Part II: Section 48 Summary

Lester orders the Colonel and the boy into their rooms, his gun on double safety, hanging at his side. He now wishes that it "wasn't part of the equation at all." His meeting with Alvarez had gone better than he'd expected-he'd been let off with only an oral reprimand. Now, standing in front of the bathroom, listening to Behrani speak in Farsi to Esmail, Lester suddenly realizes that the Colonel is "too proud" to just let this slide, to put his family and his things into a U-Haul-a humiliation in itself-and drive away. He starts breathing more quickly, realizing how crazy the situation really is. He gives Kathy the bullets in his gun, tells her that they have to bail, and that she needs to sell Behrani the house for the amount he paid for it, after which he...