[Philip] Previously on Billions.
We‘re flipping the paradigm.
Our investors will have to prove their worth.
As a company. As human beings.
You talk a big game,
but every move you make
comes from a personal pain so deep,
you can‘t even recognize it.
Stay out of the apartment until I clear my shit out.
Not every day the top legal officers of this state
pop up on my calendar. What‘s on your mind?
Welcome to Michael Prince Capital, Kate.
Where do I work?
Wherever you want.
I see beyond the woman who stood up for
an indefensible seafood scam
to the better person lurking beneath.
So you came here to yell at me?
I came here.... to hire you.
Trying to impress you.
Hire you. How am I doing?
I sometimes think about what I could do at a place
built for speed and power.
I‘d like to get Philip Charyn out of here.
You kept your nephew out of the Prince Companies for years.
I win this round.
Philip, I‘m doubling the book you had at your old place.
-Thanks, Mike. -Tuk, I‘m zeroing you out.
You‘ll service Philip for now.
And I‘m here to get what I‘m worth.
Get a load of that.
The real version will be up at the opening ceremony in ‘28.
Well, uh....
Both of us serve the people,
and Mike Prince‘s grand plan, it doesn‘t really serve them.
I may need a little more convincing.
[Prince] The OPTO car.
The cutting edge of metropolitan underground transportation.
Door closure to departure time, cut in half.
Requires only one driver.
Silent braking mechanics to reduce noise.
And clean air-conditioning and heating system.
American-made.
Best part: I‘m buying.
A thousand new Jetson cars,
courtesy of Mike Prince.
New Yorkers will be riding in style in time
for the 2028 games.
And you‘ll be the hero to take them there.
No.
The Governor of New York will be.
♪ If you act ♪
♪ As you think ♪
♪ The missing link ♪
♪ Synchronicity ♪
♪ A connecting principle ♪
♪ Linked to the invisible ♪
♪ Almost imperceptible... ♪
[Plimpton] Who even let this fucking Prince guy
get away with buying himself a subway system?
You‘re the guy supposed to protect the working man,
accordin‘ to the pamphlet.
I‘m that working man.
The men of my union are those working men.
Voting working men.
Boy, you don‘t leave much unsaid, do ya, Ton‘?
I will as soon as you tell me
how you can sit there and let this fucking Prince guy--
-[Dave] He isn‘t. -Dave, meet Tony Plimpton.
He runs the Transport Workers Union,
and he never visits me when he‘s happy
with my performance. Now why is that?
You know, my dad always said,
"People forget the pat on the back
but they remember the kick in the ass."
You should make that the union motto.
I would, ‘cept our motto is,
"Take no shit from nobody‘s second-in-command."
-Don‘t you go at her. -Let him step to me,
see how he handles a Bobo Brazil Coco Butt--
No head-butts. No foreign objects.
No shots to the solar plexus.
Now, specifics, please.
My guys in the rail yard caught a glimpse of this new OPTO
being delivered.
Subway car.
Fancy motherfucking beast, and this guy Michael Prince
wants to gift a thousand of them to the city.
Oh, boy, no limit to the benevolence of a man
who wants the Olympics to come to New York.
Yeah, well Mr. Benevolence is gonna destroy my union.
Each car has one less driver.
That‘s a thousand of my men out of work.
The next generation won‘t use any.
That‘s a death knell.
And today‘s not a good day to die,
and tomorrow would suck, too.
So, we need you to do for us what you did for the doormen.
We...
my new Deputy Dawg, Dave Mahar, and I
can block this purchase
and save the fine men and women
of the TWU. And we will.
Yeah? Yeah, that‘s it?
You sound disappointed.
Well, you know, I like the yelling part.
-But, okay. -I‘m sure you‘ll find a way
to hector me again.
-Thank you. -Yeah.
Thanks.
[Chuck exhales]
You disapprove, yet took my side. I like that.
