Damnation (2017) s01e03 Episode Script
One Penny
1 Previously, on "Damnation" These Black Legion men claim to be defending the American way of life.
There's a strikebreaker.
He killed Sam right in front of his own boy.
My son's in jail.
And now this.
The bank foreclosed on your farm? Whatever it takes to bring those sons of bitches down.
Creeley managed to kill the farmers' leader and pass it off as self-defense.
Just why are we trying to bankrupt these farmers? Are any of you men the leader of this miners' strike? [GUNSHOT.]
- Daddy! - Oh, my poor dear child.
Come to me.
The cowboy he's targeting me.
You keep an eye on him.
What's the cowboy really after? I don't do nothing for free.
Seth ever told you anything about his past? See, I tried warning her about Seth too.
[CHILDREN YELLING.]
Boy's got his father's swing.
Darling, if you had Stanley's swing, you wouldn't be loading trucks for a living.
No, I'd be patrolling centerfield for the St.
Louis Cardinals.
[SOFT LAUGH.]
Can you get them the cream sodas from the shed? What cream sodas? We can't afford that.
A case may've slipped off one of the trucks.
You are such a pill.
[SOFT EERIE MUSIC.]
Hustle up, boys! We got you a special treat.
Cream soda? Oh, boy.
[BOTTLES TINKLING.]
Thanks, Dad.
You got it, buddy.
If this isn't the American dream, I don't know what is.
[SIGHS.]
[METALLIC CLICKING.]
Are you okay in there? Pete and Pam's bodies aren't even cold and the bank's already at it.
[PISTOL CLICKS.]
Well can't let a little thing like death get in the way of turning a profit.
Think that strikebreaker'll show up at the Collingsworth farm auction? He doesn't have the nerve.
So have you two crossed paths from before we met? - I don't like to talk about my past.
- Talk about your past, yes, and I don't like to cook, but I do it.
Sort of.
Look it doesn't matter either way.
I'm not the man I used to be.
[DOOR CREAKS, THUDS.]
What'd you find? A lot of strikes going on.
Must be working.
I'm thinking the girls and I ought to join together and unionize this whorehouse.
Open it.
Let me guess.
Your one true love was wearing something like this the last time you saw her, pulling down the wash in the summer rain? Just put it on.
Yes, sir.
[SOFT MUSIC.]
So who am I pretending to be right now? A respectable woman.
How's it feel? Unfamiliar.
Then don't get used to it.
[GASPS.]
[SHARP GASPING.]
[RAGGED BREATHING.]
But you don't understand.
It's our family Bible.
Do you have a bill of sale to prove it? We've had it for ages.
At least pretend to be human and give the woman her Bible.
Preacher, I would love nothing more.
But I'm legally required to include this item in the Collingsworth estate, which has substantial debts to my bank.
But this young lady is as free as anyone to bid on it at the auction.
It's what I told Mayor Dibble years ago.
You can't outlaw human appetites.
People will gamble and drink.
And fornicate.
But you can control those appetites.
Contain them.
That's what my side businesses are really all about, Jelly Roll.
Civil stability, hmm? Here.
I speculate some folks suspect I'm losing my grip on this town.
That's not the case at all.
I'm simply playing the percentages.
Winter will be coming down soon enough.
And this farmer strike will end on its own, without me offending the farmers or the townsfolk in an election year.
It's like Edna always said: my capacity for compromise may very well be my greatest strength.
[BIRDS CHIRPING.]
Hey, keep an eye on these farmers.
They've killed once.
They'll do it again.
Why are you reading Gertrude Stein at a farm auction? It's Ernest Hemingway.
Mm, yes, impersonating Gertrude Stein.
So are you gonna report on all of this or not? I'm here, aren't I? You don't get points for showing up.
Now, we've got ourselves what appears to be a real deal heirloom Bible.
Bids open at $1.
- $1.
- $1.
Well, I'll be.
The word of God is still alive.
Let's hop ourselves on up to $5.
- Five.
- We've got one bid at five, how about six? Going once.
Going twice.
She bids six.
We got six.
How about seven? Do we hear $10.
Hoo boy.
- Ten U.
S.
dollars.
- She bids 11.
- Do we have 12? - I bid 12.
$12.
Going once.
Going twice.
How about two crisp $20 bills? [CROWD MURMURS.]
Going once.
Going twice.
Sold! Now, see, the banks they don't enjoy foreclosing on your farms any more than you would.
But it's what must be done to protect your hard-earned savings.
So, Mrs.
Collingsworth, please accept this gift on behalf of your friends at Holden Savings & Trust.
Thank you.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, you must allow the American financial system to do its great democratizing work.
So please continue with your patriotic duty.
Thank you.
Ladies? We've got an unused baby crib.
What was that? - Public relations.
- Or so you imagine.
You were bidding against our own man.
Dr.
Eggers Hyde says right here in this letter.
I see.
Let's go.
Do I hear $1.
50? How about $1.
50? How does it feel to go around town with a psychopath? You tell me.
At least I'm getting paid for it.
Congratulations on your bargain, sir.
Up next, I have here a gently used gramophone [WESTERN MUSIC PLAYING.]
Ow, why'd you do that? Because I'd prefer not to travel in the company of a barbarian she-child.
Place your fork between your index finger and thumb and modestly raise each bite, like so.
But I'm hungry.
