Bull

Are you serious? I'm serious.

The city's serious. The state's serious.

We're locking these doors, and nobody's coming back inside

until the government says so.

So, what do you think we're looking at?

Two weeks? Three weeks?

I just heard they're suspending all trials

until further notice.

They're closing up the courthouse.

So, wait, no one comes in until further notice?

Do we still get paid?

Yeah, you still get paid,

'cause you're still gonna be working.

The second we have this virus in hand,

we're gonna be back in court, and we're gonna be ready.

And how's that gonna work?

Well, Taylor's got some kind of system set up

where we go and get on our computers at home

and talk to each other like we're still here.

I'm sending out an e-mail in the morning

that will explain everything.

It's not a big deal, as long as you have decent Internet.

Define "decent."

You ever watch anything that moves on your laptop?

Movies? YouTube videos?

Porn?

I got to tell you, I feel funny going outside now.

I mean, right? It's a virus.

Could be anywhere.

I'm thinking maybe I should get a mask now or something.

You know, I actually read that you don't need a mask.

They don't want you wearing one 'cause it's safer without it.

Okay. All right. So, what's your best outside guess, a month?

A month, tops.

But weren't they saying last month

that this thing was gonna just disappear?

I think I have to give up my place.

Did you say something?

What time is it?

20 after 2:00.

I think I have to give up my place. My apartment.

Gonna have to sublease it or

break the lease or negotiate something.

I just...

We can't handle both places.

And it makes no sense.

I mean, I'm paying rent on the office.

Everybody's salaries.

You sold your business.

There's no work.

No cases. The one case we had settled out of court.

I thought this thing was gonna last three weeks.

We're going on six already.

You okay if I move my things in here?

You mean your furniture?

Your stuff?

Can we at least afford a small storage unit?

Forget I mentioned it.

I mean

how long can this thing last?

You did it, Chunkster.

You graduated

law school, passed the bar.

Now, I don't know who you had to pay off,

but let him or her know

that I am happy to represent them when they get caught.

See, that's your guy Benny, Bull.

Always drumming up business.

Hey. It's a rough-and-tumble world out there, pal.

You'll see.

But, seriously,

congratulations.

We are all very, very proud of you.

Benny's right.

We're all proud.

Hear, hear.

To Chester Palmer, attorney-at-law.

Chester Palmer? Chester Palmer?

Your real name

is Chester?

That's really cute. I like that!

Chester!

What? Guys,

ladies and gentlemen, I would also like to propose a toast

to our boss.

I have a lot of friends.

They are struggling to make ends meet.

But our boss...

He lets us know, without fail, every week,

how important we are to him.

You know those checks are no good, don't you?

To Jason Bull. Jason Bull!

Salud.

Cheers.

Come on.

Astrid, I know, sweetie.

Okay. All right. It's okay.

It's almost midnight.

Daddy's got to go to sleep.

Come on.

Wait a second.

Let me show you something.

You see that?

You like that?

Well, that is the world I thought I was bringing you into.

Unfortunately, shortly after you arrived,

it closed for business.

We're just allowed to stand at a distance and look at it now,

not be a part of it,

be in it.

Sorry about that, Astrid.

Don't quite know what we're doing here anymore.

We're just sitting around,

holding our breath,

waiting for a cure.

Waiting for a miracle.

Thanks for agreeing to meet me in person.

I just couldn't bear to spend another minute

staring at a computer screen.

What can I do for you, Mr. Westbury?

Landlord Data Initiatives.

We provide automated data services

to landlords and property owners.

You want to rent an apartment, the landlord,

along with the normal credit check,

will reach out to us to see

if there's any other relevant information

that might influence his or her decision.

Have you ever been arrested?

You owe back alimony or child support?

Ever been in a rehab?

You a sex offender?

That kind of thing.

Okay.

And... who's suing you?

Who's taking you to court?

Just the federal government.

Any particular reason?

Well

we're an automated service.

And, frankly, our customers, the landlords,

prefer more data rather than less.

So our algorithms will often go the extra mile

and make sure to check a person's name...

Jason Bull, for instance...

In all 50 states.

And sometimes the algorithm will attach the right name

to the wrong person.

Say... Justin Bull.

Or the wrong person to the right name.

Say the Jason Bull that lives in Idaho

instead of the one that lives in New York.

Again, we're automated,

and there are over 330 million people in this country.

And you'd be amazed how many of them

have the same or similar names.

Plus, our reports are delivered to landlords

without any human review.

So, sometimes

mistakes happen.

And when they do,

people who probably should be eligible to rent an apartment

are denied.

Well, that sounds like a problem worth fixing.

Agreed.

But that would significantly raise our costs.

And, at the moment,

our average subscriber is charged only $12 a report.

So, how big a business are we talking about?

We do almost a billion dollars a year.

You know how many apartments there are

in the United States?

And why me? Why my firm?

Well, it's gonna be a jury trial.

And almost everyone

at some point in their lives has tried to rent an apartment.

But very few people have run businesses built on the idea

of strip-mining strangers' digital lives for profit.

I've got about 1,500 people who work for me.

Salespeople. Accounts people.

That's... 5,000, 6,000 people,

including life partners and kids.

We were about to add 60 more workstations here

before COVID hit.

The government has the power to make that all go away,

put us all out of work.

Forgive me, Mr. Westbury,

but it does kind of sound like

you're doing something wrong.

I should also mention

we pay really well.

Two things.

First thing,

City of New York says

it's okay to go back to the office.

Second thing, we have a client.

Need to prepare.

Need to be ready, because... I know, I know.

I liked having him here all the time, too... they're gonna open the courts

and it's gonna be any day now.