Bull Shark (2022) Movie Script
1
- Morning.
- Morning was an hour
ago. It's nearly lunch.
- What's all this?
- Well, the mayor
came in for his 9:00,
he wanted you to know that
he waited for 20 minutes,
which was 19 minutes
longer than he wanted to.
I told him you were sick
and we would follow
up to reschedule.
Fish and Game called twice.
Seems they need someone
to draft a policy
on the definition
of a buck deer.
You got a call from
Nolan Holt this morning,
and your sponsor
left another message.
He wants you to call him back.
- What'd Nolan want?
- He didn't say.
It sounded important, though.
- How so?
- When I told him you
were otherwise indisposed,
he asked that you hurry
every chance you get.
- Call the mayor, reschedule
for lunch tomorrow.
- Mm-hmm.
- What's the name
of that seafood place he likes?
- Oceaner?
- That's the one.
- Make sure they bring
out those hush puppies.
- Mm-hmm.
- He likes those.
After that, call Fish and
Game, tell them anything
with a hard antler
protruding through the skin
is a buck deer,
same as last season
and the hundreds of
seasons before that.
- And your sponsor?
- Forget it.
- You sure?
- I'm busy.
- Mm-hmm.
And Nolan?
- I'll handle that one myself.
You gonna get that?
- You know, one of these days,
that thermos is going
to catch up with you.
- Well, lucky for
you, you'll be here
to tell me I told you so.
- The worst time to
hear I told you so
is when you ended up
saying it to yourself.
- Thanks, Reema.
- Hello? Yes.
- What's up, partner?
- Hey, Nolan.
So, what'd you wanna show me?
What's the phone call about?
- Check it out.
Whoo-whee.
- Nolan, why is there a shark
in the back of your truck?
- Isn't she a beauty?
- That's not what I asked.
Where'd you get this?
- Went and got it in Surf City,
me and my buddy
were out fishing.
Got 'em something big.
It's crazy.
- Why do you have it?
- Why do I have it?
Why do you think I have it, son?
I'm gonna sell it.
- You're going to sell it?
- Yeah.
You know, the teeth, jawbone.
Sometimes people like
to eat the fin and shit.
I'll make a killing.
Great.
- It's fucking bloated.
Are you sure it's-
- Stop stirring shit,
don't worry about it.
- All right, all right.
Cut that shit out.
You gotta get this
thing out of here.
Take it back where it came from.
- Why?
- Because this is a
small town, Nolan.
Once word gets out, you got
a dead shark near the lake?
People are going to
equate all this to sharks
being in the water.
- That don't make any sense.
Everybody knows that no
sharks swim in freshwater.
- It's the perception, Nolan.
I don't need to explain that
to you. Just do what I ask.
I want this thing back
in Surf City today.
You got it?
- Goddamn, man.
Well, can I keep a fin at least?
- Get your ass on the road now.
- A tooth?
- Do it!
You piss me off.
- Goddamn it.
I knew I shouldn't have brought
it here in the first place.
- Hey! What the hell you doing?
You can't just come in
here unannounced, Gary.
- Unannounced?
I call your cell,
you don't answer.
Your office, no call back.
I mean, seriously, do
you even get my messages?
Besides, you always
leave key outside
in case you go AWOL.
- Did it ever occur to
you I might just be busy?
- Don't bullshit a
bullshitter, man.
You were coming up on 100 days.
- I had shit with work,
Gary, Dottie and the kid.
- And this is how
you get them back?
They don't have
room for an addict.
And from what you've told me,
they've made that
pretty damn clear.
When's the last time you
actually ate something?
You know, if you keep facing
in the right direction,
this thing's really
pretty simple,
but you've gotta keep walking.
- I'm trying, Gary.
I should've called you.
- Well, have you
seen her? The kiddo?
- It's been three weeks.
I don't know.
I drove by the house
the other night.
- Well, look, I'm here to help,
and I'm a hell of
a good listener.
I'll put on some coffee.
- Thanks, Gary.
- Catching anything?
- Not a damn thing.
What's in it?
- Coffee.
- Ah, shit.
- You got a license
to fish out here?
- That's none of your
damn business, Gary.
Just worry about
taking care of me.
- That's a full-time job.
- I bet it is.
I appreciate you either way.
- You can do
this deal, brother.
One day at a time.
- Did you ever slip up?
- I did, several times.
Hey, you know what?
I wouldn't trade
this way of life,
and I wouldn't trade my sobriety
for anything in the world.
You'll get there.
- Yeah.
- Oh, I shit my pants.
If he thinks I'm
driving back down south,
he got another thing
coming.
Whoo.
Man, you're a heavy
son of a bitch.
Here you go, Betsy,
into the water.
There.
8:30.
Here.
There.
- It's just coffee today, Reema.
Lunch with the mayor went well.
What's that look? What?
What?
- The sheriff's here to see you.
- Send him in.
- Oh.
- Wilson.
- Spencer.
- What can I do for?
- You hadn't heard?
- Heard what?
- Got a dead girl on the lake.
- Where's the body?
- What's left of it,
coroner's office.
There's a bunch of
boats in the water
a couple of miles up the coast
from where we found the girl,
I sent a couple of my guys
up there to bring them in.
- What'd you tell them?
- Lake water tests.
Figure that'd give us
some time to figure out
what we're going to say.
- We?
- We hadn't had a murder
in this town in 60 years
and now, in a goddamn
election year?
You're the warden.
I deal with criminals.
You deal with animals.
- Well, Sheriff, I think
I deal with more criminals
in this town than you do.
What makes you think
it's an animal?
- They pulled that out of
the middle of her back,
lodged into her spine.
Yeah, that's a shark tooth.
- Impossible.
- Listen, I don't
wanna cause a panic
in town with the locals.
Word gets out we got
a shark in the lake,
you can forget all
about tourists.
- Sheriff, if there were
a shark in these waters,
as rare as that would be,
the chances of attacking
and killing a swimmer
like that doesn't add up.
They don't come into freshwater.
We don't have reefs.
Slaughterhouses? No.
Nothing here to keep
them interested.
- All right, then.
Game warden,
how'd a shark end up in my lake?
- Nolan!
- Warden?
- Warden, my ass. What'd you do?
- About what?
- The other day, a little
package in the back
of your truck, what did you do?
- Shit, man, I didn't
know you meant it.
- What'd you do with it, Nolan?
- I dumped it by the lake.
By the campground. Why?
- You dumped it in the lake.
- Yeah.
I'm sorry, I just didn't
wanna make another trip.
That's all.
Damn.
- You told me it
was dead, Nolan.
You swore to me.
- It was dead.
I even poked it with a stick.
You saw it.
Wait.
What you trying
to say here, huh?
- A young girl's dead, Nolan.
- Huh?
- The shark was alive
when you put it back-
- There's no way.
It didn't move for 10 hours.
- What about the
one inside it, hmm?
I told you it looked
fucking bloated.
- Get the fuck outta here, man.
You telling me it
was knocked up?
- You got a better suggestion?
- What you want me to do?
I mean, I didn't do anything.
I mean...
I didn't do anything, man.
You saw it was dead. You saw it.
I poked it with a
stick. You saw it, man.
Right?
- Save it for the
sheriff, Nolan.
- It was dead.