You are also a young lady, so you will be judged every moment of your life.
I just want to eat some food.
And the world doesn't give a lick about you or your wants.
What the world cares about is maintaining an agreeable semblance of order.
If you help maintain that semblance of order, you can do what you like.
But if you disrupt it, the world will come after you.
Just like it did with your father and his friends.
Like this? Approximately.
Now try it with a modestly ladylike smile.
I'm glad to see some people are raising their children properly.
[LAUGHS.]
You flatter us.
Thank you.
[CHUCKLES.]
And that's how you get to the bad men.
You let them see what they want to see, and then you cut them down.
Go on, try again.
Better.
But you still have some distance to go if people are to believe we are kin.
Kin? You are to call me mother.
And I will call you dear child, and together, you and I will rid this land of all its bad men.
- Thank you.
- See you tomorrow.
So this is how the strikebreaker's gonna operate playing chickenshit games in public, using proxies.
How long are you going to pretend you don't know the man sent here to stop us? I don't know him.
Like you don't know her? Where'd you get that? That strikebreaker you claim not to know gave it to me at our kitchen table.
Did he threaten you? He warned me.
What'd he tell you about me? He said that killing was your God-given gift.
And that he tried warning her too.
Who is she? Look, this is what the strikebreaker wants to divide us, to weaken us.
That's not an answer.
Thank you for coming.
Hope to see you at tomorrow's auction.
[ENGINE WHIRRING.]
[BRAKES SQUEAK.]
You can work, and work, and work, and then some fool in a suit will come along and steal it all away.
And he won't even know what it is he's stealing.
Martha, they're not gonna steal this farm.
We're not gonna let it happen.
God won't let it happen.
So now God's gonna show up? Maybe he can he can show us how to stop these banks, how to be one body again.
But until he does, maybe we should pack up your valuables and keepsakes before the auctioneer arrives.
"Once these farm auctions commence, you may notice "a man in a blue suit with considerable resources.
"His name is Tuck Tandy.
"Do make sure he's allowed "to buy up these farms on our behalf.
"Freely employ Mr.
Turner "if the unwashed masses prove rambunctious.
Signed, Martin Eggers Hyde, Ph.
D.
" Buying up farms on whose behalf? I don't know.
Doesn't matter.
Where to next? Sheriff's office.
I usually like to employ the local authorities when things start heating up.
Besides, it's about time the sheriff and I pat hands and better coordinate our self-interests.
[LAUGHS.]
Good luck.
I don't think the sheriff likes you.
[ENGINES RUMBLING.]
Who do you think that is? [GASPS.]
Oh, God.
It's the Black Legion.
[ENGINE GRINDS.]
They're gonna kill us.
- Look, I'm gonna handle this.
- Handle it.
People like them kill people like me.
No, they don't when you're with me.
Okay, look.
You take this, all right? You got a gun and a gas pedal, and if this thing goes south, you use both, you hear me? - You're gonna get yourself killed.
- [CHUCKLES.]
You underestimate just how charming I can be.
Afternoon, fellas! Y'all must be the, uh, local welcoming committee.
[LOW OMINOUS MUSIC.]
[CHUCKLES.]
I'm so glad that we have this opportunity to discuss the importance of traditional American values.
Oh, looks like we're gonna have some fun.
[ENGINE ROARS.]
[GUNSHOT.]
[HUMMING.]
[WESTERN MUSIC PLAYING FAINTLY.]
Where are we going? Come again, dear child? Where are we going, Mother? Detroit, Michigan.
There's some bad man there keeping good men from working their jobs and providing for their families.
Nothing more important than family.
Was my daddy a bad man or a good man? I did not know him.
He was nice to me.
He'd sing me to sleep every night.
He must've been good.
Why are you sad? I miss my daddy.
Oh, hush up now.
Being sorry never helped anyone.
Look at me.
Two years ago, a bad man tied up my husband Leonard inside a car and set it on fire so he would burn to death.
And here I am, pleasant as you please.
Have you finished your pie? Good.
It's time to leave.
There was an old man who lived on the hill If he ain't moved away he's a-livin' there still Singing fie diddle-eye, diddle-eye die Diddle-eye, diddle-eye day Here to cause a ruckus? I just need to talk to Sam Jr.
Nah, he's busy.
How are they treating you? Fine when the Sheriff's here, but when it's just him [TENSE MUSIC.]
I said he's busy.
And I deeply respect your authority.
Preacher, don't make me do somethi [YELPS.]
What are you doing? Chatting with Sam Jr.
, as previously established, so do give us a moment's privacy.
Where I come from, men like you die pretty easy.
If he touches you again, get word to me and I'll take care of it.
Sure thing, Preacher.
The bank's gonna try to auction off your farm tomorrow.
- [SIGHS.]
- No, we're gonna stop them.
And then we'll get you out of here.
I don't know how we're gonna do it, but we will.
All right, I believe you.
Your father was a good man.
I'm sorry for well, everything.
Now, that wasn't so hard, was it? [PISTOL CLICKS.]
You can't get away with this.
- [PISTOL CLICKS.]
- Of course I can.
Or do you want the whole wide county to know that the local preacher stripped you of your weapon? [GUN RATTLES.]
[DOOR CLOSES.]
[ENGINE WHIRRING.]
[PANTING.]
[BRAKE CLICKS.]
[KEYS JINGLE.]
[BREATHING SHAKILY.]
