02x08 - Two Points for Honesty

Episode transcripts of the TV show, "Walker". Aired: January 2021 to present.*
Watch/Buy Amazon


A widowed father returns to Austin after 2 years to reconnect with family.
Post Reply

02x08 - Two Points for Honesty

Post by bunniefuu »

♪ ♪

(JAMES GRUNTS)

Trey.

- (GRUNTS)
- TREY: Cap!

Cap!

Cap, can you hear me?

- Yeah, yeah.
- Hey,

just hang on tight.
I'm coming over to you,

- all right?
- No, no, you stay where you are.

No, that's not an option.

(GRUNTS)

- (GRUNTING)
- Come on, Cap.

(CAR ENGINE STARTS)

- He get you?
- What do you mean, did he get me?

You got two holes in you,
you're asking about me?

(SIRENS WAILING IN DISTANCE)

We need to get you to a hospital, Cap.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that
might be a good idea.

TROOPER: How we doing, Captain?

Oh, I'm just dandy.

You sure you don't want
me to drive? (GRUNTS)

Hey, I didn't catch your name.

Trooper Alexis Jackson. Call me Jack.

TREY: It's good to meet you, Jack.

Do you have a, uh, first aid kit
around here somewhere?

Uh, try back here.

Oh, you know what, uh,

- this is gonna work.
- It's a good thing you showed up early,

- huh, Jack? (GRUNTS)
- Well, you know, Mom always said,

"If you're on time, you're late".

Didn't expect to come in
on this, though.

Hey, hey, whoa, whoa, what
are you doing, man? Sit back.

This... this is Ranger
Captain Larry James.

We need a clear path...

on North Lamar.

Officer down, en route to hospital.

Multiple s... sh*ts sustained.

Hey, hey, whoa, Cap.

You're losing a lot of blood, man.

We got to slow the bleeding.

- Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, whoa, whoa, whoa.
- The sh**t...

Lean back, all right? Just breathe.

Focus on breathing.

Cap. Cap!

- What's our ETA?
- Five minutes, maybe.

You better make it two.

Copy that.

What have we got?

Mid- s, GSW to the right
outer thigh and upper chest.

Lost consciousness on the way

- and his pulse was thready.
- JACK: We got the captain

of the Rangers here. Unknown assailant

and motive. Gonna need to get this place

- locked up tight.
- We got it from here.

Tell Walker... he needs to-to...

♪ ♪

Look, Dad, I-I'm gonna
pull out the timer.

Any day, now.

Okay, there's no time limit
on due process.

I mean, you claim it was Mr. Green

in the conservatory with the revolver,

but the time and place suggest

a crime of passion.
He doesn't fit the bill.

You're seriously making me regret

agreeing to amend the game for a more

- layered experience.
- (PHONE VIBRATES)

Hey, DJ's calling you.

That's random.

(PHONE DINGS)

It's still your turn, Dad.

One sec, bud.

Trey. Hey, what's up?

(INDISTINCT ANNOUNCEMENT OVER P.A.)

Trey.

- Hey. Is he-is he...
- Hey. No. No, no, no.

I haven't heard anything
yet. I know they just

rushed him into surgery, but that's...

- that's about it.
- Hi-His, uh,

- his son called Stella.
- Yeah. Yeah, I know. I-I...

I got his family info from
Connie and I reached out.

Are you okay?

Yeah... Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, no, no, no, I'm-I'm...

I'm good. I-I didn't get hit.

- But this whole thing just happened so fast. I...
- (STAMMERS)

What the hell happened?

JACK: Trooper Jackson here.

I responded to the scene and was set

to watch over Trey Barnett
before the incident.

Yeah. Uh, HQ updated me.

We have any news?

From what little your captain gave us

and Mr. Barnett's account, we're not

currently able to discern
motive and target.

Didn't get an ID

and no one saw the license plates.

(DOOR OPENS)

Doc.

Is he okay?

The family asked that I update you all.

Thankfully, the b*ll*ts bypassed

any major organs and arteries.

He'll be out for a few more
hours, but I'm positive

about his prognosis.

As soon as he's in a room,

I'll have someone get you.

- Please have a seat.
- Thank you.

- (DOOR CLOSES)
- Yeah.

Uh, thanks.

(EXHALES)

Hey, Walker.

Thought you might want this.

(MONITOR BEEPING STEADILY)

You look like hell, Cordi.