I poked it with a stick.
Right, with a stick.
I need a beer.
- So do you even have
to go to the academy
to be a game warden?
- About 31 weeks, asshole.
- Hmm.
- Right on time, fellas.
We're in the middle
of my lunch hour.
So.
At first, I thought that
a shark in lake water
didn't make any sense,
but I did my research.
Come to find out, it's not as
uncommon as you might think.
Louisiana, Mississippi, even
parts of the Texas coast,
but never this far up, though.
- Is it dead?
- Excuse me?
- The
shark. Is it dead?
- Hmm. Which one?
- Whoa, whoa, whoa.
What do you mean, which one?
- Look here.
You see the bite ratio
here on her lower back?
I called a friend of mine
down at the Ocean Institute
and I had them take a
look at the measurements.
Come to find out
those teeth markings
are from a younger shark.
You know the tooth
you found in her back?
It broke off like that
because the shark's jawline
is still developing.
- What am I supposed to
tell that girl's family?
- Nevermind that.
So what you're
saying is not one,
but two sharks in our lake?
- Well, unless this adolescent
shark got lost at sea,
I can almost bet the mama
shark's out there with him.
- Son of a bitch.
- Look, gentlemen, you're
interrupting my lunch,
and at the end of the
day, I need to be honest
with my cause of death here.
This girl was killed
by a shark attack.
And how that happened, that's
your jobs to figure out.
- How long can we
keep this quiet?
- A few days, if we're lucky.
- This friend of yours
at the Institute,
you have his number, in
case I have any questions?
- Right there.
Good luck.
- No, no, no, that's
not what I said.
No, what I said
was I didn't wanna
make a comment at this time,
and legally that's
all you can print.
Harry, hold on a second.
Hey, you got the
mayor on the line?
Harry, yeah, it's
the mayor's office.
I gotta call you back.
Don't print anything.
You hear me?
Mr. Mayor.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir, I have a call into
the Ocean Institute as well.
When?
All right.
I should be getting a
call any minute now.
Reema.
Reema!
That the
guy from Port Aransas?
- Line 2.
- Mr. Mayor?
Yes, my assistant just let
me know our guy's on hold.
Will do. You got my word.
If you could keep the paper
off my back, I'd appreciate it
till we figure this
whole thing out.
Yes, sir. Talk to you soon.
What line's the guy from Port A?
- Line 2.
- Goddamn it,
there's nobody there.
- Well, he hung up.
Should I call him back?
- Yeah. Right now, please.
If the paper calls
back, tell Harry to call
the mayor's office. If he
wants a statement, okay?
- Okay.
- Goddamn it.
Gary, now's not a
good time, my friend.
Yeah.
Yeah, no, it's not that.
I appreciate you
checking in on me.
I just got a lot going
on at work right now
and I gotta call you back.
This is Timms.
Yes, yes, thank you for
calling me back so quickly.
Great, so you understand
our situation up here.
Okay. Wait, wait.
Say that last part again.
How could you possibly
know all that?
All right, I'll
be there tonight.
Thank you.
- Nolan Holt is on line 1.
- Go fuck yourself, Nolan.
- Now was that necessary?
Where do you think you're going?
- Port Aransas.
- Now?
That's a seven hour drive.
- It's important.
Have the sheriff meet me at
the north dock at 7:00 AM.
Anybody else calls, send
them to the mayor's office
till I get back and
keep your cell phone on.
- Are you gonna tell me what
the hell is going on here?
- Not right now.
How the hell's everybody
have a key to this place?
- 'Cause you're not
answering your phone.
- Got a lot going on.
- I can see that.
- It's not like that.
- Okay.
- What's this?
- You know what it is, Spencer.
- I'm not signing that.
- You don't really
have a choice.
- You come into my house
with divorce papers
and you won't even
let me see him?
- And whose fault is that?
You remember your little
episode at the courthouse.
- He's my son, too.
And you, you are holding
him hostage from me.
- How dare you?
I have done nothing
but give you chances
to have some sort of
relationship with him
and you've done nothing
but shit all over it.
How many times have you
shown up drunk or hungover?
How many times can
you cancel on him
before he starts to think
you don't give a shit?
Just don't
put that on me.
- All right, fine.
But I'm not signing
this, not yet.
You are still my wife.
We're gonna work
through all of this.
We're gonna be a family again.
- When you were young,
I loved who you were.
Now, I don't know this guy.
And that,
that hurts the worst.
Sign the papers.
It's what's best
for all three of us.
Enjoy your drink.
- It's not what's best.
Can we talk about this?
Goddamn it, Spencer.
- That's a
good one right there.
- Frankfort, Michigan
three years ago,
and that's not the first one
I've heard about in freshwater.
I know.
The chances of winning a lottery
or a meteorite
falling from the sky
seem more likely than finding
a shark in the Great Lakes,
but there are more than
100 eyewitness accounts
of sharks swimming
up the Mississippi
as far up as Illinois.
Given the distance
between the Gulf of Mexico
and Lake Michigan, I have
to suggest that if a shark
with an extreme case of
wanderlust could make it
up to the Illinois River,
it could surely make it
a third of the way and
end up in your backyard.
See, the unique trick is
that bull sharks have kidneys
that recycle the salt
vital to the animal cells.
Normally, a different freshwater
would dilute the salt,
causing the cells
to rupture, kill it.
Not the bull shark.
- Great.
- I see this a lot.
When people read magazine
articles on shark attacks,
or they turn on the History
Channel for one week a year,
suddenly, everyone becomes
an expert, but Warden,
Texas, Michigan,
Mississippi, the Amazon.
When Hamlin called me, I
took a look at what she had.
See this?
The size and depth of
these wounds matches that
of only one species.
This isn't a trick of the sun
or waves or too much alcohol.
What you're dealing
with is a shark,
and from the looks
of it, a hungry one.
Now there is some good news.
With the lack of any salt
water or appropriate food,
and with the colder
temperatures coming,
I think this shark problem
is not gonna last
you too much longer.
As long as you've closed the
lake, I think the shark thing
is gonna go away pretty quickly.
You did close the lake, right?
Mr. Mayor.
- Mr. Harper, glad
I could catch you.
Is this a bad time?
- Who's this?
- She's with me. Legal counsel.
May I?
About this problem, this
little problem we've got
with our lake up
north, Coroner Hamlin,
she was up here to speak
with you, was she not?
- She did.
- And the game warden,
he came down here
and paid you a visit.
- That's right.
He left just about an hour ago.
Look, Mr. Mayor,
whatever you wanna know,
I can assure you that I've
briefed your game warden.
- You know what? I love to fish.
I once caught a marlin
off the Florida Keys.
Came in at eight feet
long, 200 pounds.
Took me two hours
to reel him in.
Now I know you told Spencer
we got a shark in our waters.
Personally, if it was
the family of marlins
that wanted to populate the
lake, I'd say, bring them on.
I want a rematch.
- But we're not
talking about marlins.
That would be impossible.
We're talking about a shark.
- A bull shark.
- That's right.
I've given the game
warden the report.
Amputated arms and legs, the
bites aren't hard to find.
Take a look at this.
- Whoo!
- This is six months ago,
three states north
of where you are.
- Watch out, watch out.
- Whoa, hold on.