[CAR DOOR CLOSES.]
Slow afternoon.
Where's your handsome tumbleweed? [SCOFFS.]
Probably out roaming where his business ain't being peeped upon.
[GASPS.]
Don't be a mark, Bess.
He's just another john.
[PANTING.]
[GAGS.]
All you Jews, Catholics, immigrants, and miscegenating perverts can have the cities.
But you're gonna leave our towns alone.
Where you from? - California? - No.
Cleveland? Wyoming.
Wyoming? Do y'all like to ride around town with negroid whores in Wyoming? [COUGHS.]
Well just focus on the questions at hand.
[CHOKING.]
[GASPS.]
[RASPY COUGHING.]
Is that where you got your taste for darker meat? [FORCED LAUGH.]
Well, that's my business.
Sure it is.
Just like it's a farm boy's business if he likes to sneak out to the barn and stick it - in his favorite heifer.
- [LAUGHTER.]
But if that farm boy then dresses up his favorite heifer in a frilly dress and takes her out for an afternoon drive, rubbing all of our faces in it No, sir.
Then it becomes all our business.
- That's right.
- Don't you get it? All those so-called farmers are starting a commie uprising right under your noses.
What are you talking about? [SCOFFS.]
All the town's farmers are organizing and agitating according to tried and true European Marxist principles.
I don't like how you talk.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING.]
Suppose I can let you see my face now, Wyoming.
You're prettier than I thought.
- Oh, you're funny.
- [WEAK CHUCKLE.]
Because just one of two things is gonna happen.
Oh, yeah? What? Either you agree to leave this town and take your pet negroid with you, or you slip off this rickety old crate and hang.
Whichever comes first.
[GAGGING.]
[RASPY COUGHING.]
We'll give you a few minutes to think about it.
Or maybe a few days.
[PANTING.]
Something on your mind, Raymond? Uh not really, Uncle Sheriff Don.
I think I just got the autumnal blues.
[LAUGHS.]
It appears our guests find your autumnal blues - [CHUCKLES.]
- Rather amusing.
[LAUGHTER.]
[DOOR CLICKS.]
Good afternoon, Ma.
Yeah, I don't have time for your moods, Raymond.
Early supper? Fresh from the kitchen.
What have you been able to dig up on our cowboy? Eh, eat first.
- Is that - Oh, yes, Donald, that is a genuine human turd.
A retired school principal from Council Bluffs paid $2.
75 to pinch that sucker off while three of my girls watched.
And why would you I brought this turd here as a symbol.
Firstly as a symbol of what we'll all have to eat if this farmer strike continues on your watch.
Della, you do realize this is an election year? Oh, and secondly, as a symbol of what you will be in my eyes if you run off this cowboy who just might turn out to be the best paying customer of my long and illustrious career.
So have you been Spying on him like you asked? Yes.
I have.
But no longer.
It's unethical.
He caught you, didn't he? The cowboy is not interested in you and your side businesses.
He just wants to stop the damn strike.
Let him do it.
Or better yet, help him.
It's not that simple.
And it's not that hard.
This is what you always do, Donald.
You overthink yourself into making the wrong choice.
Such as? Such as choosing my miserable bitch of a sister over the woman that you actually loved.
[TENSE STRING MUSIC.]
[MAN SNICKERING.]
I'd reconsider it.
[DOOR CLOSES.]
[DISH CLATTERING.]
[LIGHTER CLICKING.]
What are you thinking? If we put our savings together with the Rileys, we're only up to $153.
On a $900 farm loan.
The only way we can raise the money is if we load up all the Riley corn and drive it to another county and sell it.
Prices are still higher across the county line.
If we bust our own strike, this whole thing is over.
The entire plan is to rally the farmers and workers here in Holden and then grow the movement from town to town, state to state.
This whole thing is over if we let the strike leader's family lose their farm.
We may need to contact your family.
What do you know about my family? Nothing, but between your taste in clothing, your education, and your manners, I'm pretty sure you didn't come up poor.
My family's not an option.
Why not? Are you really gonna sit there and ask me questions about my past? If we don't do something, that bank is gonna take away everything the Rileys have worked for.
And he won't stop with them.
Then we need to start thinking like that banker.
Instead of trying to raise money, maybe we should figure out how to keep the auction prices low enough so that farmers have a chance to buy their farms back.
You mean fix the auction prices? Yeah.
I can think of one way to change Calvin Rumple's mind.
[SOFT MUSIC.]
Call the farmers.
I have an idea.
[UPBEAT MUSIC.]
[ENGINES WHIRRING.]
After the events of the Collingsworth farm auction, it has become clear to Amelia and I that a different approach needs to be taken here.
Since we began, we have been met with anger, intimidation, and violence.
Why don't you come inside? What, and interrupt the prayer circle? Mm.
[DISTANT.]
As you can see, we have two tables here.
What's going on? Come to the Riley farm tomorrow and find out.
We're gonna show this town the power hidden inside the word of God.
[SHIRLEY ANN LEE'S "THERE'S A LIGHT" PLAYING.]
There's a light in my life Shining over me There's a light in my life Shining over me, yeah Let your blessings from above [WOMAN MOANING.]
Fill me with that precious love There's a light in my life Shining over me Lord, sometimes I sit and I wonder Why strange things happen to me Then again I feel My friends are gone, yeah But if I put my trust in Jesus My burdens will lighten Don't you see there's a light in my life Shining over me Lord, walk with me Mm, talk with me Please stay close by my side Be my shelter, be my comfort An eye for an eye.
