PHILADELPHIA

IMAGE: ANDREW RIDING THE CROWDED ELEVATOR ON A WORKDAY.

                              ANDREW (VO) (CONT.)
                    But I never let anything slide.
                    I made all my calls from home.
                    I worked sixteen hour days on a
                    complaint for a 350 million
                    dollar copyright infringement
                    suit.

IMAGE: JOE IN HIS OFFICE, ABSORBED IN ANDREW'S STORY.

                              ANDREW (OS) (CONT.)
                    But the day the complaint was
                    due, it disappeared. Erased
                    from my computer. I thought I
                    was losing it, mentally...

IMAGE: ELEVATOR DOORS OPENING, ANDREW STEPPING INTO WYANT
WHEELER OFFICES. NOW HE SPEAKS DIRECTLY TO CAMERA:

                              ANDREW (CONT.)
                    That can happen, it's called
                    AIDS dementia when it gets into
                    your brain. But miraculously, a
                    copy of the complaint was
                    located at the last minute, and
                    we got it to court on time...

IMAGE: ANDREW'S POV OF COLLEAGUES, STAFF IN THE OFFICES,
GIVING HIM LOOKS, WHISPERING. ANTHEA BURTON NODS HELLO.

                              ANDREW (OS) (CONT.)
                    The next morning, I was called
                    to the office for a meeting with
                    the managing partners. Walking
                    down that corridor was strange.
                    Felt like everyone was staring.

REVERSE ANGLE ON ANDREW AND JOE WALKING AT ANDREW'S SIDE.

                              JOE
                    Hell, they are staring. What's
                    that shit on your face?

                              ANDREW
                    Makeup.

ANDREW'S POV: RACHEL OUTSIDE HER OFFICE, SAYS "GOOD LUCK."

                              ANDREW (CONT.)
                    The partners were waiting for me
                    in the main conference room.

                                        CONTINUOUS CUT TO:

CAMERA TRACKS INTO THE CONFERENCE ROOM, GIVING US ANDREW'S
POV as he enters the room where Wheeler, Kenton, Killcoyne,
Bob Seidman are waiting (INT./DAY) ...

                              WHEELER
                    Sit down, Andy.

Wheeler's secretary, LYDIA, takes notes.

                              WHEELER (CONT.)
                    Thanks for coming in.

                              ANDREW
                    Of course.

Bob Seidman CANNOT look directly at Andrew.

                              WHEELER
                    Andy. Before we begin, I'd just
                    like to say: everyone in this
                    room is your friend.

                              JOE
                    You're in trouble.

(NOTE: Joe IS SEEN IN HIS OFFICE, or LEANING AGAINST A
WINDOW IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM whenever he speaks.)

                              ANDREW
                    I know that, Charles.

                              WHEELER
                    More than your friend. Family.

                              JOE
                    Big trouble.

                              ANDREW
                    Charles, I must apologize again,
                    for the Kronos mishap.
                         (smiling)
                    It was a scary few minutes
                    around here. Wow. But thank
                    God, the complaint was found.
                    And no damage was done.

                              KENTON
                    This time. What about next time?

                              ANDREW
                    There won't be a next time, I
                    guarantee it.

                              WHEELER
                    Andy. It seems that something
                    has come over you, lately: A
                    kind of... stupor, a fogginess,
                    a lack of focus... Earth to
                    Andy. Anybody home?

                              KENTON
                    Helloooo...

                              KILLCOYNE
                    That's right, Andy. The last
                    four, five months you've seemed
                    really out of it...

                              SEIDMAN
                    At least... different, somehow.

                              ANDREW
                         (keeping it positive)
                    Perhaps... you're right. I've
                    certainly been busy. With the
                    Kronos complaint, a preliminary
                    injunction hearing and the
                    Saunders trial all falling at the
                    same time...

                              KENTON
                    Some people think you have an
                    attitude problem, Beckett.

                              ANDREW
                    Really? Who thinks that, sir?

                              WHEELER
                    I do.

Wheeler seems very grave.

                              ANDREW
                    I had no idea there was a concern
                    in that area. Hey:
                         (a smile)
                    I'll get to work on it right away.

NO ONE else smiles.

                              WHEELER
                    We've been talking it over, Andy.
                    Your future that is... We feel that,
                    because we respect you so much, we
                    have to be honest with you.

                              ANDREW
                    Honesty is always best.

                              SEIDMAN
                    Do you really think so, Andy?

                              ANDREW
                    Yes, Bob, I do.
                         (to the group)
                    Excuse me? Am I being fired?

                              WHEELER
                    Let's put it this way, Andy:
                    your place in the future of this
                    firm is no longer secure.

                              JOE
                    In a word, yes.

                              WHEELER
                    We don't think it's fair to keep
                    you here, where your future is
                    limited. But we wish you luck,
                    Andy, all the luck in the world.

Wheeler rises, wearing a friendly smile.

                              WHEELER (CONT.)
                    And I hate to rush you out of
                    here, but...

                              JOE
                    But he's got lots of other
                    people's lives to ruin...

                              WHEELER
                    ... we've got a committee meeting.

                              ANDREW
                    Excuse me, Charles. With all
                    due respect... this is...
                    preposterous! It doesn't make
                    any sense, it sounds as if we're
                    talking about someone else.
                    Pardon the lack of humility, but
                    I've had the distinct impression
                    I was kind of... one of the
                    rising stars around here. And I
                    feel that wasn't just my
                    imagination. And I also think I
                    deserve to know what's really
                    going on here, Charles.

                              KENTON
                    Oh, you're right, Beckett, you
                    don't have an attitude problem.

