The Client

Reggie picks Mark up in Clint’s car, and the two immediately begin discussing where they will flee to. They randomly decide on Arkansas. As they leave Memphis, Mark looks out the window at the city skyline in awe. Reggie remembers that Mark is merely a child and feels bad for him. She wonders if he has ever even left Memphis.

Reggie tries to convince Mark of the merits of the FBI’s witness protection program. Mark describes why he is still hesitant to take the offer. He says it is too risky to trust the FBI, especially because there is a chance Romey could have been lying about the body’s location. Mark wants to go to New Orleans, find Romey’s property, and check for Boyette’s body. This way he could ensure that the information he has is correct, and he could use it as leverage against the FBI to further negotiate a deal that is most favorable to Mark.

Reggie is shocked by Mark’s plan. She initially refuses to play along with Mark, telling him that the last thing she will ever do is bring a child into mob territory where they could both be killed. Mark negotiates with her, saying they should just go to New Orleans to scope out the property. They do not need to dig up Boyette’s body. Reggie calls Mark crazy but reluctantly agrees to his New Orleans plan.

Agent McThune’s weekend is upended when he is notified that Mark Sway has disappeared. McThune tells K.O. Lewis and Larry Trumann what has happened. McThune meets with George Ord and the Memphis police to draw up a plan to hunt Mark down. Ord goes to call Judge Roosevelt and update him on Mark’s disappearance, and McThune orders the Memphis Police to call the US Marshalls and get detailed status updates on all the subpoenas. They cannot get ahold of Judge Roosevelt, and McThune tells Ord he should update Foltrigg.

McThune pays a visit to Dianne, and she pretends to not know that Mark is missing. McThune asks if she has seen Reggie because she cannot be found either. Dianne says she does not know where the attorney is but secretly hopes that Reggie has left with Mark.

Foltrigg meets with his team, and they all agree that it is likely that Reggie fled with Mark. They discuss how McThune has ordered FBI surveillance on Mama Love’s house and Clint’s apartment and that agents are trying to hunt down Judge Roosevelt, who is still out on vacation.

A Memphis police officer finds Reggie’s car outside of Clint’s apartment. Two FBI agents arrive at Clint’s and knock at the door. Clint pretends to be asleep. Reggie calls as the agents are still outside, and Clint quickly answers the phone. He whispers for Reggie to call back in a minute and waits until the agents leave. The FBI finally leaves, and Reggie calls a few minutes later.

Reggie updates Clint. She says that she and Mark are in a motel in Metairie, Louisiana, and Clint is shocked. He tries to convince Reggie to tell him why they have gone to Louisiana, but she refuses to say. Clint calls Reggie crazy, and she agrees with his assessment. Reggie says she will call Clint again later.

Barry Muldanno meets with his mob boss and uncle, Johnny Sulari. Muldanno tells him that Mark has escaped, and Sulari mocks Muldanno for all the stupid decisions he has made, all of which have endangered the family. Sulari asks where the body is, and Muldanno tells him it is under the concrete of Romey’s home garage where he stores his boat. Muldanno pleads for his uncle to help him move the body. Sulari laments that his men could get caught, and he is hesitant to endanger more members of the mob family just for Muldanno’s sake. Eventually, however, Sulari agrees to help Muldanno. He lets Barry take three of his men to Romey’s property to remove the Senator’s body.

After seven hours of searching the hospital, the Memphis Police give up on trying to look for Mark there. McThune is not surprised. The FBI has wiretapped Ricky’s room. They have also located Judge Roosevelt, who is now on his way back to Memphis. K.O. Lewis is also on a plane back to Memphis to assist with the search for Mark.

An agent calls McThune and notifies him that the FBI wiretap picked up on a phone conversation between Clint and Dianne. Clint told Dianne that Reggie and Mark are in New Orleans. McThune hangs up and immediately calls Agent Trumann in New Orleans.

Mark and Reggie reach Romey’s house in New Orleans. Because it is in the middle of the afternoon and in broad daylight, they wear hooded sweatshirts and sunglasses as disguises. They walk through the street and inspect the entire neighborhood. They notice that Romey’s garage is a separate structure in his backyard. Reggie notices the affluence of Romey’s neighborhood, with ivy-lined fences, large hedges, and lush woods surrounding the street. They go through the woods to enter Romey’s yard from behind.

