THE GUARDIAN 3X01 - "CARNIVAL" Original Airdate: 23-Sep-2003 Written by David Hollander & Rick Eid Directed by Felix Enriquez Alcala ------------------------ Brought to you by www.twiztv.com ------------------------ TEASER INT. PARKING GARAGE/CAR - NIGHT Nick and his father Burton Fallen are looking for a parking spot in the garage. They are both dressed in tuxes, headed to see the opera. Opera music is playing in the car. BURTON Too bad Lulu couldn't make it. NICK You know, you just missed a spot back there. BURTON There'll be another one. NICK Just back up and take that spot. BURTON There'll be another one, son. NICK You know, Dad, you know, sometimes maybe we should talk. BURTON About what? NICK Uh, um. BURTON Oh, there we go. A car is pulling out. Burton stops and waits for it. The car pulls out and leaves. Suddenly, another car races around the corner and pulls into the spot. BURTON What the hell? Did you see that? NICK Yeah. Burton rolls down his window. BURTON Excuse me, you took my place. The guy in the car ignores him. BURTON Hello? NICK Dad-- BURTON You took my place. NICK Dad, just let it go. The guy ignores them, still in the car. Burton gets out of the car. NICK Dad-- Burton approaches the guy. Nick stays in the car. The guy gets out of the car. BURTON Excuse me. Excuse me, you took my place. Nick gets out of the car and heads over. GUY What are you talking about? NICK Dad! BURTON Well, I was waiting here for this spot. NICK Let it go. GUY It's a parking spot. So back off. He touches Burton's shoulder. NICK Hey man! Burton shoves the man back. The man shoves Burton, and Nick moves in and punches him. The guy punches Nick back. Burton tries to grab him and the guy shoves him away. Nick head butts the guy and shoves him to the ground. Nick continues to punch the guy in the face as he lays prone. Burton kicks him. The guy rolls over and Nick lets up. Burton kicks him again. Nick gets up. They both head back to their car and leave the guy lying on the cement. Burton looks around and heads to the car. INT. CAR - NIGHT Nick and Burton drive away silently. Nicks hands on the steering wheel are bloody. As Nick is driving down a dark alley, he sees a man running toward them, in the middle of the street, wearing a red shirt. Nick comes to a stop. The man keeps running toward them, and then slowly passes by. It is Taliek Allen, the young black guy with the messed up face. Nick and the Taliek look at each other as he passes. BURTON You know that guy? Nick doesn't respond. He watches the guy in the rear window. BURTON Nicholas? EXT. NICK'S OFFICE - NIGHT Nick gets out of the car and heads into the office. He steps around to Burton's side of the car, removes his tie and tosses it in the open car window. NICK Go home. Just go home. He heads into the office. INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT Nick removes his jacket and rubs his eyes. He looks nervous. The elevator beeps as it arrives at his floor INT. OFFICE - NIGHT The elevator doors open and Nick sees two bodies in pools of blood on the floor. He can't believe what he sees. MAIN TITLES ACT I INT. OFFICE - DAY The office is a police crime scene. It is full of crime scene investigators and members of the coroner's office. We see a body in a bag on a stretcher. DETECTIVE We arrested Taliek Allen outside of his house about ten minutes ago. NICK OK. DETECTIVE You told Officer Sacks that you saw him running away from the vicinity around 7:30. NICK Yeah, that's right. DETECTIVE You're sure about the time? NICK Well, yeah, we were supposed to go to the symphony and that starts at 7:30. DETECTIVE Supposed to go? Nick looks down at his bruised hands and hides them by his side. NICK Yeah, uh, we changed our minds. DETECTIVE What made you think something happened here? NICK I just had a feeling. DETECTIVE Because you knew Taliek was going to retaliate. Come on. James Moody took a tire-iron to that kids face. Why cover it up now? Nick is silent. DETECTIVE Your friend's dead. There's no reason to protect him anymore. Nick is still silent. DETECTIVE Sorry for your loss. INT. NICK'S HOME - DAY Nick heads down the hallway to his kitchen. He flips on the light. He's surprised by something he sees. NICK Oh God. Burton is sitting there, waiting for him. BURTON I went over there. NICK Where? BURTON Parking lot. See if that guy's all right. Gone. Car