A Sick World

**"A Sick World"** is the second episode of the first season of *Inside Your Head*, and the second episode of the series all together.

## Summary

### Teaser

Mike walks into a shady part of town where he meets three men, all of whom are drug dealers. After getting conformation that everything he wants is there, Mike leaves the men and walks away.

### Act I

Brielle turns up to a grisly crime scene inside a law firm, where Ralph waits for her. The victim is a lawyer who was killed by having his head wrapped in clay and baked in a kiln, making his head transform into a ceramic sculpture. As Brielle examines the head, Ralph inquires how they are going to get the clay off of the victim's head. Brielle, noting that she took a ceramics class in high school, says that because the clay as been fired inside of a kiln twice, all that is left under it will be ashes, as the victim's head would have been incinerated during the "manufacturing" process. After Ralph consults an on-scene technician, Brielle notes that the killer must have been a professional ceramicist. Ralph thinks that it was a mob-related assassination, but Brielle warns him to not jump to conclusions. They leave to file the case at the precinct.

At her night-job as a bar tender, Chassidy serves multiple drinks to demanding customers, and her boss, Michael, angrily tells her to pick up the pace as he believes she is moving too slow. After making a drink for an upper-class citizen, an Italian man approaches her and asks for an Aperitivo. After serving him the drink, the man solutes Chassidy with the drink. The man comments on Chassidy's visible bruise, which she had been trying to hide with her hair. He mentions he knows a good doctor but she dismisses his offer and says that she is okay. The man bids her farewell in Italian.

In the apartment complex, Mike goes to Barton's apartment door and slips the bag he purchased from the drug dealers underneath Barton's door. He knocks on the door before leaving for his own apartment. When he gets there, Ava asks to speak with him, but he just ignores her and goes up to his room, much to Ava's dismay. Not knowing what else to do, she just begins watching television.

### Act II

At the 15th Precinct, Ralph manages to obtain some previously filed work on the dead lawyer, and discovers that he was a criminal defence lawyer. Conveying his findings to Brielle, he reveals that the lawyer was famous for being a lacky for the mob, keeping them out of prison. Brielle questions him on why the mob would want to kill their own legal assistant. Ralph states that they must have their reasons, as this lawyer was tied to the mob. Although Brielle thinks that it is something different, Ralph notes that no one would have organised such a complicated hit unless it was organized-crime related. Brielle decides to follow along, and asks what their next move is. Ralph says he knows that there is a bar where gang members meet, and so their best shot is looking there first.

Chassidy wakes up to the sound of Dylan yelling at her and leaving the house. Chassidy travels downstairs to make herself a morning drink, however Dylan ambushes her by jumping out of the pantry and beating her up. As Chassidy cries in pain, Dylan again reminds her about how he wants breakfast on the table every morning. He proceeds to relentlessly beat her, and then tells her to clean up a mess that he made. Dylan leaves for work, and Chassidy can do nothing but lay on the ground and cry, feeling powerless to do anything about this horrendous abuse.

Ava makes Mike some breakfast and hopes to converse with him about his daily activities. She spends a good amount of time arranging it to look perfect. When Mike comes downstairs, despite Ava's attempts at getting his attention, he just leaves and doesn't acknowledge her. Curious, Ava speaks to Barton, who denies even knowing Mike. Ava takes offence to this as she knows Mike and Barton do something together. Ava resorts to scowering through Mike's bedroom in order to find any sign of suspicious activity, but all she finds is typical teenage things. Disappointed, Ava leaves Mike's room.

### Act III

Brielle and Ralph travel to the bar, which turns out to be the same bar that Chassidy works at. When they enter, Brielle notices Chassidy and goes to say hello while Ralph makes his way to a table of gangsters. While Brielle speaks with Chassidy, the same Italian man comes to the bar and orders another drink. Taking an interest in Brielle, he asks if she is from around the area. Brielle humors him until Chassidy hands the man his drink. He then scurries off out of sight. Meanwhile, Ralph speaks with the mobsters at the table. Initially hesitant, Ralph notices that the mobsters were part of Paprika "Pappy" Cadilak's gang, and as a result, hold no power over anyone. The Lead Mobster mentions that the lawyer may have been affiliated with a gang that his receptionist used to work for. He tells him that the receptionist will be in office the next day. Ralph conveys his findings to Brielle and both of them leave.

Chassidy works all night until her shift is over. She buys takeaway for Dylan and walks home. However, as she is preparing herself to go in, she cannot bare herself to do it. Instead, she leaves the takeaway on the doorstep and goes into the city. Chassidy manages to get a cab and drives to Nobu Hotel, where she checks herself in for a night. However, she can't afford to stay longer than that. She takes the elevator to her room and peacefully falls asleep.

Behind his apartment block, Mike talks with a Russian Prostitute, who he shares a cigarette with. The Prostitute asks for her payment, and Mike hands it to her. She suggestively strokes his shoulder and asks him to call her again, to which he says he will. Mike goes back to his apartment, where Ava is waiting for him. She demands to know where he has been all day, to which Mike says he was just 'out'. Ava angrily tells him that 'out' is not a good enough answer, as well as telling him that she raised him to be open and honest, and he has failed to be even that. Mike tells her that people change, and leaves to avoid the conversation. As Ava yells up to Mike, Barton can hear everything from his upstairs apartment. He ignores it and sniffs some of the drugs Mike bought for him.

### Act IV

Brielle and Ralph visit the dead lawyer's receptionist, who tells them that her employer was affiliated with a gang led by a man named Ronny Wedding, and that they payed him to keep out of legal trouble as well as doing unspecified favors for them. Brielle lets it slip that she doesn't think the lawyer's death had anything to do with the mob, to which the receptionist says that she was right. She mentions that the mob wouldn't kill anyone the way that the lawyer turned up, as it is too much work and they are more street smart than art smart. When Brielle asks who else could've killed him, the receptionist mentions that the lawyer represented a client who was part of Pappy Cadilak's gang initiation massacres and that he was seeking legal protection. However, the client became angry when the lawyer said that because Ronny Wedding was an enemy to Pappy Cadilak, he couldn't help him, and the last she saw of the client was him storming out. She gives Brielle and Ralph a file on the client.

Brielle and Ralph pour over the file, where Ralph concurs with Brielle that it couldn't have been a mob hit. Brielle says that she believes this unknown client must be the killer. The two of them have a silent panic moment when Brielle mentions the killer may strike again if they are unable to resist as they have gotten away with the murder so far. Meanwhile, Chassidy wakes up in her hotel room to Dylan standing over her. He drags her out of bed and savagely beats her and berates her for giving him takeaway instead of roast beef. After a brutal beating, Dylan checks her out of Nobu Hotel and takes her home. He throws her into their bedroom and locks the door. Chassidy just cries and cries.

Mike visits Barton and tells him that he never gave him his payment for the drugs he bought him. Barton gives Mike his six-pack of alcohol and Mike leaves for his own apartment. Quickly, he hides the drinks as soon as Ava comes downstairs. The two of them get into a massive argument, which ends in Mike berating Ava for allegedly being a bad parent in terms of lying to him about his father and that she shouldn't involve herself in his activities as he's sure she has better things to do. When the heat dies down, Mike leaves the room and Ava cries.