Free fall

September 13.

He was returning to filming with something else in mind. The last few scenes had left the actors exhausted. John Grisham, who considered Mississippi his most important city, found this film special. It was one of those movies deeply ingrained in his activities, a part of him. A Time to Kill is perhaps the most faithful reflection of John's discontent with everything right and wrong in America. His later books were reflected in different newspaper articles, spoken ideas, or margins of inspiration.

Billy played cards with the boys at night, exchanging pairs of questions. Around 11 p.m., John and Billy were drinking small shots of tequila, strong drinks in short durations.

-I want you to be part of my publishing house; your books are fabulous, - commented Billy.

-Tor Books? I thought they specialized in fantasy and science fiction, - said John.

-We do, but noir and suspense novels fit well. Besides, you're a great author. Tor Books' contracts are fantastic. We operate under the assumption of a nonprofit entity, and we reinvest everything in scholarships for writers, students, or academics, - Billy explained.

-Oh, a nonprofit bookstore. An innovative idea, - John remarked.

Billy downplayed it.

-The idea is to sell books and adjust invoices. Books don't bring in much, so reinvesting everything might be less favorable. But I believe a country that allows and promotes literature in every household, along with a country that encourages those who strive in the field, should earn a fair living. And well, you would help a lot in achieving that goal. You're a great writer and seller, - Billy commented.

Handling chores, each part hinted at a position. Billy's position was clear: win over the guild of writers to benefit his future projects. Having creators of stories under his wing was perhaps the most perfect and symmetrical idea. For now, with the Game of Thrones series, which had expanded to thirteen books, when George R. R. Martin said he wrote every day, he wasn't lying. In Billy's mind, focusing on the Game of Thrones books meant thousands of pages, perhaps 800,000 pages filled with characters and stories, cut short by time, order, or publication.

-You're also a writer, - John Grisham noted.

-I am. I'll publish my third book next spring, - Billy replied, holding a 900-page book, which was just an extension of the stories from the second book, The War of the Five Kings, and a bit of the beginning of A Storm of Swords, which had 2,000 pages. Three books, each 900 pages, are giants in length, adding different politics, like how the story of the Greyjoys starts to unfold in the first book.

It's impressive, but I'm referring to your comics. I've read some out of curiosity. They say they're amazing, and in terms of drawing, there's no doubt, but it's not my type of reading, - John remarked.

-I'll send you my books. You'll enjoy reading more than any other book. Unlike fantasy books, I wanted to extrapolate different ideas, - Billy commented.

***

Scene 135. Take 1.

Jake Brigance was sitting next to Carl Lee. This was typical of them. The director wanted to shoot one last take at Samuel L. Jackson's request.

-How do you see the trial? - Carl Lee asked.

-Not good, Carl. I'd like to say we'll win, but it's complicated, - Billy responded, with a complete air of sorrow, the suffering of the whole matter, the problems with the clan, followed by his issues at work, home, and even marital troubles.

-I hired you because you're the best, Jake. Don't give me that. At this point, you have to give it your all. I hired you as my lawyer because you're part of them, you're part of that group, you can convince them, - Carl Lee commented.

-What are you talking about? I've represented your entire family. I consider you my friend. I wouldn't have taken the case! - Jake Brigance/Billy responded.

-Please, don't be foolish. You're my lawyer. My friend? What nonsense, Jake. You've eaten at my house, your daughters play with my daughters, you have a beer at the same house. Stop being hypocritical. Win the case. You can win the case, - Carl Lee commented.

-I don't know what to tell them, - Jake remarked.

-Just tell them what you want to hear. You're a white man, you should know what to do, - Carl Lee commented.

-Cut, - the director Joel Schumacher said.

-Great job, everyone. I'm continually amazed at how easily you slip into character, - Joel commented, satisfied. Both were great actors, expressing thousands of emotions in one cut scene. The changes, the comings and goings, were something only great actors could achieve.

Scene 137, take 1.

Billy mentally prepares himself. When a lawyer enters the courtroom and addresses a group of strangers who make up the jury, the only thing he can offer is his credibility. In the mind of Jake Brigance, his argument must have the power to show his causes.

-As a lawyer, I bring you nothing but the truth. Thirty years ago, he had slept with a girl under eighteen in Texas. Does that mean he is lying now in this trial? Does it mean his professional opinion cannot be trusted? Please, think of Bass as the psychiatrist, not Bass as the person. Please, let's be fair to his patient, Carl Lee Hailey. He knew nothing about the doctor's past. There was something about Bass that might interest you. Something Mr. Buckley did not mention when attacking the doctor. The girl he slept with was seventeen. She later became his wife, gave him a son, and was pregnant again when she and her son died in a train accident... Judge with your yardstick, what is the truth?

-Objection!- exclaimed Buckley/Kevin Spacey. -Objection, Your Honor! This is not part of the trial record!-

-Objection sustained. Mr. Brigance, you cannot refer to facts not presented as evidence. The jury will disregard Mr. Brigance's last comments.- commented the Judge.

Billy/Jake looked at no one else, he was in his zone. With a deep breath, his voice trembled, and the transpositions of emotions were visible in the atmosphere, with a force that was not transmitted with words in the air, it was the very use of the voice, a high tone, not loud, heard by the entire room.

-What happens then with rape? The victim has an entire lifetime to digest it, try to understand it, ask questions, and worst of all, know that the rapist is still alive and may someday escape or be released. Every hour of every day the victim thinks about the rape and asks countless questions. She relives it step by step, minute by minute, and it always hurts like the first time. Perhaps the worst of all crimes is the monstrous rape of a minor. When it happens to an adult woman, she has a good idea of why it happened. An animal full of hatred, anger, and violence.

-But a girl? A ten-year-old girl? Put yourselves in the parents' place. Try to explain to your daughter why she has been raped. Try to explain to her why she won't be able to have children. Let's suppose your ten-year-old daughter has been raped and you are a Vietnam veteran, very familiar with the M-16, and you manage to get hold of one of those rifles when your daughter lies in a hospital between life and death. Let's suppose the rapist is captured and that, after six days, he manages to get within a couple of meters of him as he leaves the Courthouse. And he has his M-16 with him. What will he do? Mr. Buckley has told us what he would do. He would cry for his daughter, offer the other cheek, and place his hopes in the judicial system. He would wait for justice to be done to the rapist, for him to be sent to Parchman and, if possible, to remain there for the rest of his life. That's what Mr. Buckley would do and he deserves admiration for being so kind, compassionate, and merciful. But what would any reasonable father do? What would Jake do? If he had an M-16? Blow that bastard's brains out! It was simple. It was fair.-Jake/Billy took a turn down the aisle.

He lowered his tone.

-Now just imagine, this image, close your eyes, and please imagine a girl in the forest, beaten, bloody, with her legs open and tied to some trees, looking around. Semi-conscious and hallucinating, she saw someone running towards her. It was her father running desperately to save her, she saw him when she needed him most. She called him through tears and he disappeared. They took him away, now she needs him as much as she did then. Now imagine that she is a white girl, and it is your girl, your child who asks you that-

-Cut.- commented Paul Schumacher.

...

Billy could say that another movie to his list of 1995, and he hoped that everything would turn out well.

....