02x06 - The King of the Delta Blues

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Timeless...

I took the blame for the expl*si*n at my headquarters.

I forfeited my fortune.

You were being funded by Rittenhouse.

I allowed myself to become a global joke.

The seizures are more than seizures, they are premonitions of the future.

And lately they've been of your future.

I had a vision about man dying and he d*ed.

Maybe you shouldn't tell me what's in your visions.

I know everything about you. You wanna know how I know?

-I didn't write that. -But you will.

He and I are gonna be quite the team one day.

You never told me where you got it from.

-You gave it to me. -No, I didn't.

Not yet.

We have each other, don't we?

Yes.

Jessica is alive.

Lucy, I'm so sorry.

I love you, but I can't be married to a state secret.

I'm going to tell you everything.

Try not to freak out.

You were always on Wyatt's mind.

Because he never stopped loving you.

Jessica is giving me second chance, and she said it was "cause of you.

You deserve to finally be happy, Wyatt.

Some people say he made a deal with the Devil. That true, Donny?

Betty, these Delta blues singers are full of stories.

But how do you know that for sure?

"Cause it's all just superstitions and hocus-pocus, that's how.

I wouldn't bet money on that.

I might be the best guitar player around, Mr. Law, but five years ago, I couldn't play a lick.

Now how else but the Devil you think that could have happened?

Well, I guess we'll just have to see if you're the best around, Robert.

Hello, Mr. Johnson.

Betty, get Mr. Johnson and me two Orange Crush sodas from the corner.

But I thought you said I could watch him play!

I promise I'll play everything you missed later on tonight.

I have you set up just the way you asked.

Facing the wall. Is that right?

What's the matter, Robert? Too shy to be famous?

I'm gonna make us both famous.

I went to the crossroad Fell down on my knees

I went to the crossroad Fell down on my knees

Asked the Lord above have mercy now Save poor Bob if you please

He standing at the crossroad I tried to flag a ride

Hey.

Hey, I'm glad you and Jessica are enjoying the room.

I know, I feel bad about...

Because that 1950s Kem Weber sofa sleeps like a dream.

It's like staying at the Four Seasons. Really?

Yeah. Except there's only ever one season.

And that season is winter.

Look, I owe you, okay?

Yeah, well, you might wanna use that towel to stuff under the door to stop the noise.

This is still, believe it or not, a work environment.

Rufus, why don't you and Jiya take our room for a few nights?

-I'll be fine on the couch. Really. Thanks.

-Morning, Wyatt. -Hey.

But I really have to pee.

-You okay? Yeah, I just...

I didn't get a lot of sleep last night.

Because of weird vision-related reasons? If so, I told you I'd rather not know.

No, just because of too much red wine last night.

Okay? Take it easy.

Any luck adding a fourth seat to the Lifeboat?

Well, unlike the Mothership, this baby was put together with tin foil and Juicy Fruit.

But the math looks good. As long as the coding checks out.

And that, my love, is how you upgrade a time machine.

Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. Outstanding work.

See, you and Jiya didn't need me mucking it up.

Are you drunk?

"Life's but a walking shadow, "a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, "and then is heard no more."

So, yes, then?

Well, I have something to add to the merriment.

"lcarus Descending.

"The Fall and Catastrophe of Connor Mason!"

-Yikes. -Why you even reading this stuff?

Because, Rufus, today is the day I finally lose control of Mason Industries and all of my holdings.

Today, Connor Mason is officially

nobody.

A toast.

To oblivion.

Oblivion.

Wyatt.

Where have you been?

-I need to speak with you. What's up?

Damn it, Mothership jumped. I gotta deal with that first.

First? What are we dealing with second?

It's San Antonio, Texas. November 23, 1936.

Lucy. -Hey.

The Texas Centennial Exposition?

Six million people attended, including President Roosevelt.

FDR sounds like a Rittenhouse target to me.

Agreed, but the Exposition took place in Dallas, a few hundreds of miles away.

What about you? Ever pick up any Rittenhouse intel about this?

Zilch.

Well, if you're not here to provide intelligence, what are you good for?

It's got to be the Gunter Hotel. It's obvious.

The Gunter Hotel is in San Antonio.