                              WHEELER
                    Take it easy, Walter.

                              ANDREW
                    If you'd lost confidence in me,
                    why did you give me the Kronos suit?

                              WHEELER
                    I hoped the challenge would
                    improve your performance. You
                    could say it was a carrot.

                              ANDREW
                    A carrot?!

                              JOE
                    I buy that.

                              ANDREW
                    As in, the vegetable?

                              SEIDMAN
                         (suddenly emotional)
                    Andy, you nearly blew the case,
                    for God's sake! That alone is
                    inexcusable. It would have been
                    catastrophic for us. Put
                    yourself in our shoes, Andy.
                    There's no coming back from an
                    error like that, regardless of
                    who you are!
                         (softer)
                    I'm sorry, Andy.

Andrew FREEZES -- the full nature of this situation hitting
home. He looks each of the PARTNERS in the eye...

                              ANDREW
                    Uh huh... Okay... I see...

... at last LOOKING DIRECTLY AT Wheeler's secretary Lydia,
whose pen is poised above her notebook, waiting for someone
to say something.

Wheeler breaks the silence.

                              WHEELER
                    Good luck, Andy.

Wheeler, Kenton, Killcoyne, Seidman and Lydia file out.

Andrew doesn't move.

A SECURITY GUARD enters the room.

                              ANDREW
                    Who are you?

                              SECURITY GUARD
                    I'm here to escort you to your
                    office so you can organize your
                    belongings.

                                                  CUT TO:

CAMERA PULLS BACK FROM ANDREW, WE'RE IN JOE'S OFFICE (DAY) ...

                              JOE
                    Okay. Explain to me like I'm a
                    two year old, because there's an
                    element to this I can't get
                    through my thick head: Didn't
                    you have an obligation to inform
                    your employer you had this
                    dreaded, deadly, infectious
                    disease?

Andrew removes his ballcap -- his hair is cut short, to
disguise the effects of chemo.

                              ANDREW
                    The law says people with
                    disabilities cannot be
                    terminated, so long as they can
                    perform the duties required by
                    their position...

                              JOE
                    Okay, okay... They discover you
                    have this horrible, disgusting,
                    terminal illness, and they
                    panic, for any number of
                    perfectly valid reasons.
                    They're frightened for
                    themselves, their families...
                    Maybe it's the homo angle.
                    Maybe they don't want to rub
                    elbows with someone who's just
                    popped out of the closet with a
                    terminal case of acne. And how
                    do they explain your status to
                    the client for Chrissake?

                              ANDREW
                    Joe, from the day I arrived to
                    the day they fired me, I
                    performed consistently,
                    thoroughly and with absolute
                    excellence. And if they hadn't
                    fired me, that's what I'd be
                    doing today.

                              JOE
                    Okay... They want you out. It's
                    against the law to fire you for
                    having AIDS, so they make you
                    look like a fuck up. Which
                    leads us to the mysterious, lost
                    file.

                              ANDREW
                    They sabotaged me.

                              JOE
                    I knew you were going to say
                    that. I don't buy it, and I
                    don't see a case.

                              ANDREW
                    Look. I know I have a case. If
                    you don't want to take it for
                    personal reasons...

                              JOE
                    Correct. I don't.

Andrew rises, thoroughly business-like.

                              ANDREW
                    Thanks for your time.

                              JOE
                    Beckett? I'm sorry about...
                    what's happened to you. It's a
                    fucking kick in the head.

                              ANDREW
                         (a smile)
                    Don't send flowers, Joe. I'm
                    not dead yet.

Andrew exits.

                                        CONTINUOUS CUT TO:

ANDREW LEAVES JOE'S OFFICE, MOVING DOWN THE CORRIDOR
(DAY) ...

                              IRIS
                         (still uncomfortable,
                         as Andrew's leaving)
                    Have a nice day.

Andrew nods, passing one of Joe's colleagues, a hustler
named FILKO, who STARES SHAMELESSLY.

Joe approaches Iris's desk.

                              JOE
                    Find out if Armbruster can see
                    me this afternoon.

                              FILKO
                         (still staring)
                    What the hell's wrong with him?

                                                  CUT TO:

THE STREET: ANDREW EMERGES FROM THE LAWYER'S BUILDING
(EXT./DAY). CLOSE ON ANDREW, standing there as an endless flow of
people passes by. He watches them go, thinking...

                                                  CUT TO:

A SUBURBAN DOCTOR'S OFFICE IN A MIDDLE-CLASS NEIGHBORHOOD
(EXT./DAY) ...

                              DR. ARMBRUSTER (OS)
                    You had contact with someone who
                    has AIDS, and you're worried.

                                        CONTINUOUS CUT TO:

A DOCTOR UNRAVELLING A BLOOD PRESSURE GAUGE (INT./DAY)

                              JOE
                    I'm not worried. What are you doing?

Joe sits in his shirtsleeves on the examining table.

                              DR. ARMBRUSTER
                    Checking your blood pressure,
                    relax.

The DOCTOR wraps the blood pressure unit around Joe's arm.

                              JOE
                    I didn't have contact. What do you
                    consider "contact?" We were sitting
                    in the same room, three, four
                    feet... What if you shake hands?
                    Wait. I know the answer. Only sex,
                    or sharing needles. I know that.
                    We didn't shake hands, anyway.

Dr. Armbruster squeezes the blood pressure pump,

                              DR. ARMBRUSTER
                    The HIV virus can only be transmitted
                    through the exchange of bodily
                    fluids, namely blood and semen.

                              JOE
                    Right.

Joe begins rolling down his sleeve.