Mayor Of Kingstown
Season 3 – Episode 3
Episode title: Barbarians at the Gate
Original release date: June 16, 2024
Plot: The Mayor makes his presence known to Konstantin. Bunny brings Mike up to speed on a failed assassination attempt.
* * *
♪ MTV ♪
♪ dramatic music ♪
Bunny’s drugs were fucked with.
You’re gonna have to fucking pivot, here. Okay?
You have to cut a deal with the Mexicans, get some clean supply.
So, anybody new in town?
[Ian] Yeah, his name’s Konstantin Noskov.
Russian out of Brighton Beach here to clean up after Milo.
Where are you gonna put your loyalty next?
[gunshot]
[crying]
Mike McLusky is a criminal.
It’s not like he didn’t even the score.
[grunting]
What does that mean?
I found the rat.
You’re kidding me.
It’s Ben Morrissey.
You know, the next fucking innocent that Robert kills is on your head!
[grunts]
Jesus Christ.
[siren whoops]
Turn the engine off.
[Harper] You resisted arrest, assaulted an officer.
[woman panting]
What you got?
I can make it work.
No option not to, brother.
Dad! Stop! Stop!
[baby fussing]
[metal rattling]
[rats squeaking]
[baby crying]
[homeless man] Mary, Mother of God…
It’s gonna be okay.
[baby crying]
I don’t even know what to call this fucking depravity.
Beyond sin, that’s for goddamn sure.
Come on.
You don’t have to watch this, come on.
[indistinct radio chatter]
[helicopter whirring overhead]
Hey, where you at?
I’m here. Where the fuck are you?
He’s good, he’s with me.
What are you walking me in to here?
Milo’s girl from fucking Cavo.
Tatiana?
Yeah. Executed.
Three in the back, one in the head.
They threw the fucking body in the garbage.
Who’s they?
Mikey, that’s not the worst of it.
They threw the baby in there with her.
The what?
Baby.
Kid’s alive, barely. Well, hell, God knows how long
it was fucking starving in that frozen fucking garbage.
It gnawed on its own fucking hands.
It’s not an it, Ian, it’s a him, it’s a boy.
I mean, this is her though, yeah?
[Ian exhales]
[squeaking]
[Mike] Oh, fuck.
Yeah, coroner’s on his way.
Who found her?
Homeless guy. Saved the kid from the fucking rats.
Two of Milo’s soldiers got dropped by the river last night,
and now her.
It’s that fucking Cossack.
Konstantin.
Fuck yeah, it’s Noskov, it’s him.
Fuck, he’s cleaning fucking house.
Okay.
Hey, Mike. Fuck.
I want you to run the plates on Milo’s car,
see if you can get a hit.
Oh, Mike. I thought you were cool,
Iris getting out of town. Come on.
I am. I just want to make sure she did.
We got to be worried about this?
Yeah, I think we got to be fucking worried.
[Ian] Fuck.
All right, let’s go.
[tires squealing]
♪ intense, dramatic music ♪
♪
[buzzing]
♪
[engine shuts off]
You Konstantin?
Hey. Turn back around.
Which one of you did it?
Was it you?
[grunting]
Who did it? Was it you? Huh?
What fresh hell is this?
Get the fuck off.
You Konstantin?
Throwing babies in the fucking garbage?
You got my attention.
You don’t want that.
You come to this town, you kill Milo
and anyone he works with,
so who’s next on your fucking list?
You’re Milo’s patsani.
That makes so much more sense.
You’re Michael McLusky.
I know your name.
[scoffs] I know your reputation.
[chuckles softly]
Animals lead with cock or claw.
But y-you know this, Michael, don’t you, hmm?
Because you’re an animal.
I don’t think you want to find out.
Is it a warning?
No more dead bodies.
Or…?
[tires squealing]
[siren whoops]
Now I’m getting annoyed.
Take this out, before the pigs come in.
Welcome to Kingstown.
♪ Dramatic, melancholy music ♪
♪
♪
What the fuck are you thinking?
[Kyle] Jesus Christ, Mike.
Tell me you got something on these motherfuckers, tell me.
This fucker is un-fucking-touchable.
That doesn’t exist, Ian.
Mike, I told you that.
It’s untouchable.
Just figure this out, or I will.
[engine starts]
[tires squealing]
♪ gloomy, foreboding music ♪
♪
[indistinct chatter]
[indistinct P.A. announcement]
[prisoners speaking Spanish]
We’re down with the business,
but you can’t keep jacking it up.
Market value. You need me.
You got no product, you get devoured.
[Mullin] Callahan.
