[Chuck] Previously on Billions.
[Prince] I'm not Axe. I'm different.
And I'm willing to put the time
and effort in to prove that to you.
With Axe, I didn't have to pretend
I was making glittery cupcakes
while shivving a motherfucker who needed shivving.
Maybe Prince's way is more powerful.
Welcome to Michael Prince Capital, Kate.
Where do I work?
[Chuck] There comes a time, Lucien,
when ideology meets reality.
Even in the newspaper business.
I want your comment on the story I am running.
[Prince] We both share the same vision
of what a Summer Games in New York should look like.
I thrive in peacetime.
But the best way to peace is through overwhelming force.
[woman, on TV] The 2028 Games
can no longer be held in New York City.
Chuck can be removed as AG.
How do we pull the lever?
[man] Charles Rhoades Junior
is hereby removed as attorney general
of the State of New York.
The Senate names Miss Daevisha Mahar
as acting attorney general
for the remainder of Mr. Rhoades' term.
You want to know why Axe is satisfied with freedom?
Why Chuck is priapic for warfare?
Because they are lesser Caesars.
You want to be a greater Caesar?
Michael fucking Prince is running for president.
President of the United States of America.
- And one of us... - Both of us.
...could be running Michael Prince Capital very soon.
[Wendy] For you to succeed at being whatever it is
you want to be, you need to stop lying to yourself.
[Prince] Let's not forget about you
and what you want out of all of this.
[Chuck] Prince is funding Mike Money with crypto.
[Nick] Ten incorrect attempts and it'll encrypt itself,
making it impossible to access whatever's on it.
If we go down this road, one of you is ending up in jail.
[Prince] This night's cost me $3.5 billion already.
[Dave] We're gonna destroy Mike Prince together.
The world will think you're under indictment,
right up until the minute we lock Mike Prince up.
You got a deal.
Find me Wendy fucking Rhoades.
She's actually here?!
What is so fucking wrong about me
that you're sure I shouldn't be fucking president?
["Because I'm Awesome" by the Dollyrots]
Uh-huh
I've got the new style Uh-oh
And I'm walking Right down your street
I'm on your speed dial You know
The one everyone Wants to meet
I always tell you How cool you dress
It's 'cause I'm fashionably socialized
You're smarter, better No, the best
Just look at me
I'm a leader, I'm a winner
And I'm cleaner
'Cause I'm awesome
I don't need you
'Cause I'm neato
And I beat you 'Cause I'm awesome
- I'm a leader - I'm a leader
- I'm a winner - I'm a winner
- And I'm cleaner - And I'm cleaner
- 'Cause I'm awesome - 'Cause I'm awesome
- I don't need you - I don't need you
- 'Cause I'm neato - 'Cause I'm neato
- And I beat you - And I beat you
- 'Cause I'm awesome - That's right
Rah, rah, rah, rah Rah, rah, rah
- I'm awesome - Rah, rah, rah, rah
- Rah, rah, rah - That's right
Rah, rah, rah, rah Rah, rah, rah
I don't need you 'Cause I'm awesome
Uh-huh
[Prince] This is part two, Wendy.
Just you and me.
Part one was the day you grilled me
right here all alone. This is--
Part two, yeah. You said.
I need to go deep.
We do.
That's my specialty.
[Prince] But now you need to do it for me.
I've been doing a kind of internal
chiropractic adjustment,
trying to align myself to find the parts in there
that are fighting the whole, but--
Yeah, you can't do that alone.
But you could have just walked through that door
and asked me to dive in.
Instead, you cleared the office. Why?
Well, I can't just let anyone, not even you,
all the way inside without being sure.
So you plan on interrogating me the way I did you?
I pass.
Don't think of it like that.
Where I'm going, I need loyalists.
Not blind loyalists, open-eyed believers.
Like Nirvana fans back in the day.
No. Most of them didn't understand Kurt.
I need to know that you get me.
You want me to be your Courtney Love?
No. My Dave Grohl.
Lay down a monster beat and keep me on it.
Well, I could say I wouldn't be standing here
if I weren't prepared to.
Uh, I'm not sure that's good enough.
We need to get to your why.
Here's a why.
Why are you so confident I'll play along?
Why don't you think I'll just turn around,
pack out my desk and leave?
Because I didn't sign up for this.
Not many people would walk away
from the kind of access and power you'd have
if you hang in close.
You talking about your run for office?
Twenty-eight is a long way off.
Oh.
Timeline's shifted.
I'm going to do things differently, yes.
I'm announcing on my own timeline.
I'm going to run and win in--
- 2024. - I need it now.
Before it's too late.
Assuming I'll win, I'll need to know
that I'm not just ready for this job, but primed.
I have blind spots. Everyone does.
But I need to know that you're in to expose them to me
so that I can see and fix them.
Fair enough.
But I'm-I'm still not sure what it is you need to hear from me.
Well, start by finishing this sentence.
"Michael Prince is..."
Michael Prince is going about this all wrong.
Because instead of trying to extract
a loyalty test from me,
what he should be doing is using every second of his life
trying to convince me and everyone like me
that he's worthy of my investment.
