Tucker Minnick left a staged meeting with Edgar Gilfoyle enraged, unable to shake his anger over Edgar invoking Sandy Gilfoyle. In the basement on the way to the Grotto, Tucker found Pony Harris with switchboard operator Ulcie Crites and realized Pony had set out a final SOG telegram on Tucker’s desk, likely angling for credit in a high-profile arrest. Ignoring June Hudson’s likely objections in his head, Tucker seized Pony by the collar and dragged him down the hall.

Pony made a glib excuse that he was consoling Ulcie Crites on her last day, confirming to Tucker that June had fired Ulcie. Tucker slammed Pony against the wall and threatened a scathing write-up to Hoover. When Pony taunted him, Tucker punched him; Pony retaliated, and they brawled in the hallway until Pony cut Tucker’s cheek with his class ring and Tucker dropped Pony with a blow to the ear and a kick. Pony stayed down, moaning.

Uneased and still angry, Tucker wandered until Hugh Calloway called him into the workroom by the Grotto. Inside, kitchen staff were rehydrating last year’s Golden Delicious apple slices and making pies while music played. They offered Tucker coffee, apple slices, and ice for his face, jokingly guessing his pre-Bureau life. The staff danced and worked around them, leaving Tucker and Hugh in peace.

Hugh prodded Tucker about whether his fury was over a woman, which Tucker could not admit. Hugh then had Tucker retrieve an envelope addressed to “Linda” from Pennybacker. The typed note revealed Pennybacker’s marriage was ending: he agreed with Linda they were no good for each other and said Richie would handle the paperwork. Tucker respected Pennybacker’s composure amid both complex diplomacy and private loss, and he recognized the letter was likely sent openly so Bureau eyes would see this truth.

Moved and clarified, Tucker told Hugh he would never work for anyone else again and was done with the Bureau. He realized he was close to winning reinstatement but decided to quit regardless, saying he would send his resignation with Pony. He reflected on a decade shaped by Bureau work—endless difficult nights and moral calculus—and felt certainty in his decision despite not knowing what came next.

Hugh teased him about how to deliver the resignation, making Tucker laugh. The Grotto staff then slid a fresh apple tart before Tucker with four candles. René Durand, once hostile to Tucker, congratulated him and welcomed him to the real world. Tucker recognized the Avallon had finally found a way to give him luxury: belonging and acknowledgment.