The Guardian S2E12 - English Transcript

Your parents have filed a protection from abuse order against you, Mr. Putinski. Right. What does that mean? Well, they're claiming false imprisonment and abuse. That's horsecrap. They were abusing me. Do you have any idea why they would make these allegations? Well, yeah, because they want to kick me out of my house. You know, the fact that you're 28 l think the judge might sympathize with your parents. [Sighs] OH, here's the deal. l was kind of famous around here for a while. OH. l did some commercials. l did this one commercial that went national. lt was a running shoe commercial with Joe Montana. l made $18,OOO off of that thing. Now, my parents took that money, and they used it as a down payment for my house, and now they're trying to kick me out of it. Well, you were a minor then, so they were entitled to do whatever they wanted with your earnings. You were a runner, too, right? Uh, yeah. l was. How'd you know that? Oh, there was a picture Iast time l was in here of you finishing a marathon. l-l'm just very observant. l notice things. Guess that's why l was a good actor. l remember everything. Hmm. Last time l was here, l remember you had a white blouse and black slacks, and you had a lovely silver necklace right across your neck. Hmm. But l bet you don't remember what l was wearing, do you? No. And your husband's name is Brian because it says it right there on the calendar. ''Brian to New Mexico. '' l can read upside down. OH, uh, we're done here. l have another appointment. Oh, OH. [Sighs] Alvin, do you have my pen? Which one? My federal district court pen. The black one? Yeah. No, sorry. Uh, did Brian leave yet? Yeah, he got on a plane to New Mexico this morning. Well, uh, tell him l hope his mother gets well soon. Yeah. Hey, are you sure you don't have it? Remember you used it to sign that express package? No. Hey, James, do you still have my stapler? -What? -My stapler. lt's gone. You borrowed it. And l gave it back. Oh, come on, l'm tired of people taking my things! A lot of things have been taken from my office lately, personal stuff, too. -Like what? My favorite red sweater, my mother-of-pearl picture frame. -You should lock your door. -To my office? That's what l do. Great. You have an aviary. That's right. And the city wants you to take it down. Before my wife died, we were both very big into bird-watching. We took trips, traveled around the state. We cataloged every bird living in Pennsylvania. OH. Then my eyes got all shot to hell and l couldn't watch 'em anymore unless they were up real close. Sure, that would be-- -But l could hear them. -True. l can actually imitate almost every bird indigenous to Western PA-- cardinals, bluebirds, siskins, finches, robins. [Whistling like a bird] Zee zee zee zee zee zee! [Whistles] Zee zee zee zee zee zee! [Telephone rings] [Ring] Hello? Hello? Hello? [Telephone rings] [Ring] Hello? Who is this? Stop calling me. [Ring] [Ring] [Ring] JAHOB DYLAN: [Singing] There is trouble in my mind There is dark There's dark, and there is light There is no order, but there is chaos There is crime There is no one home tonight ln the empire of my mind There is trouble in my mind All the chaos in my mind Take a seat. Your honor, this is Hyle Plunkett. His mother was beaten up by her live-in boyFriend yesterday. She's expected to be released from the hospital tomorrow. Where's Hyle staying now? NICH: At the Allegheny County Children's Shelter. Your honor, my client, Bill Plunkett, is Hyle's father and asks that Hyle be placed with him. NICH: He does not have Iegal custody of his son. The terms of his divorce gave him supervised visitation only. ATTORNEY: Why would the court place the boy in a strange environment when he can be with his father? My client doesn't wish to be placed even temporarily with his father. REBECCA: Just so l'm clear here, Mr. Plunkett is not the man who assaulted Sharon Plunkett? MAN: That's correct, your honor. lt was Mrs. Plunkett's live-in boyFriend, but while they were married, Mr. Plunkett was abusive towards Sharon Plunkett as well. Has he been abusive toward his son? MAN: There were allegations by Mrs. Plunkett. BILL: Never! l never hit my son. My wife-- Mr. Plunkett-- l could never do anything like that. Mr. Plunkett. Hyle, has your father ever hit you? Can you answer my question, please? Uh, your honor, my client needs a brief recess. Hyle Plunkett will stay in his group home until his mother's released from the hospital. MAN: The city tends to farm out