Mike McLusky

**Mike McLusky** is the current *de facto* mayor of Kingstown.

## Biography

### Early Life

Originally, he started off as the right hand man for his older brother Mitch, but some time earlier, Mike was once an inmate in the Kingstown prison and rose to the rank of "Shot-Caller" for the White inmates.

## Throughout the Series

### Season 1

In The Mayor of Kingstown, Mike talks about how it’s up to him to keep the rats in the cage content, and the keepers from becoming rats themselves. He then goes on to explain how Kingstown is a company town, where the business is incarceration. A place where seven prisons within a ten mile radius is the norm. Mitch ends up working out a deal with Bunny, a leader of one of the city’s local gangs. As Mitch and Mike leave, Bunny jokes that if it weren't for the McLusky brothers, they would all be dead. Later, Mike and Kyle find the $200,000 of Milo’s money buried without any trouble. To which Kyle jokes that it was quite anticlimactic. But Mike explains that is how he likes it. At Mitch’s office, Mike and Kyle deposit the bag of money from Milo’s hiding spot. Kyle tries to hurry up his brother as his real shift is starting in a bit. Not long after, Mitch asks if it’s all there (in reference to the money). Mike says that he didn’t count but it should be all there. Mitch then reminds Mike how they have to do that FedEx job for Bunny. Eventually, Mike, Kyle and Mariam are informed about what happened to Mitch. At a bar, one of Milo’s men tries to threaten Mike for the job that went wrong. But instead, Mike tells the henchman that Milo can’t blame him or his family for what happened. But if he has a problem, then he can easily have Milo killed. Then, Mike finishes off by saying that he can very easily take everything that his brother Mitch gave to Milo and his henchmen. Later, Mariam remarks how it’s the first time that Mike has come home before dawn. Mike then tells his mom how they don’t break the law; they bend it to make peace for everybody. Mariam reminds her son that she is very familiar with what her children do because her husband invented that. She chastises Mike and tells him how he should not delude himself into believing that all he does is for the greater good. She then reminds him that Mike works incredibly hard to accomplish absolutely nothing. But in the end, he just prolongs the inevitable.

In The End Begins, at the memorial service, a drenched Mike arrives at the McLusky home and is greeted by the other cops. Stevie, one of the Kingstown police officers then asks Mike if he is going to keep the “mayor” job going. Mike admits that he doesn’t know if he will. Later, at Mitch’s office, Mike sets fire to the safe, as the fire alarm beeps. Later, the Kingstown Fire Captain arrives at the scene and sarcastically points out that the insurance company is going to love Mike. Outside, Kyle points out how ridiculous it was of Mike to set fire to his office to clean it rather than moving to a new one. Kyle then points out how Mike is not married, and thus has nothing tying him down to Kingstown. He also doesn’t owe anybody anything, which means Mike has no real reason to take on being the new mayor. All Mike says is that he is simply tyin’ up some loose ends because Mitch left behind a lot of them. All Kyle says to his brother is to not let weeks become years because he won’t get them back. The next day, Mike is in his office telling a Latina woman that what she is asking him to help her with, is not something he can help out with. He mentions how the officers have moved him to another place closer to the chambers, that there’s video surveillance and they have in turn assigned a guard to watch her brother until they remove him for execution. Thus, she is better off talking to her brother's attorneys, than waste her time talking to him. The young woman mentions how his brother has no more appeals left. Thus, there’s nothing more they can do, and according to her, the next day, she is to just sit there and watch her brother be executed. Mikes tries to comfort the young woman by saying that he knows her mom is distraught over her son being put down like a dog, and that this is going to break her. But unfortunately, it is happening no matter what, and there is nothing anybody can do about it. Thus, Mike suggests that the best thing she can do is to look her brother in the eye and let her smile be the last thing he sees. Afterward, Mike’s cell phone rings, and he picks up. On the other side of the phone call, Bunny gives his condolences, and mentions how he feels bad for him, and that he is sure everybody is going to miss his brother. Later, Mike drives right through the fence and forces Bunny to write a letter and have it on his desk by the end of the day to get back the power he lost inside the prison. Once he gets the letter, he gives a call for things to go back to normal inside the prison and drives off.

