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Lawless (2012)
Come on, Jack.
Just pull the damn trigger. I can't. My brother Forrest once said, "Nothing can kill us. We can't never die. " The reason being that in the great war, my eldest brother, Howard, saw his entire battalion drown in the sea. Every last one of them. He was the only survivor. And Forrest, well, that same year, Spanish Lady flu hit Franklin, damn near wiped out the entire state. It got Ma and Pa and Forrest but against all the odds, he somehow managed to fight it off. So you could see why Forrest felt that way. Me and my brothers are moonshiners. Bootleggers. In 1920, they passed the Prohibition Act making the sale of alcohol illegal. Well, at least it was supposed to be. You want a case, Sheriff? - Morning, Forrest. - Pure corn whiskey. That there's the white lightning, Sheriff. It'll come at you like a knife, pointy end first, sharp and hot all the way down. Aw, damn it. Give me two. All right, then. - You all right there? - Thanks, boys. Always happy to oblige an officer of the law. They called Franklin the wettest county in the world on account of almost everybody was making the stuff. Now, you can make moonshine whiskey from just about anything. Whoa! Whoa, whoa! Hey, Selma. Turnips, pumpkins, blackberries, cornmeal, tree bark. - Anything. - All right, then. He's so fucking sick, man, can't get himself out the bed to tend the stills. - You want me to take it up to him? - No, I can do it. And at night, in them hills, you could see them fires from the stills burning like lights on a damn Christmas tree. over the mountains, in the cities, there was the biggest crime wave this country'd ever seen. And all that illegal liquor was flowing down from the hills to the cities by the truckload. Gangsters were just scooping money off the streets like candy. They had men like Al Capone, Tommy Maloy, that mad dog Floyd Banner. They just moved in and took over. Meanwhile, we were hauling stuff around in our old, beat-up jalopies. All right now, Jack, I want you to stay here. - What? - Stay in the truck. Ain't like someone's gonna steal this piece of shit, Forrest. Just do what you're told, Jack. All right, Forrest, go on. Amen! Amen! Here we go. All right, then. Get some of this. Welcome, welcome. How're you boys doing? Sorry to hear about Little Bean, Ida Belle. You know Little Bean loved his gals and his giggle water. She sure is giving him one hell of a send-off. Give me your money, boy. Yeah, you do as I say - or I'm gonna cut you. - Hold on, now, I ain't got nothing. I'm just a driver. You boys staying? No, we gotta be getting off, Ida Belle. Come on, Forrest, one damn drink. No, we better be getting back now. You ever seen a Harlem sunset? Well, I'm fixing to cut one right into you... I ain't got nothing. ...if you don't hand over that goddamn money. Motherfucker. Here, I'll take care of this. Hey you, come on now, you don't want to do this. Why don't you put that knife away, take you and your friends on home? I'd listen to him if I was you. You the boss? You just sold a load to those dinges in there, didn't you? You hand over that cash or I'm gonna cut some daylight into you. Listen here, mister. We got no way of understanding this world. We got about as much sense of it as a bird flying in the sky. There is a lot that bird don't know. But it don't change the fact that the world is happening to him all the same. What I'm trying to say is... ...is that the course of your life, it is changing. - You don't even see it. - What are you talking about? Let's go! Yep. That's what he's talking about. Yeah, all right now. You all right there, Jack? Just caught me off guard is all. You still good to drive? - Fuck you, Howard. - Oh, whatever you say, little doggie. All right, Jack, come on, we gotta go set up over here. Thank you. Finest apple? All right, then. Are you gonna talk to Forrest about taking some of me and Cricket's liquor? - We're working on somethin' big. - What do you mean talk to him? About letting us in, Howard. Not with that damn popskull shit you been cooking up. - We're still perfecting it. - Perfecting it, my ass, Jack, that shit ain't fit to slop hogs. Forrest don't want you involved, is all. Why is that? 