Look inward for sure.
But look outward to engage all those
you're gonna need to get you there.
Just tell me this.
Are you still capable of getting it done?
That is not what you really want to know.
What is it you really want to know?
Why is it so hard for you to do it for me
when it was so easy for you with Axe?
No one would use the word "easy."
But he was direct.
He wanted the things he wanted.
And once we cleared out the inner conflicts,
he just went after them and got them.
So you turned him into a targeted missile.
Oh, I just tweaked the guidance system a little.
He was already a missile.
You can't help but smile as you talk about him.
What is it that makes you smile
when you think about where you want to go?
[laughs]
We're starting.
We are.
[sighs]
[Wendy] So?
Why are you the one right now, this second,
to do this?
Not the stem-winder you'll give on the hustings,
but the real answer you give yourself
in the mirror at 2:00 a.m.
Because of my ruthlessness.
Say more.
Think of it this way.
If you're out on a climb
and you fall and break your femur in half,
you don't need someone who knows how to talk a good game.
You need someone who knows how to fix it.
Someone who's willing to do what needs to be done,
even when there's no anesthesia out on the trail.
Someone who will ignore your screams of pain
until the bone is set and ready to heal.
That someone is me.
And our country is the femur.
Damn right it is.
Strength.
People want that when they believe it's not put on,
but real.
People?
Where it went wrong was when politicians
thought they had to listen to people.
Not smart people. Not educated people.
Just people.
There is such a thing as worthy dissent.
The First Amendment.
The Founders never wanted a true democracy,
but a constitutional republic. You know this.
So when you get there to the Oval Office...
Truman had a sign on his desk that said,
"The buck stops here."
Mine's gonna say, "I am the buck."
Let's fucking get you there.
[laughs]
That's my girl.
Uh, doctor. Uh...
Yeah, you're on a different stage now,
so don't do that.
- Copy. - [door chimes and slides open]
So you didn't clear the whole day.
Oh, I knew you wouldn't need it.
And I have someplace I very much need to be.
[door chimes and slides open]
[indistinct chatter]
Wags, when was the last time you had egg foo young?
Old-school style with the pork just so?
Because whenever that was, the next time is tonight.
[Ira] My client has no prior felonies,
no pending criminal matters.
He's already surrendered his passport.
Mr. Rhoades is a man of some renown,
which makes flight even more unlikely.
The GPS ankle monitor, Judge, is an unnecessary
and extraordinary measure.
Well, Chuck and I go way back.
And I know him to be an extraordinary character.
Thank you?
Uh, Judge Wailand,
I'd call you by your first name,
but we don't want that kind of thing on the record.
You're treating me like some kind of lamster.
But fleeing jurisdiction is the move
the guys I chase like to make.
Please don't address the bench directly
unless the bench addresses you...
as I'm about to do.
But how, exactly,
is this device causing you undue trouble?
You'd be still expected to continue your supervised release
and check-ins for pre-trial services regardless.
But this thing on my leg,
what the kids call a Coney Island Crunk-o-Meter,
is chafing me.
I am chafing.
Emotionally and physically.
Literally and figuratively,
if the distinction even exists anymore,
and I haven't been convicted of a damn thing.
[Wailand] I can't see how your itchiness
is something this court should be worried about.
This is all going the way it's supposed to.
Yeah. Good. I see.
But you called this meeting.
Because, while I'd like to think what I have is enough,
this is Chuck we're dealing with.
You don't think you have enough?
Could always use more.
I want to bring the garlic, the crucifix,
the stake through the heart.
Well, there's plenty out there. The guy's pathological.
He has history with Taylor Mason,
Wendy, obviously, and others that used to work there.
- And that's my company alone. - Sure.
Love to talk to them, with your permission.
Kate Sacker, too, if she's allowed.
They might not be comfortable with it,
but I'll let them know I am
for the purposes of winning this.
But once I open the door,
it's up to you to get them talking.
To that end, shouldn't you be there
to make sure he doesn't win this thing?
I know how this is going to go. Request denied.
[Wailand] Request denied.
[gavel bangs]
Let me know when that door is open.
This is how you and Dave drew it up, right?
Certain aspects of it, yeah.
This is the hard stretch.
This kind of reversal lends credibility.
In a way, it's the best thing that could've happened.
So you say, partner.
[sighs]
What you got to understand is this.
This is good news.
This is the good news express right here. Climb aboard.
This is not what good news looks like.
No. Good news at this place comes via text or email,
or is delivered by one of these men.
When it's the two of them
coming in hot like Turner and Hooch...
Who's the dog in that?
- Whatever they're selling-- - Yes.
Yeah, who's the dog?
Whatever you're selling, we're all full up.
We don't want any.
First of all,
and before we go any further, congratulations.
You got into the ESG space right on time.
Early, even, and have done very nicely.
More than nicely. You've kicked royal ass.
You're giving heavy dad-rock right now.
Well, but it's true. So Michael Prince believes--
- He knows-- - Yes.
He has decided that early-in leads to early-out.
[Scooter] So that the two of you can focus fully on this place.
