Most scenes together: Ruth Lang & The Ghost (6), The Ghost & Amelia Bly (6), The Ghost & Rick Ricardelli (5)
You wouldn't happen to know if there are any flights leaving the airport tonight, would you?
Not unless you've got your own private jet.
Ah, I lent it to my butler.
Haha, oh you Brits!
Congratulations!
On what?
On having me as your agent.
Yeah, I can hardly believe my luck.
Are you packed?
I just got mugged.
Shit! Are you okay?
Yeah, all they took was the manuscript that Sidney Kroll gave me.
What? Why?
I don't know. You tell me.
Are you hurt?
No, I'm fine. I think they must have followed me from Rhinehart's.
Why would they do that?
Well, maybe they thought I had Lang's book. I knew this whole thing was a bad idea.
You're still okay to fly tonight, right?
For God's sake, Rick, I'm in shock.
Well, here's another shock for you. For one month's work on a manuscript that's already written, Rhinehart Inc. Is willing to pay you $250,000, plus expenses. Window seat or aisle?
You voted for him, didn't you?
Adam Lang? Of course I did.
Everyone voted for him. He wasn't a politician, he was a craze.
Well, there you go.
Look, it's a new ghostwriter he needs, not another goddamn politico. He was paid $10 million for these memoirs, but rumor has it the manuscript's a crock of shit. Rhinehart's lending him his house at the ocean so they can fix it, and the pressure must have gotten to McAra. Pathologist said his blood was, like, three parts booze.
You mean he drowned by accident?
Accident, suicide, who cares? It was the book that killed him.
Well, that's encouraging. [Rick dryly chuckles] Who is this McAra? Should I have heard of him?
Yeah. He was some kind of aide to Lang when he was Prime Minister, so don't admit that you haven't. He was with him for years.
I don't know, Rick.
This is a great opportunity for you. Plus the money is good. Kids won't starve.
I don't have any kids.
I do.
Roy. [Getting wanded and frisked]] Who're you expecting to bomb you, Random House?
We're publishing Lang's memoirs. That's enough to make us a target, apparently.
Five. You're the last. I must be honest. I don't think you're the right man for this assignment.
Then it's a good job it's not your decision, Roy.
John Maddox, chief executive of Rhinehart, New York.
Sidney Kroll, Mr. Lang's Washington attorney.
And Nick Ricardelli I believe you know.
All right, I gather from Rick you're aware of the situation? Perhaps you can enlighten us and tell us what exactly you're gonna bring to this project.
Nothing. No, I'm not gonna pretend to be someone I'm not. You have my CV.
His last effort was the autobiography of a magician, I Came, I Sawed, I Conquered.
Yeah, and it went straight to number one, so...
After you turned it down, Roy. Look, I don't read political memoirs. Who does? And I gather you've spent $10 million on this book. How much of that are you gonna see back? Two? Three? It's bad news for your shareholders. And it's worse news for your client, Mr. Kroll. Adam Lang, he wants a place in history, not in the remainder tables.
Oh, please!
It's because I know nothing about politics that I'll ask the questions that get right to the heart of who Adam Lang is. And that is what sells autobiographies. Heart.
Wow! That's nicely done.
What utter balls!
You think so?
John, of course. Adam Lang's a world historical figure. His autobiography is gonna be a world-publishing event.
Yeah, well, I got warehouses filled with world-publishing events waiting to be pulped.
Sid?
Adam is obviously still very upset by what happened to Mike McAra. He was irreplaceable. Irreplaceable, and yet he has to be replaced. Adam can certainly appreciate the benefits of trying someone different. In the end, it's about chemistry. Do you work out, maybe?
Not really.
That's a pity. Adam likes to work out.
Actually, I know a good writer on the Guardian who uses a gym.
Okay, maybe we could just run over the publishing schedule, yeah?
We need to wrap this up in a month.
A month?
Yes.
You want the book in a month?
We already have a first draft.
Yeah, well, it needs a lot of work. That's why I like your résumé here. You're fast, and you deliver.
You name it, he ghosts it.
And you're a Brit. The ghost should be a Brit. [Mimics English accent] To get the jolly old tone right, right? [Rick chuckles]
Do you have any family commitments?
No, I have no family. Why?
Adam is locked into a US lecture tour, also a fundraising program for the Adam Lang Foundation.
