Billions (2016) s02e04 Episode Script
The Oath
1 [Wendy.]
Previously on Billions [Wags.]
NFL thinks it would be best for all involved if you didn't bid.
Stated reason? Public perception.
[Lara.]
I think we should start something a business.
Yay! I'm already set up in an office of my own, starting to see clients.
- Is that permanent? - I'm not sure yet.
I'm keeping my options open.
Say hello to my nephew, Marco.
Kid just got elected to county executive up in Sandicot.
I'm Marc.
An honor to meet you, Mr.
Axelrod.
You will give me what I need.
Or maybe we'll have a pepperoni slice in Yonkers.
We can invite your boss.
Sleeping well has become important to me.
So is looking my daughter in the eye, knowing she's looking back at a good person.
[Attorney General.]
Congratulations.
If I fire you now, it'll look like the administration is protecting Boyd, obstructing justice.
There's a reason no one's done this.
I'll just fire you in a few months.
All you've bought is time.
I got news last night I never wanted to get Chuck Rhoades, coming at me.
You squared off with him, walked away unmarked.
I need your playbook, I need to know how to beat him.
Lawrence Boyd can be friend to no man.
[Chuck.]
He needs to dominate you in his own mind [Chuck.]
by heaving his seed into your bride.
[Shayleen moaning pleasurably.]
Turn it off.
[Chuck.]
Disgrace him.
Humble him.
[McKinnon.]
Boyd's been rigging Treasury bids.
I'll get you whatever I can.
Whatever it takes, I'm in.
[slaps McKinnon's arm.]
[ ominous music .]
[Heidecker.]
I've seeded over 125 companies.
I don't do it to make money.
If money comes with that, and it always has, that's fine.
But it's not the driver.
I do it for the same reason that Edison created telephonic communication, Oppenheimer harnessed nuclear fission, and DJ Kool Herc set up two turntables and a microphone on Sedgewick Avenue in the Bronx to move at great velocity towards a better future.
And this? This represents the culmination of it all.
Farpoint isn't just going to bring the earth closer together.
It's going to bring us closer to what's out there.
This is the first one you sent into orbit.
Yeah.
We're two generations beyond Manticore.
Manticore-3 "The first ship to make a manned mission to Mars.
" That your impersonation of me? Well, you've certainly said it enough times.
That's how I make it happen.
Elena Gabriel.
Lead candidate for that first mission.
Well, it'll take a couple of days for me to do a full work-up on it.
We have a conference room set aside.
I appreciate that, but since she has no prior relationship with me Build rapport however you want, okay? Just, keep in mind, we're not giving her the keys to a school bus here.
This is a $1.
2 billion vessel.
And your legacy.
I get all that.
You need to know that she's psychologically bulletproof.
There she is.
Right on time.
Does that mean anything? Yeah, that her watch works.
Elena Gabriel.
Ah, dominant handshake.
Intentional? You tell me.
[Heidecker.]
Elena will show you around the facility.
[Cuban.]
I know what you're doing with the lawsuit.
What am I doing with the lawsuit? Look, Axe, I spent seven years and more money than I care to admit fighting the S.
E.
C.
just to clear my name.
- And you did.
- Fuck, yeah, I did, but in those seven years, I tried to buy two baseball teams.
You may notice I don't own a baseball team.
You think the S.
E.
C.
was the dealbreaker? It fucking didn't help.
That's for damn sure.
Look, Axe, we're different, right? We didn't inherit our money.
We earned it calling bullshit early, often, and very publicly.
The NFL doesn't like that shit.
They're afraid you're gonna break etiquette, come in long and loud.
They think you're gonna be the Mark Cuban of the NFL.
[chuckles.]
Oh, so I'm pre-fucked? You need to make it clear to them that you're hanging up the gloves and moving on to a new phase.
You know what else you need to do? You need to stop fucking with the U.
S.
attorney.
I'm not gonna do that.
Come on, Axe.
So, when are they gonna make the decision? This week.
You know, even if you win this lawsuit, that's the long game.
If you really want this team, you got to ask yourself How are you gonna change hearts and minds today? [ ominous music .]
Well, the Japanese would be proud.
You waited until the meal was done.
But at this point, hit me with it, and let us both get on with our days.
What's the status on Spartan-Ives? - Only a matter of time.
- How much time? - How much time I got? - Not a lot.
The AG didn't appreciate you leaking news of your investigation.
I didn't leak it.
I denied it when asked.
Okay.
You've lodged official protest of my statement.
Say what you came to say.
You're alive as long as you're making progress.
But the AG thinks that you stalled, she's gonna show you the Hans Gruber Memorial Exit.
Well, it's nice to hear you take the potential demise of my career so seriously.
Laugh or cry.
You know what I mean? I sure do.
[tires screeching.]
[ tense music .]
[hand brake clicks.]
Get me Bensinger.
Very few things get the third wealthiest man in America - to leave home.
- [laughs.]
A handful of economic conferences and reeling in billionaires for the Giving Oath.
No conferences are happening in the city right now, Mr.
Bensinger.
Well done, young man.
If your publication will grant me a 48-hour hold, I'll give you a head start.
Of course.
Richard Winstead is joining us and pledging 80% of his assets.
It's a great act of philanthropy.
[cellphone buzzes.]
Excuse me.
Robert.
A rare treat.
Can you find some time for me while you're visiting? The city's so noisy.
If you want to have a real talk, come to the house in Shaker Heights.
That's a kind offer, but I don't want to wait that long.
What are you doing tonight? Bridge game, grabbing a hot dog.
So, the usual? If I know you, you're gonna stop at a cart, or, even worse, order room service.
New York is, in some respects, a fine city, but not where cased meats are concerned.
I got a place.
I think it more than stacks up against what you got in Cleveland.
Challenge accepted.
I'll see you tonight.
It doesn't matter what I do.
The faucet's run dry.
What does that mean? I can't get anything on Spartan-Ives' Treasury bid-rigging 'cause there is no Spartan-Ives' Treasury bid-rigging.
That's bullshit.
We all know it's happening.
It was, till news got out that you guys were targeting them, and then they just, you know.
Boyd's snake crawled back up his flap.
[McKinnon.]
Look, I don't know what I'm supposed to do here.
I can't share a bed with my wife.
I can't move out, 'cause then she'll know that I know.
I spend half my day at home in the bathroom.
She thinks I have the shits.
Look, I don't think I'm gonna be able to help you get Boyd.
I mean, I want to, but Your boss violated the sanctity of your marital bed, and you can't man up to Bryan.
He's all man.
He's John Wayne in Liberty Valance.
'Cause most fellas in his position would run and hide, but he is standing in.
Now, I don't know if I'd be man enough to watch my wife sleep next to me, knowing what he knows.
Mr.
McKinnon, a bit more time, and your struggle will have been worth it.
Players return to their mean.
And we will be waiting.
Get back to work.
Keep it together.
We'll find another way to nail Lawrence Boyd, and when we do, we'll need you.
Setback.
Not a defeat.
I promise.
I could go through the Panama Papers, look at all the assets that offshore firm was hiding.
Boyd didn't have money there.
There's no direct link to him.
Maybe we'll find someone else to flip up the chain.
The problem isn't the missing link to the top.
The problem is the top.
[ suspenseful music .]
- Your friend Lawrence Boyd.
- Mm-hmm.
You said he was ready.
Fuck.
There's a methodology I deploy that gets the results you've come to expect.
But he isn't letting me take the steps I need to.
Do you want me to take actions I deem necessary without his approval? No, keep offering help.
If he's too genteel to accept, there's nothing we can do.
Whose house? [laughs.]
Whose house? - Lonnie's house.
- [laughs.]
All right.
Whose house? I'm not fucking saying it.
Aw, you're breaking my heart, but whether you admit it or not, it is, in fact Lonnie's house.
You did not just close another one.
Yeah.
Predator this week, Panamanian drug lord last week, but who's keeping score? Uh, by the way, how's that whole Spartan-Ives thing going? Solid.
Great.
Hey, there.
[door closes.]
New look? Oh.
[chuckles.]
The wife.
Understood.
Rhoades' motion to dismiss was denied.
[snaps fingers.]
Boom! Body shot! Deposition's confirmed for Thursday, but we should postpone.
Oh, yeah.
I know.
That's what I would say were I my own lawyer.
Yet we press on.
If he doesn't get to depose me, I don't get to depose him.
It has to happen now.
Ah.
The NFL.
I heard you were down to the final three.
Yeah.
Even for me, this kind of chance? I know.
Of course.
Most folks, when they get their first job on the Street, cold-calling out of phone books, they think the idea is, get the mark to yes.
But the way I saw it and it bought me a 911 my first year is never give them a reason to say no, because if you take "no" out of their vocabulary "Yes" is the only word left.
