a
furnished cabana? Come on, Ralph.

Give me a break. Boy, oh, boy. This
is exactly what Beck was talkin' about.

We are so easily corrupted. We have
to stay away from that kind of temptation.

- How much money
do you have?
- Boy.

Come here. Don't count
it. Just give me that.

Let's see what we got here.

- Let's see. Uh,
everything on double zero.
- I'm betting 36 again.

All bets are down.

All right. Now, don't
think about the glitter.

Don't think about the dames.

Make your mind a complete blank.

Forget everything.

Don't look at anything that
jiggles. Would you shut up!

Thirty-six red. Winner!

He won again. I wish
I had this guy's luck.

That was pretty dumb, I
guess. Oh, you dumb, Bill?

Dumb? No. I said I was sorry.

If you can't muster up a little
concentration, I don't know what to tell you.

Muster up some concentration?
What are you talkin' about?

You stand there right next to me
and... and list the... distractions.

Then you tell me to rip off the
casino with my... with my suit...

after flicking
insults at Godzilla.

How am I supposed to
keep my mind blank, Bill?

Let me have the rest of what you
got. We're down to nickels and dimes.

What is this? 12.50? You
gotta be kidding. 12.50.

I have a middle-level income...

to match my middle-level,
mediocre career, okay?

You stay here, all
right? I'll tend to the table.

Oh, boy. Let me have, uh,
12.50 on two zeros, please.

- Twelve dollars
and 50 cents, sir?
- Double zero.

White paper. White paper.

A very, very... White
paper. White paper.

White paper. White
paper. White paper.

Very, very white paper.

Double zero. Another
winner. Double zero.

All right! I won.

I won.

You lose. I win.

All right! I won. I won.

Put it right there, please.
I'm gettin' the hang of this.

Uh... white paper.

Okay. Let me try it again.
I got the hang of this now.

This is Vern. Let
me talk to Heath.

Let me have this on
double zero too, please.

You're bad luck for me, mister.

Why don't you try another table?

I like this table. Double
zero, please. White paper.

Yeah, we, uh, may have a guy with a
magnet on roulette table number one.

That's the table where we're paying off
Springfield, right? You're sure he's using a magnet?

He knocked
Dr. Springfield for 10,000.

I want that payoff completed
in the next half hour.

Take the limit off that table. I'm
getting spooked about this deal.

Too many old Beck
employees are showing up.

Should we bust the
blond kid on table one?

No. Just get rid of
him. Throw him out.

- I don't need the sheriff in
here while we're doing this.
- Right.

There's a four right
there. That's a hard four.

Well, uh, I'm a little
thin today, boys,

but put those two down
on the "Come" line, please.

Maxwell. I got a good
odds-on bet for you.

I'll give you 6-to-5 you don't
leave here with your pump runnin'.

Well, Jilly, that's a real exciting
project. Who you got workin' it for you?

Well, not that I can't do
it myself, but, just in case,

I got the Soledad
class of '80 with me.

Oh, well.

They must really have a
revolving door in that joint.

Uh, well.

Mitchell, Travalina, Fat-jack
brothers. That's great.

Well, boys, I tell you what.
I'm gonna ignore the fact...

that you're all in violation of
parole just bein' in the state.

What I want is for you
to go out the front door.

Now. Real nice. If you do that,

I'm gonna forgive
you this one time.

Take him, will ya.
What? Wait a minute.

Uh, excuse me, sir. Would
you come with us, please.

How come? Just come with us.

Why? I have my rights. I'm just
playing here like everybody else.

Sure. Wait a minute!
Wait a minute! Bill!

Bill!

I'm gonna make
this easy on you, kid.

We know you're playing
with electronic equipment.

You get one strike around
here for free. You had yours.

What about my money? You
guys have my winnings, you know.

We got a saying in this town.
"Cheaters never prosper."

It's old, but we
like it. Bye-bye.

Well, wait a minute.
Hey, you guys.

Um, you know what...

Okay, Maxwell, we're
goin' for a little ride.

We got that hole
ready out in the desert,

but nobody had time
to scare up a pine box.

♪ Ah ♪

Hi. Uh... ♪ Ah ♪

These are my... lucky undies.