- Whoo.
- Watch out.
- Whoo. My gosh.
Hold on to that thing.
Whoo!
- Bail some water here.
- Oh my gosh.
Look at his paw, look
at his paw, oh my gosh.
Dude, that's like a
nine or 10 footer.
That is not like seven.
That's huge!
Oh geez.
Do you see that?
I don't know.
He attacked us.
He literally attacked us.
- What you're dealing here
is a very real possibility.
- Watch out.
Whoo. Oh my gosh.
Oh, hold on.
- I wonder, does the board
at the Ocean Institute
share your conviction on
this bull shark theory?
- It's not a
theory, it's a fact.
- I doubt they'd be very
happy to have a major hit
in their funding because
one of their mad scientists
was spouting erroneous
rumors about sharks
in freshwater lakes.
- I'm sorry. What
are you getting at?
- We are very powerful
people, Mr. Harper.
Would you do me a favor?
Would you give us the room?
So.
- Could be a problem.
- I am not paying you
to state the obvious.
What do we have
in place for this?
- Containment.
13 men have run against you.
They all thought
they had a chance.
They lost.
We didn't get here by
forgetting how we pay our rent.
- And now I'm running up
against a fucking shark.
- Don't twist my words.
I'm not saying we win.
I'm saying we take out the
story's legs, then its heart.
- And how do we do that?
- Who else knows?
- The game warden.
- The alcoholic?
- What's that matter?
- He's the easiest to discredit.
The sheriff?
- He's not a problem. Trust me.
He wants this quiet
as much as I do.
- Okay.
We keep the victims' families
quiet a little bit longer
until we can draft
something up on our side.
Anyone talks, we know
the weakest link.
All we have to do is cut him
loose and you look like a hero.
- Okay.
- All right then.
The pieces are all on the board
unless there's anyone else
who knows about your problem?
- Mm.
- Don't turn around, stay calm.
This is simply
two civil servants
having a friendly conversation.
There are so many kinds
of bravery in this world.
Sometimes, bravery means
laying down your life
for something bigger than
yourself or for someone else.
Sometimes, it means giving up
everything you've ever known,
everything you've ever loved
for the sake of
something greater.
Sometimes, it doesn't.
Sometimes bravery simply
means gritting your teeth
through the pain, everyday work,
slow walk to a better life,
and doing what
you're asked to do
whether or not
you agree with it.
- Okay?
Mr. Mayor.
- I don't need you to
say anything right now,
but that last kind of
bravery I talked about,
that's the kind of bravery
you're gonna need right now.
We'll be in touch.
Y'all enjoy the
rest of your lunch.
- This is Hamlin.
- Don't
think, just listen.
You're gonna go back to
your office this afternoon,
and you're gonna file
that dead girl's report.
Only difference is, this
time, when you file it,
you're gonna leave the
cause of death blank.
Understood?
Hamlin.
- Yes, I understand.
Fuck.
- You're late.
Have you even slept?
You look like shit.
- It's a bull shark. We
need to close the lake down.
- Bull shark? What
makes you so sure?
- Did you hear what I just said?
- I heard you.
But close down the lake?
With the tourists coming in?
You can't just wash
those tax dollars away.
I'm up for reelection in
two and a half months.
Can't handle that
kind of action.
- No, what you can't
handle, Wilson,
is a kid getting
eaten by a shark.
Can't afford that.
- What are you not telling me?
- The guy at the Ocean
Institute, I went and saw him.
Good news is mother sharks
don't allow their young
to hunt on their own.
That, plus the size of the
bite radius on the dead girl
says we're looking at
one shark, not two.
- So what happened
to the mother shark?
- His best guess? Didn't
survive the birth.
So we've got one dead
shark under water
and another one
looking for more meals
and it's fucking hungry.
- Did you run this
past the mayor?
- Just got in, Pete.
First face I've seen.
We need divers to confirm it.
Otherwise, we trust
the expert and assume
if the shark is feeding, that
it's got no other choice.
Mother's dead.
- We need to get on the boat.
I can't keep that little girl's
mother quiet much longer.
- No, what you need to do
is shut down the damn lake.
Cut off its food supply.
- We don't have to do that if
we kill the damn thing first.
Now I'm still the fucking
sheriff in this town.
Last time I checked,
you answer to me.
- Right.
- All right.
So go find us a boat
and we'll go out there
and kill this fucking thing.
But we're gonna be real
quiet about it, right?
Nobody's gotta know
about this but us.
In the meantime, we'll stick
with the whole
water testing story.
Hey, I do not want
mass hysteria.
You got me?
- I got you.
- The mayor is here to see you.
- Send him in.
- Morbid, terrible shame.
He's a good man.
Gonna be hard to replace.
- Thanks for coming.
Have a seat.
- Where'd you get that?
- Deputy brought it in.
He didn't know what
else to do with it.
- The lake is 31 miles long.
- I understand that.
If you allow me to
call the harbor patrol.
- No harbor patrol.
Too much negative attention.
You know, anybody can
take the wheel of a ship
in calm waters, but the
waves get rough, not so easy.
We can't just sit back
and enjoy the good times.
We've gotta stand
tough through it all.
- I appreciate the
pep talk, but sir.
- Not a pep talk, warden.
That is a promise.
This town has not seen a murder
in more than half a century.
A shark in these waters?
That's unheard of.
Sheriff Wilson's dead.
I can deal with that
end of the mess,
but you gotta get a
handle on this disaster
and live up to your
end of the deal.
- Deal?
- Do your fucking job
so I can save mine.
I need to know what
you're gonna do
about this shark problem.
- I got a charter coming in.
I asked Wilson to shut down
the lake, but he refused.
- We can shut down the lake
without shutting down the lake.
I'll have my office
put out a statement.
Work being performed on the dam.
Sheriff Wilson's another story,
but the coroner's exam is
gonna take a couple of days,
maybe enough time
for us to come up
with some sort of response.
- There is no response.
We got two people dead.
Now the two options I
see is that we cut off
the shark's food
supply or wait it out,
and see if it starves
itself to death.
That's it.
- And you are the
authority on this?
- I spoke to the experts.
I drove down to the
Ocean Institute.
- This town can survive
anything on two feet.
Wild cats, sharks.
There's only one
person around here
who's gonna take the fall
for that sort of thing.
Always nice to see you, Reema.
- See if you're hungry
now, you son of a bitch.
Yeah?
Yeah, no, I know.
I just didn't look at
the damn calendar is all.
Yeah, no, that's fine.
It's work. What do
you want me to do?
No, we're not done talking
about the paper signing.
No, I gotta go.
Already?
- Yes, already.
You forget, didn't you?
- No, I just thought
it was gonna be
later in the day, that's all.
Hey, what I'd tell you about
bringing the gun in the house?
- I'm sorry, Dad.
- It's all right.
Apologies won't get
you anywhere faster.
- Yes, sir.
- Hey, listen.
I will be back to
pick you up Sunday.
You call me if you
need anything, okay?
Well, have a good weekend.
- Yeah.
- She's still mad, huh?
- Yeah, you're screwed.
- Yeah, I thought so.
You keeping it clean
like I showed you?
- Yeah.
- Good.
Responsibility, it'll teach you
how to do things for yourself.