'Cause he don't think you got the grit. Gimme another jar, Jack. Huh? You might wanna slow down some, Howard. We're trying to sell this stuff. - Who is that? - She's one of them crazies from that church at Burnt Chimney. Her daddy over there, he's gonna be the preacher. You wanna get yourself a crowbar, Jack, if you wanna get inside of her. She don't look that crazy. Her daddy don't look too happy, neither. All right, now. Jack, go on and take this around the back. Store whatever's left in the shed. You too, Howard. - Come on, Jack. - Yeah. Are you Forrest Bondurant? Um... I'm Maggie Beaufort. They say in town you're looking for someone to help out 'round the place. Is that position still vacant? Forgive me for asking, but, um... ...what does a lady like you... ...want here? The city can grind a girl down. Gets to a point where you start looking for somewhere quiet. Damn. Well, Mr. Bondurant... ...do I get the job? Quick. Quick. Hey! Cricket! Hey! Hey! You ain't never gonna believe what I just seen. Floyd Banner shoot the tires out of a goddamn ATU car right smack in the middle of town with a goddamn Tommy gun. - Floyd Banner? - Floyd Banner. Oh, hey, look here. In the middle of all that, I was thinking about you. Got you one of these shell cases, Cricket. - Oh, thanks, Jack! - Yeah. Figured we could put holes in it, you know. Put a chain through it, hang it around our necks for luck or something. Floyd Banner. He looked like he had direction, vision. You got smoke coming out the cabin. Jesus Christ, Cricket. - This gonna work? - Naturally, I'm still messing with the recipe, of course. And with this set-up through the pipes, no one'll even know it's down here. The man tucks away his bottle, out he goes. Well... Partner, I don't know if that's the stupidest thing I ever seen or you're some kind of damn genius. - ooh. - Mm-hm. Did Jimmy pay us? - Yup. - He did? Thank you. Hi, Forrest. This here's the new Special Deputy. He's been brought in from the city to help us out. You know, make sure things go smooth. What things might they be? Sorry, something amuse you? My name is Charlie Rakes, I'm from Chicago. That damn brother of yours, is he somewhere about? Who's in the car? That there's the new Commonwealth's Attorney, Mason Wardell. He wants to work it out so everybody gets to do some business. Henry, go see what Mr. Wardell wants. Pete, who the hell is this son of a bitch? Me? I'm the one who's going to make your life real difficult from now on if you don't toe the line, country boy. Don't you ever touch me again. All right, all right. Forrest, it already settled. The whole county's gonna get on board eventually. Start at $20 a week, $30 a load and that gets you free passage throughout the whole county. - No one'll bother you. - Don't nobody bother me now. Mr. Wardell, he'd like a jar of your finest apple brandy. That be all right? Can I help you, son? Yeah. You send your clown with the bow tie around here again, and I guarantee you'll personally pull a cleaver out of his fucking skull. You understand me? You're gonna regret this, Forrest. He's already regretting it, he's just too ignorant to know it yet. Go on, go inside now. You thinking of drawing on me? Say your piece, Jimmy. I got a business to run. All right, Forrest. Now we got a chance to make a good stack of money here while the getting is good. But for things to run smooth, you got to grease the tracks. Yeah, I hear what you're saying, Jimmy, and... ...we go back a long way, so Im not gonna make a big deal out of this, but, uh... ...I'm a Bondurant. And we don't lay down for nobody. We'll continue to operate free and clear here, as always. Me, I'll never pay no money to no Mason Wardell or the next damn bloodsucker come after him. I never have, I never will. I'm sorry you feel that way, Forrest. Jimmy, do you have something that you really wanna say to me? You can't do it the old way no more. I remember there was a time you had some balls, Jimmy. Well, I guess we'll see what happens. Gentlemen. Look, Deputy, we've got something of a problem here. It's Special Deputy, and I don't see a problem at all. I hear these mountain boys have got, uh... ...Injun blood in them. Cherokee. This would explain why they're a little... ...animalistic in their nature. I don't rightly understand what you mean. But there's a feeling around these parts that Forrest Bondurant is different than other folks. - Different? - Indestructible. Do you mean "immortal"? Shit. You fucking hicks are a sideshow unto yourselves. Sheriff, you have any idea what a Thompson submachine gun does to immortal"? Well, this