was still there, but he was gone. Got his license plate number. Nick opens the window, takes out a cigarette, breaks off the filter and light up. BURTON Where you been? Nick doesn't even know how to tell him what's happened. EXT. CEMETARY HILL ABOVE CITY - DAY Nick, ALVIN, Lulu, guy from the office, Burton, and members of James's family stand as a priest speaks. We see close ups of each character as they contemplate what has happened. The service ends and mourners start to walk away. ALVIN and Nick walk together. ALVIN I saw Taliek in the elevator that night. He said hello to me. I don't-- I just don't get it. james was just trying to help that kid. What you went through, finding the bodies-- NICK I'm fine, I'm fine. ALVIN James's sister invited us over to the house for coffee. You going? NICK I'll see you back at the office. (Response implies answer.) EXT. HOUSING PROJECT - DAY Establishing shot. INT. SHANNON'S ROOM - DAY We hear someone KNOCKING on the door. BURTON (O.S.) Shannon? Shannon is lying on her bed. She is started and sits up. SHANNON Burton. BURTON How you doing? SHANNON Good. BURTON I just thought I'd come by and say hi. SHANNON Yeah. You want to sit? BURTON Yeah, sure. He sits on her bed. BURTON This is not so bad. SHANNON Yeah. You mad at me? BURTON I'm upset. That's a little different. Honey, what you did is a very serious thing. The police came by my office and accused me of doing some terrible things to you. SHANNON Sorry. BURTON Honey, if you didn't want to stay with me, why didn't you just tell me, I would have understood that. SHANNON Roy's coming to get me pretty soon. He's taking me out to a movie. Burton gets up. BURTON Good luck to you sweetheart. SHANNON I never said you did anything gross. I mean-- I was kind of scared. You yelled at me. Roy appears in the doorway. ROY Mr. Fallen. Good to see you again, sir. BURTON Well, you have fun at the movies, sweetheart. SHANNON We will. BURTON (to Roy) Could I talk to you for a second? They step outside. Roy's white-trash wife is standing outside, adjusting make-up. BURTON Shannon told me that you're going to take care of her now. ROY Well, sir, I hope you're not angry at her for what she said. BURTON What she said? The way I see it, you told a twelve year-old to lie to the police. ROY Well, sir, it all worked out, and I hope we can put it behind us now. BURTON Well, she could be a great kid, Roy. Don't screw it up. WOMAN Roy, we're gonna miss the preview soon. ROY Well, sir, I appreciate your concern as always, good seeing you. They head off. INT. JAMES'S OFFICE - DAY ALVIN is clearing out James's stuff. Lulu approaches. LULU You need some help? ALVIN Sure. I was wondering. LULU Yeah? ALVIN I could really use a hand around here until I can hire replacements for Larry and James. LULU I'm supposed to start in Berkeley in two weeks. ALVIN I'm sure Judith Lieberman will understand. LULU ALVIN! ALVIN Just for another month or so, until I can get replacements in here. LULU ALVIN, you're the one who wanted me to leave in the first place. ALVIN Will you stay or not? Nick appears in the doorway. LULU Hey. NICK James' sister asked about his retirement fund. ALVIN Talk to Carol in accounting. LULU I'll do it. She hands Nick a box as she heads out. ALVIN If you want to help me, you could put some of his personal stuff in this box. Nick steps in to help pack. ALVIN Stan Belanger. Guy who had this office before James. Stan, one day, just stopped coming in. Didn't even quit. Just stopped. So, I called a friend at Duquesne law school, and he sent James over for an interview. James hadn't even pass the bar, and he wasn't very likeable. No way I could hire him. Couple-a weeks later, I'm over at the crawford grill. Stanley Turrentine is playing. They're making a recording of him. Keystone records. Remember them? NICK Uh, no. ALVIN Oh they were good. Jazz only. Pittsburg artists. You know, Joe Negri, Etta Cox, Walt Harper. Anyway I look across the room, and there's James. We start talking, takes me out to an after hours club up on the hill. Turns out he's a huge jazz fan. I mean, real knowledgeable. I hired him the next day. Well, that Turrentine record comes out the following December. James, get this, James buys it for me for Christmas, then immediately borrows it so he can tape it. Never gives it back. NICK Hmm. ALVIN What do you do, you know? It's