That‘s what a Deputy Dawg does.
But, now that we‘re alone,
convince me how a thousand pristine subway cars
aren‘t a net positive for the city
compared to the shitbox I just rode to work.
Not to mention the Olympics.
And why Mike Prince is in your sights?
Because he is a robber baron,
and what he is engaging in is just the latest form
of noblesse oblige.
Trying to help people to further his own ends,
whatever they may be, while he enjoys ten thousand--
a hundred thousand times the resources any of them do.
It‘s like Branson in space.
You‘re familiar with the original term for pirate,
"Hostis humani generis."
"Enemy of all mankind."
That‘s right.
Beyond any legal protection
and prosecutable by any and all.
It‘s what I‘ve come to know Mike Prince is,
and those like him.
You will too, no doubt.
So let‘s find a way to take his toy trains away.
Start with your predecessor.
[Prince] Is Chuck trying to rattle you?
Maybe.
Or them looking for intel.
Go, and try to get and not give.
Watch your six.
[Sacker] Always.
Nice spot for a meet.
Right across from the most dangerous crossroads
in all of New York for a hundred years.
Mulberry Bend, sure.
Dead Rabbits, the Roach Guards, the Whyos,
the Five Pointers, all the Gambinos,
all of them used that corner to meet and hatch crimes.
You sending me a message,
or does Chuck already have you planning murders?
No. Not yet.
Did you plan any for him?
-[chuckles] -I‘m actually visiting my mom.
She still lives in a third-story walk-up
above that restaurant over there, where I grew up.
Won‘t let me move her to Florida.
Anyway, thanks for meeting.
I always try and connect with my predecessor,
see where the IEDs are buried too close to the surface.
Also for help understanding the legal arguments
your predecessor was planning to make?
Unfinished cases, yes.
If you can tell me your intention on these,
how you visualized the win,
then maybe I can clumsily finish the job.
I wrote questions in the margins.
You‘d still be the one getting the win.
I‘m just the relief pitcher on these.
And you‘re gonna get the save?
Are you saving me?
Seems you‘ve already saved yourself, haven‘t you?
Oh... [laughs]
Sure. I‘ll look.
That‘s it?
Well, I wish I had the time for more history
of the Lower East Side, but the pace where I‘m at,
you know, you‘ve been in the private sector.
-Yes. -Guess I never really
appreciated how time-consuming the everyday bureaucracy was
until I left government work.
Where I‘m at now, things need to happen
at the speed of light, which suits me.
I will have these couriered back to you soonest.
I appreciate the kindness.
It‘s not kindness. I want those wins!
Advisory Board sent word that they‘re excited about
the branding utility of the games.
But with expenditures against current capital
-under management, that... -That if you‘re serious
about this Bobby Bacala choo-choo train shit,
you‘re going to need more cash coming in.
How much more?
Backstroking Scrooge McDuck levels.
Scarcity has served us well.
The Prince List is hard to get on.
I don‘t think we should change that.
There‘s no point in playing Steve Rubell
if you let everyone in the club.
Their point is, they‘re afraid the scarcity
that the Prince List created is going to kill it.
-The point is-- -Shh.
He‘s doing a 360 and looking at the whole world.
Let it happen.
Yep. Yes.
I‘ll consider new investors.
But it‘s not open season,
and I‘m not letting anyone in because I need to.
Want. Not need.
Zero dog and pony.
Just let people know we‘re open to their calls.
One step closer to delivering a privately funded
Olympics to New York.
How was your meeting with Ms. Mahar?
It was a fishing expedition.
She got nothing. She‘s good enough that I got nothing
except the cute origin story
and some quotidian notes on cases I left behind.
No real sense of the ways that Chuck might come after us.
She‘s certain of herself;
certain that she‘s read you even when you know she hasn‘t.
So we just need to be ready for anything.
Those are my standing orders since birth.