- There's no TV
in the guest room.
- Oh yeah, about that, yeah.
Take my room.
I gotta work this
weekend anyway.
Hey, don't pout.
We'll call up Uncle
Gary, come over here
and keep you company
until I get back.
- I'm 13. I don't
need a babysitter.
Besides, he's not
even a real uncle.
He's just some guy
from your AA meetings.
Seriously?
- I deserve that.
But I need you to
stay by the house.
- Mom said you were
working on the lake?
- Yeah, it's nothing.
We're just looking for
something, but it reminds me.
You stay out of the
water this weekend, too.
I don't want you down
there with your buddies,
flirting with girls, all right?
Stay outta the water.
Hey, I need to hear you say it.
- I'll stay out of the lake.
- Stay
out of the lake.
You promise?
- Promise.
- All right, you promised me.
You hungry?
- I can eat.
- We might have to order out.
But let's see.
- That's fine.
Your cooking sucks anyways.
- Yeah, I know.
- I love you, son.
All right, you son of a bitch.
What?
Gary, I don't have
time for it now, buddy.
Kinda busy here.
Have Grant duty,
he's at the house.
What do you mean he's
not at the house?
The lake? I'm on the way.
Fuck.
Fucking perfect.
Grant!
Oh, fuck, boy.
Grant!
Grant!
Goddamn it, son.
Grant!
Goddamn it, son.
Shit.
Grant!
Get outta the water!
Grant!
Grant!
Get outta the water.
- What?
- Get outta the water.
Oh my God. Shit.
Grant.
Get on my back, son.
Listen to me.
Listen to me, there's
a shark in the lake.
I need you to get on my back
and hang on till
we get to shore.
Right.
Don't look back, son.
Ah!
Come on, come on.
It's okay.
Come on.
Gotta move, boy.
We're almost there.
We're almost there.
We're almost there.
Lay down, buddy.
Yeah, you're all right.
Hey, look at me.
Stay with with me.
Oh.
Hey, hey, listen to me.
I gotta move you.
I gotta get you
patched up, all right?
You gotta be brave
for me, all right?
Grab hold of my neck.
Grab hold of my neck, you ready?
One, two, three.
- What in the hell
were you thinking?
Spencer.
- Stitches, all right?
He's gonna be fine.
- I'm not talking about that.
The whole ride over here,
he's telling me he was
attacked by a shark.
Is that true?
Oh my God. And you
didn't tell me?
- Would it have
done any good? No.
- I wouldn't have brought
him here if I knew that.
You know he loves the water.
- Hey, I told him, stay
outta the lake, okay?
He lied to me too.
- Okay, I can stay here tonight.
I'll drive him home
in the morning.
But Spencer, what
the hell is going on?
- There's a shark in the lake.
Don't ask me how,
but it survived.
It's killed three people.
- And this isn't on the news?
And somehow you're
in charge of this?
- They need a fall guy.
You're looking at him.
- Spencer, I know you.
Whatever this is, you
cannot serve two masters.
- I'm clean.
On our son, I am clean.
- What are you gonna do?
- Mayor doesn't want me
to bring attention to it,
can't hire a guy
to kill the shark.
It's gotta be me.
- Spencer, they're
just looking for an out
when this thing blows
up in their faces.
What?
- What'd you just say?
I said, they're gonna
blame you for this.
- No, no, after that.
It'll blow up in their faces.
- I can help.
- Let's go.
Nolan Holt.
Get your ass out here.
- Oh, hell.
What'd you come all the way
over here to arrest my ass?
- No, I came to help you.
- Help me?
- Yeah.
- Who's she?
- It's my wife.
- Ex-wife.
- Nothing's been signed yet.
- So you two need to
get on the same page.
- Nevermind all that, Nolan.
It's not why I'm here.
I'm here because I need
you as much as you need me.
All right?
- Oh yeah?
What do you want from me?
- You wanna make this
shark thing disappear?
Save your sorry
ass in the process?
I need you to do
something for me.
- All right, what do you want?
- Do you have anything
that explodes?
Now think, dynamite,
gunpowder, anything.
- C-4.
- What?
- What?
- C-4.
You want something
that explodes, right?
Well, that's the
ticket right there.
What you want it for?
- Where in the hell
did you get C-4?
- What, we gonna ask
20 questions here?
Or do you want the damn stuff?
- What do you want for it?
- Get the sheriff off my ass.
- Deal.
Thanks, Nolan.
- Be sure you poke
it with a stick.
Right, Macho Man?
- Here, take over up front.
Anything breaks the
surface, you shoot it.
If he's in the shallow waters,
all I gotta get him to
do now is swallow this.
- Okay, then what?
- Then we blow it
to pieces with this.
- All right.
- That should get his attention.
- Now what?
- Now?
Now we wait.
I don't get it.
Damn thing should've
been here by now.
I'm almost out of bait.
- Maybe we should move
to a different spot.
- Deeper waters won't work, in
case one of us has to get in.
- Get in?
As in get in the
water with the shark?
- How else do you expect
it to swallow the C-4?
- I don't know.
I thought it would come close
enough we could just toss it
in its mouth.
- Really? Yeah, that'd
be easier, for sure.
- You're not seriously
considering this, are you?
- Oh, what? What's this?
Huh?
All of a sudden, you give a
shit about what happens to me?
I needed this person
before, not now.
- So did I.
- Fuck.
This ain't working.
I'm getting in.
- Just make it a clean shot.
- No!
Come on, come on,
come on, come on.
- Come on.
Oh, come on, oh come on.
Shoot it!
- Come here.
We did it.
- I'm glad you're starting over.
All of you.
Gonna miss you
around here, Warden.
- Nah, the new
guy'll do just fine.
Besides, quitting while
you're still good at something
ain't the same as quitting.
- I can't seem to find that
thermos of yours anywhere.
- No, it's gone.
I don't need it anymore.
- Well, if you ever wanna
stop and pay a visit,
there will always be a
pot of coffee on for you.
- I believe it.
Thanks, Reema.
- Yeah, I'm working on
my book right now, Bubba.
Well, it ain't finished yet.
I mean, I'm working
on it as we speak.
Yeah, it'll be out
soon.
First I'm gonna go
out on the lake,
I'm gonna get me some dinner.
Get me some of that
poontang fish fin,
you know what I mean?
Shark fin, if I can.
All right, I'll call you back.
All right, all right, all right.
Whoo!
Goddamn, it's cold.
Whoo!
Whoo-whee.
Yeah.
I'll get you tonight, boy.
Oh, yeah.
All right.
Oh yeah!
There we go.
Chapter 1.
"Terror in the Water."
Today's October 3rd, 2021.
It's been three weeks
since this sleepy town
been ravaged by...
The lake shark.
Ah.
It's been three weeks
since this town...
Been ravaged the
silent predator known
as the lake monster.
It's been three weeks
since this sleepy town
been ravaged the
Lone Star Shark.
Yeah! Got a best-seller,
you know it, boy.
Whoo! Good stuff.
Oh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
Oh boy.
Goddamn it, son of a bitch!
Dumb piece of shit.
Am I stuck on
something? What is that?
Goddamn it.
Where's it at?
Oh, shit!
This is Nolan Holt,
confirming the worst fears:
the Lone Star Shark lives on.