It's a month in the States. That's okay.
Couldn't I bring the manuscript back here to work on?
I'm afraid not. It's in a secure environment in Marty Rhinehart's own house. Only a few people are allowed to handle it.
Sounds more like a bomb than a book. I will need to see it myself at some point. I am supposed to be editing it. Yeah, in theory.
Actually, we need to talk about that. How soon can you get over there?
As soon as you want.
He'll fly tonight.
Rick.
It's okay.
Thank you. Thanks.
Actually, I have something here you might want to look at.
Is that... Is that...
No, no, no, this isn't Adam's book. No, it's another client of mine. Yeah, perhaps you can let me know what you think.
Sure.
Okay, if you're gonna get that evening flight, we'd better talk contracts with Rick here. [To dazed Roy] Wanna show our friend to the door? [Raises voice] Would you?! Roy?! [Roy comes to]
Call you in an hour, buddy.
Could you transcribe this as quickly as possible, please?
Of course.
How's it going?
He always does that when he can't remember someone's name. There are sandwiches in the kitchen.
Like a fallen soldier, Adam Lang went home today, home to a shocked and grieving nation. Not just his family, but friends and political opponents joined in tribute.
A great colleague and a true patriot. We had our disagreements, but we always stayed friends. My heart goes out to Ruth and the family. [Knock on door] And I would like to say Adam will be... [The Ghost turns off TV]
Who is it? [Opens door]
Congratulations!
On what now?
Still having me as your agent. [Pokes The Ghost's face with his passport]
Hmm?
They don't need you anymore. You're free to go. [Pulls open drapes and The Ghost sits on bed] You ready to get back to work?
I don't think I can, Rick. I'm sorry. Not after all this.
Don't be a jerk. This is a hot book now. It's Adam Lang's voice from the grave. The guy, he's a hero.
I just want to go home.
You can. Go. Go home. And finish the book from London.
I don't know, Rick.
Islam has issued a statement claiming responsibility. We hope to bring you more on that later in the bulletin. Meanwhile, former British Prime Minister Adam Lang is back in the news tonight. According to leaked documents, Mr. Lang authorized the illegal use of British special forces to seize four suspected Al-Qaeda terrorists in Pakistan and then hand them over for interrogation by the CIA. The men, Nasir Ashraf, Marwat Sayed, Salim Khan and Faruk Ahmed, all British citizens, were seized in the Pakistani city of Peshawar five years ago. All four were allegedly transferred out of the country to a secret location and tortured. Mr. Ashraf is reported to have died under interrogation. Such an operation would have been illegal under...
Where are you?
Heathrow, like you. Waiting for my flight to New York.
Can you see the news?
The Lang story? Yeah, I'm watching it now.
What have you gotten me into?
I got you into a quarter of a million bucks, pal, that's what I got you into. They're calling my flight. I gotta go.
Listen, I just realized Sidney Kroll could have given me that manuscript deliberately so it would look like I was carrying Lang's book.
Why the hell would he do that?
I don't know. To use me as a tethered goat?
Get some sleep on the plane. You're sounding weird. "A tethered goat." I'll call you next week.
...and long-term psychological trauma. In other words, torture.
Go home! Here comes the killer! Prosecute for torture!
Over here, Mr. Lang! Mr. Lang, will you live in America?! Mr. Lang, will you take American citizenship?
When we get back to the house, we need to have a meeting- [Adam is assassinated]
Oh, my God! Murderer! Firing from the roof! [Assassin is executed] Let me go to him! No! No! Move, move, move!
A less equable man than I might start to find your questions impertinent.
And you're a Brit. The ghost should be a Brit. [Mimics English accent] To get the jolly old tone right, right?
Forty thousand years of human language, and there's no word to describe our relationship. It was doomed.
Get some sleep on the plane. You're sounding weird. "A tethered goat." I'll call you next week.
He can't drown two ghost writers, for god sake. You're not kittens!
He was having dinner with the Vice President. That bloody Bly woman wouldn't even give him the phone. Oh, God. Oh, dear God. What's he got himself mixed up in? [Starts to sob]
I doubt it very much. The gate will open automatically. Be sure to make a right at the bottom of the drive. If you turn left, the road will take you deeper into the woods and you may never be seen again.