Speakin’ fucking Mexican.
[Mullin] Callahan!
The warden would like to see you.
Well, that took no fucking time.
We’re short, right now. That’s fact.
But more shit’s coming, clean shit. Pure.
Roberto, I’m going to be in a place that fucking helps you…
the way you’re helping me.
You see my hand out?
Motherfucker, what I see is a gang
of motherfucking cracker screws trying to…
put us in boxes.
That’s what I see.
Now, look, if we need to go back to back,
Bunny’s got you.
That’s word.
♪ Tense, ominous music ♪
♪
[latch clicks]
[door creaks]
[latch clicks]
How the mighty have fallen.
That’s Samuel.
The passage.
But I was never mighty, Kareem.
I’m a humble motherfucker.
It’s “Warden” now.
Yeah. I clocked the suit.
You give up Millhaven ’cause you’re a humble motherfucker?
Well, you know, I’m gettin’ on.
Got a niece nearby I never met.
New facility, Millhaven, with humane amenities.
Bigger cells and better food, sure.
Not terrible, far as it goes.
And you gave all that up… your trustee privileges,
the fancy library, the grub…
They got a farming program.
farming program… for this shit?
Home’s where the heart is, Warden.
Guess my heart’s here.
Timing’s suspect, Merle. You transfer, Gunner drops?
Gunner’s got nothing to do with me.
That was old business between him and Head is what I hear.
Nobody ran it by you?
I just fucking got here.
And yet all those pasty fucks already drafting behind you.
Respect for one’s elders.
Well, you’re a veteran,
you have respect.
You keep…
doing the easy time you’ve been doing.
You don’t?
You’ll regret coming back.
Every fucking day.
[knocking on door]
Amor fati.
Sure, Merle.
100%.
Just saying.
I made peace with my fate.
I’m gonna die in here.
In my cell, on the yard, however.
My terms, though.
My way.
Can you say the same?
[guard] Garro, Valentine.
Greene, Aliya.
Williams, Caroline.
Hey.
They called your name.
Oh, shit, what?
[panting]
[guard] Rest of you get comfortable.
[cell door rattling]
[latch clicks]
[footfalls receding]
[indistinct chatter]
Boy, got something for you.
[inmate shouts]
You’re mine, bitch!
Fuck!
What’s up, bitch?
Where you going?
[grunting]
[shouting]
[grunting]
Motherfucker!
[indistinct shouting]
Come here, man!
[indistinct shouting]
Fuck.
Get back up here!
♪ Tense, rapid music ♪
♪
[gear shift thuds]
Can I help you?
[Bunny] I ain’t figure you for this low-rent shit, Mike.
The fuck you doing? You can’t be seen here.
I was in the neighborhood, man. Get in.
And give me two seconds.
Crackers made a move on Raph.
He good?
Lost a little blood, but, you know,
he battled his way out of that shit.
I thought people’d be too scared to go after him?
Don’t throw that shit in my face, man.
Well… he make that deal?
Colombians.
Shit cost me extra five figures. That’s on you.
Hey, I told you how it was gonna go.
You ain’t tell me nothing about no fucking five figures, Mike.
Are you worried about Raphael,
or are you worried about the money?
Yo, I worry about every fucking thing, Mike.
Same as you.
Yeah.
Well, Raphael’s gonna be fine. They went after him,
they fucking missed.
So just double down on protection.
It’s not gonna happen again. I’ll talk to the guards.
Put a leash on your cracker barrel brothers, too, man.
Hey, they’re not my brothers.
They under new management, man. Show your influence.
What are you talking about?
Gunner got got by his fucking own.
When?
Aw, man.
Mayor Mike, you slipping, dawg.
Hey, fuck you. When?
A couple days back.
In visitation.
They suffocated that fool right in front of his kid.
She watched the whole thing through the glass,
like shark feed in a fucking aquarium.
He was in protective custody.
Yeah.
New shot-caller got some goddamn pull.
Some OG transferred in from Millhaven.
Millhaven?
You seen a fucking ghost?
Ah, hell, all I see is ghosts, Bunny.
That’s all I fucking see.
[man] Nice.
[phone buzzing]
Fuckin’ A.
What’s up?
Where’s Mom’s car? Working on it.
Well, it’s not just “get to it when you can”
kind of thing, Kyle.
I need to know the answer.
I asked the question, Mike. They’re checking.
Yeah, and I need to know the fucking answer.
So how long’s it gonna take?
I don’t know.
Well, that’s too fucking long, Kyle.
[chuckles] I’m on it, Mike.
All right, thank you.
Hey, uh, got word
the baby’s gonna make it.