a present. You don't wanna seem-- I dont' know. Anyway, Keystone goes bankrupt, Turrentine dies, and now it is like one of the most rare recording you can find. That bothered me. That he never gave it back to me. Always really bothered me. ALVIN looks disturbed by his own line of thinking and changes the subject. ALVIN Steelers look good this year. A woman SUZANNA appears in the doorway with a young boy. SUZANNE ALVIN! ALVIN Oh, Suzanne. How are you? SUZANNE Hi, I know this is a terrible time. ALVIN Oh, Thank you. SUZANNE But this is Joey Smith, and he needs a lawyer for a shelter hearing. ALVIN Sure. SUZANNE I tried at the children's center, but they were all full. ALVIN Ah, we can handle it. We're fine here. Nick? SUZANNE Hi. Suzanne Pell. NICK Nick Fallen. SUZANNE I'm sorry for your-- NICK What's the case? Nick steps through the doorway and looks at Suzanne. SUZANNE Um, Joey will you wait here a second? Thanks. Suzanne heads after Nick. Joey stays with ALVIN. ALVIN Hey, how you doing. He approaches Joey and he backs away. ALVIN It's okay. INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY Suzanne and Nick sit on opposite sides of the table. SUZANNE Joey is 9 years old. He came into town last week with the carnival. NICK Literally? SUZANNE Literally. The kind that moves around. He's been traveling with it since he was been born. Um, his mother is some sort of side-show performer. She does some kind of reptile act. NICK Why is he here? SUZANNE He was picked up Friday night, sleeping outside his father's back yard. Or at least that's what Joey is claiming. He says his father is a dentist in Mt Lebanon. NICK You don't know that for sure? SUZANNE We're trying to track him down. He's on vacation with his family. NICK Well, if the kids a runaway, why isn't he back with his mother. SUZANNE Joey is claiming that the owner of the carnival is molesting him. Nick suddenly gets up and leaves. ACT II INT. OFFICE - DAY Joey is playing with LEGOS at a small table. Nick passes by ALVIN as he approaches. ALVIN He seems to like the LEGOs. Nick sits down in front of Joey. Suzanne stands and watches. NICK What are you making? JOEY A dog house. NICK Oh course. You like dogs? JOEY No. NICK My name's Nick. I'll be helping you when we go to court. JOEY What am I going to court for? NICK To find you a new place to live. JOEY I know my Mom is mad at me. NICK Do you want to tell me why you ran away? JOEY I just wanted to see my Dad. NICK Did you want to talk to him? What did you want to tell him? JOEY That I didn't want to do it anymore. NICK Do what? JOEY Help Mr. Meadows with the mail. EXT. CARNIVAL - DAY Carnival music plays. Suzanne and Nick walk past trailers and a clown. SUZANNE This is where the children sleep. They promised to clean it up by tomorrow night. Various freaks linger around, resting during a break. Nick looks in the doorway of the trailer as a small girl steps out. SUZANNE This is where they go to school. Yeah, it's not Exeter but it's got the basics. They don't have a licensed teacher though, so I'm recommending they get one before they leave the state. NICK Right. SUZANNE There's the bathrooms and the showers. There's no hot water, and no stalls. They said they'll fix it up the best they can. NICK If they don't? SUZANNE What can we do? They're leaving town in a few days, and after that, they're off to who knows where. The door of a nearby trailer opens and a man steps out. MAN (MEADOWS) Miss Pell. How are you? SUZANNE Nick, this is George Meadows, he owns the carnival. MEADOWS Pleasure to meet you Nick. They shake hands. MEADOWS I'm glad that you and Miss Pell can come by and help straighten out this mess. Nick and Mr. Meadows head into the trailer. INT. TRAILER - DAY Nick and Mr. Meadows talk. MEADOWS We come to town outsiders, we leave town outsiders. We have to look out for each other. NICK I see. MEADOWS I told the police, we're ostensibly a big family, and I guess I'm supposed to be the father here. As such I'm called upon to play a paternalistic role. NICK Paternalistic? MEADOWS Joey, like all kids here, are the children of children, emotionally speaking. They need love, guidance, sometimes discipline. It's in my best interest to watch over them. After all, most of them will stay with this carnival for life. NICK Are you aware Joey claims you molested him? MEADOWS I'm aware of his