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Provided by explosiveskull https://twitter.com/kaboomskull

I was told this was an underground poker game.

Now you boys take your metaphor seriously.

Name?

Mr. Andrew Jackson

and his twin brother Andy Jackson.

When I come back out this door,

Ben Franklin might wanna have a word with you.

We savvy, big man?

Is this seat taken?

Depends on how much you got to lose.

It's "The Allen Hour"

with your host Allen Covington.

Today, Allen welcomes bestselling author HB Meyers.

Well that excerpt was from the first chapter

of my next guest's new novel

"The Man From Nowhere", HB Meyers.

Thank you.

Thank you for bein' here.

Well thank you, Allen.

Thank you.

So Mr. Meyers, lemme jump right in

and I realize this is a loaded question.

It's kind of like asking you know,

what's your favorite Beatles song?

But out of the 89 novels you've written.

I mean did I speak right, 89?

I think so.

But at my age, I can't remember what I had for breakfast.

Okay, so tell us.

Which is your favorite book you've ever written?

Oh.

Well

I think every piece of art

sort of becomes like a child to you,

so I love each of them equally and differently.

But always my favorite book is the one that I just wrote.

And so I'd rather not talk about the past right now,

but I'd wanna focus on "The Man From Nowhere."

Which by the way, comes out Friday.

Yes, it does.

It's really my most personal work, I would say.

As you know, Allen, I'm a military veteran myself.

Military always has had a special place in my heart.

Sure.

Unfortunately I think this country

has failed our military veterans

in providing the medical attention that they need.

And this book, I have dedicated this book to a man

who frankly saved my life in 1967.

- Wow. - Sergeant Frank Rogers.

I intend to donate all the proceeds from this novel

to building a private medical facility

that will help these American heroes,

these men and women get the medical care that they need

and so richly deserve.

If this book does well and the good people in your audience

and elsewhere go out and buy it, I...

Well they better.

Yeah, they better.

If you love America, you better buy my book.

What a joke.

Your father and I met at a fundraiser

for a group that helps veterans and their families.

It seems to be his new thing.

My hope is to partner the coffee business

with an organization that might be able

to help us raise funds and awareness

and your father said you were the lawyer to come to.

Well I'm not sure how he would even know that.

Well he spoke pretty highly of you.

My suggestion, John,

is that we set this up as a for-profit.

I mean you're doing all the work.

There's no reason why you shouldn't be getting

a piece of the action.

And you can still help the troops

and feel good on the inside about all that stuff.

- Mr. Meyers. - Please, Jake.

Jake, this isn't a business as much as it's a mission.

You ever had a family member or a friend

killed in the line of duty?

I have not.

Yeah, that's a phone call

you can never prepare yourself for.

I can imagine.

War is a terrible thing.

The war isn't over for the ones who get to come home.

And for many of our veterans, it's just beginning.

Your father's done some great things

for the men and women.

Look John, invoking the name of HB Meyers

is not gonna get you anywhere in this office.

I'm sure I can find a lawyer here who can assist you.

Well thanks for your time.

Yeah.

Get someone to set him up with a 501-C.

And the next time Herb sends somebody over,

just I don't know.

Give 'em to Steve.

Okay.

You woke me up.

Jake.

Herb, it's 11 o'clock at night.

It's kinda late for you, isn't it?

Yeah, well the meds make it tough to sleep.

I saw you on "The Allen Show."

Oh, yeah?

You saw that?

It was just on in the background.

You looked terrible, by the way.

Oh, well thank you very much.

The makeup girl did the best she could, I think.

What do you want?

Well one thing,

I sent you a copy of the latest book.

Did you get it?

Yeah.

- Yeah, it's here. - Good.

Look, I'm really proud of it.

This one, especially.

And I just wanted you when you get a chance,

I think it's important.

Hey, I met your buddy, John, about the coffee charity.

Oh, well I really appreciate you helpin' out.

I pointed him in the right direction.

Herb, I don't have time for all your hippy-dippy buddies

and their causes.

I'm tryin' to make a living.

Okay.

A really good living actually.

I mean you should understand that, right?

Tryin' to make money, live the good life.

All right, all right.

I know you're a busy man.

Is this a happy birthday call or what?

What, I didn't miss it, did I?

Not this one.

Okay good, good.

I thought it was in a couple days.

Tomorrow.

Oh good.

Well I'm bad with dates, Jake.

I'm sorry, that's all.

Look, the reason I'm calling

I wanted to see if it might be possible for you

to make a trip up here to see me.

- Listen, I really... - Now before you tell me

that you're too busy, there's very good reason for it.

I wasn't actually gonna say that.

I was gonna sing you the chorus from "Cats in the Cradle."

Jake, look the oncologist said

that I have a couple months

at best.

That's not long.

No, not long at all.

It's really that bad.

Yeah, it is and it's not gonna get any better.

