"Am I, uh..." "What are we waiting for?" "What?" "The arrows." "Gayle's putting in the arrows on Reagan." "Yeah, I know, it's..." "But they said..." "Jenny came by the trailer." "She said five minutes, so..." "Well, there's a lot of arrows." "So..." "Should I just go back to my." ". ." "No." "No, it's, uh..." "Jenny said..." "What did Jenny say?" "They're..." "They're putting in the arrows." "Yeah, I know, but how long?" "Doll!" "Just find out, will you?" "'Cause the chief is wearing moccasins here." "It's goddamn February." "So, what's he like, anyway?" "Who?" "Dutch, Reagan." "Ronnie?" "Ah!" "He's a prince." "He's a real class act." "Yeah." "Can I get a blanket?" "This is the actual field, they tell me." "What?" "It's the actual battlefield." "Massacre at Sioux Falls?" "I think 300 of your people, braves, died here, what, 100 years ago?" "I'm from New Jersey." "Sure, but..." "Yeah, you're..." "You're an Indian, right?" "So that's gotta be, uh..." "Gotta be what?" "No, I'm just saying." "This battle, you know, was the last big battle before the end of..." "And what came after..." "Whew, look, I'm a Jew, so believe me, I know tribulation." "Yeah." "Smoke?" "Any minute, he'll be out." "Right." "Nobody moves." "Everybody is still dead." "It is a crisis of confidence." "It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will." "We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives." "And in the loss of a unity of purpose." "Is he kidding me?" "...has been taken out of the home of John Wayne Gacy and..." "The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America." "That's what I'm trying to engage with here, is this untapped potential of yours to sort of think a little bit." "Confidence in the future has supported everything else." "Hey there." "Sorry." "Are you kidding me?" "You said noon, yeah?" "Are you kidding me?" "Now, hold on now..." "I said 11:00, not noon." "What?" "Say that again." "Okay." "Say it again." "Okay, okay." "Where's the goddamn money?" "Gave it to Ollie, like, yesterday." "Don't lie." "I mean, I'm getting it." "It's just a little late." "The hell you say, I did the rounds." "Everybody paid." "Of course they're gonna say that." "So you got the money?" "Well, you know, maybe I needed it for me, for something I..." "No, you earn for the family, not for yourself." "Yeah." "But you're the oldest and then there's Bear, and that's the throne." "What am I ever gonna be except the kid you send out for milk?" "You're a Gerhardt." "That's like Jupiter telling Pluto, "Hey, you're a planet, too."" "What?" "If I'm this royalty, how come you got me doing bullshit collections like some nobody chump?" "Everybody earns." "That's the law." "Yeah, but what if I got ambitions, you know?" "You wear short pants till you prove you're a man." "I'm a man." "You're the comic in a piece of bubble gum!" "Well, I mean, says you." "You got till tomorrow to bring the collection money you owe." "Or what?" "You make me wait for you again, I'll cleave your skull." "This is the month's cash, all in." "You'll see the problem right away." "Light?" "Mmm." "About time." "Give me a break." "Soon as you ladies are done dancing..." "You're right." "We're light." "Even though the transport dollars went up." "It's the local business." "Gambling and drugs." "And whores." "Aren't any good at this, huh?" "Don't pin this on me." "Or me." "We earned." " But not Rye." " No." "But even without his nut, we shouldn't be this short." "It's like we're a balloon leaking air all over." "Spit it out." "What are we talking about here?" "Tell me, God damn it." "Another outfit." "I'm taking care of it." "From the south." "Don't know where." " I said I'd handle it." " They're coming hard." "Son, I am the iron fist of God." "There's not a sane man in three states who would dare to..." "Some pissant crew from south no-place?" "You bring me these hirnlose Mutterfotzen and I'll grind their bones to make my..." "Otto?" "Otto." "All right?" "Hear me." "I'm