Stay tuned.
- Morning.
- Morning was an hour
ago. It's nearly lunch.
- What's all this?
- Well, the mayor
came in for his 9:00,
he wanted you to know that
he waited for 20 minutes,
which was 19 minutes
longer than he wanted to.
I told him you were sick
and we would follow
up to reschedule.
Fish and Game called twice.
Seems they need someone
to draft a policy
on the definition
of a buck deer.
You got a call from
Nolan Holt this morning,
and your sponsor
left another message.
He wants you to call him back.
- What'd Nolan want?
- He didn't say.
It sounded important, though.
- How so?
- When I told him you
were otherwise indisposed,
he asked that you hurry
every chance you get.
- Call the mayor, reschedule
for lunch tomorrow.
- Mm-hmm.
- What's the name
of that seafood place he likes?
- Oceaner?
- That's the one.
- Make sure they bring
out those hush puppies.
- Mm-hmm.
- He likes those.
After that, call Fish and
Game, tell them anything
with a hard antler
protruding through the skin
is a buck deer,
same as last season
and the hundreds of
seasons before that.
- And your sponsor?
- Forget it.
- You sure?
- I'm busy.
- Mm-hmm.
And Nolan?
- I'll handle that one myself.
You gonna get that?
- You know, one of these days,
that thermos is going
to catch up with you.
- Well, lucky for
you, you'll be here
to tell me I told you so.
- The worst time to
hear I told you so
is when you ended up
saying it to yourself.
- Thanks, Reema.
- Hello? Yes.
- What's up, partner?
- Hey, Nolan.
So, what'd you wanna show me?
What's the phone call about?
- Check it out.
Whoo-whee.
- Nolan, why is there a shark
in the back of your truck?
- Isn't she a beauty?
- That's not what I asked.
Where'd you get this?
- Went and got it in Surf City,
me and my buddy
were out fishing.
Got 'em something big.
It's crazy.
- Why do you have it?
- Why do I have it?
Why do you think I have it, son?
I'm gonna sell it.
- You're going to sell it?
- Yeah.
You know, the teeth, jawbone.
Sometimes people like
to eat the fin and shit.
I'll make a killing.
Great.
- It's fucking bloated.
Are you sure it's-
- Stop stirring shit,
don't worry about it.
- All right, all right.
Cut that shit out.
You gotta get this
thing out of here.
Take it back where it came from.
- Why?
- Because this is a
small town, Nolan.
Once word gets out, you got
a dead shark near the lake?
People are going to
equate all this to sharks
being in the water.
- That don't make any sense.
Everybody knows that no
sharks swim in freshwater.
- It's the perception, Nolan.
I don't need to explain that
to you. Just do what I ask.
I want this thing back
in Surf City today.
You got it?
- Goddamn, man.
Well, can I keep a fin at least?
- Get your ass on the road now.
- A tooth?
- Do it!
You piss me off.
- Goddamn it.
I knew I shouldn't have brought
it here in the first place.
- Hey! What the hell you doing?
You can't just come in
here unannounced, Gary.
- Unannounced?
I call your cell,
you don't answer.
Your office, no call back.
I mean, seriously, do
you even get my messages?
Besides, you always
leave key outside
in case you go AWOL.
- Did it ever occur to
you I might just be busy?
- Don't bullshit a
bullshitter, man.
You were coming up on 100 days.
- I had shit with work,
Gary, Dottie and the kid.
- And this is how
you get them back?
They don't have
room for an addict.
And from what you've told me,
they've made that
pretty damn clear.
When's the last time you
actually ate something?
You know, if you keep facing
in the right direction,
this thing's really
pretty simple,
but you've gotta keep walking.
- I'm trying, Gary.
I should've called you.
- Well, have you
seen her? The kiddo?
- It's been three weeks.
I don't know.
I drove by the house
the other night.
- Well, look, I'm here to help,
and I'm a hell of
a good listener.
I'll put on some coffee.
- Thanks, Gary.
- Catching anything?
- Not a damn thing.
What's in it?
- Coffee.
- Ah, shit.
- You got a license
to fish out here?
- That's none of your
damn business, Gary.
Just worry about
taking care of me.
- That's a full-time job.
- I bet it is.
I appreciate you either way.
- You can do
this deal, brother.
One day at a time.
- Did you ever slip up?
- I did, several times.
Hey, you know what?
I wouldn't trade
this way of life,
and I wouldn't trade my sobriety
for anything in the world.
You'll get there.
- Yeah.
- Oh, I shit my pants.
If he thinks I'm
driving back down south,
he got another thing
coming.
Whoo.
Man, you're a heavy
son of a bitch.
Here you go, Betsy,
into the water.
There.
8:30.
Here.
There.
- It's just coffee today, Reema.
Lunch with the mayor went well.
What's that look? What?
What?
- The sheriff's here to see you.
- Send him in.
- Oh.
- Wilson.
- Spencer.
- What can I do for?
- You hadn't heard?
- Heard what?
- Got a dead girl on the lake.
- Where's the body?
- What's left of it,
coroner's office.
There's a bunch of
boats in the water
a couple of miles up the coast
from where we found the girl,
I sent a couple of my guys
up there to bring them in.
- What'd you tell them?
- Lake water tests.
Figure that'd give us
some time to figure out
what we're going to say.
- We?
- We hadn't had a murder
in this town in 60 years
and now, in a goddamn
election year?
You're the warden.
I deal with criminals.
You deal with animals.
- Well, Sheriff, I think
I deal with more criminals
in this town than you do.
What makes you think
it's an animal?
- They pulled that out of
the middle of her back,
lodged into her spine.
Yeah, that's a shark tooth.
- Impossible.
- Listen, I don't
wanna cause a panic
in town with the locals.
Word gets out we got
a shark in the lake,
you can forget all
about tourists.
- Sheriff, if there were
a shark in these waters,
as rare as that would be,
the chances of attacking
and killing a swimmer
like that doesn't add up.
They don't come into freshwater.
We don't have reefs.
Slaughterhouses? No.
Nothing here to keep
them interested.
- All right, then.
Game warden,
how'd a shark end up in my lake?
- Nolan!
- Warden?
- Warden, my ass. What'd you do?
- About what?
- The other day, a little
package in the back
of your truck, what did you do?
- Shit, man, I didn't
know you meant it.
- What'd you do with it, Nolan?
- I dumped it by the lake.
By the campground. Why?
- You dumped it in the lake.
- Yeah.
I'm sorry, I just didn't
wanna make another trip.
That's all.
Damn.
- You told me it
was dead, Nolan.
You swore to me.
- It was dead.
I even poked it with a stick.
You saw it.
Wait.
What you trying
to say here, huh?
- A young girl's dead, Nolan.
- Huh?
- The shark was alive
when you put it back-
- There's no way.
It didn't move for 10 hours.
- What about the
one inside it, hmm?
I told you it looked
fucking bloated.
- Get the fuck outta here, man.
You telling me it
was knocked up?
- You got a better suggestion?
- What you want me to do?
I mean, I didn't do anything.
I mean...
I didn't do anything, man.
You saw it was dead. You saw it.
I poked it with a
stick. You saw it, man.
Right?
- Save it for the
sheriff, Nolan.
- It was dead.
I poked it with a stick.
