Previously on American Rust...
[Harris] Someone's pushing cocaine-and-fentanyl SweeTarts
-in my town.
Nothing.
[Harris] Fentanyl's coming from a pharmacist.
[Jackson] Someone broke in through my back door.
For a guy who says
he doesn't handle much fentanyl,
Jackson handles a fuckload of fentanyl.
If I were you, I might put a camera out back there.
And I'll use Jackson to get to this Bobby Jesus prick.
You want to find this Bobby guy for your girlfriend.
You tag him with drug dealing and killing
a high school kid, he becomes a pretty terrible witness
against Billy Poe.
You can have two different reasons
-for doing the right thing. - No.
If it's the wrong reason, it corrupts everything.
The guy who named Billy is a drug dealer?
-Can you prove it? - Not yet, but I'm trying.
Don't worry. You'll figure it out.
We're in this together.
Lawyer's here, Poe. Let's go.
Tell her to go home. I'm not interested.
You protecting somebody?
Please don't. Please don't hit me.
It's okay. Hey.
It's Rachel. Public defender Rachel.
Oh. Shit. Hi.
Your son is refusing to see me.
I can't be his lawyer until he signs the paper.
I can get you in to talk to him.
How do you know that?
Because he's in love with me.
I just want to know how much he's willing to pay you
to come here and talk us out of what's owed to us.
Enough, Grace!
Felonies make up
a big chunk of the population.
And you're a big guy. Someone'll test you.
Do not engage. You hear me, Billy?
dramatic music
-Okay.
What?
Can you ask Rylan to shut off the music?
-Will he do that? - He better.
Considering what I laid out for all this beer.
Okay.
-
All right.
Hey! Listen up, everyone!
-Hi.
I want to thank you all for coming out for this.
I hope you're enjoying your drinks.
I know that some of you are still on the fence
about what's going on.
Seems like this five-letter word, union,
has some of you thinking it's actually a four-letter word.
-But it's not.
It's a good word.
I assure you.
And I wanted to urge all of you
to join me in voting in favor of unionizing tomorrow.
We need 51%.
Please join us.
51% and we got ourselves a union.
I know, in a lot of ways,
Mr. Gelsey has been good to us.
-Not always.
But most of the time.
I've been working for him as long as anybody here,
and, uh, I appreciate the steady paycheck.
And the working conditions aren't terrible.
But you know what?
"Not terrible" is not enough.
-That's right. - We deserve more.
By a long shot.
We are entitled to medical benefits.
We are entitled to a pension.
And we are entitled to proper vacation time.
Jeanie Potts, when your baby's born,
you should be able to take paid maternity leave
and know that your job is secure. Am I right?
-Yeah. - Lisa, you've been working here
for 16 years.
It's crazy you don't have a pension.
Wouldn't you like to be able to retire at 66
with something to fall back on?
Or are you gonna be hunched over that zigzag
for the rest of your life, hemming dresses
until you're in your frickin' 70s?
-Look, I've been sewing lace
onto dresses since...
....as long as my son's been alive.
And I am proud of that work.
Yeah. That's right. Yeah.
We make damn good dresses at Gelsey's.
-Yeah. -Hear, hear.
Ladies,
these are basic,
fundamental workers' rights we're asking for.
Yep.
Please stand in solidarity with me tomorrow
and cast your vote for unionization.
Let's take control of our lives for once.
Don't lean on the fence.
It's a good way to get shanked.
Hey.
It's Bill, right?
-Billy. - Billy.
My bad. I'm Jerry.
I came to let you know you're welcome
to come over and use the fitness equipment.
Don't worry. No one's gonna hurt you.
Dealer's choice.
You got the pull-up bar, the bench
and a whole rack of dumbbells.
I'll go bench.
All right. Come on.
It's all yours.
I'll spot you.
-I got it. - Mm.
You did good the other night.
Not a lot of guys could handle themselves the way you did.
You strike hard, quick.
You can take a hit.
I'm Milo, by the way.
It's Billy, right?
low, ominous music
Here's his personal items
-and the goods. Copy that.
Thanks, Steve.
-Chief. - Hey.
Could I see you in my office?
You mind telling me what the fuck's going on here?
Offinger caught the guy dealing
to a couple of construction workers over on Swan Boulevard
and called for backup.