This is war.
Be my guide, yeah I was blind but now I see Jesus came and he rescued me There's a light in my life All right, boys.
Let's get some weapons into some Bibles.
There's a light in my life Shining over me There's a light in my life Shining over me, yeah Let your blessing from above Fill me with that precious love There's a light in my life Shining over me [CRICKETS CHIRPING.]
[EERIE MUSIC.]
[SOFT CHATTER.]
[DOG GRUNTS.]
[WHISPERING.]
Who's a good boy? [LOUD KNOCKING.]
[KNOCKING CONTINUES.]
Hell, Bess.
Get in, get in.
You know you cannot just waltz up to my house.
Creeley was ambushed by the Black Legion.
Oh, good.
Now, that cowboy's been nothing but a pain in my ass.
I've been driving all night looking for him.
I know where they've got him.
You're speaking like this is a disagreeable development.
He might still be alive.
You don't actually care for this cowboy, do you? [GENTLE PIANO MUSIC.]
What in the world do you see in him? [SOFT LAUGH.]
Well, he is the one man in this town who looks at me like I'm an actual human being.
[CRICKETS CHIRPING.]
[KNOCKING.]
All right, boys, fun's over.
Clear out the side door.
I don't want to know who you are any more than you want me to.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
I see you've found the actual heart of middle America.
I'm glad we're having this chance to talk again.
I so enjoyed our prior discussions.
I have to piss.
I can't help you there.
I operate in a bit of a hands-off philosophy.
[GASPS.]
Get me down.
Who's forgetting their manners? Questions first.
Who are you working for? [SLURRED.]
I already told you, the Pinkerton Detective Agency.
Oh, that's right.
Now, uh Calvin Rumple hire you? Yes.
Calvin's a meddling fish in an undersized pond.
So who're you really working for? What mighty business interests are you protecting? I work on behalf of American security and prosperity.
Care to get it any more specific than that? Not if I want to live.
And do you? Want to live? The impulse comes and goes.
I know what you mean.
[CLATTERING.]
[GAGGING.]
Oh, hey, those spurs certainly do jingle jangle.
[CHOKING.]
I could so easily stand here and watch you die.
[GAGGING.]
[GUN CLICKS.]
[GUNSHOT.]
Careful where you poke that snout, cowboy.
We're not as simple as we look around here.
I thought you were gonna let me die.
If it was up to me, I would have.
[WHEEZING.]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
Where's Preacher Seth and all the farmers? Prayer circle.
They'll be here soon.
Help us keep an eye out for the strikebreaker until then.
So who exactly are you buying this farmland for? Dr.
Hyde? You don't have to worry about that.
Just make sure I can buy it.
[ENGINES RUMBLING.]
[GUITAR MUSIC.]
I'll presume you're not going to stand there and let that preacher and his farmers disrupt this auction.
I certainly won't.
If you try any shenanigans We've only come here to bless this farm, Deputy Berryman.
We've brought nothing with us but the holy word of God.
all: Amen! [SIGHS.]
I'd suggest allowing us through.
Unless you and your uncle want to go in the record as being against God-fearing Christians.
Good morning, everyone.
Perhaps you should try taking bids on the entire farm.
All at once.
Get this over with.
Fine by me.
The quicker I can get back to civilization, the better.
- Hm.
- You heard him.
Very well, then.
We'll open bids on the entire Riley farm.
House, barn, stock, and equipment.
One penny.
[LAUGHS.]
How much? One penny.
For the entire farm and everything on it.
Now, I don't mean to be insulting, Mrs.
Riley, but [GUN CLICKS.]
Then take her bid.
Don't move.
Don't squeal.
Preacher? Just do as I say.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Brothers and sisters, those of you with Bibles, please open them now.
[CROWD GASPS AND MURMURS.]
Hey! [SURPRISED GRUNT.]
I've always liked you, Raymond, but don't make me choose between you and family.
Keep your weapon down.
Now ask if there's a higher bid.
Our first bid is one penny.
Anyone care to outbid Ms.
Riley? - This is absurd.
- [GASPS.]
Sir? Do you make a bid? No, I don't.
Finish it.
One penny for the Riley family farm.
Going once.
Going twice.
Sold.
To Martha Riley herself.
[FARMERS CHEERING, WHISTLING.]
[JOHN MORELAND'S "AMERICAN FLAGS IN BLACK AND WHITE".]
We did it! I can't believe it.
Sam was right.
We can win.
You lived a life of pride You lived a life of pain Trying to pray away the stormy weather I swear, Mr.
Tandy, Holden County isn't usually a lawless madhouse.
What can we do? You could start by arresting someone.
We're outnumbered.
Not for long.
That crazy bitch just signed her death warrant.
[ENGINE WHIRS.]
American flags in black and white "I am the good shepherd.
" "The good shepherd giveth his life.
" [SOLEMN PIANO MUSIC.]
You should come join the rest of us.
It's not against the law to celebrate a victory.
Her name was Cynthia Jo Rainey.
She played Chopin on her grandmother's piano.
She loved to read from Shakespeare's comedies and this Bible.
[SIGHS.]
She was my first glimpse of goodness in this world.
And she's rotting in the ground because of that strikebreaker.
