Billions (2016) s04e05 Episode Script
A Proper Sendoff
1 [Chuck.]
Previously on Billions Foley is going to come forth.
With what he knows about me.
About us.
Foley is terminal.
He didn't see a doc until it was everywhere.
So I'm proud of all of you put through college by the memorial foundation so far.
[Senior.]
Elysian Fields.
This development is my legacy.
This would be a disaster and create a possible scandal.
It's all you say it is, Dad.
Let's do something with this.
I in my private life in the confines of my happy marriage with my consenting wife practice sadomasochism I am done hearing you talk.
By day's end, you will be the presumptive Attorney General of New York goddamned State.
Congratulations, Chuck.
Can't wait to work together.
[dramatic music.]
[James Brown's "The Payback".]
Hey Gotta, gotta payback The big payback Revenge I'm mad The big payback Got to get back Need some get back Payback - Payback - The big payback That's it Payback Revenge I'm mad You get down with my girlfriend That ain't right Whoo Thank you, Anthony.
It's such a treat watching you work.
It's good to love what you do.
- Enjoy, guys.
- Thank you.
[Axe.]
Mmm.
Man.
So, to our new AG.
- [chuckling.]
Oh.
- Long may he rule.
- Bravo.
- Thank you.
Uh It's an honor all around Wendy's first night out in a month.
Well, the chance at a perfect pizza in total privacy was too much to pass up.
Privacy? If the only way I could eat this pizza was naked, in the middle of Times Square, I would.
- [laughter.]
- Yeah.
You would.
You might even prefer it.
The problem is, you'd be sure to undress me, too.
Whether I wanted it or not.
You're doing this, here? You did it.
It's really only the ones we love, huh - That make you want to kill them? - Hmm.
Exactly.
See.
Yes.
But even that you know the story ahead, there's no starting from zero for me anymore.
- Used to be.
- [Chuck.]
Mm.
Mm.
I could say: I'm Wendy.
Go from there.
I could add Rhoades, and to someone in finance it meant one thing, to someone in government another.
If I'd say Dr.
Wendy Rhoades, it meant something else.
Still holds.
All that still holds, yeah Or I could say: I work at a hedge fund - [Chuck.]
Uh-huh.
- and we're off in a different direction.
[Wendy.]
But I was the one to decide the what and when.
Build a relationship.
Now? They just know all of it.
Everybody does.
Chuck was in a tough spot.
Yeah, there wasn't many moves he could make to win, - so he chose the one - Yeah.
He did.
He chose.
And now I can't walk down the street.
And I'm no longer a blank slate for the guys I'm supposed to treat, inspire, change.
There's this giant thought bubble just sitting there between us.
And it features me with whips and chains.
When I misplay something publicly and I feel like everyone's staring at me, I take comfort in this fact: most people are self-absorbed narcissistic assholes.
So they might revel in your shit for a minute, because it distracts them from theirs.
But after that minute, they're gonna forget about you, just go right back to their own shitpile.
Thank you.
What do you say we start at zero? Deal.
- [Wendy.]
Bobby - [Axe.]
Hmm? This is what's known as a keeper.
- I'm gonna go have a few drags.
- I'll join you.
[soft music.]
- It'll blow over.
- Yeah? I dunno.
She's been that angry at me before.
- What'd you do to fix it? - Uh Few million dollars, an Italian sports car, a piece of the profits, and I stopped suing you.
And to be honest, she was still a little pissed.
- For a long time.
- Yeah, so, I dunno.
You'd do the same again, exactly as before, even knowing her anger.
As you, too, would have stayed the course.
Mm.
You know, people think guys like us don't care about the consequences of our actions.
- We do care.
A fuck of a lot.
- Yeah.
Yet still we forge on.
As we must.
Mmm.
Good.
- Mmm.
- Eat up.
I need you strong for tomorrow.
Got another project for you.
[laughing.]
Ah.
The ask.
Well, I did earn your seat, much as you did.
- Forge on.
- [clears throat.]
Taylor Mason.
A Wall Street scalp.
Should be just like old times for you.
Financial crimes against the People are always of interest.
And for you, I'd love to and I will.
But, uh, while Jack Foley rode the pale horse before I could take my vengeance, I've got other names on my hit list I don't intend to let escape so easily.
You can do your thing but you gotta do my thing.
Mm-hmm.
Well, I just got rid of Grigor, - which hurt Taylor financially - Yeah.
Not bad enough.
I want them in a fucking cell.
[dramatic music.]
I see.
Do you know if Taylor's even done anything illegal? Never stopped you before.
[Senior.]
My master work, Biancarosa.
But I need my sanitation permits.
Mixed use development.
Sixteen new buildings, four of them so high I know, I read your brochure that when you're in the penthouse, God looks up to you.
And you know all we have to do to get started [Biancarosa.]
Hey.
We need to take those expectations down a notch.
[Biancarosa.]
The old price isn't the new price.
To do all this I'm gonna need thirty.
I'll find you the money.
[dramatic music.]
[Senior.]
But I need those permits.
[dramatic music.]
[vomiting.]
[exhales heavily.]
[toilet flushes.]
[water running.]
[faucet squeaks, water turns off.]
I never wanted Grigor Andolov's money.
I lobbied against it once.
But then I took it on.
And it sustained us like an internal organ and now, without it, we're gutted.
And it's not just about his money.
When our reduced AUM goes public, our investors will be wondering about our stability and flowing out with him.
I still look at you like Vincent Vega did Jules Winnfield the smartest and toughest fella in the room.
Thank you, Mafee.
But I really don't need people telling me how smart I am.
I don't feel very smart at the moment.
I built a turbo engine here and the nitrous tank blew up in my face.
So we've learned that lesson and now: we do the thing you do best.
Both of you.
Go invest in undervalued equities.
Let me do the thing I do best: create the most helpful environment in which for you do it.
- Yes.
- To that end, I have made a move.
Investor Relations.
You know how Winston Wolfe solved dead body problems? This one solves dead balance sheet problems.
Is she super young, early 20s, - too hip for this business? - Mm.
In that case, I think she's already here [clears throat.]
[Hammon.]
Welcome, Lauren Lauren Turner, this is Taylor Mason, your boss.
Pickle juice? Best hangover cure I have found.
[chuckles.]
And I have searched.
Don't worry, this is not where I shine.
This is where I store up energy so that I can shine later.
What What do you need, boss? A Grigor-sized replacement.
Those don't exist.
Not for you.
- Not today.
- [Taylor.]
Fuck.
- Don't sugarcoat it.
- I'm ready to kill.
Just not sure who There aren't a lot of institutions allocating right now.
Not in the ten-figure zip code.
I can think of one.
Right here in the City.
Bravest, you know? The New York Firefighters Fund.
Axe's firefighters? They were.
But not lately.
They are allocating up to three point one billion from the pension and health fund.
And are currently hearing pitches.
- Is that correct? - It is.
And they'll never touch him again.
You are Axe by association.
Go make them.
[dramatic music.]
[clears throat.]
[dramatic music.]
[Axe.]
Johnny-Boy! How's the fund? We're crushing it like Richard Petty did Daytona.
That's an age-weighted reference for my benefit, isn't it.
Noted and appreciated.
And your wife and We just had our second kid, another boy, three months ago.
Yeah.
Yeah, I, uh - You sent a gift, don't worry.
- Good.
Now, I know you're positive on the quarter, so what's up? Yeah.
Returns are solid.
So I, uh, wanted to come by and say thank you.
For backing me, putting me through B-school Of course.
Of course.
Your dad, rest in peace, he would have done it.
And I see you give back to the Foundation And for backing me, with your capital and your endorsement when I opened up my own place.
Well, a smart kid like you wouldn't come work for me, you know, I had to find some way to keep a little piece of you.
[chuckles.]
Well, I am happy to make it pay off for you.
[dramatic music.]
102 million.
Your initial investment compounded net of fees with a profit of 17 million.
You're cashing me out? My redemption period ends tomorrow.
I wanted to clean things up, bring it over myself.
To say thank you.
In our business, people never give back the money.
So why are you giving back the money? You know, most people are happy when they're handed a hundred million-plus.
You grew it, so that's why I want you to keep it.
And I'm I'm thrilled I'm grateful that I, uh, had the opportunity to do that for you.
Talk Talk more.
About how that gratitude results in you spitting my capital back in my face like Furiosa did to Nux in Fury Road.
An age weighted reference.
Noted and appreciated.
Uh huh.
Axe.
You know that I wrestled back at Princeton.
Sure, used to get the updates from your mom.
Well, I I crushed it my sophomore year, 197.
Then I lifted all summer, I came back as a heavyweight my junior year, I was bloated and overconfident, and I got smashed.
This is that: My assets under management went over a billion.
I don't want the same thing to happen.
So, a few more stops today paying out gains and I'll be back to where I want to be: in my weight class, nimble.
[dramatic music.]
I don't think this is advised.
[chuckles.]
Come on.
I'll be fine.
And, again, thank you.
I need to know who else this kid cashed out.
And why.
'Ae, Kimo.
Tell the staff not to clap when I come in today, Donna, let's just get to work.
I know they're gonna want to celebrate it.
But, uh, it's not dignified.
No clapping.
Really - In Japanese lore - Ah! Fuck me the shinobi, descended from a half-man, half-crow, could slip into the shogun's palace and open his radial artery while he slept.