Mark enjoys walking through the neighborhood and wishes he could go back to being an innocent kid wandering the woods with his brother. He wishes Ricky were here with him to ride their bike on the trail through the woods. In a moment of reflection, Mark questions the wisdom of their plan. Reggie asks if he wants to go home, and Mark returns to his steely determination, saying it is impossible for him to go back to Memphis.

They make it through the woods and approach Romey’s backyard. Reggie asks Mark to tell her the specific location of Romey’s body, and he finally reveals to her that it is under a boat in the garage. Mark asks if they should enter the garage now, and Reggie says they have gone far enough for now.

McThune and Trumann meet K.O. Lewis as his plane lands in Memphis. They board with Lewis and refuel the plane, planning to fly it to New Orleans to catch Reggie and Mark.

Johnny Sulari assigns three men named Leo, Ionnuci, and “Bull” to dig up and move Senator Boyette’s body. Muldanno gives them a diagram of the garage and assures them it will be a quick job. The three men sneak through the backyard and realize the garage is locked. They are forced to break a window to get inside. Leo notices that the floor of the garage is gravel, not concrete, and is relieved to find the boat is right in the middle of the garage.

Mark and Reggie arrive at the woods and begin their trek through the trail to Romey’s backyard. Mark goes to enter Romey’s property, but he and Reggie freeze when they hear sounds coming from Romey’s garage. Mark trips on a piece of wood as he tries to retreat into the woods, and it makes a loud noise.

Reggie and Mark hide in the brush and talk about what to do next. Reggie insists that they must leave, but Mark argues they must stay and stop the mob from recovering the body. Reggie tries to lecture Mark that this is not a game and that this could end in his death. Mark refuses to listen and rips away from Reggie, leaving her behind and sneaking into the Ballentine’s neighboring property.

Mark throws a rock into the Ballentine’s house, waking the old couple up. Mr. Ballentine tells his wife to call the cops. Mr. Ballentine readies his gun, thinking he needs to defend himself against burglars. Leo hears the rock crash into the Ballentine’s house and goes outside to inspect the ruckus. He sees Mr. Ballentine wielding his shotgun and sees him fire into the woods. The three mobsters run out of the garage, scared that Ballentine is going to shoot them next. The commotion wakes up the rest of the neighborhood, and the cops arrive shortly after. Reggie and Mark watch all of this play out and wait until everybody in the neighborhood goes back to sleep so that they can go into Romey’s garage themselves.

It is past 1am, and Mark and Reggie continue to monitor the garage. An hour passes, and Reggie wants to leave. Mark refuses to budge, and Reggie reluctantly stays and follows Mark to Romey’s garage. When they enter, they are immediately hit with a pungent smell. The mobsters were nearly finished with their job of removing Boyette’s body before they left. Once they look over the body, they promptly leave. As they drive back to the motel, they contemplate their next move. Mark is reluctant to go to the FBI, but Reggie says they have no choice. They must go to the FBI and confirm the location of the body.

Once back at the motel, Reggie calls Clint. She tells him to contact McThune to get Agent Larry Trumann’s phone number. She hangs up and talks to Mark, who is exhausted. He cries in Reggie’s arms, overwhelmed by the day’s events.

Reggie calls Trumann and tells him she and Mark have the location of Boyette’s body. She says that they intervened the mob from recovering the body, but they will presumably return to finish the job, so the FBI must move fast. Reggie tells Trumann to meet her at a restaurant in Metairie, Louisiana. Trumann says he will bring K.O. Lewis since he is in town, and Reggie demands to know why they are already in New Orleans. Trumann tells her that the FBI bugged Dianne’s hospital phone and picked up on their location from Clint. Reggie says she will only talk to Trumann and Lewis at the restaurant and warns not to bring anybody else. After hanging up, Trumann immediately calls McThune in Memphis.