Everything I'm doing, all of this, is to right that wrong.
There's a strikebreaker.
He killed Sam right in front of his own boy.
My son's in jail.
And now this.
The bank foreclosed on your farm? Whatever it takes to bring those sons of bitches down.
Creeley managed to kill the farmers' leader and pass it off as self-defense.
Just why are we trying to bankrupt these farmers? Are any of you men the leader of this miners' strike? [GUNSHOT.]
- Daddy! - Oh, my poor dear child.
Come to me.
The cowboy he's targeting me.
You keep an eye on him.
What's the cowboy really after? I don't do nothing for free.
Seth ever told you anything about his past? See, I tried warning her about Seth too.
[CHILDREN YELLING.]
Boy's got his father's swing.
Darling, if you had Stanley's swing, you wouldn't be loading trucks for a living.
No, I'd be patrolling centerfield for the St.
Louis Cardinals.
[SOFT LAUGH.]
Can you get them the cream sodas from the shed? What cream sodas? We can't afford that.
A case may've slipped off one of the trucks.
You are such a pill.
[SOFT EERIE MUSIC.]
Hustle up, boys! We got you a special treat.
Cream soda? Oh, boy.
[BOTTLES TINKLING.]
Thanks, Dad.
You got it, buddy.
If this isn't the American dream, I don't know what is.
[SIGHS.]
[METALLIC CLICKING.]
Are you okay in there? Pete and Pam's bodies aren't even cold and the bank's already at it.
[PISTOL CLICKS.]
Well can't let a little thing like death get in the way of turning a profit.
Think that strikebreaker'll show up at the Collingsworth farm auction? He doesn't have the nerve.
So have you two crossed paths from before we met? - I don't like to talk about my past.
- Talk about your past, yes, and I don't like to cook, but I do it.
Sort of.
Look it doesn't matter either way.
I'm not the man I used to be.
[DOOR CREAKS, THUDS.]
What'd you find? A lot of strikes going on.
Must be working.
I'm thinking the girls and I ought to join together and unionize this whorehouse.
Open it.
Let me guess.
Your one true love was wearing something like this the last time you saw her, pulling down the wash in the summer rain? Just put it on.
Yes, sir.
[SOFT MUSIC.]
So who am I pretending to be right now? A respectable woman.
How's it feel? Unfamiliar.
Then don't get used to it.
[GASPS.]
[SHARP GASPING.]
[RAGGED BREATHING.]
But you don't understand.
It's our family Bible.
Do you have a bill of sale to prove it? We've had it for ages.
At least pretend to be human and give the woman her Bible.
Preacher, I would love nothing more.
But I'm legally required to include this item in the Collingsworth estate, which has substantial debts to my bank.
But this young lady is as free as anyone to bid on it at the auction.
It's what I told Mayor Dibble years ago.
You can't outlaw human appetites.
People will gamble and drink.
And fornicate.
But you can control those appetites.
Contain them.
That's what my side businesses are really all about, Jelly Roll.
Civil stability, hmm? Here.
I speculate some folks suspect I'm losing my grip on this town.
That's not the case at all.
I'm simply playing the percentages.
Winter will be coming down soon enough.
And this farmer strike will end on its own, without me offending the farmers or the townsfolk in an election year.
It's like Edna always said: my capacity for compromise may very well be my greatest strength.
[BIRDS CHIRPING.]
Hey, keep an eye on these farmers.
They've killed once.
They'll do it again.
Why are you reading Gertrude Stein at a farm auction? It's Ernest Hemingway.
Mm, yes, impersonating Gertrude Stein.
So are you gonna report on all of this or not? I'm here, aren't I? You don't get points for showing up.
Now, we've got ourselves what appears to be a real deal heirloom Bible.
Bids open at $1.
- $1.
- $1.
Well, I'll be.
The word of God is still alive.
Let's hop ourselves on up to $5.
- Five.
- We've got one bid at five, how about six? Going once.
Going twice.
She bids six.
We got six.
How about seven? Do we hear $10.
Hoo boy.
- Ten U.
S.
dollars.
- She bids 11.
- Do we have 12? - I bid 12.
$12.
Going once.
Going twice.
How about two crisp $20 bills? [CROWD MURMURS.]
Going once.
Going twice.
Sold! Now, see, the banks they don't enjoy foreclosing on your farms any more than you would.
But it's what must be done to protect your hard-earned savings.
So, Mrs.
Collingsworth, please accept this gift on behalf of your friends at Holden Savings & Trust.
Thank you.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, you must allow the American financial system to do its great democratizing work.
So please continue with your patriotic duty.
Thank you.
Ladies? We've got an unused baby crib.
What was that? - Public relations.
- Or so you imagine.
You were bidding against our own man.
Dr.
Eggers Hyde says right here in this letter.
I see.
Let's go.
Do I hear $1.
50? How about $1.
50? How does it feel to go around town with a psychopath? You tell me.
At least I'm getting paid for it.
Congratulations on your bargain, sir.
Up next, I have here a gently used gramophone [WESTERN MUSIC PLAYING.]
Ow, why'd you do that? Because I'd prefer not to travel in the company of a barbarian she-child.
Place your fork between your index finger and thumb and modestly raise each bite, like so.
But I'm hungry.
You are also a young lady, so you will be judged every moment of your life.
I just want to eat some food.