That feeling of frustration,
that sense you can‘t tell where they‘re going to attack from,
it‘s a good feeling. Helpful.
So stay there if you can.
Then we‘ll both be ready.
Dave. I just need another day with the files.
I will messenger them back first thing in the morning.
[Winston] Can I have my phone back?
I need you to be patient.
Let‘s say you did something that people on Twitter
or wherever didn‘t like.
And you get ratioed, like he did.
With Winch, I can get rid of all the bad comments,
the original posts, the copies made of it, everything.
The program‘s impressive. And they need an influx of cash?
They do. Bonus points because they have no idea
what they are sitting on.
Prince wants everyone to love the idea of the Olympics,
but, I mean, obviously they are polarizing.
This app hides that chatter from social media.
Suddenly, the games are Maroon 5.
Everyone likes them, and nobody knows how it happened.
This is legit.
But it‘s an add-on.
Quickly copied, which means it will quickly lose value.
So that‘s-- I‘m sorry,
is this you rejecting my idea?
Huh.
That‘s not the choice I would have made but... okay?
You can invest in it and keep tabs on it,
but it‘s not for us as a company at this stage.
Prince List is open for new money.
Incoming calls only, no roadshow, no begging.
Smart.
I want to make an exception for my alma mater.
Getting them to sign on to the list would prove
that you lived up to the promise you showed back then.
Getting them would also be good business.
So I find myself distracted,
waiting for them to reach out. Considering calling them myself.
It‘s an unpleasant situation.
And you want me to alleviate your need,
make you care less.
Well, you can, can‘t you?
I can.
But I won‘t. You need to sit in the discomfort
until you‘re willing to do something you don‘t want to do.
Hmm.
Abandon them.
That, or make the call.
[door opens]
I‘m not built for this.
Philip wants to use Socratic elenchus
to find the core beliefs within his decisions.
And then he critiques my debate style.
I won‘t keep doing this with you here.
I mean, unless you think hearing my side of things
will change your opinion of me?
Unlikely.
I know what I have in you.
[door slams]
I tell myself someday I‘ll miss you barging in
like the great independent John Anderson
in the ‘80 presidential.
He paved the way for Perot and--
State your purpose.
Michael Prince is taking on investors.
High-level. Exclusive.
And I‘m getting in.
Are you notifying me, or asking my permission?
I‘ll be your man on the inside,
your Johnny Fedora.
You‘re reading those books to Willow?
Soon.
One, Prince would never fall for something so obvious.
And two, you‘re a zero short of Prince List-worthy.
I can hear there‘s a three
just dying to be spoken out loud.
Three is,
Fedora hunted Feramontov to avenge his parents‘ deaths,
not to make himself feel relevant again
and make some coin.
You don‘t know shit about subtext
or how this could help you.
-Are you escorting me out? -Oh, I am not.
You know the ingress, you know the egress.
Prince is taking on new investors for his titular list.
Opening up to finance the train, that would be my guess.
He needs money, and you want to cut off his funding.
That seems petty and limiting.
I want grand.
And useful to the city.
Where are we on stopping the sale?
Hello.
Oh. You want to be invited in.
We could do this right here.
I don‘t know what this is.
So, come in, and we can decide from there.
You want to say the place looks nice,
but it is entirely unchanged since you were last here.
And you?
The same.
I have something for you--
a hundred million ready to rock in the markets,
from just the kind of investor Prince wants.
I think maybe not staying so long.
Do you know Leon Sherald?
Ex-NFL star. Activist.
Jim Brown without the weekends at the Playboy Mansion.
And newly minted hero of the at-home workout obsessed:
The Combine.
I‘m working with him,
and he wants to get on the Prince List.
-I don‘t-- -You do.
You have sway.
And you can use that sway to speak to Prince about Leon.
I know the list is open.
Just get him in the room.
He‘ll do the rest.
I‘d be grateful.
I‘ll mention it.
Thank you.