And I wanted to see you

because I know we didn't have much of a relationship.

I don't blame me for that.

I know that's not your fault.

I just want you to know

that not a day goes by that I don't regret

all those moments that I missed being your father.

I guess dad has a way of making you

reflect on your mistakes.

I just wanna see you.

Fine.

One question:

if you could go back

the late nights, the trips outta town,

the missed baseball games,

the months away writing your books.

You didn't even come to my graduation.

Jake.

If you could go back and reflect on your mistakes,

would you trade all of that

not to be

HB Myers: esteemed author?

Just be here.

Just be my dad.

Forgiveness is a powerful thing, Jake.

You are so unbelievable.

You can't even answer that, can you?

Don't.

You know, once again this call isn't about me.

It's about you.

You're feeling guilty, you're sittin' at home alone

and you're tryin' to manipulate me

into forgiving you for my horrible childhood again,

for never bein' there.

I just wanna try to make things right

- before it's too late. - The past is the past.

Let's leave it there, huh?

I can't.

Well I can't argue with you.

No, you can't

'cause I learned from the best.

Jake.

Jake, Mr. Patterson has already called

five times this morning.

- Hi, good morning. - It's not even nine a.m.

It's actually quarter to 10, boss.

That makes sense.

What does he need?

He wants to know when his case is going to trial.

But Jenny, am I bad at my job?

Don't answer that.

I'm incredibly good at my job

and I told him a hundred times when we were going to trial.

You tell him.

- I will tell him, yes. - When the judge

gives us a court date,

- that's when we go to trial. - Mm-hmm.

All right, perfect.

Thank you.

- I should call him. - You should call him.

- I should call him. - Go ahead, yeah.

Hey, but what if I text him?

- Is texting okay? - Text him.

Yeah, text him; it's easier.

- Or you email him. - I'll email him.

- You write an email. - Yes.

What I would say how you would say it

- comes out nicer that way. - Mm-hmm, yeah.

- There you go. - My cup of coffee?

Yes, already on your desk.

Also your RSVP list for your birthday is in the inbox

and the new recruits are currently

stewing in the conference room.

Perfect.

Let the marinate.

- All right. - You're the best, Jenny.

Listen up.

If your life game plan includes cars, boats, properties,

you know what the difference is

between you and me?

You want those things.

I have those things.

You don't get success, you take success.

Does that make sense?

You gotta want it, crave it.

Wake up in the morning and pour it on your cereal

before you start your day.

Your client

is 89 years old and on her deathbed.

She lived a good life, a long life, a rich life.

I say forget her life, drain her dry.

And when she's gone, you go after her trust!

You take everything.

Does that make you feel bad?

- No. - Good.

This guy gets it.

How 'bout you?

That bothers you, doesn't it?

It's okay.

You can tell me.

I'm sorry.

Well I appreciate that.

What's your name?

Nicolas.

Nicolas, Nicolas.

That's a good name, Nicolas.

I appreciate your honesty, Nicolas.

And I advise you to go work for some nonprofit.

I don't think you'll be very happy here, Nicolas.

Because we are not a 501-C!

We are here for one reason!

Do you know what that reason is, Nicholas?

I'm givin' you another shot here, kid.

Don't mess it up.

Our clients?

You messed it up.

Money.

We are here for money.

He's a sucker.

I give him two days tops.

If he makes it to three, I buy everybody dinner.

If you're afraid of crossing some ethical oath

you took in law school,

you go all the way up to that line

and you bend it until it almost breaks.

Are you afraid of doing something illegal?

You are a warrior.

Figure out a way to make it legal.

Yeah.

Hey.

This a bad time, Jake?

Never a bad time for you two.

Heard your Glen Gary speech went over well yesterday.

Yeah, yeah.

It's subjective.

I only had one leave in tears this time.

We wanted to have a little talk with you.

You know, Charlie and I were thinking.

This about the incident again?

- Not really. - Yeah.

Yeah, it is.

Yeah.

Jake?

Oh.

I'm sorry,

this captivating conversation's gonna have to wait.

That's Jenny letting me know my 11:30's here.

- He's early. - This is important, Jake.

- So maybe we could... - You guys are comin'

to my party tonight, right?

- Yeah. - Great.

Let's pick up this talk then.

- Yeah. - Okay.

- See you tonight. - Yeah.

Happy birthday, partner.

Yeah.

in hospital.

Talk to you guys later.

- Sounds fun. - Jake,

can I talk to you for a minute?

Hey, do you wanna meet my friends?

Hey, you don't go anywhere without sayin' goodnight, okay?

Come here.

I did not mean to break up your Mensa convention over there.

You're being funny.

Okay, well they are your type.

- Hot. - Shallow.

I am insulted.

Really?

No, not at all.

So what'd you wanna talk about anyway?

- Oh. - I'm sorry.

I was gonna tell you

that your partners have been looking for you.

- Yeah, I found 'em. - That's okay.