Good morning.
You hear me?
Yeah.
Some good fucking news for a change, huh?
Kid’s a fighter. Gonna have to be.
Orphan in the system.
[gunfire over phone]
Where the fuck are you?
Just, uh, learning to be a dad.
I got to go.
Yeah, sounds like it.
Detective Ferguson’s trying to reach you.
Ian.
Just call him Ian.
I choose not to.
He’s headed to Anchor Bay to look at security footage.
Said you could be his plus-one.
Yeah, well, now?
No rest for the wicked.
Thanks for the coffee.
Fuck.
I’ll be back.
[train horn blows]
[Ian] 11:14 a.m.
There she is.
Here we go, here we go.
Look how fucking quick that was.
Can’t see shit, except he’s white.
Well, hey, hey, can you, uh pause this and just blow it up?
What am I, fucking IT guy?
Do your fucking job.
He’s either Aryan or Russian.
There’s no way that Bunny’s mule is rolling with White Power.
It’s not happening.
[Mike] What is he doing?
[Ian] He’s pissing on the fucking car.
What a fucking psycho.
Who does that?
I got to be fucking dreaming.
What the fuck is he doing here?
Kareem, he’s with me.
He’s not DOC or KPD.
You can’t bring him in here. Why do you
pretend to not know that?
It’s a homicide. It’s my discretion.
And it’s my prison.
Kareem, it’s local. It’s murder police…
[Kareem] Yeah, but we’re not on the street…
But we’re on the same side,
but we’re on the same side, right? Come on.
Yeah, we got what we need.
Let’s get the fuck out of here.
Come on.
Thanks, we appreciate it.
I’ll catch up with you.
All right.
Hey, let me chat with you a sec.
Yeah.
Callahan’s back in population.
As of 36 hours ago, Merle Callahan returned to us.
And you didn’t want to pick up the fucking phone, Kareem?
I don’t report to you, Mike.
[chuckles] I know you don’t. Come on, no one said you did.
But, you know,
neither of us can do this in a fucking vacuum.
The torch has been passed, it’s in my hand,
and I will run shit my way.
Run shit the way you want to run it, Kareem.
But what you do in here echoes on the outside.
And KPD will deal with what happens on the street.
Fuck it, you know how this works, Kareem.
Jesus Christ.
KPD will deal with what happens
out there and I will deal
with the shit that happens inside my prison.
You can’t fucking silo this.
You know that.
Yes, I can.
Yes, I can.
[stammers] You don’t have agency
in here, man. You’re a civilian, bad enough,
but you’re a fucking ex-con.
And if any of this shit comes to light… what you do,
what you’ve done…
any of it comes to light, man,
e-everyone is compromised.
You’re compromised, you mean.
Look, I-I’m, I’m not gonna risk my career
to help you play fixer.
I can’t do that.
Okay, I hear you.
You’re putting me in a position
that I don’t want to fucking be in, though, Kareem.
Which is gonna force you to be
in a position that you don’t want to be in.
You understand?
Fuck, I mean…
Look.
What happened, happened, Kareem.
You did what you had to.
You can’t take it back.
I’m not even saying you fucking should.
But you can’t fight me
on every little fucking thing here.
You got it?
[Kareem chuckles]
Hear me?
What do you… what do you want?
You want a meeting with Callahan?
Well, not yet.
Not until I know the next play, but…
can you segregate him, at least?
We both know what Callahan is capable of.
He’s back for a fucking reason and it ain’t Gunner.
[sighs]
[chuckles]
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪
Hey, Charlie. Hey.
I was worried, Ian.
Nothing to worry about, Charlie.
I just came by to see my friend.
See if you want to grab some burgers. How are you?
You didn’t come when I called you.
Charlie, we talked about this.
The busyness when I’m working. Remember? Come on.
Busyness business. Busy. Busy, busy bees, right, Ian?
That’s right. Busy, busy bees.
[laughs]
But I always get here,
as soon as I can. You know that.
You’re here now, Ian. [buzzing]
[chuckles]
So what’s happening, Charlie?
Uh, everything good? [inhales sharply]
What’s the good word?
Got no good words. Got none now.
Just bad,
inside my…
head.
Bad thoughts. I’m just not ready now.
I’m not ready now.
Okay.
All right, well, look, I’ll-I’ll come back soon.
We’ll go inside where it’s warm,
and I’ll-I’ll bring some burgers.
Would you like that?
Yeah. Where it’s warm, Ian.
I’ll be ready better then.
All right, you get some exercise.
Come on. Keep warm.
Okay, Ian.