cases that BURTON: Nobody else wants. l get it. This case, if anybody's gonna be quoted, it's a little controversial. Well, you don't want to get your hands dirty, right? My hands, my head, my shoes. lt's just a neighborhood nuisance abatement. We just don't want to come off looking like we're being aggressive. Yeah, l see, yeah. Thank you. See, it's the, uh, the 30-15 [Door opens] Afternoon, gentlemen. Barbara. l just spoke with Gene Everton, the City Solicitor. Looks like we're gonna be handling some city business. The city as a client? Yeah, it turns out the City of Pittsburgh farms out about 200/o of its work. That could be significant revenue for this firm, so it's something to think about. Uh, Jake and l have been pursuing a D. B. H. Land Development for well over 6 months. So? JAHE: So the city and D. B. H. have a conflict. They're suing each other over a zoning issue. Well, we just won't get involved with that particular lawsuit, uh, get waivers from both clients. We should nail down D. B. H. before we start dumping conflicts on them. Well, why does one exclude the other? -lt's a risk. Yeah. -lt's a risk. Well, the city's a solid client. lt's good money, a long-term relationship. D. B. H. will attract more developers. lt's a great opportunity for growth. JAHE: l think we should vote. -l agree. -_0tg_ On which client to sign. You gotta be kidding. No, you get your waivers and l'll get mine. So, what's next here? Mr. Copeland? Hello? Oh, Mr. Copeland? Mr. Copeland? COPELAND: Huh? Hi. l'm Burton Fallin. Who are ya? l'm an attorney. l work for the city. Oh, God. l understand some inspectors came out here a couple times and asked you to clean up the place. Well, it's my property, my birds. Well, uh, actually, some people are complaining about the birds. They're saying they're a nuisance. Yeah, l'll tell you what a nuisance is. lt's that Leslie kid who lives next door playin' that rap music Ioud enough to wake the dead, and it's Mike Meguer! He lives right down the block here. Drivin' his motorcycle at 2 A. M. in the morning. lt's the neighbors, sir, that are complaining, and the school down the street, they're the ones that are complaining about the noise and the smell and the bird crap. You don't see me complaining to the city about the school and all the noise they make or the traffic. Well, actually, sir, l thought that maybe, you know, just you and l could, um, resolve this thing so we don't have to resort to some formal legal action. You didn't come by here to see if you could resolve this. You came by here to threaten me. No, l didn't, l promise you. And there's no ***-sucking shyster who's going to intimidate me. Sir, l'm just trying to be civil, all right? l have a lawyer, and he will sue your *** right out of business. Oh, OH. We can do this in court. -All right. -Yeah. Yeah, good, well, you better run. l hear an ambulance. Do ya? [Chuckles] OH. Burton. l spoke to D. B. H. They won't sign the engagement letter yet. They want to sit down with all 3 of us. They want to talk to you about this whole thing before they'll consider a waiver. OH. So tomorrow at 1 :OO in the conference room, we'll seal the deal. -All right, l'll be there. -Good. [Hnock on door] [Hnock on door] Lulu. Someone broke into my house. What? Are you OH? Come on in. Yeah, l wasn't there when it happened, and, uh, the police came and gave a report, but l'm freaked out. Brian's not home, and l just don't want to stay there. l hate to barge in. No, are you kidding? Sit down. Tried to call you, but the line was busy. -Oh, God. l'm sorry. -No, it's fine. Nick, someone broke into Lulu's place. -Yeah, l heard. You OH? -Yeah, l'm OH. -What did they take? -Nothing. -They just returned stuff. -What? l had stuff missing from work. Someone took things from my office last week, and then they broke into my house and returned them. Did anyone see anything? No. The police talked to the neighbors, and i--l can go to a hotel. No, no, you're staying here. l'm leaving now, anyway. LULU: No, don't go. Please stay. l mean, right now, the more, the merrier. Yeah. Let me get you a drink. That, l suppose, makes everything quite all right. Oh, this? Well, l like privacy when l retire. Yes, l'm very delicate in that respect. Prying eyes annoy me. Behold the walls of Jericho. Uh, maybe not as thick as the ones that Joshua blew down with his trumpet, but a lot safer. You see, l have no trumpet. Oh, sorry. Too loud? No, no, that's OH. l couldn't sleep. Hmm. You want to sit? Unless she's-- She's