And right now, Chuck Rhoades' accusations, his insinuations That's their no unless I can make it clear he was the one who crossed the line.
You have to know going in Depositions are unpredictable beasts.
In depos, I've seen things you wouldn't believe.
Attack ships on fire? Yes.
The very best cases gone forever, like tears in rain.
No replicant no lawyer is gonna rattle me.
Mr.
Axelrod, you say the U.
S.
attorney harassed you, that he overstepped the bounds of his office.
Are you sure he didn't have legitimate reason to come to your place of business? At that hour? No.
His wife worked for you.
Could have been coming to see her.
His wife had quit working for me.
She'd also quit being his wife.
Don't be cute.
If you want this to help you in the PR department, keep the digs off the record.
What about Mick Danzig? Do you deny bribing police to wipe out his arrest? Of course.
I would nev [sighs.]
Fuck.
Yeah.
Let's not give him a perjury charge for nothing.
I know you don't get rattled, but if you get rattled, even for a second, don't answer.
Just ask for a break.
So you want a break now? Keep 'em coming.
That's the shaker room.
I don't see a lot of Amish furniture in there.
That's funny.
I like jokes.
No, it's where metallurgy gets subjected to the speed and pressure it'll face in space.
It's where things tend to break.
Why do you want to go up there? It's the undiscovered country.
Hmm.
That's from Hamlet.
He was describing death.
It's the final frontier.
How about in your own words? Everyone I went to school with works on one of two things theoretical particle physics or the next great start-up.
You don't care about those things? I have too much self-respect to be an academic, so number one is out.
And the pure money grab, while intoxicating in theory, never seems to leave anyone any better off than they were the moment they had the big idea in the first place because they are still stuck here, bound to this place and its limitations of fuel, space, and class struggle.
Face it Earth is pretty screwed.
Where does that leave you? I want to do something impossible.
I want to point to the sky, at another planet, and say, "I used to live there.
" I don't think I've said that out loud before.
Does it sound silly? No.
[Angel.]
Following Axelrod's a nonstarter.
Why? He's got operatives, pros with him, on him.
They hang back.
His own staff probably doesn't know they're there, but they are.
I saw a guy I used to work with at the Bureau.
Quality agent.
Lucky he didn't see me.
This would be much easier for your son to assign No, no.
This has nothing to do with him.
He can't even know about it.
Understood.
Maybe you don't personally do it.
No.
They'd make anybody.
They're squared away.
Drop down a rung.
Follow his top people.
Okay.
And this is for you.
Results on the other subject.
Surveillance of a federal employee is a Class E felony, so if you want me to keep it up, I'm gonna need to charge you a higher rate.
Then it's a good day for business.
[knock on door, door opens.]
[Chuck.]
Yes? Your father's driver dropped this off for you.
Oh.
[ brooding music .]
[door closes, envelope tears.]
- Thanks, man.
- For you, Bryan, anything.
[Dake.]
That coffee is terrible.
How do you drink it? I close my eyes and think of England.
When you close your eyes, I want you to think of me.
Coming after you.
Like my own personal Anton Chigurh? Oh, no.
I'm not some surrealist nightmare.
I'm flesh and blood.
I feel like you've got some bedrock misunderstandings about government work.
The Spartan-Ives investigation isn't going anywhere.
It's not going to save Chuck's job.
Who told you that? Don't throw away a promising career over a selective and misguided sense of loyalty.
Your boss is going down, so why not finish Chuck off yourself and earn some Justice points with the deathblow? So, we're finally gonna have the talk? Well, you've been reaching out to me for five years.
This isn't how I like to do it.
You prefer the house? It's more intimate.
For a seduction? When you ask a person to invest his money with you, that's a seduction.
When you ask him to pledge his net worth That's what the Mongols did when they sacked a village.
I was gonna say it's a marriage.
Well, the Mongols called it that, too.
Look, I get why you've been putting me off.
Most people don't like to think about giving their money away.
It makes them think they're gonna die.
But you can rest assured You are gonna die.
Yes.
A man tries a lot of things.
He fucks, he fathers, he letters his name above doorways he'd never otherwise walk through.
Any of this sound familiar? How's your hot dog? Goddamn delicious.
Why do you make so much money? Because I can.
Bullshit.
A lot of things you can do that you don't bark like a seal, ride the subway.
You make money because it feels good.
Well, here's the crazy thing.
Giving it away feels better.
Do you remember what it felt like to make that first million? I didn't feel that good again until I pledged to give away 20,000 times that.
It's the cure.
Accumulation with no end in sight is gluttony.
That's the disease.
I thought it was a sin.
Fuck sin.
Fuck piety.
I'm talking about what you can use.
Gluttony hollows you out.
Giving goes the other way.
I know.
It's a fucking paradox, but I worked it out.
The reason that nothing levers up your happiness like giving is because it puts you back in charge of the only thing that you ever really cared about yourself.
That's why I founded the Giving Oath.
And that's why I'm sitting here.
[grunting.]
Aw.
[sighs.]
Fuck.
[chuckles.]
I like the way you fight to pass my guard, but you practically dove into that arm lock.
You've got to learn the difference between naive aggression and effective aggression.
Yeah.
[mouse clicks.]
[sighs.]
[knocking.]
[soft music plays.]
Yeah? That's not what you were wearing at the office.
No.
I found something.
I was looking through the Panama Papers.
There was a link to Boyd, after all? No.
He's not hiding money there.
Your father is.
That's what couldn't wait till morning? No.
He stashed $12 million in an offshore account.
I know.
You knew about this? He didn't do anything illegal.
He didn't stash it.
Moving money that way is not a crime.
It's just bad PR.
But what is it that really bothers you, Bryan? The fact that he hid the money or the fact that he had that much in the first place? [ suspenseful music .]
[Mo.]
Here it is.
No, not that one.
The Carolina sauces are too vinegary.
I want something spicy.
I'm sick of the barbecue sauce.
So, Wags? Hitting it hard.
He has a standing appointment every morning.
He has his own IV stand in his room.
Yeah, he's fucked right now.
I'll deal with it soon.
He showed me this.
- - Says it came to his work e-mail.
It's Dan Wolfe's company.
Private equity guy who invests in healthcare.
They've got real money behind them.
Well, they're hitting on our customer base now and undercutting us.
So I was thinking we change our focus to smaller firms, maybe out in New Jersey.
Yeah, let's let him bigfoot us into becoming, like, a lovely little boutique, you know? We can open a bed-and-breakfast and serve intravenous maple syrup to our guests.
You want to fight? This is our fucking corner, Stringer.
Yellowbird.
You are going to obtain and execute a search warrant for Spartan-Ives.
What's the basis for the warrant? Quote stuffing.
[scoffs.]
I brought you that a year ago.
You called me a piker for wanting to go after it.
Yeah, you said high-frequency trading confuses juries more than advanced calculus.
It is advanced calculus.
This is the first wave at Normandy.
You know what happened on the first wave.
- Got cut down.
- Right.
Ensuring that the second wave had a fighting chance.
Judge Wailand is expecting you, so go make like a piker today.
Hey.
Hey.
Miss me that much? Hm, yeah.
And I wanted to talk to a few of your employees, who are also my clients.
Sure.
Why? Just to gauge their experience and overall satisfaction.
So, you didn't want to see if they or you are being specifically targeted by Dan Wolfe's Mercy Squad? I am, right? - Fuck.
- It's okay.
I'll call Wolfe, ask for some courtesy, have him back off.
You will not.
I'll handle it.
How? I'm a businesswoman.
I'll handle it.
[thud.]
You signed up for the Giving Oath? You've gone soft.
How much are you giving? Nobody needs to know what he does or doesn't do.
The giving is later.
The headlines are now.
You planted it so you'd look like the type of charity-minded champion that gets to steward a sacred trust, like a sports franchise.
Didn't want to just sit back and leave it to the gods.
[camera shutter clicking.]
[ tense music .]
It worked.
I mean, you got me.
Yeah.
But you've also been hitting the IV - a little hard lately.
- [laughs.]
I barely touch the stuff.
[door opens, closes.]
Every day.
[ suspenseful music .]
Do you believe Chuck really has this? That, or he's losing it.
Either way is good for you.
So smile.
Enjoy it.
You're really okay with leaving Earth behind? Leaving your family behind, potentially forever? I'm an only child.
Was that lonely or It was ideal, in the truest sense of that word.
Because I could deploy language from an early developmental stage, we all got really used to talking.
Oh.
That must have been nice.
We communicated in my family, too, but there were more of us, and most of the time, it wasn't conversation with a capital C.
It's hard to find people you could just Do you This may sound like a weird non-answer-question thing, but do you like Wilco? Yeah.
Yes, I love the one with "Jesus, don't cry.
" Yeah, me too, because in that one, Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett had found in each other a perfect mind meld.
