Nothing’s Easy Pilot Synopsis

Easy Pickings

On a cold winter morning before Christmas, Easy Jacobson is pulling volunteer work detail as a street corner Santa when he witnesses a robbery in progress at the bank across the street. The robber, also dressed in a Santa costume, takes off running with Easy in pursuit; two Santas running through the streets, waiving guns in the air. The chase leads to the train depot where the thief disappears. A few moments later, Easy spots a businessman who looks suspicious and moves to question him, only to have the thief take a woman hostage. Backup is called in and the train depot is cleared as Ron Martin attempts to take over the situation. Realizing that this situation will quickly get out of hand with Ron in charge, Easy recruits Jenny’s help and moves to deal with the thief. While confronting the thief, Easy points out the little red dot on his forehead and finally gets the criminal to release his hostage and surrender. Upon this, Ron begins to berate and threaten Easy, which leads him to punch Martin out. The scene fades to Easy standing before a Internal Affairs review board as he is found guilty of striking a superior officer and has his badge taken away from him.

Six months later, Easy finds himself on the unemployment line. As he looks around, he spots Iggy behind him. As he greets the ex-convict, Iggy tries to take a swing at him, missing miserably and practically falling on his face. Easy catches him and manhandles him outside, where the two confront each other and Iggy tells his tale. Easy invites him to lunch at Charlie’s so the two can talk. At the deli, the two compare notes and are joined by Jenny who bares a message asking for a meeting from the Lt. Mayor’s assistant who used to serve on the force with Easy. At this point, a member of Chuck’s old gang came in to cause some trouble. He is soon very sorry as Charlie’s shotgun is in his face and Jenny puts on the cuffs.

The next day, Easy is in the Lt. Mayor’s office. He is asked by his old friend to look into a private matter for him. He suspects that his brother-in-law has been involved in something, but doesn’t know what. He is concerned for his sister and doesn’t want it to become public knowledge for fear of the press blowing it out of proportion and having a negative effect on the office. Easy agrees to help out. His next stop is the brother-in-law’s home, which is in an upscale apartment building where he confronts the wife and is told that nothing is going on; that her brother was blowing things out of proportion. She soon gets angry and kicks him out.

Next stop is the brother-in-law’s business: a export warehouse for shipping ground-digger machinery to third world nations. The secretary greets him, but is very reluctant to speak to him and refuses to get her boss. After several minutes and getting nothing, he leaves but meets up with Bret, who is working security for the building. The two reminisce and Bret informs Easy that the warehouse has been off limits to everyone - including security - for the past week. Easy waits and trails the secretary at the end of the day and follows her to her home, finding her greeted at her door by the brother-in-law. He leaves after her boss does several hours later. The next morning, Easy visits Liz and Neil’s Novels and picks up his books, then heads out to watch the business again. Easy witnesses four strange men enter the warehouse with three suitcases and leave with none.

That evening, Jenny comes over to his apartment with dinner and Easy shares what is going on. After giving him several words of encouragement, she also reminds him that he doesn’t have to work within the parameters of the police force any longer, and that he should take advantage of that fact. Easy is very reluctant to take that road and changes the subject, with a well-timed interruption from his father. After a very uncomfortable conversation about Easy’s failure as a cop and questions about his future, the conversation ends. This sequoias into a conversation about Jenny and Easy’s past and future - a very uncomfortable topic - but is set aside for the night as they retire together.

The next day, Easy has lunch with Iggy and asks for his help; teach him how to break into places so as he can get into the warehouse. Iggy explains that what he does he can’t teach; that he follows some instinct, but that he is willing to come with Easy. Easy outright refuses, sighting Iggy’s illness and not wanting to help Iggy down that path again. Iggy explains that he is always walking down that road and that its staying off the road that hurts. Easy agrees to keep Iggy informed and heads back over to the business. He arrives in time to see the brother-in-law leave and follows him to a bank. While inside, he manages to catch a glimpse at his bank account number and, after the brother-in-law leaves, goes up to the tellers to request a bank balance. He learns that a deposit of $100,000 had been made via automatic deposit four days earlier - three days before the suitcase delivery.

That night, Easy goes to the warehouse in an attempt to enter the building. While he tries to pick the lock (and fails miserably), he is found by Bret. After explaining the facts, Bret helps Easy get into the building, but is unable to get him into the warehouse itself. He also informs him that the brother-in-law is inside. The discussion of how to get in is interrupted by Iggy, who appears behind them. He points out the ventilation system and sends Easy on his way. Easy creeps through the shaft in “Die Hard” fashion. While in the airshaft, he spots the brother-in-law and the three men taking apart parts of the machinery and putting things inside the ground-diggers. As he shifts position to get a better look, the shaft gives way and he falls.

As Easy cautiously moves to see if anything is broken, he sees the brother-in-law holding an explosive devise and the three men holding guns. Easy is tied up and the four men start discussing what they should do. It is during this that the whole deal is revealed: The three men work for a radical tree-hugger organization who have bribed the brother-in-law to sabotage the earth-movers that were scheduled to go to the Amazon and work in the rain forest. The flaw in the plan that Easy points out is that people will be on the machines when they are scheduled to go off. This fact doesn’t faze them. He them points out the the amount of explosive that it takes to destroy the machinery and cripple the work will also blast a whole in their beloved rain forest and probably burn the rain forest down. This makes them stop long enough to debate amongst themselves, which also stalls long enough for Jenny and six other cops to break in and arrest the terrorists. Iggy called Jenny before approaching Easy and Bret; the first time in his life that he was glad to see the police.

After revealing all of the facts to the Lt. Mayor and the government agencies involved, his old friend asks what he can do for Easy. It is quickly decided that Easy is too good of an investigator to banish from the business completely. Two weeks later, Easy holds a meeting in his apartment with Bret and Iggy in attendance. He informs them that he has acquired a private investigator’s license and would like for the two of them to come work for him. The offer is not met with overwhelming enthusiasm, but the two agree non-the-less. Jenny then arrives with dinner for the four of them and the group begins discussing their future.

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