Later, Mike is asking for advice about his bear problem at his cabin, but the guy he is talking to tells him that while the bear isn’t a problem, if he keeps eating, then in a few months, he will be a big bear that isn’t scared of Mike anymore. Mike then asks what bears like to eat, to which the man says that they like whatever humans like from bagels to bacon, etc. At his cabin, Mike pours out the 40lbs bag of French fries he bought and pours some bacon grease on them. He then sits on his porch waiting for the bear to show up. But instead, a raccoon shows up, and despite shooting two arrows at it with the crossbow he purchased, he fails to land either one. At night, the black bear finally shows up, and Mike simply watches him eat the food he threw on the ground. The next day, Mike arrives at work and is greeted by Agent Perry and Agent Aldrich at his office parking lot. They eventually cut to the chase and ask if Mike has any idea why his brother was targeted. Mike then states that Mitch wasn’t targeted; he was robbed. Agent Aldrich then asks Mike if he knew of the connection between his brother and Vera Sunter. Mike avoids answering the question and instead asks the two agents if they even read the file on his brother’s death. The two agents say they have, but they’d rather hear it from Mike instead. Mike then explains how Mitch helped arrange the surrender of Milo Sunter after an armored car heist.Agent Aldrich tells Mike that they had an arrangement with Mitch. They state that they came in today to see if they should make the same arrangement with Mike. Agent Perry states that Mitch used to receive $2,500 a month to be a paid informant. She asks if Mike was aware of it, to which Mike says that he was. Eventually, the two agents ask Mike point blank about why he detonated a concussion grenade and brandished a firearm in the Commons where Bunny and his gang reside. Mike calmly says that he has a CCO.

Agent Aldrich then points out how it wasn’t exactly legal that a convicted felon such as Mike is able to walk around with a concealed carry permit. In a matter of seconds, the two agents offer Mike the contract, and he eagerly signs it. He then asks if they have check for him. Upon receiving it, he explains how he will do things. For one, he doesn’t do stings, nor does he wear a wire, and if someone asks him if he is on their payroll, he will tell them the truth. Mike then explains to the two agents that what he does here in Kingstown, and with the people in this town, stays here. The lights are dimmed down, and Mike explains to the young woman that the warden will now be reading the sentence to the gallery. The warden is then heard through the intercom stating that Juan Jesus Garcia was found guilty of capital murder, and has been sentenced to death by lethal injection. Juan is then brought in and strapped to the chair. Mike then tells the woman that her brother is already gone. That isn’t him, and that she should remember the best of him. Juan’s mother breaks one of the rules and yells out in Spanish for her son to look at her. On the other side of the glass, her voice is muffled. Juan then tells his mom that he is sorry and that he loves her in Spanish. Then he addresses one of the victim’s family members and apologizes for what he did. Eventually, his last rites are performed. In the gallery, Mike explains that the doctors are stating an IV on Juan, to administer the lethal injection. Eventually, the injection is slowly administered, and Mike suggests to the young woman to have her mom look down for this next part. The monitors begin to beep, as Juan goes into cardiac arrest, and foams at the mouth. Eventually going motionless. Later that night, Mike arrives and gives Bunny a new chair as an apology for the one he broke. The two sit down and have a couple of beers. Mike then vents to Bunny about the execution he was at earlier that day. Bunny admits that he has never seen an execution. He admits that there are worse ways one could go. Mike isn’t so sure. Bunny then mentions how in all thirty-seven years, he has never celebrated Christmas in his life. He then points out how you’re born, you suffer, and then you die. Sometimes you even die young. He tells Mike he is just like him and the other criminals because once you’ve been in the jaws of the beast, someday, he is going to finish his meal.

In Simply Murder, with Kenny on the run, Mike is given the responsibility of finding him and arranging a deal whereby justice is served. The cops are determined to have Kenny killed without a fair trial, so when Kenny presents himself to Mike, he’s offered a deal. When Kenny follows Mike’s advice, though, he’s still placed in general population and immediately set upon by all the prisoners, stabbed and beaten to death while the guards look on. Refusing to help out in the process. Mike, upon hearing the news, smashes his office up in frustration. Mike also realizes that even if he is the so-called Mayor of Kingstown, there’s only so much influence and power that he wields.

In The Price, Mike is having sex with a woman in a bathroom, who mentions that she cannot be seen with him when he suggests they grab food from the food court afterward. After his mom's class, he approaches her, and this is when Mariam tells Mike that his brother's wife is pregnant after punching and slapping Mike for his ignorance about the situation, right in public and surrounded by students. She suggests that Mike help Kyle make the right choice and take a different job away from the so called family business; one that is less likely to leave his wife a widow. Eventually, Bunny calls Mike to get him to come over for a discussion, preferably with White Castle. Mike tells him that an FBI van is listening to their in-person conversations so they could just as easily talk on the phone, but agrees to come in person anyway. Bunny says that his guys inside want payment for their role in helping to kill the child murderer, but Mike pushes back.