They communicated on a level few ever reach.
But the thing about Wilco in that moment is, it was never that good again.
Bennett left the group.
Somehow, even though each had to know the other made him better, they just couldn't find a way to keep going together.
Did the band break up? No.
Even without Bennett, Wilco was Wilco.
It kept trucking along.
And Bennett? He died, just a couple years later.
He OD'd.
Somehow, on his own, he couldn't keep it together.
Makes you wonder how you can find a true partner and keep them.
Who is that person for you? You've never found them.
You've never looked.
If things got messy, I wasn't sure I could keep trucking.
You didn't want a relationship holding you back from doing what you love most.
Yeah, that's Yeah.
Thank you for talking to me.
That's it? That's it.
My dad taught me.
He knew I'd always be competing against men.
Wanted me to have some measure of control.
You're gonna do great things.
[Dake.]
Whatever you heard in that meeting made you squeamish.
You know what Rhoades is, Bryan.
You know he should be out of a job.
And I know you made that call.
[knock on door.]
You rang, boss? I need you to reach out to Boyd and set up a meeting.
Just the two of you? Mm-hmm.
This is what the warrant was setting up.
Second wave.
Where's the meeting? Not in our offices.
We're not there yet.
No.
No, he picks the spot.
I come to him.
I even ask him for something.
Trying to hoist him on his own No.
It doesn't matter what I ask for.
You know, the best way to bond with someone isn't doing a favor.
It's asking for one.
That's the Franklin Effect.
You make the other person feel valued, like you've given them power so you won't hurt them.
Now, that's how I need Boyd to feel.
[ suspenseful music .]
Now, isn't this a literary club? I've written a book "Steady at the Helm.
" Sure.
I tore through it in one sitting.
The club motto actually comes from a poem.
Mm.
"In the afternoon, they came unto a land" Where they assumed a supine position and sucked each other's dicks.
That's Tennyson, right? More or less.
What's the topic, Chuck? The state of war we're in and what you can do to end it.
I don't write polite letters.
I don't like to plea-bargain.
I like to fight.
You sure you want to take life advice from Roy Cohn? He got things done, and he was a generous man.
Mentored Trump, mentored me.
What have you grown in your shade? I have all the king's men arrayed behind me.
And yet a tentative hold on your commission.
Yes, the AG is not very happy with me, yet she seems to like you for some reason.
Maybe because I don't turn a man's house upside down for nothing just so other people will look at me.
[chuckles.]
You're right.
I don't have much on Spartan-Ives.
I'm here to ask a favor.
You have a strong compliance department.
I was hoping that you might put on an internal investigation.
Make it look like you're responding to my pressure.
Why would I do that? Because, after a year or so, when your investigation is over, my office signs off on it.
I declare I've cleaned up Wall Street, and you crow about how you've swept the rogue elements out of your own shop.
It's a win all around.
Not if I have to wait a year.
I want to get out from under this immediately.
I am not taking this with me on the boat off Antibes this summer.
[sighs.]
Then what can you give me now? How about this? There are a few mid-level guys my compliance department has flagged.
What if I sacrifice them? Well, that might give me the cloak I need to move on.
Yeah.
And you would get to fire them for cause and save three months' severance.
Six.
You are munificent.
And thank you.
Have your guy call mine.
They can coordinate press releases.
[exhaling sharply.]
[beep.]
[trainer.]
All right, 90-second cool down.
[breathing heavily.]
Go.
Rachman pulled his bid for the team.
Couldn't afford it or knew it was going another way? Someone let the league know about his FCPA issues, and with you and Bensinger splashed all over the papers, he didn't want to drown in your rising tide.
There's only one other bidder left, and it's a group.
He can't afford it solo.
Are you ready for some football? Yes, I am.
Let's finish this.
Will you draft the Giving Oath letter? - What do you want in there? - The usual stuff - good for people, communities.
- Got it.
And when it's done, you give it to Bill to read to the world.
Gates or Clinton? Either.
Both.
[The Record Company's "Off the Ground" plays.]
[Terry.]
You always were a fucking pisser, Lara.
Little Lara fucking Benjamin.
She's not Benjamin anymore.
She's aristocratic now.
No.
What I'm not is little.
I'm all grown up.
You serious about this? Can you hook it up? Sure.
I know just the right girl.
I think she graduated, she's certified, everything.
I don't think she passed the test.
Either way, she's the right girl.
Mercy Squad? Yeah, that's what it's called, but I need it to stay all the way quiet.
And let the truth be told Hey, no, no, no, no.
You're family.
To pay the girl.
Okay.
Anything for Dean's little sister.
To Dean.
Whoo-hoo Hey, hey, I got to pick myself up Rhoades reached out to me.
Did you cut off his hand? You did the other thing.
You would have cut off his hand, right? That's me.
I have another source I can check to be sure it's legit.
I'll be careful.
You better be.
Your advice was appreciated, and it wasn't wrong, but ask a barber if you need a haircut, he's always gonna say yes.
I asked a warrior.
But not everyone out there's a savage.
Rhoades opened his eyes to the bigger picture.
Are we playing it too safe? These are just the initial questions I'm gonna be asking Axe.
I'm giving him a little Rumble in the Jungle at first.
Bomaye.
Yeah.
I'm gonna do all that, you understand, at the deposition.
But I got to say it again You shouldn't come.
It should be cold, clinical.
You're worried I'll say something.
Yes, I am.
Anything unscripted from you could put you in an even deeper hole.
I won't say a word.
Well, then, why come? Trust me, it'll have value.
My mere presence will make Axelrod stumble.
It's too risky.
I don't want the whole thing becoming a circus.
Just let me bore him into fucking up.
[knock on door.]
Come! I'm sorry.
I thought you were alone.
That's okay.
I could use a cup of coffee.
[door closes.]
What's on your mind? My father.
What happened? He isn't who I thought.
Well, every child in the history of the world has learned that.
I'm not naive.
No, never thought you were.
But when he gave me advice, I looked at it through a certain prism knowing that he had integrity.
Now I I find out he has a pile of money offshore.
Legal tax avoidance, but he has always sold himself to me as somebody who doesn't avoid.
Mm.
Don't be so hard on your old man.
Reach out to him.
[Chuck.]
Don't keep the disappointment inside.
Let him know what's going on.
So, you got a few sacrificial Spartan-Ives shitheads that nobody had heard of yesterday and nobody will remember tomorrow.
You sure that's enough to save your job? But be careful, 'cause that kind of directness is a change of pace.
I did the best I could.
That's what there was to get.
It can't be where you live.
You'll need to keep going after Boyd.
No.
You can't get blood from a C.
E.
O.
If I'm out of a job, then I can finally earn some of that money everyone's always talking about.
Okay, sonny.
I'm sure you know what you're doing.
Mmm.
You have to protect the parent-child relationship.
Anyone else in the world will fuck you over friends, lovers bosses.
No, your father is the one person you're gonna be able to count on when it matters.
Soft 6? No.
You can swing free.
You can swing free, and not just here.
Chuck meant what he said.
The investigation's over? And you'll put in a word for him with the AG? He's showing a real awareness of the landscape.
You must be proud.
I've always been proud.
Now I'm happy for him.
[golf club swings.]
Elena's brilliant ideal for research but not a fit for the program.
Why? [breathes deeply.]
She's a leaver, a ghost.
She's never faced real adversity, never had to deal with terrible consequences.
When something goes wrong in space, as it always does, she's gonna crack.
So, your judgment is what? She needs a trip to the shaker room.
Who among us doesn't? Reject her.
If she comes crawling back, reject her again.
If six months later, she makes another attempt, stress test her once more.
I can't wait to run my next candidate by you so we can do this all over again.
I'm not sure I'm gonna be available.
I've realized I like working with people, not just judging them.
That's not all it is.
[sighs.]
Look we all have to chase our truest calling.
Mine is to make this universe traversable and to leave this company a living organism that can thrive long after I've gone off on Manticore-IX.
To do that, I need stewards.
That's not what you're looking for me to do.
You're asking me to sort people into one box or another, like a second-rate Freud, which which is Freud.
Anyone with a DSM-V and a label maker can do that.
I don't want distance.
I like getting messy.
[chuckles.]
The power of the instant That's what excites me.
Ice into steam or back.
[sighs.]
Is this a test? To see if I come crawling back? No.
I don't test people that way.
But if you ever decide to grapple with why you feel happiness for you can only exist light-years away or in the company of hairless 21-year-old girls, come see me.
We can fix that quick.
[laughs.]
Holy shit.
No.
What's up? Dan Wolfe just got popped for aggravated pimping.
Mercy Squad nurses were turning tricks.
One of them solicited sex from a PM at Vista Verde.
[laughter.]
[cellphone buzzing.]