This entire place. See? This is good news.
This is growing up. This is the major leagues.
- This is-- - You killing my business.
- Our. - Absolutely. Our business.
My brand. Environmental, social
and governance-centered investing is--
Is oversaturated and picked over.
Plus, if Prince has a carve-out that specializes in ESG,
it means the main firm disregards ESG.
- You see? - I do.
The key at this place is, it's one brand now
that the two of you are running.
Don't think of it as killing what you had.
[laughs] No one is killing anything.
Taylor Mason Carbon will be sunsetted,
but you will be right here at the head of one unified firm.
These offices will be upgraded
and turned into your command center.
We don't have a voice in this?
Of course you do,
and that voice is going to be heard.
And then it is going to say, "Yes!"
- I don't like it. - Taylor doesn't like it.
And neither do I. We have to--
total and complete respect to the two of you, of course--
but we have to take this directly to Prince.
Don't think of this as us going over your heads.
Just know we are going over your heads.
And the dog--
whichever one of you
happens to be barking loudest at the moment--
you're Hooch.
You wearing your invisibility cloak?
It's at the cleaners.
Well, I must be wearing mine,
'cause Prince can't see me.
There it is.
[inaudible dialogue]
Oh, come on!
He isn't free. Isn't going to be, for you, all day.
I have the plan.
And the authority to hear you out.
Good, we can go to your office and--
I'm in with him right now.
Later. Maybe tomorrow. I'll find you.
[car horns honk]
[indistinct chatter]
[indistinct chatter continues]
[woman giggling]
[man laughs]
Hey, Kev, move around. Let me face the room.
No, Pop, I'm good.
[Senior] If the seat doesn't suit you, son,
we can retire to my place.
I'll have them send the food over.
Oh, yeah, we have plenty in the freezer.
Could reheat last night's dinner from Le Bernardin.
We have a Gaja just coming into its own.
Yeah, let's go eat at Grandpa's.
No. Nonsense. We will eat right here.
And if it's a chewy Gaja you want,
let's get that going right now.
Just go ahead and take the seat, Chuck.
You know, I'm surprised you came, Wend.
A pleasant surprise, but a surprise nonetheless.
I have a work dinner after this,
so I just kind of stopped by to, you know, be here
for the kids, say hi to your dad.
Be here for the...
Oh, oh, oh.
It makes sense.
Ah, the super-early bird dinner.
Me facing the wall,
you here as a buffer of sorts against the world.
I get it now.
Oh, the children don't want to be seen in public
having dinner with an indicted man, huh?
We're not embarrassed of you.
Oh, goodness, you're embarrassed of me.
Remember how it was for you when I had my troubles?
Perhaps the kids feel that way.
You were a slum lord. I was doing the public good.
Junior!
Keister. Seat. Now.
[sighs]
It's important that we all remember:
I am not, and will never be, convicted,
because I have done nothing wrong.
Totally.
Absolutely, Dad. You'll always be our father.
[car horn blaring]
[distant woman shouting]
[indistinct chatter]
[Wags] Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Thank you.
Can you get a message to him?
No. He hasn't sent one to me.
It's safer this way.
Why do you need him?
It was one thing to help keep the trains running
when it was just about Prince staying rich and getting richer.
But I have decided that he is dangerous.
And I can't be part of another strongman
entering the world stage.
Ah. There's always strongmen.
Maybe if you know this one, you can influence him.
And maybe he ain't that bad.
"Maybe he ain't that bad"
is the war cry of the meek and the defeated.
It's what got us the last few fucking winners.
It's the key that unlocks the door that lets the demons
run free, and I don't want to be holding it.
So drop it and split.
I would, but that leaves everyone who works there behind.
I'm not prepared to do that.
And I can't think of anyone else
who could stop Prince's rise.
Axe couldn't when he tried.
Look, the time to think about this was the before-time.
Wherever he is, whatever he's doing,
he ain't looking backwards.
Don't you miss him?
That's a bit like asking a caveman hiding from a dinosaur
if he misses the sun. Of course he does.
But if he goes outside the cave when it's light out,
he might get eaten.
The cavemen and the dinosaurs
didn't walk the earth at the same--
As I can hardly believe we were
really and truly here with him.
The whole world is different.
Yes.
Yes to every single word.
Somehow, we have managed to keep living
without that warm glow.
[sighs] But I'll tell you,
it's hard living without daylight.
And I really need his counsel
on how to at least direct Prince to not, like,
end the fucking universe.
Maybe it's just not your problem to solve.
So you're okay with just making the best of it as is?
I am at Wo Hop
with one of my three favorite people in the world.
This is about the best version of me
making the best of it I know of.
Mm-mm. Mm!
Hey, give us a minute, would you?
How sure are you?
It might be as simple as this.
There's nothing more dangerous
than a man who's sure he's never wrong.
Add in the money, add in the intellect.
Smarts is good.
Not when those smarts are used to strengthen the idea
that no one else's opinion counts.
And in add his ability to lie to himself
about who he really is, and finally,
fold in a textbook God complex.
He thinks he's God now?