ain't Chicago. You can't just shoot him. Do that, people around here will string us up from a tree. Do I look stupid to you? I've been brought in to do a job. And I know just who to start with. You know something? I don't much like you. Yeah, well, not many do. - Gimme some of that. - Yeah, it's good. I could run them blockades. - You? A blockader? Shit. - What do you mean "shit"? Danny, I can drive a damn sight better than you can. Just not in the shitcan we got. Oh, yeah? Well, Forrest, he don't wanna hear about it. Yeah, well... the hell with Forrest. I'm sick of being his house dog. You gonna tell him that? or you want me to do that, too? You all right there, Jack? Shut up, Howard. Forrest ain't got no aspirations. He still sleeps on a mattress on the floor like a fucking Chinaman. You might wanna watch your mouth there, little brother. Fuck off, Howard. - Oh, come on. - Stop. Stop. It's... Where are you going with that stuff? Church. Hell, you better take it easy on that jar then! He gave a peace of the world Let us pray. If any man loved the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. Amen. Thirty-nine, top. Too much rust in the tank, maybe. Or lead. Mind if I come in? Don't expect no biscuits coming out around here. - Who's that? - Aunt Winnie. Why don't you tell Aunt Winnie this is not a social visit. Well, I ain't sure that'll do no good, sir. She ain't right in the head. Three things you gotta tell us, son. Where's the still, where's the liquor and where's the money? He don't have it. Now who might you be? That there is Jack Bondurant. Well, I'll be damned. I was told I'd find you here. And look... ...here you are. Go find the still, leave us alone. So, the runt of the litter. You boys don't get it, do you? Look at me, son. Oh, you're a peach. What's going on? Come closer. Step forward. Stop right there. Get up. I thought they said you Bondurant boys were a bunch of hard-boiled sons of bitches. Oh, this is terrible. This just won't do. My brothers are gonna get you. They're gonna kill you. Is that so? It's not gonna help right now, is it? Why don't you tell those brothers of yours we're coming for them next. You tell 'em. No more! No more, please. Please. Don't touch me! Next time I come down real hard. All right. So you want to get into this racket. But I see you sitting there, looking like somebody's punching bag. So I ask you... ...what do you intend to do now? - What do I intend to-do? - Yeah. You. You expect somebody else to handle it? - No. - Howard, maybe? - That ain't what I meant. - What did you mean? I don't need no help. I'm sorry? - I don't need no help. - Oh, you don't? Here it is. As long as you are my brother, you will never let this happen again, do you understand? - I get it. - I don't think you do. What if I can't? I mean, I ain't... I'm not built like you and Howard. I ain't never been like you. It's all right. Jack... ...it is not the violence that sets a man apart. All right? It is the distance that he is prepared to go. Jack, look at me. We're survivors. We control the fear. And without the fear, we are all as good as dead. Do you understand? - Do you? - Rakes told me to tell you they're coming for you next. Hm. Yeah, well, they'll be back, you can be sure of that. Um... A present from your preacher friend. You gonna open it? Fuck you, Howard. Ah, damn. Forrest Bondurant. It seems you've been involved in certain illegal activities. illegal activities? Look here, Forrest, if you play ball with us, we can make this here summons disappear. Are you trying to shake me down, Henry? I'm just the messenger here, Forrest. Have you met Howard? Oh, what? You gonna shoot me, huh? Howard! Howard! Huh? Huh? Huh? You gonna hurt my brother?! Huh? You trying to intimidate us, Sheriff? Huh? The Bondurants? All right now. That's enough now. You gonna sell out like them other cocksuckers? Huh? That's enough now. Howard, that's enough. All right. You old piece of shit. Now, y'all oughta know better than to come around here when Howard's been on the stump whiskey for a few days. I think you might wanna get out of here. You give my regards - to Special Deputy Rakes. - Oh, yeah. It ain't nothing personal, Henry. He got that special look in his eye. No I don't. - Yes, he does. - Yes, you do. I saw you at the Bondurant place. You're not from around here. Chicago, right? You were a dancer up there. The Apex Club, wasn't it? Did a little number