- I am sorry 'bout that. - That's okay.

- I'll grab a napkin. - Thanks, Jenny.

- Yeah? - I appreciate that.

Maybe grab Charlie another drink.

- No no no. - No, that's okay.

No, grab him one.

- Grab him one. - Okay.

So if I recall correctly, you two wanted to a talk.

Yeah, yeah.

So the partners have been talking.

Of which I am also one.

Right, of course.

Of course.

We, the other partners, have been talking.

You're always mentioning about going on vacation, right?

We think it would be a good idea for you to look into that.

Are you guys forcin' me to take a vacation?

No no no.

- We're not forcin'. - Not forcing, inviting.

C'mon.

I know I made a mistake, but I've done well.

You physically assaulted the defendant's counsel.

Let's chalk it up to a bad day.

I mean we all have bad days.

Yeah, some of us more public than others.

C'mon, Jake.

Okay, okay, okay.

Okay.

I admit.

I admit I was under a lot of stress

both personal and at the office.

Jake, it's the drinking.

It's my birthday party.

At work.

I see what's goin' on here.

You guys are teamin' up on me.

No, we're not teaming up on you.

- Yeah, you are. - Ready to move on.

From the incident or me?

It's both.

Well if you're tryin' to fire me, Charlie,

- just come out and say it. - Look, Jake.

We're not tryin' to fire you.

Yeah, you are.

- No, we're not. - Yeah, ya are.

Jake, listen, listen, listen.

We've got an NDA right here.

We want you to sign it and say that you resigned.

That's it.

You get a very large check

and we get to start fresh.

You brought an NDA

to my birthday party?

Unbelievable.

Get out.

Could you just do us a favor?

- Do you a favor? - Yeah, do us a favor.

Do you a favor?

I've been doin' you a favor since we start this firm.

Jake, back off for a change.

I'm the only partner who has a spine, man.

Back off, man.

Back off.

- All right, that's it. - That's what I thought.

- That's it. - Yeah, no spine.

Charlie, forget it.

Forget it, he's drunk.

- I - have the 502 in progress.

35-0 back in A1.

Did you have a rough night?

Clearly, no.

Spent the night in jail.

I appreciate you taking your time

bailing me out, by the way.

- I needed that self-reflection. - Okay.

Well excuse you.

Someone had to stay at your party.

Someone had to clean up, pay the deejay,

be responsible, Jake.

Jenny, come on.

You saw what happened.

It's not my fault.

Okay fine, fine.

Maybe I didn't help the situation.

You did not help the situation.

It was partially my fault.

Entirely your fault, actually.

It was totally understandable.

Okay, this is me taking off my employee hat

and putting on my friend hat.

Oh, thanks.

Your life is a mess

and you don't even seem to care, Jake.

Thanks, mom.

Okay, do not be a jerk to me.

I just bailed you out of jail.

It's under control.

What is?

You know.

I don't.

Please enlighten me.

What do you have under control?

It's under control.

Okay, well obviously this isn't going to help your case

with the partners.

But they're never gonna know.

You think you can hide it from them?

Are you gonna tell 'em?

It's in public record, you know?

Look who you're talking to.

I know how to get around the system, Jenny.

If you gimme a few days,

it's gonna be a slap on the wrist,

a few hours of community service at worst.

It's nothing I haven't had to deal with before.

Well do you want me to cancel your meetings today?

Push everything a week.

Okay, maybe you should take that vacation, relax a little.

Okay.

- Okay. - Yeah.

Yeah.

Tell them I'm gonna take a week off.

But make it clear I am not resigning

and it's of my own volition.

Mm-hmm, you got it.

- Thank you. - You're welcome.

Lemme know what they say.

As your HR representative, I am here as your advocate.

The purpose of this meeting is to find a solution

that is beneficial to both you and the company.

I made it pretty clear before:

If I see this again, I'll sue.

Not just the firm, each one of you as individuals.

And you know you don't wanna be sitting at that table

across the aisle from me.

Jake, let's just be reasonable.

If this is a negotiation tactic.

Did you see the sum at the bottom?

It's a lotta money.

It's not about the money.

Never thought I'd hear those words come out of your mouth.

C'mon, Harry.

This firm would've closed up shop a long time ago

if it wasn't for me.

Respect is a two-way street, Jake.

I don't respect you, Charlie.

'Least I'm not an embarrassment.

Gentlemen, please.

Jake, according to the company's bylaws,

the firm has the right to ask you to take

a two-week leave of absence effective: starting today.

Jenny already told you

I said I was takin' some time off for my own.

And we wanted to make sure that you knew

that this time off is mandated by the firm.

Is that what this is about?

Is that why we're here, some time off?

'Kay, I'll tell you what, Harry.

I'll shoot straight with you.

You've always shot straight with me

and I like you more than I like him.

I'll take your time off, okay?

I will take your two weeks affective immediately.

