Punch Line
Issues 76 - 79

Juarez, Mexico. Branch and Benito are sizing up the hooded competitors at the start of a cock-fight. They discuss odds, with Branch happy to back the bird that Benito doesn't want.

Elsewhere, Lono and his entourage relax by a motel pool with a bunch of hookers Lono wants the girl Loop is with, and burns him with a cigar when Loop declines to oblige. Humiliated, Loop steps onto the balcony, and looks down on Jack, lying in the pool on an inflatable, seemingly unconscious through alcohol. Vic watches Loop as the hookers turn their attention to each other.

In Dallas, Cole waits on the street by a newspaper machine. Remi appears from an adjacent building. Cole asks if the job is done. When Remi replies in the negative, Cole wants to know why he is back on the street. There is an explosion of glass as the body of Mia Simone lands on top of a nearby car. The job is now done.

As night falls, Wylie sits alone, drawing a rose in the sand. Dizzy approaches him. The two discuss Shepherd, his death, and blame. Wylie points out that this 'father figure' had many more 'sons', who will be looking for the person responsible for his demise. Dizzy asks if Wylie is one of them, but Wylie reflects that unlike Dizzy, he had a choice as to whether he killed someone he loved. He opines that if Shepherd was alive, he'd forgive Dizzy. Dizzy says that it isn't killing Shepherd she's thinking about, it's killing Graves.

Vic warns Loop to think twice about what he's about to do. Loop believes he'll freak Jack out. Vic's advice goes for nought as Loop jumps from the balcony. Jack's eyes snap open. Before Loop is aware, Jack has him by the throat and is holding him under the water.

Graves checks in with Cole and Remi in a disused car park. Although things weren't quite according to plan, Mia Simone is dead, and another house has lost its head. Remi asks who's next. Graves believes it might well be one of them. Cole and Remi continue to bust each other's chops until Graves pulls their attention back to what is important. The Trust will want revenge, and some of their former allies are now back on the payroll of the Trust. Disregarding Lono and his group, there's one player who isn't aligned with anyone. They need Wylie.

The cockfight over, Benito and Branch head for cocktails with Dizzy. Branch has lost badly. Meanwhile, Wylie has head off into the desert to think. As he runs through Dizzy's words, he suddenly realises the whole scheme Graves has set into play as something so obvious. He calls Graves and tells him to fuck himself. He's in a place where Graves cannot touch him. Graves tells Wylie he was always the best, and he needs him. Wylie's reply is cryptic. "You don't, they do, but fuck them, you need her." Wylie is betting Graves won't risk the kind of trouble any move into Mexico to recover Dizzy will bring. Graves confirms that Wylie is unwilling to give Dizzy up. As Graves ends the call, Wylie realises that Graves isn't messing around. At the same time, Graves calls Victor. Wylie grimaces, realising he's bringing a storm down on his head...

...Wylie sits at a bar, cursing. Shepherd is pouring drinks as Cole, Milo, Remi and Vic play cards. Jack is lying down, drinking a beer. He asks Wylie what he's cursing about. Shepherd replies. It's about dying. He wants to know if they're all ready to.

Lono interrupts proceedings and sends the hookers away. They have another death on their hands. Jack asks if Loop is all right whilst Lono tries to find Victor. Vic emerges from his room, phone in hand. He tells Lono that he's just had a call from Wylie, who says he has the "skank killed Mr Shepherd".

Lono calls the Medici estate in Miami. Megan answers. Lono is at the gas station where Wylie once worked. As he verbally intimidates Megan, Jack and Victor pour fuel around the place. Arn, who survived his previous shooting, has not survived the bullet in his head. Megan is trying to assert herself with Lono, telling him she's his boss. He says it's a pity, as his bosses tend to drop out of windows. Megan mentions that this happened on Lono's watch, but Lono says Graves is only responsible for Mia Simone,  not the other recent deaths, and this is the only one to happen on his watch. He tells her he's going where Graves won't, on a detour to Mexico. As the call ends, Megan tells Augustus whats going on whilst checking the weight of his balls in the shower.

On the Mexican border, Graves and his Minutemen sit in a Taqueria. Cole and Remi continue to bust each other's balls. Cole wants to know what the plan is. Graves wants Wylie to deliver what is his. He wants Wylie too, but only if he's willing to come back. Cole once again makes known his dislike for Wylie, questioning his own position with Graves. The old man reaffirms that Cole is his right hand. On the road, Lono's group are driving past the taqueria, cracking jokes about Mexicans and Canadians. Lono wants to know more about whoever it was who killed Shepherd. Victor is deliberately vague, but alludes to this person as a loose cannon, who is dangerous enough to take Wylie out. Jack finds this hard to believe. Lono wants to know who is backing Wylie up, but it seems the two are on their own, even though she killed Shepherd. Loop wants to know just who Shepherd is anyway. The others call him an OG, rock solid.

Atlantic City. The assembled Minutemen are leaving the hotel. Victor believes their plan is rock solid. Milo thinks it's stupid, and they are taking things too personally. Vic considers a contract on his head quite personal. Milo thinks Graves has fucked them all, but Vic says what they were asked to do wasn't their job, and Graves was right to refuse. Jack disagrees, saying they do what the Trust tells them, but Wylie says their job is the same as always, to stop the Trust. Vic concurs, the Trust don't trust each other, and yet now they all seem to get along? Shepherd confirms that the Trust ordered him to kill the Minutemen. Vic and the rest agree that whilst Shepherd may work for the Trust, they don't. They head off to take care of the job in hand, but Milo notes Lono's absence, which Wylie questions. Shep says Lono is on a job which takes precedence.