- Captain. You're awake.
- (CHUCKLES SOFTLY)

Great. I should tell, um...

No, no, man, no.

Hey, anything from the, uh...

... that car we spotted at the house?

The guy that came after me...

he didn't match the registered owner.

But I don't know...

still could be connected to Serano.

Anything?

- Uh, no, Captain.
- Not yet.

Uh, but everybody's working on this.

We will find this guy.

I know you will.

Which is why I'm gonna tell the D.A.

that I don't want anybody else
running point on this.

Right. Yeah, uh,

which means...

... you're gonna want this back.

I need you running
point on this, Cordell.

Buck's gonna stop with you,

just like it does with me as captain.

- Larry, I...
- Listen, you know

all the players,
you know the local rangers,

the D.A., the city. It's you, man.

You just got to promise me something.

Of course. Anything.

You know, when one of us gets hit,

things can go sideways pretty quickly.

I don't want anybody

playing judge, jury

or, God forbid, executioner

on my behalf.

No matter the intention.

You got to make sure
that doesn't happen.

- All right. Yep, you got it.
- Okay.

Dad. Oh, my God.

Are you okay?

I'm gonna give y'all some time.

Yeah.

♪ Oh, I dream... ♪

What's up, buddy?

♪ It goes to rest... ♪

I'm good, man.

♪ Paradise, my love... ♪

All right. All right.

What do we got?

COMMENTATOR:
Collins tosses out the dime.

- And holy smokes!
- JAMES: And that's my guy.

Got, like, a million interceptions

this season. You're telling me he's not

- an elite player... please.
- Interceptions are great,

but that's not what
makes an elite cornerback.

You're out of your mind.

WOMAN: Y'all are both trippin'.

- Just...
- Well, weigh in on this, Mom.

I don't know why you're
entertaining an argument

with the man that drafted a quarterback

- in the fourth round of our fantasy league.
- (LAUGHS)

Oh, yeah, just pick on the injured guy.

It wasn't a head injury.

Oh...

That's good, Kelly.

Pile it on. (GRUNTS)

- Dad.
- Hey, Larry,

you were just sh*t. You need rest.

Please, tell me you are not
about to work right now.

(KNOCKING)

Kelly. Hey.

(LAUGHS SOFTLY)

Good to see you.

Yeah, good to see you, too.

I just, uh, wanted

to introduce you to Trey.

He brought Larry in.

Thank you. Seriously.

Don't know what we would've
done if you weren't there.

Uh, yeah, of course, uh,

I was just in the right
place at the right time.

I'm happy to help.

And I'm glad to see you awake, my man.

Hey.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Well, I'm, uh, I'm gonna
let you guys get to it.

- Thanks, Trey.
- Of course.

You look good.

- Aw, thanks.
- The kids, too.

Yeah.

Last time I saw you was...

Em's funeral.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

(SCOFFS) Okay, will you please

tell this man that he doesn't
need to be working right now?

Uh...

What's the word, Walker?

And here we go again.

- Goodbye. We are leaving. Good to see you.
- Goodbye.

- Good to see you.
- KELLY: You too.

- Bye.
- KELLY: Bye.

- What's up?
- Good news is that we got a crew

ready to work around the clock at HQ.

The not-so-good news: we're
still waiting on ballistics.

But, as you know,

that still probably won't
provide a solid lead.

James, we're on a manhunt

- with no idea who the man is.
- Okay.

- North Side Nation? You...
- Uh, looking into it, yeah.

But everyone there with remaining ties

pretty much scattered
after Serano was busted.

And the car you called in was a no-go.

- Really?
- Yeah.

Hey.

Yeah.

You got this.

Yeah. Yeah.

You know how I like run an op,

even though you tend to ignore it.

(CHUCKLES)

What's the next call? (GRUNTS SOFTLY)

I think I may know a potential informant

who had ties to Serano.

All right. Keep me up on it.

Will do. All right, Cap.

(LOCK BUZZES, LATCH CLICKS)

(DOOR CLANGS SHUT)

Hello, Cordell.

Stan.

Uh, news travels fast.

I heard about James. That's, uh,

truly terrible. Please send my regards.

Hey, you know, you can keep
your regards to yourself, Stan.

You don't get to feel
any way about that.

Not after what you've done.

How's your brother?

I heard the Davidsons are back
and one of them took his job?

Although, technically,
I guess it was my job, but...