Right, with a stick.
I need a beer.
- So do you even have
to go to the academy
to be a game warden?
- About 31 weeks, asshole.
- Hmm.
- Right on time, fellas.
We're in the middle
of my lunch hour.
So.
At first, I thought that
a shark in lake water
didn't make any sense,
but I did my research.
Come to find out, it's not as
uncommon as you might think.
Louisiana, Mississippi, even
parts of the Texas coast,
but never this far up, though.
- Is it dead?
- Excuse me?
- The
shark. Is it dead?
- Hmm. Which one?
- Whoa, whoa, whoa.
What do you mean, which one?
- Look here.
You see the bite ratio
here on her lower back?
I called a friend of mine
down at the Ocean Institute
and I had them take a
look at the measurements.
Come to find out
those teeth markings
are from a younger shark.
You know the tooth
you found in her back?
It broke off like that
because the shark's jawline
is still developing.
- What am I supposed to
tell that girl's family?
- Nevermind that.
So what you're
saying is not one,
but two sharks in our lake?
- Well, unless this adolescent
shark got lost at sea,
I can almost bet the mama
shark's out there with him.
- Son of a bitch.
- Look, gentlemen, you're
interrupting my lunch,
and at the end of the
day, I need to be honest
with my cause of death here.
This girl was killed
by a shark attack.
And how that happened, that's
your jobs to figure out.
- How long can we
keep this quiet?
- A few days, if we're lucky.
- This friend of yours
at the Institute,
you have his number, in
case I have any questions?
- Right there.
Good luck.
- No, no, no, that's
not what I said.
No, what I said
was I didn't wanna
make a comment at this time,
and legally that's
all you can print.
Harry, hold on a second.
Hey, you got the
mayor on the line?
Harry, yeah, it's
the mayor's office.
I gotta call you back.
Don't print anything.
You hear me?
Mr. Mayor.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir, I have a call into
the Ocean Institute as well.
When?
All right.
I should be getting a
call any minute now.
Reema.
Reema!
That the
guy from Port Aransas?
- Line 2.
- Mr. Mayor?
Yes, my assistant just let
me know our guy's on hold.
Will do. You got my word.
If you could keep the paper
off my back, I'd appreciate it
till we figure this
whole thing out.
Yes, sir. Talk to you soon.
What line's the guy from Port A?
- Line 2.
- Goddamn it,
there's nobody there.
- Well, he hung up.
Should I call him back?
- Yeah. Right now, please.
If the paper calls
back, tell Harry to call
the mayor's office. If he
wants a statement, okay?
- Okay.
- Goddamn it.
Gary, now's not a
good time, my friend.
Yeah.
Yeah, no, it's not that.
I appreciate you
checking in on me.
I just got a lot going
on at work right now
and I gotta call you back.
This is Timms.
Yes, yes, thank you for
calling me back so quickly.
Great, so you understand
our situation up here.
Okay. Wait, wait.
Say that last part again.
How could you possibly
know all that?
All right, I'll
be there tonight.
Thank you.
- Nolan Holt is on line 1.
- Go fuck yourself, Nolan.
- Now was that necessary?
Where do you think you're going?
- Port Aransas.
- Now?
That's a seven hour drive.
- It's important.
Have the sheriff meet me at
the north dock at 7:00 AM.
Anybody else calls, send
them to the mayor's office
till I get back and
keep your cell phone on.
- Are you gonna tell me what
the hell is going on here?
- Not right now.
How the hell's everybody
have a key to this place?
- 'Cause you're not
answering your phone.
- Got a lot going on.
- I can see that.
- It's not like that.
- Okay.
- What's this?
- You know what it is, Spencer.
- I'm not signing that.
- You don't really
have a choice.
- You come into my house
with divorce papers
and you won't even
let me see him?
- And whose fault is that?
You remember your little
episode at the courthouse.
- He's my son, too.
And you, you are holding
him hostage from me.
- How dare you?
I have done nothing
but give you chances
to have some sort of
relationship with him
and you've done nothing
but shit all over it.
How many times have you
shown up drunk or hungover?
How many times can
you cancel on him
before he starts to think
you don't give a shit?
Just don't
put that on me.
- All right, fine.
But I'm not signing
this, not yet.
You are still my wife.
We're gonna work
through all of this.
We're gonna be a family again.
- When you were young,
I loved who you were.
Now, I don't know this guy.
And that,
that hurts the worst.
Sign the papers.
It's what's best
for all three of us.
Enjoy your drink.
- It's not what's best.
Can we talk about this?
Goddamn it, Spencer.
- That's a
good one right there.
- Frankfort, Michigan
three years ago,
and that's not the first one
I've heard about in freshwater.
I know.
The chances of winning a lottery
or a meteorite
falling from the sky
seem more likely than finding
a shark in the Great Lakes,
but there are more than
100 eyewitness accounts
of sharks swimming
up the Mississippi
as far up as Illinois.
Given the distance
between the Gulf of Mexico
and Lake Michigan, I have
to suggest that if a shark
with an extreme case of
wanderlust could make it
up to the Illinois River,
it could surely make it
a third of the way and
end up in your backyard.
See, the unique trick is
that bull sharks have kidneys
that recycle the salt
vital to the animal cells.
Normally, a different freshwater
would dilute the salt,
causing the cells
to rupture, kill it.
Not the bull shark.
- Great.
- I see this a lot.
When people read magazine
articles on shark attacks,
or they turn on the History
Channel for one week a year,
suddenly, everyone becomes
an expert, but Warden,
Texas, Michigan,
Mississippi, the Amazon.
When Hamlin called me, I
took a look at what she had.
See this?
The size and depth of
these wounds matches that
of only one species.
This isn't a trick of the sun
or waves or too much alcohol.
What you're dealing
with is a shark,
and from the looks
of it, a hungry one.
Now there is some good news.
With the lack of any salt
water or appropriate food,
and with the colder
temperatures coming,
I think this shark problem
is not gonna last
you too much longer.
As long as you've closed the
lake, I think the shark thing
is gonna go away pretty quickly.
You did close the lake, right?
Mr. Mayor.
- Mr. Harper, glad
I could catch you.
Is this a bad time?
- Who's this?
- She's with me. Legal counsel.
May I?
About this problem, this
little problem we've got
with our lake up
north, Coroner Hamlin,
she was up here to speak
with you, was she not?
- She did.
- And the game warden,
he came down here
and paid you a visit.
- That's right.
He left just about an hour ago.
Look, Mr. Mayor,
whatever you wanna know,
I can assure you that I've
briefed your game warden.
- You know what? I love to fish.
I once caught a marlin
off the Florida Keys.
Came in at eight feet
long, 200 pounds.
Took me two hours
to reel him in.
Now I know you told Spencer
we got a shark in our waters.
Personally, if it was
the family of marlins
that wanted to populate the
lake, I'd say, bring them on.
I want a rematch.
- But we're not
talking about marlins.
That would be impossible.
We're talking about a shark.
- A bull shark.
- That's right.
I've given the game
warden the report.
Amputated arms and legs, the
bites aren't hard to find.
Take a look at this.
- Whoo!
- This is six months ago,
three states north
of where you are.
- Watch out, watch out.
- Whoa, hold on.
- Whoo.
