Fever Beach

When the Strokers assemble at the IHOP, Figgo is relieved to see that Onus is not among them. The journey gets off to a disorganized start. Figgo has not brought the handheld radios or beers he promised the Strokers, and he is unsure where the bus can park in Key West.

Viva is just getting ready to drive down to Key West when Donna pulls into the driveway. When she learns where her son is headed, she tells Viva to get into her car. As Donna drives at breakneck speed to Key West, Viva fills Donna in on what little she knows about the planned operation.

When they catch up to the tour bus, Donna reduces her speed and follows a few cars behind. The bus stops at a gas station, and Donna pulls over. A police car stops, and the officer tells Donna that her partner Breck has reported the car stolen. She admits that she did not mention that she was going to take it. The officer takes the keys and radios for a tow truck.

Donna orders an Uber, but by the time it arrives, the tour bus has disappeared. As they cross the Seven Mile Bridge, a tense-sounding Twilly finally calls Viva, telling her to head for Mallory Square. When they finally get there, the bus driver informs them that the Strokers have gone marching up Duval Street.

The manager of Trauma Queens, a drag bar on Duval, tells the bouncer Chester that “a bachelor party of ninja rednecks [is] causing trouble” (216), and Chester grabs a baseball bat. He finds his husband, Billy, in front of the stage fighting “some wheezing cracker and holding off like a dozen others” (216). Antigay flyers are scattered across the floor.

The crowd cheers Billy on, and Chester and several drag queens join the fray. As the Strokers begin carrying their injured out of the bar, the drag performers hogtie Figgo center stage. Donna identifies herself as Figgo’s mother and pulls him outside as Viva stands to the side, recording the melee on her phone.

Back onboard the bus, Twilly counts heads. The driver refuses to leave until three missing men—Skid Mark, Tupelo, and Figgo—are accounted for. Twilly and the driver search the streets for the missing trio. They run into Viva, who says that Figgo is with his mother somewhere, and find Tupelo and Skid Mark at a local hospital. Tupelo is in surgery, having been hit hard on the head. The driver takes Skid Mark back to the bus while Twilly and Viva wait at the hospital. When Twilly tries to check on Tupelo’s condition, he learns that Tupelo is not the man’s real name—it is Noel Kristiansen.

Onus, now planning to discredit or eliminate Figgo and Twilly so that he can take over leadership of the Strokers, is furious to hear Steve Bannon talking about the group’s “righteous attack on wokeism” on his podcast (225). He is afraid the national attention to the Key West operation will make Clure even more confident in Figgo.

That evening, a woman wearing a county animal shelter shirt appears at his door with a puppy, saying that Figgo picked him out for Onus. Onus names the dog Goebbels. He is cheered when friends text him photos and videos of the Key West operation, and he sees that it was not nearly as glorious as Bannon’s description made it sound. He gets a call from Clure.

Claude and Electra confront Clure after having been tipped off by an anonymous call (from Twilly) about their financial link to the Key West debacle. They make it clear that they will disavow any knowledge of his real intentions for the funds they donated for the Wee Hammers and that they expect him to exercise more control over his people in the future.

Clure meets Figgo at Denny’s and tells him how disappointed he and his donors are. Going forward, he says, Onus will be the co-leader of the Strokers. After this meeting, he gets a call from the Aston Martin dealership explaining that something he “won’t believe” has happened with the new car.

Viva, snooping in Figgo’s room, finds a map with Precinct 53 marked on it. She takes a photo. When Figgo arrives home, he is obviously in pain from the previous day’s events. He tells her not to tell Onus he is home if Onus shows up, but when Onus does show up, Viva immediately lets him in.

Baltry drinks Jack Daniels and contemplates his future. He tries to call Twilly again but finds that he has no service in his remote location. A car pulls into his driveway, and he picks up his gun. The man who gets out looks like a lost tourist, but he immediately addresses Baltry by name and confidently takes the gun away. He announces that Claude Mink sent him. He ushers Balty inside the house. Baltry is sure that he is about to die, but the hired killer surprises him by explaining that he has other plans.

In Noel’s hospital room, Mary and Twilly tell Noel that he needs to step back from the Strokers and his quest for justice. Twilly assures him that Figgo is about to get what’s coming to him. Noel is irritated at being sidelined, but he agrees.

Viva and Onus chat in the townhouse’s living room. Viva tells Onus that Figgo is in Miami at a funeral, but he insists that he will not leave before talking to Figgo. Viva fetches Figgo. Onus tells him that Clure has already briefed him on his new co-leadership status and makes it clear that he expects Figgo to tell the other members. They agree that the group will meet Wednesday at 10 pm, on Fever Beach. When Onus tries to thank Figgo for the dog, Figgo disclaims any knowledge of the gift. They look in alarm at the small dog, and Figgo worries that it may somehow be a set-up.

Viva meets Twilly in a nearby parking lot. When he pulls up in a new Aston Martin, she understands why he did not want to pick her up at the townhouse. Twilly explains that he bribed the salesman to sell it to him instead of Clure, thinking that this would make Galaxy angry enough to help them expose Clure.

