The Firm Episode 1.07 Chapter Seven

Mitch sits in an interrogation room, reminding Detective Corbett that he can't be held without probable cause. Besides, he didn't kill Martin Moxon, who chose to kill himself rather than tangle with whoever busted down the hotel room door. The bottom line - Mitch can't tell Corbett why he was meeting with Moxon because this information is privileged, and he doesn't know why Moxon chose to jump. It's time for Corbett to charge Mitch or release him. Corbett decides to throw Mitch into a cell, since the law gives him 24 hours to make a case. Flashback to one week earlier: Mitch, Ray and Tammy puzzle over the numbers on the bottom of the paper reconstructed from Sarah Holt's shredder. Since the file number runs nine digits, it doesn't belong to Noble Insurance. Mitch wants to ask Moxon about it, so Tammy offers to use her feminine wiles to set up a meeting, "some place safe."

Three young men in ski masks rob a downtown jewelry store. The elderly owner seems to recognize one of them as Ed. We hear a shot ring out; then the trio run to their getaway car and speed off. Little do they know, a utility worker on the roof of the building has seen the whole thing and immediately calls 911. Back at the McDeere house, Claire is just serving the dinner she worked so hard to prepare when Tammy interrupts. A call was forwarded from the office, regarding the delivery kid, Nate Murphy, from the deli down the street - he's been arrested for armed robbery and murder! He's a good kid, though maybe a little slow, and he's used his one phone call to contact them. Mitch apologizes to Claire and heads to the courthouse. Nate is distraught, having been arrested in the car with the stolen jewelry and the gun. Although he won't say his buddy Ed pulled the trigger, Nate maintains that neither he nor his brother Shawn did.

An officer pulls Nate out of the room; court is shutting down for the night. Nate spots his big brother Shawn, a repeat miscreant, in the hallway, and Mitch notices the stark difference between the two. Shawn yells after his lawyer, Ben Brucklier, demanding a call to his girlfriend. When the brothers are gone, Brucklier mentions the cops found the jewelry store's surveillance video stashed under the front seat of the getaway car, which clearly shows what happened. The three guys are screwed, and Mitch and Brucklier probably won't get paid. The next day, Abby's pleased to find Claire working on a family tree for school. Claire wants information on Abby's parents Harold and Maxine Sutherland of Danesboro, Kentucky. Abby draws a blank when Claire asks for photos, clearly upset by the mention of her parents.

Mitch walks with U.S. Attorney Hathaway to his office, asking for a deal for Nate, claiming he's a naive kid who got sucked in by his criminally inclined older brother. Hathaway has called Mitch and Brucklier to his office to watch the jewelry shop surveillance video of the shooting. Ed the shooter had gunshot residue on his hands, and it turns out he was dating the shop owner's daughter. The U.S. Attorney's office is under pressure to put Ed away, so they're offering a deal: they want either Shawn or Nate to testify for the prosecution - but only one of them. The other one goes down with Ed.

Mitch and Brucklier rush to courthouse pens to offer their respective clients the deal. Nate is brought out first, and he vehemently refuses to take the deal. Nate knows he's "slow," and Shawn has always loved and protected him. Brucklier's still in the hallway waiting for Shawn and assumes Mitch and Nate are taking the deal. Rather then tell him the truth, Mitch maintains that forcing the brothers to turn on each other is wrong. Mitch and Brucklier hatch a deal to insist that Hathaway gives the deal to both brothers. Back at the office, Abby tells Tammy about Claire's family tree. Claire knows the relationship with Abby's parents is complicated, but the whole thing has Abby feeling like a crappy parent. When they were in witness protection, Abby felt fine about not staying in touch, but now that she has a choice... She asks Tammy to dig up their number; maybe it's time to forgive and forget. Tammy reminds her that some family members are like cigarettes - they stink up your house and take years off your life.

Mitch is just calling the office when he spies Brucklier leading Shawn into the elevator. Clearly, they're on their way to Hathaway's office to make the deal. Mitch charges up the stairs, only to learn that Shawn wants to take the deal by himself. When Mitch points out that Nate wouldn't do the same, Shawn explains he's spoon-fed his brother his whole life; this time Nate's on his own. Mitch rushes back downstairs to grab Nate, then barges into Hathaway's office to disrupt the nearly done deal. When Brucklier cries foul, Hathaway switches things up. Both lawyers have 48 hours, after which time they will both pitch the virtues of their clients - then Hathaway will make his decision as to which one of them gets the deal. Mitch returns to the office to explain the situation to Ray and Tammy - how are they going to convince Hathaway to pick Nate? The one thing they know is that a single, drug-addicted mom raised both boys, so they can't lead with that...