saying tomorrow has never been closer than it is right now." "It's 11:00 in the morning." "Metaphorically, I mean." "Hi, friend." "Be with you in a..." "Check never came is my point." "I'm owed for work I done." "Me and the boys, we're owed." "Giddy-up there, cowboy." "Wait your turn, short round." "What'd you say?" "You heard me." "Jesus!" "Just, uh..." "It's in the mail, okay?" "The check." "Just..." "If it hasn't come by Tuesday, I'll write you another." "Yeah, that's right." "You better run." "Come on now!" "He could call a cop!" "He's not calling anybody." "Guys like that, they're just big on the outside." "So, where's this miracle contraption?" "Behold the future." "I'm talking money, hand over fist." "A typewriter." "A self-correcting IBM Selectric Two electric typewriter with patented high-speed typeball." "They're not just for women anymore." "And you're sure we're the only..." "Sole distributor, Midwest region." "Assuming you're willing to forget certain debts owed to your family from the, uh..." "Gambling." "Yeah, which, you know, I'm not proud." "So soon as you talk to the judge and she unfreezes the accounts, well, then, we can turn on the money spigot." "The what?" "The spigot?" "It's like where you hook up a hose?" "Like a fire hose?" "Any hose." "I'm saying once we get those typewriters, the money, there'll be no stopping it." "Ah, which judge again?" "People of the Earth, can you hear me?" "Came a voice from the sky on that magical night" "And in the colors of a thousand sunsets" "They traveled through the world on a silvery light" "You're the comic in a piece of bubble gum!" "The people of the Earth stood waiting" "Watching as the ships came one by one" "Setting fire to the sky as they landed" "Carrying to the world children of the sun" "Welcome to Waffle Hut!" "Shit, lady." "Table or booth?" "Just, uh, the counter." "Special's tuna melt and fries." "Pie's humbleberry." "Just coffee." "Everything's taken care of, I see." "Sugar?" "Uh, ma'am, you're freaking me out a little." "So, now he squeezes and the mustard goes all over his shirt." "He didn't have another shirt to wear, so..." "I'm gonna pay up now." "I'll meet you at the counter." "How was everything?" "Real good." "Oh, good." "I'll get your change." "There you are." "Thank you." "Hi." "No." "What do you mean, "No"?" "Whatever you're selling, I ain't buying." "First of all, I'm not selling anything." "And second..." "You need to make me another burger." "This one's a coaster." "Yes, ma'am." "Hey." "Your Majesty." "You're gonna change your mind about something." "A case." "Or what?" "Or you'll find out is what." "This isn't one of those optional "check A or B" scenarios." "I'm gonna change your mind." "One day the Devil came to God and said," ""Let's make a bet, between you and me, for the soul of a man."" "And from on high they looked down on Job, a devout man, religious, and the Devil said, "I can change his mind" ""and make him curse your name."" "And God said, "Try and you will only fail."" "So the Devil begins." "He kills Job's herds and takes his fields." "He plagues him with boils and throws him on the ash heap." "But Job's mind remains unchanged." "So I ask you, son, if the Devil couldn't change Job's mind, how the hell are you gonna change mine?" "What?" "You're a little dim, aren't you?" "Listen, this is..." "There's two ways this can go..." "Is one of them the hard way?" "Easy..." "You know what?" "There's a fella who needs to get his hands on some typewriters." "And you're gonna..." "Ah, Christ, you're with that fool." "Yeah, you're..." "Son, you have three seconds to pick your ass up and get out of here, or I'm gonna squash you like a bug." "Okay, look, bitch." "I'm the one doing..." "God damn, my eyes!" "Now scram before I call the cops!" "Oh, crap." "Shit." "Shit." "Shit." "Shit." ""'Oh, Wocky, ' cried Joe. 