Billions (2016) s06e10 Episode Script
Johnny Favorite
1
- Previously on Billions.
- The 2028 Games can no longer be held in New York City.
He had to remind me that he took from me.
Now it's time to take back.
He'll come charging right at you.
We need to wave something to get his attention.
That park is the perfect target.
He's coming after all the Vandeveld Park keyholders.
Someone needs to advocate for the people who actually pay taxes, and on this one, that's me.
I need you to write a letter to the New York Senate requesting a special session to vote on his removal.
State Attorney General Rhoades has used his seat of power to wage personal vendettas.
- Aye.
- Aye.
- Aye.
- Charles Rhoades Jr is hereby removed as attorney general of the state of New York.
I am not actually shot dead in my trench.
Close your eyes, Chuck.
It's over and done.
And with heavy hearts, we raise our glasses to a man who led this office so intrepidly.
Chuck, I'm just sorry this couldn't be a proper beefsteak sendoff, but Oh, I'm off red meat anyway.
Well, as long as you never lose those carnivorous instincts, we, the people, still need them.
Well, I'm not sure what good they'll do me now, but You, Chuck Rhoades, reminded us how to take on great foes and forces without fear or concern for oneself, and you leave us fortified to continue on in that same spirit.
Hear, hear.
We'll miss you, Chuck.
Now I'll have to actually do my own case work.
Well, I'll miss the mission, and all of you.
The whole place.
Even the Barney Miller coffee.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, guys.
You okay? - Of course, why? - Just a feeling.
Maybe it's the calling that's a problem.
I want to see too.
What are you doing this week - er, this weekend.
- Uh You can.
Just got to Telemark.
By Saturday, I'll be on a portaledge.
We're trying to beat Papert's record.
- This is your second attempt? - Third.
You want to come with? Be a good-luck charm? I'm seeking the exact opposite of an icy ledge and suspension ropes.
Tempting.
But I'm solid with my plans.
So we're here again.
We're not anywhere.
You're not being punished.
If the snow hits early, I can have you helicoptered from Yukon to Oslo.
I'm a call away.
Am I going to see you with a microphone taped to your lapel, sitting next to Anderson Cooper in the Toobin seat? Ooh, it has to be bad luck to call it that.
And, no, I don't think that's where I'm headed.
Public service of another sort.
A different elected office.
Or a podcast, maybe.
Building an audience seems to be the best moat anyone can manufacture these days.
- And since you were sidelined - I'm on the sidelines.
But the verb form, it fails to accurately capture the force with which I was ripped from this office.
This is no coach's DNP.
This is a putsch.
And despite what I said to the room, in the spirit of bonhomie, you have to know that I we are still very much engaged in this fight for the soul Well, no, I am engaged.
No doubt, it's my job to be.
And as you did, I have to move the office forward in my way.
And I handpicked you for this.
I saw a rough diamond with jeweler's eyes.
You said it was with a tailor's eye.
I did indeed, yes.
Point stands.
Change is hard.
No one expects you to be happy with this.
Or content.
But enjoy the valedictory.
This is a celebration of you.
Yeah.
Like a wake.
- Get in, Rhoades.
- When you rendition someone, it's better to cuff and rope them before the talking starts.
Otherwise, they may take off running.
Oh, you try running in those wingtips, you'll fall on your ass like Buster Keaton.
At which point we can get to the binding and so forth.
Thanks for the offer, guys, but, uh Chuck, we have your things.
A plan has been made.
We're taking you to Rundas Lodge.
Fresh air.
Delicious vittles.
And vigorous bodywork.
I was going to stroll across the bridge.
Take a contemplative constitutional through a crumbling city.
Feels more appropriate than lounging in some spa.
No, you can take your constitutionals when you're in the nursing home.
- Get in the damn car.
- Don't make us drug you.
Now, all phones in the GoDark bag.
Signal blocking, off the grid for the duration.
Not happening.
Oh, I'm working the shit out of this puppy to find the next perch from which to exact my revenge.
All that will be there after.
I encourage you to do the reset.
It's why we're here.
No, I'll reset the fuck out of myself phone in hand.
Well, if one guy has his phone, that ruins it.
Fine.
And you're reimbursing me for the GoDark bag, son.
Hmm.
Rhoades has been felled, but not finished.
- I would like to talk about next - I don't.
Don't want to talk about that.
You want to talk about the spoils.
The theory is, you must reward yourself after a victory.
It strengthens the subconscious to lay it all on the line in the next battle.
Without it, an autonomic weakness sets in for which even iron discipline cannot compensate.
Understood, on a visceral level.
Even without all the science-y words.
Hell, I don't even wait for a win.
That's just debauchery.
I spoke with Andy.
She's not free.
But what Scooter was describing I think is even more important for the troops than the general.
- They'll be fine.
- No, no, no.
They need to eat the dragon's heart, to taste it.
Really? This group? Especially this group.
There's no other way.
Is that some sort of code for a hard reboot, or a? Call an all-hands meeting.
Night after tomorrow at the house.
Pull! Crap.
They break when they land, if it's any comfort.
Being a wiseass is unbecoming for a member of the bench.
And this choke is faulty.
Sure it is.
Pull.
Wasn't ready.
Only a fool says "pull" if he isn't ready.
Too much pulling in your room last night.
Watch and learn, boys.
Pull.
I think I nicked the second one.
- Oh, bullshit.
- Clean misses.
Pull! Whoa! A double! You're in the zone! I just picture Prince's face on the clay, and the pellets seem to find it.
Obsession focuses a man.
I am obsessed with helping you rebrand and refocus, Chuck.
We think you need a position, a power base to operate from.
We don't want to see you spiral out going after revenge.
Chief Counsel at a defense contractor.
Now, that is the kind of money that wipes the stain of any failure away.
You can strategize about Prince along with me, or we can shoot in silence.
Because the idea that some fresh air and mud baths could change who I am or what I stand for is laughable.
Chuck, we don't want you to change entirely.
But some growth, some effort No, uninterested.
Try, for just a moment, being the kind of man who might sit on the highest court in the land.
A listener, a considerer of all possibilities.
Consultants, lobbyists.
These people wield more power than you ever had.
- We have a list.
- He can't.
Like a leopard can't change its spots.
And that's not just a cliché.
It's true.
You shave the coat, the spots are still there, right down to his fucking hide.
I'm heading back to make some calls.
Well, you're going to look desperate.
No.
Activated.
Motivated.
Not desperate.
It's different.
They'll see that.
And maybe try throwing your guns at the clays, you might actually hit something.
Ehh.
Our custom is to pick up, say hello.
I am tired of explaining Olympic sponsors' down payments are non-refundable.
You took a shot and missed.
Go copulate with yourself, you cheap-ass fuck.
I hope that wasn't your pastor.
Now, I have come here to actually help you.
Is this a setup? Like with a boy? Because I don't think you and I have the same taste.
Setting you up to win that congressional seat.
Call this number.
He is the best at digging up shit on people, far better than the other side'll have.
You need to see what he unearths on you.
On me? I thought the idea was to find shit on the other side.
First things first: Know thyself.
I appreciate it.
I do.
Um, but my closet's bare.
Not a skeleton to be found.
Please.
Anyone with a five-figure 401K has hidden shit they've forgotten about, or never even knew about.
Once you're in the race, it won't stay hidden for long.
You can get ahead of yours, or wait till the other side splatters you with it.
Your call.
Pretty sure my call is not making this call.
Then yours won't be much of a race at all.
How great's your book doing since you got it back? I'm not ashamed of it.
Yeah, you feel good about it, don't you? You know, some religions think that the egg is the symbol of the soul.
- Did you know that? - Does this make sense? "DAOs are Internet-native organizations collectively run and owned by their members.
" Or should I add: "an exclusive pipeline into crypto"? Do you know where I can get High John the Conqueror root in New York? I want to try it - and see if it - Whoops.
Someone's down the Angel Heart rabbit hole.
I am, way down, and it is truly fucking with my sleep-wake homeostasis.
When you watch it end to end, over and over again, it actually gets less clear.
It starts to slither through your mind like a cinematic human centipede.
You could, and I'm not just saying this because Mickey Rourke is, well, Mickey Rourke.
Just stop watching.
Yeah, but I have to prove my theory that everyone is a Harry Angel or a Johnny Favorite.
Ugh, some of us are Lisa Bonet trying to make the world forget Denise Huxtable existed.
Philip seems to be creating a real "leader of men" vibe on the floor.
Why I'm staying in here.
I have something for you, if you have the bandwidth.
Heads up.
We're closed tomorrow.
Whole operation.
That's really more a me decision than a directive from up on high.
There's an all-hands tomorrow night at Prince's.
So, no, it's not.
Office is to remain empty tomorrow while everyone gathers their thoughts.
And the subject of this all-hands is? Known upon arrival.
All other questions, please submit to "Oh, right, we don't give a shit.
" We'll see you there.
Okay, then.
What was all that? They've been living on borrowed time in another man's memories.
It's just so much better when we parallel play.
I appealed to them and I implored them, but the answer is no.
No service until the party is fully seated.
I did get drinks.
Parochial fucking posture.
We have Chuck declared legally dead, and in ten minutes, we are sawing into bison rib eyes.
Agreed? I'll get him.
I understand.
Again, I understand.
But I'd like to meet in person to tell you what I plan to do about it.
Mm-hmm.
And I await word from your office.
- Jesus Christ.
- We're eating.
Well, we're not eating.
We're waiting for you so that we can eat.
Ira, what I have an appetite for won't arrive on a plate.
I know, buddy, but sitting up here seething's no good for you.