It is nice that we can be transactional
and not let our emotions get in the way.
Saying it out loud like that‘s a little weird...
but sure.
Even when I was playing,
it was rare for an athlete to speak out.
But I felt like I had an obligation.
Why I told the sneaker company call the first shoes Obligato.
And then you were off and running.
I was, and it worked because I always won.
Or won enough.
I saw that....
that once I was in people‘s homes,
I could push them,
get them to be active,
more active for the cause.
You wanna look hot in your bikini? Bet.
Use The Combine.
Oh, and, by the way,
you just supported liberation.
-You found a lever. -Yeah.
And, like when I played, I delivered.
Those classes, they kick ass.
Talk about the takeover.
We‘re a week away from gobbling up
a competing system,
which means we‘ll have complete control
over the entire integrated home workout landscape.
There‘s about to be a Combine in every home
all over the world.
And I‘d like my net worth to be....
to be invested by people who share my values.
The brush-off, so quick?
Well,
you‘ve wasted my time.
And his.
They did neither.
This is me welcoming you on to the Prince List.
[laughs] Oh! Well then!
Ohh!
Ah.
The man who keeps his promises
and even dispatched Axelrod.
Oh, he‘s firmly in my rear-view.
What is in front of me
is this $2 billion donation from Mike Prince
to our subway system.
I find myself befuddled.
And you‘re here to be de-befuddled?
Well, state budgets are not open to donations.
That‘s how we prevent billionaires
from buying undue influence.
That donation was cleared by every lawyer we could find.
And the MTA by-laws clearly state
that they can accept any donation,
gift or grant from anyone at any time.
Just because they can doesn‘t mean they should.
Well, that is inarguable.
Oh, nothing is inarguable.
That‘s why I continue to thrive.
So, you‘re accepting the donation,
tainted as it may be,
and giving him the chance to lean on the city
per his own whims?
Find me a legal reason to refuse it,
and I will slap Michael Prince across the face
the second he walks through my door,
just for the fun of it.
Until then...
[sighs]
Wheels down in Indianapolis, 12:30,
meeting at Indiana A&M 1:30 p.m.
We‘ll continue to review candidates while you‘re gone.
Got a tip from a regulator.
Seems there‘s an unholy alliance forming
between the transpo workers and AG‘s office.
You didn‘t discuss this with Rhoades‘s new you, did you?
Right.
Head of the TWU, Plimpton, knows Chuck.
Not hard to see the AG took that opening to mess with our play.
Transport workers get to certify all new cars
for safe operation.
But now they‘re insisting they won‘t certify yours.
No cert, no union members to drive them.
Governor Sweeney needs the union
no matter how locked in we are with him.
So we gotta fix it.
How is leadership going to sell this to the drivers?
Fewer drivers means job loss.
Yep. And less need for signaling staff,
putting a quarter of their employees out of work.
The union‘s going to force the city to reject your gift.
Unless?
Two roads.
You can either buy their love or render them obsolete.
Obsolescence takes time, and we have none,
so I recommend buying them with a retraining
and job expansion program.
-That sounds expensive. -Oh, it will be.
Offer them whatever you can, and do it fast.
Isn‘t this getting too expensive to be worth it?
Not until the torch is lit in Manhattan.
No other way to everything you want?
No. And no.
-Stuart. -Michael Prince.
I loved and hated seeing you on my schedule.
The one because of everything you mean to this place,
the other because you‘re going to ask me a question,
and I am going to say no to it.
In the past, when the school
refused to invest in my Fund, well, it was private equity,
and you have rules about long-term lock-ups.
But this is a hedge fund and--
I‘m up on all of that.
I looked to find a way to say yes.
You have 2.9 billion that could be better managed.
I‘m finally in the position to do just that.
-Seems an easy yes. -Isn‘t even my call.
We have a Board of Endowments. They follow guidelines.
Your new fund is too new, not well enough established.
By-laws ask for a two-year track record.