Are we happy now?

Does that please the court?

Can I go home?

Are we done here?

We wanted you to take this time to really think,

think about your recent issues

and the idea that we have done our best

to keep all of these recent incidents in-house,

away from the press

and away from our colleagues at other firms.

I mean come on, you know how it is in our circles.

News travels fast,

bad news travels faster.

So we could keep going round and round

or you could help yourself.

And yes, help the firm

and sign it.

I gotta say I'm proud of you, Harry.

The birth of a spine.

I spent eight years of schooling,

forfeiting any kinda social life

to graduate the top of my class at Harvard.

When we started this firm, we had two clients.

Remember that?

Look where we are now.

In the last several years, I have successfully delivered

over 100 million dollars worth of settlements.

The National Law Journal recognized me

as the Lawyer of the Year, twice.

The American Bar Association

awarded me the John H. Pickering Achievement Award.

Super Lawyers continually ranks me

in the top three in the State of California.

How many times have you been in the top three

in the State of California and what?

You want me to sign on this line and I'm not gonna do it.

And you should be thanking me because without me,

this firm is nothing.

Without me, you are nothing.

Do you really think

I'm gonna let all of my achievements die

because you decided grow a spine?

I think we're done here.

And I tell you what guys.

If you leak anything, I'll add defamation to the suit, kay?

See you in two weeks.

Oh and Sherry, I'll probably sue you too, just a heads-up.

Okay you can work, Jake.

But not too much or too hard, okay?

This is your vacation.

Vacation is a flawed concept, Jenny.

It fosters complacency.

That's why nobody's been to the moon in 50 years.

I, on the other hand, will be working tirelessly

over the course of the next two weeks

to show Harry and Charlie what they would be missing

if I did in fact leave.

Okay that was the wrong answer, Jake.

You need to take a breather.

You need to relax, trust me.

Sure thing, boss.

What is this?

Is this from your dad?

Yup.

Are you going to open it?

Nope.

Well aren't you a little bit curious what's inside?

It's a book.

He sends me all of 'em.

Are any of them good?

I've actually never read them.

Really?

Never wanted to.

Certainly doesn't stop him from continuing to send them.

However, it's about the only thing that he does send me.

There's a whole pile in the garage

if you wanna take some home.

Okay.

Ooh, "The Man From Nowhere."

It's all yours.

Look, the guy on the cover kinda looks like you.

You need a book.

You're on vacation.

You have the time.

You need to relax.

You know perfectly well there's nothing about my father

that will make me relax.

Okay, well fine.

I will be at the office,

so holler at me if you need anything.

But you won't need anything because you will not be working.

Actually, I do need something.

Those girls from the party.

- Sorry. - I gave them office number.

- Okay, no. - So if they call...

So we're throwing those numbers away.

No, why?

Be nice.

- Just give 'em my cell. - Okay,

- I'll handle it for you. - Give 'em my Snapchat.

I don't care.

No, okay.

Have a good day, Jake.

Yes.

"For Sergeant Frank Rogers

and the men of Charlie Company."

All right, Herb.

I'll give you five pages.

400.

Bet.

You callin'?

Yeah, Arch.

Sure.

I'll call.

Me too.

No surprise there.

And I suppose you'll follow suit.

I raise.

You raise?

I think you meant to say call.

You do realize whose game you're at.

Now we are playin' poker, aren't we fellas?

Well yeah.

And within the rules of the game,

I am allowed to raise or am I thinkin' of Go Fish?

Yeah, you don't raise at this table.

I got no kick, Billy.

This daisy just ain't familiar

with whose table he's sittin' at.

I fold.

Me too.

How many cards?

One.

I shoulda took more cards, huh?

I raise.

Can you believe this egghead, Tiny?

You think you're smart,

but you have no idea how I am

or what I do to people I don't like very much.

I'm not interested in your life story,

just your next move.

Call.

Two pair.

Three nines.

Quite the card player, mister.

I ain't here for the cards.

Good 'cause this money ain't goin' home with no grifter.

I know you boys are upset.

I can't say as I blame you

because you're rotten card players, all of ya.

Now by my estimation,

I think you guys are gonna reach for those bean shooters

in your pockets.

But before you do, you better know who I am

and you ain't gonna like my answer.

Who are you?

That's a valid question

even though I had to prompt you, Joseph.

I'm glad you asked.

If you're smarter than you look,

I don't care what Ike says about you.

Who are you?

Gamble.

Johnny Gamble.

You're the Johnny Gamble, the detective?

I thought I smelled a rat.

I told you you were gonna like my answer.

Nicked money from every crook he took down,

even took money from his own police department.

Nothin' worse than a Judas.

That's a fair assessment.

I recognized my transgression, then I went straight.

Even I wasn't past savin'.

Hear that, boys?

Crooked copper found religion.

How do we know you ain't lyin', Gamble?

Well why don't we find out together, Billy?

