Michael Clayton Page #6

MICHAEL:

Look, I don’t know what Walter promisedyou, but whatever it w-

MR. GREER

“Miracle Worker.”

(cutting him cold)

That’s a direct quote. That’s Walter

twenty minutes ago, okay? “Hang tight,

I’m sending you a miracle worker!”

MICHAEL:

Well, he misspoke.

MR. GREER

About what? That you’re the firm’sfixer? Or that you’re any good at it?

MRS. GREER

Elliot...

MR. GREER

This guy was running in the street!

(losing it)

You add the lights -- the rain -the

angle -- what kind of person’sout running in the street in the rainat midnight? Answer me th-

(stopping instantly, as--)

GLASS SHATTERS! -- MRS. GREER just hurled her highball intothe sink. Staring at her husband. Silence, until -

MR. GREER

What if someone had stolen the car?

Happens all the time.

(dead air)

Hypothetically...

This awful pause. MICHAEL wielding the silence like a club.

MICHAEL:

Cops like hit and run cases. They

work them hard and they clear them

fast. Right now, there’s a BCI unit

picking paint chips off a guardrail.

Tomorrow morning they’re gonna be

looking for the owner of a custom-

color, hand-rubbed, green Mercedes SL

500. This guy you hit, if he got alook at the plate, it won’t even takethat long.

Like that -- THE PHONE RINGS -- harsh -- sudden -

MRS. GREER

...omigod...

MICHAEL:

(ignoring the phone)

There’s no play here. There’s no

angle. There’s no champagne room.

And I’m not a miracle worker, I’m a

janitor. So the math on this is

simple:
the smaller the mess, the

easier it is for me to clean up.

THE PHONE STILL RINGING and --

MR. GREER

(small now)

It’s the police, isn’t it?

MICHAEL:

No. They don’t call.

(calmly picking up--)

Hello?

(beat)

Jerry. Hey, it’s Michael...

(pause)

Yeah, sorry. I’m in the neighborhood.

You got a pen?

MICHAEL on hold. Silence now. MR. AND MRS. GREER parkedlike glaciers. Broken glass in the sink.

EXT. WESTCHESTER MANSION DRIVEWAY -- NIGHT

One hour later. MICHAEL leaning on the MERCEDES, munching

on a loaf of stale French bread. Looking over, as JERRYDANTE, local criminal attorney, comes out of the house --

JERRY:

He’s changing his shirt...

(as he arrives)

I talked to my guy at the State Policebarracks. Better we go over there andsurrender and they can tell the towncops to kiss off. This kid he hit,

he’s a waiter at one of those clubs

along the strip there. He’s stable.

I guess they’re putting some pins inhis hip. Good news is he got bustedselling pot last year, so we gotsomething to work with anyway.

MICHAEL:

You don’t need me for this, right?

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