Billete de Magia

torture

strangulation

drowing

gunfight

death

Joshua John Miller

David T. Friendly

Scott Rosenbaum

**Billete de Magia** is the 8th episode in the series. It translates to "Magic Ticket."

## Summary

Out of desperation, Camila attempts a risky heist; Teresa goes under cover and must make a choice that will forever change her.

## Netflix Summary

Brenda and her crew try making meth. As part of the plan to steal 25 kilos of cocaine from James's friends, Teresa goes undercover as a hotel maid.

## Plot

###### Warehouse, Dallas, Texas

Teresa is startled awake by James. She notes that it's 4 in the morning and he again tells her to get up. Teresa asks him where they're going and he says shortly *you'll see.*

They exit the building and James opens the door for Teresa to get into the passenger's side before getting into the driver's seat. Teresa is surprised to see Camila approach her window, telling her that she needs her to do something important -- turn $2.5 million into $5 million. Camila says that Teresa will be at just as much risk as everyone, but she believes that she deserves to know what's going down and how it's going down, nodding to James to speak. James says that some guys are coming in from Florida that morning. They plan to meet them and then rip them off. Camila notes that Teresa has proven that she can be relied upon to do what she needs, but she's smart and she knows that Camila keeps her around because of Epifaño. Teresa says that *I make him vulnerable*, and Camila is still under the impression that it's because of what she saw his men do to Chino. Camila says that Teresa is only leverage for her, and that she could lose that leverage today if something happens to Teresa, but she has to take that risk because if she doesn't she won't have anything left. *I know you're scared. Use that fear to stay alive. After all, you're a survivor.*

###### Maid's house, Texas

James stops their car in front of a house. Teresa follows him inside to find a man being tortured. One of Camila's men is pouring more ice cubes into a fish tank on the floor, while another hoists the man's head out of the fish tank using a pulley system. He is begging for his life. His wife is sobbing with an arm around her son as his son looks on silently, with a single tear falling from his face. James sits down in front of the wife and asks her what time she went to work that day. She responds that she's supposed to be there at 5:30am. He tells her that if she cooperates, it will only take a few minutes, as he wipes away her tears. James wants her to tell him everything about her work at the hotel and the security cameras, and he wants her passkey. The maid tells him that they reset the passkeys every day and that they only get them when they go in, which creates a problem for them. James tells her that if they tell anyone that they were there, they will come back for her family. She nods that she understands.

###### Longhorn Motel, Dallas, Texas

Brenda parks the car and bangs on the door to the hotel room, demanding to know why Ricardo and Drake have locked it. Drake says that their creepy ass neighbor, the one in the bathrobe selling the xbox, keeps walking in so they had to lock it. She gives him a box of pills and asks him if he's figured it out. He says that he's not stupid, yes, before failing to open the box of pills, citing the fact that it's childproof as the reason why he couldn't. Brenda takes the box and easily pops them out. Drake points out that *you do have a child.* Ricardo asks her why she's so angry and she says that she doesn't want to be there, she just wants to get back to the life they had in Sinaloa. The neighbor knocks on the door and Brenda answers it, telling him to wait a few hours so that she can buy the xbox.

Ricardo is watching a video titled "Methamphetamine 101," describing how to make meth. Ricardo laughs and says yeah, it is as easy as making cookies.

###### Airport, Texas

James and Teresa pull up to the airport. Talky John exits the plane and says *let's do this!* enthusiastically, before being followed out of the plane by his brother. James receives a call from someone working on a runway and he tells him that they're there. James shows Teresa the tracker and tells her how to use it. He tells her that she should go and she moves to get out, pausing when James hands her a gun. She is hesitant to take it, because she doesn't want to kill anyone, but she places it in her waistband anyway.

###### Camila's car

Camila tells her driver to pull the car over and she gets out to make a phone call. She asks Batman if he's alone and he says that he is. She points out that she's been having awfully bad luck since he's returned to Epifaño and wonders if he did tell on her. Batman hedges by saying that Epifaño would have killed her if he knew. She says that she's in a bit of trouble and she's beginning to think that her husband is encouraging it. Camila says that making her go back to Mexico, back to her husband, would be death to her. Batman continues to deny telling Epifaño, and she replies that that may be so, but her instincts are seldom wrong.

###### Airport

James takes pictures of the men from Broward Country, Florida exiting their Lincoln limo and entering the hotel. Teresa is nodded to by one of Camila's men, indicating that these are the people she's to steal from. John receives a call from James, who says welcome to town, and they arrange that John will pick a place to meet. Camila's man gets on the elevator with them as Teresa climbs the stairs. He gets off and texts Teresa that they're going to the 12th floor. She hurries down the hall just in time to see which room they go into -- 1208. She heads back down the stairs to look for a maid's cart.

