Fever Beach

Clure sends the Aston Martin to Galaxy as a gift, but when he next sees her, she tells him she will still be charging him for sex—the car is simply insurance that she will not expose him. They go out drinking, and although Clure suggests they get an Uber afterward, Galaxy insists on driving. She falls asleep at the wheel and crashes, sustaining minor injuries; Clure flees the scene. Clure calls his father, who furiously tells him to get himself to an airport immediately.

At dinner, after telling Viva his suspicions about the Minks, Twilly and Viva discuss Figgo and his group. Twilly urges Viva to move out of the townhouse, saying he will loan her the money to break her lease. She resists the idea of being in debt to him. He tells her the smart thing to do is to quit her job and move away, but she also resists this idea. Twilly announces that he will be joining the Strokers, undercover.

Onus drives north on a scouting trip to Bonifay County. He stops at several places to ask where Precinct 53 is, but no one can tell him until he stops at Clure’s reelection headquarters. The workers there are delighted with his “patriotically dyed beard” and load him up with Clure merchandise (108). They show him on a map where Precinct 53 is.

Back in his truck, he calls Figgo and tells him that he knows who their mysterious congressman is. He drives to the business that hosts Precinct 53 voting, an assisted living facility called Serene Transitions. Bewildered, he drives back into town. When he sees a gathering outside of Clure’s campaign office, he stops and gets out.

Clure himself is there, and when he sees Onus’s beard, he insists on their picture being taken together. Onus quietly lets him know that he works with Figgo, and Clure nervously suggests that they meet privately in a few minutes at a local truck stop. Once they are locked in a restroom stall together, Clure explains that in the previous election, he lost Precinct 53 by eight points; he believes that this is the result of election fraud and refuses to let it happen again. He plans to station Strokers with guns and tactical gear outside of Serene Transitions on election day under the pretense of being poll watchers. They are to check IDs and turn away anyone legally unqualified to vote.

One night, an intruder enters the Mink compound. Video footage shows the man taking notes on camera locations, helping a frog out of the swimming pool, and then exiting the compound. After the police leave, Claude sits up all night watching his security monitors. At 3:30 am, the intruder returns. He holds up a note for Claude to read through the cameras: “PLEASE SIR, CAN I BE A WEE HAMMER?” (115). The man then vanishes, as if he has somehow mapped a route not covered by the cameras.

Figgo’s boss, Pierre, calls him into the office and accuses him of stealing sex toys. Pierre warns him that if one more “Dream Booty” goes missing, he will “come for [him] with rebar” (117). Figgo goes back to work, grateful to still have his job, as he has fallen seriously behind on his truck payments. Fearing repossession, he has begun parking the truck at Onus’s place each night.

Figgo meets Twilly at an Applebee’s to interview him for membership in the Strokers. Figgo shares the plan for Precinct 53 and also mentions his own secret operation, which he plans to announce soon. Figgo explains how to access the Strokers’ communications on a platform called KRANKK, and the two toast to the Strokers’ success.

Viva gets a text from Twilly saying that the Bonifay County remains are indeed Rachel Cohen’s. She goes to work as usual, pretending that nothing is wrong. Claude is on the phone discussing new 24-hour security for the Mink compound. When she gets home, two rough-looking repo men are looking for Figgo and his truck. She says Figgo might be with Onus, but she has no idea where Onus lives. They drive off, and Viva heads for her date with Clure.

Viva asks Clure for an update on Wee Hammers, and he shows her a photo of a line of young children posing with shovels. She suggests that they go to his condo, but he tells her it is being remodeled and suggests a hotel. As soon as they enter Clure’s suite, he disappears into the bathroom. He emerges in his briefs, wearing a collar, leash, and muzzle. Viva suggests that he is too intoxicated to get an erection; he protests, but becomes so self-conscious that he is, in fact, unable to become aroused. She pours him several drinks and gradually gets him to talk about Wee Hammers again. He admits that the organization is a front. He tells her that the money is really going to a local extremist group, but he passes out before he can say more. She goes through his suit pockets before letting herself out.