asleep. -Thanks. -Mm-hmm. Cookie? No, thank you. Have you looked in Him's pantry? No. One side's all healthy stuff, and the other side is all junk. She uses it to bribe Mam. Well, l can see which side you've been on. l just don't know how she stays so skinny. She obviously has more self-control than l do. You think? Shut up. CLARH GABLE: Still with me, Red? Aw, don't be a sucker. lf l ever have kids, l definitely will have to use something other than food as a motivational tool. GABLE: the walls of Jericho will protect you from the Big Bad Wolf. GABLE: [Singing] Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? Can l tell you something? Sure. l ate Mam's last Twinkie. GABLE: [Singing] Tra-la-la-la-la Does that make me a bad person? l think so. lt does? You know, if you need someone to watch over your house or somewhere to stay Where would l stay? Well, l have extra rooms. Oh, yeah? You have guests? You don't strike me as the-- Sometimes. l think most of your guests end up in your bedroom. Sometimes. CLAUDETTE COLBERT: By the way, what's your name? LULU: Hey, Him. Sorry, l didn't mean to wake you. No, it's fine. l think everyone's having trouble sleeping. CLARH: l'm the whippoorwill that cries in the night. Yeah. -Hey. -Hey. How ya doin'? -OH. Better. -Good, good. l, uh, l talked to Alvin about increasing security in the building and l told Alvin that, um, l would take over some of your cases. No, you don't have to do that. l can handle them. HIM: There you are. Hey. LULU: Hey, thanks for coming over. Yeah, l talked to some people. l got some good information. Oh, great. Yeah. Uh, l gotta ask Lulu some questions. Look, l know you don't want to consider yourself a victim, but just get over it. You are. First of all, don't change your phone number. Get a new number, keep it unlisted, give it only to your friends. Let your answering machine pick up your old line. Heep a log of any suspicious occurrences and let everyone know that you're being stalked, so they keep their eyes open, and get a dog, Lulu, not a puppy, a dog. Now, l need names. Names? Yeah. People you think might do this. Maybe ex-boyFriends. Uh, boyFriends? l've been with Brian forever. So you haven't been involved with anybody else? No. OH. Anybody else come to mind? Well, l have a client, uh, Gavin Putinski. His parents got a protection from abuse order against him, and, l don't know, he's a little-- -l get a vibe. -OH. Uh, also, this ex-con, Albert Gregg. He sort of assaulted me in my office. Oh, that'll do. And, um No, that's it. -What? -What? You had another name. Oh, no, no, no. It's nobody. Who? Uh, well, a guy. This guy, Brent Harris, he, uh, he owns the gym that l work out in. What, he's been harassing you? No, we just-- We had lunch last month. Well, was it more than lunch? No. l mean, there was a little flirtation, but You suspect him? No. Forget it. He's married. l'm lookin' for Nicholas Fallin. Over there. Sharon Plunkett. You represented my son Hyle in a placement hearing. How do you do? My ex-husband bill filed an emergency modification of custody order. There's gonna be a hearing on it. He wants full custody of Hyle and says l should have only supervised visitation. You're in an abusive relationship with your boyFriend? Ex-BoyFriend. Bill's one to talk. You want to see abusive? Bill did that to me. You should take those to your lawyer. My ex would smack Hyle, too, across the face. You know that scar by Hyle's eye? Uh, no. When he was 2, Hyle broke the TV remote-- Mrs. Plunkett, l'm your son's lawyer, not yours, OH? -Well, Hyle will tell you. -Excuse me. His father can't take care of a kid. He'll tell you. Just ask him. How'd it go? Lu's fine. l gotta get back to work. Well, l'm leaving now, too. OH. So l'm checking out some L. S. P. clients-- Albert Gregg and Gavin Putinski. All right. Did you know that Lulu went out with some married guy? What do you mean, she went out with? Lunch. l mean, she said nothing happened. She's the straightest person l know. Yeah. Then she tells me that she went out with some married guy. lt's You free this Friday night? Yeah, this Friday Paul has Mam. You're gettin' to know my schedule better than me. So, uh What are we talkin' about? Dinner. Del Fortino's? Sure, Del Fortino's it is. Wow. What's the occasion? OH, D. B. H. is looking over the documents. That'll buy us about 5 minutes. He'll make it. WOMAN: Nick. Your dad just called. He's held up in court. Well, looks like we have to do this ourselves. -They asked to see your dad. -Yeah. OH, well, change of plans Russell