From: Robert Willers <willers@trombone.sps.mot.com>

THE CITY Update for Friday, August 2:

STORYLINE: MOB QUEEN CONFESSES
 (location: Alex/Danny/Tony's apartment/detective agency)
* Carla shows up at the door, smiling but wondering about Tony's
 mysterious phone call.  An angry Tony tells her that they are going
 to get things straightened out.  "Just so you know, that's a gun in
 my pocket; I'm not happy to see you."
* Tony pulls the gun.  Carla asks him to put it away before someone
 gets hurt.  He says that's the idea.  She brings up his phone call,
 and he says he lied on the phone, but she doesn't have that option.
 She can't believe this is all about Jared.  No, let's forget about
 Jared; he wants to know how she had Ally poisoned.  "What?!  Poisoned?"
 Tony tells her that to him, playing innocent is the same as lying.
 She swears she doesn't know anything about it.  He tells her that it is
 tough to have to say good-bye to someone.  "Ally's dead?"  No, thank
 God, she is fine, says Tony, but you're not.  He has thought about it
 and he is sure she is the only person who knew that he was going to
 bring her Chinese food that night...and right after she found that out,
 she ran to the phone.  Carla tells him to stop; this is crazy.  "You
 want crazy?  How's this for crazy, Carla?"  He cocks the gun; she asks
 him to put away.  He tells her to start talking.  She asks what she is
 supposed to say.  "The truth."  He says he's going to ask questions,
 and he wants quick answers and correct answers.  And, if she does that,
 he will make the same decision about her that she did about Ally:
 "whether you live, or [he points the gun at her] whether you die."
* First question: what did she have to do with the bombing in the bar?
 With a gun in her side, Carla admits that Jared wanted her to dig up
 information about the people in the building.  She also admits to
 arranging for Joey to do the bombing.  He asks about the beating, and
 she cringes (that being enough of an answer for Tony, I suppose).
 She repeats that it was all Jared's idea.  "And you helped him carry
 it out, didn't you?  [Shoves gun into her side.]  *Didn't you*, Carla?"
 "Yes!"  He says that wasn't so difficult, so let's move on while we're
 on a roll.  She says he's playing some kind of sick game; he says she
 takes the cake when it comes to sick games.  She says that's it.  He
 says that's far from "it."  He asks about the money: what did Jared
 have stashed in the building. "I *don't* know.  [...]  I was laundering
 money for him; what he did with it after that is anybody's guess."  He
 asks if Uncle Gino knew about her using his connections to further her
 relationship with Jared.  Of course not, he wouldn't have understood.
 "It was a complicated financial maneuver."  Tony concludes that Carla
 was just doing this to get a foot in the family's business.  Whatever,
 says Carla.
Now, says Tony, we get to the main event.  Ally and I were getting too
 close to the truth, so we had to be taken care of, right?  "I didn't
 have anything to do with that!"  He asks who ordered the hit.  Jared.
 He asks who brought in the Detroit hit men; who the secretary was that
 Ally talked to.  She screams that Joey *warned* him to stay away from
 that!  "Then it *was* you."  "Look, you forced my hand.  I didn't have
 a choice."  He says people always have a choice.  Look at me, he says,
 I'm doing something that is totally against my nature.  I could use
 this gun on you for all the things we've already talked about, and no
 jury in the nation would convict me, but I'm going to "pop you" for
 what you did to Ally.  "Look, I swear I--  It wasn't me.  I didn't have
 anything to do with that!"  "You're a liar, Carla.  [Lifts gun.]  Do
 you believe in God?"  "Look, Tony, stop.  Please.  I'm begging you."
 Tony pulls the trigger: click.  The gun wasn't loaded: Tony says he
 wouldn't ruin his life for the likes of her.  She can't believe he made
 her beg.  Yeah, and you were pretty convincing; I almost believed you.
 She says he's going to pay for that.  No, says Tony, I don't think I
 am.  Because, you see, I have an even bigger surprise.
* Carla says he will regret this, and if he uses anything she said, Joey
 and his father are going down with her.  What about your father, asks
 Tony, did you keep him in the clear about all this?  She says she made
 sure nothing pointed at Gino.  What if you made a mistake, asks Tony.
 She tells him she can take care of her father.  I have him wrapped
 around my little finger, she says, and as soon as I take care of a few
 rough spots, I'll tell him everything, and he's going to be the first
 to congratulate me.  "I don't think so, Carla," says Uncle Gino as he
 walks into the room.  Carla exclaims, "Papa!"  Tony gleefully says,
 "Surprise!"