This is a man who's accomplished
everything he's ever set out to do.
Again. That's supposed to be a good thing.
Yeah, it's good. Right up until the moment
that he decides that what he needs to do
is take out Russia or China
or whoever's next on the list, preemptively.
Or that he really needs to do
is to shut up the dissenters right here.
And then, suddenly, he's gassing Des Moines.
But, like, that's what half the guys in office want to do.
Bureaucracy stops 'em.
Not this guy. He steamrolls it.
My job is to listen to what these men say
and to parse it.
If he gets there,
he won't be stopped by red tape.
Our only chance is to stop him beforehand.
Otherwise, in his own words, the country will scream.
And he'll just keep on going.
Then I hope you find Axe.
Because he is the only one
who might have a chance to prevent it.
[Wendy] Thank you for meeting me here.
You offered up a slice of Joe's.
And you're you.
Who's saying no?
[chuckles]
I need you to get a message to Bobby.
If I accept your message
and you told a court of law I accepted it,
they would interpret it as my having knowledge
of his whereabouts.
I knew you'd say that,
and I asked you here anyway.
Why would you want to locate him, theoretically?
Same reason you, uh, look up your exes on Instagram, I guess.
[chuckles] I don't do that.
Neither do I. But people do.
Makes them feel both connected and aware of their own growth.
Yeah. That's not why you want to know.
Everything is murky right now, Orrin.
Bobby isn't. Never was.
He is clarity.
That is what we need right now.
If by "we" you mean this city, country and world,
you're damn right we do.
Which is a funny thing to say, considering he cost me
my good standing with the bar for six months.
He was worth what he cost.
Is.
I see it the same.
I only wish I was the one who could deliver him to you.
- You're not? - I've eaten.
[thunder rumbling]
- [door creaking] - Festive spot.
Especially at the witching hour.
Yeah.
Well, like Uncle Junior's doctor's office,
I have this place.
The final resting spot of a long line of dead Rhoadeses.
My great-grandfather Elijah. His wife Tig.
Uh...
Grandpa Crawford.
Uncle Cleveland.
And, uh, that one there is earmarked for me.
And you might as well slide me in right now
'cause I am a dead man walking.
Let's not get operatic. You knew the deal.
What I knew was you were going to tell me the deal.
So I signed, as anyone would when the choice was steel bars,
but I'm still waiting.
It's better out here than where you were.
All right, let's not do it like this.
I want to find areas of agreement.
Yes, it is better out here,
but now I need to really understand your plan
so I can go along--
No, no.
Not going to reveal the whole thing.
- [laughs] - I'm just going to do it.
You play your part better
the less you know about how I'm working it.
I can have all the info.
That way, I not only play the scene,
I play the whole film.
That shit might work in a fucking Michael Bay movie,
but this...
this needs to be Kubrick.
Quiet and creeping,
and then suddenly shocking and perfect.
Dave, I'd never second-guess a player like you,
but I need be free of this bullshit
sooner rather than later.
All right. I heard you in court.
And you know who else heard you?
Mikey Prince.
So while I'm insistent on my stance,
I will give you this much:
I am making inroads at his company,
with his employees.
I get close, I bleed them for info.
And not the kind of info they think they're giving me,
but the kind we need.
And you just keep playing possum
in the crosshairs of justice.
[scoffs]
What you're doing
is key to my gaining their confidence, so keep it up.
[sighs]
See you tomorrow.
Or is that already today?
To me, it's all one long day run together
since I was put on the chain gang.
[Dave, sighing] Oh, my God.
The strategy I built for Taylor Mason Carbon
was designed to play out over longer than a few years.
The results aren't in yet,
but I'm feeling a "results now" vibe here.
Prince says you should revamp it.
Transfer the investments over that still apply.
It's all the same ownership anyway.
This isn't satisfying, talking to the lawyer.
It's true, and that's exactly what you sound like:
the lawyer.
That's a sad characterization.
I'll get over that on my own time.
And to be honest, nobody owes you an explanation.
Legally, Prince can do what he wants to your entity.
He controls it.
But I am here explaining, listening, as a courtesy.
Because we're all throwing in here now, right?
You on the financial side, me on the operations side.
So don't think of me as the lawyer,
think of me as a part of Prince's brain.
He's downloaded the things he wants me on top of.
Whatever happened in that interrogation room
- clearly forged a bond. - It's true.
I guess you come apart at the seams and blubber
all over your lawyer's shoulder, you get tight.
Is that what happened? Like Cutler and Gotti?
Or Von Bülow and Dersh.
You won't get a rise out of me,
but what you're missing is this is good for you.
You're not being partitioned or siloed off anymore.
You run this entire place.
Trade how you like, within the parameters,
but, uh, the expectations are for a field-beating year.
So my crew, computer-driven and ESG-focused airborne troops
are expected to wade into the long-short mud
like infantry grunts and win?
That's something I'll have to go back to Prince with
and, uh, swing back to you.
[Philip] Better that we see him and press him on that.
Have to convince him to keep our internal structure
and offices intact.
[power tools whirring]
Yeah, you might be a little late for that.