Later, Mike receives a call from Pete ordering him to put his crew at the top of the line for handouts after their involvement in the prison murder. When Mike calls into his own office to let his assistant Rebecca know he won't be in, he learns that there's only one person waiting for him. Back at the office, Rebecca reminds Mike that for them to stay in business and pay their bills they have to take on clients. Mike hasn't been in for days and Rebecca worries that it's because Mike's been taking things personally. Mike tells her that he's not as good at this job as Mitch was but that he'll work on bringing in more money, but what he puts in his coffee doesn't concern her. Mike eventually meets with one of his prison guard friends to let them know what the inmates and gangs are requesting as favors. To remind everyone of the easy treatment they've been getting as thanks, the two hatch a plan to tighten everything back up in the prison. Mike then heads to the Kingstown police department to get an address for Carlos Jimenez to Parker is set to be executed, but the attorney doesn't want Parker to escape suffering. He hires Mike to try to get another confession, which would allow them to take Parker to trial and put a stay on his execution.

In Orion, Mike then takes a meeting with a guy named Duchard, whose little brother has been imprisoned just for being present on a drug bust. He claims his brother isn't involved in that life and wants Mike to help get him be freed from the ramifications of it. Mike then meets with a representative from the District Attorney's office, where he learns that Parker is set to be executed, but the attorney doesn't want Parker to escape suffering. He hires Mike to try to get another confession, which would allow them to take Parker to trial and put a stay on his execution. Later, Mike and Bunny meet to discuss the growing number of problems the two men have encountered since Kenny's murder. Bunny complains that the guards are overstepping by feeding his crew feces, which Mike brushes off. He claims that he warned everyone about the fallout from working together to beat the child murderer to death, but also suggests that if they're complaining to Bunny then they aren't complaining about Bunny. Mike then asks Bunny to let go of Duchard's little brother, who it turns out is a straight-A student and did turn his life around after involving himself in the gang.

Mike also asks Bunny to ask around inside the prison and see what he can dig up on Parker so that Mike can use it to leverage a confession on his involvement in murdering the attorney's daughter. Bunny then asks for a favor in return, which is that he wants Mike to take his nephew Hakim to his hockey game, because Bunny himself can't leave. On their way, Hakim talks about how he wants to escape Kingstown and play for the Detroit Red Wings. Mike tells him that Detroit's just down the street and he should dream of someplace further away, like Tampa, Florida. While Mike is enjoying a hockey game, the police department grab Carlos Jimenez off the street. At the hockey game, Hakim gets into a traditional hockey fight with another player and the kid's parent gets involved too, saying how Hakim should have stayed on his side of town and grabbing his face over the ice rink wall. Mike dives in, punching the dad and putting his cigarette out on his face. The game turns into a free-for-all between players and parents, but this seems to galvanize Mike, who promises to take Hakim to every game with a gang of supporters so that no one will touch him. Afterwards, Mike and the assistant D.A. Evelyn are having dinner together. The dinner is incongruous, as she claims that Mike is the last person she'd want a relationship with, which is the most attractive thing about him, and that they shouldn't pretend to be more to each other than what they are. Mike subsequently pays for the meal and storms off. Later that night, Mike and Bunny sit down to drink 40s together, with Mike complaining about the parents at the hockey game and Bunny impressed by how Mike responded. Bunny tells Mike that everyone else in his family is dead and laments what it means to be a Black man in present day America and what freedom is truly available to them. The two men then end up discussing the constellations they can see, with Mike describing how humans have looked up at these same constellations for thousands of years.

In Every Feather, as a result of the lockdown, Mike then receives calls from representatives of almost every group imaginable from gang leader to guard and declaring in the process that they need to talk. On his way to Bunny's, Mike also gets an unexpected call from Iris. Upon arrival, Mike learns that Bunny is angry about the lockdown but also about the guard shooting one of his men three times while he was being stabbed. He claims his men are hungry for retribution and will try to kill the guard outside of the prison, but Mike manages to convince Bunny to try to inter cede. Duke, whose gang started the fight, is Mike's next stop, and he also tells the Mayor that the guards need to drop the lockdown. Like Bunny, Duke also promises to exact retribution outside of the prison, threatening guards in their own homes. When Mike tells the guards that the gangs are ready to declare war on the guards if they don't lift the lockdown, they claim that they cannot bend and have to keep pushing. Iris takes her broken body to Mike, who as expected takes pity on her. While he refuses to do what Milo wants, he has his assistant take her to the hospital and promises to address Milo so that nothing like this happens to Iris again. Mike then takes Kyle and Ian to the bar to beat up Milo's representative, promising to do much worse if anything else happens to Iris.