STORYLINE: I'M YOUR SISTER, NOT YOUR ATTORNEY
 (starting location: an elevator in the courthouse)
* Sydney introduces Andrew Gross, the attorney Jackson recommended, to
 Richard.  The door opens and the media decend on the three of them.
 We hear a lot of questions and a lot of "No comment."  They enter the
 courtroom, where Lucy Dolan (the detective) is testifying; they cause
 quite a disruption.  The judge asks for order.  Danny turns around and
 sees Sydney.  The questioning continues: the DA's office goes through
 motive (quoting Mike, saying that Jared was pressuring him to pressure
 Danny), then the weapon used in the murder (bought by Danny at a pawn
 shop just days before) with Danny's fingerprints on it, and the fact
 that Danny doesn't have an alibi.  Jocelyn cross-examines and asks just
 one question: do they have a witness to Danny being at the scene?  Not
 that we've found, says Lucy.  Yes or no, asks Jocelyn.  "No."  Lucy
 leaves the stand, and Sydney mutters that they'll call her now.  The
 state, however, rests.  Andrew says they must have a case without her,
 and they will just use her as a rebuttal witness if they need to.  Alex
 enters the courtroom and whispers to Jocelyn that he didn't find anyone
 [else??] that saw Danny at his father's apartment building on the night
 of the murder.  Danny refuses, again, to take the stand and give his
 alibi.  As the judge is losing her patience, Jocelyn requests a 24-hour
 continuance, citing new information.  The state objects, and the judge
 denies her request.
* Jocelyn calls Mr. Edgar Dwyer, the neighbor, to the stand.  In the
 back of the courtroom, Sydney and Richard mention to each other that
 they have no idea who he is.  Jocelyn asks him where he lives and if
 he knows the defendant; he rambles in his answers and both the judge
 and Jocelyn ask him to confine his answers to the questions asked.
 As Jocelyn asks him what happened on the night of June 21, Lucy enters
 the courtroom and hands a piece of paper to the state's attorney.
 Dwyer says he saw Danny that night, just leaving his folks' place, and
 a murmur erupts in the courtroom.  Jocelyn points out that just minutes
 after Jared was killed, Dwyer saw Danny in his parents' building, seven
 blocks away; no further questions.  The judge asks the state's attorney
 if he wishes to cross-examine; he certainly does.  Joanna and Molly ask
 Alex what Danny was doing there that night.  Alex says that's what the
 DA's going to try to find out.
* [Outside the courtroom.]
Sydney can't believe all the things she did with Danny.  Richard reminds
 her that Jared raped her, and says she was doing what she had to do.
 Sydney says that's not how the DA will see things.  Richard says that
 Danny obviously hasn't said anything about them yet.  Sydney concludes
 that she might have underestimated Danny Roberts.
A bailiff signals Sydney to come back into the courtroom, as Dwyer is
 being cross-examined.  The state's attorney asks if he saw Danny from
 the front.  No, it was from the side, but when you know somebody, that
 is good enough.  The attorney establishes that Dwyer was a friend of
 the Roberts family, and that he might, therefore, do whatever he can to
 protect them.  Objection!  Sustained.  Danny mutters to Jocelyn that he
 knew Dwyer would be a lousy witness, and that nobody will believe him
 unless Danny backs up his testimony, and he won't do that.  The state's
 attorney asks Dwyer about his eyesight: on his driver's license, it
 states that he has to wear glasses.  Yes, says Dwyer, but they don't
 fit right.  The attorney asks if he was wearing his glasses the night
 he "thought" he saw Danny, and he admits he wasn't.  The state has no
 more questions for Dwyer.  Alex tells Molly and Joanna that he has to
 go look into something and to keep their fingers crossed.  He leaves.
 Danny asks Jocelyn what she's going to do now.  She says she only has
 one more thing she can do, and she doesn't know if it will work.  The
 judge asks Jocelyn if she has any more witnesses.  Yes, one more, but
 she needs a private conference with the judge.  The judge reluctantly
 agrees -- 10 minutes -- and asks Jocelyn to come into her chambers.
 She follows the judge in, head hung, and we see Danny, concerned.
* [At the Roberts' apartment building.]
Alex is asking a maintenance man some questions.  The maintenance man
 is saying that before July 1, they didn't have a doorman.  What's this
 bracket here for?  It was used for a surveillance camera before we had
 a doorman.  Alex smiles.
[At the courtroom.]
Richard and Sydney are discussing what's taking Jocelyn and the judge
 so long.  Andrew says he has a sneaking suspicion...
All rise!  The judge and Jocelyn re-enter the courtroom, along with
 another attorney: Gary Larkin, who used to work with Jocelyn.  Joanna
 asks Jocelyn what's up.  Jocelyn tells her that she might not want to
 be there when they reconvene.  The judge asks her to get on with it.
 Jocelyn tells Danny that she has to have his permission to withdraw as
 his attorney; she can't represent him properly any more, and she wants
 him to accept Mr. Larkin as his new attorney.  "All right, all right.
 Whatever you want," says Danny.  Jocelyn stands up.  "I hereby withdraw
 as the attorney of record for Danny Roberts."  More courtroom murmurs.
 The judge asks the prosecution if that's OK; they agree.  Larkin calls
 Jocelyn Roberts Brown to the stand.  She goes forward.  Danny stands
 up and asks her, "Don't do this, Joss."  She continues forward and is
 sworn in.

-----
|  "Would somebody please explain to the White House   |  Bob Willers  |
|  that there's a difference between DRUG TESTING and  |  Phoenix, AZ  |
| TESTING DRUGS?" -- David Letterman, Late Show 07/18  | MY opinions!! |
+------------ willers@trombone.sps.mot.com ------------+---------------+