[man] Wait, that's our wall.
Hey.
So I get someone there to turn.
Who's the most likely, in your opinion, Chuck,
to know enough but also to be willing to roll?
All those guys will roll if the leverage is strong enough,
don't you think, big guy?
The old Uncle Mike quote applies.
"The plan crumbles upon impact."
Think he said it a little more colorfully.
- [chuckling] Hard to imagine. - [knock on door]
We have a situation.
Reporter out there.
Was signed in by an assistant AG on a pretext,
blew right by the assistant AG and marched over to me.
Guy says you need to see him. If you don't, bad for you.
I can meet him in the lobby.
Says he followed Mr. Rhoades here.
Knows you are together. Wants to talk to both of you.
Send one of the comms people, too.
Reporter said he'll file his story
the moment he sees a comms person,
and that it'll explode like Tex Cobb
in Raising Arizona.
Get him. Bring him slow.
We need to rearrange ourselves
so this looks like a plea conference.
Oh, fuck. This guy.
You got that right.
- This guy. - [Chuck sighs]
Only with a different angle.
Hello, Attorney General Mahar. My name is Lucien Porter.
- I write for-- - I know who you are, Mr. Porter.
But you have to know,
you can't just barge into a plea conference.
And you have to know, Miss Mahar, I-I just did.
What do you want?
I want to see both of your reactions to this.
And any response you may have.
Are we off the record?
Oh, no, we are as on the record
as BB King at Sun Studios in 1950 cutting "Mistreated Woman."
[laughs]
Yeah, the king of the blues
recorded there years before Elvis the King.
But let's not get off track.
Uh, I'm gonna walk my client out of here
unless you can give me reason not to.
How's this for reason:
I have come to think the world was wrong
about Charles "Chuck" Rhoades, Jr.
A point of possible agreement. Fascinating.
Wrong how?
Well, I think what I,
and the rest of the world, missed,
is that this man is a crusader.
[Dave] A criminal
twice removed from office.
You just made my point.
What if working inside the structure of the government,
especially in the years under discussion,
it wasn't possible to really do the people's bidding
while following the letter of the law?
I have sources who have told me--
compelling and convincing sources--
that Mr. Rhoades was twice removed
because he refused to back down to power.
That he was determined to bring to justice
those few that control all.
Normally, I'd be thrilled by this,
but I don't trust your agenda, man.
Good instinct.
[Porter] I'd see it same from your seat,
Chuck, but I've watched it.
You're the only one who stood up to the billionaires
with more than words.
The only one who paid a price.
Twice removed, as the attorney general said,
prosecuted now, and for what?
[Dave] For breaking the law.
I prosecute infractions, not intentions.
That'll be your quote then.
Rhoades, you want to say something?
Nah. I'm not talking to you.
Even as I agree that I have been railroaded,
I'm gonna fight my case and win in court,
and then go about my business.
As you should go about yours, Mr. Porter, out there,
and leave me to mine in here.
I'll go, but that doesn't mean I'm leaving you.
Oh. Set that sentiment to music,
and maybe you'll make something out of your writing.
- [chuckles] - Goodbye.
It's him. Big Red.
Is he sending out a flare?
Does he want us to see?
If he didn't, how would I spot it?
Were you chiefing up at the moment of this big revelation?
That's an insulting question. And hurtful.
Why does it have to be that I was chiefing up?
You've been known to partake, even during work hours.
The idea that I can't hold my weed is the disrespectful part.
Okay, Mafee, how did you spot it?
[Mafee] Now, I did happen to be chiefing up, as discussed--
enjoying some Nautical Twilight,
as a matter of fact-- at the time I saw it.
- [typing] - No.
Couldn't be.
No way.
But maybe.
So I switched to a sativa
to think through this one.
Diablo Wind, which,
despite its frightening and evil-sounding name,
is actually cerebral and perfect
for getting things done.
- [Taylor] Mafee! - Sorry. Anyway...
at first I'm thinking
I'm looking at some noise trader.
But then I notice a technical component to it.
But the sizing was too great.
Yet it wasn't an institution.
- And then... - When the smoke cleared?
...I realized I was looking at Semi-Strong Form Efficiency.
Let me see.
Whoever it was, he was fast, aggressive, sure-footed.
You know I know Axe's trading style better than anyone.
I've studied it. And this is him. I'm sure of it.
Uh-huh.
Who put you up to looking, Mafee?
No. No, this was on my own.
But I didn't want to, like, commit to the idea
that it was him without running it by you.
I wasn't going to tell anyone about it.
Wasn't, you know, tasked.
[computer chimes]
- Oh. Hello. - [Taylor] Help me figure out
who asked Mafee to find Axe through Axe's trades.
I did it. I need to reach him, but he's gone to ground.
So I figured he could track him,
and then you could bait him, using what Mafee knows.
[Taylor] No. No one could bait him.
And no way Mafee sees this if Axe didn't want to be seen.
Just a sec.
[phone vibrating]
Ah, the Count Basie Orchestra
together again.
Only the Count himself is missing.
Here's how I figure it.