- Watch out.
- Whoo. My gosh.
Hold on to that thing.
Whoo!
- Bail some water here.
- Oh my gosh.
Look at his paw, look
at his paw, oh my gosh.
Dude, that's like a
nine or 10 footer.
That is not like seven.
That's huge!
Oh geez.
Do you see that?
I don't know.
He attacked us.
He literally attacked us.
- What you're dealing here
is a very real possibility.
- Watch out.
Whoo. Oh my gosh.
Oh, hold on.
- I wonder, does the board
at the Ocean Institute
share your conviction on
this bull shark theory?
- It's not a
theory, it's a fact.
- I doubt they'd be very
happy to have a major hit
in their funding because
one of their mad scientists
was spouting erroneous
rumors about sharks
in freshwater lakes.
- I'm sorry. What
are you getting at?
- We are very powerful
people, Mr. Harper.
Would you do me a favor?
Would you give us the room?
So.
- Could be a problem.
- I am not paying you
to state the obvious.
What do we have
in place for this?
- Containment.
13 men have run against you.
They all thought
they had a chance.
They lost.
We didn't get here by
forgetting how we pay our rent.
- And now I'm running up
against a fucking shark.
- Don't twist my words.
I'm not saying we win.
I'm saying we take out the
story's legs, then its heart.
- And how do we do that?
- Who else knows?
- The game warden.
- The alcoholic?
- What's that matter?
- He's the easiest to discredit.
The sheriff?
- He's not a problem. Trust me.
He wants this quiet
as much as I do.
- Okay.
We keep the victims' families
quiet a little bit longer
until we can draft
something up on our side.
Anyone talks, we know
the weakest link.
All we have to do is cut him
loose and you look like a hero.
- Okay.
- All right then.
The pieces are all on the board
unless there's anyone else
who knows about your problem?
- Mm.
- Don't turn around, stay calm.
This is simply
two civil servants
having a friendly conversation.
There are so many kinds
of bravery in this world.
Sometimes, bravery means
laying down your life
for something bigger than
yourself or for someone else.
Sometimes, it means giving up
everything you've ever known,
everything you've ever loved
for the sake of
something greater.
Sometimes, it doesn't.
Sometimes bravery simply
means gritting your teeth
through the pain, everyday work,
slow walk to a better life,
and doing what
you're asked to do
whether or not
you agree with it.
- Okay?
Mr. Mayor.
- I don't need you to
say anything right now,
but that last kind of
bravery I talked about,
that's the kind of bravery
you're gonna need right now.
We'll be in touch.
Y'all enjoy the
rest of your lunch.
- This is Hamlin.
- Don't
think, just listen.
You're gonna go back to
your office this afternoon,
and you're gonna file
that dead girl's report.
Only difference is, this
time, when you file it,
you're gonna leave the
cause of death blank.
Understood?
Hamlin.
- Yes, I understand.
Fuck.
- You're late.
Have you even slept?
You look like shit.
- It's a bull shark. We
need to close the lake down.
- Bull shark? What
makes you so sure?
- Did you hear what I just said?
- I heard you.
But close down the lake?
With the tourists coming in?
You can't just wash
those tax dollars away.
I'm up for reelection in
two and a half months.
Can't handle that
kind of action.
- No, what you can't
handle, Wilson,
is a kid getting
eaten by a shark.
Can't afford that.
- What are you not telling me?
- The guy at the Ocean
Institute, I went and saw him.
Good news is mother sharks
don't allow their young
to hunt on their own.
That, plus the size of the
bite radius on the dead girl
says we're looking at
one shark, not two.
- So what happened
to the mother shark?
- His best guess? Didn't
survive the birth.
So we've got one dead
shark under water
and another one
looking for more meals
and it's fucking hungry.
- Did you run this
past the mayor?
- Just got in, Pete.
First face I've seen.
We need divers to confirm it.
Otherwise, we trust
the expert and assume
if the shark is feeding, that
it's got no other choice.
Mother's dead.
- We need to get on the boat.
I can't keep that little girl's
mother quiet much longer.
- No, what you need to do
is shut down the damn lake.
Cut off its food supply.
- We don't have to do that if
we kill the damn thing first.
Now I'm still the fucking
sheriff in this town.
Last time I checked,
you answer to me.
- Right.
- All right.
So go find us a boat
and we'll go out there
and kill this fucking thing.
But we're gonna be real
quiet about it, right?
Nobody's gotta know
about this but us.
In the meantime, we'll stick
with the whole
water testing story.
Hey, I do not want
mass hysteria.
You got me?
- I got you.
- The mayor is here to see you.
- Send him in.
- Morbid, terrible shame.
He's a good man.
Gonna be hard to replace.
- Thanks for coming.
Have a seat.
- Where'd you get that?
- Deputy brought it in.
He didn't know what
else to do with it.
- The lake is 31 miles long.
- I understand that.
If you allow me to
call the harbor patrol.
- No harbor patrol.
Too much negative attention.
You know, anybody can
take the wheel of a ship
in calm waters, but the
waves get rough, not so easy.
We can't just sit back
and enjoy the good times.
We've gotta stand
tough through it all.
- I appreciate the
pep talk, but sir.
- Not a pep talk, warden.
That is a promise.
This town has not seen a murder
in more than half a century.
A shark in these waters?
That's unheard of.
Sheriff Wilson's dead.
I can deal with that
end of the mess,
but you gotta get a
handle on this disaster
and live up to your
end of the deal.
- Deal?
- Do your fucking job
so I can save mine.
I need to know what
you're gonna do
about this shark problem.
- I got a charter coming in.
I asked Wilson to shut down
the lake, but he refused.
- We can shut down the lake
without shutting down the lake.
I'll have my office
put out a statement.
Work being performed on the dam.
Sheriff Wilson's another story,
but the coroner's exam is
gonna take a couple of days,
maybe enough time
for us to come up
with some sort of response.
- There is no response.
We got two people dead.
Now the two options I
see is that we cut off
the shark's food
supply or wait it out,
and see if it starves
itself to death.
That's it.
- And you are the
authority on this?
- I spoke to the experts.
I drove down to the
Ocean Institute.
- This town can survive
anything on two feet.
Wild cats, sharks.
There's only one
person around here
who's gonna take the fall
for that sort of thing.
Always nice to see you, Reema.
- See if you're hungry
now, you son of a bitch.
Yeah?
Yeah, no, I know.
I just didn't look at
the damn calendar is all.
Yeah, no, that's fine.
It's work. What do
you want me to do?
No, we're not done talking
about the paper signing.
No, I gotta go.
Already?
- Yes, already.
You forget, didn't you?
- No, I just thought
it was gonna be
later in the day, that's all.
Hey, what I'd tell you about
bringing the gun in the house?
- I'm sorry, Dad.
- It's all right.
Apologies won't get
you anywhere faster.
- Yes, sir.
- Hey, listen.
I will be back to
pick you up Sunday.
You call me if you
need anything, okay?
Well, have a good weekend.
- Yeah.
- She's still mad, huh?
- Yeah, you're screwed.
- Yeah, I thought so.
You keeping it clean
like I showed you?
- Yeah.
- Good.
Responsibility, it'll teach you
how to do things for yourself.
- There's no TV
in the guest room.
