Brace yourselves.. time for a Francine ‘interrogation’!
(Francine tries to play good cop.. referring to the ‘citation’ Lee got for ‘abusing prisoners’.
Foretune doesn’t seem to know where he is, but boasts about his rights and the law..
So Billy comes on in with his trolley…
…of vials and syringes. lol.
[Uh oh. Haaa that’s a lot of vials and syringes! but on the upside, they are going to be super careful and use alcohol wipes! haaaa!!! Safety first!]
Deadpan, Billy tells Francine (aka ‘Blondie’) that she has one minute. and he leaves.)
[Okay, Foretune is way less cocky now!]
Foretune: …Who the hell’s that? Police nurse? [Whahahahaah Billy the police nurse!]
(Francine starts making preparations to be giving injections, finding veins etc. Foretune’s desperation rises and eventually he starts talking..
Francine shows Foretune a picture of TP and Peralta..)
[lol at the random text- a real shocker!]
Francine: Who is this with Peralta?
Foretune: It’s Peralta’s confidante. He’s like his right hand man… he gives him tips… advice…
Francine: For how long?
Foretune: I don’t know. A year? Maybe two. He got started by selling bits and pieces from DEA reports. Before long the boss wouldn‘t make a move till he talked with him.
Francine: What’s his name?
Foretune: You’re kiddin’ me… you guys must know that. Peralta calls him Percy the Professor.
[uh oh. He has a nickname?? Why, that’s smk code for bad guy!!! gah!!!!!!!!]
Billy, Lee and Amanda discuss this case..
(Billy notes there’s a file on ‘the Professor’ that is ‘three inches thick going back eighteen months.’
We find out the full name of Peralta’s boss – Donald Jordan. He’s been on his island is in the Caribbean, for ‘the last five years’, where he is avoiding ‘a couple of dozen indictments.’)
Billy: (opening a file to a photo of Jordan) Here’s the big man himself…
… Now if Aquinas is connected with Peralta or Jordan in any way, I want to talk to him. Bring him in.
(Lee tries to resist this but Billy is firm.
As Billy walks away and enters the elevator Lee suddenly erupts at him…)
Lee: (angry) Look, I don’t care what anybody says. TP Aquinas has risked his hide for me and this Agency one too many times!
(Billy is unmoved by this, and leaves Lee with Amanda to calm down. Aie.)
Amanda: (trying to calm him) You’re shouting.
Lee: (still angry) Well, I’m mad! (quieter)
…I’m good and mad. (sighs)
…Actually, I’m more worried than mad…
…TP is the only other person I ever trusted before I met you, Amanda.
[wow… not even Billy? I mean…..awhhhh…but….huh?]
Amanda: (she reaches out) Look, we’ll find TP and he’ll clear this whole thing up.
Lee: Yeah.
(We cut to the wider shot and find they are actually holding hands there in the corridor..
Uh oh.. and here comes Francine again!)
{They drop hands as Francine approaches them down the hall.} Lee: Uh, just business, Francine.
{Lee walks off down the hall.}
Amanda: (moves to follow him but leans in to speak quietly to Francine) I need to talk to you later.
(Amanda walks off too..)
[I bet Francine is looking forward to hearing this one – Aie!
What do you think of Amanda’s pyjama top?!should we call in the fashion police?]
Back to Lee’s place that night..
…Lee and Amanda arrive..
[Seems Lee lives in apartment 1B. lol.]
Lee: Maybe there’s something in my old appointment book that can give us a lead… you know, show a pattern. (unlocks door) Plus, I’ve got some leftover spaghetti that should hit the spot, huh?
[After skipping that steak and kidney pie I’ll be it would!]
(They enter and we hear music.. they stop in surprise..)
Amanda: Well I don’t believe it.
{TP is sitting in an armchair with a tray in front of him of spaghetti and a glass of wine. He swallows his mouthful of dinner.}
[Is it just me or does this have a goldilocks and the three bears vibe?! haaaaa TP as goldilocks! Hey that Lee/Billy photo is on his mantelpiece. Hmmm.. ]
TP: Your capellini is delicious.
Lee: Half the feds in DC are looking for you and we’re two of them!
(He catches sight of the bottle of wine) …Aww! My Gottenara ’71! [Who’s been drinking my wine!!!]
TP: I’ll owe you. I owe you a lot more than that. And perhaps even a lot more before this is through.
Amanda: TP, we’re a little bit confused. The man you were with in the kitchen said you work for Raymond Peralta.
[I’m confused about how TP got into Lee’s apartment!]
