02x06 - To a Man with a Hammer, Everything Looks Like a Nail

[bunniefuu]

I know a place where

the purse is much bigger.

Thanks, but I've got a day job.

If you're looking

to prove something to yourself,

there's no better place to do it.

You don't know me.

I can't imagine

anyone buying you out at this point.

It'll be good to have you at home again.

I came as soon as I heard.

That makes sense,

considering the amount

of opium you had stored here.

It's gone, by the way.

All of it.

f*ck, f*ck, f*ck.

He doesn't know anything.

Father Jun may be checked out,

but you better believe

he watches the f*cking books.

All roads lead

to some kind of major fuckery.

I'm not looking to sink your ship,

I just want to help.

Pitting father against son.

You're going to tear apart the only tong

that can stand up to Mai Ling.

Vega, that tournament you told me about,

you still need a fighter?

Did we cross into Mexico?

Not exactly.

Rooker's Mill is a border town.

It's not even a town, really.

It's all private property

owned by one man.

And that's, uh, Rooker, right?

Elijah Rooker.

- Rich guy.

- Yes.

And like I said, obsessed with fighters.

I guess he gets off on watching

men b*at each other to death.

He hosts this tournament every year.

Fighters come from all over the country.

The cash prize is a hell of a lot more

than you could earn fighting at my boat.

You said that's $2,500, right?

Less my cut.

Of course.

g*dd*mn.

I think I'm gonna like it here after all.

So that does nothing for you, huh?

Not a thing.

And you really like men?

Certain men, yes.

Do you like me?

No.

Why the f*ck not?

Would you f*ck your sister?

I don't have a sister.

But if you did.

Of course not.

Wait a minute.

So this Rooker really owns all of this?

The land, the buildings,

everything from

the tavern to the tannery.

Even the cops are his.

There'll be less of this riffraff

once we're inside the gates.

I'm used to being the riffraff.

Today you're on the guest list.

Open your f*cking coat.

No weapons allowed on Rooker's ranch.

You get them back when you leave.

- Move along.

- Wait here.

All right, step up, amigo.

Open your coat.

- What's the deal?

- No weapons inside.

I don't give up my blades for anyone.

One of these days, you should

learn to fight with your fists.

f*ck off.

Uh I think you should

probably just give them up.

I'll get them through.

Next.

Not a f*cking word.

Señores.

Get some rest.

I'll see you all at the welcome

dinner in a few hours.

Señorita.

Look at this sh*t hole.

It's not so bad.

I'm glad you feel that way,

because you'll be sleeping on the floor.

Slept on a lot worse.

But enough about your sex life.

Oh.

Speaking of which

What is the deal with you and Vega?

Purely professional.

She is very attractive.

You hear that? Even Hong is hot for her.

She's our ticket to the show, that's all.

Bullshit.

You're either in there,

or you're about to be.

I have a nose for these things.

To a man with a hammer,

everything looks like a nail.

It's a business arrangement,

and I keep my d*ck out of my business.

Says the guy who f*cked the

duck lady who hid our opium.

- Wait, what?

- Long story.

We've got hours until dinner.

Good point.

Where you going?

Just going for a walk.

Get centered.

He's a complicated man.

That he is, Hong. That he is.

Hmm.

Watch where the f*ck you're going, mate.

Oh, sh*t, he's throwing you the evil eye.

Is he?

You got a problem with me?

No, no problem.

You sure about that?

I don't know; You sure you won't

be needing that hand anymore?

Listen to this one.

Your English is pretty good.

Thanks, I thought so too, you know,

but for some reason,

your hand is still there.

- Yeah, it is.

- Mm.

So what you gonna do about it?

Come any closer, and I'll break his arm.

All right, let's do this, boy.

I let you out of my sight

for one minute

You're Dolph Jagger, right?

Who the f*ck are you?

Someone who'd much rather see him

take you apart for the money.

Is there a problem here?

Hey, just, uh, stretch out the arm.

Maybe you'll get the feeling

back in an hour or two.

You're a dead man.