After helping her get bandaged at the hospital, Rebecca takes Iris back to Mike's office. She tells Mike her sordid past, filled with sexual abuse and trauma, and claims that she's already been broken by Kingstown. Mike tells her it gets worse, and asks Rebecca to stay with her overnight because he still doesn't trust Iris. While Iris is meeting with the FBI agents, Mike gets a call from Milo in prison asking Mike to meet him in a park in an hour. There, a strange woman approaches Mike and offers her cell phone to video chat with Milo. He threatens to skin Iris alive and send it to Mike if he doesn't do Milo a favor. When Mike still hesitates, the stranger shows Mike the tracker in her body. When Mike gets back to his office, the police are there searching for bombs. Mike had his assistant Rebecca leave the office and run when he figured out that Milo knew how to find Iris, but the FBI agents weren't so lucky. When Mike's allowed back in, he finds the agents murdered on the floor, with a message scrawled in blood on his wall threatening to destroy his angel Iris' every feather.

In Along Came a Spider, Mike reports to the FBI and police about the death of their agent and the kidnapping of Iris. Mike eventually returns to his office to find it sealed as part of the crime scene. He tells Rebecca to find them a new place to work, transfer his number to a new cell phone and to trade cars so that he can continue working despite the ongoing investigation. Driving Rebecca's car over to Bunny, Mike asks him if he's ever worked with Milo's crew. Bunny says he would never, and calls the gang crazy before encouraging Mike to confront his problems instead of letting them fester. Eventually, Mike heads to the prison to visit with Milo in person. Milo repeats his request for a favor from Mike but Mike only seems worried about the fate of Iris and ensuring that Milo stays in prison or dies. Milo tells Mike that Iris failed to do her job so she's going back to her old job, but he's glad to know that the way to get to Mike is to break an angel. Milo then tells him that he only needs Mike to find a metal case in the woods and that he can take the FBI tails with him when he does. Mike doesn't agree to the favor immediately, but seems willing to take this on. Kyle joins Mike at his cabin, bringing with him dinner despite claiming that he never sees Mike eat. Kyle shares with Mike that his wife Tracy's pregnant. Mike says Kyle should stop hanging out with him, echoing their mother's warning about Mike's line of work. When the body of the FBI Agent that Milo's crew killed is discovered in the trash, Mike decides to head out and find the case that Milo wants him to. After seeing the scope of the land he'd have to search, Mike abandons the quest. At his cabin that night, the bear returns looking for more fries and eating the bird food instead. Mike throws it a bag of marshmallows instead but remarks that he probably shouldn't be feeding the animal. During the day, Mike returns with a metal detector and shovel to dig up Milo's metal case. After finding and unearthing the container.

In The Devil is Us, The police have joined Mike in the field to uncover the metal box that Milo directed him to dig up. After accosting the lawyer, Mike meets up with Rebecca at their old office, which is now the scene of multiple homicides, so she can take him to their new office across the street. Mike resigns himself to the new space, but takes it as a metaphor for the inability to escape his past and the entire city of Kingstown. While he deals with his inescapable bad fate, Ed calls to tell Mike that rival gangs are meeting in the prison yard, which means they must be planning something for the guards. He asks Mike to take the temperature from the outside. In the driveway, Mike and the Duke share threats and Duke reveals that Mike used to run with his racist white gang in prison. Mike tells him that he knows that his gang is conspiring with the others to kill a guard and warns him what the repercussions will be; both for the inmates and for the gangs on the streets as well.

Mike gets a call from Bunny saying that they've found something that belongs to him. When Mike goes to collect Iris, he goes inside Bunny's place for the first time and sees it's filled with children and family. Bunny says he has something for the gang that did this to Iris, but Mike says he's got something for them too. Mike drives to Duke's place and gets confirmation from Iris that this was the man responsible. Mike shoots him where he stands without a second thought, then enters the house and shoots everyone else, making good on his threats from earlier. He also steals a water bottle for Iris. Mike takes Iris to his cabin in the woods, calling it a safe place for her. But Mike also tells her that no place will be safe as long as she has Milo's tracker embedded in her and he asks if she's comfortable with him removing it. Iris asks if he knows how to do this and Mike tells her that he's learned how from lack of options. Mike cuts into her hip and has to dig deep to remove the tracker with no way to numb the pain. Iris claims that, after what she's just been through, she's numb enough for it. Mike tries to encourage her to not give up hope, and to not let these people take from her the desire to be loved or to have a date eventually.

In The Lie of the Truth, at the cabin, Mike makes breakfast by whisking some eggs and measures flour for German pancakes for himself and Iris. Mike checks in on Iris, who tells him that no matter how much she scrubs, she can't get rid of the residue from the people who assaulted her. The two sit down for the home-cooked breakfast that Mike made, only Mike's already eaten and Iris says she can't eat in front of Mike. After Mike leaves to wait out Iris' breakfast on the porch, Iris comes out to join him and the two chat about bird names and Mike becoming a chef. Iris asks Mike for a favor, which turns out to be holding her, fully clothed, in bed while she sobs herself to sleep. Later,oblivious to the nightmare unfolding in Kingstown, Mike watches Iris bathe at her request. She tells him how bathing de-mystifies and de-sexualizes the human body and that she's glad Mike's there. He tells her that she doesn't owe him anything, and that he killed those men because they deserved to die and not to win Iris' favor. She says she's had a hundred guys swear they'd die for her but none that would kill. When Mike asks what they're doing there, she says they're not doing anything. A sense of calm comradery between the two as Mike puts his arm around Iris' shoulder while she leans against him.