Present day, and Wylie tells Branch that he spoke to Graves, wondering whether the storm that's heading their way is a mistake, but admitting that he needs a resolution to their situation. He tells Branch that although he's survived meeting three Minutemen, his fourth may well be his last. As Branch accepts his fate, Wylie offers him the possibility of a way out. he explains his plan to Branch, who runs to the shack just before Coochie and a heavily armed gang arrive to exert Graves' will. Wylie offers to pay them off, but Coochie is committed to his cause, and the bullets fly. By the time Branch returns with Benito and Dizzy, Coochie and his gang are dead at Wylie's feet. Wylie calls Graves once more. Graves enquires whether Coochie is dead yet. Wylie confirms this and asks who's next...

Some time later, and Dizzy, Benito and Branch dig Graves for Coochie's gang whilst Wylie watches the road. In town, Lono and his team book into a motel, taking three rooms, not four, as someone will remain on guard in the lobby in case any of the other players should arrive. Vic offers to take first shift. Wylie's mind drifts back to Atlantic City, and his memories as he waits on the pier with Victor. He's thinking about an earlier conversation with Shepherd and Graves, where he was told of the Trust's plan to eliminate the Minutemen. Wylie killing Rose hastened a decision to remove the seven, Graves talks about the original contract between the two groups and breaking it, but not in the way they've been asked. Wylie opts in, and is asked to convince the others. Graves shows Wylie evidence that Rose was acting for a third party within the Trust, Wylie looks at a photograph of the man, and says that if the Minutemen are to die, he will die with them.

On the pier, Victor admires the "mindfuck" Wylie has engineered for the evening ahead. They wonder how their colleagues are getting on... Graves is riding with Roland Deitrich and his bodyguards. Deitrich is explaining that he's against Medici and for the Minutemen. He voted against them at Graves' request, or more correctly at his interpretation of Graves' advice. As he explains his position, he asks graves if he can count on the Minutemen. Jack, Remi and Cole follow the limo, Milo waits ahead on a bridge. As the limo approaches, he drops a concrete block onto the car, killing the driver. The vehicle swerves and crashes. As the bodyguards exit the car they are executed, the first by jack, the others by Graves, who replies to Deitrich's question with a firm negative, putting a gun to Roland's head.

Dizzy disturbs Wylie's thoughts with a beer and a discussion of their old lives. Jack wakes and finds Victor missing from the motel, he runs to tell Lono. Dizzy talks about Graves, her revenge for her family and being made to kill Shepherd. Wylie tells her that Graves has made her all along. They share a kiss, but a car is heading out of the desert. Wylie prepares for trouble, but is surprised when Victor steps out and presents himself as a friend.

At the cabin, Vic brings Wylie up to speed with events north of the border. Wylie can't understand why Shepherd has made Lono the warlord. Victor mentions the faked hit on Megan, which Wylie sees right through, understanding its significance for Lono. Vic is also suspiscious of Benito. He believes Benito will tell everything he's hearing to Augustus as soon as he can. Wylie decides to head north and meet with Graves. He tells Dizzy to stay put. As he leaves, he privately reminds Branch of their plan, telling him to keep Vic happy with a beer if he asks for one. No sooner has Wylie gone than Victor reveals his business. He's here for Dizzy, and no-one will get in his way. He's prepared to kill both Benito and Branch to get her. He asks for a beer, and Branch finds the gun Wylie has hidden in the cooler, drawing it on Victor whilst standing behind him.

AC: Victor, Milo and Jack drag the hooded man to the end of the pier. Hood doesn't want to die, and soils himself in fear. All six Minutemen are finally seen together as the sequence ends.

Wylie arrives at his rendezvous with Graves, where he is greeted by Cole and Remi. The usual macho posturing preludes the fact that Wylie hasn't brought Dizzy with him, a fact that will annoy Graves, who is listening in the background. Wylie wants to talk to Cole alone. Cole makes to send Remi away, but Wylie means he doesn't want Graves to hear. Cole tells him that whatever he hears, Graves will hear, but Wylie still tries to explain his revelation about the bigger picture to Cole, who won't bite. Wylie says Graves had bought into an old lie and has done something he regrets, which is why Dizzy is important. Graves exits the car and approaches the trio. In a mimic of the Atlantic City pier, Cole pulls out a cigarette and Wylie reaches for some matches. Remi misreads this as Wylie pulling a gun, and kills him. As Wylie dies, his hypoxic brain conjures forth an image of Rose coming to meet him. Graves arrives moments too late.

Victor is seen collecting his winnings from a cockfight. As he spells out a metaphorical comparison between Wylie and the losing bird, we see the aftermath of Branch's actions at the cabin. Lono, Jack and Loop arrive to find Benito unconscious on the floor. Branch's severed finger lies close to his head. Branch himself is with Victor, bandaged but still breathing. Dizzy is tied up in the back of the car. As the players leave the scene, Wylie's body is left in the dessert.

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