I know you're not here for the chitchat

or the money, Gamble.

So what do you want?

Information.

We ain't no canaries.

I'm lookin' for my son.

Your boy?

Your boy don't wanna see you.

Your boy don't wanna be nothin' like you, you no-good yap.

He only knows what I used to be.

He's runnin' with Herod's crew now.

Yeah, now see that's what I'm lookin' for.

Now we're gettin' someplace.

Where's Herod?

Same place you've been for the last five years:

nowhere.

Okay, I don't need you doing any work.

But I do need some signatures for the Patterson's file.

So if you could just sign full signature where it's in red

and then initials in yellow.

You started reading it?

Yeah.

I saw somewhere that your dad's

going on a book tour or something.

No chance.

He told me he doesn't have much time left.

He's pretty sick.

You've talked to him?

Yeah, I mean it was quick.

It was like a "Happy birthday.

Here's my latest book."

That kinda thing.

Okay, well at least you're talking about something.

He wants me to go see him.

Well you are on vacation.

You don't get it, Jenny.

It's always about him.

It's always an ask.

Okay, well thank you.

Yeah.

Have a good day.

I'm still working on the doughnuts from earlier.

Herb.

What are you doin' here?

Am I good to go now, Mr. Meyers?

- Yes, you are. - No.

No, why are you here?

See, I told you he was gon' be like this.

Did you break him outta the hospital?

Well I did most of the work,

but he was very well-compensated.

Thank you, Aaron.

Thank you, sir.

You can go.

Here's your bag.

- Thank you. - Good luck.

Help me out here.

Come on, let's go.

It's cold out here.

Do you want a drink?

'Cause I'm gonna have like 50.

I don't really drink anymore.

It seemed a little bit early for that really.

That's right.

I keep forgetting you're a new man since you found God.

Well maybe if I'm around long enough,

I can prove that to ya.

Is that a joke?

Because

I can't tell if you're tryin' to be funny

or what right now.

You seem a little grouchy.

I think you might need a second.

Why don't you just show me to my room

and I'll get a little rest?

Show you to your room.

Yeah, yeah.

- I won't... - Wow.

I sleep most of the time anyway.

I won't bother you too much.

I mean I can see how busy you are.

All right, sounds good, Herb.

Nap time.

You awake yet, Johnny boy?

You tellin' me this sap was the same guy

that got the drop on Benny's team in Chicago?

Smoked all of his boys.

This guy?

Nah, Joe.

That was a different guy.

This is the new Johnny Gamble.

I like my odds.

Four-on-one, you dumb lug?

You really live up to your name, Gamble.

Five-on-one.

That guy counts twice.

I wanna put a pill square in the temple

of this pallucco right now.

Somebody told me why I don't do that.

Send in word to Herod?

You know he'll pay top draw for Gamble.

You know he's gonna want him alive, Ike.

Maybe a couple large?

You tell Herod to get here.

You tell him to bring my son.

He's not comin' here,

so you could play patty cake with your son.

He's comin' here to bump you off, you no-good fake.

It's the risk I'm willin' to take.

You know what your problem is, Gamble?

You think you're the one teachin' the lessons,

not gettin' 'em.

Who's the eggs-and-butter man around here, huh?

You are, Ike.

That's right I am.

And here's the thing, I don't wanna have Herod's money.

I got enough cabbage.

No, I got a better plan: a lesson you'll never forget.

What you thinkin', boss?

Gonna deliver you to Herod, all right.

And then I'm gonna shoot your son right between the eyes

and you're gonna watch.

I'm the law.

I can't do this.

This guy's pathetic.

You know what?

Boys, go ahead and shoot Gamble.

Herod'll be happy as a clam

and I'll still ice his son for fun.

You wanna kill me?

Go ahead.

What're ya waitin' for?

Kill me.

The minute you threaten my son, I'm the law.

Lesson learned.

I want you to tell Herod that I'm comin' for him.

You hear me?

You tell him Gamble's comin' for him.

Are you doing okay?

I could've just come by your house.

No.

- No. - Why?

You could not have

because there is a self-proclaimed reforming absentee father

in a wheelchair currently takin' up residency there.

Yeah, I should've known you put him up to this.

- Okay, no. - He would never have thought

- to come see me by himself. - All I did was reach out

to his agent.

He had to break outta the hospital on his own.

You're so fired.

I think it's amazing.

Yeah, only because you didn't grow up with him as his son.

Jenny, we're talkin' about a guy whose fondest memory of me

was sending me off to school

on the other side of the country.

So when you say it's amazing

that he showed up randomly on my front porch

and wants to pretend like everything has been fine

for the last 30 years, I don't get that.

I'm gonna give you some advice.

Jake, he's gonna be gone

and you're too busy being a selfish child

to even listen to him.

You've said that your dad

has been too proud to be proactive

and now the ball is in your court, Jake.