Connor, can you just...

Why would Rittenhouse care about a hotel?

Because in that hotel on November 23, 1936, Robert Johnson and Don Law changed the world.

How?

By recording a series of albums.

Okay, keep drinking.

Robert Johnson!

King of the Delta blues?

Father of rock 'n' roll?

You people are philistines.

Are you saying Rittenhouse is going after some blues singer?

The blues singer.

If it wasn't for Robert Johnson, there'd be no modern blues, no modern blues, no rock 'n' roll, none of your Elvis, Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, none of them.

Which is bad, no doubt.

No one wants to listen to Pat Boone on the radio 24/7.

But I think I'm missing the larger geopolitical point.

Actually, Mason makes sense.

It wouldn't just be Rittenhouse k*lling rock 'n' roll at its source.

It would be them k*lling the cultural revolution of the 1960s, the Civil Rights movement, the fall of Nixon, the end of the Vietnam w*r.

The counterculture as we know it.

Wait, wait, wait, you're saying all of this happens because two guys don't record an album?

Precisely.

Get the Lifeboat prepped. Gear up. Get going.

Fourth seat's ready. I say Connor takes it.

-Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely not.

Connor, you obviously know more about Robert Johnson and his albums than any of us.

Well, yeah, but...

I'll debrief Lucy as you prepare to launch.

Are you...

You are afraid of riding in your own invention.

Wait a minute. All those test trips before we met you?

You never once time traveled yourself?

Well, it's bloody dangerous.

Yeah. I know.

And perhaps Rufus and Jiya have made the correct calculations to safely transport a fourth person.

We did. Yes. But perhaps you didn't. So, no.

You're going. Get Connor some coffee.

Hey, you... Hey, wait one damn minute...

Flynn, you're on board this mission.

Wyatt, you stay here with me.

What? Why?

You can't be serious.

Look, Flynn's already been on a couple of missions.

We either start trusting him or we don't.

-We don't. We definitely don't. -Too bad.

Keep them safe.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

Please. You don't trust Flynn any more than Rufus or me.

What the hell is going on here? Why am I not with the team?

How'd you like to take out Rittenhouse for good?

Carol Preston held me here.

How'd you find him? From the GPS chip implanted in my neck.

It was pinging from that location for eight hours.

Sure. Super normal. We need you to raid that facility.

We'll give you a helmet cam, and Jiyaand I will have eyes on you from here.

-How big is my team? -You're going solo.

Against all of Rittenhouse?

You're not sending in the cavalry? I don't trust the cavalry.

I trust Wyatt.

Now, this is only an intelligence gathering mission, not an as*ault.

Get in, get what's there, get out.

Modern day, modern weapons, I'm in.

Let me grab my gear and tell Jess not to expect me for dinner.

Jiya.

Jiya? Are you all right?

-Can I ask you a question? Yeah. What?

Is it okay to keep secrets from someone you love?

What kind of secrets? What are you talking about?

Nothing. Rufus and me. Just relationship issues. Never mind.

All right. Set up the link. He's leaving in 10 minutes.

Yup.

Our earliest pilots would report how like the present the past initially seems.

The sound. The air.

Like nothing's changed, except space-time compression.

And look, I can see the hairs stand from the quantum-gravitational bursts.

And I can hear the faintest sparks crackle in the air.

This is quite...

Boom goes the dynamite.

So, how long until Johnson records his album?

One hour and 17 minutes.

-Better hurry. -Yes. Best get going.

How do we begin?

Get some clothes, steal a car. Get some clothes, steal a car.

Okay.

What the holy hell?

I'm Taylor Swift. This is Agent Timberlake.

We're part of the new FBI.

Hoover's hiring women?

-We're reorganizing. -With Negroes?

Well, we're...

I'm Lando Calrissian, British Intelligence.

Kenya station.

His Majesty sends his regards.

So, we'll just remove the deceased and you gentlemen can continue doing whatever it is you were doing.

"Remove the deceased.” Are you mad?

That ofay just tried to k*ll us and you want us to pretend like it didn't happen?

No, no. This is just a big misunderstanding.

He was a bootlegger. A common hood. He must have come in here by accident.

He didn't come in by accident.

He was aiming his g*n at you, weren't he?

