01x01 - Grapes of Wrath

[bunniefuu]

- That'll be all for now.

Please remember

that Mr. Marzili's plane
lands at 10 this evening.

It is imperative
that you are on time.

- Yes.

- You make a sound now, I'll
slit your f*cking throat.

It's going to happen to you
whether you want it to or not,

rich b*tch.

- Yes, yes, oh that's
it! Harder! Harder!

- Let me
tell you a little story.

Once upon a time, in
a land far, far away,

a man turned water into wine.

Subsequently that very same
man turned wine into his blood.

Now for us mere mortals, it
begins with digging a hole.

No hole, no grapes.
No grapes, no wine.

Unfortunately,

I've been forced to dig
and dig, hole after hole.

And I have the dirt under
my nails to prove it.

For me, wine is about my
family, my blood family,

my work family.

Wine connects us.

My wine is exquisite, but my
blood is all that matters.

- Good morning Miss McCullough,

Your nine o'clock is
waiting for you in the box.

- Happy birthday.

- They're beautiful. You
remembered, thank you.

- Enjoy

- Looks like
everything is in order.

I haven't seen many contracts
signed with red ink.

- I'm fond of the symbolism.

My mother always said the
devil is in the details.

- Hm.

You've made the right decision,

trusting us with your
legal needs. Mr. Sousa.

Welcome to McCullough
and associates.

- This is Othello.

- "It's me.
Am I interrupting?"

- Not at all. Just...vetting
some prospects.

- "My meeting with Mr.
Sousa has been extended

to accommodate his
indecisiveness."

- Hm just like a
redneck in a g*n store.

- "Unfortunately."

- Mh-hm.

- "I'll be heading out
a little early today.

So in regards to our
little situation..."

- I'm on it, just as
soon as I'm done here.

- "Also, please put
Mr. Sousa on the books

before you leave for the day."

- All
right. Consider it done.

- "Thank you."

- Should I keep going?

- I don't recall
telling you to stop.

- How knowledgeable
are you about wine?

- I know the most important
thing: the older the better.

- It's the minutia, it's
sediment, legs, nose.

The ultimate experience.

- So the small things.

- Trust me, sugar, there's
nothing small about it.

Not by a long shot.

- Is that so?

- Well, that was an
unusually expedited visit.

- I just got here.

I figured I would touch
base before I went in.

- Right or you're
procrastinating.

- Call it what you want.

- Well, it seems they're
enjoying an early dinner.

- Were the twins able
to verify the numbers?

- A little over a
hundred thousand dollars.

And that's just the
ones that we know about.

- That's impressive.

- It's too much. And
now Senator Young?

What the hell ever happened
to professional courtesy?

- These are different times.

Are we a go or what?

- Go.

- Alrighty, mama bear.

- Oh yeah! Oh God
bless America! Yes!

Wow. That was great.

- Well, I have got to hand
it to you, little lady.

You are definitely worth
your weight in gold.

That thing you did with
your fingers. g*dd*mn girl.

So I was told one an
hour. That's six grand.

Hell, I have paid more for less.

- I'm sorry.

- I hurt you, didn't I?

You know, in my defense,
I did try to warn you.

You know, some women just
aren't used to the size.

- No! No, no, no.

It's not that, just forget it.

It's no one else's problem.

- Well, I'm a problem solver.

Pretty damn good at it,
if I do say so myself.

- Look, we had
such a nice night.

- Oh, listen, honey, I got
a busy morning to prep for.

Now, what is it?

- They've got me
working 16 hour days

for the last six months.

And for what?

You know, I barely
make out with 5%

and I do a hundred
percent of the work.

Five f*cking percent!

I'm good at what I do,
you even said so yourself.

I can't keep this up.

I just wanted to
pay for my tuition.

But now my grades are
tanking and I have back rent.

This bill, that bill...

I don't know what to do.

I'm not going back to Oklahoma
though. No way!

- Oh hey,

Look, look, look, look.

What if I throw in
an extra grand? It'll
be our little secret.

- Well, if they
ever found out...

- It's in both of our best
interests to keep you local.