You've been dinged.
You have no momentum.
No one's going to touch you right now.
I'm aware, but the last time I felt like myself was on the floor of that chamber.
Win or lose, it's where I belong.
So why can't you act like my Chuck Bodak and close my cut so I can answer the next bell? Sometimes a good cornerman throws in the towel when his fighter is too game but overmatched.
Oh, don't you dare.
Look.
They won't serve the table until we're all seated, and I don't look forward to any of our crew in a hypoglycemic state.
Five minutes, and you get your food, and then I'm back to the phones.
I want to tell you something.
This gristle is as good as anything I've ever ingested.
Sorry, Chuck, I snagged your seat.
I didn't know you'd be joining us.
- A surprise to us all.
- Oh, I doubt that.
Sure, there might have been some rhyme to my reason.
Oh, yeah, your father called me in to offer you my array of special therapies.
NADs to lengthen your telomeres.
And that's the fountain of youth, my man.
Or if that's too exotic for you, how about some PRT "platelet replacement therapy"? I'll just give you a shot in the scalp, you'll be looking like Oscar Gamble in three months.
Or blast you in the cock, now you're Jeff Stryker.
I can remake you into whatever man or woman that you want to be, cookie.
I'm in need of neither detoxification, nor concierge medical cocktails.
Mm.
I'll be the judge, jury, and executioner on that one.
And I've already rendered my verdict.
- Look at that pallor.
- Oh.
We're just going to fire up your frank and beans.
You're going to be like mnh-mnh! Why don't you listen to the Doc, son.
We all could use a little modern-day Geritol.
- Especially you.
- Nope.
No time.
I have to get back to the room.
I'm glad you've got your repast.
Just, uh, have them send mine up.
I see, now, why why are you in in such a hurry to get back to your room? You got yourself a wonderful lady up there? Huh? If so, the Doc has a special, uh Calls, Dad.
Making calls.
I told him to give it a rest.
He doesn't listen.
Can adults be colicky? No.
Wait, what do you think that means? Wait, cranky, out of sorts, like you are right now.
I'm not colicky.
Out of sorts, I'll allow, sure.
And a little cranky.
Fuck.
Give me a Binky and a blankie and a bottle, please.
Bartender, can I get a boilermaker? Only instead of beer, can you throw baby formula in that tumbler? You always cheer me up, Mafee.
So glad you could switch our weekly to tonight.
Tomorrow, I have to go to an all-hands at Michael Prince's house.
That sounds maybe threatening? I don't know.
Is he going to fire the entire place? Not sure.
Maybe I'd be better off.
Remove the engine limiter.
Because as is, he neutralizes certain of my moves, for reasons only he's privy to.
I'd offer you a spot at High Plains, - but we can't afford to pay you.
- Oh, no? What about your million in crypto from Axe? You must have arbed it ten, fifteen X.
- Where's it at? - Don't know.
Don't know how much? I don't think about it.
What the fuck does that mean? You didn't think about how much you could have made with a million bucks of free electric lightning on a drive? I didn't.
Mafee, you could have turned that 15 times, 20.
- Okay.
- Okay? It is very much not okay.
It is with me, and it's my money.
So I left it alone.
If I had gotten in the game with gifted coin, with something that just landed in my lap, I would have started obsessing, you know me.
I would have tried to figure out every single possible move until no other move was possible, and then figure it out more.
It would have owned me, instead of me owning it.
And I don't want to be owned like that.
I don't understand how that can make you happy.
Look, I know the theory.
It's immoral to let a sucker keep his money.
And the market is the sucker.
But the whole snorting Cymbalta and grinding, it just wasn't making me happy.
Is it making you happy? Wags said you'd let yourself in.
I have your self-research.
Some campaign advice too.
What's that? Don't run.
Your life, your family's lives will be upended, twisted beyond recognition.
Win or lose, you'll never get it back.
I have to run.
Good.
Only kind of person who should.
Why two? This is the one anyone can get.
This is the one only I can.
So, you're the one, aren't you that helped Axelrod beat us every single time? All that matters is, I'm on your side now.
It's a good thing you're in the private sector.
At least I know I'm not getting rousted.
I should roust your paternalistic self anyway.
Little intense, Kate.
Notch it back a notch and a half or so.
Maybe if you'd let me fail once or twice, I wouldn't have to bring it like this, but this wasn't your way, was it? Why fail when you don't have to? Well, this is about a time where I should have, in boarding school.
- You were a superstar there.
- I was.
And as I'm sure you remember, I ended up engaging in a bit of civil disobedience which ended up in the storming of the admin building.
What I remember is that it was peaceful until you hurled a paperweight through a pane glass window and the whole place went up Do the Right Thing -style.
Nothing burned.
Nobody died.
And I was never embarrassed about my part in it.
I knew there would be consequences, and I was willing to face them.
Well, one must be willing when one performs civil disobedience.
The risk is what makes it hard to do.
And you did pay the price.
You were suspended for, what, two weeks? Yes.
Yes, I was.
And that was it.
Which was strange, because some of the other kids had notes put in their files, and their colleges bounced their acceptances because of it.
Not me, though.
Which I thought was because of the ways that I contributed at school student government, sports and theater and all of it.
That is why.
You paid the headmaster's mortgage off, in cash, so she wouldn't send a note to college, and they wouldn't rescind my admission.
And I'd do it again.
You were right to protest.
And you earned your way into school.
The end.
Folks with a much longer tenure at the seat of power and influence have been doing this stuff for generations, to people like us.
Why wouldn't we safeguard our own forward progress? Yours? This isn't about me, Kate, or what I did.
You don't care about any of that.
You're distracting yourself, worrying about the externals, about all the things outside of yourself that are impacting your life.
Grow the hell up and realize the only thing you can control is you.
And next time you surprise me, bring a cake and some candles and get ready to sing me a goddamn song.
I see we're both of the Jimmy Conway school.
Early to the meet.
Yeah, well, me more than you, it seems.
How goes it? There's a psychological term for thinking that once you see someone do something, you can repeat the action, unaided.
Dunning-Kruger, sure.
Spyros is a walking example of it.
- Except for coffee.
- Yeah.
Inflated self-assessment.
That's him, except with the beans.
Wild, though.
Seems the less you know how to do something, the more you're willing to believe you can accomplish it.
The flip side is that optimists live longer than pessimists, and aren't as easily dissuaded from learning things.
At the early stages of learning, yeah.
But when things get hard, that's when pessimists put shoulder into sled and push, because to them, everything is difficult.
So exertion is the only reasonable choice.
Like most things, what you want is to be able to control your emotional range enough to trigger whichever is more useful in the micro-moment.
Do you do this consciously? Did you build this consciously? Oh, this is fun.
Is this what we're doing here? Well, we're here to investigate, that's for sure.
Yeah, it's fun as fuck.
Maybe almost as fun as the state senate session was for you.
The Albany Massacre.
So that's why you summoned me, to upbraid me for taking out Chuck.
No, not at all.
But I am fascinated by the choices you made to do it, how you did it, why you did, why you did it the way you did.
And I will need answers.
But not for the reasons you think.
Why, then? You asked me a while back to do the real thing with you, to sharpen your blade.
And maybe your moves got me to the place where I'm ready to do that.
What's the source of the maybe? Why isn't it a firm? Because you haven't answered my questions yet.
- You haven't asked them.
- Oh, well as Pitbull said, "Get ready, 'cause here I come.
" The immersion chamber is my journey into isolation and emotional resets.
- Hmm.
- A series of colored lights and soft but urgent sounds will surround you.
You don't close your eyes, you simply watch and let the experience flow over you.
- Chuck.
- Hmm.
I feel like a 12-year-old again, but before my pet dog died.
We should put this in everyone's house.
I think we'd end all strife, wars, and conflict.
That's what everybody says the first time they do magic mushrooms too, but somehow the wars and strife just seem to keep on going.
Perhaps you'll solve that problem today.
We find this process refreshes and renews the mind.
It's very Altered States.
So, uh, a naked Blair Brown will come save me from my homunculus self? Was that the first Chayefsky reference around here? How can that be? All right, you know what? Let's just get in.
There's a red panic button, but you won't panic.
- You'll be safe the whole time.
- Uh-huh.
And I'll be monitoring your progress.
You're not alone, but you're completely isolated.
It's comforting.
Just try and stay present.
See you on the other side.
This isn't an intake.
This isn't about meds.
It isn't patient/client.
This is a performance coaching session.
That work for you, if that's my focus? It all works for me in your hands.
That something you're used to? Putting yourself in someone else's hands? Depends on the grip.
But, yes, I can delegate.
I can relinquish control.
I can free myself of the yoke.
- I can trust.
- Then why didn't you relinquish control of the state senate session? Trust that it would get done without your presence.
Define "it.
" It wasn't enough for you to take down Chuck.
You needed to be there to watch it.
Is that for vengeance? Certainty? Credit? Voyeurism? Ah, so this is a reaction to what I did to your ex? - Are you? - You did what had to be done, with an efficacy that made me curious enough to want to engage with you here.
That, plus the all-hands, tells me you are evolving into the next version of who you are.
The question is why, to all of it.
I needed to be there to make sure it happened.
Yeah, sure, you needed to be behind the scenes.
But instead, you let yourself be seen.
Photographed, even.
No one knew how powerful Robert Moses was till he was long gone.
That was from a time when behind-the-scenes power meant more than power displayed.
That's all changed now.
Credit must be logged.
Yeah.
Yes.
The show of personal force recalibrates expectations.
Not only in the public sphere, but here as well.