The lord would exsanguinate before he knew he was cut.
Bryan.
I can see you clear as day.
Your suit is blue, not black.
You already cut me and I'm still standing.
Next time it'll be my turn.
What do you want? I come in the spirit of cooperation, Chuck.
I know you're gonna be sending me your most choice, high-resource cases, and I wanted to ensure a smooth handoff.
Thought we might even discuss some of the finer points in person.
I can't imagine I'd be sending you anything but a hearty 'how's my ass taste?' As you must surely know, since you are loitering outside my chambers, and those of an elected official at that.
Have a good first day.
And if you change your mind about those cases, you sure know where my office is.
[dramatic music.]
[elevator bell dings.]
[dramatic music.]
[telephone rings.]
[clears throat.]
[sighs.]
You guys may have taken this whole 'no clapping' thing too far.
I took a pay cut and came over here from SDNY specifically so I could punch some wrong-doers in the face.
No one's stopping you.
Who's stopping you? The State of New York, which ironically grants the AG very few powers by statute.
Yes.
But the rest of my armament is granted by executive order.
As in the governor Well apparently he woke up with morning wood and decided to jam it right up our hind quarters.
[T.
.]
I went to file for a records subpoena on Taylor Mason like you asked, and the clerk refused to issue it.
Seems we have no authority at all, currently.
I know where this started.
Half-crow, half-cowboy, all sonofabitch.
- Who else? - I've been checking around.
I haven't gotten answers from all parties yet - Who else? - This is something you should really let me be thorough on.
- Rush to judgement's no good here - Wags.
No one.
You're the only one John Rice cashed out.
- Fuck.
- I'm sorry, fré.
You being 'sensitive' is intolerable.
- Stop it.
- [Wags.]
Oh, thank God! Let me do it.
Let me loose the hounds of hell on this ingrate, this near-millennial scumbag.
I will flay his skin from his bones and I won't stop until [scoffs.]
Is the idea that if you get here real early and don't turn the lights on, no one will come looking for you? Oh, did I forget to turn on the lights? No.
You didn't forget.
I didn't.
Yet you walk in.
Well, I need you.
Something you should have thought about before taking Chuck's side.
Oh.
I was taking your side.
'Cause it's not healthy for you to be in a place of shame or disgrace.
No reason to.
This all hurts you, actually.
How am I supposed to do what I do? [Axe.]
No way.
This makes you better.
This makes you more of an exotic species they need to impress with their alpha dog energy.
[scoffs.]
This office isn't where we talk about me.
But thank you.
Now John Rice.
Kid walked in here and handed me back my money.
Only you? No.
Not what he said, but yes.
Is it the rejection or the embarrassment? Normally, a guy takes what I consider to be an aggressive line against me, I cut him down like the Mongol hordes.
But this time you don't feel the hot anger, the need to destroy.
[Axe.]
Oh, no, that's still there.
But it's not the top note.
I don't know what's going on.
I It's Oh.
Some sensation.
[dramatic music.]
You're suffering an actual emotional wound.
That's why you don't know what the fuck's going on.
Your feelings are involved.
I don't traffic in those much.
[soft music.]
[exhales heavily.]
There's a world in which this is all your fault.
Enraged but listening.
What did you, if not promise, then at least pledge to him? You know I take care of school.
He was already in college, his dad had set aside money for that.
- I did B-school.
- What else? Well, to be there for him.
Well.
Be a stand in.
An ear.
A shoulder.
And have you? All you really offered him was money, when what he needed was a mentor.
A bit of personal connection.
[laughing.]
Did he expect me to take him to the ballgame and the fucking zoo? [dramatic music.]
You know this is about Taylor, right? This feels like that to you.
Like one of your kids spurned you.
And through your anger, what you're really wondering: is if it's all your fault.
Huh.
You may be right.
And now I know what to do.
[dramatic music.]
Well.
We need you here.
Upstairs.
And in this room with your door open and your lights on.
Rebecca was right.
You've made this thing bigger than it is.
Just like you and John Rice.
No.
Because I know what he thinks.
And what he did.
You have no idea who's talking about you.
Or if anyone even is.
So either you confront it head on, or let it go.
[scoffs.]
But don't keep giving it power over you by staying in the dark.
[dramatic music.]
- [door creaks.]
- [Chuck.]
Thank you.
They were supposed to have it hung by start of business today, - but they fucked it up.
- Welcome to state politics, Bob.
I know why you're here.
I thought we were looking forward to working together.
Ah.
That's just something you say on election night.
What do Jock Jeffcoat and his disciples have on you? This isn't about me, Chuck or you.
This is about the People.
Jock threatened to go Federal on my ass.
Freeze funds, delay funds, yank funds.
Unless you yanked my powers? So, what was I supposed to do? Uh.
Fight harder.
You're the governor.
They're your people.
Be their fucking champion.
Stand up for the blessed sovereignty of the States versus the Fed.
That's why we bowed and scraped to get these fucking jobs.
Wow.
It sounds so good when you say it.
But I'd rather be the guy that didn't run out of money to keep the streets clean and safe in his first week.
I'm sorry that leaves you impotent, Chuck.
But you'll get used to it.
[keyboard clacking.]
I've got the lattice grid fin prototype Machined it myself.
Once I caught the harmonic frequencies on the lathe, the cuts got finer.
It'll hold up to wind tunnel tests, I just need to rent the tunnel to be sure.
Here Materials.
Equipment.
Expenses that need to be covered to get us to a place where aerospace firms will be believers.
Buyers.
Not the best time.
I'm trying to get money flowing in not out.
- Why? - Because it's been flowing out.
Flowed.
Like a geyser.
Why is that such a problem? I'm not being simple.
I want to understand.
I need size.
To do what I do.
The margins on the trades are small so we rely on the amounts being big, to pull down real profit.
I'm not interested in being boutique.
I didn't want to say, because I'm impressed with what you've built.
And the culture.
But there are other things you can do at the highest level.
Not just make money.
This is about your old boss Axelrod, isn't it? About making more money than him? That's right.
More than anyone else on the Street too in absolute returns.
And to do it again next year.
And the year after.
I get it, you're a competitive animal.
I guess I didn't expect such machismo from you.
I might find your effort at exploring my true purpose a little more affecting if it didn't feel like the purpose you wanted me to pursue instead was yours.
Sorry.
I'll keep refining the CNC program until you're ready.
[door opens.]
[door closes.]
[indistinct conversations.]
[telephone rings.]
[John.]
Axe.
Hey.
Uh I know why you gave the money back.
I fucked up.
Should have done more than said hi each time I checked in on my account.
Please.
[clears throat.]
Your father.
He was a mentor to me at the old firm.
I was supposed to stand in, try to fill that role for you Yeah.
Not that anyone could.
- He used to take you fishing.
- [John.]
Yeah.
Sun Valley.
Fly fishing for, uh, rainbows and monster browns.
Yeah.
What about salt water? You ever do that? - Out in the deep water - Dad? No.
Never.
Strictly, uh Strictly rivers.
Let me take you.
Let's hit it.
Yeah.
Okay.
When? - Now.
- Axe Stripers aren't running, but we can still chunk for them.
And blues are always a great fight.
All that to get me to keep your money? Nah, forget about that.
That's done.
You make plenty of money, I make plenty of money.
This is about doing right.
About re-upping a job I slacked on.
Come on, let me do what I pledged to do.
As your father did for me.
Come on.
[chuckles.]
Okay.
Yeah.
Fuck it.
[bag rustling.]
Don't remember you ever actually shopping, Dad.
My little blue helper.
I can't send the girl to pick it up.
Hard to explain when your mother confides in her that we haven't coupled since Tony Orlando last charted.
No son should hear that kind of You should, Sonny.
Look around.
What do you see? Pantyhose and deodorant.
Before there was a Duane Reade on every corner, this, and places like it, is where history got made.
This was Toots Shor's place.
Chaplin came in for the steak.
I once witnessed Shor himself drink Jackie Gleason under the table.
But more importantly, half the Albany power brokers enjoyed cocktails and rubbed shoulders with mobsters and Broadway stars in here.
This is where you met Black Jack Foley.
Right there.
At the bar.
And you dragged me over here to, what? Uh, pour one out for him? That's not why Dad, I'm pretty fucking busy.
Are you? Because as I understand it, - you've been spayed and neutered.
- Well, I plan to Whatever it is, it won't be enough.
[sighs.]
The first time that I met Foley, he told me about this alderman who could barely tie his own shoes.
Rumor had it he was inbred.
But Jack Foley had it in his mind that the mayor of Utica needed to be replaced wasn't toeing the line, so to speak.
Let me just skip to the end.
So Black Jack took this idiot alderman and made him mayor.
Oh, you are awfully smug for a man with no real clout.
Anyway, one day, as I'm getting out of the car, they are cutting the grass across the street from my country place And you know who is pushing the mower? The former mayor.
Yes.
Of course he is.
I'm in it, Dad, trying to get back my authority.
Aim higher! Don't just get your juice back, Sonny.
Send a fucking message.
The Mayor wasn't toeing the line, so Foley made him a lawn boy.
You've got to show them what you do with power.
Now, for longer than he was your enemy, Black Jack Foley was in your corner.
So take this one last lesson from him Make them fear me.
Your vengeance, your whim, your everything.
[dramatic music.]
[chuckles.]
Jock Jeffcoat couldn't keep me out of office.