Aw...

forget the election.
It's still a tough break.

I'm not here to talk about Liam.

Well, why are you here, then, Cordell?

You were in bed with
North Side Nation for years.

I seem to recall, last
time we were together,

I ended up in a sn*per's
crosshairs. You did

manage to warn me about Serano,

though the tip could've used
a little more context.

And here I thought you'd use

your investigative skills

to figure it all out.

Or maybe you thought

I'd go digging down
the wrong hole and end up dead.

Well, you're here, aren't you?

Guess it all worked out.

Or did it?

Wait a minute.

You think Serano came after James?

He definitely has the manpower

to carry out a hit from the inside.

- Which brought me here.
- No, no. Come on.

You and I have seen, personally,

the way he calls a hit.

It's professional.

And that was just for you.

If it was for a big fish like James,

he'd be pulling out all the stops.

No, it-it doesn't make any sense.

And what if he was desperate?

I don't know why he would be.

That little stunt that
Liam pulled? Word around here

is that it could have Serano
walking on everything.

Which would make going
after James extra stupid.

And Serano's a lot of things,

but stupid is definitely
not one of them.

But you knew all this.

What do you want? How do I come in?

Okay. Uh, well...

long sh*t. But...

you know James.

You know the players,
the system. Same as I do.

Hell, m-maybe even better than I do.

Now, yes, you played both sides
for all those years,

but you promoted James.

You believed in him.

I-I thought you might know...

You can never really
know someone, truly.

There's always gonna be secrets.

Doesn't matter who they are.

I mean, hell, I walked around

for a year with the biggest one of all.

You trying to piss me off?

You and James

- are nothing alike.
- James represents the best of us,

you're right about that. But I...

Everyone's a hero in their own story

and a villain in someone else's,

and from a distance,
sometimes it's difficult to tell

which one you're looking at.

You know, my viewpoint is

currently somewhat limited,

given my situation.

But, seems to me that if you're
looking for the bad guy,

you might want to try to start

finding him among the good ones.

Right.

Okay. Well...

that's all you got to say, um...

Enjoy rotting in here.

(SLAPS TABLE)

Guard.

(LOCK BUZZES, LATCH CLICKS)

WOMAN (OVER P.A.): Cardiotech
to the ICU. Cardiotech to the ICU.

What?

You've been in a lot of hospitals.

- Yeah.
- Usually just ER visits,

though, you know. Concussions.
Stitches and staples.

You always had to talk my mom
down from coming to check on me.

She was always blowing up
my phone, talking about,

"Make sure he gets his medicine".

Vapor rub and ginger ale.

- Ginger ale.
- That's it.

- Yeah. Yeah.
- (LAUGHS)

All those years,

we never once ended up here.

Grateful we got to keep
the memories of this place clean

as long as we did.

Think they still have the same artwork

they had when DJ was born here?

Ooh, that day. (LAUGHS)

That kid put me through the wringer.

Big-headed, pounds.

He was a giant.

And you kept trying to say,

"Oh, well, he didn't get it from me".

Like you aren't six, three.

With a big head.

(LAUGHS)

You were so mad at me that day.

Because you forgot the hospital bag.

- Hey, I...
- N... Uh-uh. You had

one job. We talked about it for months.

- Okay, in my defense...
- Oh, no, no, shh, shh, shh.

You had a newborn in one hand,

some m*rder case file in
the other and you were

looking all goofy, remember,

in that "World's Best Grandma" shirt

- from the gift shop?
- (LAUGHS)

I still have that shirt.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

Come a long way since then, huh?

Look at us now.

I never imagined

that we'd end up divorced,

- Kelly.
- Larry...

No, I just... This is, like,

the first real conversation
we've had in...

what, a year?

We're only having it

'cause I'm laid up
in a hospital bed again.

How long you gonna keep on like this?

I don't know.

I had it all laid out.

I thought I knew exactly
who was gonna take my place.

I mean, you know,
when the time was right,

but...

now, not so much.

The future's a lot less clear.

Maybe you should start
thinking about it.

Yeah.

Look at that... already looking better.

(CHUCKLES) Oh, good.

I'm actually, uh,
feeling a little worse.

What's up?

Well, uh, we've been
looking into old cases,

trying to put together
a canvas of potential suspects.

Uh, ones that don't
fall under the umbrella

of North Side Nation and Serano.
Just covering our bases.

- All right. Anything worthwhile yet?
- No.