They won‘t see you.
No matter how long I wait?
No matter.
I know you well enough to know that you are masking
shock and disappointment.
There‘s some Indiana John Mellencamp
anger happening, too.
But when I fight authority, authority does not always win.
No one‘s fighting here.
Feels like a beatdown to me.
I‘m the most accomplished alum Indiana A&M has ever had,
and I‘m ready to make you a lot of money.
More than I can even donate.
It makes no sense to refuse me.
Academia is not logical.
No, but it is fear-ridden.
You can‘t want me stumping to replace you
and the entire Board of Endowments.
What would make you hesitate to do that?
A fair shot.
Let‘s get the Board to New York.
You get ‘em on the plane.
I‘m going home to craft a winning argument.
If, after that, they pass,
I accept it.
Who‘s eating what?
I guess I‘ll do the salmon.
Sauce on the side.
-Please and thanks. -Good call.
Tuk, add a salmon to the order for your buddy here.
And I need you down there four minutes before
they say it‘s ready so it gets back here piping.
Got it?
Oh, he has to--
I mean, I thought--
We don‘t really.
-I can just go get the food. -It‘s fine.
He‘s going after he transcribes this earnings call.
[mouths] Sorry.
Come meet Sarah Gallagher with me this afternoon.
-Gallagher Nanotech? -One of the few people
on the list who merit inclusion.
She‘s brilliant, like if Fran Lebowitz
actually had something new to say,
and she‘s considering dropping a chunk of
her fortune into our coffers.
Why do you need backup to close an investor?
If you can‘t gin up enough fire for the pitch,
just do what I do--
watch a playlist of Al Pacino speeches
from Any Given Sunday, Scent of a Woman.
Always does the trick.
Not lacking enthusiasm. Sarah doesn‘t like
to just skim the surface. She wants a deep dive.
That means I need someone who speaks engineering to do that.
Sure thing. I‘ll be there.
It wasn‘t a yes/no question.
Five-thirty. Conference room.
Hoo-ahh!
There‘s no easy way to do this,
so I‘m just going to go ahead and do it:
We‘re signing off on the new subway cars.
Oh.
You came to me, Tony. You asked me for help.
I started to make moves.
And now I‘m in this complicated and no doubt successful campaign
to stop the purchase, and you‘re bailing?
We have our reasons.
We‘re prepared to create a $500 million fund
to help with recovery from redundancy and skill training.
Please tell me the union behind
the Squeegee Strike was not satisfied by re-education.
We were wary.
But they threw in a kicker.
And we invite you to invest
the union‘s money with us.
To be on the Prince List.
You‘ll be the only union in this round.
Bring your pension plan to us, we‘ll make you so much money,
you‘ll forget subway cars ever had two drivers,
and you‘ll be looking to hire one for your Bentley.
This is a really good offer, and normally I would say yes,
but our pension fund is mixed in with other
New York City employees.
Police, Housing Authority.
CUNY.
The rest.
I can‘t speak for them.
But you can convince them.
Right?
You cannot set a man on a task
and then abandon him because of temptation.
No. That‘s giving in to the devil at your elbow.
Satan or angel, the other unions are in too.
They didn‘t hardly need convincing.
It‘s like when a female teacher
takes a 16-year-old male student for a ride.
Not much in the way of enticing needs to happen
‘cause it‘s all the kid‘s been after anyway.
Teacher still goes to jail.
How often you think that one gets reported, Chuck?
We‘re signing off with Michael Prince.
Transport workers aren‘t going to stand with us.
Prince swayed them with visions of sugarplums.
Let‘s go to Tess Johnson.
Mayor‘s Office can recall the lease on the subway lines.
She can, but why would she?
Proletariat win for the city.
A blow against billionaire overreach. It plays.
I think she‘ll want to avoid grinding a city to a halt
that just got moving again.
Where you going?
I like to move around when I know
a building‘s about to fall on me. Okay.