Hey, babe.
How'd you do it? I told you I'm a businesswoman.
That you are.
Love you.
Bye.
You should really put a bocce court in.
This floor is so level, it's a waste not to.
I'm kicking myself I didn't think of that.
Thanks for taking the meeting.
Anything for Bruno.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Thank you, Bruno.
Sure.
Do your best.
- Yeah.
- Right.
This is incredible.
What do you put in it? Dough, sauce, cheese.
That's insane.
What's, like, your secret ingredient? Well, I start with the dough and a little sauce and then cheese.
Huh.
Awesome.
Keep it up.
He called you Marco out there.
I go by Marc outside the family.
- Uh-huh? - Yeah.
I shortened it.
Yeah, no, I get that.
Me, I'm proud of where I come from.
Oh, I'm intensely proud of my people.
- That's why I'm here.
- Mm-hmm.
Are we waiting for someone? No.
Sit.
So tell me.
Aside from your pride, why would I ever put any of my money in your corner of the state? Sandicot's downtown is ripe for redevelopment.
Buildings waiting to be razed and replaced with LEED-certified condos and a city council on which I sit Mm-hmm.
which is highly motivated to Okay.
What you've just described and no offense, since I know it's your home but what you've just described is a shithole.
The whole county's on the edge of default.
It's not called a distressed debt because we're thriving.
You get to buy it cheap pennies on the dollar.
Yeah, more like millions on hundreds of millions.
Well, think of that upside.
Look, I get offers like this every day.
The only reason you got through this door I know.
And I don't expect you to do this deal as a favor to my uncle.
I expect you to do it because of the casino.
You buried the lede, kid.
Come on.
Okay.
Tell me about the casino.
It's gonna be paradise.
Monte Carlo.
You never been to Monte Carlo, have you? It's the Sandicot of the Riviera.
Tell me.
Okay, I don't care if you spit or swallow.
Just don't keep me waiting.
The faucet's back on.
It worked? Overnight.
So, what do you want me to do now? Am I going to have to wear a wire? You're gonna be a hero.
Talk soon.
Spartan-Ives is back to rigging Treasury auctions.
We've got a beachhead.
Sometimes you just got to trust people to be who they are.
Every time I think maybe I'm caught up Mm.
Long time in this racket.
Still impressive.
Thank you.
Come on.
Let's hit the Gorilla truck.
No, I'm not gonna watch you eat a number five.
Onions and Unh-unh.
Stay here and have some hand salad.
Please.
Do me this favor.
Do you think they really have the inside track with Albany - on a gaming license? - I don't want to guess.
I want you to know so that I know.
Okay.
And if it checks out, you know, that's the kind of giving I can get behind.
I mean, this is how all charities should work.
You mean benefiting you more than anybody else? As much as.
Not more.
[door opens.]
People noticing you have a new favorite.
They're not happy about it.
Anybody who makes me money is my favorite.
[door opens.]
Uh, look, Axe, I know I'm late.
Take a seat.
You missed the Sandicot meeting.
- I'm sorry.
- Went fine without you.
Take a fucking seat.
I can't.
Why are wearing sweatpants? Could you Steph, step out, please.
[door opens, closes.]
I woke up in a hotel this morning.
You're living in the fucking Pierre.
This was the Americana Suites, some shit dive next to Port Authority, with my ass on fire.
And I saw I had a tattoo.
On your ass? Yeah.
You got an ass tattoo? All evidence points to that being the case.
I need to see it.
You want to No, don't want to.
No.
I need to.
What the fuck is that? Is that Yosemite I think so.
I was a fan.
I'm sending you somewhere.
Please, not rehab.
No, not rehab.
Well, you know what Dr.
Sarno says about that kind of pain.
[intercom beeps.]
Excuse me.
Yes? I'll buzz you in.
[buzzer.]
I am so sorry.
I need one second.
Want to hear a funny story? Not really.
I need help.
Did he send you? Yeah.
But it's not for him.
I really do need help.
You've always needed help.
What's different now? [breathes deeply.]
[sighs.]
I don't even remember how I got it.
Okay.
Mnh-mnh.
Not today.
I'm no longer available to you on standby.
So you want me to call and schedule an appointment? Yes.
Like a fucking grown-up.
I can do that.
I knew you'd reach out.
Cooperating was always the smart move.
You think I tipped you? Prove it.
You think I had a moment of moral confusion, forgetting why I do what I do and who for? Prove it.
You think Chuck screwed up? Earn your 150k You're making a mistake.
and prove it.
Chuck Rhoades has proven shit no one should be able to.
And if he were going after this case, he would have the target nailed, dead to rights.
But Chuck is lucky because he's not being chased by himself.
He's being chased by you.
Nearer, My God, to Thee.
Back the fuck off.
That was the last song the band played on the Titanic, and it is a dreary tune.
I offered you a lifeboat.
You picked up a violin.
Happy fiddling, Bryan.
[Megadeth's "Peace Sells" plays.]
What do you mean, I don't believe in God? I talk to him every day What do you mean, I don't support your system? I go to court when I have to What do you mean, I can't get to work on time? I got nothing better to do And what do you mean, I don't pay my bills? Why do you think I'm broke? Huh? If there's a new way - I'll be the first in line - Oh! You flinched.
But it better work this time Mr.
Axelrod, good day.
I'm Ira Schirmer, attorney for Charles Rhoades Jr.
I'll be asking you a few questions.
Orrin Bach for Robert Axelrod.
Are you ready? Rock and roll.
Let's go on the record.
[camera beeps.]
You assert that Mr.
Rhoades harassed you I'm sorry.
Can we go off the record? [camera beeps.]
I just wanted to say, you did a great job rebuilding.
[chuckles.]
Sometimes I laugh myself to sleep at night just thinking about you ripping the place apart.
- Hey, Chuck.
- Oh.
You know, I never think about it.
But then, of course, I'm not alone at night.
Let's go back on the record.
[camera beeps.]
You assert that Mr.
Rhoades harassed you.
Off the record.
[camera beeps.]
Where are you sleeping now? Bobby.
Suitable accommodations.
Mm-hmm.
Who paid for it me or Daddy? We all know Uncle Sam pays you shit.
It was me.
Found some loose change in the cushions.
Is this going to happen or Back on the record.
[camera beeps.]
You assert that Mr.
Rhoades harassed you.
How do you know he didn't have a legitimate reason to be in your office? Well, it was the middle of the night.
He didn't come with a SWA team, not even a subpoena.
It was just him, trying to intimidate me.
But his wife works for you.
He could have been coming to see her.
His wife had quit working for me.
So, are you saying you did or didn't intercede with the police and bribe them regarding your employee, Mick Danzig? - I - Objection.
This is a deposition.
Objections are waived.
Except to form.
That was a compound question.
I can answer.
A smart man listens to his lawyer.
[Ira.]
I'll rephrase.
Did you bribe the police regarding Mick Danzig? Look, this whole thing is about what he did.
That question isn't.
So you're declining to answer? Yes.
An element of your claim is damages.
Are you willing to open up your books to show the concrete monetary damages you've supposedly incurred? Yes, I have damages.
No, I am not willing to show my books at this time.
Ah, so then you must not be asserting actual damages? You're saying that your damages can be presumed from Mr.
Rhoades' actions? Right.
Right.
Legally, we call these mental or emotional damages.
So are you saying Chuck hurt you mentally, or are you saying he hurt you emotionally? I'd like to take a break.
Oh, you don't want to announce to the whole Street that Chuck hurt your feelings? He got into your head, threw you off your game? Turn the camera off.
We're taking a break.
[door opens.]
[door opens.]
What? Sanford Bensinger is on the phone.
[door closes.]
Sandy.
We call it the Giving Oath because you fucking swear it.
Do you understand what an oath is? I do.
I do, and I've already begun moving on what we discussed, and actually, I was gonna reach out to you to talk about structuring a trust.
You mean a photo op? Maybe in costume.
Me as John the Baptist, you as the Son of Man.
Hey, look, Sandy, I'm as I'm as upset as you are that our meeting got tipped off to Do me the courtesy of not lying again on this phone call.
I do not appreciate being used.
I got to be where I am by connecting the dots, scores of randomly placed ones.
The NFL is turning you down.
I asked for the favor of telling you myself.
They're, um They're really gonna walk away from the highest bid? Sports franchises are how we knight people in this country.
And you're not royalty.
You're a robber baron.
[line clicks.]
[receiver clicks.]
[ suspenseful music .]
[door closes.]
We're talking about damages.
I have actual, concrete, monetary ones.
You cost me a professional football team.
Can we go back on the record? Actually, I think we need a break now.
No.
Let's continue.
A wise man always listens to his lawyer.
I keep my own counsel.
Let's keep going.
Fucking right, we will.
Fire away.