My power in this place was never in dispute.
It's more than that.
It's the one-two punch: Albany, now the all-hands.
Yeah, sets them up for a knockout.
- Who? - Everyone.
Well, it sure got everyone here rattled.
I just heard Prince is behind Chuck Rhoades going down.
If he could do that to Rhoades, none of us is safe.
You shouldn't believe rumors like that.
Right.
He's not the kind of man who would How would he even? Fuck, you're right.
All-hands or a coronation? Either way, executions are a-coming.
He wasn't just there.
Prince did him, is what I heard.
How would Prince have "done him"? It's state senate vote parliamentary procedure.
Sure.
And Dr.
Fowler was a suicide.
Anyway, we can meet at my apartment at the open to organize ourselves against whatever grilling he's going to give us.
- We were gonna watch a movie.
- Angel Heart, obviously.
You, too, Rian? I didn't mean to get sucked into his insanity, but then I started watching, and it's so weird and nihilistic, and I think maybe perfect.
We've just about figured out what the fans mean.
They seem to start spinning at the strangest times.
But, yes, tomorrow.
We'll be there.
Obviously.
We're working.
You're not a man who does things by accident or who relies on fate, so you knew the effect your actions would have.
Want to tell me what you were hoping the employees would feel? I was thinking about Chuck.
I was thinking about my broader outside agenda, about Motherfucker! Whoa! Yeah.
It's an old carny trick picked up by behavioralists.
Breaks the pattern.
Now say the words that you've said to yourself but don't want to say out loud for fear they will mark you an egoist or a fool.
Good.
This is good.
This is all good.
Stop trying to prolong it so you can think of what to say and say the words.
The Prince Cappers, most of them still at heart, are holding back.
They know I'm formidable They don't truly fear you.
And they're aware of how good I am, but - But you need their respect.
- Most of all, I need them to Ah.
Oh.
Love.
You want to be loved.
It's easy for a man like you to get one of those.
I need all three.
I don't like to admit that, but it's true.
It's what I demand.
Hey, fucking Richie.
Fucking Richie.
Hey, fucking Richie.
What do you mean, who? It's Ron.
Yes, Ron! Ron fucking Chestnut! The big fucking R, kid.
- Damn it.
- What did you think, it was your ex-wife's fucking divorce lawyer honking at you? What? Honk! Honk! Honk! Pay up, douchebag Huh? Oh.
Hold on.
Yeah, I I I see your little sign, dear.
Sir, for the experience to be its most efficacious, silence is absolutely needed.
Oh, well, I am almost done with my call.
And it's almost my turn to get all efficacious up in there anyway, so - Hey, buddy, you done? - He has 12 minutes left.
No, I think I can afford to give it up.
You need it more than I do.
Call you back.
Funny guy, huh? Yeah.
Thanks all the same.
Ahem, so, uh, what do I do now? I strip? A little tighty-whitie action? No, sir, fully clothed.
Ew.
Boo.
Color me disappointed.
- You okay? - All right, hit it.
Whew! Oh, it's like a fucking kaleidoscope! It's a very cool sensory experience.
Is this all it does? Very, and maybe it'll work on him? I just hope he doesn't break it.
Look at this.
Let me take a video.
Hey, this is me! This is me inside the peyote machine! I can see how losing the Olympics would put you in a, uh, vengeance and consolidation of power mode.
- That tracks.
- I agree.
Yeah, especially with the bribery and dirty dealings required to have gotten the Games in the first place.
That's the first time you've stepped out of line.
- Back it up.
- If I back it up, it's out the door.
Gone, baby, gone.
I don't work with people who hold back from me.
You wrangled.
Manipulated.
Pressured.
Extorted.
Paid folks off.
And I'm okay with that.
I'm fine with someone like you doing that which is required.
That's not the problem.
- But there is a problem.
- Yeah.
- What's that? - You're a fucking liar.
Worse, the person you tell the biggest lies to is yourself.
You spend so much time twisting yourself up into knots trying to make yourself believe that your aim is true and noble and good.
You almost make yourself believe it.
You wanted a burning bush to tell you that what you did to get this hedge fund was good and right.
All you have is your own conscience burning.
Please.
The guy who was here before me - No.
- Yes.
We're gonna talk about this.
He wasn't similarly called? You don't think the voice of power whispered to him and said, "Do it all, have it all"? You want to know? Axe wanted freedom, total and complete.
And the other guy, Chuck, he wants he needs a righteous war, and you gave them both exactly what they asked for.
No, I didn't give Axe his freedom.
I paid for it.
And you want to know why Axe is satisfied with freedom? Why Chuck is priapic for warfare? Why conquest and victory is enough for them? Because they are lesser Caesars.
You want to be a greater Caesar? What are you going to do with all that power? Pax Romana.
I'm going to manifest it.
And you're going to help me.
The name plates are already changed.
You work faster on this shit than Patton updating the stars on his jeep.
But I was too slow to get you on the "no fly" list at security.
I'm guessing you're here to establish a détente.
A détente would presume that we're still at war.
Skirmish is over, so let's just, uh how would you say it? Keep the lines of dialogue open.
And when I dialogue with you, what are we talking about? It's ironic, me here you there.
That was supposed to be my chair.
If I had have stayed, I'd be sitting there.
If you had stayed, Michael Prince would have had no idea how to remove Chuck.
See? Ironic.
- Sure.
- I understand you not wanting to give me a heads-up on how you're steering the office.
I wouldn't.
Maybe you're coming after us.
But, uh, maybe you're sitting there and you're seeing what I saw.
That the world is more than billionaires and the people who hate them.
That you can prosecute the real inequalities.
The ones that don't put you in the crosshairs of my current boss.
Because? Say the rest.
You came here to say it.
The lever that got Chuck out still exists.
Yes, it does.
I don't know what my next move is.
But I can tell you this.
You knew what Prince was planning for Chuck, and you played on all our weaknesses to make it happen.
You used everything you could to manipulate me.
I blame Prince, but I also know you knew, and you knew better, and you let it happen.
So no, I won't give you the heads-up.
We won't be talking.
You're not welcome here, because either you always were, or you have become exactly who I want to send to prison.
I did what I had to do.
I thought we'd both be used to that by now.
Glad you finally joined us for a meal.
A man has to eat, as you like to say.
He does indeed.
You hurt it shooting? No, it's just stiff.
I fractured it punching a wall in frustration when I lost a Supreme Court appeal on a death penalty case back in '99.
An innocent man was executed that day.
Ricochet from a Waterford crystal tumbler I threw against the wall when I made and lost over 200 million in one day.
Ice Juice.
Well, nothing to show by lifting my shirt, but the knife wounds are there, believe you me.
Jeffcoat and the U.
S.
Attorney job? Yeah.
That was a body blow, to be sure.
But it was one professional to another, and I got my licks in later.
No, the more recent purge is the one I'm going to be healing from - for some time to come.
- And Prince, that fucker, was there to watch the whole thing go down.
- Ouch.
- You know, the one that still stabs me in the balls was a simple procedure.
Decorum dictates that I can't say her name, but you all know her by her laugh.
You know who I'm talking about, sugar, right? The grand dame outlived her nemesis Johnny Carson, only to croak on my table.
Oh, shit.
That was the first time they took away my license, the fuckers.
Why are you so quiet? You only book wins? Nah, the calluses are so thick he just can't feel anything, one way or another.
I was king.
I was the king of New York once.
I had so many properties.
Manhattan, Midtown, uptown, the Bronx Three dozen, maybe more at the time.
Was I supposed to go around myself, checking the sprinklers in all of them, making sure they worked? The fire doors unobstructed, unlocked, not chained against a rash of break-ins? My property managers were supposed to do it.
There were hundreds of those doors in the buildings that I owned.
Like the Partido Lounge.
Oh, shit, the fire.
Yeah, Dad, you don't have to Place went up like a goddamned Roman candle.
Carlos Guzman.
That was his name, the monster.
Soaked rags in kerosene and turned the place to ashes because his ex-wife was there with her new boyfriend.
Sirens screaming all night long, 20 different engine companies, ambulances, the fucking meat wagons for the bodies.
Later, I, uh, sat there in the courtroom when he received his sentencing.
His eyes were black.
Lifeless.
He was the guilty party in all the ways.
So 502 souls went into the club that night, 423 came out.
The fire took the rest.
Anyway, Carlos Guzman got 25 to life.
And you know who was on the front page of the Post, the Times, all the papers the next day? It wasn't him.
It was me.
So you think you have me all figured out? Yeah.
It's what I started to say before.
For you to succeed at being whatever it is you want to be Caesar, Carnegie, Teddy fricking Roosevelt you need to stop lying to yourself.
- I do not lie.
- You do.
And some of those lies you'll probably keep telling.
The lies of kindness, lies to maintain power, lies to keep things calm.
Big lies, even.
And maybe that's fine.
But inside, you can't.
- And why not? - Because it's getting in your way.
You don't want to be an emperor because it's good for other people.
You want power because you like power.
Because it feels good in your hands.
Because you can't imagine anyone else deserves it more than you do.
But if you lie to yourself about it, you'll do real harm with whatever power you get.
Every generation there's maybe three people like me.
Why should I waste being one of them? Because out of those three, every 30 years, nine every century, 90 every millennium, maybe one fucking guy doesn't fuck the world up the ass when he actually gets the reins.
Someone has to sit in that seat.
So I ask myself, am I the one in a thousand years? And my answer is a full-throated yes.
Let's not forget about you and what you want out of all this.
Me? What do I want, besides to do my job and do it well? You tell me.
My guess is something significant.