We apprehended him
just before he reached the outskirts of town
and brought him in to the station.
So who called Deluca?
I did.
Why?
Because it's related to his case.
Trent Tisdell
overdosed in Buell,
which is my jurisdiction.
-Your jurisdiction? - Our jurisdiction.
Buell fucking Township.
It's not Deluca's case.
But everyone knows
the perp is linked to that Bobby guy.
Based on what evidence?
Based on the fact that he was dealing
the exact same baggies of coke,
which likely contained the exact same contents.
Just because the baggies are the same fucking brand from Costco
doesn't confirm anything.
Every goddamn drug dealer from here to Boise fucking Idaho
uses those baggies.
They haven't even sent his stash to the lab
for testing yet.
Look, you're not on that case, Chief.
Can I ask you a question, Park?
Very basic question.
Of course.
Whose fucking side are you on?
The guard standing over by the food line.
Brown eyes, goatee.
Don't look.
Do you know who I'm talking about?
Tomorrow,
during the second mess shift change,
in the hall connecting that entrance over there
to our cell block--
Look at it.
By the clock.
Got it?
Down that hallway,
that's where you're gonna take him out.
A necessary item will be provided to you.
It'll be approximately four inches long
and plenty sharp.
I'd advise going for the throat.
He needs to cease existing.
What did he do?
Not what he was supposed to.
low, tense music
Nod twice to let me know you understand your mission.
Good.
- Oh, my friend
- We have reached
- The end...
How you feeling?
I've been better.
You've been asleep for 20 hours.
You should drink some water.
I left some Advil there for you.
I'm told you can take up to six at a time.
When all my roads are ending
You mind me asking what happened to you?
Run
It isn't you
- I'm running from
And after all this, I still...
I paid for all that.
So you're welcome to it.
If you're looking for something a bit more nutritious,
there's an entire Tupperware container
of leftover chicken soup in the fridge.
Feel free to heat it up in the microwave.
I washed your jacket.
I couldn't get all the spray paint out.
Might need to take some turpentine to it.
I left some fresh towels and clean clothes for you
in the bathroom.
Hot water takes about ten seconds to kick in.
Call your bluff
It reminds me of
An ocean caught between us
So, I got 200 bucks in this shoebox.
I keep it up on the shelf in the closet in my bedroom.
And there's a Blu-ray player right over there,
but that's about it.
TV's a piece of shit.
In case you were planning to rob me.
I'm not gonna rob you.
Okay, then.
gentle, contemplative music
Hey, Ma.
What have they done to you?
-I got in a fight. - You got in a fight?
Already? I mean, what happened?
In the shower.
It was no big deal.
I am sitting here,
looking at your face.
How can you tell me it's no big deal?
No contact.
Sorry.
Did you see a doctor?
I don't need a doctor, Ma.
How are your hands?
I don't give a shit about my hands right now.
Are you sure you don't need to see a doctor?
I've been hit harder playing football.
Trust me,
I'll be okay.
Tell me what's going on.
Everything's fine, Ma.
I promise.
I just had a little fight.
It's over.
Okay.
I don't got a lot of time,
so I need to ask you something.
And I need you to be honest with me.
Okay.
Why aren't you talking to Rachel?
Do you not trust her?
If we have any chance of getting you out of here,
you have to engage with her.
Do you understand that?
She wants to help you.
But she can't if you won't let her.
Sorry.
Can you at least promise me that you'll see her again?
Can you promise me that?
Say it.
I promise you I'll see her again.
soft, somber music
The Trent Tisdell overdose
happened in my jurisdiction, Frank.
I'm not sure what you're concerned about.
I'm concerned how your handling of this guy
might affect whatever syndicate led the drugs
to that house party in Buell.
You nab one tomcat and all the other cats scramble.
Now, what's this guy actually giving you?
He's giving us a lot.
A lot for what case?
The drugs in Trent Tisdell's tox screen
were a direct match with the couple who OD'd
at that Little League game.
Melanie and Tom Bayer.
Also my jurisdiction.
Goddamn it!
-Del. - What?!
Sit down.
And calm down.
-You calm? - I'm calm.
Good.
Now listen to me.
-I'm listening. - Sue Herlitz is willing
to cut this guy a deal if he can give us any intel,
anything to help track this line of traffic back
to our Bobby Jesus character.