with feathers, I believe. Something troubling you? Get out of my way. Oh, you don't need to worry about me. I ain't the kind to drink from a greasy cup. Where's Jack? I've seen him swanning around in Daddy's old suit. - Listen, Howard. - Yeah? I need you here with me tonight... I got some business with a couple out-of-towners I never dealt with before. - Yeah? Where they from? - Chicago. Yeah, well, me and Danny, we just gotta stop by the stills first. You just be here by 11:00 now. You got that? I got it. When have I ever let you down? How'd you like to come for a ride with me sometime? You must be jingle-brained if you think I'm gonna get in a car with the likes of you. Anyway, you oughta be worried if my father catches you here. Talking to me. He's just in the feed store, there. Why'd I need to be worried? You know, coming to the church meeting like that. And bustin' out of there like a crazy person. Are you affected in the head? Hold on, now, look here. Look. Crazy person wear a suit as fancy as this? Still don't explain why you acted like a lunatic. I didn't want my feet washed, is all. - I know who you are. - Yeah? Who's that? One of them Bondurant boys, and that's enough. There ain't many that have a good word to say about you. - Yeah? - Except some rubbish about a legend. Yeah. About you guys being invincible or some such nonsense. - Say that word again. What'd you say? - Invincible. Well, shoot, I don't know what that means. Sounds good, though. My daddy thinks you boys are the worst thing ever to hit Franklin. Well, what would your daddy know? You sure got a funny way of courting, Jack Bondurant. That is what you're doing, right? Courting? Yeah. All right, then. You tell your daddy I said hi. - Oh sh... - Thank you. - Oh! - Woo! Oh, shit! Hey, Red. Where them feathers at? He's a crip. Don't worry about it. Hey, Forrest. All right, go tell Maggie to shut her down. All right now, that's enough. Come on, now, get out of here. I paid for another jar and she won't give it. - And then the bitch done me. - No, you didn't. We gonna buy near 100 gallons of your liquor. Now you ain't gonna throw in some extra? You ain't buying a goddamn thing. Now go on, get out of here. He pulled a gun on her, then she pulled the knife around and cut him. Did you pull a gun on this woman? Forrest! I may be a cripple boy, you sack of shit but I'll blow your goddamn brains out if you move! All right now. Sorry. Yeah. Goddamn you, Howard. Well, you best be getting home. OK. Are you sure you're all right? A bit too much whoopee for one night, I guess. Yeah. Bye, Forrest. Hm. Well that don't make no sense. Well, I don't see nothin'... Now you got trouble. Fuckin' hillbilly. [The Bootleggers featuring Emmylou Harris and Liela Moss: "So Youll Aim Towards the Sky"] Damn. Forrest? There's something you need to know. Mm, now we're gonna have some fun. You can come in. But don't let him talk. Hey, Forrest. Them doctors are saying you walked in here. All the ways from Blackwater Station. Through the damn snow. Did you get 'em, Forrest? 'Cause I want to be there when you do. I'll hold them down myself. Walking all the way here from - Blackwater Station... - Jack, why don't you shut up a minute? Um... You should've been there, Howard. Look what they did to you. I'm leaving, Forrest. Huh. Well, it ain't really the quiet life you're looking for? Those people, Forrest... People like them, they're why I left Chicago. I got out and ran. Come here, Maggie. Now this has nothing to do with you, you hear? Nothing at all. Did you check out of that place yet? I want you to come stay at the station for a while. With those guys still around, you're best off close to us. We don't want to see you getting hurt. "We?" You can, uh... You can use the spare room. I know a fella across the county line, take your whole run for five dollars on the gallon. - Baloney. - No, Howard, it's a fact. - Cricket got a message to him. - Five dollars? - Yep. - Beat it, Jack. I'm not in the mind for your horseshit. I'll do the driving, Howard, you ain't gotta worry about nothing. You? - And Cricket. - And Cricket, that twisted little gimp. You're gonna deal with Floyd Banner? You're a goddamn house dog, Jack. You sweep the floors. You got no goddamn vision, Howard. Go on, scram, get outta here. Hey what's eatin' you anyway, huh? The fact that you let your own brother, old Forrest, down? Shut your mouth! What you doin', Jack? Checkin' on