The Minks are furious when their rezoning is stalled by a 3-3 vote. Lewin Baltry, the commissioner they have bribed to swing the vote their way, is a no-show at the zoning meeting. Baltry is hiding at home because Twilly has convinced him that the feds are investigating his history of accepting bribes.

During a sleepless night. Viva researches places to move after she exposes the Minks. She likes the idea of New York, but she has been repeatedly warned it is a difficult place to get established. Her only qualm is that leaving Florida will mean leaving Twilly, whom she is sure will never live anywhere else. The next morning at work, she prints out the list of contacts she copied from Clure’s phone, then texts Twilly to ask him to get in touch.

When the Minks come in, they are both on the phone, berating someone named Barry for failing to keep Lewin Baltry in line. After they leave, she searches Clure’s contacts and finds that Barry Martino is a member of the Martino Group, a high-powered lobbying firm. She looks up Baltry online and learns that he is a zoning commissioner. Next, she starts calling Clure’s contacts, pretending to be calling from his offices. Several of the contacts seem to be sex workers. Viva is shaken when one of the numbers, belonging to someone Clure has listed as “Sir Turdley,” turns out to be Dale Figgo.

The Kristiansens meet with their lawyer, Fred Brillstein. Noel wants to pursue action against Figgo, but Brillstein assures him that Figgo has no assets to go after. He has, however, received a strange offer from a lawyer in Bonifay County who claims to be representing a friend of Figgo’s. In return for signing an NDA and not pursuing any kind of legal action or reprisal, the Kristiansens will be paid $250,000. Wanting to protect Mary from her urge to go after the Strokers, whom Noel believes are a potential danger to her, Noel tells Brillstein to counter: In exchange for $300,000 and an additional payment for his medical bills and rehab, they will sign the NDA.

Onus tells Figgo to call Clure and get him $10,000 to help pay his mounting bills. Figgo says he will think about it. When they get to Onus’s apartment building, they find that Figgo’s truck has been repossessed. Figgo announces that he will not call Clure about money for Onus, and Onus says he will call Clure himself. Figgo asks Onus for a ride, but Onus offers Figgo his bike.

Figgo rides the bike to Pete Webster’s office. There, he learns that a deal has been struck: In exchange for surrendering his driver’s license for six months and paying Noel’s medical bills, he will receive a year’s probation. Figgo is furious about having to pay any kind of penalty at all, but he finally agrees. As he pedals away from the office, busy on his phone, he rides directly into the side of a termite truck.

Viva visits Twilly’s apartment. He shows her the Dream Booty Figgo gave him as a welcome gift for joining the Strokers, and she is appalled. He says that he intends to regift it to someone it will be perfect for. Viva tells Twilly about the connection between Clure and Figgo and between the Minks, Baltry, and Barry Martino.

A few days later, Figgo wakes up in the hospital. His mother explains that he has had multiple surgeries, one of which required taking skin from his scrotum as a graft to repair his nose. She tells him that the truck driver drove off after the accident, but witnesses testified that Figgo was at fault.

Later, Figgo’s doctor visits. He assures Figgo that eventually the scrotal skin on his nose will more closely resemble ordinary nose skin. This is unlikely to be true. Figgo’s antisemitic ranting when he was brought into the hospital did not go unnoticed by his care team, two of whom are Jewish and one of whom is married to a Jewish person.

Galaxy, recovering in the hospital from her own crash and facing DUI charges, learns that she is not the real owner of the Aston Martin. She is furious at Clure for this and for abandoning her after the accident, but she agrees to meet with one of his attorneys regarding a settlement package. Galaxy insists on a new Aston Martin, titled in her own name, an apartment, a platinum AMEX, and the return of her driver’s license. The attorney says that she will do what she can.