♪ Ah ♪
Would you hold these?

♪ All alone ♪

♪ In the danger zone ♪

♪ Better keep your head
or else you're dead ♪

♪ You're on your own ♪

♪♪

You guys really come prepared. I
hope somebody brought the deviled eggs.

All we're gonna
have is hamburger.

Welcome to Boot Hill. Come on.

♪ You got the power ♪
♪ You got the power ♪

- ♪ You got the power ♪
- Oh, no!

♪ You got the power ♪
♪ You got the power ♪

♪ You got the power ♪

♪ You got the power ♪

- White paper! White paper!
- Ralph!

- ♪ You got the power ♪
- White paper! White paper!

- ♪ You got the power ♪
- Ralph!

♪ You got the power ♪

♪ You got the power ♪♪

Get off my face!

Hey, Maxwell! Let us out of
here! We're gonna cook in here!

A tasty treat.

Four of them, Bill. Do you
have any friends in this town?

Uh, a few, Ralph. Come
back here, Maxwell!

And maybe the
highway patrol, I hope.

Okay. It's all here.

When do you deliver J.J.'s will?

I'm not stupid enough
to have it here in Vegas.

I'll mail it to you when I feel I'm
safe. Now, don't worry, Jordan.

Ten million dollars will
last me the rest of my life.

I'm not gonna go through
something like this again.

You'll get the will.

I'd like you to walk
me to the parking lot...

just as a precaution.

- What's that?
- The will.

Uh, sir? Sir?

Don't say it, all right? I don't have
to say it. That's the fifth car, Ralph.

This is not working. You're
gonna have to fly out of here.

If you don't stop Springfield from sellin'
that will, it's all gone for nothing.

Give me the sending unit.

All right, Bill. I'll fly.

I hate it, but I guess
there's no other way.

No one's gonna
stop for a hitchhiker...

walkin' down the
highway in his underwear.

Springfield's probably
out of town by now.

Wait a second.

Okay, now. Go ahead.

It's Dr. Springfield. He's dead.

I don't really give a
damn about any of that.

I think you've been
lyin' to us, mister.

Come on, Bill. You don't have
to talk to him in that tone of voice.

Maybe you could try to get a
grip on yourself, Mr. Maxwell.

Is that right?
Well, I'll tell ya.

You may have been J.J.
Beck to the rest of the world,

but you were as crooked as a
dog's hind leg, and I think you still are.

Who are you really, Mr. Beck?

How did you know
about that spaceship?

How did Mr. Dunn know about
telekinesis? He told me how to do it.

It's in your instruction book.

What? How do you
know about the book?

Did you ever wonder how J.J.
Beck made his fortune? Huh?

A high school dropout who
bought a wheat field in Kansas.

I just loved flying.
Aviation, yeah.

I had this dream we could bring
civilization into a new era, but...

I was wrong.

With speed comes hazards.

Our country... our-our world... is
careening down a pipe out of control.

- We're headin' for oblivion.
- Yeah, well, we can get
all that on Sermonette.

- You had a suit... like mine, didn't you?
- What?

Didn't you?

That spaceship approached you
out in the desert and gave you a suit.

And Marshall Dunn
was your partner,

much the same as Bill is mine.

I used the power
badly. I became greedy.

Oh, I convinced myself it
was for the good of man,

but really it was just
for the good of J.J. Beck.

And Marshall, he left me
in disgust 20 years ago.

By then, you know, I
became bitter, aggressive,

bent on destroying anyone
that stood in my way.

You know, I've been thinking
a lot about that, Mr. Beck.

You know, hundreds of years
ago, a Lord Acton said something.

He said, "Power corrupts, and
absolute power corrupts absolutely."

I tried to fight it. I tried.

God, I tried, but...
I wanted so much.

And all this stuff about...
about the will, giving it to charity.

Is that the payback?

Let me paint you a picture,
Ralph. Mr. Beck here is online...

The final countdown.

A few more months
and, uh, he's gonna be...

He's gonna be wanderin'
around up there...

lookin' for a harp and
a fluffy white cloud.

He's tryin' to buy himself
a good seat on the ark.