You knocking on doors for her, too?
You'd think she was running for attorney general.
Look, Del, if this guy reveals anything
that might relate to Tisdell's overdose,
I promise you, you'll be the first one to know.
It's not that I'm afraid
- Of the houses in the deep
It's just I know your name
They call
You the Beast
Do, do, do, do, do, do, do
-Excuse me, sir. - Please keep your distance.
I'm sorry.
Talk to me.
An inmate told me I had to take out another guard.
I-I need to be transferred.
Can you help me?
You did the right thing.
Come with me.
low, ominous music
I'm glad you came to me.
That took a lot of guts.
Approach the urinal.
Why?
Because there's something in there for you.
Reach inside.
Now drop it in the toilet.
I'd go in after it if I were you.
That should help you carry out your mission.
After the glow
You're still here.
The sad talk
I thought you'd be long gone by now.
I'll never forget
Hey, you got to pay...
So what'd you do all day?
Slept, mostly.
Looks like you had a shower.
-Was the water okay? - Yeah.
-It was perfect. - Did you eat?
I had that chicken soup.
It's good, right?
Yeah. It's good.
Right or wrong, it's all that I can do
And I wouldn't want to let you be
I want a range life
If I could settle down
Why are you being so nice to me?
- If I could settle down
Then I would settle...
See these?
They're all fake.
These six.
Range life
About six months ago,
I was coming out of work,
walking to my car in the parking lot,
and this guy jumps me with a baseball bat.
Knocked out my teeth.
Broke my nose. Busted my collarbone.
Cracked three ribs.
Turns out,
he had mistook me for this other guy
who was fucking his wife.
I spent three days in the ICU.
Took me over a month
before I was able to raise my arms above my head.
But my point is, when it comes to recognizing
someone else who's been through something...
it's like I've developed superpowers.
You had that look.
Something bad happened to you.
This crime, it is never complete
Plus, what they spray-painted on the back of your jacket.
You're never gonna feel free
Um...
I don't even know where I am.
You're in Chadron.
Chadron, Nebraska.
Northwest corner of the state.
We're about 15 miles below South Dakota,
a few hours east of Wyoming.
No one but myself to blame
Don't worry
We're in no hurry
So how many of them were there?
What did you expect?
Two or... three. Maybe four.
Never actually saw them.
They hit me pretty hard from behind, and I went down.
I just remember feeling their boots
blasting into my ribs and my face,
my shoulder blades.
Then they took my backpack and ran off.
From the looks of it, they got you pretty good.
If I could settle down
I'm starting to think I'm...
the kind of person bad things happen to.
I think I know how you feel.
Hopefully things will turn around for you.
The pinewood derby's finest.
That's some bowl.
It's a magic bowl.
- I don't understand
What they mean
And I could really give a fuck
Stone Temple Pilots
They're elegant bachelors
They're foxy to me
Are they foxy to you?
You happen to be in the presence
of the 1995 pinewood derby champ of Beatrice, Nebraska.
Dream, dream, dream
Lights out in the gallery.
soft, haunting music
The new phone book's here! The new phone book's here!
[Harry] Well, I wish I could get that excited about nothing.
Nothing?! Are you kidding?!
Page 73!
"Johnson, Navin R."!
I'm somebody now!
Millions of people look at this book every day!
Here's to small victories.
"What victories?" he's thinking, as he drinks his lady's bourbon.
I convinced Billy to meet with his lawyer again.
Gave a bona fide speech last night.
Stood on a chair in front of a gathering of my coworkers.
I think it went pretty well. We might have a...
a legitimate shot at this union thing.
Good for you, Grace.
What is going on?
Did something happen?
The county sheriff's office brought in this guy
for questioning today.
He was dealing from the same batch
as our Bobby Jesus character.
So, it's only a matter of time
before they connect the dots.
If Herlitz and Deluca get to him first...
They'll protect him.
Oh, they'll more than protect him.
They'll rehab his reputation till he goes on the stand and...
names Billy.
That'll be that.
Even if I go pick him up first.
Same result.
Exactly.
low, tense music
Okay. Um...
Okay.
So what can we do?
We?
You know what I mean.
What do you need from me?
I didn't realize that my needs
were suddenly under consideration.