Uh, hope soon.

(SHORT CHUCKLE) James, I know you.

And I know right now
you're thinking every second

that goes by without finding this guy

is one second closer
to him getting away.

But that's not gonna happen.
We will find him.

I know you will.

I got to ask this one more time.

Is there anything else you
remember from the altercation?

- I know it's a long sh*t, but I-but I have to ask. And, uh,
- Man...

by the way, we do have one lead.

Or one name we can cross
off our ever-growing list.

- Serano. Yeah.
- Really?

Doesn't fit his M.O.

Even Stan couldn't wrap
his mind around that move.

Stan... as in Stan Morrison?

- Yep. Okay, listen, I...
- No, hold up, hold up.

I put you in charge

and the first thing you do
is go running to Stan?

His ties to Serano
made him the only access

- we could connect with.
- And did you believe a damn word

that came out of that man's mouth?

Walker, he's on the outs with Serano,

he's got eyes all over him.
(CLEARS THROAT)

Even if he could help,

why would he? I mean, he's... it's...

it'd be a death sentence.

You think I wanted to go see him?

It wasn't just about Stan's allegiance

to Serano. It was about his connections.

Look, I know I was only your
first choice on a technicality.

No. Don't do that.

But your first choice ain't here.

When you put me in charge,

you were putting me in charge.
Of everything.

No questions asked.

And I'm here now, all right?
And I'm doing my best.

I'm fine. I'm-I'm...

(MONITOR BEEPING RAPIDLY)

James?

Help. Help! James.

- He-he, uh...
- Check the line.

O 's dropping into the s.

NURSE : Get the crash cart.

Damn it. We need to bag him.

James.

Clear the line.

- NURSE : Ambu bag.
- WOMAN: (OVER P.A.): Code .

Code .

- Sir, you need to move.
- Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

NURSE: Pulse is thready.

We're dealing with a secondary
infection that has escalated

to a point it caused sepsis.
That is what we're treating now.

But he's gonna be okay?

It is too soon to know for sure.

We're treating him with the best dr*gs

we have. It's important he avoids

any unnecessary stress.

The next hours will be crucial.

Thank you, Doctor. Appreciate that.

I just don't understand.

What the hell is sepsis?

All right, uh...

your immune system is like

a home security network.

Usually, when you've got an intruder,

boom... an alarm goes off

and security takes care of it for you.

But sometimes, like in sepsis,

instead of taking it out...

... security burns
the whole damn house down.

Yeah, uh, but

that doesn't mean, uh, that doesn't mean

anything about James.
He's gonna be all right.

James isn't done. He ain't done.

Not by a thousand miles.

DJ.

Your daddy...

he's gonna get through this.

There's no other, uh,

outcome that makes any sense.

Meantime, we all just need

to be there for each other.

And I will do whatever it takes

to make sure whoever
is responsible for this

is brought to justice.

You have my word.

Hey. I want to help.

I know you do.

I appreciate that, but you're not

an A.D.A anymore.

And that's fine, 'cause
you can still help, all right?

The best way you can help is to be there

for them. Make sure they all know

they're not alone.

♪ ♪

Okay.

But... but what about you?

I'm all right.

I got work to do.

Walker.

Hey. Hey.

- Hi.
- Hi.

♪ Here in the moment... ♪

I'm just, uh... (CLEARS THROAT)

... I'm heading to, uh, HQ.

- Yeah.
- Yeah. I, um...

- Just... I-I just... taking a second, you know.
- Yeah.

To-to... to think about...

uh, everything.

♪ Bring us together... ♪

I'm out of my league here, Ger.

♪ Mark the passing days... ♪

Well, you're used to the dark and scary.

You are. Between Em

and Hoyt, the Wests.

I... Even Micki.

You thrive in that chaos, you just...

- you always second-guess yourself.
- Well, but...

this is different, Ger.
I mean, the-the...

You know, I'm always
used to having somebody

by my side, you know, somebody

to look to for-for guidance.
And now Micki

is-is...

And Captain James is

in there, and-and now
I have to go talk to...

all the rangers...

all of his rangers...

a-and tell them what's going on.

And everybody's gonna be
looking to me for-for answers

and-and I don't have them.
You know, I-I...

I don't think I can do it.

(CLEARS THROAT, CHUCKLES)

Well, you're already doing it.

And you've got more people on your side

than you even know.

It just looks a little
differently than you're used to.