accusations. NICK You spend much time alone with Joey? MEADOWS Sure. He helps me out sometimes. NICK With the mail? MEADOWS Right. NICK You've never touched Joey. MEADOWS I'm affectionate with the boy, yes. I'm affectionate with all the kids. NICK Where can I find Joey's mother? EXT. CARNIVAL - DAY Meadows leads Nick through the carnival as we hear an announcer. ANNOUNCER And when she starts to dance, she quivers like a bowl of Gramma's Jelly on a cold frosty morning. We got a fire eater. Freaks, wonders and curiosities. Meadows points Nick to the freak show. INT. FREAK SHOW TENT - DAY A man taps long nails into his nostril. A man swallows a sword. We continue to hear the announcer describing the freaks inside. Nick weaves through the crowd to approach the reptile/snake woman. NICK Excuse me, uh. Miss Smith? NIcholas Fallen. I'm your son's court appointed guardian. INT. BACKSTAGE AREA - DAY Nick speaks to Miss Smith as she puts away her snakes. NICK Your son says George Meadows was masturbating in front of him. MISS SMITH I want my kid back. NICK Do you know anything about what your son is saying? MISS SMITH If George Meadows was touching himself in front of my son, I would kill him. NICK So then, your son is a liar? MISS SMITH Where's Joey? NICK That doesn't answer my question. MISS SMITH I don't even know who you are. NICK That does not answer my question. Like I said-- MISS SMITH Look, I know you're a lawyer. I just don't know what the hell you have to do with any of this. NICK The court is going to ask me for a recommendation about where Joey should live. MISS SMITH My son took off. I don't know why. Maybe he was sick of working all summer, or maybe he wanted to see his Dad, who by the way, he doesn't even know. It happens. Kids around here want to see what the normal world is like. NICK So you're confident there's been no abuse? MISS SMITH I've known George Meadows all my life. He's all right. Please give me back my son. We're leaving at the end of the week. Give him back. NICK You've seen this? He pulls out a document. MISS SMITH What? NICK It's your son's statement. It, uh, it's very specific about what happened in that trailer. He leaves her standing looking at the document. INT. BURTON'S CAR - DAY Burton is driving past the house of the man they attacked the other night. He slows down. Another car just pulled into the driveway. A man gets out of the passenger side of the car with an arm in a slign and bruises on his face. Family members (wife and kids) come outside to greet him. Burton drives away. INT. FALLEN & FALLEN - DAY Nick enters. RECEPTIONIST Nick! About James, I just want to say-- NICK Thank you. RECEPTIONIST Terrible thing. I met him once, James. He was such a nice guy. NICK Any messages? RECEPTIONIST Yeah, here you go. BURTON (O.S.) Nick! Burton steps into his office. Nick follows. We see Nick and Burton talk from outside the office. BURTON How you doin? Need anything? Burton closes the door. NICK I'm fine. INT. BURTON'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS BURTON I was thinking about that shrink you were seeing. NICK Need his number? BURTON I was thinking about you. NICK Well, I'm all right. You okay? BURTON Yeah. Why? NICK Well, after what happened the other night, you were kind of. BURTON (sighs) You know about that partner's meeting this afternoon, right? NICK Right, finalizing bonuses. I'll be there. INT. FALLEN & FALLEN OFFICES - CONTINUOUS Nick heads to his office. His friend, GUY, approaches. GUY Hey. NICK Hey. GUY How you feeling? NICK I'm all right. GUY I was pretty upset. I was-- I was supposed to have lunch with James tomorrow. They arrive at Nick's office. GUY Hey, look, man, if you wanna talk, I'm here. He hugs Nick, then pulls out a letter. GUY This is kind of a bad time. NICK Bonuses. GUY Yeah, I made up a memo of hours, billings, new business. it was before I heard about James, of course. RECEPTIONIST Nick? There's a guy named Harold Watson on the phone. Something about a kid named Joey Smith. EXT. SUBURBAN HOME - DAY A man is pacing by his picket fence home, waiting. Nick pulls up in his car. WATSON Nick Fallen? Nick gets out of his car and approaches. WATSON Harold Watson. They shake hands. WATSON Who the hell could-- They arrested this freak, didn't they? NICK The police are still looking into it. WATSON I can't believe that son of a bitch is-- I