Yeah, I get that a lot.

- All right, move along.

- Come on, boys.

Let's get a drink.

I'm gonna have to keep

a close eye on you, aren't I?

Definitely.

Can I at least trust you to stay

inside the gates until the tournament?

Sure.

Where are you going?

A little business in town.

You want company?

What I want is for you

to stay out of trouble

and get some rest.

Think you can do that?

Stay out of trouble or rest?

See you later.

Damn, someone cleans up nice.

Shut the f*ck up.

- Strictly business, right?

- Strictly business.

Good evening, boys.

Thought I'd come a bit early,

get the lay of the land.

Interesting crowd.

You can relax. I saw the roster.

You're not fighting until tomorrow.

I hope you're hungry.

Have either of you

had Mexican food before?

No Mexican in Chinatown.

Well, you're in for a treat.

Take this, and you dip it in.

That our host?

Yes, that's Rooker.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,

and welcome to Rooker's Mill.

I'm Elijah Rooker,

and I thank y'all for coming.

Now, I came out West 20 years ago,

looking to make my mark.

When I settled on this land,

it wasn't much to look at

- Mm-hmm.

- But I saw an opportunity.

I knew that with a little

vision and some hard work,

I would find my fortune here.

And now you have all come

to find a fortune of your own.

About a hundred years ago,

the g*n replaced the sword

as the civilized man's w*apon of choice.

God knows, it's how the West was won.

It's how this great country was won.

Without gunpowder,

there would be no America.

But something was lost

The intimacy and the honesty

of hand-to-hand combat,

men fighting the way nature intended,

with nothing but the weapons

they were born with.

You men are the last

of the true warriors.

I started this tournament

to celebrate all of you.

And one of you is gonna go home

a lot richer than when you came.

And that's what America is, isn't it?

A place where every day is another chance

to go to sleep richer

than when you woke up!

Ladies and gentlemen

my wife, Marisol.

Yeah.

Now, I've been living

on the border with the Mexicans

so long that I actually

left my wife for one.

And today we celebrate our anniversary.

And since you're all here,

we invite you to celebrate it with us.

Happy anniversary, darling.

Enjoy your dinner.

And may the best man win!

Something wrong?

Not at all.

You should eat.

You'll need your strength.

You ready?

Ready?

And fight!

Come on, pendejo!

Come on!

Ooh!

Let's go, come on!

Did I miss something?

We had a moment.

Damn, this tequila is something else.

You know you gotta

eat the worm too, right?

Mm-mm.

Come on, man, eat it.

It's part of the culture.

You gotta eat it.

It's bad luck if you don't.

There we go.

You disappeared.

I'm just enjoying the quiet.

It's nice to get out of the city

every once in a while,

go somewhere where you

can actually breathe.

I guess, in the city, you tend to forget

how beautiful America can be.

Actually, this used to be Mexico.

Everything you see here,

even where we're standing,

long before they drew

their invisible lines

and decided it was California.

So you, uh,

come to my fight club.

You win. You leave.

I don't know anything else about you.

I feel a little cheated.

Oh.

Well, there's not much to know.

I grew up in China.

My sister came here

a few years before me.

I came to find her,

to bring her home.

Turns out, she wasn't interested.

But you stayed.

Yeah, she was my only family.

I have a sister too.

Really?

Like you, we're all

that's left of our family.

You and me, we're both

strangers in this land.

They say we're welcome,

but by that, they mean

we're tolerated, and just barely.

They take away our rights,

our land, our money.

Whatever we have left over,

they can take that away tomorrow too.

So really, all we have

are the people we love,

our family.

And what if you don't have one?

Then you find one

and hold on to them as tight as you can.

You make it sound so easy.

I guess it is if you find

the right people

or person.

We're not gonna do this.

I'm sorry.

For a moment,

it kind of felt like we were.

Okay, come on.

I'll walk you to your room.

Oh!

Yeah!

Ah.

Let's go. Come on!

Come on!

He's strong.

You think you can take him?

- Yeah.