Okay, we claim donations of funds for training
to a union could be considered a bribe.
But for the presence of Kate Sacker at Prince‘s side,
we could succeed.
But she‘ll know how to rebut that argument in court.
Um, um....
See?
Moving helps, right?
Better than sitting on our asses.
[paper rustles]
Scooter‘s not coming?
He got pulled away by what, exactly?
I got the note. I was told to deliver it.
I did not stop to read it along the way.
[sighs]
Sarah, hi.
[inaudible]
Oh!
[muted laughter]
[knocks]
You‘re ready to place me on the inside?
The world is an ever-changing place.
But, no, you‘re still not getting tagged in.
But I am curious
how you knew the Prince List was opening up.
Since the smiling chrome-domed bastard booted me,
I‘ve kept close tabs.
A constant, vigilant surveillance.
Close enough to know what he‘s doing,
-but not entirely on the inside. -Not yet.
And without a source close to Prince,
you‘ll just be guessing blind at his attacks and defenses.
Like that asinine board game
you used to dragoon me into playing with you all the time.
Stratego.
A classic contest of battlefield strategy.
Oh, and you can‘t tell me you‘re still bitter
you could never win.
Children‘s games are skewed to the child‘s mind.
I‘ll put my money on Willow in two years‘ time
if you care for a rematch.
Oh, no doubt she‘ll wipe the board with me.
Until then,
you can get me the names of the contenders
for Prince‘s list.
As I am not a retriever, nor do I wish to be,
I will ignore the command
and assume you already know my friends
are keeping me well-informed.
I do, and if you‘d share that information,
that would be great.
Constant vigilance.
It is the only way.
Clearly.
Thank you.
That‘s all?
I am grateful for your assistance.
What?
You‘re taking a class.
Okay. And why?
Because I know how to take all that
shiny new subway money away from Michael Prince
and give it to the people.
["I Can‘t Quit" by the Vaccines plays]
[Leon] Come on! Come on! Come on!
Hurry!
Nice.
Fifteen seconds between you and greatness.
Come on! Let‘s go! Let‘s go!
Whoo! [claps] Yes.
That‘s what I‘m talking about. That‘s what I‘m talking about.
All right, vertical jump, touch the sky.
Touch the sky.
I want to see air between you and the ground.
That‘s right.
Yeah, good job, Britney. Good job, Carter.
Good hustle, y‘all. Good hustle.
[panting]
Good.
That was intense.
Hmm.
I‘m usually on my own, at home.
But I have to say this whole community thing
is way more inspiring.
Hell, yeah, it is.
I want to ask about something, if you don‘t mind,
before I buy that ten-pack of classes.
Yeah, all right. Hit me.
I just heard that you‘re making one of those alliances
like when SoulCycle did that event for President--
That wasn‘t SoulCycle as a company.
It was just one of their owners.
Who remembers?
I just know how bad it hurt them.
It‘s why I‘m worried about you and the NYPD.
Oh, that‘s the last group that I‘d throw in with.
In fact, I‘ve divested this company entirely
of any organization whose values contradict mine.
Except for the Prince List.
[Prince] I take this so seriously,
I‘ve convened my advisory board.
I will not have my money in the same fund as the cops.
Transport workers, that‘s one thing, but not cops.
My Combine-ers won‘t have it, and I won‘t have it.
Dump their pension money,
or I‘m going public.
And I‘m not going to be quiet about it.
Police officers have a right to well-managed pensions.
They do.
Not all cops are bad, I get it.
But I will not have my money co-mingled.
I‘ve already spoken to six other new Prince Listers.
If I walk, they will walk.
The problem with confidential lists is
they don‘t stay confidential.
No, they don‘t.
The Combine will not be said in the same breath as NYPD.
When a health and fitness brand is diluted by scandal,
it ceases to have a clear and consistent message.
And when that happens, the value of the brand,
it plummets.