So you can either talk to him

or you can be this whole like father-like-son thing.

I'm not like him, Jenny.

Well

so what do you think so far?

Yeah.

Well it looks like you dedicated it

to a Sergeant Frank Rogers.

Now I've never had a book dedicated to me,

but some guy I've never heard of gets one from you.

Sergeant Rogers saved my life back in Hue in Vietnam.

I thought you were supposed to be the war hero

or is that just how the media played it out

for your last press tour?

Rogers was the man who introduced me to Jesus.

That long ago?

Where was that Jesus when I was growin' up, Herb?

He's supposed to be a loving, selfless father, right?

Full of grace, hope, love.

Rogers planted the seeds.

He made the introduction to the Lord

and I'm not proud that it took 40 years to take root.

I can't give you back your childhood, Jake.

We're just gonna have to find a way to go on from here.

The least you coulda done was dedicate book to me.

That book's not dedicated to you.

It's written for ya.

What?

I wrote it for you.

I mean you know, I'm not good at opening up.

It's not how men were back in my day,

but I'm good with a pen and some words.

And so I wrote a story

to try to show you the length that a man would go to

to find the son that he lost.

You wrote this for me.

Nobody else.

"The New York Times," the paycheck.

Oh, god.

I'm donatin' all the money I make from that

to a veteran's charity.

I'll just keep reading it then.

Read it out loud.

That'll be music to my ears.

Who is he, Herod?

The one on that slab as Ike Capra.

He's the head pella.

His associate, Joji Gatti.

Two doors down, Billy Gallow.

Bottom drawer, Cole Gamble.

I wanted you to see this.

You've done some top-notch work for my crew.

I trust you been happy.

Yes, sir.

Feels like family.

That's good.

I like that.

Cole Gamble.

My father

always used to say, "It's best to work with people you like,

people you trust."

Am I right?

I like ya, Cole.

You know how to use the old grape.

You got a good head on your shoulders.

But when you work with people you like,

you open yourself up to betrayal.

Ya like 'em, so you don't see it comin'.

Fortunately, my father, he learned that lesson the hard way.

Yeah, business partner.

Loved him like a brother,

even drank from the same bottle.

Who knew?

And then one day,

he found out this man was not a friend at all.

Tried to work it out, give him another chance,

but you can't reason with a traitor.

Can't be done, can't do it.

It cost him everything: his business, his home,

his life.

Now had it been me, wouldn't have been a second chance,

wouldn't have happened.

I woulda hunted him down

and took back everything that was mine

and maybe a few things that weren't.

'Course it's what my old man said,

I could never keep friends.

What are you gonna do?

What's that gotta do with me?

Your father,

the two-faced gumshoe,

filled these three gents full of daylight.

Johnny Gamble's not my father.

Never was, never has been.

Are you sure?

'Cause when we find him, we're gonna kill him

slowly, painfully.

And I don't need any tears or changes of heart from you,

you understand me?

This man murdered my friends and he never cared about you.

You're more of a father than he ever was.

There you go.

Yeah,

makes sense to me.

Just wanna be sure though.

When we find him and he pulls a gun,

you got my back?

Of course I have your back.

Trust me.

The hooch ain't gonna make it better.

Don't you have a son to find?

I just thought I'd take a breather before I dust out.

Well feel free to dust on out.

I thought I might could tip the bill first.

Whiskey?

Water, if you got it.

I don't.

I think I'll pass.

You enjoyin' the journey so far?

It's not bad.

It's not bad.

It's no Raymond Chandler, but it's not bad.

Well it's not my character to impose,

so I guess I'll just be on my...

What happened

between and your son?

Because the book,

it doesn't say.

A lifetime of mistakes.

Any words of wisdom for me?

You are talkin' to the wrong guy

because I'm in a similar situation with my own father.

That's why I was asking.

I was hoping you could shed some light,

but apparently that's too much to ask for.

Family can be a busted flush.

Tryin'' to make sense of it,

you wind up behind the old eight ball.

What, are you dyin' or somethin'?

Why else would you go look for him after all these years?

Well I did him wrong.

I'm not proud of it, so I'm fightin' hard to make it right.

Well brother, fair warning

because it does not look like your boy wants to be found

and so it might not go well for you.

Every lost son longs to be found by his father.

Not all of them.

Well see, now it sounds like

you have a lotta built-up hate towards your father.

You think that's just?

That

is my father.

I am his son

and he has never told me he loves me.

So you know what?

He can burn in hell.

Thanks for the chitchat, kid.

What, are you bringin' me tea?

I bet that's decaffeinated too.

You really don't like me, do you?

You can't have coffee, Herb.

It'll mess you up.

Jake, I got a couple of months at best.

I think I can have a cup of coffee if I want one.

Okay.

Thank you.

So whatever happened to your Sergeant Rogers?

You know, I lost track of him years ago, decades ago.

How do you let someone who meant so much to you

just walk outta your life?