###### Hotel

Teresa enters the room that the maid is cleaning and greets her in Spanish. The maid believes that that is her room and asks if she should leave. Teresa says no and closes the door. When she turns her back, Teresa advances and pulls her gun, telling the maid to get on the floor and hand over her phone, taking her ID card. Teresa takes a picture of the ID card and asks where she's from. She says that she's from Durango and Teresa replies that she should know what it means when she says she's from Sinaloa. The maid, Maria, whispers *si.* Teresa switches to English and tells her that she now knows her name, and the people that she's working for can find her and her family, so she has to be quiet and do what she says. Teresa calls James to tell him that they're in room 1208, and he says that they're looking for a black suitcase, sending a picture. They hang up and Teresa instructs Maria to remove her clothes.

Teresa changes into Maria's clothes, unplugging the room's telephone and tying her up with the line, telling her that she will be just down the hall and if she screams, she will hear it. Teresa wheels the maid's cart to room 1208 and removes the tracker from its case.

At the door, Teresa knocks and enters the room, surprised to see that John is still in there. She apologizes and says that she can come back later. He says that it's okay and she walks to the bathroom, dropping a towel on her way.

At the bar downstairs, Reggie and his other friend are stared at by a Latino man, which makes Reggie uncomfortable. The Latino man approaches them and asks him if he's Reggie. They say yes and ask who he is; he responds that he name isn't important, but his message is -- go back to Florida, because if they're going to be doing business with Camila Vargas, there's going to be a problem with the other people that control this territory, and they don't want to be a problem for these other people. They respond that they don't know what he's talking about and they're just here to get a drink. Reggie decides that that's it and they're going home.

Back in the hotel room, Teresa places the tracker on the suitcase as she bends down to retrieve the towel she had dropped earlier. John stops her to ask if she can bring him more shampoo. She nods and exits as Reggie and their security guard come back into the room.

###### James' car outside the hotel

While he's looking at the tracker on his iPad, James answers a call from John, who is freaked out by what his brother told him. James pretends to be surprised as the man they are describing gets into the passenger seat of his car. He says that the man is from the Jimenez cartel and that they're just trying to cause problems; James tells him to call when they're ready to leave so they can get this shit done.

###### Hotel

Teresa returns to the hotel room that she left Maria in, only to find that Maria is not where she left her. Maria is in the bathroom, attempting to cut her ties with a broken piece of glass. Maria's wrists and hands are bloody from the efforts. When she sees Teresa, she begs her not to kill her; her brother has already been murdered by the cartels. Teresa gets a towel and reassures her that she's not going to kill her if she just listens.

In the hotel room, Brenda asks Ricardo how much longer he's going to be, because she has a buyer on the phone that wants everything they have. Brenda sniffs and says that it smells very strongly of chemicals as Ricardo shakes his 2 liter bottle of what will become meth. He is about to retort when the bottle explodes, catching his suit and mask on fire. Brenda guides him to the toilet and forces his head in.

###### Warehouse, Texas

John and Reggie take a taxi to a warehouse where James is waiting, taking the suitcase from the trunk. They exchange introductions and bring the dope to a table to test it. James notes that the stuff it's wrapped in has no markings, and asks them where they got it. John replies that some Cuban bought a stolen boat off of them for double what they were asking, but they had to take the payment in cocaine. He laughs and says that to be honest, he thinks he might have been a dirty Fed. The chemist finishes his examination and says that it's good shit. John and Reggie are excited to check out the money and begin to put the stacks through money counters. James places his cocaine into the leather duffel bags that he brought the money in, and the Floridians place their money in the suitcase, which still has a tracker on it. As James walks them out, John shakes his hand and says that he'll see him at Lorenzo's next bash; James replies *only if you bring that redhead, the one with the ass.* John replies that he married her.

###### Parking garage, Texas

Camila meets Teo in a parking garage. He tells her that he made the trawler purchase, and she says that she knows it can't be traced back to her, but she wonders if it can be traced back to him, because she thinks that Epifaño is messing with her. She asks him to use the name of one of his sloppy, overconfident colleagues on the papers, one that wouldn't notice if his name was used to file the document, and then to pull the documents he already filed so he can refile them under that person's name. He tells her no, because he didn't want to get his hands dirty. She responds that they'll get dirty when he's digging his way out of one of her husband's graves -- better his colleague than him.

###### James' car

James gets into his car and checks the location of the tracker, calling Camila to say that part one's done. He calls Flaco and tells them that they're getting onto the on-ramp.

###### Texas freeway

In the Florida group's car, they are celebrating. Flaco pulls up beside them, wearing a red mask, and shoots at the car, hitting the brother in the backseat. Another truck carrying Camila's men fires a bazooka at the taxi, causing it to catch fire and roll. Camila's people get out of their trucks to retrieve the suitcase, but Tonto, who is carrying the suitcase, is shot. A man in a black and red skull mask is helping Tonto back to the car when his mask comes off, and John recognizes that it was James that attacked him. James shoots John in the chest, causing him to fall and find cover behind the flipped taxi. Flaco gets Tonto into the car, while James gets the suitcase.