Twilly drives them to the future site of The Bunkers, clips the lock on the gate, and drives in. They eat takeout while Twilly explains to Viva that what they are doing will ultimately not stop the development, because the land is already being torn up. Viva is amused when he tells her that he sent the new dog to Onus.

Figgo is fired from his job for his participation in the Key West spectacle. Clay Boyette flies into town to help Clure deal with Galaxy and the car dealership. When Clay learns that Nicki also wants an Aston Martin, he assents to his down payment being used to order that car, but he refuses to get one for Galaxy.

At lunch, Clay gives Clure a hard time about his poll numbers. Clure refrains from talking about his planned Precinct 53 operation, knowing that his father hates public spectacles. On his flight back to Carpville, Clay calls a contract killer. When he gives the man Galaxy’s details, the hitman says he cannot do the job for several days, as he is out of town. Clay accepts the hitman’s recommendation of a friend who can do the job more quickly.

Figgo and Onus take Goebbels to a veterinary clinic for an X-ray, believing that the dog might have been planted to spy on them. Nervous about the gun he can see in their waistbands, the vet asks them to wait outside while he performs the x-ray. When he finishes, he shows them that there are no listening devices of any kind inside the little dog. They are skeptical that he knows what he is doing.

Worried about Viva’s safety and her refusal to quit her job and move out of the townhouse, Twilly goes for a jog on the beach to clear his mind. He thinks about the small Bahamas island he is in the process of purchasing and the home he intends to build there. It will take at least a couple of years to complete the project, and he hopes that Viva will still be in his life then so that he has someone to visit him. When he returns to his apartment, he gets into bed beside Viva, but he still cannot sleep. He slips out again.

Electra finds Claude’s Dream Booty and melts it in their outdoor fireplace. Claude tasks Dumas with finding him a replacement. Electra is still not speaking to Claude, but via email, she pushes for updates on the Baltry situation. Claude is having trouble getting the hitman, Moe, to respond to his calls, but finally, the man says he is on his way back to Florida and will give Claude the details when they meet.

Moe hangs up the phone and turns to Baltry, who is beside him in Baltry’s car. He calls Claude an “antisemitic cockroach.” Baltry asks why they are in South Dakota, but Moe will not tell him. Moe considers the new assignment a friend has contacted him about. Because it is in Tangelo Shores, he wonders if it is connected to the Baltry assignment. He asks Baltry if he knows anyone called Janice Smith or Galaxy, but Baltry does not.

Clure meets with Galaxy. He tells her that Aston Martin has temporarily shut down production due to a recall and asks her to choose a different car. She goes to the bathroom and uses her phone to look up the truth. When she returns to their table, she accuses him of giving her car to another woman. He tells her what really happened, but she refuses to believe him and storms out. His father tells him to have no further contact with Galaxy.

The Wee Hammers construction site is a disaster. Tomas, the general contractor, spends all day trying to stop the children from throwing their helmets at each other and shooting nail guns. He spends every evening trying to fix everything they have messed up on the site, and the build is months behind schedule.

Clure drops by with a film crew, and Tomas desperately wrangles some children into a pretense of driving some nails into a door frame. Tomas is surprised to hear Clure telling an interviewer that the house will be donated to a family in need; he knows that its inferior construction will never withstand a hurricane.

Onus and Figgo, still convinced that Goebbels is part of a nefarious plot, decide to turn him over to Onus’s three households, to be shared among his sons. The two bicker about Onus’s idea for a Strokers’ flag, and Figgo realizes that they will never really be friends again.

Claude expresses displeasure when his new Dream Booty arrives and it has dark skin, but the truth is that he is aroused by its color. Moe calls him and claims that he shot Baltry and made it look like a death by suicide. He texts a photo, which Claude immediately deletes. Moe demands that Claude release the rest of his payment immediately, or he will make sure the body is never found, meaning that no new commissioner will be appointed. The truth is that Baltry is still alive, and he and Moe are back in Florida.

On the night of the next Strokers’ meeting, Viva and Galaxy meet for dinner. Viva is pleased to learn that Galaxy keeps a detailed journal, and Clure does not know about it. Galaxy airdrops a compromising photo of Clure to Viva, promising to send many more soon. Galaxy reveals that her real age is twenty-five; she lied to Clure, saying she was 17, because his sexual interest is in very young women. She plans to leave town soon to attend a nursing program in Atlanta. She tells Viva about seeing Moe lurking outside her apartment building earlier in the day, and Viva urges her to stay at the townhouse for the night, but Galaxy says she will be fine.

Nicki and Clure meet with their attorneys. Nicki has seen Twilly driving around in his new Aston Martin, and now that she knows her proposed car will not be one-of-a-kind, she no longer wants it. She insists that the settlement be restructured. She wants a boat and 50 hours of flying time on Clay Boyette’s jet every year. Clure knows his father will be apoplectic, but he knows they have no choice.