mean Joey is only going to be, what is he, eight years old? NICK Nine. WATSON Right. Yeah. (beat) I know what you're thinking. How could I, you know, with Amy. I was, uh, I had a very interesting summer ten years ago. I was partying pretty hard. I met Amy and-- One week thing. Right, we've all been there. NICK We may need to find a place for Joey to live. WATSON Right. I'm sure. NICK Would you consider having him live with you? WATSON You mean here? NICK Yeah. WATSON I'll speak to my wife and kids. Nick hands him his card. NICK Let me know. He gets back in the car. EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - DAY Burton is getting out of his car as an elderly woman approaches. WOMAN Sir? Sir? Your car is in my husband's spot. My husband has MS and he needs to park in front of the house. It's a reserved spot. BURTON It's all right, I'll move it. In the background, we see the same house from the previous scene, and the man with the arm in the sling is coming out the front door, headed for Burton. As Burton pulls away, he sees the man approaching with a baseball bat. Burton's car pulls away and the man throws the baseball bat at the car and misses. INT. NICK'S HOUSE - NIGHT Nick opens the fridge, looking for some dinner. There's a KNOCK on the door. Nick answers. It's Lulu. LULU Thought you might be hungry. Can I come in? NICK Sure? Lulu sets down a bag on Nick's counter and unpacks Chinese take out from it. LULU Whew, I was just helping Alvin clean out James's apartment. Alvin's tearing the place up, looking for some kind of jazz record or something. NICK He says you're gonna stay for another month. LULU He did? NICK Yeah. LULU You know, Alvin had a really good idea to start a fund at Duquesne Law School honoring James. NICK So, you're not gonna stay? LULU You know, I'm supposed to start at Berkeley October 15th. This smells great, you wanna eat? Nick Uh, no, I just, uh, I just ate. LULU Oh, come on, I don't wanna eat alone. NICK You don't have to. LULU Nick, I was really kind of hoping that we could be-- NICK Friends? LULU I guess. No. More than-- NICK Well, I'm not a very good friend. LULU So you just want to end it then? NICK End what? LULU Come on. NICK I said what I said, all right? LULU Yeah well, Nick, Love is not a business deal. You don't just pull the offer. NICK Right. LULU You know I really care about you. I more than care about you. It's just that-- NICK You're gonna move to California? LULU Right. NICK Then we have nothing to talk about. He opens the door. Lulu picks her keys off the counter. LULU I'll leave the food for you. She leaves. ACT III INT. FALLEN & FALLEN - DAY Nick enters. Phones are ringing. RECEPTIONIST Nick, your father wants to see you in his office. INT. BURTON'S OFFICE - DAY There's a KNOCK on the door. BURTON Come in. Nick enters. NICK What is it? BURTON Yeah, Nick, uh, this is Ralph Trillo. This is my son Nicholas. The man that Nick and Burton attacked in the parking lot is seated in Burton's office. His arm is in a sling. Ralph slowly looks up at Nicholas. NICK Hey. INT. BURTON'S OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER We see Ralph leaving the office. NICK What, you couldn't just let it go? You went to his house? What the hell were you thinking? BURTON Nicholas, we attacked him. NICK No, you getting out of your car is what started this whole damn thing. It was a fight, Dad! You know what this could do to me? This guy goes to the cops? I'm on probation! BURTON I know that. I'm sorry about that. But, uh-- NICK You're sorry. BURTON Nicholas, I had to find out if he was okay or not. NICK If this guy goes to the police, I'm the one looking at a probation revocation hearing. BURTON Well, he's not going to the cops. NICK He knows who we are now. He's been to our offices. He knows we have money. BURTON He's not going to do anything. NICK He's going straight to see a lawyer right now! BURTON I'll fix it. NICK How? BURTON I'll handle it. Nick grabs his briefcase and leaves. INT. RESTAURANT - DAY Burton has lunch with a woman. The waitress gives them menus. BURTON Thank you. Well I appreciate you coming by, Joanne. JOANNE No problem. BURTON Yeah, I read about your son, he's going to Penn State, right? JOANNE Yeah! BURTON Right, well the pros are liking these college players a lot more these days, especially pitchers. JOANNE I know. So I pulled that file