Because if not, that means you're a rubbernecker, a ticket buyer to the freak show, some kind of pervert.
Why else would you saw someone's skull in half, lift it up and look inside? So which is it, A or B? I guess I just don't know.
And after all that talk about not lying to oneself.
I'm not lying to myself.
I'm lying to you.
What are you talking about? That's my cock.
I'm guessing it was a teacher.
No, but, like, in all seriousness You may recognize him.
Anyway, our good man suffered a reversal, - and we had to pull him away.
- Men's weekend.
Can you even say that anymore, or does it have to be, like, "Gendered persons"? Diana's celebrating the one-year anniversary of her divorce.
I grew up in lake country, so that's why we came.
These guys came with me, and it's a real blast of nostalgia.
Let me, um Let me check your pulse.
Are you really a doctor? That's all we keep saying.
"Are you really a doctor?" It's completely fresh and organic pet food.
Is that right? Private equity money must be lining up.
It's not just a business.
It's my passion.
Three hots and a cot, some oily rubdowns in the spa.
You know what I said? I said, "I'm fucking in.
" Get me out of here.
You're all a shitty crowd.
- Ladies.
- Yeah? I, um I believe I glimpsed you earlier, and it is high time that my friends and I buy you a round.
Oh, we're fine, thank you.
That's not very friendly, is it? She said no, thank you.
I wasn't talking to you, funny guy.
- Fuck, man! - So sorry, sir.
These shoes cost more than your house.
Do you even have a house? Why are we letting people like you into our country? Behold the American aristocrat, Ronald Chestnut.
Yeah, Ron, that's right.
I caught your name earlier.
And Ron is a person who confuses wealth with class, and money with character.
Of course, this country wasn't built on money.
It was built on work.
Honest, hard work, which is why that man is more American than you'll ever be.
Oh, it looks like you want to swing on me.
- Oh - Yeah, I bet! But we both know you won't, because I not only caught your name, I ran it too.
So I know you're on parole for unpaid child support and an embezzlement charge.
That's right, ladies, there he is.
Fancy pants deadbeat, quite a patriot.
Bet you're kicking yourself for turning him down.
So you can take that swing, go ahead.
But if you do, you'll be collared for fighting, for drunk and disorderly, because you're undoubtedly both, and you'll go back inside for the rest of those four goddamn years you owe.
Let's get out of this shithole.
I thought I was going to be doing some suturing tonight.
It's a good thing my credentials still work in the database.
Got to love the government.
Shit, there's no denying it, the way you came alive just now.
Was a thing of beauty, my boy.
No matter what we want.
It's who you are.
You see a bully, you have to step in.
And you do it better than anyone else.
Like I keep trying to tell you, it's just how I'm built.
All right, now that we've gotten the group hand job out of the way, who's up for a drinking game? It's called Viking, and it's very easy to play.
- All right, I'm game, - I'm the Viking.
I got the two rowers on my side.
- If you don't row, you drink.
- Is that the Viking? Just easy with the questions, please.
I'm just trying to explain the game, so - Hey, hey.
You leaving? - Mm.
But Anne seemed pretty impressed with how you handled that guy.
You hang in, you may get lucky.
Oh, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be luck.
Oh, if you say so.
No, I realized something, Ira.
Beyond my place in the world, and you said it.
Prince showed himself in Albany.
He didn't have to.
You know, once everything is in motion, he could've gone and let the floor fall out from under me.
But he came to watch, which shows he loves the blood sport.
And someone who loves the blood sport can be induced into another fight.
One where he's at the disadvantage, a fight that he is going to lose.
- How are you going to do it? - I don't know.
Not yet.
Have a good time.
I'm going to take that constitutional now.
- I was rowing.
- No.
Are you fucking Fine, fuck me.
Oh, boy, here we go.
Round four, ready? I'm the Viking, I'm the Viking.
Who's rowing? - I am.
- Okay.
Oh! Nice.
We're about to break the vase and see whose dog tags are inside here.
Can't tell if we're gonna get made or get clipped.
- That's what makes it all - Horrifying? I was gonna say exciting, but you got to do you.
Someone sets out to slay a dragon.
It takes a while.
It's a journey.
A quest that gets sidetracked, delayed, there are wins and losses along the way.
This person is a leader, and behind them is an army, making sure that when they do get to the dragon, it will die.
Is this an all-hands or a meeting of the Tolkien Society? And finally, it's just the knight and the dragon, and the knight isn't sure how it's going to go.
Wouldn't be a quest of any worth if it didn't have risk.
It's an epic fight.
The sword finds its home, and the dragon dies.
But that isn't the end.
I killed the dragon that was Chuck Rhoades.
You may have become aware, and it may have disturbed you.
But all of you guarded the castle while I was gone.
You rode with me when you had to.
You protected me from any threats.
There's a reason why the killing isn't the end of the story.
The real end is when you eat the dragon's heart, passing it around so everyone can taste freshly slaughtered power.
You get the most power from the hearts of your enemies.
Yes.
And since dragon hearts are hard to come by Here you are.
and something a little more delicious than blood.
Whoo! My victories are our victories.
My wins are your wins.
And dragons aren't the only creatures that should fly, so you're all getting a Wheels Up membership, plus a hundred K in flight credits, on me.
Please welcome Questlove DJing the night.
Put on your red shoes And dance the blues Let's dance To the sound they're playing On the radio Let's sway While color Lights up your face Look at this.
He converted them.
He fucking got them all.
They fucking love him.
Shit, that was the plan all along.
They're ready.
For what? I'll run with you Yeah! And if you say "hide" We'll hide Hold on.
Here, come on.
- Bingo.
- Where's Chuck? No idea.
He never came back to the bar.
Well, you were supposed to hit him with a cocktail to cure what ails him, and instead you're walking off with the prescription.
I can give him the cushion, but I ain't doing the pushing, Big Papa.
Well it's not going to ruin my night.
Me neither.
This is a classy touch.
Isn't the whole thing pretty classy? No, but that's good, you know? You did it right, honestly.
I mean, I'm sure you hate it, but the lights are off and, like, nobody seems to be judging each other.
Nothing is stuffy or formal.
You found the vibe.
Good.
Enjoy.
You're not into it, are you? Parts.
I'm not sure it matters.
Open your mouth.
That is what you think it is.
I took one earlier.
You may not be the kind of person who does this, so you can spit it out, and I'll pretend not to see.
Or - Appreciate this.
- Hey, man.
It's a moment, Mike.
Moment that deserves the real songs.
The night demands it.
Absolutely.
You got a request? You know, I'm the best at what I do.
That's why we're here.
You're the best at what you do.
That's why you're here.
- You pick them.
- It's an honor.
Ready? Coming.
My turn.
Hi.
- Did you call the guy? - I did.
I know exactly how they'll come after me.
As a hypocrite.
I am someone who says I believe in what is good and fair and right, and not in accruing power, but who has constantly sought to use power in her favor.
And has accrued quite a lot.
It's an easy spin.
We put you into play using your power for others.
Our friend Michael Prince has set a shining example - of exactly that.
- Oh, he has.
And I see how well it works on everyone.
So you're ready? Not yet.
Not now.
No, this is where I'm meant to be.
Plus, I got you guys on my side now.
I'm good, right? Yes.
You are.
I know the manuscript is late, but it's worth it.
I'm I'm sending you the last chapter now.
Well, I had to figure out how it ended.
I just spent the whole day doing that.
Rock Freeze Rock Freeze Rock Blow Higher, baby Get higher, baby Get higher, baby And don't ever come down Freebase This is Uomo nel Presente.
Man in Present.
- Amazing.
- Grazie.
I see how much it's hitting you, Tuk.
Why don't you finish it? Me? Prego.
Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Oh, fuck, did I do that? It's okay.
Its purpose was to exist for one night only, and then Okay, what is that supposed to represent? The ephemeral nature of joy and a reminder to embrace it when you have it.
I mean, I get the idea that something exists temporarily.
What was I supposed to care about, the temporary part or the art part? It is lacking a certain narrative consistency.
Mm-hmm.
We could leave.
Find some together.
I just can't fall in love with someone I work with.
And I know me, or at least I know me when this sort of situation happens, not that I've been in this sort of situation, but I've been in something where It's a smart choice.
See? I was right.
Prince is Johnny Favorite.
He actually knows who he is.
You really don't understand that movie.
The fans.
The fans are spinning when evil is present.
Wow.
I see it all now.
If the Earth were to be swallowed by a black hole, it's entire mass would be reduced to the size of a quarter.
Everything inside the black hole is outside our knowledge.
We can theorize that it exists, but we can never be sure.
We know it is infinite.
Like breath.
Close your eyes, and though you may have heard it many times, focus on each breath.
Knowing that breath goes on forever, count them until you reach a million.
Then go beyond that until you reach a billion, an almost incomprehensible number.
You never will reach it, because by the time you do, you will have stopped counting.
Which is the whole idea.
You good? - You sleep okay? - Absolutely.
Good.
Let's go! I got a nice shot of penicillin for anyone who needs it.
- No need for me.
- Yeah, me neither.
Already had one.
What the hell did you run off to do last night, check your voicemail? You don't know how to have any fun.
- Worked out for me, though.
- Look, I cannot believe you actually went and hired a bunch of I did nothing of the sort.
That nice lady, Anne, and her friends are what is known in the trade as civilians.
Where is your mind at, sonny? Well, I guess my mind was thinking back over your history.
Whatever, get me back to the city, because you may have brought me up here with a plan in your heads, but I'm the guy leaving with one now.
Yeah.