And the world doesn't give a lick about you or your wants.
What the world cares about is maintaining an agreeable semblance of order.
If you help maintain that semblance of order, you can do what you like.
But if you disrupt it, the world will come after you.
Just like it did with your father and his friends.
Like this? Approximately.
Now try it with a modestly ladylike smile.
I'm glad to see some people are raising their children properly.
[LAUGHS.]
You flatter us.
Thank you.
[CHUCKLES.]
And that's how you get to the bad men.
You let them see what they want to see, and then you cut them down.
Go on, try again.
Better.
But you still have some distance to go if people are to believe we are kin.
Kin? You are to call me mother.
And I will call you dear child, and together, you and I will rid this land of all its bad men.
- Thank you.
- See you tomorrow.
So this is how the strikebreaker's gonna operate playing chickenshit games in public, using proxies.
How long are you going to pretend you don't know the man sent here to stop us? I don't know him.
Like you don't know her? Where'd you get that? That strikebreaker you claim not to know gave it to me at our kitchen table.
Did he threaten you? He warned me.
What'd he tell you about me? He said that killing was your God-given gift.
And that he tried warning her too.
Who is she? Look, this is what the strikebreaker wants to divide us, to weaken us.
That's not an answer.
Thank you for coming.
Hope to see you at tomorrow's auction.
[ENGINE WHIRRING.]
[BRAKES SQUEAK.]
You can work, and work, and work, and then some fool in a suit will come along and steal it all away.
And he won't even know what it is he's stealing.
Martha, they're not gonna steal this farm.
We're not gonna let it happen.
God won't let it happen.
So now God's gonna show up? Maybe he can he can show us how to stop these banks, how to be one body again.
But until he does, maybe we should pack up your valuables and keepsakes before the auctioneer arrives.
"Once these farm auctions commence, you may notice "a man in a blue suit with considerable resources.
"His name is Tuck Tandy.
"Do make sure he's allowed "to buy up these farms on our behalf.
"Freely employ Mr.
Turner "if the unwashed masses prove rambunctious.
Signed, Martin Eggers Hyde, Ph.
D.
" Buying up farms on whose behalf? I don't know.
Doesn't matter.
Where to next? Sheriff's office.
I usually like to employ the local authorities when things start heating up.
Besides, it's about time the sheriff and I pat hands and better coordinate our self-interests.
[LAUGHS.]
Good luck.
I don't think the sheriff likes you.
[ENGINES RUMBLING.]
Who do you think that is? [GASPS.]
Oh, God.
It's the Black Legion.
[ENGINE GRINDS.]
They're gonna kill us.
- Look, I'm gonna handle this.
- Handle it.
People like them kill people like me.
No, they don't when you're with me.
Okay, look.
You take this, all right? You got a gun and a gas pedal, and if this thing goes south, you use both, you hear me? - You're gonna get yourself killed.
- [CHUCKLES.]
You underestimate just how charming I can be.
Afternoon, fellas! Y'all must be the, uh, local welcoming committee.
[LOW OMINOUS MUSIC.]
[CHUCKLES.]
I'm so glad that we have this opportunity to discuss the importance of traditional American values.
Oh, looks like we're gonna have some fun.
[ENGINE ROARS.]
[GUNSHOT.]
[HUMMING.]
[WESTERN MUSIC PLAYING FAINTLY.]
Where are we going? Come again, dear child? Where are we going, Mother? Detroit, Michigan.
There's some bad man there keeping good men from working their jobs and providing for their families.
Nothing more important than family.
Was my daddy a bad man or a good man? I did not know him.
He was nice to me.
He'd sing me to sleep every night.
He must've been good.
Why are you sad? I miss my daddy.
Oh, hush up now.
Being sorry never helped anyone.
Look at me.
Two years ago, a bad man tied up my husband Leonard inside a car and set it on fire so he would burn to death.
And here I am, pleasant as you please.
Have you finished your pie? Good.
It's time to leave.
There was an old man who lived on the hill If he ain't moved away he's a-livin' there still Singing fie diddle-eye, diddle-eye die Diddle-eye, diddle-eye day Here to cause a ruckus? I just need to talk to Sam Jr.
Nah, he's busy.
How are they treating you? Fine when the Sheriff's here, but when it's just him [TENSE MUSIC.]
I said he's busy.
And I deeply respect your authority.
Preacher, don't make me do somethi [YELPS.]
What are you doing? Chatting with Sam Jr.
, as previously established, so do give us a moment's privacy.
Where I come from, men like you die pretty easy.
If he touches you again, get word to me and I'll take care of it.
Sure thing, Preacher.
The bank's gonna try to auction off your farm tomorrow.
- [SIGHS.]
- No, we're gonna stop them.
And then we'll get you out of here.
I don't know how we're gonna do it, but we will.
All right, I believe you.
Your father was a good man.
I'm sorry for well, everything.
Now, that wasn't so hard, was it? [PISTOL CLICKS.]
You can't get away with this.
- [PISTOL CLICKS.]
- Of course I can.
Or do you want the whole wide county to know that the local preacher stripped you of your weapon? [GUN RATTLES.]
[DOOR CLOSES.]
[ENGINE WHIRRING.]
[PANTING.]
[BRAKE CLICKS.]
[KEYS JINGLE.]
[BREATHING SHAKILY.]
[CAR DOOR CLOSES.]
Slow afternoon.