Seeing I'm a little
short on cash though.

- It'll appear as DLC
Enterprises on your statement

I'll take the extra in
cash, if you don't mind.

Thank you so much.

- Perks of the job, darling.

- Crown, double shot, neat.

- Nice watch.

- 'Course it is.

Perks of the job.

- I'm sorry, do I know you?

- Othello Charles.

- This
is a joke, right?

- I'm far from a comedian.

And with that said,

now we know all there is
to know about each other.

- What's that supposed to mean?

- I got to hand it to
you, nice work up there.

That little extra on the end.

- Excuse me?

- Don't play coy
with me, Miss Gamble.

Let me see if I
understand this correctly.

An XC90 Android card reader,

programmed with a backdoor
algorithm, a product by hacker,

who goes by the name of
Crystal Clear Anarchy,

made, no doubt, to obtain your
client's credit card info.

That about sums it up?

Very f*cking clever.

- So what, you're LAPD?

- Come on,
sweetheart, I'm a black man.

I would never be part
of that organization.

- Well, I'm not doing
anything ill*gal.

- I guess that depends
on who you ask.

- Mh-hm. Go ahead
and arrest me then.

I'll be out

before you can swipe that
smug grin off your face

- Arrest you?

Now why on earth would
we want to do that?

- We?

- There'll be a car
waiting for you tomorrow,

outside of your apartment.

2100 Fountain Ave, apartment 16.

- And if I refuse?

- Well, Miss Gamble, my employer
does not accept refusals.

I strongly suggest against
you having to force her hand.

It reaches far further than
where the sun don't shine,

than what you just charged
Senator Young for up there for,

Miss Gamble.

- Was that supposed to scare me?

- No, the
fact that it doesn't,

should scared the
hell out of you.

It does me.

- You're with the government?

- Don't be silly, Miss Gamble,

Maybe you're the comedian.

Oh! Lastly, just in
the case you decide

to take a sudden little
trip out of town,

I've taken the liberty

of freezing all of
your off-shore and
state-side accounts.

And your passport.

- Wait, what?!

- I'll see you in the
morning, Miss Gamble.

- m*therf*cker.

- Yeah?

All right. I'm on my way.

- You have to learn to be more
professional, Miss Gamble.

- f*ck you.

- Oh wow, such obscenities.

- What the hell did
you do to my accounts?

- Nothing that can't be undone
with a simple phone call.

However, I would highly suggest
your complete cooperation.

All we're asking for, is a
few moments of your time.

Oh Miss Gamble, smile.
It's a beautiful day.

D!

- Don't give me that look,
McCullough. He was like that

when we arrived on scene.

Little sh*t's lucky we
got there when we did,

otherwise we'd be having
this conversation yesterday

at the morgue

- Yesterday? Why the hell
was I just notified today?

- Because that's how long it
took me to convince him to.

You're welcome.

- Sloan?

Do you mind?

- You've got ten minutes.

- So the prodigal sister-

- Not a word!

The f*ck, Daniel?

Daniel!

- Oh, am I allowed to
speak now, your highness?

- Just tell me
exactly what happened.

- How are you Lace? It's
good to see you still alive.

sh*t I ain't got nothing,

not even a card from you since
like Obama's second term.

I know I'm the one who
stopped coming around,

but not even a
f*cking phone call?

Yo, did you ever
spring Tony from jail?

- Did you r*pe Elena Marzili?!

- Man, come on.

- Yes or no?

- Why are you even here, Lace?

If I remember correctly,

the last conversation
between me and you

ended with you disowning me.

- Yet here we are.

And don't think for a second

that I won't leave
you rotting in here.

Now stop testing my
f*cking patience,

why were you at the Marzili's?

- I needed a little extra cash.

It's not like I can come
to you and ask for it,

with your whole dropping off
the face of the earth act!

And since people aren't exactly
excited to hand out jobs

to recovering addicts
with a record,

a home boy set me up with
her for a one-night fling.

It's supposed to be a
quick couple hundred bucks.

Next thing I know, her husband's
beating the sh*t out of me.

