Ginger is a character in the first season of True Detective. He is a member of the Iron Crusaders biker gang and an acquaintance of Rustin Cohle, who at the time, was undercover within the gang as "Crash".
History[]
Ginger was a long-time member of the Iron Crusaders motorcycle club, close to the gang's president Miles and a confidante of Dewall Ledoux; and by extension his cousin Reggie. From the 1980s until at least 1993 the gang was active in Houston, Texas, where Ginger met and befriended a biker named Crash, who was secretly an undercover narco named Rust Cohle. The two built up trust and Crash was accepted as a member of the Crusaders; Ginger was never aware of his true identity.
In February 1993, Crash was severely wounded in a shootout at Port Houston, leading Ginger and the other bikers to believe him dead. They later migrated east to Louisiana and established a clubhouse in the swampy bayous.
Crash's Return[]
In early 1995 Crash returned from the dead by appearing at the gang's Louisiana spot. Ginger watched him arrive in the 'Members Only' section with suspicion.
The two old comrades met again and discuss Crash's supposed survival; he explains that he managed to escape the Port and cross the border into Mexico, where he now works security for a group in San Miguel. Ginger is suspicious of his story, but Crash states he's back to make a deal with him or Miles, which Ginger doubts the president would be unwilling to do. Crash then states that the deal is win-win, and both sides have a chance to make a fortune.
Ginger offers a bump of an unknown drug as a loyalty test, which Crash takes. Ginger then begins questioning the intoxicated Crash about his story and who he works for, but Crash is able to convince him that he's serious by offering a bag of cocaine, which he insists he keep. Ginger tells him that the Crusaders have one cook (Reggie) who strictly does all of their work exclusively, but he remains skeptical of taking the idea to Miles, which Crash suggests they not do and instead split the profits 50/50. Ginger once again expresses his distrust but lays out why he really came; he needs a replacement for a man he lost to do a job. If Crash runs with him, he'll consider setting up a meeting with Reggie; Crash is uncertain but Ginger grabs his crotch and taunts him over losing his outlaw spirit. Crash reluctantly agrees and joins Ginger in a boat heading down the bayou.
At Ginger's place he, Crash and two other bikers named Mitch and Hunter spend the evening getting high off cocaine and meth. Ginger informs Crash of their plan to impersonate police officers and raid a stash house in the Hoston Projects housing developments, using a dealer named Tiger to gain access.
The plan goes accordingly to begin with as the bikers restrain the stash house gangsters and search for the hidden money. They are quickly outed as fake cops by other residents outside, while Ginger forces one man to disable the grenade trap on the money. Tensions rise between the drugged-up bikers and the enraged gangsters until Hunter shoots Lamar in the head, setting off a shootout as more armed residents surround the house. Rust finally reveals himself as a cop and stuns Ginger with a punch to the throat, killing Hunter and leaving Mitch to be shot. The two run as gangsters overrun the house, attracting police attention as well, then crash into another home for cover. Rust phones a contact to collect them, but Ginger takes the opportunity and runs.
He doesn't get far before more hostiles residents start to spill into the streets, falling back into Rust's clutches as they hide and dash behind houses to escape the escalating neighbourhood-wide shootout. With an armed gang on their heels, the two just manage to climb the surrounding fence and escape to an arriving car, driven by Rust's partner Marty Hart.
Ginger takes Rust to a bar the next morning to meet with Dewall Ledoux. The three sit down to chat and Rust, still keeping his cover, begins by laying out his deal for Dewall to cook cocaine for his Mexican contacts. However, Dewall finds the deal useless and refuses to take it, warning Ginger he would alert Miles the next time he tried something similar. He further warned Rust that he never wanted to see him again, disturbed by the sight of Rust's "dark soul" as opposed to suspecting his cover. Dewall soon left and was followed by Rust and Marty, while Ginger was left behind.
What became of Ginger after the Yellow King case ended is unknown, but he was either presumably arrested or managed to escape back to the Crusaders.
Relationships[]
Career[]
Notes and Trivia[]
- Though never directly stated, it can be inferred that Ginger was the Vice-President of the Iron Crusaders, or some other higher position like Sergeant-at-arms or Road Captain, due to his familiarity with Miles and the Ledouxs