[Megadeth's "Peace Sells" plays.]
Previously on Billions [Wags.]
NFL thinks it would be best for all involved if you didn't bid.
Stated reason? Public perception.
[Lara.]
I think we should start something a business.
Yay! I'm already set up in an office of my own, starting to see clients.
- Is that permanent? - I'm not sure yet.
I'm keeping my options open.
Say hello to my nephew, Marco.
Kid just got elected to county executive up in Sandicot.
I'm Marc.
An honor to meet you, Mr.
Axelrod.
You will give me what I need.
Or maybe we'll have a pepperoni slice in Yonkers.
We can invite your boss.
Sleeping well has become important to me.
So is looking my daughter in the eye, knowing she's looking back at a good person.
[Attorney General.]
Congratulations.
If I fire you now, it'll look like the administration is protecting Boyd, obstructing justice.
There's a reason no one's done this.
I'll just fire you in a few months.
All you've bought is time.
I got news last night I never wanted to get Chuck Rhoades, coming at me.
You squared off with him, walked away unmarked.
I need your playbook, I need to know how to beat him.
Lawrence Boyd can be friend to no man.
[Chuck.]
He needs to dominate you in his own mind [Chuck.]
by heaving his seed into your bride.
[Shayleen moaning pleasurably.]
Turn it off.
[Chuck.]
Disgrace him.
Humble him.
[McKinnon.]
Boyd's been rigging Treasury bids.
I'll get you whatever I can.
Whatever it takes, I'm in.
[slaps McKinnon's arm.]
[ ominous music .]
[Heidecker.]
I've seeded over 125 companies.
I don't do it to make money.
If money comes with that, and it always has, that's fine.
But it's not the driver.
I do it for the same reason that Edison created telephonic communication, Oppenheimer harnessed nuclear fission, and DJ Kool Herc set up two turntables and a microphone on Sedgewick Avenue in the Bronx to move at great velocity towards a better future.
And this? This represents the culmination of it all.
Farpoint isn't just going to bring the earth closer together.
It's going to bring us closer to what's out there.
This is the first one you sent into orbit.
Yeah.
We're two generations beyond Manticore.
Manticore-3 "The first ship to make a manned mission to Mars.
" That your impersonation of me? Well, you've certainly said it enough times.
That's how I make it happen.
Elena Gabriel.
Lead candidate for that first mission.
Well, it'll take a couple of days for me to do a full work-up on it.
We have a conference room set aside.
I appreciate that, but since she has no prior relationship with me Build rapport however you want, okay? Just, keep in mind, we're not giving her the keys to a school bus here.
This is a $1.
2 billion vessel.
And your legacy.
I get all that.
You need to know that she's psychologically bulletproof.
There she is.
Right on time.
Does that mean anything? Yeah, that her watch works.
Elena Gabriel.
Ah, dominant handshake.
Intentional? You tell me.
[Heidecker.]
Elena will show you around the facility.
[Cuban.]
I know what you're doing with the lawsuit.
What am I doing with the lawsuit? Look, Axe, I spent seven years and more money than I care to admit fighting the S.
E.
C.
just to clear my name.
- And you did.
- Fuck, yeah, I did, but in those seven years, I tried to buy two baseball teams.
You may notice I don't own a baseball team.
You think the S.
E.
C.
was the dealbreaker? It fucking didn't help.
That's for damn sure.
Look, Axe, we're different, right? We didn't inherit our money.
We earned it calling bullshit early, often, and very publicly.
The NFL doesn't like that shit.
They're afraid you're gonna break etiquette, come in long and loud.
They think you're gonna be the Mark Cuban of the NFL.
[chuckles.]
Oh, so I'm pre-fucked? You need to make it clear to them that you're hanging up the gloves and moving on to a new phase.
You know what else you need to do? You need to stop fucking with the U.
S.
attorney.
I'm not gonna do that.
Come on, Axe.
So, when are they gonna make the decision? This week.
You know, even if you win this lawsuit, that's the long game.
If you really want this team, you got to ask yourself How are you gonna change hearts and minds today? [ ominous music .]
Well, the Japanese would be proud.
You waited until the meal was done.
But at this point, hit me with it, and let us both get on with our days.
What's the status on Spartan-Ives? - Only a matter of time.
- How much time? - How much time I got? - Not a lot.
The AG didn't appreciate you leaking news of your investigation.
I didn't leak it.
I denied it when asked.
Okay.
You've lodged official protest of my statement.
Say what you came to say.
You're alive as long as you're making progress.
But the AG thinks that you stalled, she's gonna show you the Hans Gruber Memorial Exit.
Well, it's nice to hear you take the potential demise of my career so seriously.
Laugh or cry.
You know what I mean? I sure do.
[tires screeching.]
[ tense music .]
[hand brake clicks.]
Get me Bensinger.
Very few things get the third wealthiest man in America - to leave home.
- [laughs.]
A handful of economic conferences and reeling in billionaires for the Giving Oath.
No conferences are happening in the city right now, Mr.
Bensinger.
Well done, young man.
If your publication will grant me a 48-hour hold, I'll give you a head start.
Of course.
Richard Winstead is joining us and pledging 80% of his assets.
It's a great act of philanthropy.
[cellphone buzzes.]
Excuse me.
Robert.
A rare treat.
Can you find some time for me while you're visiting? The city's so noisy.
If you want to have a real talk, come to the house in Shaker Heights.
That's a kind offer, but I don't want to wait that long.
What are you doing tonight? Bridge game, grabbing a hot dog.
So, the usual? If I know you, you're gonna stop at a cart, or, even worse, order room service.
New York is, in some respects, a fine city, but not where cased meats are concerned.
I got a place.
I think it more than stacks up against what you got in Cleveland.
Challenge accepted.
I'll see you tonight.
It doesn't matter what I do.
The faucet's run dry.
What does that mean? I can't get anything on Spartan-Ives' Treasury bid-rigging 'cause there is no Spartan-Ives' Treasury bid-rigging.
That's bullshit.
We all know it's happening.
It was, till news got out that you guys were targeting them, and then they just, you know.
Boyd's snake crawled back up his flap.
[McKinnon.]
Look, I don't know what I'm supposed to do here.
I can't share a bed with my wife.
I can't move out, 'cause then she'll know that I know.
I spend half my day at home in the bathroom.
She thinks I have the shits.
Look, I don't think I'm gonna be able to help you get Boyd.
I mean, I want to, but Your boss violated the sanctity of your marital bed, and you can't man up to Bryan.
He's all man.
He's John Wayne in Liberty Valance.
'Cause most fellas in his position would run and hide, but he is standing in.
Now, I don't know if I'd be man enough to watch my wife sleep next to me, knowing what he knows.
Mr.
McKinnon, a bit more time, and your struggle will have been worth it.
Players return to their mean.
And we will be waiting.
Get back to work.
Keep it together.
We'll find another way to nail Lawrence Boyd, and when we do, we'll need you.
Setback.
Not a defeat.
I promise.
I could go through the Panama Papers, look at all the assets that offshore firm was hiding.
Boyd didn't have money there.
There's no direct link to him.
Maybe we'll find someone else to flip up the chain.
The problem isn't the missing link to the top.
The problem is the top.
[ suspenseful music .]
- Your friend Lawrence Boyd.
- Mm-hmm.
You said he was ready.
Fuck.
There's a methodology I deploy that gets the results you've come to expect.
But he isn't letting me take the steps I need to.
Do you want me to take actions I deem necessary without his approval? No, keep offering help.
If he's too genteel to accept, there's nothing we can do.
Whose house? [laughs.]
Whose house? - Lonnie's house.
- [laughs.]
All right.
Whose house? I'm not fucking saying it.
Aw, you're breaking my heart, but whether you admit it or not, it is, in fact Lonnie's house.
You did not just close another one.
Yeah.
Predator this week, Panamanian drug lord last week, but who's keeping score? Uh, by the way, how's that whole Spartan-Ives thing going? Solid.
Great.
Hey, there.
[door closes.]
New look? Oh.
[chuckles.]
The wife.
Understood.
Rhoades' motion to dismiss was denied.
[snaps fingers.]
Boom! Body shot! Deposition's confirmed for Thursday, but we should postpone.
Oh, yeah.
I know.
That's what I would say were I my own lawyer.
Yet we press on.
If he doesn't get to depose me, I don't get to depose him.
It has to happen now.
Ah.
The NFL.
I heard you were down to the final three.
Yeah.
Even for me, this kind of chance? I know.
Of course.
Most folks, when they get their first job on the Street, cold-calling out of phone books, they think the idea is, get the mark to yes.
But the way I saw it and it bought me a 911 my first year is never give them a reason to say no, because if you take "no" out of their vocabulary "Yes" is the only word left.