Well he was good man and I wasn't.

Well maybe I was just embarrassed

or didn't feel like I measured up.

Maybe I just didn't understand grace yet.

Maybe you were chasin' too hard after the things in life

that don't matter to make good on your relationships.

Well there's no question about that, Jake.

How are you doin' with that, son?

How are you doin' in your relationships?

Are you chasin' things that don't matter?

Who are you to even sit here and say that to me?

You just show up on my doorstep and think that

that writes 30 years of you just being gone?

Where were you when mom needed you?

I mean c'mon, Herb.

Where were you when I needed you?

I'm not here to defend myself

and I'm not here to question your life choices,

but I want you to question 'em

and I want you to question 'em

before you're 67 years old with colon cancer

hooked up to a machine that's keepin' you alive.

What?

If you weren't dying, would you be here right now?

Well I'd like to think so.

But at least the coffee didn't kill me.

You got someone here to see you.

Lil' something for you and the kids.

Why don't you get lost, find some business to do?

Hey, are they're gonna let you bail me outta here?

Not this time, kid.

What do you mean?

Ya got popped makin' too much noise.

I was just collectin' money for you.

I didn't take any juice off the top, I swear.

I wouldn't do that to you, Herod.

Nah, it's bigger than that.

You got all the badges in this town on the take.

All you have to do is say one word and I'm outta here.

Racketeering,

it brings the feds and their sniffin'.

What are you doin'?

No loose ends tyin' you back to me or my crew.

Herod, no.

Please.

Sorry it has to be this way, kid.

Business trumps family, you know that.

Goodnight, Herb.

Goodnight, son.

Herod, no.

Please.

Sorry it has to be this way, kid.

Business trumps family, you know that.

See, the thing is

you ain't his family.

Well, well.

How 'bout this?

A Gamble family reunion.

Cole, I've been lookin' for you, son.

You don't have a son here.

Just a shell of a boy who don't wanna be around you

and that makes two of us.

It's been five years.

How'd you find me?

By tellin' myself every day

that I wouldn't stop until I did.

Cole, listen to me.

Listen to me, the way I treated ya.

The way I treated your mother, it wasn't right.

I wasn't a standup guy.

Now I can't fix the past, but I can fix the future

and I'm begging you.

Before the Lord, I beg your forgiveness.

Message of redemption,

last-ditch effort of the weak-minded.

He wants to see your wig split.

He's been beggin' to watch you die

like the dog you are, Gamble.

If love comes from the end of a barrel, then so be it.

Take it.

Take it.

Go ahead and shoot.

You've ruined me,

abandoned me.

You think you can waltz back into my life.

You think it's that easy?

Nothing about this as easy, Cole.

But if it's the last thing you ever hear me say,

I love you

and I'm sorry.

I was wrong about you, Cole.

You got some moxie.

Go ahead

pull the trigger.

Go ahead.

I'll push to get you outta this bird, kid.

C'mon, pull it!

Go on, pull it!

Sorry, Gamble.

How you feelin', Herb?

You sure you're up for this road trip?

Where are we goin'?

Three hours, that's all you need to know.

Three hours?

Gonna miss "Judge Judy."

I'll record it for you.

You went potty, right?

What?

- Potty? - Potty.

Yeah, I mean it's leather seats.

- Yes, yes. - I don't want an accident.

I'm not a child, you know?

You are wearin' diapers, right?

Get in the car.

I don't wanna be late for wherever we're goin'.

So is this it, dad?

We finally here?

Almost there.

I'm guessing it's an in-and-out.

No, but I'll buy you a double-double on the way home.

I promise.

But we need to pray for the love of God

and grace to be given to us as was given our savior

when he faced temptations too.

Well hi, you boys here for the class?

Yes, sir.

Are you Frank Rogers?

You military?

No,

but this man is.

You look really old.

Not as bad as you do.

I want everybody to know

that this man right here saved my life.

He's more than just an author, he's a friend.

Our platoon was a part of the Operation

Cedar Falls

and our main objective was just one thing

and that was to go in and try to destroy the Iron Triangle.

That meant 30,000 men were gonna descend

on the Viet Cong one time;

all of us knowin' that probably

we weren't gonna make it out.

I'll never forget that night.

The smoke was so thick

you could not even see your hand in front of you.

The bodies were layin' before us all bloodied and bruised

and

the men who were soldiers with us on either side,

they were cryin' out screamin' for help.

You know, times like that

somethin' inside you dies

and you don't know if you're gonna go crazy.

But I trusted God would be with me

and I trusted that the Lord would see me through.

They took us by surprise one night.

We never seen 'em comin'.

They tricked us and they caught us

and we'd spend five days in cages.

No food, just rainwater.

Then outta nowhere, this man just started diggin'

and we couldn't understand what he was doing

'cause we're thinkin' what is he doin'

diggin' in the middle of this place?