But now he thinks he's found a way to keep me from that office's powers.
He doesn't just think it.
He did it.
So what are we gonna do? I want you to look into the State Assembly.
Start with Joe Scolari and his cabal of senior legislators.
The ones who really pull the levers of hydrodynamic shit in Albany.
I never mind snaking through the sewer pipes, but with our legal powers currently curtailed We're not building a legal case, not right now.
Just I need you to get what you can and I need you to get it quickly and quietly.
Does it need to stand up in court? Eventually.
But for now it just needs to be true.
Do it.
[dramatic music.]
Uh, Wags? Smoother? Any difference? This thing's supposed to zap wrinkles.
Yeah, you look like Benjamin Button.
So, Rudy what was the name of that, um apparatus he had? Ah, the fleshlight.
The repository for all of the sadness of the male world.
And whose model was it? I believe he had the Lisa Ann.
She is a first ballot hall of famer.
You buying someone a gift? You're password hunting.
I need to look at his social media.
Rudy's? He'll be the easiest to get into.
I tried to get a keystroke log from IT, but they erase every two weeks Chuck opened up a part of my private life when he made that speech.
Made me vulnerable.
Any employee's vulnerability is a threat to Axe Cap and our business.
So I need to know what our enemies are saying.
They're saying plenty.
Other firms.
I went down a rabbit hole.
But Rudy is in contact with our chief enemy, so 'Password is no longer valid'.
He changed it.
May I? Nicole Aniston.
Blair Williams.
No.
Wait.
Cory Chase.
If you're a Lisa Ann fan, you're a Cory Chase fanatic.
She's a national treasure.
Oh, hey uh, Benjamin Button at the beginning when he's old and crusty, or at the end when he's got the baby smooth skin? Right?! [car door closes.]
[sea gulls squawking.]
[sighs.]
Rods and bait are on board [exhales sharply.]
We gonna do this right? Won't get any service out there anyway.
[Lou Reed's "Vicious".]
Vicious You hit me with a flower You do it every hour Yanks are making some good moves Oh.
Fuck that.
Let's talk about the real stuff.
Your Dad.
You know, I used to get my ass out of bed at 4:30 every morning.
No matter what, he always beat me to the office.
One morning, he's yea deep slinging Asian long bonds yelling at everybody to bring him a coffee, not realizing it was only 6am and no one's in yet.
- No one but you.
- Fuckin' right.
So you made him coffee? What am I, his secretary? Oh.
He didn't drink the office swill anyway.
I went out for it.
Light and sweet.
He was impressed that I'd paid attention to the stuff that didn't matter because of course it matters.
Everything fucking matters.
So I should pay attention to the details? And watch your six.
Same rules for investing, cards - And women - Exactly He was a hell of a gin player.
The partners would play for five cents a point, and he'd rough them all up.
I used to love watching that.
You got your meeting with the smoke eaters.
- How? - [Lauren.]
Johnny Utah's.
You wanted to know.
So, shots and a mechanical bull? And my group of pretty, personable young friends, yes.
Those are the raw materials, but what I make of them is the art.
And I suddenly understand why I now employ an IR person.
Now, onto the meeting itself, a bit of forewarning.
Everyone is getting a half hour.
We got ten minutes.
The last slot before the board breaks up for the season.
It's a mercy fuck.
These guys didn't want to see you because you came up under someone they hate.
If they buy MaseCap, it'll be because you sold them a better story.
A story about you that they like more than they hate Axe.
[dramatic music.]
[door closes.]
[dramatic music.]
[elevator bell dings.]
Where is everybody? - Conference room.
- On what Whatever it is, I'm not needed.
- And neither are you.
- Or you'd be in there.
[scoffs.]
I think you might have forgotten to You will be called when and if needed.
Here's what we're gonna do.
Times of tragedy call for silence and sustenance.
Hear hear.
And what I want to add is Times of tragedy call for silence and Well, we will all miss Black Jack.
He was like a father to me.
He was the type of man I always wanted to be.
A breed that has been dying And now has died.
This is a real loss.
But it's also a new day.
For just as he was not your father, his vendettas do not live past him.
You are free to vote your conscience and your interests.
And to once more embrace me.
[exhales sharply.]
Especially when to do otherwise would not be in your interests.
Some conscientious members of my investigative team have collected this list of misdeeds by the State Assembly.
- I see - Mm.
- This is unfortunate.
- It is.
Especially since you're on it.
Now, I can go and build all these cases and hand them to the press and the Feds The US Attorney himself greeted me on my own steps my first morning inviting this.
Or, if you will substantiate this information, I could take a different path.
Ignore these violations by you and your closest confederates so long as you all vote to restore my powers.
Times of tragedy call for [Scolari.]
Yes.
Silence and sustenance.
And a new spirit of cooperation.
[reel clicking.]
Okay.
Keep on him.
Keep on him.
Where is he? - [John.]
Here we go.
- [Axe.]
You got him.
Oh, he's fighting.
He's a fighter.
[John grunting.]
Get him tight on the line.
Bring him in.
Good.
He's a beaut! - Bring him in.
- Yeah, he's fighting All right.
You got him? I got him.
Whoo! Aah! Nice.
- [Axe.]
Oh, my God.
Look at that.
- [John.]
Yeah! - That's huge.
- [grunts.]
[chuckles.]
- Whoo! [laughs.]
- Nice fish.
You want to eat him, or let him go to fight another day? Throw him back.
Ah.
A true sportsman.
[groans.]
[water splashes.]
- Want a beer? - Yeah.
[bottles clink.]
Ahh.
You know, before you call timeout, you might want to check with Chris Webber.
Sometimes, there are none available.
Mm.
Here we go.
Oh, no.
You want to hear this.
That's why you really came out here.
To have me talk some sense into you.
The way your dad would have.
I know how it is.
You have your ideas, your information, your strategies.
And it all makes sense up to a few hundred million.
And then you get to a billion and you think: how do I deploy all this? You know? Will it work at this size? Is my analysis solid enough? And where's my edge gonna come from? So you scan the horizon, you throw yourself against the questions, and new strategies, on the new scale, present themselves.
And you just get bigger.
It's the biological imperative for guys like us.
Is it, though? What else would it be? Chasing? When I think about managing, much less making, another billion and not feeling that good about it I just want to go Natalie Wood off the side of this thing.
[chuckles.]
That's another solid reference.
You know your history.
You got some philosophy.
The money that I spent to educate you did not go totally to waste.
The best education, though, is living it.
Don't imagine what it's like to run two billion.
Or five.
Or ten.
Just fucking run it.
Why do you think I staked you? To be nice? That's what school was for.
That's what the Christmas presents were for.
The investment? It's 'cause I saw something.
A work ethic.
Pride.
Hunger.
But now I'm seeing something I don't like.
Contentment? Fear.
The mind-killer.
I'm not afraid, Axe.
Good.
Should I tear up the check? Got it in my pocket.
Maybe not yet.
[water lapping.]
Should we call it? Sure.
[engine sputters.]
[engine sputters.]
Oh.
You're fucking kidding me.
Maybe it's the fuel line? What, on each of the engines? Nah.
We got a short somewhere.
This is Vanquisher.
41 degrees North, 71 West.
[man.]
This is Tow-Ur-Boat.
We read you Vanquisher.
What's your situation? We need a tow.
[man.]
It's a busy day here, Vanquisher.
It'll It'll be a few hours.
Uh.
Keep us updated on your position if you drift.
I'll give you ten grand if you put us at the top of the list.
[man.]
Damn, for real? I would if I could But we're jammed up Make it a hundred.
I need to get the fuck in.
[man.]
Shit, are you are you kidding me? Sorry, Vanquisher, b-both our teams are already engaged on an emergency.
You and your hundred are gonna have to wait.
[dramatic music.]
- Hey.
- Hey.
I've got something, and it stinks of garbage.
I'm inhaling.
We're years into a probe into the City Sanitation Department.
A very interesting set of permits just got expedited.
The beneficiary one Charles Rhoades, Senior.
[dramatic music.]
[keyboard clacking.]
[dramatic music.]
[keyboard clacking.]
[dramatic music.]
Jake Biancarosa.
That's what my ma' named me.
You expedited permits for Charles Rhoades, Senior.
Mm.
That's a little below my level.
I don't personally concern myself with all the paperwork I promise whatever he has on you, we have more.
Okay.
Maybe he's a friend.
[Sacker.]
Would you be here on a maybe? The FBI is diligent, Mr.
Biancarosa, they may build slow, but they build to last.
We really do.
[chuckles.]
Shit, I knew I made somebody following me Tell us how it works [sighs.]
[dramatic music.]
Nothing? Nope.
So, what do you say enough folksy bullshit? I know I'm the only one you cashed out.
[bottle clinks.]
It's truth time, huh? Okay.
Good.
Here's some truth for you: I might take my fund to twice its current size.
Or a hundred.
I don't know.
I might go to zero.
But whatever happens I'm doing it without you.
That was the point.
See, my dad was home enough for me to understand what went on at the office.
Whom he respected.
And, um, that was not you.
When I got old enough, I heard all the stories about how you worked.
And I knew the situation you were in when the towers fell, - before the press even broke it.
- [chuckles.]
But you weren't in a position to move away from me.
No, I wasn't.
And now you are.
It took me years to get here.
And now, I don't want my fund associated with your name.
And, uh, I don't want to be associated with you.
