fuck.
shit.
god damn it.
thanks a lot. i tell you, i never thought just standing would take it out of me, but ever since that shithead hit me, it feels like my whole body's put together wrong.
i was pulling out real slow, and out of nowhere, his jaguar comes racing around the corner like a bat outta hell .
they took some bone from my hip and put it in my neck. i didn't have insurance, so i'm about seventeen thousand in debt right now.
 couldn't take painkillers cause they made me too groggy to take care of my kids.
 matthew's six, katie's four, and beth's just nine months.
 just wanna be a good mom, a nice person, a decent citizen. just wanna take good care of my kids. you know?
which one?
yeah. there's two. why?
 not like a career, cause i had my babies. but i woulda worked, for sure, if i didn't have this neck thing.
what's your point?
what? hey -- he hit me.
he came tearing around the corner, out of control --
that asshole smashed in my fucking neck!
open and shut? open and fucking shut?
oh, please, it was long over by then. god damn, he made me look like some cheap --
bullshit. you told me i'd get half a million dollars. you told me i'd be set.
settle down? i got 74 bucks to my name, mr. masry! i can't afford to settle down!
yeah? well, fuck you. sorry doesn't feed my kids.
hi, sweetie. were you a good girl? where are matt and katie?
it'll be fine, yeah.
what?
you're moving away? when?
wow, that's soon --
ugh.
put your napkins in your laps and eat up.
mamma's gonna eat later.
don't go getting sick on me, baby. okay?
it's gonna be okay, sweetheart. i promise.
hi, remember me? i was in yesterday. bought a whole mess of stuff? round about five?
oh, shoot, yeah, i guess that'd be tough. well, listen, i meant to buy my baby here some medicine, and by the time i got home, i realized i'd bought the adult stuff by mistake. and now, wouldn't you know, i can't find the receipt. i was wondering -- could i maybe exchange it anyway .
just remember. no matter what your mamma does, lying and stealing is real bad. i don't ever wanna hear you doing something like that .
 cause there's no excuse for it, you hear me? no excuse at all.
you never called me back. i left messages.
there's two things i can't stand, mr. masry. being ignored, and being lied to. you did both.
you said things would be fine, and they're not.
i don't need pity. i need a paycheck. and i've looked, but when you've spent the last six years raising babies, it's real hard to convince someone to give you a job that pays worth a damn. so i figure, since you're the one who said i was gonna be okay, you should be the one to hire me.
bullshit. if you had a full staff, you'd have time to return your damn phone calls.
i'm not everyone else, mr. masry. i'm someone you made promises to that you didn't deliver on. i trusted you. with my kids' well-being. now, i'm smart, and i'm hard- working, and i'll do anything. but if you think i'm leaving here without a job, you got another thing coming.
oh, hell. i'm dyslexic.
mr. masry?
i was wondering -- could you tell me who i'd talk to about maybe getting an advance on my paycheck? just -- for the weekend.
oh. okay. that's okay.
i don't wanna take your money, mr. masry.
sweetheart, you can get a whole big bunch.
hey!
hey!
what the hell do you think you're doing, making all that goddamn noise?
well, i'm the neighbors. there, now we're introduced, so you can shut the fuck up.
just think of me as the person next door who likes it quiet, and we'll get along fine.
you want my number?
which number do you want, george?
shit, yeah. i got numbers coming out of my ears. like, for instance, ten.
sure. that's one of my numbers. it's how many months old my little girl is.
yeah. sexy, huh? and here's another: five. that's how old my other daughter is. seven is my son's age. two is how many times i been married and divorced. you getting all this? 16 is the number of dollars in my bank account. 454-3943 is my phone number. and with all the other numbers i gave you, i'm guessing zero is the number of times you're gonna call it.
y'all got something you wanna discuss?
how long's she been crying like that? .  well, she's got that tooth coming in --
give her a cold washcloth to suck on -- i gotta go -- there's a clean one in that bag -- i'll check back in a bit. sorry. my kid --
out to lunch with the girls.
oh. okay.
yeah. i got it. no problem.
excuse me?
i guess i'm not the right kind.
anna? with this real-estate valuing stuff - - could you remind me, cause i'm a little confused about how exactly we do that.
ugh.
no.
return 'em. maybe you'll get your money back.