Yeah.

You ever wonder why
it's always me and you

- at the end of the world?
- Uh...

Oh, God.

You got this, Cordi.

- Yeah.
- Come here.

Go get 'em, Cordi.

Yeah, of course.

- You got it.
- Yeah.

WALKER: Hey, can I get you guys

in the bullpen, please?

Thank you.

(QUIET, INDISTINCT CHATTER)

All right. Excuse me.
We can turn that off.

We can turn...

Rangers, friends.

Uh, just a moment, please.

So, the further we
look into the incident

with Captain James,
the more it becomes clear

that this was likely personal.
A crime of passion.

This wasn't random.

James was the target. So, please

keep trekking down memory lane,
because every old case

could hold a potential suspect.

All right.

Uh, actually, actually, uh, sorry.

One more thing. Um...

James is in a really rough spot.

I can't promise you
everything will be okay.

But I did promise him

that we would get this job done.

James asked me

to call the sh*ts for us,

which means...

... now I have this.

Which, uh, doesn't feel like it means

a whole hell of a lot,
because the star's

only as good as the person
wearing it, right?

And, right now, the person wearing it

is a little nervous.

Uh... well, scared, frankly.

And I imagine some of y'all
might be scared, too.

But that's okay. We can

use it as fuel.

I been asking myself, uh... (CHUCKLES)

what would James do?

Right now, I think
he'd be telling us to do

- whatever it takes to find this guy,
- Ada.

- and find this guy we will.
- I need you to get me a visitor pass.

And when we do

find him... whoever he is...

I need you all to ask youselves
the same question:

what would James do?

We can honor him

by bringing about justice morally.

(ALL AGREEING)

I'll be working from HQ
for the next few hours,

so I'm here if you need me.

However you need me.

So, take care of yourselves.
We got work to do.

- Will do.
- Okay. Thank you, sir.

(LOW, INDISTINCT CHATTER)

Do you guys ever just wish

your dads had a regular job?

I used to.

But, um, no, not anymore.

You know, even after
everything that's happened,

it just kind of makes sense, you know?

Plus, can you imagine
my dad with a briefcase?

- (ALL LAUGH)
- Ridiculous.

Yeah. I mean, I guess I know

he's where he's supposed to be, but

sometimes I just wish
I could press pause.

- Ow.
- Hey, do you guys

remember the sleepovers

- we used to have as kids?
- Yeah. Yeah, the-the poker nights, right?

(LAUGHS) The parents
were always so loud.

And you used to get us caught
by sneaking down

to watch 'em play.

AUGUST: I was just trying to learn.

By blowing our cover.

It was pretty smart.


We didn't learn the rules,

- but we came up with our own.
- Oh, my God.

- (LAUGHS): Oh...
- We even

had our own chip system.

So we played with Rainbow Snaps.

I can't press

pause for you. But

maybe we could pretend
for a little while.

I'll get cards from the gift shop.

(PHONE RINGS)

Liam. Hey. You hear the news?
James is awake.

That's great news. Where are you?

About to leave

HQ and head back
to the hospital. What's up?

Well, I looked into some of those leads,

and it turns out there is a guy...

recently released... who was
cozying up to Serano's crew.

Where'd you get all this?

I may be a disgraced former A.D.A,

but I still have some
friends there, okay?

This guy, Cole Lecher...

he was booked by James
back in his trooper days.

- Okay.
- He was taken

to Austin General Hospital
a few hours after James.

For a g*nsh*t wound?

I mean, how-how did we miss that?

Car accident.

Allegedly faulty breaks.

His face got all chopped up with glass.

Look, I'm not a betting man,

but I'd be willing to put money
on that accident being

more than just a coincidence
if we checked it out.

On my way.

Hey, Jack?

Mind giving me a hand with this?

I'm trying to suss out a theory.

You can say no. I...

Do I know you?

Jack.

Cole Lecher. years old, white male,

dirty-blonde hair, blue eyes.
Slim build.

No idea if he's armed, but we
know damn well he's dangerous.

We've got tactical teams
at the ready if we need them,

but Trooper Adams is still on guard.

The Captain should be safe.

I'll pound the alarm. Good luck.

Thanks.

Does a broken taillight

seem worth all this?

It can't be. I was just

trying to get home to my kid, man.

Hands in the sky! Get on your knees!

Walker. Walker, stand down.

We're just... we're just catching up.