You have a unique talent
for bluntness, Mr. Maxwell.

Well, sir, uh, that used
to be your trademark.

I bought out Harlan
Air Corporation in 1935.

Sidney Harlan designed
the radial engine airplane.

Oh, I did everything to
destroy him and his subsidiaries.

And then I put on my suit,
a suit much like yours...

but different in many ways.

I became invisible,
and I went to his house.

I just wanted to see how
badly I had him cornered.

I snuck up the stairs. I
stood there in his room,

and I watched.

Everything he loved, I
had taken away from him.

His wife was leaving.

I stood behind him, invisible,

and watched through the
window as she drove away.

Oh, I... I felt bad
when I left, sure,

but I won.

I won my airplane.

I was outside the house
when I heard the shot.

It wasn't worth it,
was it, Mr. Beck?

All the money and...

all the power, and
you're still unhappy.

Well, sometimes you have
to look back, you know,

to understand where you
were and what you did.

Look at me, Ralph. It's
your chance to look forward.

Remember what you see.

We'll help you,
Mr. Beck. We'll help.

Lord Acton sure knew
what he was sayin'.

I wonder if he... if
he had a suit too.

I wonder how long
you two can hold out.

I wonder.

I just wonder.

Sir, this is, uh,
probably a kook,

but there's a guy on the private
line who says he's J.J. Beck.

You know his voice. Is it him?

Well, sir, that's
the point. I think so.

Much weaker, but,
uh, yeah, I think it's him.

He wants to talk to you.

- Who is this, please?
- J.J., back from the grave.

Rich Little does
impressions. I like a joke.

Take it to the
main room. The will.

You went to a lot of trouble to get
that will from Dr. Springfield, didn't you?

Only I'm going to court
tomorrow and write a new one,

and this one's goin'
on public record.

I still don't believe
I'm talking to Jim Beck.

Polo Lounge, Los Angeles, 1968.

You cleaned out
Robert Price for me.

Sixteen cents on
the dollar, huh?

We put that one over on the
government pretty good, didn't we?

You and me and Marshall
were the only ones who knew.

Do you want more now?

Welcome back, J.J.

Unfortunately, I've got control.

Well, I can fix that.

I've also got Marshall Dunn.
He could fall down in traffic.

I also know how much you
hate the bright lights, J.J.

Sounds to me like we have
the makings of a nice negotiation.

Yeah. Trouble is, how
do we survive this thing?

Remember Phyllis Anderson's
property east of here? Yeah.

It's got a nice landing strip and, uh,
surveillance from a distance. Remember?

You wanna say in an hour
or so? And bring Marshall.

And be sure he's
pretty healthy, will ya?

Of course, neither of us is
gonna be alone, you know.

I gotta take care of this.

See, I've giving you this
envelope, Mr. Hinkley.

In case it doesn't work out,
you see that it's ex*cuted.

You're the only one I'm
sure is gonna walk away.

We'll take the
chopper on the roof.

Bring a guy with a
r*fle and a nightscope.

Well, I gotta hand
it to you, Mr. Beck.

You're a tough customer. Doesn't make
any difference what you say about me.

I gotta respect a tough guy. You
handled that negotiation like a pro.

I was wrong about you,
Maxwell. I think you're a real pro.

Thank you, sir.

Oh, this is strange for me.

Marshall and I, we...
We had such plans.

We were gonna do
so much, and it just...

Just went astray.

Yeah. Yeah.

Boy, you know, Ralph, it
was startin' to happen to us.

It really was. I could feel it.

The money and the power and our
own private crime center, with pool.

Mr. Beck. Hmm?

You see, Bill and I don't have
the instruction book. You...

We lost it.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

There.

We were hoping that you could
help explain how the suit worked.

Not havin' that instruction book
might be your salvation, Ralph.

It could minimize your power,
keep you on the defensive.

Huh. You know, I never thought
about it like that. Maybe he's right, Bill.

Are you kidding? That's the
craziest thing I've ever heard in my life.

Look, Mr. Beck. Ralph and I are
floatin' around, and it's fruit salad.

We're lost. We can't
do anything right.