'See what you've done, Polly Pepper?" "'" ""But Polly didn't hear." ""Over the big, flat door stone she sped," ""and met Ben with little David coming in the gate." ""His face was just like Franzie's." ""With a cold, heavy feeling in her heart," ""Polly realized that this was no play." ""Oh, Ben, she cried, flinging her arms" ""around his neck and bursting into tears." ""'Don't, please." "I wish you wouldn't." ""Franzie's got them and that's enough.'" ""'Got what?" "' asked Ben." ""Well, Davie's eyes grew to their widest proportions." ""Oh, measles, cried Polly, bursting out afresh." ""'The hatefulist, horridist measles." ""'Now you're taken.'" ""Oh, no, I ain't, responded Ben cheerfully." ""Who knew what measles were?" ""'Wait, now Polly, I'm all right." ""'Only my head aches and my eyes feel funny.'" ""Polly, only half-reassured, gulped down her sobs" ""and the sorrowful trio repaired to Mother." ""Oh, dear me, ejaculated Mrs. Pepper," ""sinking in a chair at the dismay" ""at the sight of Ben's red face." ""'Whatever we do now..."" "This is a funny book, huh?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "Phone call, hon." "It's the shop." "Okay, you." "Sleep, huh?" " I'll be back in a minute to tuck you in." " Okay." "Murder, Eunice says." "Three of them." "Over at the Waffle Hut." "Hey, uh, you had your thing today?" "Yeah, this morning." "You feel okay?" "Compared to what?" "Love Canal?" "Hmm?" "Solverson." "Yeah, okay." "Tell him not to go inside." " Hank on his way?" " Yeah." "Called and he says he'll meet you there." "Have a good one." "Okay, you, too." "Gotta go, hon." "You okay getting her to bed?" "Yeah, she's six." "Not, you know, Pol Pot." "Okay." "Call if you need, you know, whatever." "I left my rig there." "I hope that's okay." "I'm the one who called it in, see?" "Stopped for waffles, you know." "With the blueberries?" "They come frozen this time of year, I know, but..." "I put my coat on her." "Seemed only right." "Yeah." "Yeah, it's okay about the coat, or..." "Yeah." "Well, this is a deal." "I count three dead." "Saw the waitress in the parking lot?" "Mmm." "Think she caught one there, then staggered out." "Gunman followed, made things permanent." "That's Henry Blanton." "Got the single-season touchdown record in 10th grade." "Thirty-one." "Still stands." "Yeah." "Don't know her." "North Dakota plates on the Mercedes outside." "Tourist, you're thinking?" "Mmm." "How's Betsy?" "You mean you didn't call her before you came over?" "Well, yeah." "Just being polite." "Give you a chance to talk about your feelings, should you be so disposed." "She's good." "Yeah." "Ordered this kit of recipe cards." "Saw it on the TV." "So now every night, we eat delicacies of the world." "Hmm." "Some men like that." "Variety." "Mmm." "She put a soufflé on the table last night." "Perfectly good casserole." "Then lit it on fire with a kitchen match." "Huh?" "Oh, which reminds me, you're invited for dinner tomorrow." "6:00?" "Mmm-hmm." "I'll bring you a suit of armor." "Skid marks." "Yeah, I see them." "Of course, connecting those to this deal here would be what we call jumping to a conclusion." "Based on the number of bodies," "I'm thinking we got one car too many in the parking lot." "Yeah." "So, the shooter's got a wound or two in him from the steak knife." "Two blood trails lead out, one to the waitress, now deceased, the other to the road here, where he absconds, leaving a few dollars behind." "Uh-huh." "Why not take his own car?" "Unclear at this time." "There's a shoe in that tree." "There sure is." "So, uh, this a local matter or the state police want it?" "We do not." "Local matter it is." "Of course, any support the state can provide..." "Yeah, of course." "Mmm." "See you tomorrow night, then, eh?" "6:00." "Be ready for anything." "That's a shoe, all right." "Okay then." "Noreen?" "Mmm?" "Ed's leaving." "Okay then." "Oh, hey, you may as well take these with you." "Boolie Hendricks paid, but never picked them up." "Chops." "Mmm." "Wasted meat's a crime." "Or it should be." "Okay then." "Okay then." "Okay then." "B-8." "B-8." "So, Ho