Ray and Tammy hit the streets to interview Nate's teachers, his priest, his caseworker. Nate has a severe learning disability, and the kids in school teased him viciously. Shawn couldn't fight them all, but he tried. Still, Shawn frequently used Nate to his advantage, getting him to take the blame for his thievery and violence. The boys' mother Darlene is unsympathetic and unhelpful. Later, the two couples meet at Mitch and Abby's to lay out Mitch's strategy on index cards. The next day, Brucklier paints Shawn as extremely intelligent and deeply remorseful - of the two, he's the most likely to live a normal, productive life outside prison. Furthermore, Shawn's the better witness. Flummoxed, Mitch throws away his index cards and tells a story - which sounds like it's about Nate and Shawn - but it's really about Mitch and Ray, who went to prison so Mitch wouldn't throw his life away. If Hathaway gives the deal to Shawn, he'll wind up in prison along with Nate. Why not give Nate the chance to be his own man for the first time in his life?

That night, Abby hands a beer to an emotionally spent Mitch, who collapses in her lap. Somehow, Abby figures now is the time to bring up the idea of reaching out to her parents. She knows they've been incredibly hurtful, but at the end of the day, they're family; and it's been years since they spoke. Mitch has doubts: if they open this door, are they ready for what's on the other side? Meanwhile, Tammy skulks around Noble Insurance's parking garage. When she sees Moxon exit the building, she runs for him, pretending to be a damsel in distress with a flat tire. It's not long before Moxon's onto her game and refusing to talk about the document he passed to Mitch with the mysterious numbers. Tammy offers to set up a meeting with Mitch at the hotel on Friday. Moxon will only say, "I don't know. Maybe."

The next day, Mitch can't believe it when Hathaway tells him he's choosing to give Shawn the deal. Mitch accuses him of betraying his oath of office, but Hathaway won't be swayed. Mitch proceeds to the jail to visit Shawn with the news, intent on starting to build his case. Nate explains that Shawn does everything every time - it was his car and his guns, which he keeps in the trunk. Mitch is confused - didn't they steal the car they used for the robbery? It wasn't the robbery car, but the "switch" car that belongs to Shawn. Mitch is elated. The prosecution doesn't know about the guns, and Shawn has to disclose all his other crimes to keep his deal, which would then have to go to Nate. But when he asks where Shawn's car is, Nate insists he doesn't know.

Driving a shiny, new Cadillac, Ray picks up Mitch outside the courthouse to go look for Shawn's switch car. Ray figures he knows the perfect spot - but the car's not there. However, there is a sign indicating a tow away zone. By the time the brothers get to the impound lot, someone is just driving away in Shawn's car. Deciding it's time to see how fast his new car can go, Ray gives chase, ultimately forcing the driver of Shawn's car to crash. Mitch and Ray run to yank open the door, amazed to find the driver is... Brucklier? It's not long before Mitch is showing Hathaway a photo of the nine guns retrieved from the trunk of Shawn's car. Apparently, he's been selling them. Nevertheless, Hathaway insists Nate can't be his witness, staging a harsh mock interrogation in his office to prove his point.

Telling Hathaway to back off, Mitch explains the situation to a distraught Nate. Now he needs to protect himself and tell the truth. Nate is able to calm down and tell the story: Ed was dating the jewelry store owner's daughter, so the owner recognized his voice. Ed wanted to leave, but Shawn insisted that Ed kill the man. If Ed didn't, Shawn promised that he would kill both the owner and Ed. Chastised, Hathaway promises to review his decision once again. That night, Ray and Tammy show up for another dinner cooked by Claire. Tammy takes Abby aside to hand over her parents' new number. Immediately afterwards, Ray pulls her aside to give her the same thing. Apparently, Mitch asked him to track down her parents. Meanwhile, Kevin Stack meets with Alex, outraged that Mitch is meeting with Moxon. Alex insists Moxon won't talk, and she doesn't want the situation to get messy. Stack doesn't care. They've tried Alex's way. Now they're going to go his way and "bring him in."

After dinner, Abby sits, contemplating her parents' phone number. She has just picked up the phone when she hears the sounds of a boisterous basketball game in the living room and decides to join in the fun instead. She's not ready to call her parents yet. The next morning, Hathaway, Brucklier, Mitch, Nate and Shawn stand before Judge Casey. Hathaway explains that he has decided to pursue a witness agreement with Nate. Stunned, Brucklier tries to fight, but he's not budging anyone. Shawn lays into Nate, claiming he'll have no life with his brother in jail. Mitch advises Nate not to listen to Shawn; everything's going to be okay. Afterwards, Tammy calls. Mitch needs to rush to the hotel; Moxon will be there in five minutes. It's not long before Mitch realizes he's being chased, and we're brought back to where the series began, with Mitch running away from his pursuers and towards the hotel... Six hours later, Mitch is sitting in a jail cell.