I see.
Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, John.
[dramatic music.]
[engine starts.]
Lookit that [dramatic music.]
[door closes.]
When I was in seventh grade, my father invented an airfoil.
Radical.
Worth millions.
But taken from him by the company he worked for.
He never saw a penny, never got his name on the patent, never got anything except fired, as soon as it was convenient.
They stole his contribution and value.
He never saw it coming.
Never paid attention to where he was vulnerable.
Or to what was stalking him.
Every other manager walking through that door is probably pitching you investment strategy.
Giving you value, small cap, hedge, bond, sector, global.
But they're not paying attention to where you're exposed.
Or to what's stalking you.
- Which is? - [Taylor.]
Death.
Smoke.
Fire.
Explosion.
Seventy percent of your members will be injured in the line, fifty-two percent of their families are going to be owed survivor benefits.
You're gonna beat the Reaper? Your members' bravery and service are their contribution and value.
And if you're not careful, it's going to get stolen.
I know this because my former fucking boss tried to steal mine.
I didn't let that happen to me.
And I won't let it happen to you [dramatic music.]
[Bishop.]
As known to us from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, brothers and sisters, behold.
I tell you a mystery.
We shall not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed in an instant, - in the blink of an eye.
- [sighs.]
Listen, Chuck, I'm prepping my eulogy.
I didn't save you a seat.
I'm sure there's some - standing room in the back - Sorry, Governor, but you have temporarily curtailed my powers by fiat.
I can have them permanently restored by act of the State Legislature.
I have the votes to override you.
How do you have the votes? I have become aware of a torrent of misdeeds crimes actually committed by our State Assembly.
When I made them aware that I was aware there was a sudden willingness to back me.
Yeah.
In return you bury it all.
I can make you a myth, a legend, a man to accomplish the unthinkable: clean up Albany.
Sign off on this grant of executive power.
And sign off on this order, directing me to prosecute Scolari and his cronies.
You will receive full credit.
- [Bishop.]
the Word that is written - Think of it, Governor, you'll be in every New York newspaper, on every Sunday morning show.
For weeks.
Right out of the gate.
[Bishop.]
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
Thanks be to God I guess Jock can go fuck himself, huh? [Bishop.]
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
[all.]
Amen.
[congregants murmuring.]
How fortunate we all were to live in the time of Jack Foley.
One of the last men of might and principle.
He was a Caesar.
And what did they do at the funeral of a Caesar? At the funeral of Gaius Julius Caesar, a man stood at the rostrum and called out criminals and conspirators.
Those in the senate that would sully Caesar's city and dishonor his legacy.
And I come today to do the same.
[congregants murmuring.]
When the people heard what they had done in the senate, they set upon them, tearing some apart, and forcing others from the city.
Now, I have been empowered by my great friend, your August governor not to allow bloodsport, but to bring justice to the venal actors who have betrayed our great commonwealth [dramatic music.]
[congregants murmuring.]
Immunity! I thought we had a deal.
No deal for you, pal.
And we will continue to purge these pews until corruption has been cleansed from the Empire State.
[indistinct shouting.]
Oh, Jack, I hope I have learned well from you, that I have honored you, and that I have given you a proper sendoff [dramatic music.]
Hey, uh, I'm sorry I lost my shit out there.
I-I don't know if I even meant half the stuff I said, it's just you know, you reach a point where you're your own man.
It doesn't matter if someone is your dad or if they knew your dad you just you want to make your own decisions your own way.
- Believe me, I get that.
- I was hoping you would.
And who knows, maybe there's a world down the line where you do come back into the fund.
So, uh, let's keep an open channel.
In case.
For the future.
- [chuckles.]
- John, John I tried.
I really did.
I gave you every chance.
But you didn't know where you were in the fucking hand.
Just like your old man.
Because the part of the story I didn't tell you is: your father may have talked shit about me and the way I went about earning.
But he bit off plenty of big chunks from my sheet when it came bonus time.
And, yeah, sure, while he was a killer gin player at five cents a point, when the partners upped the stakes to a dollar they mopped the fucking floor with him.
Because he was a piker who couldn't handle the pressure when the stakes were high.
And you are a chip off the old fucking block.
Maybe I should take an Uber back to the city.
Yeah.
You do that.
But first, you might want to check your messages.
- [John.]
[chuckling.]
- Wait, you you released a fucking interview bashing my approach You got Birch and Malverne and all those other guys to agree? I didn't 'get them to.
' They just happened to.
[John.]
Holy shit.
I I've had a flood of redemptions.
And yesterday no one wanted out.
[gasps.]
Right when no one could reach you? Ouch Lemme guess, today you are down about seventy, eighty percent on assets under management.
[dramatic music.]
[Axe.]
I'd bet some of your investors thought they were happy Some of 'em probably needed a real shove Problems? Yeah, I suppose I would call them problems.
Operational ones.
Back office ones.
Strategic ones.
Enough for Axe to pull all of his capital It killed him to pull that money.
You read the interview.
And believe me he'd backed this kid from the start [Axe.]
Others I'm betting bolted at the first sight of greener land I'm authorized to cut our fees.
We'll do a nine percent hurdle rate for the first year which means you don't pay a cent until we clear 10% returns if you come over to Axe Cap.
It's a fucking free roll, but it has to be now [Axe.]
And your reputation may not be entirely intact.
Yeah, Sag Harbor PD is going light, but we've seen the photos of him running red lights to Shinnecock with powder on his upper lip.
His wife is going for blood in the divorce At least half.
You want a fund manager occupied with that shit? [upbeat music.]
[Wags.]
Here's your script.
I'm bleeding out.
[dramatic music.]
[chuckles nervously.]
I mean, you you ruined my business, my name I told you never give back the money, kid.
[dramatic music.]
You said you wanted to stay small.
Small enough for you now? [dramatic music.]
[car door opens, closes.]
[engine starts.]
[dramatic music.]
I fuckin' knew you'd do it.
I am glad to have deserved your confidence.
Congratulations.
You got what you wanted.
I know you don't understand I understand it's important to you.
How's the CNC program coming? A few bugs, but it'll be ready when the time for production comes.
[Taylor.]
Good.
I've decided I will help you launch to the production stage.
Would you have done it if you hadn't brought that new money on? I did bring that new money on.
[dramatic music.]
[Wags.]
Come on! Bring it in! - Yeah! Yeah! - Cheers, you fucking brigands.
Another fuckin' drink.
- Hey! - Hey! [all cheering.]
- Yeah! - So, we caught two blues, a few sea bass and a nice striper You know, we did a bit better.
Of Rice's billion, we put 741 million into play [all pounding on table.]
430 of it, including your 100 and change, - came on board - [pounding on table.]
The rest exited and is in the ether "Sorry, Vanquisher, uh, both our teams are already engaged on an emergency.
" [laughter.]
A loss for him was a win for us today.
[all shouting.]
I never thought I'd be part of a real life Wannsee Conference.
[chuckling.]
Or that it would be so much fun.
[laughter.]
[man.]
Livin' on the edge.
Come on.
Let's keep it coming.
[man #2.]
That was some great work on the marine radio.
[Bonnie.]
God, I wish I saw the look on his face.
[man.]
Yeah, yeah! You're back above ground, finally letting the team see your face.
Turns out you and Rebecca were wrong.
But also right.
You weren't making more of it? No, sir.
The thinnest Google search reveals that people are fucking obsessed They want to know what whips I use, what bustier I wear, what Chuck sounds like when he squeals.
I'll admit to wondering about two of those.
Kind of like a stuck pig.
Mm.
Not that one The thing is: as I read it, it stopped mattering.
Stopped really being about me.
Stopped having anything to do with me.
Because I don't know those people.
And they don't know me.
So you snapped the computer shut and moved on? I think you know I did not.
I had Rudy's sad social media password, saw what the Mason Capital folks were saying.
How bad? About what you'd expect.
Gifs, photoshops of my head on Dita Von Teese's body.
- Mm.
- Everyone piled on.
Except Taylor.
Oh.
Taylor stayed above the fray? No.
More than that.
Told them to stop.
That someone my age shouldn't be mocked for getting her kicks however she needed to.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
I guess it makes sense.
After the whole thing broke, they were the only one to reach out.
They reached out? I didn't take their call, of course.
But they tried.
Taylor really did that? [Wendy.]
Yup.
Guess they think I'm so pathetic as to no longer pose a threat.
No, that is the act of an open and evolved person who understands vulnerability Lame.
[dramatic music.]
Taylor? Hi.
I would like to talk I'd like to see you [dramatic music.]
[vehicle approaching.]
[engine shuts off.]
[dramatic music.]
Well.
I got your text.
What the hell are we doing here, Dad? I thought we should celebrate, we both had very big days.
You did it.
Oh, my You went ahead with your project even after I asked you not to.
There's too much heat to get involved in this, Dad.
If you'd whined this much as a baby, I'd've slipped more whisky in your bottle and risked the chance that you'd be a dullard.
- There's no heat, Sonny - [scoffs.]
my permits came back without a hitch.
[sighs.]
Now, listen carefully and learn how I am going - to refill your trust fund - [sighs.]
and how you'll bring my great-grandchildren to this spot and tell them the story of what we did here.
[James Brown's "The Payback".]
Hey Gotta, gotta payback The big payback Revenge I'm mad The big payback Got to get back Need some get back Payback Payback That's it Payback Revenge I'm mad You get down with my girlfriend
Previously on Billions Foley is going to come forth.