This is just what I needed, and I know just what to do.
So let's roll.
- The 2028 Games can no longer be held in New York City.
He had to remind me that he took from me.
Now it's time to take back.
He'll come charging right at you.
We need to wave something to get his attention.
That park is the perfect target.
He's coming after all the Vandeveld Park keyholders.
Someone needs to advocate for the people who actually pay taxes, and on this one, that's me.
I need you to write a letter to the New York Senate requesting a special session to vote on his removal.
State Attorney General Rhoades has used his seat of power to wage personal vendettas.
- Aye.
- Aye.
- Aye.
- Charles Rhoades Jr is hereby removed as attorney general of the state of New York.
I am not actually shot dead in my trench.
Close your eyes, Chuck.
It's over and done.
And with heavy hearts, we raise our glasses to a man who led this office so intrepidly.
Chuck, I'm just sorry this couldn't be a proper beefsteak sendoff, but Oh, I'm off red meat anyway.
Well, as long as you never lose those carnivorous instincts, we, the people, still need them.
Well, I'm not sure what good they'll do me now, but You, Chuck Rhoades, reminded us how to take on great foes and forces without fear or concern for oneself, and you leave us fortified to continue on in that same spirit.
Hear, hear.
We'll miss you, Chuck.
Now I'll have to actually do my own case work.
Well, I'll miss the mission, and all of you.
The whole place.
Even the Barney Miller coffee.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, guys.
You okay? - Of course, why? - Just a feeling.
Maybe it's the calling that's a problem.
I want to see too.
What are you doing this week - er, this weekend.
- Uh You can.
Just got to Telemark.
By Saturday, I'll be on a portaledge.
We're trying to beat Papert's record.
- This is your second attempt? - Third.
You want to come with? Be a good-luck charm? I'm seeking the exact opposite of an icy ledge and suspension ropes.
Tempting.
But I'm solid with my plans.
So we're here again.
We're not anywhere.
You're not being punished.
If the snow hits early, I can have you helicoptered from Yukon to Oslo.
I'm a call away.
Am I going to see you with a microphone taped to your lapel, sitting next to Anderson Cooper in the Toobin seat? Ooh, it has to be bad luck to call it that.
And, no, I don't think that's where I'm headed.
Public service of another sort.
A different elected office.
Or a podcast, maybe.
Building an audience seems to be the best moat anyone can manufacture these days.
- And since you were sidelined - I'm on the sidelines.
But the verb form, it fails to accurately capture the force with which I was ripped from this office.
This is no coach's DNP.
This is a putsch.
And despite what I said to the room, in the spirit of bonhomie, you have to know that I we are still very much engaged in this fight for the soul Well, no, I am engaged.
No doubt, it's my job to be.
And as you did, I have to move the office forward in my way.
And I handpicked you for this.
I saw a rough diamond with jeweler's eyes.
You said it was with a tailor's eye.
I did indeed, yes.
Point stands.
Change is hard.
No one expects you to be happy with this.
Or content.
But enjoy the valedictory.
This is a celebration of you.
Yeah.
Like a wake.
- Get in, Rhoades.
- When you rendition someone, it's better to cuff and rope them before the talking starts.
Otherwise, they may take off running.
Oh, you try running in those wingtips, you'll fall on your ass like Buster Keaton.
At which point we can get to the binding and so forth.
Thanks for the offer, guys, but, uh Chuck, we have your things.
A plan has been made.
We're taking you to Rundas Lodge.
Fresh air.
Delicious vittles.
And vigorous bodywork.
I was going to stroll across the bridge.
Take a contemplative constitutional through a crumbling city.
Feels more appropriate than lounging in some spa.
No, you can take your constitutionals when you're in the nursing home.
- Get in the damn car.
- Don't make us drug you.
Now, all phones in the GoDark bag.
Signal blocking, off the grid for the duration.
Not happening.
Oh, I'm working the shit out of this puppy to find the next perch from which to exact my revenge.
All that will be there after.
I encourage you to do the reset.
It's why we're here.
No, I'll reset the fuck out of myself phone in hand.
Well, if one guy has his phone, that ruins it.
Fine.
And you're reimbursing me for the GoDark bag, son.
Hmm.
Rhoades has been felled, but not finished.
- I would like to talk about next - I don't.
Don't want to talk about that.
You want to talk about the spoils.
The theory is, you must reward yourself after a victory.
It strengthens the subconscious to lay it all on the line in the next battle.
Without it, an autonomic weakness sets in for which even iron discipline cannot compensate.
Understood, on a visceral level.
Even without all the science-y words.
Hell, I don't even wait for a win.
That's just debauchery.
I spoke with Andy.
She's not free.
But what Scooter was describing I think is even more important for the troops than the general.
- They'll be fine.
- No, no, no.
They need to eat the dragon's heart, to taste it.
Really? This group? Especially this group.
There's no other way.
Is that some sort of code for a hard reboot, or a? Call an all-hands meeting.
Night after tomorrow at the house.
Pull! Crap.
They break when they land, if it's any comfort.
Being a wiseass is unbecoming for a member of the bench.
And this choke is faulty.
Sure it is.
Pull.
Wasn't ready.
Only a fool says "pull" if he isn't ready.
Too much pulling in your room last night.
Watch and learn, boys.
Pull.
I think I nicked the second one.
- Oh, bullshit.
- Clean misses.
Pull! Whoa! A double! You're in the zone! I just picture Prince's face on the clay, and the pellets seem to find it.
Obsession focuses a man.
I am obsessed with helping you rebrand and refocus, Chuck.
We think you need a position, a power base to operate from.
We don't want to see you spiral out going after revenge.
Chief Counsel at a defense contractor.
Now, that is the kind of money that wipes the stain of any failure away.
You can strategize about Prince along with me, or we can shoot in silence.
Because the idea that some fresh air and mud baths could change who I am or what I stand for is laughable.
Chuck, we don't want you to change entirely.
But some growth, some effort No, uninterested.
Try, for just a moment, being the kind of man who might sit on the highest court in the land.
A listener, a considerer of all possibilities.
Consultants, lobbyists.
These people wield more power than you ever had.
- We have a list.
- He can't.
Like a leopard can't change its spots.
And that's not just a cliché.
It's true.
You shave the coat, the spots are still there, right down to his fucking hide.
I'm heading back to make some calls.
Well, you're going to look desperate.
No.
Activated.
Motivated.
Not desperate.
It's different.
They'll see that.
And maybe try throwing your guns at the clays, you might actually hit something.
Ehh.
Our custom is to pick up, say hello.
I am tired of explaining Olympic sponsors' down payments are non-refundable.
You took a shot and missed.
Go copulate with yourself, you cheap-ass fuck.
I hope that wasn't your pastor.
Now, I have come here to actually help you.
Is this a setup? Like with a boy? Because I don't think you and I have the same taste.
Setting you up to win that congressional seat.
Call this number.
He is the best at digging up shit on people, far better than the other side'll have.
You need to see what he unearths on you.
On me? I thought the idea was to find shit on the other side.
First things first: Know thyself.
I appreciate it.
I do.
Um, but my closet's bare.
Not a skeleton to be found.
Please.
Anyone with a five-figure 401K has hidden shit they've forgotten about, or never even knew about.
Once you're in the race, it won't stay hidden for long.
You can get ahead of yours, or wait till the other side splatters you with it.
Your call.
Pretty sure my call is not making this call.
Then yours won't be much of a race at all.
How great's your book doing since you got it back? I'm not ashamed of it.
Yeah, you feel good about it, don't you? You know, some religions think that the egg is the symbol of the soul.
- Did you know that? - Does this make sense? "DAOs are Internet-native organizations collectively run and owned by their members.
" Or should I add: "an exclusive pipeline into crypto"? Do you know where I can get High John the Conqueror root in New York? I want to try it - and see if it - Whoops.
Someone's down the Angel Heart rabbit hole.
I am, way down, and it is truly fucking with my sleep-wake homeostasis.
When you watch it end to end, over and over again, it actually gets less clear.
It starts to slither through your mind like a cinematic human centipede.
You could, and I'm not just saying this because Mickey Rourke is, well, Mickey Rourke.
Just stop watching.
Yeah, but I have to prove my theory that everyone is a Harry Angel or a Johnny Favorite.
Ugh, some of us are Lisa Bonet trying to make the world forget Denise Huxtable existed.
Philip seems to be creating a real "leader of men" vibe on the floor.
Why I'm staying in here.
I have something for you, if you have the bandwidth.
Heads up.
We're closed tomorrow.
Whole operation.
That's really more a me decision than a directive from up on high.
There's an all-hands tomorrow night at Prince's.
So, no, it's not.
Office is to remain empty tomorrow while everyone gathers their thoughts.
And the subject of this all-hands is? Known upon arrival.
All other questions, please submit to "Oh, right, we don't give a shit.
" We'll see you there.
Okay, then.
What was all that? They've been living on borrowed time in another man's memories.
It's just so much better when we parallel play.
I appealed to them and I implored them, but the answer is no.
No service until the party is fully seated.
I did get drinks.
Parochial fucking posture.
We have Chuck declared legally dead, and in ten minutes, we are sawing into bison rib eyes.
Agreed? I'll get him.
I understand.
Again, I understand.
But I'd like to meet in person to tell you what I plan to do about it.
Mm-hmm.
And I await word from your office.
- Jesus Christ.
- We're eating.
Well, we're not eating.
We're waiting for you so that we can eat.
Ira, what I have an appetite for won't arrive on a plate.
I know, buddy, but sitting up here seething's no good for you.
You've been dinged.
You have no momentum.