In This Piece of My Soul, as Mike leaves to head back into town and return to an area with cell service, he discovers his phone is full of messages from his work and family. After turning on the radio, he finds out about the prison riot and the trapped guards, Mike speaks with his mother, who is worried about Kyle not returning. Reading from a note, Carlos tells Mike that the inmates are looking for dignity. Mike knows this isn't Carlos' language and asks who's really in charge. Carlos arranges for Mike to meet with the guy in charge in the prison yard. When Mike worries that he won't be let in, Carlos tells Mike to watch the yard and gives an order to have one of the restrained guards executed to prove a point about who's in charge. The police get cell service back online, and Kyle is able to text Mike to let his brother know that he's alive and so that they can track his position. Later, Mike prepares to take his meeting with the inmate population and his entrance is televised, letting his mother know exactly what danger he's put himself in. The inmates direct him past burning mattresses and hanging guards to the riot's leader who is P-Dog.

When Mike asks what will happen with the guards, P-Dog tells him that the guards are the worst criminals in here before executing one of the them. The national guard on the walls then open fire on the inmates, killing P-Dog in the process and forcing Mike to take cover. Mike and Kyle are finally reunited in the yard. They hug for a while before Mike tells him that they should save the rest of their reunion for later, apparently trying not to show vulnerability in public. After reuniting with his mom on the outside, Mike returns to Iris and his cabin. Crouched on the floor and still brandishing a knife, she tells him that what was taken from her she can never get back, that she can't ever be whole again after her assault. Mike relates to this, even when Iris says that the only options are to live with part of you missing or to finish what was started.

### Season 2

In Never Missed a Pigeon, everything seems peaceful for Mike as he takes Iris out into the middle of the lake, but it's only a temporary reprieve. Understandably, Iris doesn't want to get off the boat. Mike reluctantly agrees to let her stay there for the week until it's sold off at a drug-proceeds auction. He isn't back on land for 30 seconds before Ian Ferguson calls him about a shooting. He arrives on the scene after Ian has shot the pitbull that mauled one of the victims, with Ian's partner reminding him that until the bad guys sort out who's in charge inside the prison, violence will happen outside. Later, Mike heads off to appease Bunny at Mario's. Mike eventually spells out all the ways that the inmates have had the screws put to them since the riot and advises Bunny that the city needs to get very quiet. Mike's meeting with Ian and his crew has the opposite tone, as he says they need the Crips in control of the prison. Outside, Stevie confronts Mike about his last interaction with Duke before Duke's death, but Mike doesn't give. Mike then gets another call as his secretary Rebecca says that a woman named Wendy Morris wants his attention. Mike is totally disinterested and meets D.A. Evelyn Foley at the coroner's office to survey the bodies. He's convinced Milo Sunter is still alive and wants her to issue an escaped inmate alert. Mike then grabs Iris off the boat so she can go under protective custody, but unsurprisingly, she doesn't want to leave him. She says him taking her out on the boat was really for him and storms off to the custody car.

In Staring at the Devil, Mike and Iris hide out on their boat while shots echo throughout the town. Eventually, Mike drives Iris to his brother’s house in the middle of the night. Both Iris and Mike are hiding from escaped Russian mobster Milo, but at that moment, as they ask Kyle for help, they realize that they cannot hide forever. Later, Mike turns up at yet another crime scene, as another drive-by shoot-out takes place in the neighborhood. Mike and Ian then find a discarded weapon and follow a trail of blood. They soon discover a victim hiding behind the bins, still alive. Mike wants an end to all this violence and asks Bunny to organize a truce. Bunny thinks whatever happens on the outside needs to be reiterated inside prison as well. Mike has a light-bulb moment as he asks Bunny to give him three hours, and to trust him, he has a plan. Leaders of both sides of this war meet up to hear Mike’s master plan. Kareem Moore is joined by Robert, who starts to frisk the gang leaders. The rivals are evidently antagonistic toward one another at first, but Mike keeps the peace. He is about to explain his plan when Evelyn arrives, sporting a bulletproof vest. Then police cars pull up with their sirens blaring. While at first it seems the gang members have been conned. Mike tells them to remain calm, and he explains the situation. They are being placed under arrest, with new charges. Once they have restored peace they will be freed again. This means peace for everyone, with Mike wanting the guards to behave themselves as well. Mike then pays Iris a visit at his family home, and finds out she has done a runner.