That‘s why you‘re going to drop transport.
Do the smart thing.
Mike, it‘s time for moral leadership.
[Blumenthal] I agree with Jaclyn.
The world has changed.
And, frankly, I think, for the better.
I‘m not deaf to the cause. I support it.
But I‘ve never had a damn investor
dictate terms to me in my life.
That goes back to when I was 19. I‘m not starting now.
The times shift, and we decide,
do we stay where we are?
And if we do stay, and they move--
[Grant] Mike, this could be existential.
Most times, there‘s a path to integrating interests.
But here, it seems like the positions are zero sum.
[Einhorn] I know all about not listening to people
when they tell you that you‘re wrong.
But sometimes, in some circumstances,
you just gotta go along to get along.
Or you‘re going to be facing an exodus we can‘t afford.
I‘m not planning on one unless it‘s led by me.
No, we‘re keeping everyone on the list, on the list.
This is on me. I walked him in here.
I‘ll go get him straightened out.
Yes. Get him happy.
So what‘re we eating today?
I‘m on a Q&A for Three Star Games‘ earning call,
and this guy from Spartan-Ives
asked about digital learning in NPCs.
Non-player characters. AI.
The characters in the game learn from the player
and make the game harder to beat.
Guy is geeking out.
I think Spartan-Ives is about to make a major play.
-In games? -No.
In underlying AI.
Three Star contracted out to a company called 2RL Systems.
That‘s some organic intelligence on your part.
Get me the trading desk.
You‘re going to make the play?
Yeah, it‘s a great find in a space
where I‘m underrepresented. You‘re good at this.
It‘s what I was meant to do.
Much to my mother‘s dismay.
Yeah, I can‘t help you with her.
But I‘ll tell you this:
Don‘t be beta.
Ben Kim told me you wanted to go smaller.
He owned the mistake. He‘s a good friend.
But you‘ve got to make your own calls
and live or die by them.
Like you just did.
Now, what do you want to eat? It‘s my day to pick up.
I‘m thinking Thai. But after we book the trade.
I‘m a fan.
Of your work here and in the public space.
I usually have to spend time convincing people that doing
what is right can live alongside what is profitable.
I often use you as an example of just that.
I appreciate that,
and I appreciate you coming down here.
The respect it conveys.
But, um,
I‘m not interested in whatever list of Prince-approved
sweeteners that you came here with.
Are you sure?
You don‘t even want to peruse the menu?
[laughs]
All I need from you
is a promise that you‘ll drop the union money
so the cops drop along with it.
We can‘t do that.
And, if I am being honest with you,
as a person who cares about justice,
I‘m not sure that it is the right thing.
As our clients, we can bring them to the table
to discuss real reform.
I‘ve been down that road to nowhere.
They need to be cut from the herd.
And you want to know how I know I‘m right?
People are ready to follow me,
and I didn‘t have to ask them twice.
-Maybe-- -They followed you
because you told them if they didn‘t,
they were morally corrupt
and you‘d tell the world about it.
Burn ‘em on social.
That‘s not leadership, it‘s extortion.
Nobody cares about the why.
They just care that it happened
and that they will be dragged in the public sphere.
I‘m right.
I have a platform, I have support.
And... this isn‘t a negotiation.
You should consider sticking around for 6:15 boot camp.
-I can-- -You asked me for this.
He didn‘t even qualify at a measly hundred mil,
and I personally vouched for him and for you.
And now he‘s playing Woke Spartacus?
Well, when I asked you,
I didn‘t know we‘d be throwing in
with state-sanctioned killers.
I am not indifferent to the issue.
But the carceral system isn‘t going to change
because one guy takes his toys and goes home.
Carceral system.
Hmm.
Has a nice distancing effect.
Perhaps you have that luxury.
Or maybe you just make that choice.
But we are going to do something about it.
Or as much as we can.