No one's going to touch you right now.
I'm aware, but the last time I felt like myself was on the floor of that chamber.
Win or lose, it's where I belong.
So why can't you act like my Chuck Bodak and close my cut so I can answer the next bell? Sometimes a good cornerman throws in the towel when his fighter is too game but overmatched.
Oh, don't you dare.
Look.
They won't serve the table until we're all seated, and I don't look forward to any of our crew in a hypoglycemic state.
Five minutes, and you get your food, and then I'm back to the phones.
I want to tell you something.
This gristle is as good as anything I've ever ingested.
Sorry, Chuck, I snagged your seat.
I didn't know you'd be joining us.
- A surprise to us all.
- Oh, I doubt that.
Sure, there might have been some rhyme to my reason.
Oh, yeah, your father called me in to offer you my array of special therapies.
NADs to lengthen your telomeres.
And that's the fountain of youth, my man.
Or if that's too exotic for you, how about some PRT "platelet replacement therapy"? I'll just give you a shot in the scalp, you'll be looking like Oscar Gamble in three months.
Or blast you in the cock, now you're Jeff Stryker.
I can remake you into whatever man or woman that you want to be, cookie.
I'm in need of neither detoxification, nor concierge medical cocktails.
Mm.
I'll be the judge, jury, and executioner on that one.
And I've already rendered my verdict.
- Look at that pallor.
- Oh.
We're just going to fire up your frank and beans.
You're going to be like mnh-mnh! Why don't you listen to the Doc, son.
We all could use a little modern-day Geritol.
- Especially you.
- Nope.
No time.
I have to get back to the room.
I'm glad you've got your repast.
Just, uh, have them send mine up.
I see, now, why why are you in in such a hurry to get back to your room? You got yourself a wonderful lady up there? Huh? If so, the Doc has a special, uh Calls, Dad.
Making calls.
I told him to give it a rest.
He doesn't listen.
Can adults be colicky? No.
Wait, what do you think that means? Wait, cranky, out of sorts, like you are right now.
I'm not colicky.
Out of sorts, I'll allow, sure.
And a little cranky.
Fuck.
Give me a Binky and a blankie and a bottle, please.
Bartender, can I get a boilermaker? Only instead of beer, can you throw baby formula in that tumbler? You always cheer me up, Mafee.
So glad you could switch our weekly to tonight.
Tomorrow, I have to go to an all-hands at Michael Prince's house.
That sounds maybe threatening? I don't know.
Is he going to fire the entire place? Not sure.
Maybe I'd be better off.
Remove the engine limiter.
Because as is, he neutralizes certain of my moves, for reasons only he's privy to.
I'd offer you a spot at High Plains, - but we can't afford to pay you.
- Oh, no? What about your million in crypto from Axe? You must have arbed it ten, fifteen X.
- Where's it at? - Don't know.
Don't know how much? I don't think about it.
What the fuck does that mean? You didn't think about how much you could have made with a million bucks of free electric lightning on a drive? I didn't.
Mafee, you could have turned that 15 times, 20.
- Okay.
- Okay? It is very much not okay.
It is with me, and it's my money.
So I left it alone.
If I had gotten in the game with gifted coin, with something that just landed in my lap, I would have started obsessing, you know me.
I would have tried to figure out every single possible move until no other move was possible, and then figure it out more.
It would have owned me, instead of me owning it.
And I don't want to be owned like that.
I don't understand how that can make you happy.
Look, I know the theory.
It's immoral to let a sucker keep his money.
And the market is the sucker.
But the whole snorting Cymbalta and grinding, it just wasn't making me happy.
Is it making you happy? Wags said you'd let yourself in.
I have your self-research.
Some campaign advice too.
What's that? Don't run.
Your life, your family's lives will be upended, twisted beyond recognition.
Win or lose, you'll never get it back.
I have to run.
Good.
Only kind of person who should.
Why two? This is the one anyone can get.
This is the one only I can.
So, you're the one, aren't you that helped Axelrod beat us every single time? All that matters is, I'm on your side now.
It's a good thing you're in the private sector.
At least I know I'm not getting rousted.
I should roust your paternalistic self anyway.
Little intense, Kate.
Notch it back a notch and a half or so.
Maybe if you'd let me fail once or twice, I wouldn't have to bring it like this, but this wasn't your way, was it? Why fail when you don't have to? Well, this is about a time where I should have, in boarding school.
- You were a superstar there.
- I was.
And as I'm sure you remember, I ended up engaging in a bit of civil disobedience which ended up in the storming of the admin building.
What I remember is that it was peaceful until you hurled a paperweight through a pane glass window and the whole place went up Do the Right Thing -style.
Nothing burned.
Nobody died.
And I was never embarrassed about my part in it.
I knew there would be consequences, and I was willing to face them.
Well, one must be willing when one performs civil disobedience.
The risk is what makes it hard to do.
And you did pay the price.
You were suspended for, what, two weeks? Yes.
Yes, I was.
And that was it.
Which was strange, because some of the other kids had notes put in their files, and their colleges bounced their acceptances because of it.
Not me, though.
Which I thought was because of the ways that I contributed at school student government, sports and theater and all of it.
That is why.
You paid the headmaster's mortgage off, in cash, so she wouldn't send a note to college, and they wouldn't rescind my admission.
And I'd do it again.
You were right to protest.
And you earned your way into school.
The end.
Folks with a much longer tenure at the seat of power and influence have been doing this stuff for generations, to people like us.
Why wouldn't we safeguard our own forward progress? Yours? This isn't about me, Kate, or what I did.
You don't care about any of that.
You're distracting yourself, worrying about the externals, about all the things outside of yourself that are impacting your life.
Grow the hell up and realize the only thing you can control is you.
And next time you surprise me, bring a cake and some candles and get ready to sing me a goddamn song.
I see we're both of the Jimmy Conway school.
Early to the meet.
Yeah, well, me more than you, it seems.
How goes it? There's a psychological term for thinking that once you see someone do something, you can repeat the action, unaided.
Dunning-Kruger, sure.
Spyros is a walking example of it.
- Except for coffee.
- Yeah.
Inflated self-assessment.
That's him, except with the beans.
Wild, though.
Seems the less you know how to do something, the more you're willing to believe you can accomplish it.
The flip side is that optimists live longer than pessimists, and aren't as easily dissuaded from learning things.
At the early stages of learning, yeah.
But when things get hard, that's when pessimists put shoulder into sled and push, because to them, everything is difficult.
So exertion is the only reasonable choice.
Like most things, what you want is to be able to control your emotional range enough to trigger whichever is more useful in the micro-moment.
Do you do this consciously? Did you build this consciously? Oh, this is fun.
Is this what we're doing here? Well, we're here to investigate, that's for sure.
Yeah, it's fun as fuck.
Maybe almost as fun as the state senate session was for you.
The Albany Massacre.
So that's why you summoned me, to upbraid me for taking out Chuck.
No, not at all.
But I am fascinated by the choices you made to do it, how you did it, why you did, why you did it the way you did.
And I will need answers.
But not for the reasons you think.
Why, then? You asked me a while back to do the real thing with you, to sharpen your blade.
And maybe your moves got me to the place where I'm ready to do that.
What's the source of the maybe? Why isn't it a firm? Because you haven't answered my questions yet.
- You haven't asked them.
- Oh, well as Pitbull said, "Get ready, 'cause here I come.
" The immersion chamber is my journey into isolation and emotional resets.
- Hmm.
- A series of colored lights and soft but urgent sounds will surround you.
You don't close your eyes, you simply watch and let the experience flow over you.
- Chuck.
- Hmm.
I feel like a 12-year-old again, but before my pet dog died.
We should put this in everyone's house.
I think we'd end all strife, wars, and conflict.
That's what everybody says the first time they do magic mushrooms too, but somehow the wars and strife just seem to keep on going.
Perhaps you'll solve that problem today.
We find this process refreshes and renews the mind.
It's very Altered States.
So, uh, a naked Blair Brown will come save me from my homunculus self? Was that the first Chayefsky reference around here? How can that be? All right, you know what? Let's just get in.
There's a red panic button, but you won't panic.
- You'll be safe the whole time.
- Uh-huh.
And I'll be monitoring your progress.
You're not alone, but you're completely isolated.
It's comforting.
Just try and stay present.
See you on the other side.
This isn't an intake.
This isn't about meds.
It isn't patient/client.
This is a performance coaching session.
That work for you, if that's my focus? It all works for me in your hands.
That something you're used to? Putting yourself in someone else's hands? Depends on the grip.
But, yes, I can delegate.
I can relinquish control.
I can free myself of the yoke.
- I can trust.
- Then why didn't you relinquish control of the state senate session? Trust that it would get done without your presence.
Define "it.
" It wasn't enough for you to take down Chuck.
You needed to be there to watch it.
Is that for vengeance? Certainty? Credit? Voyeurism? Ah, so this is a reaction to what I did to your ex? - Are you? - You did what had to be done, with an efficacy that made me curious enough to want to engage with you here.
That, plus the all-hands, tells me you are evolving into the next version of who you are.
The question is why, to all of it.
I needed to be there to make sure it happened.
Yeah, sure, you needed to be behind the scenes.
But instead, you let yourself be seen.
Photographed, even.
No one knew how powerful Robert Moses was till he was long gone.
That was from a time when behind-the-scenes power meant more than power displayed.
That's all changed now.
Credit must be logged.
Yeah.
Yes.
The show of personal force recalibrates expectations.
Not only in the public sphere, but here as well.
My power in this place was never in dispute.
It's more than that.