you. - I'm all right. - All right, then. Yeah, I'm all right. - Yeah, I was just worried. - I'll be home tomorrow. Go on, now. I'll see you tomorrow, then. - Hey. - What the hell are you doin', Jack? Come here and help me with this. Shit, Jack, are you off your nuts? - I'm done waiting for table scraps. - Forrest is gonna throttle you. Don't you worry about that, grab a box. You just call Gummy Walsh. You tell him we're bringing a big load. Two hundred gallons at least. - "We?" - Yeah. You mean you and me? Well, hell, I need backup, Cricket. You my partner or what? Shit. Grab that tarp. Shit. Jesus, Cricket, you look like you're about to shit yourself a kitten. Whoa, you wouldn't really shoot that thing. If anybody gonna give me cause to, I might. - Oh, bullshit, I don't believe you. - Absolutely. Pow, right between the eyes. What is that? The transmission? It don't sound like it. Did you put gas in it? - Did you put gas in the truck? - Shit! You forgot to put gas in it. Well, what the fuck are we gonna do now? Uh... - Huh? - Uh... I'm sorry, Jack! I had other things on my mind. Like robbing your brothers, for instance. other things on your mind? All you had to do was put gas in the truck! All you had to-do was put gas in it! I got me an idea. I got an idea. Now we're just two bootleggers waiting for the ATU! This road is crawling with cops, Cricket! You know that we're just sitting ducks? - You gotta be kidding me! - What, you got a better idea? You're gonna put moonshine in the gas tank? Come on! Oh, shit! Yeah! Yeah! You must be Cricket Pate, huh? Jack, meet Gummy Walsh. So what you got? Well, sir, we got 100 gallons of quality White Lightning, and 100 finest Crazy Apple. - Eel juice from Franklin County? - Yes, sir. All right. It's all right. What you got there, a little pea-shooter? OK, now walk. - Walk. - We had a deal. You're one stupid sack of shit, ain't you, boy? Can't we work something out? That how you hillbillies do business? With a pop-gun? I said fucking walk! That's far enough. All right, you're next. You dug them boys a hole like I told you? Meet Floyd Banner. Ain't no honor in the business anymore. - Shoot 'em. - Wait, wait. Best stand back, fellas, unless you wanna get your suits all splattered. These country boys can make a real mess. Wait, wait, wait! My name's Jack Bondurant. I come from Blackwater Station. That's impressive. I'll give you four dollars, but keep it to yourself. Those boys out front, they only get but three and a half. I was told five. Let's get it unloaded. I respect you Bondurants standing up to that Commonwealth's District Attorney. He's got everybody in his pocket. He takes a shit and half of Virginia falls out his ass. There's something you ought to know. I heard what happened to your brother, Forrest. Them cocksuckers that did it used to work for me. - They work for you? - They left my outfit. Got an offer from some slick-looking deputy. He wore perfume. Charlie Rakes? Yeah, that was him. What happened to Forrest... ...had nothing to do with me. Make sure you tell Forrest that. Tell him Floyd Banner says hello. Give him this. Say it's a gift from the Midnight Coal Company. Yeah. Now I remember them Bondurant boys. That boy's brother, he's the one who walked They say he goes around drinking white mule through a hole in his throat. I got every lawman in three fucking states up my ass! The last thing I need is some hard-ass crackers pulling a damn blood feud on me! Now get this sack of shit out of here! You're gonna hold on, Forrest. You gotta hear me out. I sold your whole lot to Floyd Banner in one damn go. Would have taken you a month to off-load that. Not only that, I sold it for five dollars on the barrel. That's twice what you get. Right here? That's two thousand dollars, minus my commission. Look at you. You think you're so goddamn smart. You're swanning around like you're Al Capone. With your new best friend. You take a good look, Jack. That's your new best friend. Yeah, you're wrong there, too. Special Deputy Rakes was the one hired the men to do that to you. - Who told you that? - Floyd Banner himself. Oh, Floyd Banner himself. Well, that must be gospel. What's that? It's a gift. From Floyd Banner. It's an address, Forrest. For where you can find them bastards who cut your throat. I say we get 'em tonight. Anything else I can do for you, Forrest? Sweep your fuckin' floors, maybe? I got somewhere I gotta