Bye, Ian.
Bye, Charlie.
♪ Slow, suspenseful music ♪
[indistinct chatter]
♪
[grunts softly] I know you were expecting your niece.
I’m sorry to disappoint. My boss made the arrangements.
Konstantin Noskov.
And?
He’s an admirer.
A wealthy admirer.
His cell.
He knows your numbers have dwindled.
Quality over quantity.
He just wants to help.
That’s why he sent me.
♪ Slow, dark music ♪
To help.
Is there a place where the guards don’t look?
♪
[phone buzzing]
Yeah, what do you got?
Mom’s car’s impounded.
The female subject was stopped
on a bullshit traffic infraction,
resisted arrest, assaulted an officer…
And the ID?
What ID, Mike?
No. It’s fucking her.
Jane Doe, ’cause no license.
She’s refusing to give her prints.
Of course she did. [chuckles]
Well, would it make a difference anyway, Mike?
I mean, do you even know her real name?
Thanks, Kyle. I’m on my way.
♪ Ominous, atmospheric music ♪
[sighs] Motherfuck.
[tires screeching]
What are you doing?
♪ Tense, suspenseful music ♪
[tires screeching]
[horns honking]
[tires screeching]
[horn honking]
♪
♪
Whoa!
[grunts]
[grunting]
♪ exciting, dramatic music ♪
♪
[grunting]
[panting]
Fucker.
Didn’t take you long, did it?
[buzzing]
Hello.
Konstantin.
We have a problem.
♪ Dark, dramatic music ♪
♪
[panting]
[glove box opens]
[soft thud]
[glove box closes]
Motherfucker.
[engine starts]
[sighs]
Hey, Walter.
[door closes]
We got a category 5 shitstorm happening outside,
and you can’t return my fucking call?
I am managing crises here.
Plural.
I’m not? Jesus, Walter.
Do you need me to help you prioritize?
No, Evelyn, actually, I don’t.
Oh, I think you do.
Do you know how many fresh lawsuits
Robert Sawyer has brought upon this city?
Tactical team raided an Aryan meth lab.
They were fired upon.
And Sawyer just blew them up?
Level of force was commensurate.
“Commensurate”?
[Walter and Evelyn conversing]
Hey.
Where’s Iris?
Good. She’s safe.
Fuck’s wrong with you?
I don’t know. Fuck, you know.
Russian fuckhead tried to take me out on the Southside,
this motherfucker.
You’re fucking kidding me, Mikey.
What?
You’re fucking kidding me.
What’d I do?
You cannot roll up on these fucking comrades,
I told you that.
He rolled up on me.
I’m gonna take an APC, I’m gonna flatten
that fucking cocksucker’s Cavo, fuck him.
No, let’s not do that.
There’s too many moving parts right now.
All right, I’ll clean it up.
No, don’t do that.
That’ll be a calling card. How’s that?
[scoffs]
[stammers] So you’re just gonna wait
and let them fucking try it again?
Well, I don’t think they’re gonna try it again.
You can trust me on that.
Mikey,
this fucker, you didn’t even piss him off.
All right? You were just a fucking nuisance.
These fuckers jerk off, they kill people
and then eat a fucking doughnut.
They do not fucking care.
All right, I get it.
[Evelyn] Show me every interview…
Let’s just figure out who’s next, okay?
And we’ll work backwards from there.
[Evelyn] And I want the name of every fucking genius…
She’s got to shut up.
Yeah, I know.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ll figure that out.
It’s on the list.
Yeah.
[knocking on wall]
Hey, hey.
Jane Doe.
[scoffs]
You found me.
Yeah.
Never takes you long, does it, Mike? [clears throat]
Well, that’s not true.
♪ Slow, contemplative music ♪
Thought I could get myself out of here.
So?
Want to stay in here?
Earn your stripes?
[chuckles]
Give them your prints, I’ll get you out in, like, an hour, okay?
I can’t, Mike.
[stammers] Iris.
Y-You can’t what?
I can’t give them my prints.
♪ Slow, dramatic music ♪
♪
[sighs]
Okay. All right.
I’m gonna need a minute.
[clears throat]
Don’t fucking step on my heels.
[exasperated sigh]
Hey.
I can’t talk right now.
It’s not a good time.
Oh, it’s never gonna be a good time, Evelyn.
You keep burning all these fucking bridges,
you’re gonna have nowhere to go.
So I’m gonna ask you to stop. Okay?
I need you to stop.
You got to be smart.
I don’t care, Mike.
I’m not gonna ease up on that fucker,
and I’m not dropping the Morrissey case.
What case, Evelyn?