With what he knows about me.
About us.
Foley is terminal.
He didn't see a doc until it was everywhere.
So I'm proud of all of you put through college by the memorial foundation so far.
[Senior.]
Elysian Fields.
This development is my legacy.
This would be a disaster and create a possible scandal.
It's all you say it is, Dad.
Let's do something with this.
I in my private life in the confines of my happy marriage with my consenting wife practice sadomasochism I am done hearing you talk.
By day's end, you will be the presumptive Attorney General of New York goddamned State.
Congratulations, Chuck.
Can't wait to work together.
[dramatic music.]
[James Brown's "The Payback".]
Hey Gotta, gotta payback The big payback Revenge I'm mad The big payback Got to get back Need some get back Payback - Payback - The big payback That's it Payback Revenge I'm mad You get down with my girlfriend That ain't right Whoo Thank you, Anthony.
It's such a treat watching you work.
It's good to love what you do.
- Enjoy, guys.
- Thank you.
[Axe.]
Mmm.
Man.
So, to our new AG.
- [chuckling.]
Oh.
- Long may he rule.
- Bravo.
- Thank you.
Uh It's an honor all around Wendy's first night out in a month.
Well, the chance at a perfect pizza in total privacy was too much to pass up.
Privacy? If the only way I could eat this pizza was naked, in the middle of Times Square, I would.
- [laughter.]
- Yeah.
You would.
You might even prefer it.
The problem is, you'd be sure to undress me, too.
Whether I wanted it or not.
You're doing this, here? You did it.
It's really only the ones we love, huh - That make you want to kill them? - Hmm.
Exactly.
See.
Yes.
But even that you know the story ahead, there's no starting from zero for me anymore.
- Used to be.
- [Chuck.]
Mm.
Mm.
I could say: I'm Wendy.
Go from there.
I could add Rhoades, and to someone in finance it meant one thing, to someone in government another.
If I'd say Dr.
Wendy Rhoades, it meant something else.
Still holds.
All that still holds, yeah Or I could say: I work at a hedge fund - [Chuck.]
Uh-huh.
- and we're off in a different direction.
[Wendy.]
But I was the one to decide the what and when.
Build a relationship.
Now? They just know all of it.
Everybody does.
Chuck was in a tough spot.
Yeah, there wasn't many moves he could make to win, - so he chose the one - Yeah.
He did.
He chose.
And now I can't walk down the street.
And I'm no longer a blank slate for the guys I'm supposed to treat, inspire, change.
There's this giant thought bubble just sitting there between us.
And it features me with whips and chains.
When I misplay something publicly and I feel like everyone's staring at me, I take comfort in this fact: most people are self-absorbed narcissistic assholes.
So they might revel in your shit for a minute, because it distracts them from theirs.
But after that minute, they're gonna forget about you, just go right back to their own shitpile.
Thank you.
What do you say we start at zero? Deal.
- [Wendy.]
Bobby - [Axe.]
Hmm? This is what's known as a keeper.
- I'm gonna go have a few drags.
- I'll join you.
[soft music.]
- It'll blow over.
- Yeah? I dunno.
She's been that angry at me before.
- What'd you do to fix it? - Uh Few million dollars, an Italian sports car, a piece of the profits, and I stopped suing you.
And to be honest, she was still a little pissed.
- For a long time.
- Yeah, so, I dunno.
You'd do the same again, exactly as before, even knowing her anger.
As you, too, would have stayed the course.
Mm.
You know, people think guys like us don't care about the consequences of our actions.
- We do care.
A fuck of a lot.
- Yeah.
Yet still we forge on.
As we must.
Mmm.
Good.
- Mmm.
- Eat up.
I need you strong for tomorrow.
Got another project for you.
[laughing.]
Ah.
The ask.
Well, I did earn your seat, much as you did.
- Forge on.
- [clears throat.]
Taylor Mason.
A Wall Street scalp.
Should be just like old times for you.
Financial crimes against the People are always of interest.
And for you, I'd love to and I will.
But, uh, while Jack Foley rode the pale horse before I could take my vengeance, I've got other names on my hit list I don't intend to let escape so easily.
You can do your thing but you gotta do my thing.
Mm-hmm.
Well, I just got rid of Grigor, - which hurt Taylor financially - Yeah.
Not bad enough.
I want them in a fucking cell.
[dramatic music.]
I see.
Do you know if Taylor's even done anything illegal? Never stopped you before.
[Senior.]
My master work, Biancarosa.
But I need my sanitation permits.
Mixed use development.
Sixteen new buildings, four of them so high I know, I read your brochure that when you're in the penthouse, God looks up to you.
And you know all we have to do to get started [Biancarosa.]
Hey.
We need to take those expectations down a notch.
[Biancarosa.]
The old price isn't the new price.
To do all this I'm gonna need thirty.
I'll find you the money.
[dramatic music.]
[Senior.]
But I need those permits.
[dramatic music.]
[vomiting.]
[exhales heavily.]
[toilet flushes.]
[water running.]
[faucet squeaks, water turns off.]
I never wanted Grigor Andolov's money.
I lobbied against it once.
But then I took it on.
And it sustained us like an internal organ and now, without it, we're gutted.
And it's not just about his money.
When our reduced AUM goes public, our investors will be wondering about our stability and flowing out with him.
I still look at you like Vincent Vega did Jules Winnfield the smartest and toughest fella in the room.
Thank you, Mafee.
But I really don't need people telling me how smart I am.
I don't feel very smart at the moment.
I built a turbo engine here and the nitrous tank blew up in my face.
So we've learned that lesson and now: we do the thing you do best.
Both of you.
Go invest in undervalued equities.
Let me do the thing I do best: create the most helpful environment in which for you do it.
- Yes.
- To that end, I have made a move.
Investor Relations.
You know how Winston Wolfe solved dead body problems? This one solves dead balance sheet problems.
Is she super young, early 20s, - too hip for this business? - Mm.
In that case, I think she's already here [clears throat.]
[Hammon.]
Welcome, Lauren Lauren Turner, this is Taylor Mason, your boss.
Pickle juice? Best hangover cure I have found.
[chuckles.]
And I have searched.
Don't worry, this is not where I shine.
This is where I store up energy so that I can shine later.
What What do you need, boss? A Grigor-sized replacement.
Those don't exist.
Not for you.
- Not today.
- [Taylor.]
Fuck.
- Don't sugarcoat it.
- I'm ready to kill.
Just not sure who There aren't a lot of institutions allocating right now.
Not in the ten-figure zip code.
I can think of one.
Right here in the City.
Bravest, you know? The New York Firefighters Fund.
Axe's firefighters? They were.
But not lately.
They are allocating up to three point one billion from the pension and health fund.
And are currently hearing pitches.
- Is that correct? - It is.
And they'll never touch him again.
You are Axe by association.
Go make them.
[dramatic music.]
[clears throat.]
[dramatic music.]
[Axe.]
Johnny-Boy! How's the fund? We're crushing it like Richard Petty did Daytona.
That's an age-weighted reference for my benefit, isn't it.
Noted and appreciated.
And your wife and We just had our second kid, another boy, three months ago.
Yeah.
Yeah, I, uh - You sent a gift, don't worry.
- Good.
Now, I know you're positive on the quarter, so what's up? Yeah.
Returns are solid.
So I, uh, wanted to come by and say thank you.
For backing me, putting me through B-school Of course.
Of course.
Your dad, rest in peace, he would have done it.
And I see you give back to the Foundation And for backing me, with your capital and your endorsement when I opened up my own place.
Well, a smart kid like you wouldn't come work for me, you know, I had to find some way to keep a little piece of you.
[chuckles.]
Well, I am happy to make it pay off for you.
[dramatic music.]
102 million.
Your initial investment compounded net of fees with a profit of 17 million.
You're cashing me out? My redemption period ends tomorrow.
I wanted to clean things up, bring it over myself.
To say thank you.
In our business, people never give back the money.
So why are you giving back the money? You know, most people are happy when they're handed a hundred million-plus.
You grew it, so that's why I want you to keep it.
And I'm I'm thrilled I'm grateful that I, uh, had the opportunity to do that for you.
Talk Talk more.
About how that gratitude results in you spitting my capital back in my face like Furiosa did to Nux in Fury Road.
An age weighted reference.
Noted and appreciated.
Uh huh.
Axe.
You know that I wrestled back at Princeton.
Sure, used to get the updates from your mom.
Well, I I crushed it my sophomore year, 197.
Then I lifted all summer, I came back as a heavyweight my junior year, I was bloated and overconfident, and I got smashed.
This is that: My assets under management went over a billion.
I don't want the same thing to happen.
So, a few more stops today paying out gains and I'll be back to where I want to be: in my weight class, nimble.
[dramatic music.]
I don't think this is advised.
[chuckles.]
Come on.
I'll be fine.
And, again, thank you.
I need to know who else this kid cashed out.
And why.
'Ae, Kimo.
Tell the staff not to clap when I come in today, Donna, let's just get to work.
I know they're gonna want to celebrate it.
But, uh, it's not dignified.
No clapping.
Really - In Japanese lore - Ah! Fuck me the shinobi, descended from a half-man, half-crow, could slip into the shogun's palace and open his radial artery while he slept.
The lord would exsanguinate before he knew he was cut.
Bryan.