Perkins, Maity ***, Helly Rooney, William Torris, and Gregory Sachs. We'll also be calling James O'Malley, Colin Logue, Jeff Mogotoff, Robert Brown, and Melissa Henninger. Well, that's 33 witnesses by my count, your honor. Each witness has relevant and non-cumulative evidence and should be heard. Well Yeah. Maybe your dad'll cut us in on the city deal. Lulu. What are you doing here? We need to talk. We talked yesterday. Can we go in your office? What is it, Mr. Putinski? l'm very busy right now. l know why my parents have filed this action against me. Why? Why can't we go into your office? Let's talk about this in court, OH? Listen l'm gay. What? l'm gay, and l'm not exactly ready to let the entire world know my *** preference. The reason my parents are freaked out is because l have a friend that comes over and visits me at the house. Whew. OH, there. l said it. They didn't think that l'd have the courage to admit it, but l did. Yeah, but why do they say that you falsely imprisoned them? They lock themselves in that room every time my friend comes over and visits. They're doing it to themselves. l'm not doing that to them. Well, they can't get a protective order just because you're gay. They can't? No, and l can just put them on the stand and have them swear under penalty of perjury that you abused them. What if they lie? Well, then you're gonna have to tell the truth. You OH with that? [Door opens] Hey. Where were you today? l called you. No, you told me you'd be there at 1 :OO. l told you, l was stuck in court. You told me that you would be there. Nicholas, my first responsibility is to my client. l can't just walk out of court. l understand that, but D. B. H. was ready to sign. And now they're with another firm. Do you need me to call 'em? l can call 'em. l don't want you to call them, all right? l've been working on this client for 6 months. l needed you for half an hour. l understand. Gretchen, get me Bill Becker at D. B. H. Look, l can bail you out of this right now. l don't want you to call him, all right? Why not? Well, how does it make me look? l mean, you take on this city work, it's literally crap, and l support you. l support you as a partner. l go to a potential million-dollar-a-year client, and l try to work things out, and all l ask of you is that you be there for me. That's all. Nicholas, you sound like, uh-- Like what? Well[Chuckles] Are we talking as partners now, or as father and son? Well, clearly, l'm trying to talk to you as a partner. Trying, but, uhnever mind. Never mind? Uh, Mrs. Plunkett, if you could just take a seat, Hyle, we're gonna go into this little office here and talk, OH? OH. Who are you waiting for? Mrs. Olsen. What's your name? Albert. Albert Gregg. Your appointment, l'll be handling it. [Chuckles] Mrs. Olsen's my lawyer. l'm taking over the case. lt's just some final matters on the divorce? Says here that your wife needs to sign over the title to your car. Uh-Huh. What's going on? Look, if you step in my office, when l finish dealing with this gentlemen, we can call your wife. l don't see why l have to change lawyers. Just take a seat in my office. l'll be right with you. MRS. PLUNHETT: Remember that time you went to the carnival when you were 5? He pulled your hair and slapped you? You tell him about that. OH, Hyle. Do you remember the time you broke the vase and he gave you a fat lip? Take a seat. ls it true, the stuff your mother said? Can l see that for a minute? My job is to represent you. What do you want to do? l wanna stay with my mom. OH. ALVIN: Mr. Copeland's aviary doesn't hurt, annoy, or discomfort the community. Quite the contrary, it enhances it. You heard the testimony. People actually bring their families to Mr. Copeland's house to learn about birds. He has opened up his yard to the whole neighborhood to share and enjoy his passion. BURTON: None of the witnesses who testified on Mr. Copeland's behalf live anywhere near Mr. Copeland. They don't have to deal with the noise, the mess, but his neighbors have a problem, so they made several requests for him to stop building the birdhouses. He ignored those requests, he ignored the City Inspector, and he refuses to compromise. Now, l think, under the circumstances, the court has little choice but to have those structures removed. You mean, l don't get to keep any of them? ALVIN: No, l'm sorry. Mr. Fallin, l built every one of those birdhouses with my own hands, every one of 'em. For 30 years l've been working on that stuff. Do you know what it's like to work on