Claude and Electra learn that Baltry has disappeared. Electra points out that if Baltry dies, a new commissioner will be appointed, and they can move the Bunkers project forward. Claude hires a contract killer to track Baltry down. That night, his new security man, Dumas, wakes him to say that a mysterious package has been dropped off at the exterior gate. It turns out to be the sex toy Figgo gave Twilly. The accompanying note reads, “Another Wee Hammer, at your service” (159).

Viva calls Galaxy, pretending to be from Clure’s office. She asks for Galaxy’s full legal name and address, which Galaxy gives her, thinking it has to do with registering her new car. Later, Viva drops by Galaxy’s apartment building and introduces herself. They chat, and Viva learns Galaxy’s age and relationship to Clure. Galaxy even shows Viva the scandalous photos of Clure on her phone.

While Figgo is still in the hospital, Onus breaks into the townhouse. Viva goes downstairs and confronts him, accusing him of looking for Figgo’s guns. She knows that the guns are long gone since she had Twilly go to Figgo’s storage unit and get rid of them. Onus claims that Figgo asked him to bring his ATM card to the hospital. Viva kicks Onus out. Because Onus has pried open the front door and damaged it, she decides to go to Twilly’s for the rest of the night. When Twilly finally arrives, she learns that he has been briefly detained by the police for assaulting a man who was tormenting an owl with a laser light.

In the morning, Onus heads for a country club in Bonifay County, where Clure is hosting a fundraising event. He tells Clure that Figgo is in no shape to lead the Strokers, and he argues that Clure should put him in charge of the upcoming operation. Clure says he will think it over. Onus asks for $10,000, supposedly for gear and training for the Strokers.

Onus drives back to Tangelo Shores, heading for the storage unit where he believes Figgo’s guns are. He is furious to discover the unit devoid of guns. His dog Himmler finds a Dream Booty. Onus is too angry and tired to wrest the sex toy away from his dog, and he allows the dog to carry it back to the truck and shred it on the way home. Figgo calls him in a panic, claiming that the feds are trying to kill him and asking to be picked up immediately. He has fled the hospital and will be waiting at a nearby Circle K.

At the next Strokers for Liberty meeting on Fever Beach, Figgo introduces the group to Twilly and Jerry Jeff Tupelo. Onus is angry that his attempt to take over the Strokers and get money from Clure seems to have fallen apart, especially since surgery will be needed to extract the remains of the Dream Booty from Himmler’s digestive tract. He stews while the Strokers eat Happy Meals and play cornhole. Finally, Figgo gathers the group and announces that they should keep their weekend free for his upcoming secret operation. Onus throws a juice box at him and then suddenly attacks. Figgo, face down in the sand, struggles to breathe.

Electra stops by the foundation offices without Claude, and she tells Viva not to tell Claude she is there if he calls. She calls Claude a “wrinkled old pervert” but refuses to tell Viva why she is angry (182). Viva leaves the office early to meet Galaxy at a tapas bar, where they toast to Galaxy’s 18th birthday.

Galaxy tells Viva that so far, Clure has come through with the new apartment and the restoration of her driver’s license, but not the Aston Martin or the platinum Amex. Viva has already told Galaxy about her plan to expose Clure, and now she explains his connection to the Strokers. She asks Galaxy to text her some of the photos of Clure, but Galaxy says not until she has her Aston Martin.

When Onus attacks Figgo, Twilly sees an opportunity to get in good with the group. He puts Onus in a chokehold, rendering him nearly unconscious. He and Tupelo are both surprised when Figgo gets up and resumes his speech as if nothing happened. Several members ask for money for various things, and Figgo says that Stroker funds are not for personal use. Figgo does agree to one request, however, for $300 for a member’s mother’s cat to be euthanized; this infuriates Onus, who is still thinking about Himmler.

Figgo explains that they should plan to meet at noon on Saturday at the IHOP. He has rented a fancy tour bus, and they will be gone overnight. When he says they are headed for Key West, Twilly urges him to rethink his plan, but Figgo angrily tells Twilly not to question the mission.