(TP explains he couldn’t tell Lee what was going on with the bodyguard around.. but he was here to now share..)
TP: … Follow me…oh, I wouldn’t expect you to listen on an empty stomach.
(Lee and Amanda head into the dining room to hear TP’s story. After all, he doesn’t share exposition without food or an interesting prop to keep us interested!)
TP: I’ve been involved with Peralta for about five years. It’s similar to our relationships, Lee. I’m sort of a source, a confidential advisor, only with one discernible difference. What I give Peralta, he could find out for himself anyway or it’s a few days late. No, it’s more my charming presentation and loyalty that I’ve used to sucker Mr. Peralta.
[Does he sucker Lee with his charming presentation and so called loyalty too??!!
TP seems pretty deft at minimising the help he offered Peralta! I mean getting information a few days early can actually be a big deal!]
Amanda: TP, he’s a drug dealer and you’re working for him!
TP: Oh, I know it sounds bad…
Amanda: It sounds terrible. I have two teenage boys and it scares me to death!
TP: Two weeks ago, the DEA busted six million in Philly. Last month, ten million in Miami. Now, I was the source of those raids, anonymously, of course, but I kept complete records.
[ahhh the ‘I might have done bad things over here, but- look over there I did good things too!!’ defence!]
Lee: Fine, but why? I mean, no offense, TP, but you are a bookworm. This is for the pros.
TP: The pros? As in DEA and FBI? They’ve been after this organization for years with little success.
Amanda: So suddenly five years ago, you decided to start a one man crusade?
TP: Suddenly? Yes, it was quite sudden.
-time for a flashback!!-
We hear TP recount what happened as we watch the flashback..
[Holy Cow. Eloise looks like she could be Amanda’s stunt double!]
TP: (voice over) We were going for a Sunday walk.. when I say ‘we” I mean Eloise and our six year old son. We didn’t have any warning at all. {TP is walking with his wife and son. As he goes to get a paper out of a sales box, a car pulls up driven by a much younger Donald Jordan. A man on the street sees him pulling a gun…
…and drags Eloise in front of him as a shield…
… Jordan fires…
TP looks on in horror.
the flashback ends here.
[What is supposed to be a really serious, tragic, heart breaking moment for me is just.. weird!
Firstly, TP is way too old for this to be his wife and son. haaaa.. Just how many years ago is this? we know it’s more than five years ago and TP hasn’t aged a day. lol.
And.. How is a woman a better shield than hiding behind the bench?
And.. what happens to his son? He gets shot dead too? really? Jordan just shoots away with a shotgun at anything in his way? I find this flashback preposterous. Sooo it’s a bit tough to feel for TP but heck, I’ll give it a red hot go!]
LEE: Sorry, TP, we didn’t know.
TP: It was before we met…
[Do we know how long they’ve known each other? I guess it has to be less than around five years ago,after Jordan moved to his island.. ]
…The killing was gangland related. Young Turks struggling for control of the drug trade. And the shooter was an up-and-comer named Donald Jordan.
Lee: Ah. Well, he certainly made it to the top.
[I can tell I’m really not buying into all this lol. I just noticed they are eating with chopsticks! I thought they were going to eat spaghetti!]
TP: Floated to the surface like spoiled cream. I watched him rise. The best lawyers that money could buy have kept Jordan beyond the law. So I decided to go after him myself. Now Peralta was the key to getting into the organization. Every day, I worked my way closer and closer for the past year and a half and now I’m ready to spring the trap, Lee.
[Year and a half? Hmmm..]
Lee: TP, Jordan is holed up in his fortress on the Stanasklaus Islands. He is untouchable there. Now, with thirty indictments waiting for him, he is going to stay.
TP: He’s scheduled to arrive here via Canada in less than 12 hours. These seeds I’ve sown are bearing fruit. Peralta and Foster are at each other’s throats… [Aha! Divide and Conquer!] …Jordan is coming in to make peace, he has no alternative.
Amanda: You did all this alone?
TP: Indeed, but it’s a gossamer web that the DEA could blow apart in a single breath. That’s why I need your help, both of you… twenty-four hours and a place for Peralta, Foster and Jordan to meet. I know it’s asking a lot but I’m so close!
Lee: (sighs) It’s going to be tough to deliver, TP.
TP: Under any other circumstances, Lee, I wouldn’t ask. Will you do it?
(Lee and Amanda exchange a look over the table.
Lee nods, ‘yeah’.
TP looks utterly relieved!!!
The scene ends…
Now this is a big ask!!!)
Thoughts everyone? Anyone else confused by time frames?