I can see you clear as day.
Your suit is blue, not black.
You already cut me and I'm still standing.
Next time it'll be my turn.
What do you want? I come in the spirit of cooperation, Chuck.
I know you're gonna be sending me your most choice, high-resource cases, and I wanted to ensure a smooth handoff.
Thought we might even discuss some of the finer points in person.
I can't imagine I'd be sending you anything but a hearty 'how's my ass taste?' As you must surely know, since you are loitering outside my chambers, and those of an elected official at that.
Have a good first day.
And if you change your mind about those cases, you sure know where my office is.
[dramatic music.]
[elevator bell dings.]
[dramatic music.]
[telephone rings.]
[clears throat.]
[sighs.]
You guys may have taken this whole 'no clapping' thing too far.
I took a pay cut and came over here from SDNY specifically so I could punch some wrong-doers in the face.
No one's stopping you.
Who's stopping you? The State of New York, which ironically grants the AG very few powers by statute.
Yes.
But the rest of my armament is granted by executive order.
As in the governor Well apparently he woke up with morning wood and decided to jam it right up our hind quarters.
[T.
.]
I went to file for a records subpoena on Taylor Mason like you asked, and the clerk refused to issue it.
Seems we have no authority at all, currently.
I know where this started.
Half-crow, half-cowboy, all sonofabitch.
- Who else? - I've been checking around.
I haven't gotten answers from all parties yet - Who else? - This is something you should really let me be thorough on.
- Rush to judgement's no good here - Wags.
No one.
You're the only one John Rice cashed out.
- Fuck.
- I'm sorry, fré.
You being 'sensitive' is intolerable.
- Stop it.
- [Wags.]
Oh, thank God! Let me do it.
Let me loose the hounds of hell on this ingrate, this near-millennial scumbag.
I will flay his skin from his bones and I won't stop until [scoffs.]
Is the idea that if you get here real early and don't turn the lights on, no one will come looking for you? Oh, did I forget to turn on the lights? No.
You didn't forget.
I didn't.
Yet you walk in.
Well, I need you.
Something you should have thought about before taking Chuck's side.
Oh.
I was taking your side.
'Cause it's not healthy for you to be in a place of shame or disgrace.
No reason to.
This all hurts you, actually.
How am I supposed to do what I do? [Axe.]
No way.
This makes you better.
This makes you more of an exotic species they need to impress with their alpha dog energy.
[scoffs.]
This office isn't where we talk about me.
But thank you.
Now John Rice.
Kid walked in here and handed me back my money.
Only you? No.
Not what he said, but yes.
Is it the rejection or the embarrassment? Normally, a guy takes what I consider to be an aggressive line against me, I cut him down like the Mongol hordes.
But this time you don't feel the hot anger, the need to destroy.
[Axe.]
Oh, no, that's still there.
But it's not the top note.
I don't know what's going on.
I It's Oh.
Some sensation.
[dramatic music.]
You're suffering an actual emotional wound.
That's why you don't know what the fuck's going on.
Your feelings are involved.
I don't traffic in those much.
[soft music.]
[exhales heavily.]
There's a world in which this is all your fault.
Enraged but listening.
What did you, if not promise, then at least pledge to him? You know I take care of school.
He was already in college, his dad had set aside money for that.
- I did B-school.
- What else? Well, to be there for him.
Well.
Be a stand in.
An ear.
A shoulder.
And have you? All you really offered him was money, when what he needed was a mentor.
A bit of personal connection.
[laughing.]
Did he expect me to take him to the ballgame and the fucking zoo? [dramatic music.]
You know this is about Taylor, right? This feels like that to you.
Like one of your kids spurned you.
And through your anger, what you're really wondering: is if it's all your fault.
Huh.
You may be right.
And now I know what to do.
[dramatic music.]
Well.
We need you here.
Upstairs.
And in this room with your door open and your lights on.
Rebecca was right.
You've made this thing bigger than it is.
Just like you and John Rice.
No.
Because I know what he thinks.
And what he did.
You have no idea who's talking about you.
Or if anyone even is.
So either you confront it head on, or let it go.
[scoffs.]
But don't keep giving it power over you by staying in the dark.
[dramatic music.]
- [door creaks.]
- [Chuck.]
Thank you.
They were supposed to have it hung by start of business today, - but they fucked it up.
- Welcome to state politics, Bob.
I know why you're here.
I thought we were looking forward to working together.
Ah.
That's just something you say on election night.
What do Jock Jeffcoat and his disciples have on you? This isn't about me, Chuck or you.
This is about the People.
Jock threatened to go Federal on my ass.
Freeze funds, delay funds, yank funds.
Unless you yanked my powers? So, what was I supposed to do? Uh.
Fight harder.
You're the governor.
They're your people.
Be their fucking champion.
Stand up for the blessed sovereignty of the States versus the Fed.
That's why we bowed and scraped to get these fucking jobs.
Wow.
It sounds so good when you say it.
But I'd rather be the guy that didn't run out of money to keep the streets clean and safe in his first week.
I'm sorry that leaves you impotent, Chuck.
But you'll get used to it.
[keyboard clacking.]
I've got the lattice grid fin prototype Machined it myself.
Once I caught the harmonic frequencies on the lathe, the cuts got finer.
It'll hold up to wind tunnel tests, I just need to rent the tunnel to be sure.
Here Materials.
Equipment.
Expenses that need to be covered to get us to a place where aerospace firms will be believers.
Buyers.
Not the best time.
I'm trying to get money flowing in not out.
- Why? - Because it's been flowing out.
Flowed.
Like a geyser.
Why is that such a problem? I'm not being simple.
I want to understand.
I need size.
To do what I do.
The margins on the trades are small so we rely on the amounts being big, to pull down real profit.
I'm not interested in being boutique.
I didn't want to say, because I'm impressed with what you've built.
And the culture.
But there are other things you can do at the highest level.
Not just make money.
This is about your old boss Axelrod, isn't it? About making more money than him? That's right.
More than anyone else on the Street too in absolute returns.
And to do it again next year.
And the year after.
I get it, you're a competitive animal.
I guess I didn't expect such machismo from you.
I might find your effort at exploring my true purpose a little more affecting if it didn't feel like the purpose you wanted me to pursue instead was yours.
Sorry.
I'll keep refining the CNC program until you're ready.
[door opens.]
[door closes.]
[indistinct conversations.]
[telephone rings.]
[John.]
Axe.
Hey.
Uh I know why you gave the money back.
I fucked up.
Should have done more than said hi each time I checked in on my account.
Please.
[clears throat.]
Your father.
He was a mentor to me at the old firm.
I was supposed to stand in, try to fill that role for you Yeah.
Not that anyone could.
- He used to take you fishing.
- [John.]
Yeah.
Sun Valley.
Fly fishing for, uh, rainbows and monster browns.
Yeah.
What about salt water? You ever do that? - Out in the deep water - Dad? No.
Never.
Strictly, uh Strictly rivers.
Let me take you.
Let's hit it.
Yeah.
Okay.
When? - Now.
- Axe Stripers aren't running, but we can still chunk for them.
And blues are always a great fight.
All that to get me to keep your money? Nah, forget about that.
That's done.
You make plenty of money, I make plenty of money.
This is about doing right.
About re-upping a job I slacked on.
Come on, let me do what I pledged to do.
As your father did for me.
Come on.
[chuckles.]
Okay.
Yeah.
Fuck it.
[bag rustling.]
Don't remember you ever actually shopping, Dad.
My little blue helper.
I can't send the girl to pick it up.
Hard to explain when your mother confides in her that we haven't coupled since Tony Orlando last charted.
No son should hear that kind of You should, Sonny.
Look around.
What do you see? Pantyhose and deodorant.
Before there was a Duane Reade on every corner, this, and places like it, is where history got made.
This was Toots Shor's place.
Chaplin came in for the steak.
I once witnessed Shor himself drink Jackie Gleason under the table.
But more importantly, half the Albany power brokers enjoyed cocktails and rubbed shoulders with mobsters and Broadway stars in here.
This is where you met Black Jack Foley.
Right there.
At the bar.
And you dragged me over here to, what? Uh, pour one out for him? That's not why Dad, I'm pretty fucking busy.
Are you? Because as I understand it, - you've been spayed and neutered.
- Well, I plan to Whatever it is, it won't be enough.
[sighs.]
The first time that I met Foley, he told me about this alderman who could barely tie his own shoes.
Rumor had it he was inbred.
But Jack Foley had it in his mind that the mayor of Utica needed to be replaced wasn't toeing the line, so to speak.
Let me just skip to the end.
So Black Jack took this idiot alderman and made him mayor.
Oh, you are awfully smug for a man with no real clout.
Anyway, one day, as I'm getting out of the car, they are cutting the grass across the street from my country place And you know who is pushing the mower? The former mayor.
Yes.
Of course he is.
I'm in it, Dad, trying to get back my authority.
Aim higher! Don't just get your juice back, Sonny.
Send a fucking message.
The Mayor wasn't toeing the line, so Foley made him a lawn boy.
You've got to show them what you do with power.
Now, for longer than he was your enemy, Black Jack Foley was in your corner.
So take this one last lesson from him Make them fear me.
Your vengeance, your whim, your everything.
[dramatic music.]
[chuckles.]
Jock Jeffcoat couldn't keep me out of office.
But now he thinks he's found a way to keep me from that office's powers.