###### Hotel

Teresa calls James to tell him that she's leaving and she's letting the maid go. James ignores this and says that one of them got away, so she is to go back to the hotel room and wait for him there. If he returns, she is to keep him there. She asks what he means and James says that he saw his face, he knows, so she can't let him leave. She heads back upstairs to his room.

John limps into the hotel through a side door, covered in blood and crying for his brother Reggie. He enters the elevator and manages to get himself to his room, painfully setting his gun on the table and removing his jacket. He sits on the couch facing the door, bringing his phone out.

Teresa exits the bathroom she was hiding in, pointing the gun James had given her at him, and ordering him to put his phone down. John recognizes her from before and tells her that she's dead and that she had no idea what kind of family they just messed with. Teresa repeats that he needs to stop talking. He comments that she's so scared she can barely hold the gun and laughs because her hand is shaking. Teresa tells him to just *go* and she'll tell them that he never came back. John thinks that Teresa is letting him go because she doesn't want him to hurt her, mistaking her fear of killing as a fear of him. He tells her that he's going to let her walk her sweet little ass out that door because she reminds him of a story. He asks if she's ever heard the story of the great badass warrior who kills everybody but lets one warrior live so he can go back to the tribe and tell them all about the tale, and to warn their ass that the badass is coming for them next. Teresa is begging him to just go, but he continues. T*hat's you, sweetheart. You are the survivor. You can go back and tell them that this badass is coming for them. I'm not gonna kill you. I'm not gonna kill you. I swear.* She tells him not to move as he leans forward to emphasize that last sentence. *I would never kill you in a million years, I wouldn't do it.* He reaches for the gun on the table. Teresa fires off three shots into his chest. There is a faint spray of blood on her face that becomes visible as she takes two steps forward to confirm that he's not breathing.

Teresa races down the stairs as she is stopped momentarily by a hotel guest who asks her if she heard gunshots. She says yes and to go back to his room. Flaco, who is driving, is trying to stop Tonto from bleeding out, but there's so much blood. Cop cars cross their path as they race to the hotel. He asks James, who is on the phone with him, to get them out of there; James gives him directions.

Teresa uses the exit that John entered from to escape the hotel undetected.

###### Hotel parking lot

Teresa exits the hotel and heads to the parking lot, which is rather empty. She is at a crosswalk when she gets a call from Brenda, which she ignores.

###### Longhorn Motel

Tony comes back to their motel room, reporting that there's all kinds of cops and firefighters outside because some guy got lit on fire and asks what happened. Brenda lies and says that she doesn't know what happened and that she doesn't know what kind of *locos* live there. He moves to exit the room and Brenda asks him where he's going. He reports that the kid in 11C got an xbox and asks if he can go. Brenda begins to tear up and nods her permission. Seeing this, Tony gives his mom a hug.

###### Texas street

Teresa is walking briskly down a street when James pulls up next to her. He asks where John is before telling her to get in, moving the bag that had been on the passenger seat.

###### James' car

She removes the gun from her waistband and sets it on the center console. Teresa hasn't said anything since getting in the car, closing her eyes and letting the breeze play with her hair. James looks over at her. *Are you hurt?* A beat. *Answer me are you hurt?* She says no. James asks what happened. Teresa looks out the window as she says that she shot him, her voice breaking ever so slightly. James asks if he's dead and she nods yes. James looks like he wants to say something but he is interrupted by a call from Camila, asking if he has Teresa. *I just got her. She's all messed up. We're coming back now.* James looks back over at Teresa, adjusting his grip on the steering wheel, and tells her to wipe her face.

In the side mirror, Teresa sees The Queen, wearing sunglasses, who stares at Teresa for a beat before shifting her gaze out the window.

## Appearances

* Teresa Mendoza
* James Valdez
* Camila Vargas
* Brenda Parra
* Ricardo
* Drake
* Talky John Terris
* Reggie Terris
* Wendle
* Flaco
* The Charger
* Tony Parra
* Cesar "Batman" Guemes
* Maria Sanchez

## Plot

* *You have proven that you can be relied upon to do what I need. I don't know everything about you. You only reveal what you want. You're smart.* -Camila to Teresa
* *I make him vulnerable.* -Teresa about Epifaño
* *You understand you're only leverage for me, right?* -Camila to Teresa
* *I know you're scared. Use that fear to stay alive. After all, you're a survivor.* -Camila to Teresa
* *(to herself) No, my son is gonna have a future. In this world, you don't become what you want, you become what you have to.* -Brenda
* *You know, Cesar, there are lots of ways to kill someone. Destroying my business. Making me go back to Mexico. Back to him... that would be death to me.* -Camila to Batman on Epifaño
* Look at you, you're so scared you can barely hold the gun. [He laughs] Look at you, you're so scared you're shaking. -John to Teresa when she's pointing a gun at him

## Notes

* James wakes Teresa up again.
* James holds open Teresa's car door for her.
* John and Reggie used to scam retirees in Florida with their dad.
* James wears a white sweater.

## Gallery

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