And don't give me that Lord
"Asher's" theory either. Acton.

Some 16th-century bozo with
puffed-out pants is not the answer here.

Sir, we need that book.
Oh, it doesn't matter.

They took my suit away 20
years ago along with the book.

I'd done enough
damage on my own.

Don't worry, Ralph. You'll work
out your problems with the suit.

Only I hope and I pray
you do better than I.

Okay.

There they are.

I'll get your chair, sir.

No. I'm gonna have
this meetin' on my feet.

Stay here.

They won't try anything until
they know what the odds are.

You're through
callin' the shots here.

I'm goin' with you, and
Ralph's gonna fly high cover.

As you wish. Good luck, sir.

Let me see Marshall
before you come any closer.

It's a long time...

since our first projects
together in Denver, isn't it, Jordy?

Let's cut the small
talk and get to the deal.

Small talk is an
old man's diversion.

Now, let's get on with
it and get it over with.

I don't know who
you are, but it is over.

- Get me up.
- Is everybody all right?

Mr. Beck, is
anything the matter?

Don't you see it?

Oh, boy. Here they
come... The green guys.

Gotta pay the
last bill in person.

Make sure it's not a big one.

I'm coming with you, J.J.

Stay here. They want me too.

I can feel it. There's
no way to resist.

There isn't? There isn't?

What do you mean? What are you
talkin' about? You can resist anything.

Let's go, J.J. We
started together.

We'll end together.

Where's... What is he...

What's he talkin' about?
Where is he goin'?

Ralph, I hate this. I really do.

I don't know, Bill. They...
They seem to wanna go.

Huh?

I tried. I really tried.

It's okay. We're okay.

That was awesome. Yeah,
awesome. It's awesome.

Don't worry about
it, kid. I'm with ya.

We're in this thing
together, like it or lump it.

Hey, Bill!

What brings you over this way?

Yeah. Uh...

Yeah.

Well, uh, boy, look
at all these sleds here.

Uh, you got enough
vehicle violations here to...

To-to-to service a traffic
division for a whole year.

"Morning, Ralph. How you doin'?"

Yeah. Well, yeah.
Well, listen, um,

Ralph... What's on your
middle-level mind, Bill?

Uh, I... I hope we're
not gonna carry that, uh,

little joke around too
much longer, okay, Ralph?

What's on your mind, Bill?

Or what's not?

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

I just... Bill, I feel so good.

Have you seen these headlines?

Yeah, I saw it.

Yeah. All that loot goin'
to feed a bunch of guys...

whose entire lifework is sittin'
in front of a liquor store all day.

Yeah. Well, it'll be in
probate for about five years,

but, I mean, we...
We did it, Bill.

We actually changed something.
What is wrong with you?

The thing that's buggin' me...
I haven't slept for three nights.

Um, the thing that I don't...

That I don't wanna
have happen, is, uh...

Uh... Bill, should I take
a ticket and sit down?

What's on your mind?
Come on. Spit it out.

Okay.

When we...

croak, finally,

do you think... that the, uh...

You know, the, uh...
Come on. You know.

That they're gonna
come down and-and-and...

And snap us up the
way they did Beck?

Do You think that
we're gonna be...

flyin' around in the sky with
the little green guys for-forever?

Ralph, this is not funny.

I think that's... terrific,
Bill. That's terrific. Huh?

I think that would be a
wonderful experience.

Well, yeah, it's an
experience, sure.

And it's uplifting, I'm sure, but
I-I... I have this little, you know,

conventional need to get buried in
the ground at Forest Lawn, Ralph.

With a little stone that
says, "Here lies the fed...

"who busted his acorn
tryin' to do the right thing.

He didn't lie, cheat or
steal. He was a good guy."

I need... You think
that might happen?

You think they might come down and
pick us up and take us away? Ralph!

- That's a wonderful idea.
- That's a horrible idea.

- It's wonderful.
- It's horrible.

- It's wonderful.
- It's horrible.

♪ You know it isn't easy ♪
♪ You know it ain't easy ♪

♪ No one said that it would be ♪

♪ You know it isn't easy ♪
♪ You know it ain't easy ♪

♪ Oh, yeah ♪♪