Oh, come on, Del.
Seriously.
I'm gonna go.
No.
Stay.
You don't really need me here.
Why would you say that?
Del.
For your own protection
Over their affection
Nobody broke your heart
Finish what you start
Walk down Alameda
Brushing off the nightmares
You wish could plague me
When I'm awake
So now you see
Your first mistake
Was thinking
That you could relate
For one or two
-Do you want to?
-You sure?
In
You're all pretension
I never pay attention
Nobody broke your heart
low, sinister music
low, tense music
-What the fuck?
Come here, you motherfucker.
Code two! Code two! South corridor!
-Stay down.
Tell me about your necklace.
It's St. Sebastian.
He's the patron saint of athletes or...
archers or something like that.
Legend has it he was tied to a tree
and shot with arrows during the Roman emperor's persecution
of the Christians.
Somehow the arrows didn't kill him,
and he was rescued by St. Irene of Rome.
And she nursed him back to health.
But shortly after that, he was clubbed to death anyway.
-Yikes.
-Rough life.
My mother gave it to me.
It was hers.
I think something about his martyrdom spoke to her.
Does your mother know where you are?
No.
She must be worried sick.
You might want to give her a call,
just to let her know you're okay.
My mom's dead, Nate.
Oh.
She passed away a few years ago.
Isaac, I'm sorry.
Were you close?
How about your dad?
He's still around.
He's turning into the kind of person you can talk about
when they're right there in the room with you.
He's a checked-out, bitter old man.
Do you think your mother knew?
About you?
They always know, Isaac.
Maybe that's why she gave you this necklace.
She knew St. Sebastian would protect you.
Open number nine.
Picked the wrong group to fuck with, Poe.
Good luck with the Aryans when you get out of here.
Close nine.
gentle, melancholy music
There you go.
Nice clear mark on the ballot, please.
Open nine.
Your lawyer, Rachel Walton, is here to see you.
Hey.
How are you?
Good.
I'm good.
Is everything all right?
Your dad okay?
-Everything's fine. - Take a seat, Billy.
How are you doing?
-I'm okay. - I understand
from your mom that you got in a fight.
Yeah, one fight. It's no big deal.
And the warden just informed me that you wound up
in solitary confinement for accosting two fellow inmates.
So there were two fights.
Do you want to tell me what happened?
The first one was sort of, um...
an initiation thing.
Mm.
I had no choice about the second one.
I'll just leave it at that.
All this fighting is not going
to look good to the D.A.'s office.
They will try and use it against you at your trial.
I hope you realize that.
Your mom also told me you're ready to talk to me.
-I'm open to it. - Good.
So, let's talk about what happened at the steel mill.
According to Sheriff Deluca, the anonymous source
who named you described you in detail.
He said you accosted Pete Novick,
that you "coldcocked him,"
and that there was blood.
So were you there?
quiet, tense music
Billy...
whatever you are going to say, please say it.
Billy, I can't help you unless you talk to me.
Please, let me help you.
Was there anyone else there besides you,
Pete Novick and the other guy who made the anonymous call?
If someone else was with you
in that steel mill, now is the time to tell me.
Billy, this may be
your last chance.
Do you really want to stay here for the rest of your life?
I have nothing else to say.
What? Why?
I'm sorry, but I don't want you to represent me anymore.
Guard.
-Hello? - Grace, it's Rachel.
Hey. What's going on? Is everything okay?
Billy fired me.
What?
-Why? - I have no idea.
I'm afraid you're gonna have to find your son another lawyer.
-Good luck. - What? Hey--
All right, that's all she wrote, ladies.
What?
What happened?
We got less than 30%.
That's impossible.
Thank you for your trust in me, ladies.
Uh, I'm sorry you all had to go through this.
I know it's been a-a trying time.
I'm just happy that, uh...
we can get things back to normal now.
Uh, why don't we take
a 20-minute break
before we get back to work?
All right? 20 minutes.
Grace... Well, clearly they got scared.
I'm done playing by the fucking rules.
dramatic music
Going cold turkey.
That's a lot of pills.
You sure you're up for this?
It could make things a little erratic.
It's time.
Suit yourself.
County sheriff's office picked up the guy who sold
that lethal dose of tainted cocaine to Trent Tisdell.