He doesn't just think it.
He did it.
So what are we gonna do? I want you to look into the State Assembly.
Start with Joe Scolari and his cabal of senior legislators.
The ones who really pull the levers of hydrodynamic shit in Albany.
I never mind snaking through the sewer pipes, but with our legal powers currently curtailed We're not building a legal case, not right now.
Just I need you to get what you can and I need you to get it quickly and quietly.
Does it need to stand up in court? Eventually.
But for now it just needs to be true.
Do it.
[dramatic music.]
Uh, Wags? Smoother? Any difference? This thing's supposed to zap wrinkles.
Yeah, you look like Benjamin Button.
So, Rudy what was the name of that, um apparatus he had? Ah, the fleshlight.
The repository for all of the sadness of the male world.
And whose model was it? I believe he had the Lisa Ann.
She is a first ballot hall of famer.
You buying someone a gift? You're password hunting.
I need to look at his social media.
Rudy's? He'll be the easiest to get into.
I tried to get a keystroke log from IT, but they erase every two weeks Chuck opened up a part of my private life when he made that speech.
Made me vulnerable.
Any employee's vulnerability is a threat to Axe Cap and our business.
So I need to know what our enemies are saying.
They're saying plenty.
Other firms.
I went down a rabbit hole.
But Rudy is in contact with our chief enemy, so 'Password is no longer valid'.
He changed it.
May I? Nicole Aniston.
Blair Williams.
No.
Wait.
Cory Chase.
If you're a Lisa Ann fan, you're a Cory Chase fanatic.
She's a national treasure.
Oh, hey uh, Benjamin Button at the beginning when he's old and crusty, or at the end when he's got the baby smooth skin? Right?! [car door closes.]
[sea gulls squawking.]
[sighs.]
Rods and bait are on board [exhales sharply.]
We gonna do this right? Won't get any service out there anyway.
[Lou Reed's "Vicious".]
Vicious You hit me with a flower You do it every hour Yanks are making some good moves Oh.
Fuck that.
Let's talk about the real stuff.
Your Dad.
You know, I used to get my ass out of bed at 4:30 every morning.
No matter what, he always beat me to the office.
One morning, he's yea deep slinging Asian long bonds yelling at everybody to bring him a coffee, not realizing it was only 6am and no one's in yet.
- No one but you.
- Fuckin' right.
So you made him coffee? What am I, his secretary? Oh.
He didn't drink the office swill anyway.
I went out for it.
Light and sweet.
He was impressed that I'd paid attention to the stuff that didn't matter because of course it matters.
Everything fucking matters.
So I should pay attention to the details? And watch your six.
Same rules for investing, cards - And women - Exactly He was a hell of a gin player.
The partners would play for five cents a point, and he'd rough them all up.
I used to love watching that.
You got your meeting with the smoke eaters.
- How? - [Lauren.]
Johnny Utah's.
You wanted to know.
So, shots and a mechanical bull? And my group of pretty, personable young friends, yes.
Those are the raw materials, but what I make of them is the art.
And I suddenly understand why I now employ an IR person.
Now, onto the meeting itself, a bit of forewarning.
Everyone is getting a half hour.
We got ten minutes.
The last slot before the board breaks up for the season.
It's a mercy fuck.
These guys didn't want to see you because you came up under someone they hate.
If they buy MaseCap, it'll be because you sold them a better story.
A story about you that they like more than they hate Axe.
[dramatic music.]
[door closes.]
[dramatic music.]
[elevator bell dings.]
Where is everybody? - Conference room.
- On what Whatever it is, I'm not needed.
- And neither are you.
- Or you'd be in there.
[scoffs.]
I think you might have forgotten to You will be called when and if needed.
Here's what we're gonna do.
Times of tragedy call for silence and sustenance.
Hear hear.
And what I want to add is Times of tragedy call for silence and Well, we will all miss Black Jack.
He was like a father to me.
He was the type of man I always wanted to be.
A breed that has been dying And now has died.
This is a real loss.
But it's also a new day.
For just as he was not your father, his vendettas do not live past him.
You are free to vote your conscience and your interests.
And to once more embrace me.
[exhales sharply.]
Especially when to do otherwise would not be in your interests.
Some conscientious members of my investigative team have collected this list of misdeeds by the State Assembly.
- I see - Mm.
- This is unfortunate.
- It is.
Especially since you're on it.
Now, I can go and build all these cases and hand them to the press and the Feds The US Attorney himself greeted me on my own steps my first morning inviting this.
Or, if you will substantiate this information, I could take a different path.
Ignore these violations by you and your closest confederates so long as you all vote to restore my powers.
Times of tragedy call for [Scolari.]
Yes.
Silence and sustenance.
And a new spirit of cooperation.
[reel clicking.]
Okay.
Keep on him.
Keep on him.
Where is he? - [John.]
Here we go.
- [Axe.]
You got him.
Oh, he's fighting.
He's a fighter.
[John grunting.]
Get him tight on the line.
Bring him in.
Good.
He's a beaut! - Bring him in.
- Yeah, he's fighting All right.
You got him? I got him.
Whoo! Aah! Nice.
- [Axe.]
Oh, my God.
Look at that.
- [John.]
Yeah! - That's huge.
- [grunts.]
[chuckles.]
- Whoo! [laughs.]
- Nice fish.
You want to eat him, or let him go to fight another day? Throw him back.
Ah.
A true sportsman.
[groans.]
[water splashes.]
- Want a beer? - Yeah.
[bottles clink.]
Ahh.
You know, before you call timeout, you might want to check with Chris Webber.
Sometimes, there are none available.
Mm.
Here we go.
Oh, no.
You want to hear this.
That's why you really came out here.
To have me talk some sense into you.
The way your dad would have.
I know how it is.
You have your ideas, your information, your strategies.
And it all makes sense up to a few hundred million.
And then you get to a billion and you think: how do I deploy all this? You know? Will it work at this size? Is my analysis solid enough? And where's my edge gonna come from? So you scan the horizon, you throw yourself against the questions, and new strategies, on the new scale, present themselves.
And you just get bigger.
It's the biological imperative for guys like us.
Is it, though? What else would it be? Chasing? When I think about managing, much less making, another billion and not feeling that good about it I just want to go Natalie Wood off the side of this thing.
[chuckles.]
That's another solid reference.
You know your history.
You got some philosophy.
The money that I spent to educate you did not go totally to waste.
The best education, though, is living it.
Don't imagine what it's like to run two billion.
Or five.
Or ten.
Just fucking run it.
Why do you think I staked you? To be nice? That's what school was for.
That's what the Christmas presents were for.
The investment? It's 'cause I saw something.
A work ethic.
Pride.
Hunger.
But now I'm seeing something I don't like.
Contentment? Fear.
The mind-killer.
I'm not afraid, Axe.
Good.
Should I tear up the check? Got it in my pocket.
Maybe not yet.
[water lapping.]
Should we call it? Sure.
[engine sputters.]
[engine sputters.]
Oh.
You're fucking kidding me.
Maybe it's the fuel line? What, on each of the engines? Nah.
We got a short somewhere.
This is Vanquisher.
41 degrees North, 71 West.
[man.]
This is Tow-Ur-Boat.
We read you Vanquisher.
What's your situation? We need a tow.
[man.]
It's a busy day here, Vanquisher.
It'll It'll be a few hours.
Uh.
Keep us updated on your position if you drift.
I'll give you ten grand if you put us at the top of the list.
[man.]
Damn, for real? I would if I could But we're jammed up Make it a hundred.
I need to get the fuck in.
[man.]
Shit, are you are you kidding me? Sorry, Vanquisher, b-both our teams are already engaged on an emergency.
You and your hundred are gonna have to wait.
[dramatic music.]
- Hey.
- Hey.
I've got something, and it stinks of garbage.
I'm inhaling.
We're years into a probe into the City Sanitation Department.
A very interesting set of permits just got expedited.
The beneficiary one Charles Rhoades, Senior.
[dramatic music.]
[keyboard clacking.]
[dramatic music.]
[keyboard clacking.]
[dramatic music.]
Jake Biancarosa.
That's what my ma' named me.
You expedited permits for Charles Rhoades, Senior.
Mm.
That's a little below my level.
I don't personally concern myself with all the paperwork I promise whatever he has on you, we have more.
Okay.
Maybe he's a friend.
[Sacker.]
Would you be here on a maybe? The FBI is diligent, Mr.
Biancarosa, they may build slow, but they build to last.
We really do.
[chuckles.]
Shit, I knew I made somebody following me Tell us how it works [sighs.]
[dramatic music.]
Nothing? Nope.
So, what do you say enough folksy bullshit? I know I'm the only one you cashed out.
[bottle clinks.]
It's truth time, huh? Okay.
Good.
Here's some truth for you: I might take my fund to twice its current size.
Or a hundred.
I don't know.
I might go to zero.
But whatever happens I'm doing it without you.
That was the point.
See, my dad was home enough for me to understand what went on at the office.
Whom he respected.
And, um, that was not you.
When I got old enough, I heard all the stories about how you worked.
And I knew the situation you were in when the towers fell, - before the press even broke it.
- [chuckles.]
But you weren't in a position to move away from me.
No, I wasn't.
And now you are.
It took me years to get here.
And now, I don't want my fund associated with your name.
And, uh, I don't want to be associated with you.
I see.
Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, John.
[dramatic music.]