i had a good neighbor, george. she was 60 and mexican and she watched my kids for free. something tells me you're not gonna be able to measure up to that.
i'm not gonna leave my kids with you.
cause i don't even know you.
and if i catch either of you anywhere near one, i'll knock you silly. go on to bed, now -- i'll come tuck you in in a minute.
yeah. i'm probably ruining them.
i'm never here. i gotta leave 'em with this weird sitter all afternoon who costs a fortune and smells like chicken fat.
great. another deadbeat.
yeah? and what do you do the rest of the time, live off your trust fund?
i hope that's not supposed to impress me.
it's been a while. maybe i'm just out of practice.
why in the hell would you want to watch my kids?
right.
you're around every afternoon?
this isn't gonna get you laid, you know.
it was in this real estate file i'm valuing. and -- see, i know they're the medical records from the people selling the house -- but it talks about things like lymphocytes and t8 suppressers.
i mean, it's not a problem or anything, but -- i'm just a little unclear on what those things are. i thought maybe you'd know.
hi, rosalind, this is erin. brockovich. from the file room? i was wondering if you could tell mr. masry that i'm following up on that real estate thing out of the office.
dr. paulsen?
hi, i'm erin brockovich. i was just over in the library there, asking a mess of questions about -- i guess they call it epidemiology? -- and the fella there told me to find you, cause you know all about it.
who's baxter?
no one put me up to anything. i was just hoping i could ask you a couple questions.
right, i guess those are the kids --
their parents, i'm pretty sure.
whoa, whoa! easy, easy, easy --
hi. donna irving?
i'm erin brockovich, from masry & vititoe?
hell, no. i hate lawyers. i just work for them. you got a minute?
this is a real nice place you got here.
yeah? i should learn to do stuff like that. they make the place feel real homey.
right.
yeah, i'm real glad you brought that up. i was going through your file here, and i ran into these medical records. they kinda surprised me --
yeah, i'm real sorry to hear that.
i'll say. holy moley.
yeah, i can see that. i guess the only thing that confused me is - - not that your medical problems aren't important, but -- how come the files about them are in with all the real estate stuff?
right, but -- i'm sorry, i don't see why you were corresponding with pg&e about it in the first place.
they did?
wow. why would they do that?
the what?
what's chromium?
well, hell, maybe that's why you all have been so sick --
seems like an awful big coincidence -- your water being messed with and you being so sick.
what're you doing?
you want some coffee, george?
thanks for reminding me.
you think it could make you sick, living in a place like this?
i was talking to this lady -- she and her husband both got cancer, and she thinks it's cause they live in a bad neighborhood. you think that's possible? that living in a bad neighborhood could give you cancer?
hi, y'all -- how you doing today?
i'm okay, i'm just fine. i was wondering -- could i maybe ask you a couple questions?
 and when i realized our area's just as bad as hinkley, i thought maybe my neighbors are all sick too. so i went and asked.
uh-huh. spent the last few days knocking on doors. and you know what? they're not. i mean, they got problems, but none of this cancer stuff. and their pets are fine. so i don't know -- i just can't shake the feeling that it wasn't no multivitamin they put in the water.
don't go telling anyone. it'll ruin my reputation.
there's more than one kind?
harmful, like -- how? what would you get?
so that stuff -- it kills people.
well, how do i find out what kind of chromium is up in hinkley?
hunh-uh. what's that?
county water board. all righty, thanks.
whew! goddamn, that's a heavy door.
thank you very much. aren't you a gentleman? mr. .
ross. real pleased to meet you. i'm erin.
well, believe it or not, i am on the prowl for some water records.
i guess i did.
i wish i knew. it's for my boss. he's fighting his water bill, and he wants me to find all manner of bills from all kinds of places. the easiest thing would probably be if i just squeezed back there with you and poked around myself. would that be okay?
nope. maiden.
not anymore.
well. here goes nothing.
