The Firm Episode 1.21 Chapter Twenty-One

Joey sits at his desk while a couple of his men try to extract Johnny "Ducks" DeCarlo's whereabouts from his brother Frank, who won't talk. Joey laments his need to kill renegade Johnny, one of his best earners, especially at a time when the Russians are trying to steal his business. Joey tries a more "progressive" tactic with Frank, offering him Johnny's share, but Frank's silence means the interrogation continues, as Joey walks into the bar to meet Mitch. If they're going to introduce Antonio in court as the man who's framing Patrick, they'll have to establish his connection to Joey in business. Does Joey want to go on record as a mobster? Joey promises to provide evidence of a legitimate business connection. In a moment of weakness, Mitch asserts that he doesn't like any of what he's had to do as Joey's lawyer. This is not the man he is. Joey explains that he was never supposed to become head of the Morolto family. But when his father went to prison, he decided on revenge. He's not the man he wanted to be, so neither is Mitch.

Mitch reports back to Abby - they have to paint Joey as a legitimate businessman, else risk exposing him and Patrick to federal racketeering charges. Everyone's happy to see a freshly divorced Tammy except for Ray, because Tammy's insisting they get married right away. Since Mitch is working for Joey, she's expecting they could go back into witness protection at any time. They're getting married this weekend, but right now, she's ready to work on jury selection questionnaires, while Ray and Abby decide to track down Charlotte's car, in hopes of accounting for the time between her departure from Joey's club, and the moment Patrick found her dead in his bed. Joey calls Mitch down to his office, upset that he's been subpoenaed by the prosecution. Mitch promises to file a motion to suppress any mention of organized crime at the trial.

After learning Charlotte's car was found in the parking garage of Patrick's building, Abby and Ray proceed to the police impound lot, hoping to find evidence on her GPS. Instead, Ray finds a parking garage key card for the condo complex where Charlotte lives. The garage attendant tells Abby and Ray that Charlotte came home just after 10:00 on the night she was killed. But when she looks at the key card computer records, there's no record of Charlotte coming home. Someone would have to access the condominium's main server to alter the record. That night, Tammy and the McDeeres gather in the kitchen to review the case. Abby figures Charlotte may have been killed at her apartment, so Mitch decides to get permission to check it out. Tammy tells Ray that she's bringing the romance back - by staying at Abby and Mitch's until their wedding night. Ray thinks this is a really bad idea...

After fighting off reporters outside the courtroom, Mitch bumps into Olivia Danville, who's taking over the prosecution's case. She promises Mitch will miss Alan - a lot. The judge wants to know why Mitch filed a motion specifically requesting to omit the mob from the case, especially since Mitch claims Joey is a legitimate businessman. Olivia points out what everyone knows, that Joey is head of the Morolto crime family. Believing the murder was about rough sex, the judge decides that mention of the mob will distract the jury from the case. But Mitch has only half won this round; if Mitch calls Joey to the stand and his testimony raises any red flags, the judge will open the door to making the mob a part of the trial.

Mitch meets with Patrick and an incensed Joey. Patrick wants Joey to testify because the frame theory is his only defense, and odds are he was framed because of his association with Joey. This pisses Joey off, who knows that in order to change the family business, he has to appear legitimate in the eyes of the world. When Patrick suggests Joey take the fifth if needed, Mitch reminds them of possible consequences - Joey's liquor licenses could get pulled. Joey insists the judge won't be fair. He can't risk testifying. If the frame defense won't work, Mitch will have to figure out something else. After investigating Charlotte's apartment, Abby decides that because Charlotte's contacts and glasses were both in the bathroom, she was in for the night. Whoever murdered her must have driven her car to Patrick's apartment.

Nearly unglued, Joey meets with Mitch to rant. Now they need to drop the frame defense?! Joey admits to killing "one of his best men" (consigliere Antonio), who was loyal to his father for 40 years, because Mitch said they needed him out of the way. Mitch insists Joey killed Antonio because he was afraid - Joey wanted him gone. Joey should stop questioning everything and let Mitch do his job. And he's going to have to take some risks. Joey pulls his gun out of his pocket and shoots, the bullet passing inches from Mitch's ear into the office wall. Joey has kept Mitch alive to do this job, and if he can't do any better than this... then maybe Joey doesn't need Mitch at all.

