- Tempers flare and relationships are pushed to the brink when Charlie discovers a secret about Briggs and begins working with a Federale to find the truth. Mike discovers that Juan is missing and that the FBI has a suspect: Paul Briggs.
- Mike's new FBI supervisor strongly suspects Briggs of having murdered his predecessor Juan Badillo and orders Mike to prove it. Mike must go 'undercover' in jail to prove 'fellow convict' Bello, but the undaunted brute refuses any deal and orders inside cons to beat 'traitor' Mike up, while Paul hides his badly-bruised ribs. Charlie and Mexican Federales inspector Rafael Cortes try to work out a deal to arrest Paul for drug cartel crimes.—KGF Vissers
- "Graceland" - "King's Castle" - August 22, 2013
We open where we left off, a drunk Briggs on the beach contemplating the fact that he just shot Juan Badillo, who he thinks was his Caza cartel tormentor "Jangles."
We flashback to a year and a half ago. The gang was playing darts at the bar with the old agent Donnie who still lived in the house. They were talking about another agent who was being brought up on manslaughter charges for killing a suspect while on drugs. Johnny was new to the house at that point. Briggs says one too many drinks or pills can mean the difference between a medal and a murder rap.
We come back to the present. Briggs rolls the body up in a tarp, goes over the scene, and heads out. We see that Badillo's car is in the distance with a tape recorder in it rolling. Briggs takes Badillo to a remote desert location and buries the body. He notices on the keychain a key that says "Apt. 3."
Bello is in custody trying to cut a deal. He wants immunity for giving up on Odin Rossi. Charlie tries to scare him by saying the Caza cartel members in jail will repeatedly shank and rape him in prison and if he gives up Rossi they can put him in protective custody. He wants immunity, period.
Mike returns to the house a few days earlier, having checked out against medical advice. He is still clearly hurting.
Johnny is trying to plan a surprise party for Jakes. Jakes hates surprise parties which is why he's doing it. He has decided on a bounce house and strippers. No one is up for helping him though. Paige is out when she sees Mike is back. Charlie is pre-occupied with Bello and Briggs is MIA.
The next morning at breakfast Jakes warns Johnny not to throw him a party.
Charlie meets with her Federale contact Cortez (aka Jangles.) They both say they have nothing: he has nothing on Jangles, she has nothing on Odin Rossi. The Federale says Bello must have a weakness, someone or something he cares about. Charlie gets an idea.
Briggs tells Mike to count his sutures as a badge of honor. Charlie heads home with her plan: she wants Mike to go undercover in prison with Bello, thinking Bello will give up Odin to protect Mike. Briggs argues against it vehemently, under the guise of it being bad for Mike, not protect his identity as Odin. Mike says he's in.
Mike orange suits up and meets with Bello in the prison yard. He tells Mike that maybe he can do something.
Jakes sneaks into Johnny's room and sees the brochure for the bounce house and cancels it but says to charge his card anyway. Johnny overhears and re-orders it.
Briggs finds Charlie in Mike's room looking through his drawers. She says the banged up frame with his grandfather's photo. She tells him she was looking for Mike's meds to bring to him in jail. She tells him she's going right when visitation starts. Briggs gets an idea: he calls the prison and sets up a visitation with Bello--right when it starts. Bello knows who Charlie is.
The next morning when he comes into the visiting room he sees Mike talking to her and realizes he's a Fed. He attacks the already injured Mike and pummels him before the guards can pull him off. He screams at Mike: "I trusted you!"
Charlie brings the injured Mike home--where Johnny is still trying to get Paige excited for Jakes' party. Charlie is livid and calls Briggs on the carpet. She tells him what happened and that it had to be an Odin thing since no one showed up for the visitation. Mike gets a call to come into the bureau right then, everyone thinks he's getting a commendation.
It is not a commendation. The director Clark tells him that Badillo is missing and they think that Briggs has something to do with it. Clark has in his possession a little essay Mike wrote when he was 9 years old where he talks about wanting to be an FBI agent and that it's all about truth and justice. He wants Mike to keep looking into Briggs. Mike says he will but he's confused because as far as he knows Briggs didn't even know Badillo. Clark says they can't find his car but think Badillo was probably recording so when they find it it will be helpful.
Johnny is busy blowing up the bounce house in the living room and welcoming strippers to the house. Charlie is going over the detention center's incoming calls to isolate who called in the visitation to Bello. Briggs notes she's doing it right in front of everyone instead of upstairs. She says she was hoping to inspire him to help her. When he declines she storms upstairs.
Mike returns home and Paige pulls him aside to talk. Briggs and Johnny think they're having a "lover's quarrel."
Paige is still angry. Mike explains what happens and tells her about Briggs being a junkie and the Juan Badillo stuff. She tells him to tell Briggs about the investigation and that he isn't a murderer. They talk, he wonders aloud if that's a good idea, but asks "what if we're wrong?"
Jakes is busy spending his birthday in the bar talking to Derek, the man now living with his ex-girlfriend Cassie and son Daniel. They talk a bit. Derek admits he's having trouble with Cassie and is spending the night in a motel. Jakes admits that he used to have a family and he walked away from it. They both tell each other to fight for what they want. Knowing that Derek is out at the motel, Jakes goes to Cassie's at 3 am, drunk, pounds on the door and essentially begs to take him back. He lets slip that he talked to Derek and she is officially done with him.
When he returns home, he finds only Johnny and one of the strippers. He hauls off and slugs Johnny, needing to hit someone. They fight. Johnny is legitimately hurt that Jakes doesn't seem to care about him. Johnny notes that he has nothing else.. Jakes stumbles to his room. Johnny goes upstairs and stands in the hallway in the middle of the rooms and unloads. He yells at all the closed doors, behind which all the inhabitants are awake, that they are a family whether they like it or not. And given that they spend so much time cozying up to drug dealers and low life's the fact that he wants to blow off some steam and forget about all that dark stuff for one night with his friends/family shouldn't be too much to ask.
Mike visits Bello in prison. Bello basically calls him on the fact that he was also a drug dealer and complicit in torture and death, especially with regards to Eddie. Bello tells him that at least he is paying for his sins, unlike Mike.
Mike confesses to Briggs about his investigation. Briggs isn't surprised. Mike essentially says he trusts him and is on his side and he tells him about Badillo being missing. Briggs, truthfully, says he's never heard of Badillo. Mike says he's going to find Badillo's car and wants Briggs to help. Briggs says that would look bad, like a cover-up. Mike agrees and then apologizes. Briggs looks both pleased and worried.
Charlie meets with the Federale/Jangles and brings the surveillance devices she found in the Diane Motel. She posits the theory that Odin is a federal agent. She says she doesn't have a name but it seems clear she thinks it's Briggs. He says when she has a name, he'll help. She says they're in the hunt together. He asks how they should proceed.
Mike tells Paige he told him. She wonders why. She says to see his face when he said Badillo's name. Mike says he had no idea who he was.
Briggs looks up Badillo in the FBI database and realizes he's in a world of trouble.
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