It's the one-two punch: Albany, now the all-hands.
Yeah, sets them up for a knockout.
- Who? - Everyone.
Well, it sure got everyone here rattled.
I just heard Prince is behind Chuck Rhoades going down.
If he could do that to Rhoades, none of us is safe.
You shouldn't believe rumors like that.
Right.
He's not the kind of man who would How would he even? Fuck, you're right.
All-hands or a coronation? Either way, executions are a-coming.
He wasn't just there.
Prince did him, is what I heard.
How would Prince have "done him"? It's state senate vote parliamentary procedure.
Sure.
And Dr.
Fowler was a suicide.
Anyway, we can meet at my apartment at the open to organize ourselves against whatever grilling he's going to give us.
- We were gonna watch a movie.
- Angel Heart, obviously.
You, too, Rian? I didn't mean to get sucked into his insanity, but then I started watching, and it's so weird and nihilistic, and I think maybe perfect.
We've just about figured out what the fans mean.
They seem to start spinning at the strangest times.
But, yes, tomorrow.
We'll be there.
Obviously.
We're working.
You're not a man who does things by accident or who relies on fate, so you knew the effect your actions would have.
Want to tell me what you were hoping the employees would feel? I was thinking about Chuck.
I was thinking about my broader outside agenda, about Motherfucker! Whoa! Yeah.
It's an old carny trick picked up by behavioralists.
Breaks the pattern.
Now say the words that you've said to yourself but don't want to say out loud for fear they will mark you an egoist or a fool.
Good.
This is good.
This is all good.
Stop trying to prolong it so you can think of what to say and say the words.
The Prince Cappers, most of them still at heart, are holding back.
They know I'm formidable They don't truly fear you.
And they're aware of how good I am, but - But you need their respect.
- Most of all, I need them to Ah.
Oh.
Love.
You want to be loved.
It's easy for a man like you to get one of those.
I need all three.
I don't like to admit that, but it's true.
It's what I demand.
Hey, fucking Richie.
Fucking Richie.
Hey, fucking Richie.
What do you mean, who? It's Ron.
Yes, Ron! Ron fucking Chestnut! The big fucking R, kid.
- Damn it.
- What did you think, it was your ex-wife's fucking divorce lawyer honking at you? What? Honk! Honk! Honk! Pay up, douchebag Huh? Oh.
Hold on.
Yeah, I I I see your little sign, dear.
Sir, for the experience to be its most efficacious, silence is absolutely needed.
Oh, well, I am almost done with my call.
And it's almost my turn to get all efficacious up in there anyway, so - Hey, buddy, you done? - He has 12 minutes left.
No, I think I can afford to give it up.
You need it more than I do.
Call you back.
Funny guy, huh? Yeah.
Thanks all the same.
Ahem, so, uh, what do I do now? I strip? A little tighty-whitie action? No, sir, fully clothed.
Ew.
Boo.
Color me disappointed.
- You okay? - All right, hit it.
Whew! Oh, it's like a fucking kaleidoscope! It's a very cool sensory experience.
Is this all it does? Very, and maybe it'll work on him? I just hope he doesn't break it.
Look at this.
Let me take a video.
Hey, this is me! This is me inside the peyote machine! I can see how losing the Olympics would put you in a, uh, vengeance and consolidation of power mode.
- That tracks.
- I agree.
Yeah, especially with the bribery and dirty dealings required to have gotten the Games in the first place.
That's the first time you've stepped out of line.
- Back it up.
- If I back it up, it's out the door.
Gone, baby, gone.
I don't work with people who hold back from me.
You wrangled.
Manipulated.
Pressured.
Extorted.
Paid folks off.
And I'm okay with that.
I'm fine with someone like you doing that which is required.
That's not the problem.
- But there is a problem.
- Yeah.
- What's that? - You're a fucking liar.
Worse, the person you tell the biggest lies to is yourself.
You spend so much time twisting yourself up into knots trying to make yourself believe that your aim is true and noble and good.
You almost make yourself believe it.
You wanted a burning bush to tell you that what you did to get this hedge fund was good and right.
All you have is your own conscience burning.
Please.
The guy who was here before me - No.
- Yes.
We're gonna talk about this.
He wasn't similarly called? You don't think the voice of power whispered to him and said, "Do it all, have it all"? You want to know? Axe wanted freedom, total and complete.
And the other guy, Chuck, he wants he needs a righteous war, and you gave them both exactly what they asked for.
No, I didn't give Axe his freedom.
I paid for it.
And you want to know why Axe is satisfied with freedom? Why Chuck is priapic for warfare? Why conquest and victory is enough for them? Because they are lesser Caesars.
You want to be a greater Caesar? What are you going to do with all that power? Pax Romana.
I'm going to manifest it.
And you're going to help me.
The name plates are already changed.
You work faster on this shit than Patton updating the stars on his jeep.
But I was too slow to get you on the "no fly" list at security.
I'm guessing you're here to establish a détente.
A détente would presume that we're still at war.
Skirmish is over, so let's just, uh how would you say it? Keep the lines of dialogue open.
And when I dialogue with you, what are we talking about? It's ironic, me here you there.
That was supposed to be my chair.
If I had have stayed, I'd be sitting there.
If you had stayed, Michael Prince would have had no idea how to remove Chuck.
See? Ironic.
- Sure.
- I understand you not wanting to give me a heads-up on how you're steering the office.
I wouldn't.
Maybe you're coming after us.
But, uh, maybe you're sitting there and you're seeing what I saw.
That the world is more than billionaires and the people who hate them.
That you can prosecute the real inequalities.
The ones that don't put you in the crosshairs of my current boss.
Because? Say the rest.
You came here to say it.
The lever that got Chuck out still exists.
Yes, it does.
I don't know what my next move is.
But I can tell you this.
You knew what Prince was planning for Chuck, and you played on all our weaknesses to make it happen.
You used everything you could to manipulate me.
I blame Prince, but I also know you knew, and you knew better, and you let it happen.
So no, I won't give you the heads-up.
We won't be talking.
You're not welcome here, because either you always were, or you have become exactly who I want to send to prison.
I did what I had to do.
I thought we'd both be used to that by now.
Glad you finally joined us for a meal.
A man has to eat, as you like to say.
He does indeed.
You hurt it shooting? No, it's just stiff.
I fractured it punching a wall in frustration when I lost a Supreme Court appeal on a death penalty case back in '99.
An innocent man was executed that day.
Ricochet from a Waterford crystal tumbler I threw against the wall when I made and lost over 200 million in one day.
Ice Juice.
Well, nothing to show by lifting my shirt, but the knife wounds are there, believe you me.
Jeffcoat and the U.
S.
Attorney job? Yeah.
That was a body blow, to be sure.
But it was one professional to another, and I got my licks in later.
No, the more recent purge is the one I'm going to be healing from - for some time to come.
- And Prince, that fucker, was there to watch the whole thing go down.
- Ouch.
- You know, the one that still stabs me in the balls was a simple procedure.
Decorum dictates that I can't say her name, but you all know her by her laugh.
You know who I'm talking about, sugar, right? The grand dame outlived her nemesis Johnny Carson, only to croak on my table.
Oh, shit.
That was the first time they took away my license, the fuckers.
Why are you so quiet? You only book wins? Nah, the calluses are so thick he just can't feel anything, one way or another.
I was king.
I was the king of New York once.
I had so many properties.
Manhattan, Midtown, uptown, the Bronx Three dozen, maybe more at the time.
Was I supposed to go around myself, checking the sprinklers in all of them, making sure they worked? The fire doors unobstructed, unlocked, not chained against a rash of break-ins? My property managers were supposed to do it.
There were hundreds of those doors in the buildings that I owned.
Like the Partido Lounge.
Oh, shit, the fire.
Yeah, Dad, you don't have to Place went up like a goddamned Roman candle.
Carlos Guzman.
That was his name, the monster.
Soaked rags in kerosene and turned the place to ashes because his ex-wife was there with her new boyfriend.
Sirens screaming all night long, 20 different engine companies, ambulances, the fucking meat wagons for the bodies.
Later, I, uh, sat there in the courtroom when he received his sentencing.
His eyes were black.
Lifeless.
He was the guilty party in all the ways.
So 502 souls went into the club that night, 423 came out.
The fire took the rest.
Anyway, Carlos Guzman got 25 to life.
And you know who was on the front page of the Post, the Times, all the papers the next day? It wasn't him.
It was me.
So you think you have me all figured out? Yeah.
It's what I started to say before.
For you to succeed at being whatever it is you want to be Caesar, Carnegie, Teddy fricking Roosevelt you need to stop lying to yourself.
- I do not lie.
- You do.
And some of those lies you'll probably keep telling.
The lies of kindness, lies to maintain power, lies to keep things calm.
Big lies, even.
And maybe that's fine.
But inside, you can't.
- And why not? - Because it's getting in your way.
You don't want to be an emperor because it's good for other people.
You want power because you like power.
Because it feels good in your hands.
Because you can't imagine anyone else deserves it more than you do.
But if you lie to yourself about it, you'll do real harm with whatever power you get.
Every generation there's maybe three people like me.
Why should I waste being one of them? Because out of those three, every 30 years, nine every century, 90 every millennium, maybe one fucking guy doesn't fuck the world up the ass when he actually gets the reins.
Someone has to sit in that seat.
So I ask myself, am I the one in a thousand years? And my answer is a full-throated yes.
Let's not forget about you and what you want out of all this.
Me? What do I want, besides to do my job and do it well? You tell me.
My guess is something significant.