You followed protocol, said he was unreachable,
then told him I wanted to connect
because you can reach him,
and then he had to have a little fun.
Ah.
Did Mafee notice a certain signature trading style
in the energy sector?
I was right! Fuck yeah!
I knew there was something about that guy.
Chief on that.
I think the big guy just wanted to know how serious
you were about connecting. And now he does.
I am tempted to engage in all of this, but not enough.
I'm done with intrigue, with palace coups.
I just want to keep building my war chest.
Just keep making money and strengthening my rep
in this fucking business,
which is becoming increasingly difficult
with the latest bullshit at the firm.
We're not done talking about this.
We are for now.
But it is weirdly perfect timing, Mafee,
I'll grant you that.
I've been thinking about you and your shop.
Its demise, really.
[cell phone buzzes]
[laughs]
Wow.
Hello, Pop.
[laughs]
Oh, no, I will accept your congratulations for sure,
- even as this is a small-- - [call waiting beeps]
Oh, I got another call coming in.
Let me get you back.
Eisen!
Capital to hear from you, my good m--
And thank you for letting me know you saw it.
Yes.
It is good to see that the right story is finally--
- [knock on door] - Uh, there's my front door.
Yeah.
Okay.
Back to you soon, pal.
[chuckles]
Holy fuckballs.
That Lucien Porter, he did it!
- This piece... - Hmm.
...this piece basically says
you're the Robin Hood of New York City.
It says you were the only person in the city, the country,
who risked personal welfare
to try to put the crooked billionaires away.
Well, I was.
I am.
You...
you acted surprised when Porter barged in.
But you weren't, were you?
Well, get to our age, nothing much surprises, does it?
- If this gets momentum... - Sure.
If everything lined up just so,
if this really was the time for me to assume my rightful pl--
The message that Porter is putting out in the world,
that the very government I was supposed to be working for
instead fought against me to stop me from doing
the exact thing the people wanted...
They're holding him up as a hero
who actually does what he says.
...arresting bad-faith actors of great wealth and power,
well, now who knows what could sprout from that.
Students who got a taste of fairness
when they thought their loans would be forgiven
might take to the streets!
I could see your Al Sharptons and your Nicole Wallaces
getting into the act.
Your Warrens, your Sanderses, your AOCs.
All righteously outraged
that a true champion who tried to carry their fight
was snuffed out.
This might make that same champion
into the kind of public hero who's very hard to keep down.
[no audible dialogue]
Yeah, and even harder to prosecute.
The president's going to let the State of New York decide
whether this case against Mr. Rhoades is warranted.
So you set all that up, too, didn't you?
It's gonna happen.
Once again, I think it's fair to say it won't surprise me.
I have a spot in my pod if you're interested.
I've clocked some of your trades.
I like what I see.
Okay, rad. I've come to see you are a many-sided figure.
I mean, more than the eyes and ears first.
- Uh, cool. We'll join you. - Yeah, cool, where do we--?
There's one seat available.
One.
Both of us together, or neither.
I'm gonna go with neither.
Good luck.
That was really heartening, the way you backed me.
It reminded me of seventh grade
when I was the new kid in the cafeteria and--
Save it, s'il vous plaît. That's French.
Hold the roll, you two.
We're not accepting this new reality.
Find a place to post up for the moment
until I can talk to Prince.
Pod next to us is open.
We can compare notes.
Yeah. I know what it's like
being a bird without a nest.
It sucks.
Mmm.
In my envisioning,
this isn't like a hierarchal thing.
This is just like two guys making decisions together.
Two alphas.
Pearl and Clyde in the Knicks backcourt together.
Earl "the Pearl" Monroe sacrificed ten points a game
to come to New York.
I mean, he went from being the leader of the team
and top scorer in the league
to being the third option on Clyde's team.
Do you want me to be the third option on Michael Prince's team?
They won championships, Mark. And with all the good
that you're doing with the drug thing--
The drug thing is Cost Plus Drugs.
If you're going to run for the top slot,
if you're going to run the press gauntlet,
you're going to do that.
I'm just putting it out there that we could do it together.
Announce a year before anybody puts their VP list together.
I take the bulk of the scrutiny,
and we are kicking butt like Nick Bockwinkel
and Ray "the Crippler" Stevens.
Look, I'm more a Terry Funk guy, but regardless.
The only thing that matters more to me than my country
is my family.
And there's just no way I'm gonna put them
through an election cycle.
Especially not to be your VP or anybody's VP.
But, you know, I really get the sense
that you asked me up here just to find out
if I was gonna run against you.
You really just wanted to confirm that the coast was
clear for you to run as an independent.
Well, I'm not, and it is.
But come on, Mike.
Next time, just call me and ask me.
Save us both some time, okay?
I assume you've seen this?
Ah, the epic tale of our city's very own Eliot Ness.
[Dave] Do you know where it will lead?
Because I do.
Into the annals of folklore.
Which is not where I want to take my prosecution.
- No, it can't be an accident. - I saw it going down.
It didn't turn out the way I thought.
Isn't that, like, Chuck's specialty?