Where's your handsome tumbleweed? [SCOFFS.]
Probably out roaming where his business ain't being peeped upon.
[GASPS.]
Don't be a mark, Bess.
He's just another john.
[PANTING.]
[GAGS.]
All you Jews, Catholics, immigrants, and miscegenating perverts can have the cities.
But you're gonna leave our towns alone.
Where you from? - California? - No.
Cleveland? Wyoming.
Wyoming? Do y'all like to ride around town with negroid whores in Wyoming? [COUGHS.]
Well just focus on the questions at hand.
[CHOKING.]
[GASPS.]
[RASPY COUGHING.]
Is that where you got your taste for darker meat? [FORCED LAUGH.]
Well, that's my business.
Sure it is.
Just like it's a farm boy's business if he likes to sneak out to the barn and stick it - in his favorite heifer.
- [LAUGHTER.]
But if that farm boy then dresses up his favorite heifer in a frilly dress and takes her out for an afternoon drive, rubbing all of our faces in it No, sir.
Then it becomes all our business.
- That's right.
- Don't you get it? All those so-called farmers are starting a commie uprising right under your noses.
What are you talking about? [SCOFFS.]
All the town's farmers are organizing and agitating according to tried and true European Marxist principles.
I don't like how you talk.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING.]
Suppose I can let you see my face now, Wyoming.
You're prettier than I thought.
- Oh, you're funny.
- [WEAK CHUCKLE.]
Because just one of two things is gonna happen.
Oh, yeah? What? Either you agree to leave this town and take your pet negroid with you, or you slip off this rickety old crate and hang.
Whichever comes first.
[GAGGING.]
[RASPY COUGHING.]
We'll give you a few minutes to think about it.
Or maybe a few days.
[PANTING.]
Something on your mind, Raymond? Uh not really, Uncle Sheriff Don.
I think I just got the autumnal blues.
[LAUGHS.]
It appears our guests find your autumnal blues - [CHUCKLES.]
- Rather amusing.
[LAUGHTER.]
[DOOR CLICKS.]
Good afternoon, Ma.
Yeah, I don't have time for your moods, Raymond.
Early supper? Fresh from the kitchen.
What have you been able to dig up on our cowboy? Eh, eat first.
- Is that - Oh, yes, Donald, that is a genuine human turd.
A retired school principal from Council Bluffs paid $2.
75 to pinch that sucker off while three of my girls watched.
And why would you I brought this turd here as a symbol.
Firstly as a symbol of what we'll all have to eat if this farmer strike continues on your watch.
Della, you do realize this is an election year? Oh, and secondly, as a symbol of what you will be in my eyes if you run off this cowboy who just might turn out to be the best paying customer of my long and illustrious career.
So have you been Spying on him like you asked? Yes.
I have.
But no longer.
It's unethical.
He caught you, didn't he? The cowboy is not interested in you and your side businesses.
He just wants to stop the damn strike.
Let him do it.
Or better yet, help him.
It's not that simple.
And it's not that hard.
This is what you always do, Donald.
You overthink yourself into making the wrong choice.
Such as? Such as choosing my miserable bitch of a sister over the woman that you actually loved.
[TENSE STRING MUSIC.]
[MAN SNICKERING.]
I'd reconsider it.
[DOOR CLOSES.]
[DISH CLATTERING.]
[LIGHTER CLICKING.]
What are you thinking? If we put our savings together with the Rileys, we're only up to $153.
On a $900 farm loan.
The only way we can raise the money is if we load up all the Riley corn and drive it to another county and sell it.
Prices are still higher across the county line.
If we bust our own strike, this whole thing is over.
The entire plan is to rally the farmers and workers here in Holden and then grow the movement from town to town, state to state.
This whole thing is over if we let the strike leader's family lose their farm.
We may need to contact your family.
What do you know about my family? Nothing, but between your taste in clothing, your education, and your manners, I'm pretty sure you didn't come up poor.
My family's not an option.
Why not? Are you really gonna sit there and ask me questions about my past? If we don't do something, that bank is gonna take away everything the Rileys have worked for.
And he won't stop with them.
Then we need to start thinking like that banker.
Instead of trying to raise money, maybe we should figure out how to keep the auction prices low enough so that farmers have a chance to buy their farms back.
You mean fix the auction prices? Yeah.
I can think of one way to change Calvin Rumple's mind.
[SOFT MUSIC.]
Call the farmers.
I have an idea.
[UPBEAT MUSIC.]
[ENGINES WHIRRING.]
After the events of the Collingsworth farm auction, it has become clear to Amelia and I that a different approach needs to be taken here.
Since we began, we have been met with anger, intimidation, and violence.
Why don't you come inside? What, and interrupt the prayer circle? Mm.
[DISTANT.]
As you can see, we have two tables here.
What's going on? Come to the Riley farm tomorrow and find out.
We're gonna show this town the power hidden inside the word of God.
[SHIRLEY ANN LEE'S "THERE'S A LIGHT" PLAYING.]
There's a light in my life Shining over me There's a light in my life Shining over me, yeah Let your blessings from above [WOMAN MOANING.]
Fill me with that precious love There's a light in my life Shining over me Lord, sometimes I sit and I wonder Why strange things happen to me Then again I feel My friends are gone, yeah But if I put my trust in Jesus My burdens will lighten Don't you see there's a light in my life Shining over me Lord, walk with me Mm, talk with me Please stay close by my side Be my shelter, be my comfort An eye for an eye.