Because if not, that means you're a rubbernecker, a ticket buyer to the freak show, some kind of pervert.
Why else would you saw someone's skull in half, lift it up and look inside? So which is it, A or B? I guess I just don't know.
And after all that talk about not lying to oneself.
I'm not lying to myself.
I'm lying to you.
What are you talking about? That's my cock.
I'm guessing it was a teacher.
No, but, like, in all seriousness You may recognize him.
Anyway, our good man suffered a reversal, - and we had to pull him away.
- Men's weekend.
Can you even say that anymore, or does it have to be, like, "Gendered persons"? Diana's celebrating the one-year anniversary of her divorce.
I grew up in lake country, so that's why we came.
These guys came with me, and it's a real blast of nostalgia.
Let me, um Let me check your pulse.
Are you really a doctor? That's all we keep saying.
"Are you really a doctor?" It's completely fresh and organic pet food.
Is that right? Private equity money must be lining up.
It's not just a business.
It's my passion.
Three hots and a cot, some oily rubdowns in the spa.
You know what I said? I said, "I'm fucking in.
" Get me out of here.
You're all a shitty crowd.
- Ladies.
- Yeah? I, um I believe I glimpsed you earlier, and it is high time that my friends and I buy you a round.
Oh, we're fine, thank you.
That's not very friendly, is it? She said no, thank you.
I wasn't talking to you, funny guy.
- Fuck, man! - So sorry, sir.
These shoes cost more than your house.
Do you even have a house? Why are we letting people like you into our country? Behold the American aristocrat, Ronald Chestnut.
Yeah, Ron, that's right.
I caught your name earlier.
And Ron is a person who confuses wealth with class, and money with character.
Of course, this country wasn't built on money.
It was built on work.
Honest, hard work, which is why that man is more American than you'll ever be.
Oh, it looks like you want to swing on me.
- Oh - Yeah, I bet! But we both know you won't, because I not only caught your name, I ran it too.
So I know you're on parole for unpaid child support and an embezzlement charge.
That's right, ladies, there he is.
Fancy pants deadbeat, quite a patriot.
Bet you're kicking yourself for turning him down.
So you can take that swing, go ahead.
But if you do, you'll be collared for fighting, for drunk and disorderly, because you're undoubtedly both, and you'll go back inside for the rest of those four goddamn years you owe.
Let's get out of this shithole.
I thought I was going to be doing some suturing tonight.
It's a good thing my credentials still work in the database.
Got to love the government.
Shit, there's no denying it, the way you came alive just now.
Was a thing of beauty, my boy.
No matter what we want.
It's who you are.
You see a bully, you have to step in.
And you do it better than anyone else.
Like I keep trying to tell you, it's just how I'm built.
All right, now that we've gotten the group hand job out of the way, who's up for a drinking game? It's called Viking, and it's very easy to play.
- All right, I'm game, - I'm the Viking.
I got the two rowers on my side.
- If you don't row, you drink.
- Is that the Viking? Just easy with the questions, please.
I'm just trying to explain the game, so - Hey, hey.
You leaving? - Mm.
But Anne seemed pretty impressed with how you handled that guy.
You hang in, you may get lucky.
Oh, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be luck.
Oh, if you say so.
No, I realized something, Ira.
Beyond my place in the world, and you said it.
Prince showed himself in Albany.
He didn't have to.
You know, once everything is in motion, he could've gone and let the floor fall out from under me.
But he came to watch, which shows he loves the blood sport.
And someone who loves the blood sport can be induced into another fight.
One where he's at the disadvantage, a fight that he is going to lose.
- How are you going to do it? - I don't know.
Not yet.
Have a good time.
I'm going to take that constitutional now.
- I was rowing.
- No.
Are you fucking Fine, fuck me.
Oh, boy, here we go.
Round four, ready? I'm the Viking, I'm the Viking.
Who's rowing? - I am.
- Okay.
Oh! Nice.
We're about to break the vase and see whose dog tags are inside here.
Can't tell if we're gonna get made or get clipped.
- That's what makes it all - Horrifying? I was gonna say exciting, but you got to do you.
Someone sets out to slay a dragon.
It takes a while.
It's a journey.
A quest that gets sidetracked, delayed, there are wins and losses along the way.
This person is a leader, and behind them is an army, making sure that when they do get to the dragon, it will die.
Is this an all-hands or a meeting of the Tolkien Society? And finally, it's just the knight and the dragon, and the knight isn't sure how it's going to go.
Wouldn't be a quest of any worth if it didn't have risk.
It's an epic fight.
The sword finds its home, and the dragon dies.
But that isn't the end.
I killed the dragon that was Chuck Rhoades.
You may have become aware, and it may have disturbed you.
But all of you guarded the castle while I was gone.
You rode with me when you had to.
You protected me from any threats.
There's a reason why the killing isn't the end of the story.
The real end is when you eat the dragon's heart, passing it around so everyone can taste freshly slaughtered power.
You get the most power from the hearts of your enemies.
Yes.
And since dragon hearts are hard to come by Here you are.
and something a little more delicious than blood.
Whoo! My victories are our victories.
My wins are your wins.
And dragons aren't the only creatures that should fly, so you're all getting a Wheels Up membership, plus a hundred K in flight credits, on me.
Please welcome Questlove DJing the night.
Put on your red shoes And dance the blues Let's dance To the sound they're playing On the radio Let's sway While color Lights up your face Look at this.
He converted them.
He fucking got them all.
They fucking love him.
Shit, that was the plan all along.
They're ready.
For what? I'll run with you Yeah! And if you say "hide" We'll hide Hold on.
Here, come on.
- Bingo.
- Where's Chuck? No idea.
He never came back to the bar.
Well, you were supposed to hit him with a cocktail to cure what ails him, and instead you're walking off with the prescription.
I can give him the cushion, but I ain't doing the pushing, Big Papa.
Well it's not going to ruin my night.
Me neither.
This is a classy touch.
Isn't the whole thing pretty classy? No, but that's good, you know? You did it right, honestly.
I mean, I'm sure you hate it, but the lights are off and, like, nobody seems to be judging each other.
Nothing is stuffy or formal.
You found the vibe.
Good.
Enjoy.
You're not into it, are you? Parts.
I'm not sure it matters.
Open your mouth.
That is what you think it is.
I took one earlier.
You may not be the kind of person who does this, so you can spit it out, and I'll pretend not to see.
Or - Appreciate this.
- Hey, man.
It's a moment, Mike.
Moment that deserves the real songs.
The night demands it.
Absolutely.
You got a request? You know, I'm the best at what I do.
That's why we're here.
You're the best at what you do.
That's why you're here.
- You pick them.
- It's an honor.
Ready? Coming.
My turn.
Hi.
- Did you call the guy? - I did.
I know exactly how they'll come after me.
As a hypocrite.
I am someone who says I believe in what is good and fair and right, and not in accruing power, but who has constantly sought to use power in her favor.
And has accrued quite a lot.
It's an easy spin.
We put you into play using your power for others.
Our friend Michael Prince has set a shining example - of exactly that.
- Oh, he has.
And I see how well it works on everyone.
So you're ready? Not yet.
Not now.
No, this is where I'm meant to be.
Plus, I got you guys on my side now.
I'm good, right? Yes.
You are.
I know the manuscript is late, but it's worth it.
I'm I'm sending you the last chapter now.
Well, I had to figure out how it ended.
I just spent the whole day doing that.
Rock Freeze Rock Freeze Rock Blow Higher, baby Get higher, baby Get higher, baby And don't ever come down Freebase This is Uomo nel Presente.
Man in Present.
- Amazing.
- Grazie.
I see how much it's hitting you, Tuk.
Why don't you finish it? Me? Prego.
Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Tuk! Oh, fuck, did I do that? It's okay.
Its purpose was to exist for one night only, and then Okay, what is that supposed to represent? The ephemeral nature of joy and a reminder to embrace it when you have it.
I mean, I get the idea that something exists temporarily.
What was I supposed to care about, the temporary part or the art part? It is lacking a certain narrative consistency.
Mm-hmm.
We could leave.
Find some together.
I just can't fall in love with someone I work with.
And I know me, or at least I know me when this sort of situation happens, not that I've been in this sort of situation, but I've been in something where It's a smart choice.
See? I was right.
Prince is Johnny Favorite.
He actually knows who he is.
You really don't understand that movie.
The fans.
The fans are spinning when evil is present.
Wow.
I see it all now.
If the Earth were to be swallowed by a black hole, it's entire mass would be reduced to the size of a quarter.
Everything inside the black hole is outside our knowledge.
We can theorize that it exists, but we can never be sure.
We know it is infinite.
Like breath.
Close your eyes, and though you may have heard it many times, focus on each breath.
Knowing that breath goes on forever, count them until you reach a million.
Then go beyond that until you reach a billion, an almost incomprehensible number.
You never will reach it, because by the time you do, you will have stopped counting.
Which is the whole idea.
You good? - You sleep okay? - Absolutely.
Good.
Let's go! I got a nice shot of penicillin for anyone who needs it.
- No need for me.
- Yeah, me neither.
Already had one.
What the hell did you run off to do last night, check your voicemail? You don't know how to have any fun.
- Worked out for me, though.
- Look, I cannot believe you actually went and hired a bunch of I did nothing of the sort.
That nice lady, Anne, and her friends are what is known in the trade as civilians.
Where is your mind at, sonny? Well, I guess my mind was thinking back over your history.
Whatever, get me back to the city, because you may have brought me up here with a plan in your heads, but I'm the guy leaving with one now.
Yeah.
This is just what I needed, and I know just what to do.
So let's roll.