In Five at Five, Mike is worried sick and can’t seem to find Iris anywhere he looks. He’s fully aware that if she ends up in the wrong hands, she’ll either end up dead or wish that she was. Adding to Mike’s worries, the police department decided to raid Bunny’s grandmother’s home. Mike drives to the police station to confront Ian and Stevie in person, unafraid to kick-up a fuss outside their building. He demands that they stop raiding Bunny’s places, they need Bunny on their side after all. Ian defends the Force, stating that they had no choice and were very respectful during the raid. Mike couldn’t care less; he knows the ramifications of this incident. Back in tent city, Bunny urges his followers to relax and entrust in Mike’s plans. Speaking of the devil, Mike arrives to talk with Bunny about the latest arrangements. He assures Bunny that he is working on his master plan, but asks what he can do for him in the meantime. Bunny asks for the guards to turn away for “Five at Five”. He wants to initiate his first plan on the inside, to regain some control. Mike makes sure that the guards are all up to date on this scheme. Mike continues his hunt for Iris on his own, catching up with one of Milo’s associates, Joseph. Mike suspects that Tatiana’s baby is Joseph’s, which riles the enemy up and Mike quickly pulls his usual moves to unarm his foe. Mike arrives, with his own war wounds, after fighting Joseph. Bunny confronts Mike about his grandmother’s house raid. Mike honestly states that he didn’t know about it, but it still makes him appear weak and out of touch. Bunny makes his demands, he wants to be out of prison in 48 hours or he’ll hit Mike where it hurts, implying that his family will be in danger. Mike orders the guards to keep Bunny safe, but the pressure is on. Mike now has two days to get Bunny back out on the streets or this violent world will soon be arriving on his doorstep.

In The Pool, Mike has lost all control over the situation but lies anyway, saying he’ll take care of it. Mike drives over to see Evelyn. She has bigger problems to deal with than a few angry inmates, as the prison riot delivers further repercussions. Mike needs the District Attorney to sign off on the paperwork to secure the General’s release, yet he is stalling. Now, Mike’s life is on the line if he cannot hurry up the process of releasing the generals. As a result, the other generals are growing impatient. They warn Bunny that if Mike doesn’t solve this problem soon then his friend will be in grave danger. Mike tells Bunny that the District Attorney will sign the paperwork eventually. He suggests that Raphael takes over leadership responsibilities in the meantime, but Bunny cannot allow this to happen while he’s still on the inside. He warns Mike that the Generals are angry, and he may be in serious trouble if he cannot pull through with his promises. Mike pleads with Kareem to stop Bunny and the other gang leaders from being transferred, but it is out of Kareem’s hands. Mike warns him that Kingstown will fall if the peace isn’t restored. This empty threat is futile though, as Mike finds out the hard way that every inmate has been transferred. Bunny orders him to visit tent city that night, and when Mike arrives, it is a ghost town.

In Kill Box, Mike tries to defuse the situations, while the crime bosses mount their own pressure. Mike continues to have his hands full now that Bunny and the others have been moved to a different prison. In the aftermath of this monumental shake-up, all the inmate’s family members descend upon Mike’s offices, wanting to know of their family member’s whereabouts. Bunny’s cousin Rhonda jumps to the front of the queue though. Mike tries to reassure her in private, promising to protect her business whilst he attempts to locate Bunny and then get him out for good. On the inside, Carney is Mike’s eyes and ears. The prison guard informs Mike of the location of two crime bosses, but he is yet to find Bunny. Whilst on the outside, Mike focuses on his other dilemma. Milo’s fortune has been dug up and the man who found it has been murdered for his involvement. Mike worries that more bodies will start to pile up until the bonds are back in Milo’s possession. Next, Horace’s wife is found dead. Mike fears she has blabbed; they need to move the bonds before they are taken from them. Mike eventually checks in on Rhonda and leaves her his contact details. While Mike is on the line with Bunny, he promises to get him out of prison and to set him up with a business while he’s on the inside. They meet in person the following day, although Bunny is less than friendly. Mike tells Bunny not to do anything stupid, but the Crips boss has lost all faith in Mike now. He informs Mike that he’s going to do things his way, he is taking back control. Bunny cuts the conversation short and demands to be taken back to his cell.