".  on december 7, 1987, the discharger notified the regional board and the san bernardino county environmental health services of the discovery of 0.58 ppm of hexavalent chromium in an on-site ground water monitoring well " .  hexavalent .
where's my stuff?
what the fuck did you do with my stuff?
someone stole my stuff.
i had photos of my kids, plus a mug --
what's going on?
i've been working. shit, that's all i've been doing. ask mr. masry. he knows.
you said to fire me?
i left a message. i've been dealing with that real estate thing. i was gonna write up a whole damn report and --
what am i supposed to do, check in every two seconds?
i am not talking to you, bitch.
don't bother.
bullshit. you're trying to feel less guilty about firing someone with three kids to feed. fuck if i'll help you do that.
i don't suppose any one of you cunts could open the fucking door for me.
what are you doing here?
i didn't ask you to do that. damn it, george, i don't ask you to do things like that.
great.
ugh -- jesus --
damn it --
come here, you little motherfucker --
god damn it!
 god damn it.
what kind of person lives like this? huh? what kind of person lets her kids run around in a house crawling with bugs the size of housecats?
i can't call an exterminator. i can't afford one. god, i can't even afford my phone. i got fired.
doesn't matter. doesn't make one bit of difference. oh god, george, how'd this happen to me? how'd i end up so .  so nothing?
well, i'm sure as hell not what i thought i was gonna be. i was supposed to have one of those great lives, with everything all laid- out and perfect. i mean, hell -- i was miss wichita, for god's sakes. did i tell you that? you live next door to a real live beauty queen. i still got the tiara. i kept it cause i thought it meant something. i thought it meant i was gonna do something great with my life. i thought it proved i was gonna grow up to be someone.
no i'm not. look at me. i'm not.
i'm no good, george. i make people miserable.
don't be too nice to me, okay? it makes me nervous.
come on, baby. maybe that's ed mcmahon.
what are you doing here?
oh, yeah?
well, that was nice of him. isn't it funny how some people go out of their way to help people and others just give 'em the ax?
now, why in the hell would you assume that?
boy, are you ever a shitty judge of people.
you wanna know, you gotta hire me back. i got a lot of bills to pay.
they told her something, but it can't have been too specific, cause i talked to her, and she sure didn't think her water was bad.
it doesn't take a genius to look at those medical records and think something's wrong.
the ones in the box of files. the box of files? the one from your office?
boy, you musta really fine-tooth-combed it then, huh? and you fired me. jesus.
course i did.
i want a raise. and benefits. including dental.
ten. there's a lot of other places i could work.
so far. but that place is a pig sty. i wouldn't be surprised if there's more.
there's no way a son of mine hates funky town. it's impossible.
oh, come on, where's your sense of adventure? we're going someplace you never been before.
you know what i'm realizing for the first time? you kids are a couple of downers. i mean, you are the real thing -- a couple of honest-to-god depresso-types. who in the heck raised you, anyway? some kind of moron?
some kind of half-wit, no-good, big-haired, bimbo, i bet.
thank god we got you away from her, huh?
stay out of the road. i'll be right back.
we'll go eat in a minute. settle down.
ross -- you are an absolute angel.
it was right up on the pg&e property over there.
yeah.
i know. but the toxicologist i been talking to? he gave me a list of problems that can come from hexavalent chromium exposure. and everything you all have is on that list.
right, but -- didn't you say he was paid by pg&e?
so you think we got 'em scared?
nice to see you again, too, brenda.
not to question your judgment or anything, mr. masry, but -- that doesn't exactly look like sitting up and taking notice to me.
-- breast cysts, uterine cancer, hodgkin's disease, immune deficiencies, asthma, chronic nosebleeds.
at least they made an offer.
i don't get why they'd do that.
and you can't?
mr. masry, mario gets lost going to the bathroom. they'll be driving around the valley for hours.
well i'll be god damned.
i'm a slow reader, on account of the fact that i look at the word "dog" and see "god".
yeah. who are you?
wow. how many were born like this?
it sure could, yeah. thanks a lot.
what?
are you kidding? my god --
i'm surprised donna didn't say anything.
hey. you guys still awake?
come on, now. no faking. george told me he just shut out the light a few seconds ago.
look, i know you're mad. but the way this job is, things come up at the last minute, real important things, and i gotta deal with them. now i don't like me missing dinner any more than you do, but we're all gonna have to get used to it, cause the fact is, it's gonna happen sometimes.
that's not true; we had dinner together just last night.
i'm sorry, pumpkins. i'll try a whole lot harder to be around, okay? i promise.
um -- you mind pulling over? just -- for a second?
first of all, don't talk baby talk to your wife in front of me. it really undermines your authority. and second, i know you're my boss and all, but you are the worst fucking driver i've ever seen. move over or i quit.