[engine starts.]
Lookit that [dramatic music.]
[door closes.]
When I was in seventh grade, my father invented an airfoil.
Radical.
Worth millions.
But taken from him by the company he worked for.
He never saw a penny, never got his name on the patent, never got anything except fired, as soon as it was convenient.
They stole his contribution and value.
He never saw it coming.
Never paid attention to where he was vulnerable.
Or to what was stalking him.
Every other manager walking through that door is probably pitching you investment strategy.
Giving you value, small cap, hedge, bond, sector, global.
But they're not paying attention to where you're exposed.
Or to what's stalking you.
- Which is? - [Taylor.]
Death.
Smoke.
Fire.
Explosion.
Seventy percent of your members will be injured in the line, fifty-two percent of their families are going to be owed survivor benefits.
You're gonna beat the Reaper? Your members' bravery and service are their contribution and value.
And if you're not careful, it's going to get stolen.
I know this because my former fucking boss tried to steal mine.
I didn't let that happen to me.
And I won't let it happen to you [dramatic music.]
[Bishop.]
As known to us from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, brothers and sisters, behold.
I tell you a mystery.
We shall not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed in an instant, - in the blink of an eye.
- [sighs.]
Listen, Chuck, I'm prepping my eulogy.
I didn't save you a seat.
I'm sure there's some - standing room in the back - Sorry, Governor, but you have temporarily curtailed my powers by fiat.
I can have them permanently restored by act of the State Legislature.
I have the votes to override you.
How do you have the votes? I have become aware of a torrent of misdeeds crimes actually committed by our State Assembly.
When I made them aware that I was aware there was a sudden willingness to back me.
Yeah.
In return you bury it all.
I can make you a myth, a legend, a man to accomplish the unthinkable: clean up Albany.
Sign off on this grant of executive power.
And sign off on this order, directing me to prosecute Scolari and his cronies.
You will receive full credit.
- [Bishop.]
the Word that is written - Think of it, Governor, you'll be in every New York newspaper, on every Sunday morning show.
For weeks.
Right out of the gate.
[Bishop.]
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
Thanks be to God I guess Jock can go fuck himself, huh? [Bishop.]
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
[all.]
Amen.
[congregants murmuring.]
How fortunate we all were to live in the time of Jack Foley.
One of the last men of might and principle.
He was a Caesar.
And what did they do at the funeral of a Caesar? At the funeral of Gaius Julius Caesar, a man stood at the rostrum and called out criminals and conspirators.
Those in the senate that would sully Caesar's city and dishonor his legacy.
And I come today to do the same.
[congregants murmuring.]
When the people heard what they had done in the senate, they set upon them, tearing some apart, and forcing others from the city.
Now, I have been empowered by my great friend, your August governor not to allow bloodsport, but to bring justice to the venal actors who have betrayed our great commonwealth [dramatic music.]
[congregants murmuring.]
Immunity! I thought we had a deal.
No deal for you, pal.
And we will continue to purge these pews until corruption has been cleansed from the Empire State.
[indistinct shouting.]
Oh, Jack, I hope I have learned well from you, that I have honored you, and that I have given you a proper sendoff [dramatic music.]
Hey, uh, I'm sorry I lost my shit out there.
I-I don't know if I even meant half the stuff I said, it's just you know, you reach a point where you're your own man.
It doesn't matter if someone is your dad or if they knew your dad you just you want to make your own decisions your own way.
- Believe me, I get that.
- I was hoping you would.
And who knows, maybe there's a world down the line where you do come back into the fund.
So, uh, let's keep an open channel.
In case.
For the future.
- [chuckles.]
- John, John I tried.
I really did.
I gave you every chance.
But you didn't know where you were in the fucking hand.
Just like your old man.
Because the part of the story I didn't tell you is: your father may have talked shit about me and the way I went about earning.
But he bit off plenty of big chunks from my sheet when it came bonus time.
And, yeah, sure, while he was a killer gin player at five cents a point, when the partners upped the stakes to a dollar they mopped the fucking floor with him.
Because he was a piker who couldn't handle the pressure when the stakes were high.
And you are a chip off the old fucking block.
Maybe I should take an Uber back to the city.
Yeah.
You do that.
But first, you might want to check your messages.
- [John.]
[chuckling.]
- Wait, you you released a fucking interview bashing my approach You got Birch and Malverne and all those other guys to agree? I didn't 'get them to.
' They just happened to.
[John.]
Holy shit.
I I've had a flood of redemptions.
And yesterday no one wanted out.
[gasps.]
Right when no one could reach you? Ouch Lemme guess, today you are down about seventy, eighty percent on assets under management.
[dramatic music.]
[Axe.]
I'd bet some of your investors thought they were happy Some of 'em probably needed a real shove Problems? Yeah, I suppose I would call them problems.
Operational ones.
Back office ones.
Strategic ones.
Enough for Axe to pull all of his capital It killed him to pull that money.
You read the interview.
And believe me he'd backed this kid from the start [Axe.]
Others I'm betting bolted at the first sight of greener land I'm authorized to cut our fees.
We'll do a nine percent hurdle rate for the first year which means you don't pay a cent until we clear 10% returns if you come over to Axe Cap.
It's a fucking free roll, but it has to be now [Axe.]
And your reputation may not be entirely intact.
Yeah, Sag Harbor PD is going light, but we've seen the photos of him running red lights to Shinnecock with powder on his upper lip.
His wife is going for blood in the divorce At least half.
You want a fund manager occupied with that shit? [upbeat music.]
[Wags.]
Here's your script.
I'm bleeding out.
[dramatic music.]
[chuckles nervously.]
I mean, you you ruined my business, my name I told you never give back the money, kid.
[dramatic music.]
You said you wanted to stay small.
Small enough for you now? [dramatic music.]
[car door opens, closes.]
[engine starts.]
[dramatic music.]
I fuckin' knew you'd do it.
I am glad to have deserved your confidence.
Congratulations.
You got what you wanted.
I know you don't understand I understand it's important to you.
How's the CNC program coming? A few bugs, but it'll be ready when the time for production comes.
[Taylor.]
Good.
I've decided I will help you launch to the production stage.
Would you have done it if you hadn't brought that new money on? I did bring that new money on.
[dramatic music.]
[Wags.]
Come on! Bring it in! - Yeah! Yeah! - Cheers, you fucking brigands.
Another fuckin' drink.
- Hey! - Hey! [all cheering.]
- Yeah! - So, we caught two blues, a few sea bass and a nice striper You know, we did a bit better.
Of Rice's billion, we put 741 million into play [all pounding on table.]
430 of it, including your 100 and change, - came on board - [pounding on table.]
The rest exited and is in the ether "Sorry, Vanquisher, uh, both our teams are already engaged on an emergency.
" [laughter.]
A loss for him was a win for us today.
[all shouting.]
I never thought I'd be part of a real life Wannsee Conference.
[chuckling.]
Or that it would be so much fun.
[laughter.]
[man.]
Livin' on the edge.
Come on.
Let's keep it coming.
[man #2.]
That was some great work on the marine radio.
[Bonnie.]
God, I wish I saw the look on his face.
[man.]
Yeah, yeah! You're back above ground, finally letting the team see your face.
Turns out you and Rebecca were wrong.
But also right.
You weren't making more of it? No, sir.
The thinnest Google search reveals that people are fucking obsessed They want to know what whips I use, what bustier I wear, what Chuck sounds like when he squeals.
I'll admit to wondering about two of those.
Kind of like a stuck pig.
Mm.
Not that one The thing is: as I read it, it stopped mattering.
Stopped really being about me.
Stopped having anything to do with me.
Because I don't know those people.
And they don't know me.
So you snapped the computer shut and moved on? I think you know I did not.
I had Rudy's sad social media password, saw what the Mason Capital folks were saying.
How bad? About what you'd expect.
Gifs, photoshops of my head on Dita Von Teese's body.
- Mm.
- Everyone piled on.
Except Taylor.
Oh.
Taylor stayed above the fray? No.
More than that.
Told them to stop.
That someone my age shouldn't be mocked for getting her kicks however she needed to.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
I guess it makes sense.
After the whole thing broke, they were the only one to reach out.
They reached out? I didn't take their call, of course.
But they tried.
Taylor really did that? [Wendy.]
Yup.
Guess they think I'm so pathetic as to no longer pose a threat.
No, that is the act of an open and evolved person who understands vulnerability Lame.
[dramatic music.]
Taylor? Hi.
I would like to talk I'd like to see you [dramatic music.]
[vehicle approaching.]
[engine shuts off.]
[dramatic music.]
Well.
I got your text.
What the hell are we doing here, Dad? I thought we should celebrate, we both had very big days.
You did it.
Oh, my You went ahead with your project even after I asked you not to.
There's too much heat to get involved in this, Dad.
If you'd whined this much as a baby, I'd've slipped more whisky in your bottle and risked the chance that you'd be a dullard.
- There's no heat, Sonny - [scoffs.]
my permits came back without a hitch.
[sighs.]
Now, listen carefully and learn how I am going - to refill your trust fund - [sighs.]
and how you'll bring my great-grandchildren to this spot and tell them the story of what we did here.
[James Brown's "The Payback".]
Hey Gotta, gotta payback The big payback Revenge I'm mad The big payback Got to get back Need some get back Payback Payback That's it Payback Revenge I'm mad You get down with my girlfriend