be. Can I come in? - Better be quick then. - I'll be quick. Got me one of them cameras. - Stand right here. - Here? Lord, if my daddy caught me with one of those things, he'd murder me. You gotta keep steady now, so as I can get it. All right. Why'd you stop fooling around? That's how the movie stars do it in California. All right. One, two, three. - Now you. - All right. Ready? How'd I look? Like trouble, Jack Bondurant. I got me a new car. Forrest? Hey. Huh? - It's nice, isn't it? - Yeah. Where's Forrest? - What? - Jack. - Have they gone without me? - You don't have to be like... Shit. I found out where they was. You know how they say you ain't got no balls, Jack? They was wrong. You send these to Rakes. You're looking real sharp there, kid. The trumpet has been blown, the battlement stormed, and the walls have come tumbling down. Who's there? I kept hearing the country was in a real bad way. Folks outta work, people dusted out, losing their homes and their farms and all. But from my perspective, the situation was something different entirely. once we started shifting that liquor across the county line, that money just started pouring in. That don't mean the runs were easy. Rakes was coming at us day and night. Go on, boy, gimme a reason. Y'all get the fuck out of Franklin. Then Cricket, he had one of his ideas. He stuck a souped-up carburetor in that Ford. It was thing of pure beauty. He's gifted, that boy. Me, well, ain't no one could say I couldn't drive a damn car. - Forrest, dance with me! - I ain't dancing to this. Come on... Meanwhile, Howard and me hammered out four 300 gallon submarine stills. They were the biggest stills Franklin had ever seen and we hid them deep in the woods where Rakes could never find them. Come on, you gotta look tough, Cricket. Get off my property, boy! I catch you near my daughter again, God Himself won't be able to help you! - You hear me?! - One, two, three. By that time, Jimmy and them others caved in, made deals with Wardell. All except our cousin, Spoons. But Rakes took him out of the picture altogether. We Bondurants, we were the last ones standing. You just gonna watch me forever? Um... Uh... What... What you doin'? Damned if you don't keep a girl waiting. Forrest? Now hold on, Bertha, before you start talking about your soul, vanity and all that sort of stuff, I wanna make sure you understand something. This here vehicle, you know what that is? That's a Rumbleseat Roadster. It's a Ford V8. Not many in the world get a chance to drive in such a thing. It's only fair of me to warn you before you open that door and get inside, nothing's gonna be the same as it was before. Your whole life is gonna change forever. Now you can sit there on that gate and you can shake your head, talking about "Daddy this" and "Daddy that" till you're blue in the face or you can climb down off that gate, you can live a little bit, - you can get inside my car... - Hey, Jack... Hold on, Bertha, this is the best part. - There's kudzu fields just up... - Jack. Yeah? You still got the price tag on your coat. No, I don't. - Come here. - Where? Jeepers, Jack. It sure goes fast. Fast? Now we're going fast. Don't you like it? It don't matter if I like it, I can't wear this. I just wanted to get you something nice. Where do you think I'd be able to wear something like that? I'll take you somewhere so you can wear something like that every day. Why don't you try it on? What? Here? - Yeah, ain't nobody around. - You're around. I... I'll just... listen to my radio, look out at this tree here. I won't look, you can go back behind the car and put it on. All right, seeing as you bought it and all. You better not look. - You better not be looking. - I'm not looking. Just over here at this woodpecker on a tree. Well? How do I look? Come on. Oh, shit, Jack. Goddamn. I got you, you dumb hick. Watch your step, here. Whatcha think? - What do I think about what? - My place of employment. - Hey. - Hot socks, Jack. What's she doing here? Miss Bertha Minnix, meet my partner, the Cricket Pate. Pleased to meet you, Cricket Pate. The pleasure's all mine, miss. Boy, oh, boy, Jack, your brothers are gonna shit their grits. Don't you worry about it. This is it. - It's a real hideout. - Howard's up in the look-out. It's the biggest distillation set-up in these hills. We're able to put out 1,000 gallons a week. No one around here comes close to doing that. You're an