boy, do i know how you feel. first time i heard that number, i said you got to be kidding me. forty god damn percent?
i'm the one who's injured, and this joker who sits at a desk all day is gonna walk away with almost half my reward?
then i asked him how much he makes if i didn't get anything.
and i realized, he's taking a chance too.
mr. masry, if you don't mind my saying, you got a lot to learn about being friendly. these people just hired you as their lawyer. the least you could do is make a little pleasant conversation.
donna, let me help you clean all this up.
uh-huh?
excuse me. are you mr. linwood?
i'm erin brockovich. i work at the law firm that represents your former neighbors the browns. they suggested i give you a call.
boy howdy, did i ever wear the wrong shoes.
 and mr. linwood seemed to think that your husband had been sick as well.
mrs. desoto said she wasn't sure exactly what it was that you had --
 then mike ambrosino remembered seeing you folks at the hospital from time to time too, so i thought i'd just stop by. you must be annabelle.
whew, are you ever a beauty. i mean, you must drive those boys crazy.
tell me something, george. what kind of god lets a beautiful little 10-year-old girl get brain cancer? isn't he supposed to be in charge of stuff like that? make sure it doesn't happen? i swear, any other job, he'd be fired.
that's crazy -- why not?
okay, so here's what i'll do. i'll go on up to ted and rita daniels -- two of the nicest people you'd ever hope to meet, who spend every single day watching their little girl fight like a dog against this cancer -- i'll tell them we can't help them cause you don't feel like working that hard.
bullshit.
-- who happens to know they poisoned people and lied about it.
and this shit is bad news, mr. masry. not only does it attack every organ of the body, it fucks with your dna, too. that means these people's genes, and the genes of their kids, and the genes of their grandkids --
we can get these people. with a little effort, i really think we can nail their asses to the wall.
okay, fine. i don't know shit about shit. but i know the difference --
-- between right and wrong!
four more. eleven people. so far.
well -- i found one document at the water board that had a toxic test well reading from 1967. a hell of a lot of people have lived on that land since then.
kinda like david and what's-his-name?
you're doing the right thing, mr. masry.
course, gathering evidence -- now, that's a big job. a hell of a lot bigger than just filing. i'm gonna be working a lot harder now, taking on a lot more responsibility .
another raise wouldn't hurt. and with all the time i'm gonna be spending on the road, i'll probably be needing my own cel phone, won't i?
you each can pick out four things. but nothing huge. look at the price. nothing crazy.
george, i am just trying to do something nice for my kids on my one day off. could you please not give me a hard time about it?
well, hell, i guess that's it, then, huh? they're scarred for life. they're gonna start holding up 7-11's any day now.
i know what you're saying, and i don't wanna hear it. i am doing the best i can.
dr. frankel, it's erin brockovich. tell me something: if i wanna find as much evidence of hexavalent chromium contamination as i possibly can, what should i do?
liar. i'm not wearing any.
hello?
yes. who's this?
i'm not gonna quit cause of one creepy phone call, george.
i'm not in danger. i have a dead bolt. remember?
no, see -- that's exactly what those arrogant pg&e fucks want me to think -- that because they got all this money and power, we don't stand a chance in hell against them. but you know what? they're wrong.
how would you know?
nothing.
i didn't say that.
keep your voice down.
hey, ross. tell me something. does pg&e pay you to cover their ass, or do you just do it out of the kindness of your heart?
the fuck you don't. no one calls me pattee. that heavy-breathing sicko that called the other night could've only found out about me from you. people are dying, ross. you got document after document here, right under your nose, that says why, and you haven't said word one about it. i wanna know how the hell you sleep at night.
i'm so tired i'm about to drive off the road. keep me awake, willya?
no, no jokes, i gotta pee. just tell me about your day. what went on back there?
what? beth? my beth?
she lived on the plume. you never know.
this was the community pool?
just a few more minutes, then we can go. take her, will you?
i'm sorry. what were you saying?
i need a ride.
no.
what, asshole?
that's okay. i understand.
i'm real sorry, laura.
jaguar's a darn pretty car.
a lot. but you hang in there, maybe you'll get one.
they used the hex chrom here, in these cooling tanks, as an anti-corrosive. then they dumped it here, in these six ponds.