Now hold on, Mr. Law. I don't know who in the hell that is or was!

Come on, now.

They warned me. They said, "Donald, don't record with Johnson. He's cursed!"

And the proof of that pudding is in the eating.

Man, I got your pudding right here.

Gentlemen! Gentlemen, please.

You know what? I don't need this crap! I'm outta here.

Yeah? Well, that makes two of us. Get out!

Mr. Law, perhaps you could reconsider.

Take your damn hand off me, sir!

You gentlemen have to resolve this disagreement and record this record.

It's important.

Why would British Intelligence care about a music recording session?

Well...

Well, I suppose it's...

We're fans.

-Huge fans. -Huge... Big fans.

Incredible fans.

Yeah, well, whatever you are, you're wasting your time.

Why is that?

The other half of the equation's gone, isn't he?

Good luck finding him. His disappearing acts are legendary.

Lucy, we obviously have to find Robert before he leaves town.

You and Rufus, you go after Johnson, we'll stay here with Law.

Yeah.

Now, will you kindly remove your dead fugitive from my equipment?

You have to help Robert Johnson make this album.

No, madam, I do not.

My father was right.

I'm a three-time loser.

I don't think you're a loser. I think what you're doing is amazing.

And how would you know?

Because Robert Johnson's amazing.

And you could make him a legend.

He could be the next Fats Waller or Billie Holiday.

I tried.

I nearly ended up dead for my trouble.

Do you want to be a bookkeeper the rest of your life?

How would you know that?

I told you, we're the FBI, we know things.

Look, I get that it's a lot safer at your desk, but your instincts about Johnson are right. He's...

He's a special talent.

He is, isn't he?

And this could be your chance to change the world, and prove to your father just how wrong he is.

Or you could just keep being a bookkeeper.

I get what you are doing.

It's a shameless manipulation.

I didn't mean any disrespect, Mr. Law...

I didn't say it didn't work.

I might have some spare vacuum tubes and repair parts in my truck.

-If your lads can find Robert... ~They'll find him.

All right.

Robert!

Mr. Johnson, hold up.

Look now, I don't want no trouble from y'all.

We don't want any either.

Where are you going?

Not that it's any of your damn business, mister, but I'm fixing to see my sister.

Well, how about before that you give us a chance to make things right with Mr. Law?

Ain't no going back.

I'm cursed.

I made a deal with the Devil, and now his note's finally coming due.

That whole recording washout was just the Devil having himself a laugh.

Mr. Johnson, the record you make today could change the world.

Friend-boy, I'm just a Delta blues singer.

I play for get-backs, Saturday night balls and street corner pennies.

Old Bob ain't changing a damn thing.

Your sister's name is Carrie Thompson.

She says she's the only person you still love and the only one you've never hurt.

She owns a juke joint, doesn't she? Not too far away.

-You know Carrie? Yeah.

She's very lively.

Tied a few on at her bar from time to time.

Connor, what are you doing?

So, why don't we take you there? Drive you to her place.

I thought you said we had to get him to record at the hotel?

If Johnson won't go to Law, we'll get Lucy and Flynn to bring Law to him.

What choice do we have?

Come on.

All right, friend-boys.

But I don't want to hear nothing else about making no doggone record.

Your lips to God's ears.

You guys getting this?

Coming in clear.

Agent Christopher, this look familiar?

Believe me, this is it.

Wait, go back.

Your eight...

Oh, my God. Wyatt!

Wyatt.

Wyatt.

Wyatt.

Yeah. I'm here.

Are you okay?

A lot better than this d*ck.

Looks like I just risked my neck for an empty room.

Does he have anything on him?

Some kind of key fob.

Wyatt, is there a serial number on it?

Yeah. TS PROX D-0-2-5-3-1-2-7-9.

Can you hack it?

Issued by AICS Securities.

It's a high-frequency access fob to a priority client.

Do they have a name? A company? An individual?

-No. -What about an address?

What we need is Rittenhouse's base of operations.

There's a pretty advanced firewall here.

Give me a couple hours to cr*ck it.

Your friend better make that call quick or we can't get out of here fast enough.

Yeah.

Operator. I need you to connect me to the Gunter Hotel.

