Of Unknown Origin

Turning to our home scene, here in New York,

the dollar moved in a range of only 10 to 20 points...

The mayor was dumb,

and the council stood

as if they were changed into blocks of wood...

I just want to see what's under there.

No, no, no, no.

I just want to look. Pete might come in.

Peter'll learn a thing or two. He's too young to learn.

I have to dry my hair. I have to dry my fingernails.

Give me this towel.

Mm, a hell of a time for a vacation.

A hell of a time. A hell of a time is right.

I mean, your dad snaps his fingers,

and, look...you jump like a jack-in-the-box.

He calls on one day, the next day you're off to Vermont.

Well, it's the only time he can get away...

and he likes it there...

and I like it there.

Mm.

Oh... Mm.

Hey, hey, hey! Who's been shelling the kitchen, huh?

What's going on in here? Maneuvers, pal?

No. I'm looking for the prize.

The prize is in the bottom of the box, see?

Then can I take it with me?

It's not the prize. It's the flakes all over the joint.

Hurry up, honey! Yeah, all right. Let's go.

Your mother's going to yell at us.

Come on.

No fair.

Hey, Pete. You're breaking my heart.

Hang on a minute.

Here, here it is. What have we got here?

Yeah, it's a double over-and-under space flyer,

upside-down flotsam.

How about a kiss for your old dad, huh?

I love you, Dad.

I love you too.

Turning now to traffic,

we have a few problems this morning...

Peter, how about the carpet? How about that, huh?

Hey, honey, it's not the Golden Fleece, you know.

...New Jersey turnpike coming into town.

As well, we can expect more trouble...

Okay.

You know, you could take the weekend.

Listen, we sang this song already, didn't we?

Okay, I won't press it.

Don't sit around here driving yourself crazy.

Crazy? Let me tell you about crazy.

If Eliot gives me this,

it can mean maybe a senior vice-presidency,

maybe next year a seat on the board,

not to mention another $25,000 per annum,

which means a lot of things, like the mortgage on this dump.

Daddy offered us the mortgage.

"Daddy offered. Daddy offered."

Listen, your daddy's a very sweet man,

but he didn't pay for this place.

He didn't pick it out, either.

We found it, paid for it. We renovated it ourselves,

and we pay off the mortgage ourselves, right?

Okay.

Besides which...

if I get this,

maybe I'll buy you your own damn ski resort.

What do you think of that?

Well, I think you'll get it.

I better get it, because if I don't get it,

next month the world will see us

pitching pennies in Guatemala.

Well...

It'd be fun with you in Guatemala.

Peter, honey, be careful.

Nyao! Beep, beep, beep!

So...

I'll... I'll call you tonight, huh?

Okay. Call me before midnight. I'll turn into a pumpkin.

A beautiful pumpkin. Oh, you're biased.

You're right.

All right, champ. Keep it under 70.

Take care of your mom. Okay, Daddy.

Have fun. Mm, I will.

Bye, now. Bye.

A little Mozart in the morning, Betty?

Good morning, Mr. Hughes.

You know the number?

Hi, Karen. Good morning, Mr. Hughes.

Pyramid Industries.

It's too early for word association, James.

I'm dying. You take a shot for that?

I'll bite. Pyramid Industries is Arab money in white face,

and they're trying to cop a piece

of this country's grain belt through an Illinois front.

What's it to you? Riverton's given Pyramid to me.

I sent Janis to your office to pick up the files on it.

Is that all right?

Pyramid Industries was Capstan International.

Yeah, here's the rest of it, okay?

Thanks.

Morning. Morning.

Why so cheerful?

I ran into James Hall on my way in.

I wouldn't let that guy walk behind me

unless I had a rear-view mirror.

Why did Riverton give him that Pyramid Industries merger?

That was mine.

Listen, don't sweat it. Rumor is Riverton's going to give

that reorganization assignment to somebody today,

and all bets are in your favor.

All this intrigue.

This isn't a trust company. it's the court of Louis XIV.

You were having a lot of fun

with Pyramid Industries, weren't you?

Yeah, I was, and you know what?

Mergers like Pyramid are my strong suit.

I don't know a thing about reorganizing bank branches.

But if Eliot gives you this...

Yeah, I know, I know. The sky's the limit.

It's 9:00.

Right. Okay. How do you stay ahead of everything, huh?

Are you kidding? I've seen what happens

when I don't stay two paces ahead of you.

Pretty blouse. Thanks.

You've got a thread hanging there.

Only you would notice.

Details, darling, details.

Is that everything prepared for now?

That's everything we have so far.

Thank you.

Know how I would go about revamping the branches?

How?

Mortar fire followed by a flamethrower.

Excellent. Good morning.

Good morning. Hello, Eliot.

It's a little restless in there.

I wanted to speak to you before we got started.

Thursday night. I want you to keep it open.

Sure. Just a dinner party

for the L.A. branch managers, nothing elaborate.

Besides, it's not you I want to see.

It's your pretty wife, who I haven't seen in ages.

Well, Meg's with her dad in Vermont, Eliot,

but let us not stand on ceremony

by me asking why in the name of Job

did you pitch that Pyramid thing to James Hall?

Man, I was flying with that grain deal.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Look, I need a hands-on guy, Bart,

who's right to handle the reorganization

of all the branch offices of this trust company,

somebody with new ideas, not old ones with a face lift.

Well, this is the topic of the day around here.

Well, the topic is over. I need a package

for the board of directors meeting in two weeks.

In two weeks? Can you do it?

I'll have to shift some things.

Which is why I gave Pyramid to Hall.

And Lorrie can handle whatever else you've got.

I'll give it a shot.

It's yours, kiddo.

Because you know what's riding on it.

Shit!

Oh, man, I don't need this.

I really don't need this.

I appreciate this, Clete.

I couldn't get my regular plumber for another 10 days.

Should've called me in the first place.

Yeah, but everybody calls you, relies on you.

Got your own building next door.

Yeah, well... Look at this. It's what I told you, right?

See this, here? Smell it. That's dishwashing stuff.

I told you that before. Then it's not the sink?

It ain't the sink. It's the dishwasher, like I said.

My wife just had this thing overhauled a month ago.

Don't worry about nothing, because it's not the motor.

Here, I got it. I got the problem. Look at this.

Look at this over here. You see that?

That's what you paid for your drain hose.

Wait, wait, wait. Yeah, look...

Ready for that? What could cause that?

What causes that is extreme heat from the machine over here.

Right. And the casing...

Just bang? Bang, like that!

General wear and tear too.

You didn't see any mice, did you?

Mice? No, I got no mice here.

Yeah, well, if you had, then we'd see them,

because it'd take an army of mice to do that.

Maybe it's a rat.

A rat?

No, there's no rat, no mice. There's no rat in this house.

There's no rat in this house?

There's no rat in this house, okay.

What are you trying to say? I need an exterminator? What?

Exterminator? You kidding? That's for little old ladies

and people who don't want to get their hands dirty.

You have any problem with that? Getting your hands dirty?

I got no problem getting my hands dirty.