Chi Minh..." "Jesus, kid, keep up." "Ho Chi Minh was just a front man." "Enemy number one, straight out of central casting." "AKA a stuffed shirt for the military industrial complex." "The what's that now?" "Jesus, Mary and Joseph." "Ike's farewell address?" "The military industrial complex." "Wheels inside wheels." "Special interests." "N-33." "N-33." "I thought there'd be a band tonight." " Boys." "I-17." "I-17." "Balls." "Tell this dipshit pissant about Ike's farewell address." "You mean the military industrial complex?" "See?" "He knows." "Of course, we've been to war." "Nothing complex about it." "How come you're in uniform then, Lou?" "Didn't you work this morning?" "Three dead at the Waffle Hut." "No shit." "Yeah, a real mess." "Women, too." "Hank's thinking botched robbery." "Oh, sure." "That's what they want you to think." "Who?" "They." "B-11." "You know, the powers that be." "It's a classic story." "Oswald acted alone." "The girl in the polka dot dress." "The what now?" "The girl in..." "After Kennedy, the other was shot." "Robert, in LA." "People saw a woman in a polka dot dress running out of the hotel yelling, "We got him."" "But who do they arrest?" "Uh..." " An Arab." " Oh, yeah." "Racist pricks." "It's a diner robbery in Minnesota, Karl." "Not a presidential assassination." "Oh, sure, that's how it starts, with something small." "Like a break-in at the Watergate Hotel." "But just watch." "This thing's only getting bigger." "G-53." "G-53." "Well, I better get home." "Betsy had her chemo today." "God!" "What is it, Karl?" "It's just..." "God damn." "Unacceptable is what it is." "A woman like that in the prime of her..." "With a young daughter." "N-40." "Tell her if John McCain could hold out for five-and-a-half years against Viet Cong thumbscrews, she can beat this cancer bullshit in her sleep." "I'll make sure to mention that." "I don't worry" "Long as you're by my side" " Hey, hon." " In the kitchen." "Boolie Hendricks paid for chops, never picked them up." "So I figured..." "Hi." "Hi." "Uh, hon, you're getting blood on the tile." "Sorry, I'll put them in the fridge." "Hamburger Helper?" "And Tater Tots." "Yum." "Should I..." "Oh, hon." "Don't." "I just got that stuff organized." "Yeah, but it's my chair." "Where am I supposed to..." "Well, sit there, huh?" "Yeah." "I'll move that stuff tomorrow." "Promise." "Bon appétit." "Mmm." "So, you think there was an accomplice in a getaway car?" "Your dad called." "You know him." "He likes to talk things through before he goes to bed." "We got glasses." "Tastes different in a glass." "Molly go down okay?" "Mmm-hmm." "You know, I forgot earlier." "She made you something at school today." "Yeah." "She knows I don't smoke, right?" "You could start." "Your dad said he'd be over Sunday in a suit of armor." "Ugh, jeez." "You light one soufflé on fire." "So, I'm getting excited about this seminar." "The which?" "You remember, hon." "It's next weekend." "Constance is taking me." "Lifespring." "Everybody's doing it." "Oh, yeah." "I really think this course is gonna help me actualize, you know, fully." "Re-examine old reflex patterns." "The ones that keep my life from working." "From..." "'Cause we're doing great, yeah?" "Oh, yeah." "I just mean me, you know, as a person." "Yeah." "Yeah." "Well, Bud asked again if I was interested in maybe taking over the butcher shop." "Mmm." "Said he's thinking of retiring end of the year." "Just had the end of the year, huh?" "Yeah, I guess he means this year, but wouldn't that be great?" "Me owning the shop." "And maybe you take over the salon one day, you know, unless we got a whole litter of kids by then." "Yeah, that's..." "We talked about that." "We're trying, but it takes time, you know?" "Yeah." "Yeah, of course." "Though, uh..." "Hon..." ""Trying." I mean..." "Last time I checked, there's just the one way to make a baby, you know." "Did that last weekend, didn't we?" "It was Bear Lake last weekend." "You said you didn't