on Mr. Trillo, you still want it? BURTON Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I could have gotten this from Frank DeScala, but I thought it would be nice to catch up with you a little bit. You look great. JOANNE Well, thanks so do you. BURTON Thanks. Hairline fracture of the skull, minor concussion, facial laceration, broken right hand, huh, not so bad. JOANNE Uh, the treatment was standard. Where's the malpractice? BURTON They haven't filed a suit yet. JOANNE So why do you need this information? BURTON Well, I thought I'd just maybe nip it in the bud. Burton sees Roy and Cheryl Ann enter the restaurant. BURTON Could you, uh, will you excuse me, just a second? JOANNE Sure. Burton approaches Roy. ROY Mr. Fallen, how you doin? BURTON I'm doin' fine. ROY Remember Cheryl Ann. Uh, the secretary told me where you were. BURTON Did she? ROY Yeah, I told her I was a client. BURTON What do you want? ROY Mr. Fallen, I think I overestimated my capacities. BURTON Is that right? ROY My business ventures are heating up, and I think they're going to require my undivided attentions. BURTON Your business ventures? ROY Yeah, I invested in Cheryl Ann's beauty supply business. BURTON Oh. Oh. You couldn't do that here? ROY No, we're goin' to Florida. BURTON So, what, uh, what do you want from me? Bus fare? ROY No, no, I got my car. Uh, listen, I haven't told Shannon yet. I guess what I'm trying to say, here, and this is hard for me, sir, is that, uh, well, I know how Shannon feels about you, so I thought you might keep an eye on her until I get back. BURTON You're not coming back, Roy. ROY Uh, no, sir, I don't know that for certain. BURTON You go away, you just stay away. ROY it's my right, Mr. Fallen, to live my existence any way I choose. Burton walks away. As he passes by some guy... GUY Hey Burton. BURTON Hey. He sits back down with Joanne. BURTON So, the, uh, fish specials are very good, if you're a fish person. JOANNE I like fish. BURTON Well, cheers Joanne, it's good to see you. INT. ALVIN'S OFFICE - DAY Nick enters. NICK You wanted to see me? ALVIN Yeah, I'm down three lawyers, so until I can hire replacements, I'm going to be leaning on you to pick up the slack. NICK I understand. I'll come in when I can. ALVIN You come in when I tell you to. NICK Well, that's not our deal. ALVIN (beat) I've been talking to the dean over at Duquesne about setting up a scholarship fund. NICK I heard, I heard. Nick closes the door. ALVIN So... NICK Alvin, before you get too deep into this... ALVIN Yes... NICK Taliek is going to claim that James attacked him. ALVIN That's ridiculous. NICK He's going to say that James blamed him for what happened to his nephew, and that he broke into his house and attacked him. ALVIN But that's a lie. NICK No law school is going to want an endowment named after some guy who took a tire iron to a teenage kid's face. ALVIN But he didn't do it. Nick leaves and does not respond. INT. NICK'S OFFICE (at the Children's legal center) - DAY Joey's father enters. WATSON Mr. Fallen. Harold Watson. NICK Yeah, I remember. WATSON My wife and I discussed Joey. NICK And? WATSON It's a no. Amy was-- I was very-- NICK Yeah, you told me. WATSON Look, Joey's a good kid, but you see what he's been brought up around. My wife, well, she's just doesn't feel comfortable bringing him into a house with normal kids. You know what I mean. NICK Yeah. WATSON I have a family. Joey belongs with Amy. But I'll absolutely keep up with my child support payments. NICK Great, I'll let him know that. Thanks. INT. SHANNON'S DORM ROOM - DAY She's looking out the window. She's been crying. We hear footsteps. BURTON Hey. How you doin? Shannon turns around and tries to wipe away the tears and hide the fact that she was crying. SHANNON Good. Thanks for coming over. BURTON Sure. What, uh, what's going on? SHANNON ROy had some good news. BURTON Yeah? SHANNON Got some great job in Florida. Said he's gonna call me in a few weeks, once he's set up. BURTON Oh, good. SHANNON Until then, guess I just have to wait. I mean, stay here. BURTON Yeah. SHANNON But it's good news. BURTON Yeah, yeah, it is. It's good news. SHANNON Burton. BURTON What, honey? SHANNON I kind of told Roy, I kind of told him that, I might want to stay with you, til he gets back. BURTON You told him that? SHANNON Yeah. BURTON Wow. Burton gets up and looks away from