they covered 'em over. and not too carefully either, cause you dig one inch under the surface, and the dirt is green as a fucking shamrock.
it didn't help, but no. the real problem's on the bottom.
see, according to this, they were supposed to line the ponds so this shit couldn't seep into the ground. but guess what --
i guess it was a little too inconvenient. so for fourteen years, this stuff flowed into the groundwater, free as you please.
for your information, frank cares what was in those ponds 'cause he used to spend half his day wading around them. that was his job.
no --
shit! shit! hot! hot! hot!
you .  asshole .
yeah? then gimme another raise.
don't give me that. you're gonna get plenty rich off of this, mr. 40 percent. we got those pg&e fuckers by the balls here.
what do you mean?
oh, they knew. they had to know.
jesus christ, ed -- you know, the more i work on this thing, the more i realize what a crock of shit this legal system is. here we got a company that poisoned a whole aquifer -- that built a pool for a town, then filled it with toxic water -- and we're the ones who've gotta bust our ass proving things? that's just not right.
really? it makes me sick.
you didn't care about my case?
well, good, ed. i like working with you too.
cause it's my office party. if you had an office, i'd go to your party.
and here, ta-daa, is my desk.
god damn. i work so hard. the least they could do .
that's ed.
no, i wanna say hi.
come on, george, it's a party.
what do you want to talk about instead? your day? that's a fascinating subject.
that is not what i'm --
great. excellent. thank you very much.
it's okay, baby. it'll be okay.
sure you are. you're just a happier woman, cause you don't have to deal with maxi-pads and underwire.
if they've sent that little shmuck baum again, i'm gonna be real pissed off.
yeah, i heard that one before.
jesus. they look like the secret service.
oh, see, now that pisses me off. first of all -- we got more'n a hundred plaintiffs. they may not be sophisticated, but they do know how to divide, and two million dollars isn't shit when it's split between them.
and second of all -- these people don't dream about being rich. they dream about being able to watch their kids swim in a pool without worrying they'll have to have a hysterectomy at age 20, like rosa diaz -- a client of ours -- or have their spine deteriorate like stan bloom. another client of ours. so before you come back here with another lame-ass offer, i want you to think real hard about what your spine is worth, mr. buda -- or what you'd expect someone to pay you for your uterus, miss sanchez -- then you take out your calculator and multiply that number by a hundred. anything less than that is a waste of our time.
i'm gonna assume that was meant as a compliment, anna, and just say thank you.
d'you get his name? course not. jesus, ed --
boy, this job takes me to some of the best damn places, huh?
this is the only station in town, right?
someone's following me.
some guy in a truck -- he waited till i was alone, then he followed me, like, two miles. jesus, i'm shaking. get me a beer.
i don't know. big. dark.
no, ed -- what with me running for my life, i didn't have time to check those things --
yeah. yeah, i'm .  fine.
i think you should know -- there's very few people in the world who don't piss me off 90 percent of the time. you're one of 'em.
hello?
what are you doing? where's george?
george!
jesus, george, they're turning the kitchen into a hellhole. you know you can't leave them alone like that.
what's going on? what are you doing?
about what?
what's that?
i'm sorry. i'm just working so hard --
i can't leave my job, george.
i can't. look -- this job -- it's the best thing that ever happened to me. i mean it. for the first time in my life, i got people respecting me. up in hinkley, i walk into a room and everyone shuts up just to hear what i got to say. i never had that. ever. don't ask me to give it up. i need it.
i need it.
you already packed up your stuff?
wait here.
where's my paycheck?
what?
now how'm i supposed to do that when i'm not in here most mornings and nights?
i don't believe this --
i want my fucking money --
yeah, i mind. you bet your ass i mind.
it's my paycheck. which i earned. which i deserve. which i shouldn't have to beg for. that fat-ass bitch won't give it to me.
fuck you. make time. cause i bust my ass for you. i watch everything else in my life go straight in the toilet, for you. and what do you do for me? huh? you see the way i'm treated around here -- but have you ever stood up for me once? have you ever mentioned to everyone what good work i'm doing? have you ever bothered saying, hey, erin doesn't get paid the most cause she has the best tits; she gets paid the most cause she's the best god damn employee i've ever had?
i want my paycheck. by the end of the day.