It's important.

So, are we gonna get to hear you play at your sister's juke joint?

Won't be there long enough.

Just dropping in to say goodbye.

-Goodbye? Yeah.

Then I'm gonna ramble on and get myself gone where no one'll ever find me.

Rolling stones gather no moss.

You sure that's a good idea?

What do you give a damn?

Mr. Johnson, you can make a guitar sound like two.

You're a poet.

You could be great.

Truly great.

What, are you some kind of expert on me?

Look, Mr. Law believes in your talent, and sodol.

Mr. Law believes I'm cursed, and I agree.

I left a message for Lucy. I just hope she gets it.

Yeah, I know the story, Robert.

How you tried to play at the Saturday night balls and the other bluesmen would just laugh at you because you weren't any good.

So you went down to the crossroads one midnight,

and let the Devil tune your guitar in exchange for your soul,

and the next time you played those bluesmen were shining your shoes.

Yeah, well, the Devil tricked me.

I'm sorry, are we talking about this like it really happened?

The Devil made me a widower at 18.

And did it to me again when I was 21.

And I'll tell you something else, mister, people around me don't make out so good neither.

They've been sh*t, stabbed, poisoned.

Death and heartbreak follow me everywhere I turn.

I can't do it no more.

I can't keep hurting and disappointing the people I love.

If you'd ever struck a deal with the Devil, then you'd know exactly what I'm talking about.

Maybe not quite as literally.

But I've made my own deal with the Devil.

It cost me everything I had.

Then you understand the tune I'm playing.

When I say goodbye to my sister,

I'm walking away from that guitar for good.

Come on.

What did you do with the body?

You really want to know?

Where's the bookkeeper?

Law went to go get the equipment to fix the recorder.

Lucy.

I think it's time we leveled with each other.

I'm way more fun on these missions than Wyatt, right?

You're delusional.

Must be awkward between you two.

It's not awkward between us.

Wyatt and Rufus giggling like schoolboys about Wyatt's late night activities with Jessica, that wasn't awkward?

Nope.

So that's not why you secretly keep a bottle of vodka under your bed.

Are you spying on me?

No, I do remember reading about it in your journal.

Lucy, when you gave me that book...

Which may or may not be true.

No, you gave it to me.

You wanted me to read it and I did.

Look, at first all I cared about was that it was a tool to take down Rittenhouse.

But the more I read it, the longer I stayed with it, the more I felt like I knew you, understood you.

Lucy. Damn it, sometimes, I feel like I know you better than you know yourself.

What do you want from me, Flynn?

You don't know me.

Well, I guess we're having our own awkward moment right now.

I'm sorry.

I've got a message here from a Rufus Carlin?

Come on.

Now, this is the one place I don't have to worry about the Devil playing tricks on me.

Man.

You lucky you ain't step on my shoes.

Yes, sir, I am.

He meant no harm.

I've got this.

I've studied this world of sharecroppers and juke joints my entire life.

Rob, is that you?

You old dog! Get over here.

Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.

Listen, y'all seen Carrie?

She stepped out not too long ago. She'll be back.

So, who are these two ragtags you got with you here now?

Thought they might just be giving me a ride from San Antonio, but I guess they'd be staying for a drink.

Muddy Waters!

And you're Eddie Son House, Jr.

But this...

This is the nonpareil Miss Bessie Smith.

Say that again.

I thought you said you had this.

What did I do wrong?

The nonpareil Miss Bessie Smith?

You're damn right I am!

Hey, hey, get a load of the King of England over here!

Honey, I love the way you talk.

Well, then, the drinks are on me!

-May I sit with you? -Please, have a seat.

Put your money up there, come on now.

Give them a round. One round. Give them a round.

Don, don't bother coming up.

We're gonna go over to Johnson's sister's place and record in there.

We'll get the stuff.

Carrie's juke joint. Yeah, we was looking for him there last week.

We?

Don? Stay here.

Don?

There was another sleeper agent.

And we just sent her straight to Rufus and Mason.

The sleeper should only be a few minutes ahead of us.

Yeah, but she knows these roads much better than we do.

My wife used to sing this song.

You were right, Lucy.

I don't know you.