something for 30 years? Do ya, huh? Yeah. WOMAN: Mr. Plunkett has been happily remarried for 2 years without any problems. MAN: Living away from Sharon Plunkett would, in effect, punish her for being a victim of abuse, first by her husband, then by her boyFriend. NICH: Excuse me. Hyle? Come inside. HYLE: When l was little, my dad got real mad because l broke the TV remote, and he gave me this scar. NICH: How old were you when that happened? You remember? l think so. Do you remember anything else from when you were 2? Does your mom talk about your father hitting you? Do you actually remember your father ever hitting you? You know, when my parents got divorced, my mom said a lot of bad things about my dad. Now, your parents, they can't hear or see us right now, OH? You ever remember your dad hitting you? [Sighs] l don't know. l'm not sure. l think so. My--My mom tells me stuff. REBECCA: Thank you, Hyle. Would you mind waiting outside for a minute? You can go right out there. What do you think? The fight between Sharon and her boyFriend the other day. The, uh boyFriend was hospitalized, too. Claims he was defending himself. Your honor, there are no records of Hyle being treated for any injuries when the Plunketts were married. There's been no reported problems between Mr. Plunkett and his new wife. CAMPBELL: Sharon, she ruled against us for joint custody. SHARON: l don't care what she ruled. This isn't her son. -How can this be? -Listen to me. How can l share custody with him? Listen to me. Don't tell me to calm down, Michael. You son of a ***! l'm not letting him have custody! -l will kill you! -Stop it, Sharon! -This is unacceptable. -Calm down. Listen to me. Don't tell me to calm down, Michael! Let go of me! Why is this happening? How can this be? You son of a ***! Thank you for letting me stop by, Mrs. Gregg. You want the title to the Capris? That's right. That's the last thing Albert's gonna need from me? Yes. lt's somewhere in here. What happened to that other lawyer? l've taken over the case. Here it is. Have you seen much of Albert lately? No. How's he doing? Uh, l--l don't know. Haven't seen him for a couple of months. Since when? Since he went to your office for help. He just packed up his things and left. Well, if you could just sign right there, then we'll be done. lt was odd. When he got out of prison, l couldn't shake him. he wouldn't leave me alone. Then he just vanished. So, Nick talked to Albert Gregg's ex-wife. She hasn't seen or heard from him for a couple of months. Now, l can send someone to talk to him, but you always run the risk of making it worse. [Sighs] Do you think it's Albert? You thought it could be. Why? Did something else happen? No. It's been quiet. WOMAN: Hey, Nick, can you take a look at this? So, um did you talk to Brian yet? No. l mean, he's gonna come home tomorrow, so-- Do you want to sleep over again? No. You and Nick have your thing. You're not bothering us. No. Thank you. Were you and Nick ever-- What? You know. No. You can tell me. l know. No. How are things going with you two? He's a good guy. Are things getting a little serious? l don't know. Are you seeing anyone else? No. ls Nick? And you haven't talked about it? l don't know. lt feels kind of weird bringing it up with a kid. Really? You think so? You don't? No. Hmm. l mean, it shouldn't be. How do you think he would react? l don't know. With Nick, um l really don't know. Do you think he'd freak? Hmm. Yeah? -Your client Hyle Plunkett -Yeah? l just got word the police suspect his mother's trying to flee the state with him. How do they know that? Apparently, she told a neighbor, and they saw her Ioad up her car. They've issued an amber alert. Oh. OH. -Hi. -Hi. Hey, you wanna go grab a cup of coffee? Oh, l can't. Something important came up with a client. Oh. We're still on for Del Fortino's tomorrow. -OH. -OH. Mrs. Olsen. They won't let me talk to you. Did l do something wrong? Leave me alone. -l thought everything was OH. -Please leave me alone! Why won't you talk to me? Mr. Gregg accosted Mrs. Olsen several weeks ago. Last night, he followed her to her car. There have been several harassing phone calls to Mrs. Olsen's home and office. And recently, someone broke into her house. ln light of the circumstances, Mrs. Olsen feels an immediate threat to her safety and requests a protection from abuse order. Thank you. l have another hearing to get to. l appreciate it. Gavin. What the hell is this? They served you with a criminal trespass action? -Right. You told me to-- -You