- Oh yeah, about that, yeah.
Take my room.
I gotta work this
weekend anyway.
Hey, don't pout.
We'll call up Uncle
Gary, come over here
and keep you company
until I get back.
- I'm 13. I don't
need a babysitter.
Besides, he's not
even a real uncle.
He's just some guy
from your AA meetings.
Seriously?
- I deserve that.
But I need you to
stay by the house.
- Mom said you were
working on the lake?
- Yeah, it's nothing.
We're just looking for
something, but it reminds me.
You stay out of the
water this weekend, too.
I don't want you down
there with your buddies,
flirting with girls, all right?
Stay outta the water.
Hey, I need to hear you say it.
- I'll stay out of the lake.
- Stay
out of the lake.
You promise?
- Promise.
- All right, you promised me.
You hungry?
- I can eat.
- We might have to order out.
But let's see.
- That's fine.
Your cooking sucks anyways.
- Yeah, I know.
- I love you, son.
All right, you son of a bitch.
What?
Gary, I don't have
time for it now, buddy.
Kinda busy here.
Have Grant duty,
he's at the house.
What do you mean he's
not at the house?
The lake? I'm on the way.
Fuck.
Fucking perfect.
Grant!
Oh, fuck, boy.
Grant!
Grant!
Goddamn it, son.
Grant!
Goddamn it, son.
Shit.
Grant!
Get outta the water!
Grant!
Grant!
Get outta the water.
- What?
- Get outta the water.
Oh my God. Shit.
Grant.
Get on my back, son.
Listen to me.
Listen to me, there's
a shark in the lake.
I need you to get on my back
and hang on till
we get to shore.
Right.
Don't look back, son.
Ah!
Come on, come on.
It's okay.
Come on.
Gotta move, boy.
We're almost there.
We're almost there.
We're almost there.
Lay down, buddy.
Yeah, you're all right.
Hey, look at me.
Stay with with me.
Oh.
Hey, hey, listen to me.
I gotta move you.
I gotta get you
patched up, all right?
You gotta be brave
for me, all right?
Grab hold of my neck.
Grab hold of my neck, you ready?
One, two, three.
- What in the hell
were you thinking?
Spencer.
- Stitches, all right?
He's gonna be fine.
- I'm not talking about that.
The whole ride over here,
he's telling me he was
attacked by a shark.
Is that true?
Oh my God. And you
didn't tell me?
- Would it have
done any good? No.
- I wouldn't have brought
him here if I knew that.
You know he loves the water.
- Hey, I told him, stay
outta the lake, okay?
He lied to me too.
- Okay, I can stay here tonight.
I'll drive him home
in the morning.
But Spencer, what
the hell is going on?
- There's a shark in the lake.
Don't ask me how,
but it survived.
It's killed three people.
- And this isn't on the news?
And somehow you're
in charge of this?
- They need a fall guy.
You're looking at him.
- Spencer, I know you.
Whatever this is, you
cannot serve two masters.
- I'm clean.
On our son, I am clean.
- What are you gonna do?
- Mayor doesn't want me
to bring attention to it,
can't hire a guy
to kill the shark.
It's gotta be me.
- Spencer, they're
just looking for an out
when this thing blows
up in their faces.
What?
- What'd you just say?
I said, they're gonna
blame you for this.
- No, no, after that.
It'll blow up in their faces.
- I can help.
- Let's go.
Nolan Holt.
Get your ass out here.
- Oh, hell.
What'd you come all the way
over here to arrest my ass?
- No, I came to help you.
- Help me?
- Yeah.
- Who's she?
- It's my wife.
- Ex-wife.
- Nothing's been signed yet.
- So you two need to
get on the same page.
- Nevermind all that, Nolan.
It's not why I'm here.
I'm here because I need
you as much as you need me.
All right?
- Oh yeah?
What do you want from me?
- You wanna make this
shark thing disappear?
Save your sorry
ass in the process?
I need you to do
something for me.
- All right, what do you want?
- Do you have anything
that explodes?
Now think, dynamite,
gunpowder, anything.
- C-4.
- What?
- What?
- C-4.
You want something
that explodes, right?
Well, that's the
ticket right there.
What you want it for?
- Where in the hell
did you get C-4?
- What, we gonna ask
20 questions here?
Or do you want the damn stuff?
- What do you want for it?
- Get the sheriff off my ass.
- Deal.
Thanks, Nolan.
- Be sure you poke
it with a stick.
Right, Macho Man?
- Here, take over up front.
Anything breaks the
surface, you shoot it.
If he's in the shallow waters,
all I gotta get him to
do now is swallow this.
- Okay, then what?
- Then we blow it
to pieces with this.
- All right.
- That should get his attention.
- Now what?
- Now?
Now we wait.
I don't get it.
Damn thing should've
been here by now.
I'm almost out of bait.
- Maybe we should move
to a different spot.
- Deeper waters won't work, in
case one of us has to get in.
- Get in?
As in get in the
water with the shark?
- How else do you expect
it to swallow the C-4?
- I don't know.
I thought it would come close
enough we could just toss it
in its mouth.
- Really? Yeah, that'd
be easier, for sure.
- You're not seriously
considering this, are you?
- Oh, what? What's this?
Huh?
All of a sudden, you give a
shit about what happens to me?
I needed this person
before, not now.
- So did I.
- Fuck.
This ain't working.
I'm getting in.
- Just make it a clean shot.
- No!
Come on, come on,
come on, come on.
- Come on.
Oh, come on, oh come on.
Shoot it!
- Come here.
We did it.
- I'm glad you're starting over.
All of you.
Gonna miss you
around here, Warden.
- Nah, the new
guy'll do just fine.
Besides, quitting while
you're still good at something
ain't the same as quitting.
- I can't seem to find that
thermos of yours anywhere.
- No, it's gone.
I don't need it anymore.
- Well, if you ever wanna
stop and pay a visit,
there will always be a
pot of coffee on for you.
- I believe it.
Thanks, Reema.
- Yeah, I'm working on
my book right now, Bubba.
Well, it ain't finished yet.
I mean, I'm working
on it as we speak.
Yeah, it'll be out
soon.
First I'm gonna go
out on the lake,
I'm gonna get me some dinner.
Get me some of that
poontang fish fin,
you know what I mean?
Shark fin, if I can.
All right, I'll call you back.
All right, all right, all right.
Whoo!
Goddamn, it's cold.
Whoo!
Whoo-whee.
Yeah.
I'll get you tonight, boy.
Oh, yeah.
All right.
Oh yeah!
There we go.
Chapter 1.
"Terror in the Water."
Today's October 3rd, 2021.
It's been three weeks
since this sleepy town
been ravaged by...
The lake shark.
Ah.
It's been three weeks
since this town...
Been ravaged the
silent predator known
as the lake monster.
It's been three weeks
since this sleepy town
been ravaged the
Lone Star Shark.
Yeah! Got a best-seller,
you know it, boy.
Whoo! Good stuff.
Oh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
Oh boy.
Goddamn it, son of a bitch!
Dumb piece of shit.
Am I stuck on
something? What is that?
Goddamn it.
Where's it at?
Oh, shit!
This is Nolan Holt,
confirming the worst fears:
the Lone Star Shark lives on.
Stay tuned.