State Of Play Page #7

be there, huh?

Yeah.

Now, do you mind if I

get back on with my story?

It's not a story.

It's a case!

And... And just so you know, a

girl by the name of Mandi Brokaw,

turned up dead tonight.

Probable homicide.

She look familiar?

We got her fingerprints

off of those

surveillance photos

you so kindly gave us.

Hello, I'm Rhonda Silver.

Like I said, that's what he

called "being in committee."

I know you got shot

at last night,

and I know I should be making

you a nice cup of cocoa,

but I'm just so bloody angry!

I mean, the decision, I'm assuming,

was that this was not news.

We... Look, we didn't...

We were worried that...

It was my call, Cam.

All right?

I didn't, and I don't

believe her.

She's not credible.

She was just trying

to sell us her sexy

scrapbook photos of

her friend, Sonia Baker.

Her dead friend.

Yeah, well, why the hell

couldn't we have printed that?

A waitress comes forward with

a claim about a sex scandal.

Great, that's an A-1 story.

Then he denies it.

There's another story.

And then... And then one of them

cracks, and there's another story.

Meantime, people are

reading about it,

and they're reading us about

it, because we had it first!

Except we didn't, did we?

No, no, no, 'cause some wanker

decided it was beneath us.

Look at her, come on!

Look at her!

She's a sideshow!

It's a smear campaign.

It's exactly what

these companies do

to destroy people

who get in their way.

The true story here, the

real story here, is PointCorp.

The real story is the sinking

of this bloody newspaper!

Christ!

We have new management

to answer to now, Cal,

and they are interested

in sales, not discretion.

And how am... How am I gonna tell

them that we are now behind a story

we were once in front of?

Well, we're running with

what we've got today.

No! No.

You can't do that.

Why not?

We've got more than

enough to go with.

You run with it, and you're

gonna frighten off the wildlife.

And we haven't got

the rest of the story.

I do not give a sh*t

about the rest of the story!

We are going to

press tonight.

You've got eight hours.

You look tired.

Want some coffee?

Yeah, that's nice.

Can you hold on

for one second?

George, a word with you

for a minute?

Sure, Steve.

Thanks.

Listen, I just wanted

you to know

my speaking up in the hearings the other day

was not meant in any way as

a gesture of disrespect to you

or a lack of gratitude for the

support that you've shown me.

No, no. Not at all.

It was a very

impressive performance.

You have your passions,

I understand that.

All right, good. Well,

that's a relief to know.

You have your show horses,

and you have your work horses.

I'm sure we can all

find a way to get along.

There's no way.

There is no way we

can meet that deadline.

Yes, we can. All right, guys,

we're getting our balls busted.

What do you got? All right,

the guy you had us check out,

Dominic Foy,

turns out he's a gold mine.

- Dominic?

- Foy.

He's a guy I keep hearing about.

A friend of Sonia's in all the

surveillance photos where she's crying.

And he's in Rhonda's cell

phone shots.

Okay, so,

is this Halloween,

- or is he some kind of freak?

- Freak.

He runs a legitimate

PR business.

Handful of corporate clients.

Just likes to party

on the weekends.

Special parties.

Tell him the good part.

Yeah,

mostly works out

of the Daily Grill,

but guess where his

registered office is?

- Where?

- Guess.

Where?

The Watergate.

Not only that, Suite 413.

Same suite as the Medal of

Freedom Initiative, which is...

The lobbying

subsidiary of PointCorp.

Let's get him on tape.

You want me to

call Rodney and get the gear?

Yeah, same place.

What... I'm sorry.

You want to

put him on tape?

Yeah.

What are we, cops now?

That's totally illegal.

If Dominic Foy can connect

Sonia Baker to PointCorp,

he's gonna be

under a lot of pressure

to recant anything he

might tell us, all right?

So we put him on tape.

That's our insurance.

And why do you think

he's even gonna talk to you?

Because he's scared.

How do you know?

Because I'm gonna scare him.

Hey, is that your

Cadillac out there?

Yeah.

V-8 XLR, 320 horsepower, adaptive

cruise control, heads-up display?

That's the one. That's a

hell of an impressive car.

Yes, I know.

What do you got

in your gay-rage?

Excuse me? Your gay-rage. Your garage.

Right. You drive the same thing?

No, I don't. I have a 1990 Saab.

Yeah. I got velour seats. The

passenger side one's ripped,

but it gets me

from A to B, you know.

Sorry to hear that.

If only I could get

a job in PR, right?

Who the hell are you?

Do you read the newspapers, Dominic?

Sometimes.

Okay.

I got something I want

to run by you, all right?

It ain't finished.

I'm still working it up.

Let's see how

you feel about this.

"Dominic Foy, a D.C.

public relations figure

"with known ties to

defense contractor PointCorp

"was yesterday

linked to the death

"of Capitol Hill

staffer Sonia Baker."

Come on.

Are you a reporter?

This is not cool.

This is definitely not cool.

Very unprofessional.

I'm just sitting here...

Cal McAffrey from the Globe.

Congratulations. Keep it.

That's gonna run

tomorrow unless

you can tell me what

I need to know today.

I don't think so.

I got a car out the back.

I got a nice, safe place

where you and I can talk.

Hey, hey, Saab. I don't know

anything about anything, all right?

I'm a PR guy. Got it?

Be that as it may,

there's two ways

this article

can run, Dominic.

Without your name

or with your name,

and maybe even

a photo from your website.

Now, who knows who that's

gonna piss off and how badly?

I'm trying to be your

friend, Dominic, all right?

I'd hate to see you end up

under a train like Sonia Baker.

And you promised never

to use my name, right?

Yes, I did.

This place is nice?

It's classy?

I'm gonna be comfortable?

What kind of dump is this?

Where have you brought me?

No booze in the mini-bar.

There's no

On Demand on the TV.

What kind of hotel is this?

Little bit more of a motel,

I'd say, isn't it?

Nobody's gonna find

you here, Dominic.

How are your

beer-getting skills, sweet pea?

You want to go get

Uncle Foy a nice frosty?

I'll time you.

Christ.

So, let's start

from the beginning.

Where did you

meet Sonia Baker?

Why don't we start

with a little compensation?

This guy's stoned off his

face, and now he wants a beer.

Can I have one?

Yeah.

What's he

taking exactly?

Dude, downers.

This guy's losing his sh*t.

For what? For what?

Me helping you out.

Me losing my business. Me...

This bed's disgusting.

Compensate me, okay?

Okay, so you want to be paid

to help solve Sonia's murder?

Save it, all right?

I'm in PR.

I know a little bit

about phrasing questions.

Why don't you try

phrasing it like this?

Would I like to be paid for

helping you get a book deal?

Nobody's here

for a book deal.

Really?

Everybody wants a book deal.

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