- Good.

'Cause you're fighting him next.

Come.

Guess I'm up.

You ready?

I'm ready.

'Cause the last time

I bet the f*cking farm on you,

you whiffed it.

I need that f*cking prize money bad.

So

Whatever you do

Don't lose.

That's good advice.

Okay, he's got the power.

You use your speed.

By that, I mean finish him fast.

You know, before he kills you.

I'm gonna f*cking enjoy this.

Agree to disagree.

Ready.

And fight!

Finished.

Yeah!

Watch his left hook.

You okay?

Never better.

You can relax.

No more fights today.

Oh, I was just getting warmed up.

Good afternoon.

You speak English?

Yeah.

I'm Smits.

I work for Mr. Rooker.

He was very impressed with your skills.

He'd like to invite

the two of you to join

him and his wife for lunch

tomorrow in the main house.

Thanks, we'd love to.

Are you sure you're okay?

Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it.

You took some strong hits.

I know.

After a while, you get used to it.

I thought the point was not to get hit.

Well, the point is just

to hit harder than you get hit.

You see, that's the damn

problem with these Chinese.

It's that they're everywhere these days.

Well, uh, this is where I leave you.

Today went well.

Yeah, I guess it did.

You have a good night.

I thought we're not gonna do this.

Sorry, for a moment there,

it felt like we were.

Where the f*ck did you go?

Too much wine.

Needed to get some fresh air.

This is Ana. I'm teaching her Chinese.

- How's that going?

- Terrible.

Took her half an hour to learn my name.

But now that you're back,

I was thinking I might

take her back to see our room.

Can you hang here for a bit?

Sure.

What do you think, ten minutes?

f*ck you.

Universal language of love.

- For a price.

- Mm.

We all pay for love

One way or another.

I was thinking

- Hmm?

- When you win tomorrow

When I win?

Mm-hmm.

I like your confidence.

Well, I didn't get this far

by picking losers.

I was just thinking

You don't have to go back, you know?

To San Francisco.

Dealing opium, fighting for the tong.

I've known my share of gangsters,

and you're no gangster.

You'll have money, time, options.

What about loyalty?

To the tong?

Do you really believe

that's a two-way street?

Where would I even go?

You never think about going back home?

There's nothing there for me anymore.

How about you?

Every day.

Well, we've had other fighters

from the Orient here before,

of course, but

none with your level of skill.

And none that I could

really talk to, which is

Is truly a gift.

You trained in China?

Yeah.

What discipline did you study?

Gung fu.

The martial art of monks.

Something like that.

Sahm, you're too good to be fighting

in Barbary Coast fight pits.

Now, my guess is,

maybe you weren't there

for the competition at all.

Huh? You were there for the girl.

You know, I think it's interesting.

You know, I'm American

and you're Chinese,

and we both have a taste

for Mexican women, hmm?

Of course, beauty will

transcend race every time.

I think we can all agree on that.

So how long did you have to train

to learn to fight like you do?

Uh, well, you know,

I started pretty young.

Sahm, I'm gonna make my pitch.

Okay, I could use a man with your skills.

Well, I was hoping that maybe

I could persuade you

to stay on with us for a while

and teach some of my boys

those gung fu moves of yours, huh?

I mean, make no mistake,

my bodyguards are good,

and Smits here,

he's as tough as they come,

but I think they could all

stand to learn something

from a man with your skills.

I appreciate it.

Make it worth your while.

What do you think, Smits?

Couldn't hurt for your men

to add a little

Chinese boxing to their repertoire.

Out here, it's b*ll*ts that'll k*ll you

or a fast blade.

You got a move to stop a b*llet?

No, no, I don't.

I'm also not a teacher.

Uh, thank you for the offer,

but I'm gonna have

to respectfully decline.

Oh, I get it. I get it.

Take the money and run.

But I warn you,

I can be very persuasive.

Took me a while to grind

this one down, but

I won her over in the end.

Didn't I, honey?

Yes, you did.

That p*stol you carry, it's beautiful.