wanna..." "Not with Kevin and Sally." "Hon..." "I just..." "I just..." "I just love you, is all." "So, so much." "And, come on, our kids would be amazing." "Oh, shoot." "Here." "Hon, let me." "No, it's fine." "I'm such a bumble sometimes." "What the heck?" "I love you too, hon." "So, so much." "Maybe we should maybe do it right now." "Here?" "No, silly." "In the bedroom." "Come on." "Jeez." "I better go see what that..." "We can..." "I'll wear that nightie you like!" "What the..." "Hon?" "Didn't I tell you?" "I kind of hit a deer." "You hit a..." "Well, you okay?" "Yeah." "No." "I'm just, you know, shook up mostly." "Jeez." "Well, insurance should cover most of..." "Actually, I think I need to sit down, hon." "Can we go in the kitchen?" "Heck, hon, did you bring the deer home?" "Hon, don't." "Hon." "Hon, don't." "Hon!" "Come back." "Hey." "Don't." "Jeez." "There's a..." "There's a man..." "There's a man in the..." "Call the..." "Call the police..." "Call the..." "Oh, my God." "Oh, my God." "Oh, my God." "Hon?" "Jeez, hon!" "Sorry." "Are you okay?" "No." "It's..." "I'm fine." "Who..." "You gotta believe me." "I thought he was dead." "What?" "When I hit him, I thought he was." ". ." "You hit him?" "You hit him with the car?" "You said a deer." "You hit him." "Why didn't you go to the police or the hospital?" "He ran out into the road, hon." "What was I supposed to do?" "Yeah, so you brought him home." "You made dinner." "Hamburger Helper." "I panicked, okay?" "Yeah, well, you gotta call the police." " Why didn't you call the police?" " No." " We gotta..." "Maybe he's not..." " No, no." "No, I..." "Hon, listen to me." "I ran over him!" "Hit and run!" "And then you stabbed him with a gardening tool." "The cops, do you think they're gonna believe us?" "I don't know, but people are gonna look for him." "But, look, look, I was careful." "I drove the back way all the way home." "You drove the..." "Hon, a man's dead." "Look, that's why we have to clean it up." "And tell people I hit a deer, or..." "We could run!" "What?" "Go to California!" "No." "We have a life here, hon, a family." "I'm gonna buy the shop." "Okay then." "Okay then." "Okay then." "And we're gonna start a family." "Well, start again, I'm saying." "I don't want to." "Okay, then..." "Then, hon, look at me." "If we're gonna get clear of this, then we're gonna have to clean it up." "Pretend it didn't happen." "'Cause if this comes out..." "If this..." "Then all the things you want, that we want, that's over." "I go to jail, and maybe you also." "And then there's no shop and no family." "No kids." "Okay." "Okay then." "We..." "We clean it up." "We clean it up." "Well..." "Should we call that Saturday?" "Suppose we better." "She'll be up at 5:00 anyway, wanting to play dolls." "And I know how fond you are of your doll-playing time." "Good night, Mr. Solverson." "Good night, Mrs. Solverson, and all the ships at sea." "Otto?" "No!" "Otto!" "No!" "No!" "Otto!" "Hold him!" "Go out front!" "Go now!" "Now!" "Otto!" "Call a doctor!" "Go!" "So, as you see on page 16 of the prospectus, the main component of our Northern Expansion Strategy involves the absorption of the Gerhardt Family Syndicate, headquartered in Fargo, ND." "Now, the Gerhardts control trucking and distribution for the entire northern Midwest." "It's a family business started in 1931 by Dieter Gerhardt." "Now deceased, and taken over in 1950 by his son, Otto." "Now, not in the report, but of relevance to this meeting, old Otto had a stroke yesterday on the family compound in North Dakota." "Leaving who in charge?" "Unclear." "His wife, Floyd, she's tough, but, you know, a girl." "And then there are the three sons." "Dodd, Bear and Rye." "And of course, they all want their shot at the throne." "Which the boys in Research think provides a tactical opportunity for us to move aggressively to acquire or absorb their operation." "And if you can't, and the current business owners resist?" "We liquidate." "Approved."