And right now, Chuck Rhoades' accusations, his insinuations That's their no unless I can make it clear he was the one who crossed the line.
You have to know going in Depositions are unpredictable beasts.
In depos, I've seen things you wouldn't believe.
Attack ships on fire? Yes.
The very best cases gone forever, like tears in rain.
No replicant no lawyer is gonna rattle me.
Mr.
Axelrod, you say the U.
S.
attorney harassed you, that he overstepped the bounds of his office.
Are you sure he didn't have legitimate reason to come to your place of business? At that hour? No.
His wife worked for you.
Could have been coming to see her.
His wife had quit working for me.
She'd also quit being his wife.
Don't be cute.
If you want this to help you in the PR department, keep the digs off the record.
What about Mick Danzig? Do you deny bribing police to wipe out his arrest? Of course.
I would nev [sighs.]
Fuck.
Yeah.
Let's not give him a perjury charge for nothing.
I know you don't get rattled, but if you get rattled, even for a second, don't answer.
Just ask for a break.
So you want a break now? Keep 'em coming.
That's the shaker room.
I don't see a lot of Amish furniture in there.
That's funny.
I like jokes.
No, it's where metallurgy gets subjected to the speed and pressure it'll face in space.
It's where things tend to break.
Why do you want to go up there? It's the undiscovered country.
Hmm.
That's from Hamlet.
He was describing death.
It's the final frontier.
How about in your own words? Everyone I went to school with works on one of two things theoretical particle physics or the next great start-up.
You don't care about those things? I have too much self-respect to be an academic, so number one is out.
And the pure money grab, while intoxicating in theory, never seems to leave anyone any better off than they were the moment they had the big idea in the first place because they are still stuck here, bound to this place and its limitations of fuel, space, and class struggle.
Face it Earth is pretty screwed.
Where does that leave you? I want to do something impossible.
I want to point to the sky, at another planet, and say, "I used to live there.
" I don't think I've said that out loud before.
Does it sound silly? No.
[Angel.]
Following Axelrod's a nonstarter.
Why? He's got operatives, pros with him, on him.
They hang back.
His own staff probably doesn't know they're there, but they are.
I saw a guy I used to work with at the Bureau.
Quality agent.
Lucky he didn't see me.
This would be much easier for your son to assign No, no.
This has nothing to do with him.
He can't even know about it.
Understood.
Maybe you don't personally do it.
No.
They'd make anybody.
They're squared away.
Drop down a rung.
Follow his top people.
Okay.
And this is for you.
Results on the other subject.
Surveillance of a federal employee is a Class E felony, so if you want me to keep it up, I'm gonna need to charge you a higher rate.
Then it's a good day for business.
[knock on door, door opens.]
[Chuck.]
Yes? Your father's driver dropped this off for you.
Oh.
[ brooding music .]
[door closes, envelope tears.]
- Thanks, man.
- For you, Bryan, anything.
[Dake.]
That coffee is terrible.
How do you drink it? I close my eyes and think of England.
When you close your eyes, I want you to think of me.
Coming after you.
Like my own personal Anton Chigurh? Oh, no.
I'm not some surrealist nightmare.
I'm flesh and blood.
I feel like you've got some bedrock misunderstandings about government work.
The Spartan-Ives investigation isn't going anywhere.
It's not going to save Chuck's job.
Who told you that? Don't throw away a promising career over a selective and misguided sense of loyalty.
Your boss is going down, so why not finish Chuck off yourself and earn some Justice points with the deathblow? So, we're finally gonna have the talk? Well, you've been reaching out to me for five years.
This isn't how I like to do it.
You prefer the house? It's more intimate.
For a seduction? When you ask a person to invest his money with you, that's a seduction.
When you ask him to pledge his net worth That's what the Mongols did when they sacked a village.
I was gonna say it's a marriage.
Well, the Mongols called it that, too.
Look, I get why you've been putting me off.
Most people don't like to think about giving their money away.
It makes them think they're gonna die.
But you can rest assured You are gonna die.
Yes.
A man tries a lot of things.
He fucks, he fathers, he letters his name above doorways he'd never otherwise walk through.
Any of this sound familiar? How's your hot dog? Goddamn delicious.
Why do you make so much money? Because I can.
Bullshit.
A lot of things you can do that you don't bark like a seal, ride the subway.
You make money because it feels good.
Well, here's the crazy thing.
Giving it away feels better.
Do you remember what it felt like to make that first million? I didn't feel that good again until I pledged to give away 20,000 times that.
It's the cure.
Accumulation with no end in sight is gluttony.
That's the disease.
I thought it was a sin.
Fuck sin.
Fuck piety.
I'm talking about what you can use.
Gluttony hollows you out.
Giving goes the other way.
I know.
It's a fucking paradox, but I worked it out.
The reason that nothing levers up your happiness like giving is because it puts you back in charge of the only thing that you ever really cared about yourself.
That's why I founded the Giving Oath.
And that's why I'm sitting here.
[grunting.]
Aw.
[sighs.]
Fuck.
[chuckles.]
I like the way you fight to pass my guard, but you practically dove into that arm lock.
You've got to learn the difference between naive aggression and effective aggression.
Yeah.
[mouse clicks.]
[sighs.]
[knocking.]
[soft music plays.]
Yeah? That's not what you were wearing at the office.
No.
I found something.
I was looking through the Panama Papers.
There was a link to Boyd, after all? No.
He's not hiding money there.
Your father is.
That's what couldn't wait till morning? No.
He stashed $12 million in an offshore account.
I know.
You knew about this? He didn't do anything illegal.
He didn't stash it.
Moving money that way is not a crime.
It's just bad PR.
But what is it that really bothers you, Bryan? The fact that he hid the money or the fact that he had that much in the first place? [ suspenseful music .]
[Mo.]
Here it is.
No, not that one.
The Carolina sauces are too vinegary.
I want something spicy.
I'm sick of the barbecue sauce.
So, Wags? Hitting it hard.
He has a standing appointment every morning.
He has his own IV stand in his room.
Yeah, he's fucked right now.
I'll deal with it soon.
He showed me this.
- - Says it came to his work e-mail.
It's Dan Wolfe's company.
Private equity guy who invests in healthcare.
They've got real money behind them.
Well, they're hitting on our customer base now and undercutting us.
So I was thinking we change our focus to smaller firms, maybe out in New Jersey.
Yeah, let's let him bigfoot us into becoming, like, a lovely little boutique, you know? We can open a bed-and-breakfast and serve intravenous maple syrup to our guests.
You want to fight? This is our fucking corner, Stringer.
Yellowbird.
You are going to obtain and execute a search warrant for Spartan-Ives.
What's the basis for the warrant? Quote stuffing.
[scoffs.]
I brought you that a year ago.
You called me a piker for wanting to go after it.
Yeah, you said high-frequency trading confuses juries more than advanced calculus.
It is advanced calculus.
This is the first wave at Normandy.
You know what happened on the first wave.
- Got cut down.
- Right.
Ensuring that the second wave had a fighting chance.
Judge Wailand is expecting you, so go make like a piker today.
Hey.
Hey.
Miss me that much? Hm, yeah.
And I wanted to talk to a few of your employees, who are also my clients.
Sure.
Why? Just to gauge their experience and overall satisfaction.
So, you didn't want to see if they or you are being specifically targeted by Dan Wolfe's Mercy Squad? I am, right? - Fuck.
- It's okay.
I'll call Wolfe, ask for some courtesy, have him back off.
You will not.
I'll handle it.
How? I'm a businesswoman.
I'll handle it.
[thud.]
You signed up for the Giving Oath? You've gone soft.
How much are you giving? Nobody needs to know what he does or doesn't do.
The giving is later.
The headlines are now.
You planted it so you'd look like the type of charity-minded champion that gets to steward a sacred trust, like a sports franchise.
Didn't want to just sit back and leave it to the gods.
[camera shutter clicking.]
[ tense music .]
It worked.
I mean, you got me.
Yeah.
But you've also been hitting the IV - a little hard lately.
- [laughs.]
I barely touch the stuff.
[door opens, closes.]
Every day.
[ suspenseful music .]
Do you believe Chuck really has this? That, or he's losing it.
Either way is good for you.
So smile.
Enjoy it.
You're really okay with leaving Earth behind? Leaving your family behind, potentially forever? I'm an only child.
Was that lonely or It was ideal, in the truest sense of that word.
Because I could deploy language from an early developmental stage, we all got really used to talking.
Oh.
That must have been nice.
We communicated in my family, too, but there were more of us, and most of the time, it wasn't conversation with a capital C.
It's hard to find people you could just Do you This may sound like a weird non-answer-question thing, but do you like Wilco? Yeah.
Yes, I love the one with "Jesus, don't cry.
" Yeah, me too, because in that one, Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett had found in each other a perfect mind meld.