Trumann and Lewis meet Reggie in the restaurant. She recounts how she and Mark found Boyette’s body and scared the mob off from finishing their recovery. Reggie negotiates with the FBI and tells them they need to provide the Sways with complete changes in identification, a nice house, treatment for Ricky, therapy for Mark, and a well-paying government job for Dianne. She says she is having Clint prepare a written document outlining these terms, and the FBI will need to sign this agreement before finding out the location of Boyette’s body. Lewis agrees to these conditions with ease. They agree to meet again in 30 minutes.

Two FBI agents arrive at Clint’s door. He is in the process of preparing Reggie’s negotiation of terms for the FBI. He makes the agents sit in his den and wait for him to finish the document before agreeing to leave with them.

Reggie and Trumann meet yet again. Director Voyles of the FBI calls Trumann and requests to speak with Reggie. Reggie talks with Voyles, who assures her that the FBI will sign the agreement and give the Sways everything they ask in return for the body’s location. Before leaving, Trumann asks Reggie if she can say anything about where the body is. She tells him it is 15 minutes away and very easy to find. Trumann mulls over this information with curiosity.

Clint tries to convince Dianne to take the witness protection deal with the FBI. Dianne is still hesitant of the FBI’s ability to fully protect her family. Clint doubles down and says that she does not have a choice and must take the deal because Mark has decided to reveal what he knows. The witness protection program is the only route to safety.

Judge Harry Roosevelt arrives at the hospital and tells Dianne that he has read the agreement Reggie prepared for the FBI and counsels Dianne to take the deal. He assures her it is the safest option. Dianne takes the agreement from Judge Roosevelt. The FBI escort Dianne and Ricky, who is on a stretcher, to the hospital roof and into a helicopter. They are flown to Memphis International Airport.

Trumann gets a call that Dianne and Ricky are on their way to New Orleans, and he notifies Reggie. They retrieve Mark and escort him via FBI motorcade to the private jet that will fly him to his new home.

Barry Muldanno paces around Johnny Sulari’s office. Sulari’s men returned earlier that day and delivered the news about their body recovery being interrupted. Sulari orders the men to try again tonight.

Mark is brought to the plane hangar where the private jet awaits. K.O. Lewis and Reggie talk about Mark. Lewis tells her the FBI is sending the Sways to Phoenix for Ricky’s recovery. They are contemplating sending the Sways to Vancouver, Canada for their permanent placement once Ricky is better. Lewis tells Reggie she should stick close to New Orleans for the next few months once Muldanno’s trial commences, so the FBI can protect her from the mob until Muldanno is convicted. Reggie agrees to Lewis’s suggestion.

Dianne, Clint, and Ricky arrive at the hangar. After Mark and Dianne have an emotional reunion, Reggie provides her final counsel to the Sways and talks with Dianne about the witness protection program. Dianne finally agrees to the deal and is comforted by the fact that she no longer has to struggle to provide for her family.

Dianne and the FBI sign the agreement for the witness protection program. McThune hands a subpoena for Roy Foltrigg to Trumann, telling him that Judge Roosevelt issued it that morning. Trumann is amused that Foltrigg is being forcefully called to Memphis and looks forward to issuing the subpoena as soon as his plane lands.

Dianne, Mark, and Ricky are brought to their plane. As Mark walks toward the private jet, he stops halfway with the realization that he is leaving Reggie. Reggie walks over to comfort him, and the two have an emotional farewell. Mark wants Reggie to join him, but she says that she must stay behind. Mark realizes he will never see Reggie again. He walks up the steps of the jet to Phoenix and gives Reggie one last look.

The Sways’ plane leaves for Phoenix. Clint holds Reggie’s hand as they watch the plane take off. Reggie cries and jokes that she will take on real estate law because Mark’s case was too painful. Clint comforts her. Trumann walks over to them as they watch the plan fly away, and Reggie gives him the tape recording of his first interview with Mark. She tells him that Senator Boyette’s body is in the garage behind Romey’s house. Trumann radios the rest of the FBI, and the agents scramble to their cars. Trumann thanks Reggie for her cooperation. As Reggie watches Mark’s plane in the sky, she tells Trumann that he should thank Mark instead.