Moments later, Mitch regroups with the gang, still holding his ear, which isn't lost on Ray. Mitch wants Abby and Ray to return to Charlotte's building to look for more evidence. In the meantime, he's going to see about filing a plea. Concerned, Ray follows Mitch into his office. Spying the bullet hole in the wall, it's not long before he figures out what happened. Grimly serious, Ray wants to take Joey out. It may not be what they do, but none of this case is what they do. Besides, who's to say Joey will hold up his end of the bargain? Mitch just wants to get Patrick off the hook. After that, the brothers will do whatever they need to do to protect their family.

Olivia doesn't want to accept a plea, but she does agree to arrange a meeting with Charlotte's parents, who would have to approve any plea, per office policy. Mr. Miller is dead set against the idea, but Mitch promises that in defending Patrick, he'll have to deconstruct Charlotte's history on the stand. He would hate to put the Millers through such agony. On the way out of the meeting, Olivia gets a call. DNA evidence has come back from Charlotte's apartment, revealing a cigarette belonging to Patrick. The plea deal is now off the table. In the meantime, Abby and Ray knock on doors in Charlotte's building. A young mother remembers seeing Charlotte on the night in question, when a creepy tall blond man slipped into the building that night and went to the third floor.

Johnny Ducks meets with as many Morolto family members as he can muster in hopes of winning them to his side. Joey calls with news - Johnny's brother Frank is in a local ICU. It took him longer than Joey thought to give up Johnny's location. Johnny is just climbing into his car, saying he should have killed Joey when he had the chance, when his car blows up. The next day, Joey smiles while reading the newspaper account of Johnny's death during a meeting with Patrick and Mitch. Patrick claims the cigarettes aren't his, but Mitch insists that odds are, Patrick smoked them. Now, it's time for the team to focus on jury selection, which could make or break their case. But of course, Olivia's pretty sharp, and it takes the whole day to select the first seven jurors.

While helping Ray fit his tuxedo, Abby racks her brain - they need a break in the case. When Ray and Abby recheck surveillance photos from Joey's club, they notice a tall blond man and decide to show the photo to the woman in Charlotte's building - who confirms he's the man she saw on the night of the murder. The next morning, Mitch shows the photo to Patrick and Joey, but they can't identify the blond guy. While Abby takes the photo to Louis Coleman to check federal databases, Joey promises to reach out to his cop friends, and Ray hits the streets. Patrick wonders if it may be better if they don't know his identity; Mitch wants to get the guy on the stand and confront him.

Back in court, everyone is just deciding on the last juror. Mitch likes conservative physicist Gregory Burke, but Tammy wants him to go with the alternate, a guy who helps immigrants - jackpot. In the end, Mitch goes with Burke. Later, the third alternate meets with a man we can't see, who promises he'll be on the jury tomorrow. All the third alternate needs to do is make sure Patrick gets convicted. Meanwhile, Joey invites his men to the club in the spirit of forgiveness. The Russians are a much bigger problem than Johnny Ducks, which means they're headed for a war, and it's time to stick together. Joey will forgive and forget this one time, but from now on, everyone is going to have to do things his way.

As the trial is about to get underway, the bailiff informs the judge that juror Gregory Burke has landed in intensive care after a serious car accident. Before adjourning, the judge declares the alternate juror will take his place. On the way out of the courtroom, Mitch lays into Joey, who insists he didn't touch Burke, just as they run into a klatch of reporters. Joey smiles big for the cameras, remarking to a very disturbed Mitch, "Mob boss and mob mouthpiece, preserved for posterity." Afterwards, Mitch meets alone with Patrick, who's worried to hear they haven't found the blond guy. Claiming he can see 12 moves ahead of Joey, Patrick thinks that if things don't improve, Joey's going to kill him. When Mitch protests, Patrick insists he would make the same decision if he were wearing Joey's shoes. It's just business. Patrick's time is running out, which means Mitch's is too.

Ray tears up, finding Tammy and Abby creating flower arrangements for the wedding. Mitch rushes in hoping for good news about the blond guy, but Ray hasn't found him. He's either nobody or somebody big. When Mitch relays that Patrick thinks his time is running out, Ray concurs; Abby thinks the whole situation feels big, a bigger conspiracy than Noble Insurance. Mitch concludes that finding the blond man is the best way for them to stay safe. Two days later, Mitch is sweating through his tuxedo, as several armed masked men lead him to the edge of a stone wall high above a lake. One of the men takes off his mask before putting his gun to Mitch's head... it's the blond guy!