outlaw, Jack. No, that's just a matter of perspective. I'm just doing what any man around here would do if he had the same strength of character. You got it all figured out? Yeah. Damned if your face don't belong on a coin, Bertha. - Jack. - I mean it. I ain't never seen nothing as beautiful as you right here. Not never. I wish I had the damn words to tell you. You're doing just fine. You're a damn fool, Jack. - Jack! - What? - It's the law! - What? The law! The ATU! It's the law! Come here, come here. - What the hell was that? - We gotta go! All right, look. You take her. Take her. - Go to the Station, I'll meet you there. - Jack... Go. Go, go, goddamn it, go! - Keep moving! - Where the fuck is that coming from? Mm... Go, go, go! - Do you think we scared them off? - I don't know. What the hell's that? - Goddamn it, listen! - Shit. Huh? Fuck! - I'm gonna kill you, motherfucker. - Hey, Rakes! Remember me? - You're not gonna shoot me. - Oh, yeah? Look at you. Boo- hoo. OK, let's go. Close in! Goddamn nance. - Move in! - Come on, Jack! Go, go, go! Get those sons of bitches! Fuck! - Good job, boys. - Thank you, sir. They found Cricket Pate and some gal. - The cripple boy? - Yep. - Hiding out in the woods. - You all right? Come on, miss, let's get you home, now. Come on. Don't worry, miss, he'll be fine. Keep on going. That friend of yours, he called me a nance. Why would he say that? I don't know, sir. Maybe 'cause you smell funny. What's wrong with your damn legs, anyway? I got rickets when I was a kid. Left me a little hinky. That's it. Down a bit. Here, just goin here. What are we... Why do you want me to goin there? It's fine. Come on. He makes a goddamn mess on Charlie Rakes' shirt! He called me a fucking nance! Forrest, I never meant to... Go on, you never meant what? To walk around like you own the place? Or like you're... ...you're public enemy number one now? Forrest, I was just trying to make sure... Letting you in was a mistake. - I'm sorry. - Hm? I said I'm sorry. I'm sorry they damn blew up your stills. I'm sorry they got the car. - I'm sorry they took your money. - My money? Hold on. My money? This ain't about the goddamn money. This is about a goddamn principle. Might be he's had enough, Forrest. Yeah, as for you, you dumb son of a bitch... I just heard... They got Cricket. - What do you mean? - They killed him. Cricket's dead, Jack. That boy never hurt a... fly. He was a good boy. [The Bootleggers featuring Ralph Stanley and Emmylou Harris: "Fire in the Blood/ Snake Song"] Them bastards! Forrest. Uh, we just want to say how... How sorry we are about Cricket. We all liked that boy. And whatever was done to him goes beyond the point of forgiveness. Yeah, well there's a lot that can't be forgiven. All right, Forrest, I know what we done wasn't right... You sold us out, Jimmy. It's time y'all picked a side. Jack. - What do you want? - I need to talk to Forrest. - No you don't. - Ja... You talk to me now. Now, looky here, Jack. I just want y'all to know that neither me nor my officers had anything to do with what happened to Cricket. - He was a good boy... - Just your best buddy, Rakes. He ain't my buddy. What he done to that boy... ...there can be no absolution. You come all the way out here to tell me that? I'm risking something being here, Jack. Now... I come here to tell you that what happened to Cricket ain't the end of something, but the start of something. You understand me? Mason Wardell, he's gotten Rakes to bring in extra ATU officers from the city. They're gonna shut down the whole damn county. They already got me and my deputies close down the bridge. No ones getting in and no ones getting out. - Where is Rakes? - Never you mind. - I asked you a question. - I'm warning you, son. You keep your voice down. You better lay low. At least till this blows over. This is a war they is waging. You ain't gonna survive. You best get out of here now. Go on. Jack! Forrest! - Ah, shit. - Hey, wake up! Damn it, Jack. What are you doing? Well, Jack's gone off half-cocked. That's it, then. Forrest, Jack done took off in Cricket's car! Calm down, Howard. Go fetch the car. He got trouble written all over him. Come on, Danny, I said get up! I gotta watch you die all over again. What you talkin' about? I gotta find you lying in a pool of your own blood? Drag your damn body into my car? Drive you down to the hospital, your throat cut from ear to ear? You did that? I'm not