Look, we both want this guy found guilty,
which is what you were promising to do.
What is it you want me to do about it?
You're a brilliant player.
Make some of them bold moves.
Make the Bezos play.
- Buy the paper? - Yeah!
But go farther than him. Kill stories like this.
Have them write the opposite ones.
Yeah, a purchase like that doesn't fit my needs right now.
Nor does taking shrapnel for steering the editorial bent
of a major paper.
Oh, of course, I forgot.
Is it too soon to start calling you Mr. President?
It is. But it's not too soon for you to put Chuck away,
which is what you promised to do,
instead of leaving openings for him to exploit.
I don't tell you what stocks to buy and when,
so you can save your dime-store critique
of my case-building, dude.
Sorry to interrupt, but this
is about business of the day.
You were told to wait, to talk to Sacker and Scooter and Wags.
We did talk.
Guess it didn't take.
We were told you wanted us to run your company,
so we need to talk to you about it.
I'm... I'm sorry about this timing,
but this is kind of urgent.
- If you could-- - [Dave] Yeah, yeah.
Thanks, Mike.
Seems like everything's running great for you.
The whole idea was that you weren't going to micromanage.
This is macro.
The whole place, right? The structure of the place.
The physical plant.
Within that structure, you two make the calls.
- Stepped right into that one. - But you are right.
This is an operations call, and we are operating the firm.
Except our square peg personnel
are getting muscled into round holes.
This functioned perfectly in a separate--
I can't-- we can't have two different vehicles.
It can't appear that you have split focus,
and you can't have split focus.
Because you're going to.
I focus fully on whatever I'm looking at.
And when those walls came down,
you had to know they weren't going back up.
- So, what do you want? - Let me.
Taylor, Philip,
this whole place needs to feel that it is looking to you two,
and that you two are looking back.
A direct engagement.
And you know who else needs to feel that,
that you are wholly, 100% invested in making money,
gobs of it, for Michael Prince Capital?
Is that guy right there.
It's the one thing that will free him
to go and get done that which he must.
For all of us.
What she said.
Fine. We accept the new conditions, but with a demand.
We need to make a key hire or two
of the kind of folks who understand
that whole "gobs of money" thing.
Especially in-- even in the kind of markets
we are dealing with now.
I'll meet your prospectives,
just to rubber-stamp--
No way. Unless we fuck one up,
we hire who we want to fulfill our needs. That's our condition.
[Philip] And we need to be able to get time with you
when we need counsel. Sacker is great.
You're great, Kate. As are Scooter and Wags.
But there are big decisions we will need
the direct Mike magic on.
You'll keep Wags and Scooter informed.
And Sacker on anything legal or legal adjacent.
And I'll make myself available weekly.
But you two need to run this place profitably
while I work on banging this country back into shape.
It's been said one is either a hammer or an anvil.
Good people have been the anvil for too long.
I know you're tight with them, that you have relationships,
and it's no fun taking the position you have to on this.
But it's necessary, and I appreciate it.
Hey, I'm your house counsel.
The gig is to protect you against all threats,
foreign and domestic.
And I can't get to where I'm going
until you get to where you're going first.
You hear that shit?
Hammer and anvil?
That's fucking Hitler from Munich in '29.
Is he hoping people won't notice,
or that they will?
[scoffs] I'm not sure.
But we've got to figure this the fuck out.
The jig is up The news is out
They've finally found me
The renegade Who had it made
Retrieved for a bounty
- [Dollar Bill] Working here! - It'll only take a minute.
["Renegade" by Styx blaring loudly]
What the fuck?
I got to nail the doggy door shut.
Your wife let us in.
[turns music off]
Who's he, your dentist?
I don't even know what that means.
We've met, like, twice.
What happened?
You had a whole office and a company.
Now you have a garage and a bathrobe.
If I think the word "blowjob,"
I want to be able to say the word "blowjob."
- Naturally. - You're trying to be funny,
but you get it, right?
I mean, the Street these days,
it's a woke fucking preschool.
You miss rolling out mats for naptime
and skip juice boxes once, it's a major fucking felony.
You had culture problems at the office.
Culture. Ugh.
You either earn, or you do not.
And you started losing your analysts, then your traders,
and even your back office.
Then your outside money.
- Then, even Mafee. - He told you?
I smelled it on him.
Well, despite all that bullshizzle,
I'm still a gunslinger.
And a gunslinger's what we need.
[scoffs] For what?
Philip and I run Michael Prince Capital together.
Yeah, I heard something about that.
Props to you.
We're here to offer you a PM job.
- Is that right? - [Taylor] Yes.
We'd start you off with your own book,
20% more capital under management than when you left.
Yeah, and what about the Great Gazoo over there?
How long before he starts getting up in my business?
You mean Prince? He won't. He left it to us.
It's true. He's busy with other projects.
And while he did dictate overall expectations,
he leaves the strat and execution to us.
A lot of latitude. A lot of freedom.
Yeah, I know latitude means freedom in this context.
Can I say "blowjob"?
Yes, but not to anyone.
Yeah, not in anyone's presence,
but you can think it loud as you want.