- You were a boy toy?!

- Yeah.

- Yo what the f*ck?

- What did she pay you to do?

- She just wanted to role play,

you know, get
roughed up and sh*t.

She said she was going
to pay me double.

And then the b*tch stiffed me.

- She paid you to r*pe her?

- No, she paid me to f*ck her.

She said it wasn't r*pe
if she was paying me.

- Do you have any idea what
will happen if they run a kit?

10 to 20 Daniel!

- I used a condom!

- Shut the f*ck up.

Let me think.

It's going to be your
word against hers.

I read the prenup that she
signed a few years back

and it's iron clad.

She won't even walk away
with the clothes on her back

if her husband finds out.

And trust me,

your scrawny is not worth
her share of $2.5 billion.

So you can forget about
her telling the truth.

- I mean, you can fix
this though, right?

- You better damn
well pray I can.

For now, do yourself a favor
and keep your mouth shut.

- Whoa, whoa wait,
hold up, hold up!

- So your family just
can't stay out of trouble,

can they?

- f*ck off, Sloan

Who'd they assign as
his public defender?

- Macintosh.

- That's two-bit hack?

What are the
charges, officially?

- Three course meal.

B and E as an appetizer,

sexual as*ault as
your main entree,

and aggravated
as*ault for dessert.

Yum yum dim sum.

- This is bullshit.

What about the excessive
bodily harm done to him?

- Well Marzili's
claiming self-defense.

- Well what does
Mrs. Marzili say.

- Not much on this one, her
husband's been taking point

And wasn't he one
of your old clients?

- I mean, once
upon a time. Bail?

- Judge Sears declared
him a flight risk.

- A flight risk?

He doesn't have two
nickels to rub together!

- Yeah, but he's your brother

and you're not exactly Judge
Sears' favorite person.

- The feeling is mutual,
that's for damn sure.

How long before
he's transferred?

- First thing in the morning.

- Can you delay it?

- Are you trying
to get me fired?

I delayed it long enough just
waiting for you to get here.

- Damn it, Sloan!

You and I both know that he
will never get a fair trial

with his history.

They'll try to crucify him

before he even steps
foot into the courthouse.

I just need some time.

- I can get you
until tomorrow afternoon.

Under one condition.

- Which is?

- I think a little pro
bono work is in order.

- Done.

Thanks for the heads up.

- Joint custody,
5,000 per month,

she gets the Jaguar
and the loft downtown.

That's reasonable, Vince.

- Britney, let's not do this.

Councilwoman Jarvis
retains full custody.

So as not to uproot
the children.

Twelve thousand a month
and the house in Valencia.

Mr. Jarvis can keep
the loft and Jaguar.

- Keep dreaming.

You was happy with a two
piece when I met you.

- That's crap, we
were separated.

- Separated. Not divorced.

Also, please tell me that
wasn't in your house.

- You're damn right.
That was in my house.

- An affair doesn't bode well
with the elected official,

even if the judge
rules in your favor.

Full custody, three grand a
month, and we keep the property.

Your client can have visitation.

- Visitation?!

Visitation?! Oh, no.

- Yes?

Okay.

Excuse me.

- You just gonna sit there!
What kind of lawyer are you?!

- Miss Gamble, I would like
to introduce Britney DeVeaux.

Miss DeVeaux here
has the privilege

of handling our civil cases.

- Civil?
Such an oxymoron.

- This is our prospect?

Aren't we the combative type?

Where's the boss lady.

- Hm Miss Gamble,
our firm is multi-dimensional.

I just wanted you to be
aware of the kind of support

that you will have here.

- Yeah, I get it.
You're lawyers.

Now will someone tell me
why the f*ck I'm here?

- Britney, a word please?

- She's gonna be a handful.

- Where are we with
the Councilwoman?

- She didn't know
about the pictures.

The way I see it,
she has two options,

a better career
or a better deal.

- Giver her what she wants.

- Hm, excuse me?

- Give her what she wants.

Explain to Randall
that it's for the best.

- Well, how? It took us months
and now you're gonna toss it?