doing it again. I thought I walked. Isn't that just like you to believe your own damn legend? Come on, Forrest, get a move on! Wait a minute. You came back here that night? They see you? Forrest, come on! - Then what happened? - Nothing. I asked you a question. I told you. Look at me. Maggie, look at me. - What happened when you got back? - Not a damn thing. Now you know. Not a goddamn one of them bastards ever did a damn thing to me. Forrest, come on! Son of a bitch. - Wasn't that Jack Bondurant? - Shit! It's that Bondurant boy! Where's that murdering piece of shit?! He's got a gun. Rakes! You motherfucker, where are you?! - Where are you?! - Just hold it right there, Jack. - Rakes, you bastard! - You looking for me, son? Stop! Rakes! Deputy! Stand down, deputy! - You are one stupid boy! - Put down your weapon. Forrest. Hey! Kill those sons of bitches! Hold your fire! Huh? How's that feel? Come on, Danny. Cease fire! Cease fire, deputies! Take that, you shit-kicking rubes! Jack! - Get him out of there! - Howard! I'll teach you to mess with Special Deputy Charlie Rakes. Sheriff? You are nothing now! That goes for all you hicks! Stand down, everybody! Stand down! Cease fire! Hold your fire. Jimmy, please. Let's stop this right here. No one else needs to get hurt. Time to die, you chicken-shit sons of bitches! Stand down, deputy! It's time for me to take out the garbage! - Goddamn it, Rakes, stand down! - Immortal? - Immortal?! What a fucking laugh! - Deputy! Fuck! Someone help Forrest! Now get the fuck out of Franklin. You gonna let him walk away? Get out of my way! All of you! - Now, everybody... - Fuck! - Just stay calm. - Come on, just take it easy. I work for the Commonwealth's attorney! Stay where you are, Jimmy. You're candy-assed motherfuckers! Every single one of you! You bastard! - Forrest! Forrest! - Goddamn it, stop shooting! - Holster your weapons! - No! Get some help! Somebody get some help! What was he thinking? You fucking bastards are gonna pay for this! Rakes! Jack! Now just hold it right there, Jack! Gimme the gun. Now, everybody just stay calm. Let it be, Jimmy. Jack. Jack! Fuck. Christ. Son of a bitch. All right then. In December 1933, Prohibition finished. So ended the great Franklin County Moonshine Conspiracy, as it became known. That same year, Commonwealth Attorney Mason Wardell was arrested on charges of corruption. A couple years later, Howard moved to Martinville, found work in the textile mills there. Surprised us all by getting hitched, having a whole bunch of children. Bertha Minnix, the preacher's daughter, well, that gal always had a rebellious streak in her. We got married the following year. I ran my daddy's farm. Raised cattle, grew tobacco. All right, then, here we go. After he got shot at the bridge, Forrest spent two weeks recuperating in the hospital. Then he walked out of there and married Maggie. - You gonna toast, Howard? - Yeah. Neither of them told no one. I only found out years later. - Cheers. - Cheers. He was like that, Forrest. Don't you boys be making a commotion when you come upstairs, all right? - Yes, ma'am. - I'm going to bed. Come on, you, up to bed. Night. Good night, boys. Hey, come on, Forrest. Come on. Why don't you show us a dance? Come on, Uncle Forrest, get up. Come on! - Come on. - I ain't dancing for you two jackasses. Come on, huh? I'm gonna go get me some air. - Do one move. - No. - Here we go, here we go! Oh, oh... - Come on... There ain't enough space. Let him walk it off. Yep, I'm gonna... I'm going to bed, too. It's too damn cold to be sitting out here on this porch. Midnight's upon us already. Night, Forrest. - Night, Jack. - Good night. Forrest once said nothing could kill us, that we could never die. And back then I think I actually believed it. Hell, I know Forrest did. 'Cause no matter what this world flung at him he seemed to be able to just stand up and keep on going. Getting a little more bent, a little more twisted each time. But nobody leaves this world alive. Not even Forrest. And in the end, it was dumb luck and pneumonia that got him. It was as simple and indifferent as that. Nowadays, we Bondurants abide by the law. People ain't trying to cut our throats, stab us, shoot us no more. Them days are long gone. Sometimes when I'm out on the porch, just sitting around doing nothing, hell... ...it sure does get real quiet around here. |
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