WALKER: Yeah? Just catching
up, just two old pals?

Cole,

what happened to the guard?

He'll survive.

I just needed a moment
with your captain.

Walker.

Put it down.

Cole, don't worry about him, okay?

It's just the two of us here, all right?

You said everything was gonna be fine.

You lied.

I...

I didn't lie.

My supervisor showed up,
I had no choice.

Afterwards, I talked to the
judge, I asked for leniency,

but at that point, I...

It was out of my hands.

I was in there three months
when a guy jumped me.

I fought back.

Got for manslaughter.

Cole,

for what it's worth,

I'm truly sorry.

What happened to you shouldn't happen.

And it made me realize

that I didn't want to
do things that way.

And in order to do that,

I had to be the one calling the sh*ts.

I had to be the one

weighing those decisions.

Just trying to do what's right.

Like how this big Serano case

brought a lot of attention onto you.

And that's what gave me an opening.

But then you survived.

That's not right.

WALKER: Don't!

- Drop your g*n!
- No. Both of you,

put your damn g*ns down!

Now!

Walker.

You made me a promise, man.

Put your g*n down.

Cole.

I'm gonna need you
to go first, here, pal.

Cole, listen to me.

No one is gonna die here today.

All right?

♪ ♪

Your anger's justified, it is.

And I know, right now, it seems...

Why?

I was just doing my job.

DJ: So, I know your job is to

take on the thing that
goes bump in the night.

Like a Black Batman or something.

But I think that...

we could all use a little bit
of a break from this.

So...

So, Idaho.

Boys weekend at Boise?

I like the sound of that.

(GRUNTS SOFTLY)

Come here, dude.

I love you.

I love you too.

- Love you.
- I love you too.

All right. Well,

I will call as soon as I get home.

- JAMES: Yes, you will.
- I promise.

- JAMES: All right.
- All right. Bye, baby.

JAMES: Be safe.

Let me walk you out.

I thought I had someone

who would kind of be by
my side through all this.

You know, take over for me.

Someone I trusted.

- You don't mean...
- No.

No, no, no. I'm talking
about Micki Ramirez.

- She was a Ranger. Damn good one.
- Mm-hmm.

Felt like I had the weight
of the world on my shoulders.

When she arrived, I...

had her take on some of that burden too.

Who's gonna do that now?

I don't know. That's
what I'm saying. I mean,

I don't-I don't think it can
be just one or two people.

I'm really trying to change
things around here, but...

I'm gonna need help.

The last time that we really talked,

you thought I was leaving because

you were married to the job.

Yeah.

My worst fear was that one
night you wouldn't come home.

And it came true.

You stopped coming home a long time ago,

at least in any way
that really mattered.

You were so focused

on protecting us and everyone else that

you forgot to let people in.

Let me in.

- I mean, everything I...
- No, no. It wasn't always like that.

Once you got on that captain track...

that's when we started to lose you.

Why didn't you say something?

I did.

You just couldn't hear me.

- But you can now.
- And that

counts for a whole hell of a lot.

Um... you know, you still have
me as your emergency contact.

You don't have to change it. But, um,

maybe just try calling
when the sky isn't falling.

I'll see what I can do.

Okay.

Bye, babe.

(ELEVATOR DINGS)

Bye.

As I told the immediate family,
after irrigating the laceration

and administering vancomyacin,
there are no longer signs

of infection. He should
be discharged tomorrow.

I'll call Mawline with the news.

You should know, that
Whiskey came through.

You saved the man's life.

I appreciate that, Doctor.

Those instincts just don't go away.

Yeah, I guess so.

You know, I haven't
seen you since, uh...

Well, look, I just wanted to apologize.

I let-I let the cat out of the bag

- and it wasn't my place.
- Whoa, whoa.

Ah.

Nah. Look, that's... that's not on you.

Garrison was just the
tip of the iceberg.

Sometimes love just
isn't enough, you know?

And this stuff with James...

it nailed down a lot of things for me.

I'm good in a crisis, yeah.

I mean, that's for damn sure, but...

that's not the life that I want to live.

I'm on the right path now,

even if the universe keeps trying to,

I don't know, test it. (LAUGHS)

You know, when I returned home
from the service, I...

God, I felt like I was
living a different life.

Then I met Abby.
And I returned to the ranch.

And there's been a lot
of ups and a lot of downs

since then, but...

you know, those bad things...
they're gonna happen.