Hmm? Oh.

Yeah

she's one of a kind.

Made for me by Juan de la Estacion,

the master gunsmith in Northern Mexico.

It's the last g*n he ever made.

See that flying serpent?

Mm-hmm.

Quetzalcoatl, ancient god of the Aztecs.

The barrel looks wider than most.

Well, you know your g*ns.

Yeah, she's a larger caliber

than your basic Colt.

I gotta make the b*ll*ts myself.

Mm. How's the weight?

Well, see for yourself. Go on.

Don't take it personally.

Smits has been in charge of

my personal security for years.

You don't get to make

as much money as I have

without making a few enemies.

My survival is his life's work.

And he takes his job very seriously.

You can't be too careful.

It really is something.

You know, I saw a g*n

just like this once before.

I doubt it. She's one of a kind.

My family was from these

parts when it was still Mexico.

And then the Americans came,

insisting we sell them land

that had been in our family

for generations.

My father refused to sell.

But there was one man who

wouldn't take no for an answer.

He and his men slaughtered

our farmhands and their

children while they slept.

Well, that's a terrible story.

Perhaps for another time.

Then they forced my father

to his knees at gunpoint

and made him sign the deed of sale.

Then this man sh*t him

in the head

right in front of his daughters.

With a g*n

just like this.

Why don't you give that back now?

Put the g*n down! Now!

What the f*ck?

Ah Sahm.

Here, have another drink.

Hey, hey, we gotta go. Excuse me.

- Why?

- We gotta get out of here.

- Get up, come on.

- Stop them!

What the f*ck did you do?

They k*lled Rooker!

$2,000

to whoever kills them!

Any ideas?

Just the usual.

Come on!

Vámonos!

Hold it right there.

If it were up to me,

I'd have gutted the lot of you

right here,

let the dogs clean up the mess.

But Mrs. Rooker doesn't have the stomach

for frontier justice,

so the marshals here

will take you to Sacramento for trial.

And then you'll hang.

Be careful with them.

The Chinese guys, they fight like demons.

Not in irons, they don't.

Don't you worry.

We'll get 'em where they're going.

Ha!

f*ck you!

Ah Sahm.

Don't.

You used me.

He k*lled my parents

right in front of me.

You would've done the exact

same thing in my place.

You threw our lives out

like we were nothing.

- No, I didn't.

- Do me a favor.

Just stop talking.

I don't know why you're smiling.

They don't treat Mexicans

any better than Chinese.

We're all dead when we get to Sacramento.

We probably shouldn't go

to Sacramento, then.

Whoa!

Okay, what the f*ck is going on?

So I guess you know each other.

This is my sister, Marisol.

Did she say sister?

Thank you. You're every bit as good

as Rosie told me you'd be.

Thanks. Can we get to the part

where you tell me

what the hell just happened?

Rooker's Mill was my father's land.

It's where we grew up

until Rooker m*rder*d our father,

and claimed it as his own.

Yeah, so you k*lled him. I got that part.

We didn't just k*ll him.

We took back our home.

As his wife, Marisol

will now inherit all of it.

So not just revenge?

No, not just revenge.

You still used me

us.

I'm sorry.

I just figured we'd both

get what we wanted.

The prize money.

Ooh.

Okay, now you all better

get in the carriage and go.

You don't want to be anywhere near here

when the real marshals come.

Let's go.

So I guess this is good-bye.

It doesn't have to be.

You don't have to go back.

Rosie!

You ungrateful bitch.

He gave you everything.

- Hey!

- What the f*ck

There's a doctor in town!

Please go get him!

- There's no time, Marisol.

- No.

No.

Would you have stayed?

Yeah.

Of course. I would have.

It's okay.

At least one of us gets to go home.

You have some serious

f*cking explaining to do.

Turn me up.

Check it out.

If you wait by the river long enough

the bodies of your enemies

will come floating by.

Just finish him.

Well you can't have a business

partner you don't trust.

You trying to surprise me?

Never.

I am through indulging this fantasy!

No one ever just lets go.