Chapter 143: Should I Collect Your Corpse?

Walking out of the detention room, Ross saw a stranger. The man approached him, nodded, and said, "Come with me."

Ross was confused, though he had just signed some documents, he was unclear about who had bailed him out.

Leaving the police station, he lifted his tattooed hand to shield his eyes from the glaring sun, following the man to the parking lot, asking, "Who are you?"

"A lawyer." The man didn't look back, leading him to a black business car, "You can call me Robert."

"Robert?" Ross was sure he didn't know any lawyer named Robert.

Moreover, his bank accounts were all temporarily frozen by the police. Charges of drug possession and trafficking would definitely require a large bail. Who would pay this for him?

Those collaborators? Would they be so kind-hearted?

Arriving at a black business car, Robert opened the door, turned to Ross, and said, "He's upstairs."

Ross looked up, then got into the car. Robert closed the door and walked to his own vehicle.

Seeing Murphy inside the car, Robert wasn't surprised at all. All doubts vanished instantly. He looked at Murphy, then at the blonde girl sitting next to him.

"Carrie," Murphy signaled through the car window to a nearby Cadillac, "Could you please thank Lawyer Robert for me?"

Nodding slightly, Carrie-Mulligan jumped out of the car, closed the door firmly behind her.

Despite her young age and rebellious nature, she was well-educated and couldn't like someone like Ross at all. Deep inside, she was very against Murphy helping him.

As she grew older and gained more experience, Carrie-Mulligan's appearance remained innocent, but her thought process became more mature. She never voiced opposition to Murphy's decision to help, but she could analyze that such matters would only widen the gap between Murphy and Ross.

Like most girls, Carrie-Mulligan didn't want to see her boyfriend have friends with as complicated and unsavory backgrounds as Ross.

Approaching the Cadillac, Carrie-Mulligan got into the car, where not only Robert, the driver, was present, but also her and Murphy's agent, Bill-Rossis, was sitting in the passenger seat.

"Bill, are any reporters targeting Murphy?" She asked as soon as she got in.

"The situation is much better than we expected," Bill-Rossis appeared tired but relieved, "Although one movie was a big hit, Murphy is still a relatively unnoticed director. He's also low-profile, lacking in news appeal. Moreover, most media are focused on continuous reports related to 9/11, with tabloids and entertainment media paying more attention to celebrities' charity activities."

In other words, he had somewhat overestimated the appeal of the director of "Saw" to journalists.

Carrie-Mulligan remained worried, "Could this be dug up in the future? I heard Murphy's relationship with the Los Angeles police isn't very good."

"No problem," Bill-Rossis shook his head, "The effect of rehashing old news is minimal."

The older Robert turned back, "Kid, you're underestimating me."

Carrie-Mulligan relaxed, playfully blinking, pretending not to understand.

Robert laughed and turned back around.

Actually, Carrie-Mulligan knew, since Murphy had hired a lawyer, everything must be done through legal means.

The atmosphere in the other car seemed a bit tense. Ross looked at Murphy but didn't say a word, seemingly uncomfortable with the shift in their positions.

In the past, it was always him helping Murphy, in prison fights, after being released, providing financial support...

Now, their roles had undergone a complete 180-degree turn, which felt very strange to him.

It's like someone who had been in control suddenly had their authority taken away. It was an indescribable feeling.

He withdrew his gaze, eyes falling on the tattoo on the back of his hand, then fell silent for a while before saying, "Thank you."

"There's no need for thanks between us." Murphy had been thinking about how to phrase his words, some of which he didn't want to say but had to, "Ross, have you considered changing your line of work?"

Although drugs are rampant across the U.S., it's truly a dead-end.

Ross frowned slightly, "Murphy, thank you for helping me this time. I'll be more careful in the future."

"Is being more careful enough?"

Hearing this, Murphy couldn't hold back the words he had been suppressing, "I know, those in your line of work probably have some understanding with the police. This time it's the new District Attorney wanting to establish authority, not really intending to do anything to you guys. But what if it changes to someone else?"

Back when Murphy couldn't even guarantee his own livelihood, he couldn't care for others, "I also grew up in the slums. I've seen the end of many people in this line of work!"

He slapped the armrest forcefully, shouting, "Ross, do you want me to collect your corpse? Or mysteriously disappear, with even your body not found?"

This was something Murphy had never said, even during the most difficult times in California, let alone in prison.

"There are some things you don't understand and won't understand."