They communicated on a level few ever reach.
But the thing about Wilco in that moment is, it was never that good again.
Bennett left the group.
Somehow, even though each had to know the other made him better, they just couldn't find a way to keep going together.
Did the band break up? No.
Even without Bennett, Wilco was Wilco.
It kept trucking along.
And Bennett? He died, just a couple years later.
He OD'd.
Somehow, on his own, he couldn't keep it together.
Makes you wonder how you can find a true partner and keep them.
Who is that person for you? You've never found them.
You've never looked.
If things got messy, I wasn't sure I could keep trucking.
You didn't want a relationship holding you back from doing what you love most.
Yeah, that's Yeah.
Thank you for talking to me.
That's it? That's it.
My dad taught me.
He knew I'd always be competing against men.
Wanted me to have some measure of control.
You're gonna do great things.
[Dake.]
Whatever you heard in that meeting made you squeamish.
You know what Rhoades is, Bryan.
You know he should be out of a job.
And I know you made that call.
[knock on door.]
You rang, boss? I need you to reach out to Boyd and set up a meeting.
Just the two of you? Mm-hmm.
This is what the warrant was setting up.
Second wave.
Where's the meeting? Not in our offices.
We're not there yet.
No.
No, he picks the spot.
I come to him.
I even ask him for something.
Trying to hoist him on his own No.
It doesn't matter what I ask for.
You know, the best way to bond with someone isn't doing a favor.
It's asking for one.
That's the Franklin Effect.
You make the other person feel valued, like you've given them power so you won't hurt them.
Now, that's how I need Boyd to feel.
[ suspenseful music .]
Now, isn't this a literary club? I've written a book "Steady at the Helm.
" Sure.
I tore through it in one sitting.
The club motto actually comes from a poem.
Mm.
"In the afternoon, they came unto a land" Where they assumed a supine position and sucked each other's dicks.
That's Tennyson, right? More or less.
What's the topic, Chuck? The state of war we're in and what you can do to end it.
I don't write polite letters.
I don't like to plea-bargain.
I like to fight.
You sure you want to take life advice from Roy Cohn? He got things done, and he was a generous man.
Mentored Trump, mentored me.
What have you grown in your shade? I have all the king's men arrayed behind me.
And yet a tentative hold on your commission.
Yes, the AG is not very happy with me, yet she seems to like you for some reason.
Maybe because I don't turn a man's house upside down for nothing just so other people will look at me.
[chuckles.]
You're right.
I don't have much on Spartan-Ives.
I'm here to ask a favor.
You have a strong compliance department.
I was hoping that you might put on an internal investigation.
Make it look like you're responding to my pressure.
Why would I do that? Because, after a year or so, when your investigation is over, my office signs off on it.
I declare I've cleaned up Wall Street, and you crow about how you've swept the rogue elements out of your own shop.
It's a win all around.
Not if I have to wait a year.
I want to get out from under this immediately.
I am not taking this with me on the boat off Antibes this summer.
[sighs.]
Then what can you give me now? How about this? There are a few mid-level guys my compliance department has flagged.
What if I sacrifice them? Well, that might give me the cloak I need to move on.
Yeah.
And you would get to fire them for cause and save three months' severance.
Six.
You are munificent.
And thank you.
Have your guy call mine.
They can coordinate press releases.
[exhaling sharply.]
[beep.]
[trainer.]
All right, 90-second cool down.
[breathing heavily.]
Go.
Rachman pulled his bid for the team.
Couldn't afford it or knew it was going another way? Someone let the league know about his FCPA issues, and with you and Bensinger splashed all over the papers, he didn't want to drown in your rising tide.
There's only one other bidder left, and it's a group.
He can't afford it solo.
Are you ready for some football? Yes, I am.
Let's finish this.
Will you draft the Giving Oath letter? - What do you want in there? - The usual stuff - good for people, communities.
- Got it.
And when it's done, you give it to Bill to read to the world.
Gates or Clinton? Either.
Both.
[The Record Company's "Off the Ground" plays.]
[Terry.]
You always were a fucking pisser, Lara.
Little Lara fucking Benjamin.
She's not Benjamin anymore.
She's aristocratic now.
No.
What I'm not is little.
I'm all grown up.
You serious about this? Can you hook it up? Sure.
I know just the right girl.
I think she graduated, she's certified, everything.
I don't think she passed the test.
Either way, she's the right girl.
Mercy Squad? Yeah, that's what it's called, but I need it to stay all the way quiet.
And let the truth be told Hey, no, no, no, no.
You're family.
To pay the girl.
Okay.
Anything for Dean's little sister.
To Dean.
Whoo-hoo Hey, hey, I got to pick myself up Rhoades reached out to me.
Did you cut off his hand? You did the other thing.
You would have cut off his hand, right? That's me.
I have another source I can check to be sure it's legit.
I'll be careful.
You better be.
Your advice was appreciated, and it wasn't wrong, but ask a barber if you need a haircut, he's always gonna say yes.
I asked a warrior.
But not everyone out there's a savage.
Rhoades opened his eyes to the bigger picture.
Are we playing it too safe? These are just the initial questions I'm gonna be asking Axe.
I'm giving him a little Rumble in the Jungle at first.
Bomaye.
Yeah.
I'm gonna do all that, you understand, at the deposition.
But I got to say it again You shouldn't come.
It should be cold, clinical.
You're worried I'll say something.
Yes, I am.
Anything unscripted from you could put you in an even deeper hole.
I won't say a word.
Well, then, why come? Trust me, it'll have value.
My mere presence will make Axelrod stumble.
It's too risky.
I don't want the whole thing becoming a circus.
Just let me bore him into fucking up.
[knock on door.]
Come! I'm sorry.
I thought you were alone.
That's okay.
I could use a cup of coffee.
[door closes.]
What's on your mind? My father.
What happened? He isn't who I thought.
Well, every child in the history of the world has learned that.
I'm not naive.
No, never thought you were.
But when he gave me advice, I looked at it through a certain prism knowing that he had integrity.
Now I I find out he has a pile of money offshore.
Legal tax avoidance, but he has always sold himself to me as somebody who doesn't avoid.
Mm.
Don't be so hard on your old man.
Reach out to him.
[Chuck.]
Don't keep the disappointment inside.
Let him know what's going on.
So, you got a few sacrificial Spartan-Ives shitheads that nobody had heard of yesterday and nobody will remember tomorrow.
You sure that's enough to save your job? But be careful, 'cause that kind of directness is a change of pace.
I did the best I could.
That's what there was to get.
It can't be where you live.
You'll need to keep going after Boyd.
No.
You can't get blood from a C.
E.
O.
If I'm out of a job, then I can finally earn some of that money everyone's always talking about.
Okay, sonny.
I'm sure you know what you're doing.
Mmm.
You have to protect the parent-child relationship.
Anyone else in the world will fuck you over friends, lovers bosses.
No, your father is the one person you're gonna be able to count on when it matters.
Soft 6? No.
You can swing free.
You can swing free, and not just here.
Chuck meant what he said.
The investigation's over? And you'll put in a word for him with the AG? He's showing a real awareness of the landscape.
You must be proud.
I've always been proud.
Now I'm happy for him.
[golf club swings.]
Elena's brilliant ideal for research but not a fit for the program.
Why? [breathes deeply.]
She's a leaver, a ghost.
She's never faced real adversity, never had to deal with terrible consequences.
When something goes wrong in space, as it always does, she's gonna crack.
So, your judgment is what? She needs a trip to the shaker room.
Who among us doesn't? Reject her.
If she comes crawling back, reject her again.
If six months later, she makes another attempt, stress test her once more.
I can't wait to run my next candidate by you so we can do this all over again.
I'm not sure I'm gonna be available.
I've realized I like working with people, not just judging them.
That's not all it is.
[sighs.]
Look we all have to chase our truest calling.
Mine is to make this universe traversable and to leave this company a living organism that can thrive long after I've gone off on Manticore-IX.
To do that, I need stewards.
That's not what you're looking for me to do.
You're asking me to sort people into one box or another, like a second-rate Freud, which which is Freud.
Anyone with a DSM-V and a label maker can do that.
I don't want distance.
I like getting messy.
[chuckles.]
The power of the instant That's what excites me.
Ice into steam or back.
[sighs.]
Is this a test? To see if I come crawling back? No.
I don't test people that way.
But if you ever decide to grapple with why you feel happiness for you can only exist light-years away or in the company of hairless 21-year-old girls, come see me.
We can fix that quick.
[laughs.]
Holy shit.
No.
What's up? Dan Wolfe just got popped for aggravated pimping.
Mercy Squad nurses were turning tricks.
One of them solicited sex from a PM at Vista Verde.
[laughter.]
[cellphone buzzing.]
Hey, babe.