In Left with the Nose, Mike steps up his game on the outside, applying further pressure to the high-ups in the system. He asks for details on the head guard and a visitor’s pass to communicate with Bunny in person. He then meets up with the regulars at the local café. It looks like Robert is in trouble after the riots, and Kyle has a surprise for Mike. Afterwards, he and Kyle drive to the Davidson’s home. Mike wants to speak with the head correctional officer in person. He tells Davidson to back off of Bunny and to leave him alone. Davidson feels threatened and squares up to Mike. The Mayor says he isn’t looking for a fight, but Davidson isn’t listening. He pushes Mike backward. Kyle rushes in with a loaded gun, punching Davidson and pressing the weapon into his face. Mike reiterates the warning not to mess with Bunny. Left with little another choice, Mike is forced to play dirty. He barges into a meal between Evelyn and DA Lockett. Mike is furious that the DA hasn’t held up his side of the deal and demands he frees Bunny immediately. The District Attorney flippantly disregards Mike’s demands, adding that he is talking about these dangerous criminals. The DA’s laid-back attitude dumbfounds Mike. He brings out the big guns, inferring that Milo is still alive and out in society, causing no end of chaos. Mike negotiates with the DA. He will give him information on Milo and help get him arrested if he signs the paperwork and frees Bunny.

In Drones, Mike is furious that Bunny had the District Attorney killed. Bunny doesn’t care, though, happy to have cleared the path for Mike to finally get him out. Bunny has his reasons, after all; the DA broke his promise, and Mike was working too slowly on his release. Bunny just sped up the process. He demands Mike sort this problem out once and for all, although the Mayor seems to think Bunny has made the situation much harder. After their chat, Mike asks Carney to watch Davidson, the head Guard. Carney admits that the guards have already eased off, indicating that Mike and Kyle’s little chat with Davidson has done the trick. Mike drives home, noticing a gang-related shootout just about to take place on the streets. To keep Bunny happy, Mike has the Crips leader, and Raphael moved into a new cell as a gift. Mike pays Evelyn a visit next, hoping to get the paperwork signed for Bunny’s release. Evelyn is enraged by what has transpired, though. She blames Mike directly for the District Attorney’s death. Mike thinks that the DA got what he deserved; he went back on his promise and was showing off; he had it coming. Evelyn says this war will never end; Mike cannot stop it; it is futile. The Mayor asks her to sign the paperwork, but she has lost faith in Mike. At a bar, the old gang assembles. Mike, Kyle, Ian, and Robert discuss the ensuing riots interrogation, as Robert has to testify.

In Santa Jesus, Mike is drinking alone at a bar long before midday. He tells the barmaid that he is resetting himself, dedicating one whole day to a hefty binge before starting afresh the next. Mike then asks the barmaid to look after his car keys and the loaded gun. He then moves from bar to bar, drinking an unhealthy amount of whisky. While Mike is drinking himself into a stupor, his mother, Mariam, and brother Kyle are desperately searching for their troubled family member. Mariam calls Mike constantly, and Kyle drives around the neighborhood, but to no avail. Mike continues his pub crawl, entering yet another bar. He sparks up a conversation with a woman drowning her sorrows. Her husband, Terry died during the prison riots; she is angry and lonely. Mike then sleeps with this woman. As he walks back to his car, Mike is attacked. The car speeds straight toward him, trying to run him over. Mike runs away and fires back in self-defense. He manages to shoot the driver, who crashes the car. As Mike heads home, he is met by Milo. The Russian mobster says that he has heard that Mike has been looking for him.