I guess what I was trying to say back there is that I'd like to get to know you.

But I understand if you don't want that.

My mother used to sing this song too.

Lorena would lie on the couch humming it.

Actually, it used to bother me.

Now it's the little details like that which I miss the most.

The pranks she pulled.

Her icy feet at night.

The smell of her hair.

My sister, she had this strawberry-scented shampoo.

When we were little, she would get scared at night, so she'd crawl into my bed and snuggle into me.

Her hair right up against my nose.

I'd dream all night about milkshakes.

I never intended that to happen, your sister disappearing, I never wanted to hurt you, Lucy.

We'll never get the people back that we love, will we?

Only if we give up hope.

I know somehow, some way, we'll save the people we love.

You knew from my journal that my mother sang that song, didn't you?

You should know the Lucy in that journal.

She's very, very impressive.

And Bob's up there playing with his back turned to the dancers, facing the wall, like he do.

That's only ‘cause he got a case of stage fright.

Will you stop? No, no.

Bob, don't want nobody to learn how he frets.

Two things. No one seems to know when Robert Johnson's sister is arriving, and I'm also a little bit worried that Lucy and Flynn didn't get our message.

Bob's corner loading!

Bouncing the sound off the walls for the acoustics.

Son, you can't even spell "acoustics"!

Connor, hey.

-Earth to Connor. -Good news, Rufus.

I've figured what I'm gonna do when we get back to the present.

-Really? You wanna do this now. Yeah. I'm leaving.

Yeah, I'm taking a cue from Robert and...

As soon as we get back, I'll pack up my things from the bunker and just ramble on.

Okay, I know you're new to this, but that's not how these missions work.

They're not your life counseling sessions.

What exactly have I contributed?

We only figured out Robert was Rittenhouse's target because I was a pimply-faced blues geek as a teen.

And it worked, we're here.

Look, we don't have time for your mid-life crisis.

We need to find a phone, try again, or somehow get Robert Johnson to change his mind.

Now, who said my baby brother's in here?

Bob, where you at?

Carrie?

Come here.

Listen, I've got something I've got to tell you.

-Okay. -Okay.

I'm in the new location.

Yeah, you're right.

This looks like Rittenhouse headquarters.

Should I proceed?

Rittenhouse headquarters? Maybe this the right time for backup.

I mean, Wyatt's tough, but he's not Chuck Norris.

He'll be fine.

How do you know that?

He could get hurt, he's by himself, he could...

Jiyal If I bring in more agents and one of them's a Rittenhouse mole, it could ruin everything.

You know what else ruins everything? Wyatt dying.

He can handle it. Open the comms.

Hello, what are we doing?

Wyatt, you're a go.

What the...

They're burning the place down.

Destroying the evidence.

Hey.

Take the sh*t.

You can't do it, can you?

Take the sh*t.

Take the sh*t.

Emma, fire up the Mothership!

Wyatt, are you all right?

Wyatt! Are you okay, Wyatt?

They're gone.

What's the plan now?

Knock him over the head, lock him in a closet, tell him no pudding till he records those songs?

I'm not sure we're gonna get groundbreaking music from blunt force trauma.

What then?

We can't just stand here and watch.

If he leaves now, he's gonna give up the guitar for good.

Hey, don't I know you?

Rufus!

Thank you.

Thank you.

It wasn't us.

Johnson's still holed up in the storage room.

The sleeper k*lled Law.

We got your message and brought the equipment.

Yeah, well, who's supposed to work it?

We were thinking maybe Mason could.

Did he convince Johnson to do the recording?

No. And after what he's just been through I'm not sure he's gonna be able to.

Rufus, you have to talk to him.

He has to.

We're gonna go get the equipment.

-Hey. -Hey.

So, Lucy and Flynn got the equipment. Okay.

We just need you to get Robert Johnson to play.

All right.

Where's Don Law?

He's dead.

Then it's over. No, you said you could record it here.

No, no. That was a Hail Mary.

That was before Don Law was k*lled, before I k*lled someone.

Before I saw this place. It's all wrong.

-Not if you record it. -Yeah, me?

Inferior space, inferior acoustics, inferior producer.

It won't be the same, which means it won't have the same impact.

Okay, well. It's going to have to.