you might want to think real hard about the amount, too. my kids are sitting in the god damn parking lot right now, cause i still don't make enough to afford good child care. makes me think about looking around for a job where i'm appreciated, for shit's sake.
we'll see.
well, god damn it, matthew -- randy's mom doesn't work eighteen-hour days, and randy's dad didn't leave her, so figuring out who's gonna take who where is a little easier over at randy's house.
yeah?
believe it or not, i would've been satisfied with just the check.
what kind of things come up?
whoa. no shit.
so what are you thinking?
 but it won't cover annabelle daniels's medical bills.
do you think we'd do better by going to trial?
plus, 40 percent of 20 million's a whole lot of money.
that's a fucking fortune, ed. and you know i'm the last person on earth to walk away from a big payday. but you and me didn't get into this to get rich. we did it cause we both have this voice in our heads saying, do the right thing; get these plaintiffs what they deserve -- the right to live and die in some kind of comfort and peace. if 50,000 isn't gonna buy that, then we gotta say no. trust me. if you don't do the right thing for these people, getting that 6 million dollars is gonna feel like shit.
holy shit. who do they represent, god?
scuse me, sir, you got a real nice ass, you know that?
oh, i'm sorry. was that not what you meant by behaving myself?
what's a demur?
counts?
why good?
hey -- those are my files --
excuse me -- theresa, was it? there are no holes in my research.
don't talk to me like i'm an idiot, okay? i may not have a law degree, but i've spent 18 months on this case, and i know more about those plaintiffs than you ever will.
whose number do you need?
i said, whose number do you need?
annabelle daniels. 714-454-9346.
10 years old, 11 in may. lived on the plume since birth. wanted to be a synchronized swimmer, so she spent every minute she could in the pg&e pool. she had a tumor in her brain stem detected last november, had an operation on thanksgiving, shrunk it with radiation after that. her parents are rita and ted. ted's got chron's disease, and rita has chronic headaches and nausea and underwent a hysterectomy last fall. ted grew up in hinkley. his brother robbie and his wife may and their five kids robbie, jr., martha, ed, rose, and peter lived on the plume too. their number's 454-9445. you want their diseases?
that's all you got, lady. two wrong feet. in fucking ugly shoes.
she insulted me!
why the fuck should i respect her?
not in my world.
hey! you're my ride!
i know she isn't real warm, but they say she's a real good lawyer .
ted, no -- don't do that. if you don't like theresa, you don't have to work with her. me and ed are still here for you.
don't be a pain in the ass, okay, brenda? just put him on.
so did i.
what's going on in there?
pg& -- are you sure?
staring at him from the other side of the glass wall, her face cold with hurt and anger.
if you tell me to relax, i'm gonna kick your fucking head off --
people don't fly down in their own god damn plane for "just a meeting" --
bullshit. you'd drag me off my deathbed if it suited you.
kurt thought? what about you? do you think anymore?
and, what, i'm not serious?
"fun?" jesus, "fun?" i kill myself for a year and a half, hand you the best case of your life on a god damn silver platter, remind you of why you became a lawyer in the first place, and you think of me as "fun?"
not personal? that's my work in there, ed. my sweat, my labor, my time. if that's not personal, i don't know what is.
how dare you take that away from me.
bullshit. you stuck me in siberia dictating to some god damn steno clerk so you could finish this thing without me. after all i've done for you, that's the thanks i get.
perks? jesus -- perks?
if this piece of shit is supposed to take the place of your respect, you can take it and shove it up your ass.
holy shit --
matthew --
matthew! matthew!
god damn it, matthew. what the hell are you doing out here?
if you leave here real fast, i might not kill you.
we'll work out the roller hockey thing, okay? whatever you want, we'll work it out. i promise.
i never forget, honey. i try, real hard. it's just, for some reason, i don't seem to be able to organize things right and -- when it comes to you guys, i end up falling short.
oh, god, sweetheart, no. there's nothing on earth i love more than you. nothing. i promise.
they said that'd be tomorrow. they just wanna keep an eye on me another night.
thank you.
george, hang on. look .  i'm sorry. i just --
if you're here to fire me, your timing's lousy.
i know. i'm sorry. do i get to hear what happened anyway?
between 50 and 400 million, definitely?
and if you had to guess .
so why would pg&e offer it?
wait, what do you mean, ten years?