In Peace in the Valley, Mike and Milo finally reconnect. Milo wants to instigate a simple exchange with Mike, his lucrative bonds in return for Iris. The enemies talk about this exchange and Mike urges Milo to leave town for good. The Russian mobster does want to leave Kingstown forever and suggests that Mike does the same, with or without Iris. Before their meeting concludes, Milo threatens his nemesis, if Mike betrays him and goes back on the deal, then Milo will not just kill Mike; he’ll destroy everything he holds dear. Mike returns to the office after his day off, where he is greeted by a relieved Kyle. His brother explains the current situation, that everyone has been searching high and low for the Mayor, and they’ve all been worried sick. Mike mentions seeing Milo, and he updates Kyle on the deal that they have both just finalized. The bonds in exchange for Iris’ freedom. Kyle tells Mike that he found Iris at the club. Mike is annoyed Kyle would go to Milo’s club alone, demanding that he doesn’t play the hero anymore. Mike wants Milo out of his life and Iris to be rescued; this proposition solves both problems. Kyle agrees to help his brother with this dangerous task. Next, Kyle mentions Bunny being out of jail, which Mike was unaware of. Clearly, it wasn’t Mike’s doing after all. It isn’t long before Mike is updated on this armed robbery. On the way to the crime scene, Mike talks with his mother over the phone. Mariam is glad Mike’s alright, but she is more interested in Jacob, a teenage criminal she has grown attached to. She wants Mike to help Jacob out. Mike then speaks with Kareem and asks for him to check up on the teenager. Mike also asks Kareem about Bunny’s release. It came from the District Attorney’s office. At the gun shop, Ian updates Mike on the current situation. A man matching Bunny’s description orchestrated the heist, cleaning out the entire store in minutes. In Ian’s eyes, this is the declaration of all-out war. Ian urges Mike to de-escalate matters immediately and to speak with Bunny in person. During this chat, Mike is also updated on Robert’s case, which has now miraculously been thrown out by the District Attorney. Mike thanks Evelyn for solving Bunny and Robert’s dilemmas in under 24 hours. Although Evelyn is adamant that it had nothing to do with her. She is vehemently against Mike and everything he stands for now after the previous District Attorney’s death. Evelyn informs Mike that if she replaces the old District Attorney that she will stop at nothing to bring him and his colleagues down. After blatant threats from Evelyn, Mike pays Bunny a visit for further abuse. Mike comments on Bunny’s busy return; in one day he has bought himself a drone and raided an entire gun shop, gathering an army’s worth of weapons in the process. Bunny says that the guns are for protection, but Mike worries that it looks like they are starting a war instead. Bunny tells Mike that they are now square; he kept his word, even though things got out of hand somewhat. The Crips leader now wants revenge though. He wants Robert Sawyer dead. Mike tries to downplay the riots, but Bunny is past listening. Iris calls Mike seemingly out of the blue. She wants to meet with him the very next day. Of course, Milo is behind this meeting, watching it all play out. Mike agrees to the midnight rendezvous, and the phone call ends abruptly. Mike tries to reason with Bunny for a second time, but it is useless. Bunny wants justice, and Robert is the one to pay. Mike repeatedly calls Robert to warn him of this ensuing attack, but the old friend ignores his calls. Eventually, Robert answers, although it is far too late by now. Robert is attacked and badly beaten by Bunny’s foot soldiers. Mike arrives on the scene just as Bunny’s men are leaving. He then holds Robert in his arms.

In Little Green Ant, Mike rushes to the meeting point but finds himself stopped at the train tracks. Suddenly, Mike’s car is ambushed and shot at. Mike fights back and manages to kill the three attackers. Checking their clothing and tattoos, he figures out that this is an attack from the Aryan Brotherhood, and they wanted him dead. Mike phones Kareem, asking for help, but the prison guard has had enough of Mike’s games; he doesn’t want to be involved in that seedy world any longer. After that phone call, Mike speaks with Ian, someone he can always rely upon. Mike explains that he’s been targeted by the Aryan Brotherhood, he’s killed three of them, but his car is all shot up. It’s a real mess that Mike needs Ian to clean up and make disappear pronto. Ian agrees to help. Mike takes off in the attacker’s car, leaving his own by the side of the train tracks. Next, Mike heads for Bunny’s establishment, enraged by everything occurring. He goes in, guns raised, threatening Bunny’s life. Bunny orders his men to stand down and leave him alone with the Mayor. On the rooftop, they talk. Mike states that the attack on Robert is a declaration of all-out war; there is an army of cops desperate to fight back now. Bunny responds, saying that this war has been going on since his birth and is nothing new. If Mike gets in his way, he’ll have to take him down. Mike thinks likewise, adding that if Robert dies, their relationship will be changed forever. Just before he enters his mother's home, Mike realizes he is driving the enemy’s car, but the bonds are back at the train tracks in his car. There’s no time to collect them now, so Mike enters the house regardless. He is frisked and then meets with Milo in the living room. The Russian mobster informs Mike that Iris has killed Joseph, and he will kill Mariam if he has to. Milo says that Mike is out of his depth. Mike tries to reason with Milo, mentioning the delays, Robert being hospitalized, and the Aryan Brotherhood attacking him; although Milo isn’t interested in excuses, he wants his bonds back. In retaliation for the continued attacks, Mike orders Carney to fight back in prison. Mike grabs the bonds from his shot-up car down at the train tracks and heads to the meeting point with Ian. He asks his friend to watch from a distance, ready to fight back if needed. While Mike makes his way to the dock, Milo speaks privately with Iris. Milo can’t understand why Mike would jeopardize his life for Iris. He wonders if they are sleeping together, but Iris denies this. His only other thought is that Mike sees Iris as a chance at redemption, to right all his past wrongs. On Milo’s boat, Mike makes the transaction, swapping the bag of bonds for Iris. Milo lets Iris go free and escapes on his boat. Iris and Mike wait by the water’s edge with Milo’s remaining goons. They watch as Milo’s boat explodes, going up in flames. It looks like Mike rigged the bag with explosives, after all. Ian kicks into action and shoots Milo’s goons. Mike and Iris fight back as well, making sure they are all dead.