her. BURTON Honey, well, you know, I sure like the idea, but, honey, I've-- i've got a lot of things going on at the office right now, and I just don't think it's possible right now. SHANNON Oh. BURTON Do you understand? SHANNON Yeah, I get it. BURTON Really? SHANNON Yeah. BURTON I mean, I can come by here, a lot if you want. SHANNON I'll just-- I'll call Roy and tell him. Probably just come back and get me. BURTON Yeah. INT. ALVIN'S OFFICE - DAY Nick enters. NICK Joey's Smith's biological father won't take him back. ALVIN Who? NICK Joey Smith, the kid from the carnival. ALVIN You were right. About Taliek. His lawyer's setting up an insanity defense and making James to be the bad guy. NICK Alvin, I need your advice on this case. ALVIN What's social services saying? NICK Well, police ran a background check on this guy Meadows. It seems this is not the first complaint that's gone up against him. ALVIN You think the Mom was aware of the abuse? NICK She just wants her kid back. I don't think she'll admit anything. ALVIN What's the kid want? NICK Wants to be with his mother. ALVIN Tell his Mom to leave the carnival. Social services can supervise them for awhile so no one's at risk. EXT. CARNIVAL - DAY Nick talks to the snake woman. MISS SMITH I'm not going anywhere. NICK Then I have to recommend that your son remain in a shelter. MISS SMITH Who the hell are you to tell me? This is my son, my son. NICK Call these people. They will help you find a job. I will fill out the government housing forms and take them to the housing authority for you. The hearing's tomorrow morning, 11 AM. EST. SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT - DAY Overhead shot of housing development. INT. SURBURBAN HOME - DAY Burton is meeting with the guy they beat up. BURTON I was on my way to a symphony fund-raiser, where I'm on the board, by the way, my son was with me, he's also an attorney. I was getting ready to park my car when a man recklessly pulls in front of me and takes my place. I got out of the car, politely asked him to move his car, he immediately got hostile, shoves me, throws me up against a car, hits me so hard that it breaks his right hand. I, in self defense, threw a punch, connected, the guy went down, and I walked away. MAN You and your son attacked me. BURTON Well, this is a complaint alledging assault and battery on a 70-year old man. I'll serve you tomorrow morning. I'm asking for $100,000 in damages. I think you ought to know that I have the resources to drag this case out for a long time. Cost you a fortune. Cost me nothing. I am aware of your injuries, your expenses, so I, um, prepared a check in the amount of $36,000. Here's a release form for you to sign. MAN Release form? BURTON Yeah, that states that there was a minor altercation between you and me, only, says that we were both negligent, and neither party is willing to accept blame. MAN Wasn't just me and you. BURTON No, no, my son was not involved. MAN If I want more money? BURTON I'm not here to negotiate. MAN If I go to the police? BURTON Ralph, I want you to know that I'm sorry about what happened, and I truly believe it would be in everybody's best interest if you just took that check. INT. NICK'S OFFICE, FALLEN & FALLEN - DAY Burton and Nick are meeting. BURTON By the way, I took care of our little problem. NICK What'd you do? BURTON Just took care of it. (beat) Nicholas, let me ask you something. NICK What? BURTON Shannon's Dad left town. NICK Right. BURTON She has no place to go. NICK No, Dad, you don't want to go back there. BURTON No, no I know what you think of her. I'm not asking you that. I guess what I'm asking is, what do you think of me? NICK What do you mean? BURTON As a father? ACT IV INT. CONFERENCE ROOM, CHILDREN'S LEGAL CENTER - DAY Nick and Joey are meeting JOEY Can I go home now? NICK No. JOEY Why not? NICK Because you should stay at the shelter and let social services find a new home for you. JOEY What if I said it didn't happen? What if I said Mr. Meadows never did anything to me? I made it up, okay? I made it up. INT. COURTHOUSE HALLWAY - DAY Miss Smith is waiting as Nick approaches. NICK These are the housing forms. All you have to do is sign the, MISS SMITH I went to the job placement center. That guy just stared at me. Said he didn't have anything. NICK They'll find you a job. MISS SMITH I have a job. In show