A black car drove up nearby and stopped. The shiny bald head of a black man got out. Ross seemed unaccustomed to Murphy's way of speaking, opened the door, and said, "We're from two different worlds now."

He was about to close the door, then turned back to say, "The bail money?"

Murphy didn't speak, just shook his head. The $300,000 bail money, once paid, was never intended to be taken back.

Ross closed the door and walked towards the black man.

Watching Ross get into the car, the vehicle starting, and the black car gradually disappearing, Murphy slowly closed his eyes. Some things, some people, are not easily persuaded.

Getting out of the car, Murphy went to the driver's seat, and Carrie-Mulligan hurried back, sitting in the passenger seat.

Buckling up, Carrie-Mulligan curiously looked at Murphy, but he didn't pay her any attention, picking up the phone to call Bill-Rossis, "I'll take the car first, I'll deliver it to your office another day."

Hanging up, starting the car, Murphy left the Los Angeles County Police Department.

Carrie-Mulligan turned her head, noticing Murphy's mood wasn't great, seemingly also a bit depressed.

"What happened?" she tentatively asked.

"It's nothing." Murphy turned to her with a smile, "Just some minor trouble."

For matters like these, Carrie-Mulligan knew less the better. In his heart, she was still that lively, cute girl.

It was clear the conversation between Murphy and Ross wasn't very pleasant. Scratching her cheek, Carrie-Mulligan didn't know how to comfort Murphy, so she simply used the words he often comforted her with, "Dear, everything will get better."

If everything truly got better, the world wouldn't be so complicated, and a person wouldn't go through so many difficulties, but obviously, that's impossible.

However, Murphy still turned to Carrie-Mulligan with a radiant smile, seemingly forgetting the troubles just now.

Putting Ross's matter aside for the moment, it's really hard to change a person.

The two had been together for a while, and Carrie-Mulligan could tell Murphy's mood hadn't improved. She decided not to bring up the matter anymore and changed the topic.

"This morning when I went out," she said, "Rosa mentioned that the tickets to Australia have been booked."

Murphy lightly slapped his forehead, "I think I forgot to tell her how many to book."

"Three tickets were booked." Carrie-Mulligan deliberately mentioned, "I know you're busy, so I specifically reminded Rosa, three business class tickets to Brisbane."

Going to David-Robbie's farm for a vacation and indulging in hunting was certainly not something to forget to buy a plane ticket for.

Carrie-Mulligan then asked, "Are we buying shotguns now or after we arrive in Australia?"

"Dear, you're not yet eighteen," Murphy reminded her, "Do you think you can bring shotguns on the plane now?"

"Right." Carrie-Mulligan frustratedly grabbed her golden short hair, "Those terrorists made flying such a hassle!"

With Carrie-Mulligan constantly bringing up topics, Murphy's mood gradually improved. Besides, as long as he was careful, Ross shouldn't cause any more trouble in the short term, allowing him to set the matter aside and start preparing for his first vacation.

Although Australia is far in the Western Pacific, it's traditionally considered a Western country. Despite the distance, the connection is quite close, so Murphy doesn't have to worry about the studio or Bill-Rossis not being able to contact him if there's an emergency.

Especially Bill-Rossis, who participated in the entire "Saw" project, which was a huge success, earning a considerable reward himself. He's very motivated, representing Murphy in negotiations with Fox Searchlight, Blockbuster, and HBO, and will report the situation to Murphy as soon as possible.

There's also the matter of overseas distribution rights. Stanton Studio sold all overseas distribution and peripheral selling rights of "Saw" to Fox Searchlight for $12 million, excluding series rights.

This money won't be paid immediately. Fox Searchlight's liquidity is limited, and they will pay $3 million by the end of this year, with the rest paid in installments.

Before Murphy boarded the plane, Fox Searchlight reached agreements with Blockbuster and HBO for videotape and TV rights, respectively. The former paid a basic license fee of $6.5 million for a ten-year period for videotapes and DVDs, and the latter paid $3.5 million for a two-year period for the first round of TV rights.

Like box office revenue sharing, TV stations and videotape retailers adopt an installment payment method and won't pay immediately.

Fortunately, after the first $2 million installment from "Saw" was deposited, even with significant expenditures, Murphy wasn't short on money. He had enough funds to enjoy a trip to Australia with Carrie-Mulligan.

The 9/11 events completely changed the civil aviation industry. After going through extremely strict security checks, Murphy and his companions finally boarded the plane to Australia.

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