How'd you do it? I told you I'm a businesswoman.
That you are.
Love you.
Bye.
You should really put a bocce court in.
This floor is so level, it's a waste not to.
I'm kicking myself I didn't think of that.
Thanks for taking the meeting.
Anything for Bruno.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Thank you, Bruno.
Sure.
Do your best.
- Yeah.
- Right.
This is incredible.
What do you put in it? Dough, sauce, cheese.
That's insane.
What's, like, your secret ingredient? Well, I start with the dough and a little sauce and then cheese.
Huh.
Awesome.
Keep it up.
He called you Marco out there.
I go by Marc outside the family.
- Uh-huh? - Yeah.
I shortened it.
Yeah, no, I get that.
Me, I'm proud of where I come from.
Oh, I'm intensely proud of my people.
- That's why I'm here.
- Mm-hmm.
Are we waiting for someone? No.
Sit.
So tell me.
Aside from your pride, why would I ever put any of my money in your corner of the state? Sandicot's downtown is ripe for redevelopment.
Buildings waiting to be razed and replaced with LEED-certified condos and a city council on which I sit Mm-hmm.
which is highly motivated to Okay.
What you've just described and no offense, since I know it's your home but what you've just described is a shithole.
The whole county's on the edge of default.
It's not called a distressed debt because we're thriving.
You get to buy it cheap pennies on the dollar.
Yeah, more like millions on hundreds of millions.
Well, think of that upside.
Look, I get offers like this every day.
The only reason you got through this door I know.
And I don't expect you to do this deal as a favor to my uncle.
I expect you to do it because of the casino.
You buried the lede, kid.
Come on.
Okay.
Tell me about the casino.
It's gonna be paradise.
Monte Carlo.
You never been to Monte Carlo, have you? It's the Sandicot of the Riviera.
Tell me.
Okay, I don't care if you spit or swallow.
Just don't keep me waiting.
The faucet's back on.
It worked? Overnight.
So, what do you want me to do now? Am I going to have to wear a wire? You're gonna be a hero.
Talk soon.
Spartan-Ives is back to rigging Treasury auctions.
We've got a beachhead.
Sometimes you just got to trust people to be who they are.
Every time I think maybe I'm caught up Mm.
Long time in this racket.
Still impressive.
Thank you.
Come on.
Let's hit the Gorilla truck.
No, I'm not gonna watch you eat a number five.
Onions and Unh-unh.
Stay here and have some hand salad.
Please.
Do me this favor.
Do you think they really have the inside track with Albany - on a gaming license? - I don't want to guess.
I want you to know so that I know.
Okay.
And if it checks out, you know, that's the kind of giving I can get behind.
I mean, this is how all charities should work.
You mean benefiting you more than anybody else? As much as.
Not more.
[door opens.]
People noticing you have a new favorite.
They're not happy about it.
Anybody who makes me money is my favorite.
[door opens.]
Uh, look, Axe, I know I'm late.
Take a seat.
You missed the Sandicot meeting.
- I'm sorry.
- Went fine without you.
Take a fucking seat.
I can't.
Why are wearing sweatpants? Could you Steph, step out, please.
[door opens, closes.]
I woke up in a hotel this morning.
You're living in the fucking Pierre.
This was the Americana Suites, some shit dive next to Port Authority, with my ass on fire.
And I saw I had a tattoo.
On your ass? Yeah.
You got an ass tattoo? All evidence points to that being the case.
I need to see it.
You want to No, don't want to.
No.
I need to.
What the fuck is that? Is that Yosemite I think so.
I was a fan.
I'm sending you somewhere.
Please, not rehab.
No, not rehab.
Well, you know what Dr.
Sarno says about that kind of pain.
[intercom beeps.]
Excuse me.
Yes? I'll buzz you in.
[buzzer.]
I am so sorry.
I need one second.
Want to hear a funny story? Not really.
I need help.
Did he send you? Yeah.
But it's not for him.
I really do need help.
You've always needed help.
What's different now? [breathes deeply.]
[sighs.]
I don't even remember how I got it.
Okay.
Mnh-mnh.
Not today.
I'm no longer available to you on standby.
So you want me to call and schedule an appointment? Yes.
Like a fucking grown-up.
I can do that.
I knew you'd reach out.
Cooperating was always the smart move.
You think I tipped you? Prove it.
You think I had a moment of moral confusion, forgetting why I do what I do and who for? Prove it.
You think Chuck screwed up? Earn your 150k You're making a mistake.
and prove it.
Chuck Rhoades has proven shit no one should be able to.
And if he were going after this case, he would have the target nailed, dead to rights.
But Chuck is lucky because he's not being chased by himself.
He's being chased by you.
Nearer, My God, to Thee.
Back the fuck off.
That was the last song the band played on the Titanic, and it is a dreary tune.
I offered you a lifeboat.
You picked up a violin.
Happy fiddling, Bryan.
[Megadeth's "Peace Sells" plays.]
What do you mean, I don't believe in God? I talk to him every day What do you mean, I don't support your system? I go to court when I have to What do you mean, I can't get to work on time? I got nothing better to do And what do you mean, I don't pay my bills? Why do you think I'm broke? Huh? If there's a new way - I'll be the first in line - Oh! You flinched.
But it better work this time Mr.
Axelrod, good day.
I'm Ira Schirmer, attorney for Charles Rhoades Jr.
I'll be asking you a few questions.
Orrin Bach for Robert Axelrod.
Are you ready? Rock and roll.
Let's go on the record.
[camera beeps.]
You assert that Mr.
Rhoades harassed you I'm sorry.
Can we go off the record? [camera beeps.]
I just wanted to say, you did a great job rebuilding.
[chuckles.]
Sometimes I laugh myself to sleep at night just thinking about you ripping the place apart.
- Hey, Chuck.
- Oh.
You know, I never think about it.
But then, of course, I'm not alone at night.
Let's go back on the record.
[camera beeps.]
You assert that Mr.
Rhoades harassed you.
Off the record.
[camera beeps.]
Where are you sleeping now? Bobby.
Suitable accommodations.
Mm-hmm.
Who paid for it me or Daddy? We all know Uncle Sam pays you shit.
It was me.
Found some loose change in the cushions.
Is this going to happen or Back on the record.
[camera beeps.]
You assert that Mr.
Rhoades harassed you.
How do you know he didn't have a legitimate reason to be in your office? Well, it was the middle of the night.
He didn't come with a SWA team, not even a subpoena.
It was just him, trying to intimidate me.
But his wife works for you.
He could have been coming to see her.
His wife had quit working for me.
So, are you saying you did or didn't intercede with the police and bribe them regarding your employee, Mick Danzig? - I - Objection.
This is a deposition.
Objections are waived.
Except to form.
That was a compound question.
I can answer.
A smart man listens to his lawyer.
[Ira.]
I'll rephrase.
Did you bribe the police regarding Mick Danzig? Look, this whole thing is about what he did.
That question isn't.
So you're declining to answer? Yes.
An element of your claim is damages.
Are you willing to open up your books to show the concrete monetary damages you've supposedly incurred? Yes, I have damages.
No, I am not willing to show my books at this time.
Ah, so then you must not be asserting actual damages? You're saying that your damages can be presumed from Mr.
Rhoades' actions? Right.
Right.
Legally, we call these mental or emotional damages.
So are you saying Chuck hurt you mentally, or are you saying he hurt you emotionally? I'd like to take a break.
Oh, you don't want to announce to the whole Street that Chuck hurt your feelings? He got into your head, threw you off your game? Turn the camera off.
We're taking a break.
[door opens.]
[door opens.]
What? Sanford Bensinger is on the phone.
[door closes.]
Sandy.
We call it the Giving Oath because you fucking swear it.
Do you understand what an oath is? I do.
I do, and I've already begun moving on what we discussed, and actually, I was gonna reach out to you to talk about structuring a trust.
You mean a photo op? Maybe in costume.
Me as John the Baptist, you as the Son of Man.
Hey, look, Sandy, I'm as I'm as upset as you are that our meeting got tipped off to Do me the courtesy of not lying again on this phone call.
I do not appreciate being used.
I got to be where I am by connecting the dots, scores of randomly placed ones.
The NFL is turning you down.
I asked for the favor of telling you myself.
They're, um They're really gonna walk away from the highest bid? Sports franchises are how we knight people in this country.
And you're not royalty.
You're a robber baron.
[line clicks.]
[receiver clicks.]
[ suspenseful music .]
[door closes.]
We're talking about damages.
I have actual, concrete, monetary ones.
You cost me a professional football team.
Can we go back on the record? Actually, I think we need a break now.
No.
Let's continue.
A wise man always listens to his lawyer.
I keep my own counsel.
Let's keep going.
Fucking right, we will.
Fire away.
[Megadeth's "Peace Sells" plays.]