So that's good news.
That is good news.
Had him in for questioning.
Hoping to work it back
to whoever's selling around the county.
Well, I mean, sounds like the sheriff is doing
-good police work. - Yeah, sometimes
our community leaders actually come through for us.
Restores your faith in people.
-Take care, Jackson. - Mm-hmm.
slow, mysterious music
Isaac.
Whoa, hey, hey!
Isaac.
-It's okay.
It's okay. It's okay. I got you.
Just breathe, Isaac.
-Breathe.
It wasn't murder.
It was self-defense.
Sort of.
We were heading out of town.
We were walking. He was seeing me off.
And then Billy saw this guy dip into an abandoned steel mill.
It was this ex-cop who had messed with him in the past,
so... Billy went in after him.
After a minute, Billy didn't come out, so I followed him in.
And I saw that this...
other guy had a knife to his neck,
like... a hunting knife.
And the ex-cop was on the ground, about ten feet
away from them, I think.
Billy must've knocked him down.
And then the ex-cop got up and it looked like
he was getting a knife when...
I came up behind him with a wrench
I found on the floor of the steel mill.
slow, intense music
I hit the ex-cop in the back of the head
as hard as I could.
It seemed like he was gonna hurt Billy.
I-I was sure of it, I...
It was a lot of blood.
And where's Billy now?
Just found out he's in prison.
Awaiting trial.
He was charged with murder one,
for the man I killed.
I think he's giving up his life for me.
You know, when you say his name, your face changes.
You care about him a lot.
-Were you two...? - No.
It wasn't like that.
Seems like you have a big decision to make.
Well, I was young and hungry
And about to leave that place
When just as I was leaving
Well, she looked me in the face
I said, "You must know the answer"
She said, "No, but I'll give it a try"
And to this very day, we've been living our way
Here is the reason why
Blow up your TV
Throw away your paper
Go to the country
Build you a home
Plant a little garden
Eat a lot of peaches
Try and find Jesus
On your own.
tense, percussive music
distortion-heavy rock music
-Thanks, Belle. - Thanks.
Uh...
don't go too close to that corner.
It's the bad luck corner.
You're fine here and-and there.
Well, enjoy your tea, boys.
Chamomile.
Supposed to be calming.
So what are you doing here, Jackson?
It appears the county sheriff
is getting wise to things.
They've been questioning the Emaciated One.
And it's only a matter of time until he slips up
and gives them your friend Michael.
-Great. - And I'll bet my flat,
white ass that nimrod will take
a fucking deal from the D.A. and rat us out.
Look, the bottom line here?
We can't have anything leading the police back to Michael,
because it'll lead them directly to this porch,
and then to my fucking pharmacy.
And we are now in the center of a complete fucking shit show.
Hey, just chill out, okay?
I'll take care of it.
You'll take care of it how?
Just drink your tea.
Like the old lady said...
it's calming.
soft, dramatic music
Isaac?
Thank you.
I just got off the phone
with Eddie Roe at the fire department.
They're looking at possible arson.
Surrounding property is fine.
I can't believe somebody actually did that.
It's a beautiful piece of land, Grace.
You'll always have that.
Is there anything we can do?
About the fire?
About Billy.
My son is gonna spend the rest of his life
in that prison, and he's not gonna make it.
I mean, you should've seen him. He-he looked like a...
abused animal.
-Grace.
You have been through a lot. You're exhausted.
What you need is a good night's sleep.
Yeah. Sorry. My mind's...
it's all over the place.
Thank you for taking me in.
You can stay here as long as you need to, okay?
What's mine is yours.
Bud and me are gonna be the best roommates you ever had.
You should see what Bud can do with a load of laundry.
World-class folding skills.
I am gonna take such good care of you.
I'm gonna take good care of you, too, Grace.
Because this is what this is now, right?
This is what this is now.
Yes.
I am all yours, Del.
You have me completely.
And we are gonna go above and beyond for each other.
Because I would do anything for you.
Would you do anything for me?
Yes.
Yeah.
low, tense music
I know where he is.
Who?
That Bobby guy.
I found him.
-You found him? - Yeah.
Then you know what has to be done.
I want to hear you say it.
Say it, Del.
I know.
You know what?
I know what has to be done.
dramatic, pulsing music
quiet, tense music