Morrissey’s dead.
One fucking guy tried
to do the right thing… one fucking guy.
Robert killed him.
You don’t know that.
Okay, fine. Had him killed.
Jesus Christ. You don’t know that, either.
I’ll tell you what I do know. It wasn’t…
[lowers voice] It was not a home invasion.
♪ Slow, intriguing music ♪
♪
All right.
Here it is, Iris.
The court order’s gonna come through,
and then it’s gonna be too late.
You give up your prints now, I can cover for you.
[sighs]
Iris, whatever it is,
I-I swear to God, I’m gonna get rid of it.
Whatever you don’t want anybody to know, they’re not gonna know.
[quietly] I don’t give a shit what you think.
[sighs] Yeah, I get it, Iris.
I know you’ve been through a lot,
and you only trust Mike.
I mean, I only trust Mike.
Think I’ve known him since I was six, and…
Iris, that night on the pier…
Mike had me up on the hill, watching over both of you.
We’re not strangers, Iris.
Mike’s on your side, Iris.
I am on your side.
Please let me help you.
Walter looked at me with a straight face.
He told me Sawyer passed
his physical.
Yeah, and?
I saw his fucking physical, Mike.
He suffered a concussion during that beating.
They took his temperature,
they took his pulse, they said he was combat-ready.
Are you done?
I’m not gonna start telling you
about his psychological evaluation.
Evelyn, are you done? Huh?
Look, you had your shot at him, okay?
And you missed. All right? It’s over.
So, Evelyn, let it be over
because you’re about to cross a line here.
You pass it,
I can’t help you.
Well, that’s fucking scary.
It’s supposed to be.
I’m asking you to be smart.
This is our home, Mike.
If I die, I die doing right thing.
Just like Morrissey?
Yeah.
Like Morrissey.
[car door opens]
[car door closes]
[Ian] You got it, Jess?
You didn’t snoop through this, did you?
Fuck.
Okay.
We’re good.
Never sees the light of day.
Mike can never know.
Know what?
Thank you.
You’re welcome. Look…
I… [sighs]
I hate to be an asshole here, but I, can I…
I just got to ask you a favor.
I’m working on this.
She was hit a couple days ago.
You know her, it would help me out.
[Iris] Tati.
Didn’t like her.
She had a kid.
You know who’d want to see her dead?
King falls, Court follows.
What, you read that somewhere?
Saw it in a movie once.
[chuckles]
Look, I don’t know. She worked for Milo.
There’s probably a lot of people that would want to hurt her.
All right.
[Iris] Wait.
[Ian] What?
[quietly] He would hurt her.
So, how do you know Noskov?
He was on a murder charge in New York.
I dated a judge.
Case went away.
So he owes you.
As much as he owes anyone.
Ian says he’s gonna be trouble for you.
Ian talks too much.
He worries about you.
It’s sweet.
You and Noskov, you were close?
I never fucked him, Mike.
I didn’t ask that, Iris.
Well, I’m not his type.
You don’t have to be anyone’s type.
Not anymore.
It’s different now.
Were you hoping I’d gone for good?
I don’t know, Iris.
I was just hoping for you.
Where would I go?
Where do you see me when you’re hoping?
Just not here.
Anywhere but here.
[Baby Mitch snuffling]
♪ slow, dramatic music ♪
♪
[upbeat music playing]
[lively chatter]
Surprised to see me?
Not at all, Michael.
I’m impressed.
He’s carrying.
Eh, it’s fine. He won’t use it.
Come.
You think you know what you’re dealing with
or who you’re dealing with, you don’t.
Well, Milo was a pimp.
So I thought you and your brother,
his bitches.
Now, I can’t speak for your brother…
Yeah, let’s not.
No, but you, I underestimated.
You, I now understand, are something else,
a different animal.
Yeah, yeah. I’m a different animal.
The kind that you don’t put down.
You can’t kill me because you fucking need me.
I’m the guy you work with.
I’m the person that makes your life possible in this town.
Because you, Michael, are the mayor.
You’re damn right.
Good fucking talk.
♪ Tense, dramatic music ♪
♪
Well, I just read that Mother Teresa was
actually a real fucking bitch.
Ah, that’s sacrilege.
You can’t call Mother Teresa a bitch.
I fucking read it! I didn’t say it.
Where did you read this shit?
In a book.
In a book I’m reading on the fucking Kolkatans.
The who?
The Kolkatans.
They’re the people of fuck…
[car alarms wailing]
Fuck!
♪ Slow, jarring music ♪
♪
♪ Dramatic, melancholy music ♪
♪