And for better or for worse,
going through 'em

tends to bring us together.

And, for that...

I'm grateful.

Yeah.

You know, the ranch
has been a crime scene

more times than I can count,

but slightly less, recently,
than your house.

You'll always have a place
to land if you need it.

A home.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yes, sir.

(EXHALES)

Ah...

Just doing my job.

Just following orders.

I mean, I-I... you know,
I get it. I've said it.

But... time and time again,

- those words cause devastation.
- Yeah.

And it's not enough
to just be in charge.

Not anymore.

Well, Cap...

... you're doing a great job.

No, I'm not. I mean, I-I could be.

Been so focused on
calling the right sh*ts,

but that's just a piece of it.

It also matters who's
receiving those orders.

It's got to be someone that
can make the right choice,

- regardless of protocol.
- Of course.

- About yesterday, I-I...
- No. We're not even

getting into that.
You made the right call.

You listened to me over protocol,

over the instincts that
have been drilled into you.

I...

I don't know, I'm just saying...

sometimes there are ways
to stop v*olence that don't

bring about more v*olence. More death.

But it's not just about one or two

or a dozen people

- understanding that.
- Cap, you... For whatever it's worth,

you got me. A-And I'm not the
same Ranger I was a year ago.

I mean, hell, I'm-I'm not-I'm not

the Ranger I was a day ago.

And as flattering as it was

to step into your shoes
for a little bit...

it-it taught me a lot.

All right, give it to me.

All right. Uh...
permission to speak freely.

Permission granted.

Number one:

those are, uh, some big shoes to fill.

Uh, pardon the pun.

But, two... and-and more importantly...

um...

I realized that's-that's
not what I want.

Look...

- about before, I'm sorry. I...
- No, no, no, no.

Don't do... Don't be sor...
You were right

to say that. You meant it. And, uh,

I-I needed to hear it,
you know. I needed to get that

kick in the ass. But I know now that

I don't want to be the one
calling the sh*ts.

I can't do what you do. I...

want to be the one
who answers that call.

Good, 'cause I'm gonna need you.

You got me.

Losing Micki has thrown
us both for a loop.

I mean, you even more so.

She was your partner. But

we need more Mickis.

Maybe even a few more Cordells.

You sure you can handle that?

- A few more. A few more.
- (LAUGHS)

I mean... gonna be hard to find.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

- So, what... that's it?
- No,

but it's a start.

Recruit, train, retrain.

Wash, rinse, repeat.

- Sounds like we got work to do.
- Yeah, we do.

And we'll do it. Together.

All right.

(LOCK BUZZES, LATCH CLICKS)

Well, I take it this means

I stuck my neck out for more than

- just a jailhouse rumor.
- Part of the deal, remember?

Good Intel, one visit.

♪ Dragging me behind you
like I'm your child... ♪

I wouldn't be here otherwise.

So, what do you want?

(GRUNTS SOFTLY)

Well... I wrote you a letter.

I never heard back.

I wasn't in the market for a pen pal.

But you know there's a whole demographic

of people who get their
rocks off marrying murderers

behind bars.

Yeah, you have changed.

♪ And damned if I don't... ♪

It's hard not to.

Yeah, I know.
Careful, it's a slippery slope.

I'm here, you know,
if you need someone to talk to.

After what you did? It goes beyond

the realm of forgiveness.

After today, you'll never see me again.

If you say so.

Heard about what happened in Thalia.

You know, you were right
about the Davidsons.

There was always something

about Gale that
didn't sit right with me.

At first I thought it was just
'cause she was so nasty to Abby.

But then things started to change.

There was so much loss.
This is even before Marv.

Stan, if you're...

doing this to mess with my head, I...

You know I represented
your family after the fire?

♪ You think I'm unfit... ♪

Not the flashy stuff,
but the boring side.

Land disputes and...

other matters.

♪ It'll hurt like it hurts ♪

♪ Carry my grief... ♪

Esme still looks after my property.

She'll let you in.

There's a desk in the living room.

It has one of those false bottoms.

You'll, uh, find something

you might need in those old files there.

And that would be...

You'll know when you see it. (GRUNTS)

And, listen...

- (KNOCKS)
- (LOCK BUZZES, LATCH CLICKS)

while you're rummaging
around in the past there,

just keep in mind...

you might not always like what you find.

(DOOR CLOSES)

♪ ♪
Post Reply