This is war.
Be my guide, yeah I was blind but now I see Jesus came and he rescued me There's a light in my life All right, boys.
Let's get some weapons into some Bibles.
There's a light in my life Shining over me There's a light in my life Shining over me, yeah Let your blessing from above Fill me with that precious love There's a light in my life Shining over me [CRICKETS CHIRPING.]
[EERIE MUSIC.]
[SOFT CHATTER.]
[DOG GRUNTS.]
[WHISPERING.]
Who's a good boy? [LOUD KNOCKING.]
[KNOCKING CONTINUES.]
Hell, Bess.
Get in, get in.
You know you cannot just waltz up to my house.
Creeley was ambushed by the Black Legion.
Oh, good.
Now, that cowboy's been nothing but a pain in my ass.
I've been driving all night looking for him.
I know where they've got him.
You're speaking like this is a disagreeable development.
He might still be alive.
You don't actually care for this cowboy, do you? [GENTLE PIANO MUSIC.]
What in the world do you see in him? [SOFT LAUGH.]
Well, he is the one man in this town who looks at me like I'm an actual human being.
[CRICKETS CHIRPING.]
[KNOCKING.]
All right, boys, fun's over.
Clear out the side door.
I don't want to know who you are any more than you want me to.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
I see you've found the actual heart of middle America.
I'm glad we're having this chance to talk again.
I so enjoyed our prior discussions.
I have to piss.
I can't help you there.
I operate in a bit of a hands-off philosophy.
[GASPS.]
Get me down.
Who's forgetting their manners? Questions first.
Who are you working for? [SLURRED.]
I already told you, the Pinkerton Detective Agency.
Oh, that's right.
Now, uh Calvin Rumple hire you? Yes.
Calvin's a meddling fish in an undersized pond.
So who're you really working for? What mighty business interests are you protecting? I work on behalf of American security and prosperity.
Care to get it any more specific than that? Not if I want to live.
And do you? Want to live? The impulse comes and goes.
I know what you mean.
[CLATTERING.]
[GAGGING.]
Oh, hey, those spurs certainly do jingle jangle.
[CHOKING.]
I could so easily stand here and watch you die.
[GAGGING.]
[GUN CLICKS.]
[GUNSHOT.]
Careful where you poke that snout, cowboy.
We're not as simple as we look around here.
I thought you were gonna let me die.
If it was up to me, I would have.
[WHEEZING.]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
Where's Preacher Seth and all the farmers? Prayer circle.
They'll be here soon.
Help us keep an eye out for the strikebreaker until then.
So who exactly are you buying this farmland for? Dr.
Hyde? You don't have to worry about that.
Just make sure I can buy it.
[ENGINES RUMBLING.]
[GUITAR MUSIC.]
I'll presume you're not going to stand there and let that preacher and his farmers disrupt this auction.
I certainly won't.
If you try any shenanigans We've only come here to bless this farm, Deputy Berryman.
We've brought nothing with us but the holy word of God.
all: Amen! [SIGHS.]
I'd suggest allowing us through.
Unless you and your uncle want to go in the record as being against God-fearing Christians.
Good morning, everyone.
Perhaps you should try taking bids on the entire farm.
All at once.
Get this over with.
Fine by me.
The quicker I can get back to civilization, the better.
- Hm.
- You heard him.
Very well, then.
We'll open bids on the entire Riley farm.
House, barn, stock, and equipment.
One penny.
[LAUGHS.]
How much? One penny.
For the entire farm and everything on it.
Now, I don't mean to be insulting, Mrs.
Riley, but [GUN CLICKS.]
Then take her bid.
Don't move.
Don't squeal.
Preacher? Just do as I say.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Brothers and sisters, those of you with Bibles, please open them now.
[CROWD GASPS AND MURMURS.]
Hey! [SURPRISED GRUNT.]
I've always liked you, Raymond, but don't make me choose between you and family.
Keep your weapon down.
Now ask if there's a higher bid.
Our first bid is one penny.
Anyone care to outbid Ms.
Riley? - This is absurd.
- [GASPS.]
Sir? Do you make a bid? No, I don't.
Finish it.
One penny for the Riley family farm.
Going once.
Going twice.
Sold.
To Martha Riley herself.
[FARMERS CHEERING, WHISTLING.]
[JOHN MORELAND'S "AMERICAN FLAGS IN BLACK AND WHITE".]
We did it! I can't believe it.
Sam was right.
We can win.
You lived a life of pride You lived a life of pain Trying to pray away the stormy weather I swear, Mr.
Tandy, Holden County isn't usually a lawless madhouse.
What can we do? You could start by arresting someone.
We're outnumbered.
Not for long.
That crazy bitch just signed her death warrant.
[ENGINE WHIRS.]
American flags in black and white "I am the good shepherd.
" "The good shepherd giveth his life.
" [SOLEMN PIANO MUSIC.]
You should come join the rest of us.
It's not against the law to celebrate a victory.
Her name was Cynthia Jo Rainey.
She played Chopin on her grandmother's piano.
She loved to read from Shakespeare's comedies and this Bible.
[SIGHS.]
She was my first glimpse of goodness in this world.
And she's rotting in the ground because of that strikebreaker.
Everything I'm doing, all of this, is to right that wrong.