The Firm Episode 1.16 Chapter Sixteen

Abby sits across the table from Andrew, lamenting the situation her family is in. Though she blames and resents Mitch, Andrew twists the conversation to reflect Abby's own failings. Hugging goodbye, Andrew pulls away with blood dripping down his shirt and Abby's blouse. Abby's eyes open wide to reveal that she's really in the shower, water cascading down her anxious face. When she steps out of the shower, Abby pulls a box laden with documents from the McDeere's time in witness protection down from the closet. Shuffling the papers around, she finds what she was looking for: anti-anxiety medication. She considers taking the pills, and when Mitch calls, she swallows two, then stashes the bottle back in the box.

Stack sits calmly in his cell, as the prison guards change shifts. Moments later, out in the parking lot, Mitch sees a mysterious man exit the courthouse, head covered with a baseball cap. Following his instincts, Mitch trails the man. Once he's almost certain, Mitch hurriedly calls Ray to report his discovery - it's Stack! Before Mitch can confirm the sighting with Ray, one of Stack's henchmen shoves a gun into his back. The three hop into a white van and speed off. Concerned Mitch's phone went dead, Ray informs Louis and Ruckeyser of the new development. The courthouse prison guard claims he saw nothing, even after being interrogated by Louis and Ruckeyeser. Afterwards, Louis hands the guard's file to Ray, hoping he can uncover a lead on Mitch's whereabouts.

Abby's hearing is scheduled for this morning, but she still hasn't told Mitch what happened while she was held hostage. Her internal processing confuses him. Abby snaps a nasty reply to Mitch's questions and rushes back upstairs to pop two anxiety pills. Arriving to see Abby and Mitch clearly angry with each other, Tammy explains Abby's behavior to Ray as a manifestation of her torture. She begs Ray to keep the waterboarding a secret from Mitch - even if Abby's willing to testify about it in open court before telling her husband.

The tense atmosphere between Abby and Mitch peaks at the courthouse when Abby asks that Mitch not be present for her briefing with Ruckeyser. As Ruckeyser preps Abby, it's apparent Abby is having emotional difficulty reliving her captivity, so much so that Ruckeyser has to encourage her to respond to questions verbally.

Alex reviews Stack's case documents and is stunned to discover photos of Andrew, decomposed and rotting after being retrieved from the river. Horrified and sickened, Alex isn't in a friendly mood when Stack walks in. Stack, however, has made good on his promise, presenting an audio tape full of his incriminating conversations with Alex. Now she must represent him, despite Andrew's death. Stack likes Alex; he may even love her. But if Stack goes down, Alex is coming with him.

Alex's request to exclude the hard drive from Stack's hearing is upheld by Judge Kerzan. Only Abby's eyewitness testimony is evidence now. Abby is a nervous wreck, but she testifies about her torture, admitting she killed Stack's henchman. Desperate, Alex suggests Abby made up the whole story. Meanwhile, Mitch reels from the barrage of new information. After her testimony, Abby finds Mitch sitting on a bench, discouraged and confused. Why couldn't Abby tell him what happened? Abby explains: she hasn't felt like she could talk to Mitch because she was so angry he didn't stop his investigation of Stack, thus dragged her and Claire into a life of hiding and fear - all because they love him.

Abby quietly but firmly informs Mitch she's taking Claire out of school to go visit her parents. Claire has never met them, and Abby needs some sanity amidst the chaos. She'll be gone for a week or more until she figures things out, but she will return. Ray cautions Mitch that Abby doesn't mean what she says - she's going to leave him. Ray needs to go wherever she is and do whatever he needs to do to fix their marriage. Finally letting his anger show, Mitch tells Ray to mind his own business and fix his own life, then slams out of the office.

Arrogant and confident of their chances, Stack decides he'll testify in the probable cause hearing, an unusual and risky legal move. But Stack isn't smarter than Mitch, who instructs Ruckeyser to question Stack about the SOA, the group of Army medics he served with in Desert Storm. Stack's pride proves to be his downfall: he admits to being in the SOA and claiming they are the true healers. Ruckeyser asks the judge for a sidebar, to confirm what she knows to be true. Based on Stack's testimony, the hard drive is now fair game for questioning. Since victory looks imminent, Mitch leaves the courthouse to intercept Abby and Claire's flight.

On the drive to an abandoned aircraft hangar, Stack finally explains the SOA's mission to Mitch: he contacted disillusioned soldiers from his Desert Storm unit and persuaded them to kill sick people. All human life is not sacred; human dignity should come before saving someone's life, Stack believes. His men are healers, not killers. Stack's boss commissioned him to cut down spending in the company to keep co-pays down. If the co-pays skyrocketed, people wouldn't be able to afford necessary insurance. Stack killed terminal patients to save money to save patients with a chance at life.

Looking at the guard's folder, Ray realizes the man's ex-wife hasn't been filing her tax returns. Working on a hunch, Ray and Tammy track down the wife and stage a fender bender. The woman doesn't have her license and registration - clearly, she's living in the country illegally. If the guard won't reveal Stack's location, his wife gets deported and his son goes into foster care. Louis leverages the information against the guard, prying Stack's whereabouts from him.

Stack orders his men to stand down and sends them outside; he won't kill Mitch because it's not in service of the mission. Mitch is still disgusted by Stack's mission. Even in the Army, they leave no man behind - because every once in a while, a miracle happens.

The Feds surround the abandoned hanger, catching Stack's men by surprise. Hearing the sirens, Stack begins to lose it, muttering about the mission and its importance and how no one will understand. You all are so afraid of guns and of death, Stack accuses. Stack places his gun to Mitch's head and pulls the trigger. Hearing the shot, Louis enters the building to see Mitch covered in Stack's fresh blood.