- Lacey wants Councilwoman
Jarvis in the books.

- Why?!

- Offer Randall a
discount if need be.

Have the twins back you up.

Thank you, Brit.

- You're welcome.

- Thank you for your
patience, Miss Gamble.

On behalf of McCullough and
Associates, I would like to-

- You think I'm gonna sit
here while you keep stalling.

Think again.

- Miss McCullough
will arrive shortly.

In the meantime,
what she is offering,

is an opportunity for you
to amass a small fortune

for which you won't have
to look over your shoulder

for the men that
you've stolen from,

because that too, Miss Gamble,
only requires a phone call.

- My life is none of your
business. I did what you asked.

So let me be perfectly clear,
f*ck you and your boss.

If you don't remove the
holds from my account,

you're going to be the ones
looking over your shoulder.

Hey, smile. It's
a beautiful day.

- We will be cutting our billing
rate to avoid any ill will

and to prove how much
we value your business.

- And Miss McCullough
is fully aware

of the dismay you may feel,
but as her operations team,

we do agree that this
the best course of action

for the long term.

- Your soon-to-be ex-wife

carries a hefty
amount of influence.

The last thing we'd care to do

is to leave you open to failure
or further difficulties.

- Trust us.

- I'll give you credit, Randall.

For once, you did
the right thing.

- If Lacey's trying to
f*ck me, I'll find out.

f*cking vultures.

- We trust you can
take it from here.

- We'll have copies of the
agreement sent to your office

by close of business.

- Britney!

Hey, hold on.

Look, let's put that behind us.

You know, we're better
on the same team.

Let's go back to Ojai.

I still have the Villa.

- P2. Ten minutes.

- Mind explaining to
me why I'm being told

that Ms. Gamble was seen
leaving the building?

- What can I say, headstrong
she is, patient she isn't.

Reminds me a lot of you.

- Christ, O!

If I have to do everything
myself, why the hell do I need.

- Because although you believe
you're this omnipotent being,

Lace, you're not.

Besides, holding her
against her will is ill*gal.

- When has that ever stopped us?

- Touché.

Don't forget about
drinks tonight at seven.

- Hey Sasha, are you up
for some pro bono tonight?

- Sloan?

Always.

- Walk with me.

- I missed you, Brit

- Did you?

- You got some
f*cking nerve coming here

after the sh*t you and
your people pulled.

- I must admit, my methods
are a tad unorthodox,

to say the least.

However I wanted to be
certain I had your attention.

- You sure as sh*t
have my attention.

- Good. I'd also like a
few minutes of your time.

- How do you know I
won't just call the cops?

- Because if you're the type
of woman I believe you to be,

and can become, you'll want to
listen to what I have to say.

I feel that we can
both help each other.

Tell you what, if I
have the holds removed,

maybe we talk then?

Done.

Please, see for yourself.

- Your pro bono begins now.

- People
are walking, breathing,

grapes of information.

You just need to know how
and where to poke, pry, suck,

lick, bite, spank,
squash, and stomp.

Information has a price and
we pay in pounds of flesh.

This makes my clients
extremely loyal.

- So, were you able to
track down Miss Gamble?

- I was.

- Mh-hm, and?

- We shall see.

- Are you sure this is the
route you want to take?

She walks like a wild card,
talks like a wild card,

et cetera, et cetera.

- We have one shot to overturn
Tony's convictions. One!

So Chelsea is a wild card that
I'm willing to put into play.

- You swear on
your momma's life?

- Nora,

how much money did the
Marzili's lose on the deal

that we pushed through
with the local 58?

- Not much, $122,250,065,
give or take a dollar or two.

- What's rattling
around up there?

- Othello, I need you and
the twins to make a visit

to Frank Marzili tonight

- What's going on?

- I'll explain later. Drink up.

- In
case you're wondering

why this successful young,
intelligent, and powerful woman

is willing to put everything
she's built on the line,

and go through such extremes.

Well, you can't afford
that information.

But understand this, in order
to be a successful vineyard,

you need to be willing
to break a few grapes,

no matter how messy
things will get