can fight this. l thought they couldn't kick me out. But, no, l stood up in front of the courtroom, l told everybody the truth, and you said-- l didn't know that they would do this. But you told me to tell the truth. And now everybody knows. You need to go to the Public Defender's office and get yourself a lawyer. Wait a minute! l have nowhere else to go! -Hey! -Nick! -Ow! What are you doing? -Nick, Nick, he's not the guy! -Get the hell off of me! -He's not the guy! -Stop it! -He's not. What the hell is wrong with you people? Mr. Copeland? How are you? Well, we got some more complaints from your neighbors, so, um, you can go ahead, build 2 or 3 more of those things. Nobody can do a damn thing about it, but any more than that, and l'm gonna have to file another action. lt's what l do. Yeah. Why--Why do you do this? When my wife was alive, l never told people how much l love her. l never told 'em how much she means to me. This is about your wife? Then when she got sick, you know, she-- She kept apologizing. Finally, it got to the point where she couldn't Ieave her bed. She'd just look out that window up there. That's when l started building these things so l could bring the birds to her. Then when she died l didn't wanna stop. No. Maybe, uh maybe you're not doing this for her. Maybe you're doing this for yourself now. You wouldn't understand. No. l lost my wife. l found a way to, you know, hold on to the good moments without disturbing my neighbors. [Hammering continues] Your honor, Sharon Plunkett is in jail and faces felony charges for interference with custody. ln light of the circumstances, my client is moving for full custody. Mr. Fallin? Uh, my client should be placed in foster care and more slowly integrated into his father's life. Your honor, Mr. Fallin keeps changing his recommendation. Do you think it's easy for a child to go back into his father's life? He hardly knows the man. Why should Hyle go back to strangers, huh? l love him. He should be with me. l'm his father, right? Quiet, please. Mr. Birge? l've conferred with Mr. Fallin and agree with his position. ln addition, l would recommend some therapy for Hyle. There's still an opening at the Allegheny County Children's Shelter, and therapy is available. l'm placing Hyle at the Allegheny County Children's Shelter. Mr. Plunkett, you can have regular visitations -with Hyle there. -Your honor-- We will revisit this in 90 days. ln the meantime, Mr. Plunkett, get to know your son. When can l go back with my mom? Uh, l don't know. l don't have any control over that. l just wanna stay with my mom. l understand that, uh, but you can't. For now, you have to go with Daniel here, OH? Hyle? [Sighs] Oh. [Hnock on door] BURTON: Nicholas. What are you doing here? Hey. Nice digs. Yeah. Could use a plant or something. Something. Yeah. Well, l came by to thank you. For what? l, uh, worked something out with the city, with the aviary. l used that connection of yours, Henry Thomas' wife. Oh, yeah. Fixed the problem, so ls that what you came here for? Well, that and, uh, the D. B. H. thing this week. Yeah. l know l caused you a problem not being there, but l just couldn't get out of court. l'm sorry. Things like that happen sometimes. Well, anyway, the city's issuing $50 million worth of municipal bonds. They wanna use our firm. l want you to handle it. You like doing that kind of thing, right? You're good at it. Thank you. OH. Well, l'll, uh, see you back at the office. Yeah. l'll see you there. Hey, Alvin. Hey. Oh, listen, uh, good news, maybe. The director at the aviary is willing to give your client a job looking after birds. -Really? -Yeah. lf you'll keep the number of birdhouses in his backyard down to a minimum. Oh, thanks. OH, all right. Good to see ya. You, too. Mr. Fallin. What are you doing here? l was served some papers. Yeah. You have to stay away from Mrs. Olsen. What happened to Mrs. Olsen? l think you know. No, l don't. Hey! l didn't do anything. You've been served with a protective order. lf you don't obey that, with your record, l can make things very difficult for you. Look, l spent 21 years in prison for something l didn't do. l got a new life now. l got a girl, a job. Mrs. Olsen is the reason for all that. l wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Hey. l didn't do anything. Hi, sweetheart. Hey. How are you? Good. How are you? Fine. Got in early, huh? Yeah. Yeah. How was your week? lt was OH. Glad your mom's doing better. Yeah. It's good to see you. [Door closes] [Cell phone ringing]