Then I pass.
- So you're happy here? - Like a pig in shit.
Blowjob, blowjob, blowjob!
The jig is up The news is out
They've finally found me
The renegade Who had it made
Retrieved For a bounty
[clears throat]
Oh.
Now that's my kind of approach.
We were supposed to be in this together,
but you decided to go off-roading.
Well, you made me ashamed to be seen in public.
Divided my family.
And you shut me out.
It created a vacuum of trust.
Chuck, this is making my job harder.
And you were the one who wanted to take him down
- in the first place. - Yeah.
I am the one supposed to take him down.
Or maybe I'll do nothing.
Either way, I won't do it in custody.
[whispering] Oh, my God.
You're a student of history, so you know that Federal Hall
was the original seat of government in the colonies.
Sure. It's where George Washington
took the first oath of office.
Bunch of very conflicted men with a lot of flaws.
Lots.
To be sure.
But they were trying to transcend themselves
with what they were doing in there, what they were building.
They weren't doing it so that one day a bunch of plutocrats
could live with more power than the king they'd fled.
You set this whole thing up, didn't you?
Even though you were under a gag order.
Maybe for once, something just worked out.
No. There are calls for your release all over the city.
Politicians. Civic leaders.
There are goddamn marches being planned,
making it real tough to empanel an unbiased jury.
I've got the governor on my call sheet,
and I have a feeling I know what it's about:
dropping the case against you.
I were in your shoes,
I'd tell them to fuck themselves.
Of course, we know where that attitude got me.
Bounced out of office. Twice.
You're making your only friend into your enemy.
Not the first time.
All right, you motherfuckers!
When that bell rings, I'm coming out of the gates
like I ain't been fed for a week.
Better try and stay with me
or get ready to look real fucking bad
come comp time.
I'm not sure I like this.
Am I supposed to like this?
Like you said, we had to give them something.
This guy, though?
I can't have a whiff of how he used to do it.
I can't have it.
I'll be sure to keep him on a tight leash.
Make it a choke collar.
[slight chuckle]
[Chuck] This smells good, doesn't it?
- [woman] Hi, Chuck. - Nice to see you, Chuck.
- It's great to see you. - Everybody's talking about you.
Well, that's good to hear. Thank you.
You seem to be enjoying yourself.
Well, you do the right thing for the right reason,
the rest just seems to take care of itself.
It's supposed to, yes.
- Hey, care to join us? - No.
I just, uh, came to drop off Eva's bag.
She left it at my place.
She's staying with you tonight.
- I have a thing came up at work. - You know, old days,
busy as you were, you rarely missed a night with the kids.
Old days. Yeah, well, a lot was different.
Uh-huh. Bye.
[indistinct chatter]
[tour guide] Right this way, folks.
I know, it's impressive, isn't it?
- Very old. - [man] It's crazy.
[tour guide] Keep together for a good look at the tower.
At various times a prison,
a fortress, a royal residence.
For hundreds of years,
this was the start of a procession
to Westminster Abbey
for the coronation of a new monarch.
[Axe] Stirring spot, isn't it?
And I think I understand why you picked it.
But I was surprised this was the meet.
I thought I'd have to take a longer flight to see you.
Maybe blindfolded,
so I couldn't lead them back to you, even under duress.
[chuckles]
Well, you know, geopolitics is fluid.
Early in the conflict,
Ukraine wanted Javelin anti-tanks, other things.
Western governments weren't able to get them there first.
You?
Structured the deal.
Took care of the financing. Arranged a friend--
a guy you would not expect--
to find and deliver the actual arms.
Bought me a great deal of goodwill
all across the continent, EU and here.
Who's better than you at seeing something like that
and figuring out how to make a trade of it?
Your guy Prince must be better, right?
Don't call him my guy.
Even for you, that's harsh.
You're at that company every day.
He must be doing something right.
I didn't come over here for the cracks.
I came over here for your help, Bobby.
Walk away.
Not how I roll.
We built that place, you and me.
If I leave...
Look, it's still intact, for now.
But it won't be if the guy who's running it
keeps going the way he is.
The people won't be intact.
What am I supposed to do, fix it?
It's not just the firm I'm worried about.
I'm worried the damage he's going to do
is even greater outside.
But, yeah, let's... let's start with figuring out
how we protect the thing that we made.
If that's why you've come, you're not alone.
["London Calling" by the Clash playing]
Well, shit.
Look what we have here.
Luke, Leia, and Chewie.
All that's missing is Han and the Millennium Falcon.
I guess that's where I come in.
London calling To the faraway towns
Now war is declared And battle come down
London calling To the underworld
Come out of the cupboard You boys and girls
London calling Now don't look to us
Phony Beatlemania Has bitten the dust
London calling See, we ain't got no swing
Except for the ring Of the truncheon thing
The ice age is coming The sun's zooming in
Meltdown expected The wheat is growing thin
Engines stop running But I have no fear
'Cause London is drowning
And I live by the river
London calling To the imitation zone
Forget it, brother You can go it alone
London calling To the zombies of death
Quit holding out And draw...