And all of a sudden, we realized you figured out

that if we could just dig deep enough,

then maybe, just maybe we could get outta there.

And so we all started diggin'.

We dug with our bare hands and we clawed it out.

It's like "The Great Escape."

Yeah.

Yeah, we even gave ourselves code names

you know, so the VC wouldn't know our real ones.

Mine was Bronson.

I kinda figured you would coin yourself McQueen.

Well taken.

Yeah, he does seem cooler than you.

Oh no, everyone else had given up.

Your father single-handedly dug

'til finally there was a way of escape for us.

I'm here because of him.

I didn't do it by myself.

And I wanna tell you a little story

about how this man saved my life.

But I expect that since y'all spent some time with him,

you already know what I mean.

You're a good man.

Don't you forget it.

Oh, hey.

Thank you for today, Jacob.

Yeah, no problem.

Listen, I gotta get back work tomorrow,

but I can leave some cereal out or somethin'

on the counter for breakfast.

Oh, you don't have to do that.

I have a nurse comin' in durin' the day

and I can ask her to stay at night too if it's easier.

No, I can handle the night shift.

Okay.

Well that's a shame, she's pretty cute.

Did you tell her I was rich?

Dude, mom used to love it when you played that for us.

I guess I kinda did too.

You wanna know why it took 40 years, son?

Just so you know,

I thought success was gonna fill that hole in my chest.

It won't.

Just keep that in mind.

Hey, have you finished that book?

Not yet.

Well I got another one that I want you to read.

I put it in there on your bed.

Sure.

Goodnight, Herb.

Goodnight, son.

Hey, I'll be in around 10:30.

Okay, you had me scheduling the 9:30 today.

Just push it.

I don't know.

It's Gary Sullivan.

He only wants to talk to you.

You know how much he pays for his company's retainer?

Yeah, you know what?

Push it.

I'm makin' breakfast for Herb before I come in.

Okay, well that is absolutely worth pushin' for.

Thanks, Jenny.

I'll see you in a bit.

Okay and I'll have your coffee

on your desk ready for you.

I got some here but thank you.

What?

Okay, I'll see you in a few.

Bye.

Herb, I got some eggs here for ya.

Breakfast of champions.

Come on, wake up.

Hey, Herb.

Herb, wake up.

Let's go, you can't stay in bed all day.

Get up.

Herb?

Herb, come on.

Wake up.

Herb.

Someone once said

that good decisions come from experience.

Experience comes from makin' bad decisions.

He wasn't tryin' to fix all the wrongs.

He was just tryin' to do right

with the time that he had left.

What are you gonna say to your son now that you found him?

You tell me.

I didn't read the end.

Why not?

I think it would only ruin it.

Hey.

What would you say?

You know what I would tell my son?

Let it go.

Let it go and get right.

Nothin' more important to me than you gettin' right.

Take it from an imperfect father.

I was a terrible father and you know it,

but you know what you deserve and you know what I deserve.

I would do anything to get you back because I love you.

God loves you more.

He gave his only son that you could live.

You have a perfect father.

Run to him, this is life and death.

Let it go.

Get right.

well I guess this is where I

dust out.

I love you, dad.

No, no, no.

But we changed the rates

- and we changed the... - Okay.

Just to expand the scope.

And this...

Jake.

Charlie.

I'm so sorry.

We didn't know you were supposed to be in today.

- We were just usin' the space. - It's okay.

This office looks good on you.

Sorry to hear about your father.

Yeah.

Thank you, Harry.

He was a great man.

He was.

He did his best with what was given to him.

Yeah.

It's probably better that we don't have you know,

personal contact without the mediator.

I'll sign the paperwork.

You will?

Yeah.

Yeah, I will.

I could use a break from all this

and I haven't been the best partner to either of you

and I hope you'll forgive me.

Apology accepted.

Thank you, Harry.

Thank you, Jake.

Charlie, what do you say?

Yeah.

Hey, if you guys ever have any 501-C charities

come through, you think you can refer them over to me?

That's new.

I'm workin' on some things.

- Absolutely. - Yeah.

- Of course. - No problem.

Thank you.

Well great.

This was helpful and I hope you guys have a good day.

I'll see you soon.

Probably not.

I don't even.

I have no idea.

So why am I here?

Because what you're doing can have a profound impact

and I did not take you seriously enough the first time.

It was my mistake and I want you to know that I'm all-in.

Like I said before,

I don't want this to be for-profit.

Neither do I.

Okay.

I've already started setting up the charity.

I'll take care of it from here.

I got it covered.

It's all on me now.

I wanna do this.

Okay.

Okay.

I appreciate it.

What's the next step?

Well there's a sergeant

running a help group for veterans

I would love for you to meet.

He served in Vietnam.

If you're still looking

for those kinda charities to help you out.

So what's the timeframe look like

for us to get up and running?

I've got one more thing to tackle,

but I promise you it's a priority.

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