business, I'm a performer. I have a house in Florida where I keep my snakes and where my son lives. This is the only thing I can do. I'm not leaving the carnival. NICK Then I have to recommend Joey be placed in a shelter. MISS SMITH I can't change the way I look now. Even if I wanted to, there's no doctor in the world who's gonna change the way I look. Nick starts to walk away. She grabs him. MISS SMITH Please! Give me back my son. NICK This is not up to me. MISS SMITH If I promise to protect him from Mr. Meadows-- NICK Protect him? MISS SMITH If I promise-- NICK You haven't been able to protect him so far. MISS SMITH I'll never let it happen again. NICK You need to talk to the police. MISS SMITH I can't do that. They'll shut us down. NICK Talk to the police. MISS SMITH I can't. Sorry. I can't do that. It's not like he's touching Joey. Nick can't believe what she just said. He walks away. INT. COURTROOM - DAY The judge is hearing Joey's case. JUDGE Has there been any progress in the criminal investigation? NICK Not yet, your honor. MISS SMITH'S ATTORNEY The child has recanted his allegations against Mr. Meadows. In addition, your honor, Mr. Meadows has improved the living conditions and hired a full-time tutor. Miss Smith wants Joey back, and Joey wants to be with her. There's absolutely no legal reason to keep them apart. JUDGE Mr. Fallen, your recommendation? NICK Joey Smith should remain in a group home until the police have concluded their investigation. JOEY I want to go home. MISS SMITH We're leaving for Ohio today. JUDGE Miss Smith. MISS SMITH He wants to come with me. MISS SMITH'S ATTORNEY Miss Smith has done nothing wrong. No abuse, no neglect, there have been no criminal charges filed against Mr. Meadows. JOEY I want to go home. JUDGE I see no reason why Joey shouldn't go back with his mother-- NICK Joey's mother knows he's being abused. He recanted because he doesn't want the carnival to leave without him, and she knows the truth. INT. SHANNON'S ROOM - DAY Burton is talking to Shannon BURTON Now I know I can be a little rough and lose my temper sometimes, but like I said, if I frightened you that day, well, I'm sorry. SHANNON It was Roy. He told me to-- BURTON Don't do that, honey. Don't blame other people for your actions. SHANNON Okay. BURTON Well, anyway, I've been thinking about this, and uh, I'd like for you to come back, if you want to. SHANNON Yeah, well, that's what I was-- BURTON But, you're going to have to give me your word. No more lying, No more going places without my permission, no more Roy, unless I'm there to supervise. SHANNON I promise, Burton. I promise. BURTON Okay. Well, so we'll get your stuff, and get out of here. Why don't we, why don't we, before we go home, take a movie in, get some dinner? SHANNON I'd rather just go back to your house Burton. If that's okay, I'd rather just go back there. BURTON Yeah, me too. EXT. CARNIVAL LOT - DAY Miss Smith is saying good bye to Joey. MISS SMITH I'll be back after we finish in Cincinnatti, and all this will have blown over. Mr. Fallen will watch out for you. And I'll write you every day, and I'm gonna call you, so give me a hug. Joey hugs his Mom. MR MEADOWS Let's go! Roll out! MISS SMITH We'll work this out. Okay? Joey is silent. Miss Smith gets in the car with Mr. Meadows. She looks back. MISS SMITH Bye. Joey waves. They drive away. Nick and Joey watch them drive off. INT. JAMES'S OFFICE - NIGHT Jazz music plays. INT. OFFICE LOBBY - DAY Nick comes out of the elevator into the Children services office area. He hears the Jazz music playing, and finds Alvin in James's office, scraping James's name off the door with a razor blade. ALVIN Nick! (beat) I found my Stanley Turrentine record in James's apartment. Post-It note was still on it. "Return to Alvin". (beat) The dean at Duquesne Law school? Not interested in the scholarship. (beat) It's a shame. James was a good man. This whole damn thing is just a shame. NICK I could do that. ALVIN I'm fine. No, I'm fine. He scrapes the last of James's name off the door. ALVIN I checked your probation decree. The terms of your community service are up to my discretion. My discretion, not yours. I just want you to know that. I need you to put some extra time in here. NICK Okay. ALVIN Just so you know. Alvin walks away. Nick lingers in James's old office, then walks away. FADE OUT. THE END