No, you do it.

I don't...

You are obsessed with his music, you know how it's all supposed to sound, I don't.

Fan boys don't save the world, Rufus.

I was your fan boy.

What are you talking about?

Do you remember my senior year at MIT?

I was the prodigy.

Then two weeks before finals, I cracked.

Days, I cried, I didn't eat, I locked myself in a room, in the dark, I was gone.

You flew 16 hours from Seoul, knocked on my door with a double cheeseburger and a milkshake to tell me you believed in me.

Hey. Hey.

This is me returning the favor.

Guess I was wrong.

The Devil found me here, too.

Why did you pick up the guitar in the first place, Robert?

I wanted to be the greatest bluesman in the world.

And you are.

Except no one knows it yet, and no one ever will.

Unless you show a little backbone.

You calling me a coward?

No, I'm not calling you anything worse than I've called myself.

I've done things that most people wouldn't even consider possible.

I was rich, I was famous, I was powerful, and I lost it all.

So I'm at the same crossroads as you, Robert.

But what do I do? Do I walk away or fight back?

And yes, maybe you made a deal with the Devil, maybe you didn't.

But this bad luck, that's gonna keep chasing you until you decide to stop, stand your ground and fight.

To hell with oblivion.

All right, just sing clearly into the microphone.

Every time I'm walkin' down the street Some pretty mama Starts breakin' down with me Stop breakin' down

Yeah! Stop breakin' down Yeah!

The stuff I got'll burst your brains out Baby, oh-00 It'll make you lose your mind

I can't walk the streets Naw, can't consolate my mind Some no good woman She starts breakin' down Stop breakin' down

Please stop breakin' down Okay.

The stuff I got Gonna burst your brains out Oh-oo, it'll make you lose your mind

It's gonna take a while to comb through the place, but if we can salvage some of these computers, there's gotta be intel here.

You could've taken out Carol Preston.

My g*n jammed.

You hesitated because it was Lucy's mother.

-Ma'am... -Carol Preston is the enemy.

Look, whatever is going on between you and Lucy, you need to figure it out, Wyatt, and deal with it.

Yes, ma'am.

I'll take it from here.

Go home.

Oh, my gosh, Jiya, you should have seen it.

It was amazing.

Mason was something truly to behold.

Sounds like you guys had fun, huh?

Well, yeah, that all depends though.

Were there hippies in the 60s and a band called Led Zeppelin?

Duh.

You did it. Nice.

Thank you.

Good job.

Thank you.

For what?

For everything.

-Hey, Connor? Yeah.

Before we left, did Robert Johnson ever tell you what really happened at the crossroad?

Lucy.

Can I talk to you a minute?

What did Agent Christopher have you do?

We found Rittenhouse's headquarters.

We hit them hard. They're on the run.

-I just got back. -And my mother?

She got away.

What about Flynn?

Did you keep him on a short leash?

He was actually great.

He really came through.

What happened? I'll tell you about it tomorrow.

I'm sure Jessica is worried sick.

-Lucy, come on, I wanna know. -Tomorrow.

Go, be with Jessica.

Every time I'm walking down the street Some pretty mama Start breakin' down with me Stop breakin' down

Yeah! Stop breakin' down Yeah.

That was my "yeah."

The stuff I got'll burst your brains out Baby, oh-00 It'll make you lose your mind

I can't walk the streets Naw, can't consolate my mind Some no good woman She starts breakin' down Stop breakin' down

Please stop breakin' down

The stuff I got Gonna burst your brains out Oh-oo, it'll make you lose your mind

Now, your Saturday night women Love to ape and clown You won't do nothin' But tear good man's reputation down Stop breakin' down Please stop breakin' down

The stuff I got'll burst your brains out Baby, oh-00 It'll make you lose your mind

Now I gave my baby now The ninety-nine degree...

“What? -Nothing.

Nothing.

You're gonna tell me you had one of those creepy visions again, aren't you?

Premonitions. You said you didn't want to know.

Yeah, well, now you have to say it.

You've built it up too much.

It's okay.

Say it.

I saw you near the ocean, surrounded by cowboys, I think.

Yellow teeth, spurs on their boots.

They have you trapped.

You die.