i'm sorry, are you saying that if this thing goes to trial, it'll be ten years before these plaintiffs see their money?
fuck legal terms. we're talking about human beings here. sick people. a whole bunch of them are gonna be dead in ten years. they need their money now! we gotta get 'em to agree to the arbitration, ed. we gotta get every damn one of those plaintiffs to --
when? where?
okay, good. i think i should be the one to tell 'em, cause they trust me more than --
the fuck i'm not. i don't care what the doctor says --
why not?
fuck kurt.
no, i'm serious. you know what kurt potter is? he's the kind of guy who never would have taken this case in the first place. he's the kind of guy who would have sold these plaintiffs down the river when pg&e offered 20 million. he doesn't work like us, ed. there's no little voice in his head telling him to do the right thing.
come on, kids, we're going for a ride.
stay in the car, babies, i won't be long.
fucking idiot --
can i have one of those counter thingies, please?
we got no choice. i'm not gonna make it home tonight. now go wash up and climb into bed.
hi. it's me. i got a favor to ask you.
it's not for me; it's for my kids. you're the only one i trust them with.
i got you your own room.
hunh-uh. not yet. look, don't take any of 'em on your bike, okay? call a cab if you wanna go somewhere.
i don't know. few days. thanks for helping me. i appreciate it.
and i miss you.
i treated you real bad, george. i know that. but, my problem was -- i never been with anyone who deserved better than that. you're the first nice guy who ever liked me.
i just .  didn't know how to handle it. that's all.
you know me. i pick things up real fast.
yeah, but i'm gonna get better. a lot of these folks aren't.
i understand all that. and i don't wanna force you into anything. if you don't want to sign, that's fine. but why don't we talk it over a little, cause i'd sure hate for you to turn this down for the wrong reasons.
you wouldn't happen to have a little time right now, would you, donna?
well, i was gonna head over to the browns now. i was thinking -- mandy really values your opinion .
what time is it?
no, i need my car --
oh, baby, please don't play with that, okay? i got 'em all organized. just put it back.
that's right, sweetheart.
yeah. she is. but you know what? that's why i'm helping her. so she can get some medicine to make her feel better.
cause her own mom's real sick, too.
eggs'd be great, baby. eggs'd be perfect.
hey, y'all. how you all doing today?
mike! i been looking all over for you. come here, i wanna talk to you.
i'm gonna head out to barstow and talk to some folks out there tonight.
i will. bye.
jesus!
okay, what're you gonna do? you gonna kill me? dump my body in a ditch somewhere? or maybe you just wanna inject me with some poison too -- why change tactics at this stage of the game? get outta my way, you make me sick.
well .  i guess that depends on what the documents were. i'm sorry -- i didn't get your name.
did he say why?
did you get a look at the stuff you destroyed?
and ?
and you were told to destroy those?
what do you mean?
how come you didn't say anything when you found these things?
hey, ros, where are they?
morning!
you know what, mr. potter? i completely forgot your birthday this year. and seeing as how you've been so good to me, i think that is a terrible oversight. so what i been doing over the last few days is i've been putting together a present for you.
635. they all signed. every single one.
oh, now don't get all jealous, ed. i got a little something for you, too.
internal pg&e documents, all about the contamination. the one i like best says, and i'm paraphrasing here, but it says yes, the water's poisonous, but it'd be better for all involved if this matter wasn't discussed with the neighbors. it's to the hinkley station, from pg&e headquarters. stamped received, march, 1966.
well, what with me not having any brains or legal expertise, i just went on up there and performed sexual favors. 635 blow jobs in five days. whew, am i ever tired.
say you were wrong.
say you shortchanged me and you shortchanged yourself.
say you'd be the luckiest son of a bitch on earth if i didn't up and quit over all this.
how do you know that?
how you feeling today?
well, then -- if you're feeling up to it, maybe we should talk shop.
the judge came up with a number.
both.
he's making them pay the maximum.
and he's making them give five million of it to you all.
five million dollars.
it's enough -- for whatever you need, for whatever your girls need, for whatever your girls' girls need -- it'll be enough.
any school you want.
yup.
hey, ros. nice view, huh?
careful you don't spit from here; you could kill someone.
yeah. yours is nicer.
here what comes?
i wasn't gonna --
ed, i swear, i'm not --
what is that?
two million dollars?