Whilst doing that, why not figure out how
we can satisfy his needs without us sacrificing capital?
Because those things are in direct conflict.
It was nice to see you.
Until it wasn‘t.
[door opens]
Well then.
Hello.
Sarah Gallagher called to say she‘s thrilled to be
-on the Prince List. -Excellent.
And she‘s offered Philip a job as CTO.
You set me up.
To close a deal for your boss, yes, I set you up.
If there were unintended consequences--
Entirely and completely intended.
You want me out of Michael Prince Capital.
I didn‘t want you here at all, but you are.
And while it wasn‘t my plan, it wasn‘t entirely unexpected.
Sarah Gallagher‘s company would be a better fit for you,
and she knew that without me prompting her.
No, no. You just don‘t like me here,
getting my hands soiled by that filthy Continental Currency.
You are meant for better things than this place.
Give us a moment.
I‘m not taking that job.
Walk it off. Now.
We know where this leads.
We do.
I wanted to keep him out of here for as long as possible.
And you did, and now he‘s here.
Because he is exactly the kind of talent
this place needs for where it‘s going.
For after.
I will consult you,
and I will rely on you,
and I will trust you as long as you‘ll ride with me.
But I can‘t run my business to make you happy.
I got confirmation that Legere and the Indiana A&M board
are checked in at the Four Seasons.
Cars drop them here at 8:30 a.m. for breakfast and the pitch.
I‘ll be ready.
Mr. Legere, welcome to Michael Prince Capital.
-Thank you. -Please follow me.
[Prince] You‘ve all seen the pitch deck.
But let‘s get beyond the numbers and the names.
I‘m from Indiana.
Grew up there. Went to school there.
I know your families. I know your histories.
And, yes, I know your goals.
You want everything consistent,
and I appreciate that.
You see a 17% returns, year after year,
and you like it.
‘Cause you‘re not greedy and it‘s reliable,
like Indiana corn being knee-high by the Fourth of July.
[gentle laughter]
But I‘m here to tell you, that‘s not the world anymore.
We‘ve seen it clearly.
So, you need someone who can make you 60%
or 600 in a year
to survive the 10%.
So you can survive the negative years.
In an unpredictable market,
you need non-correlated returns.
I can give you that, while also maintaining investments
that are thoughtful, moral,
and for the betterment of our planet.
You get to know you‘re doing good
and doing the best there is
for the student body at Indy A&M.
There‘s very little in the world that feels better than that.
Maybe winning an NCAA championship,
but not much else.
[laughter]
That was a fantastic proposal, Mike.
And we‘ll discuss it.
And consider it.
Of course.
Let me walk you out.
He killed it.
Stabbed it in its tiny corn-fed heart
and fried it up for the state fair.
That‘s the vibe you got?
No. They took the hayride out here
so they could reject him to his face.
I‘m asking you to hold the tweets
-until we have a statement. -[computer tweet alerts]
These claims are unfounded, and we deserve--
Oh, hell fuckin‘ no!
What?!
I‘m gonna have to call you back.
Oh, I make it a policy not to engage
in anything with hearts and thumbs-up underneath.
You really have to stay current.
[Chuck sighs]
This is the complete destruction
of Leon Sherald‘s reputation online.
He‘s been accused of stealing The Combine.
Accusation‘s stuck.
Rumors dating back to his fraternity days are surfacing.
The stock is in free fall,
and it looks like he may have to step down from his own company.
Our target is being targeted.
Have you reached out to help?
He‘s hiding behind a crisis manager
who won‘t engage with me.
My guess is they think we‘ll come after him
for intellectual property theft.
It‘s either bad luck with conspicuous timing,
or....
somehow Mike Prince neutralized him.
But that somehow is immaterial
if your meeting today goes as planned.
I have no reason to believe it won‘t.
Then don‘t worry about Leon.
You are armed and ready for combat,
and I expect you to return victorious.
[Sacker] Ready to finalize
the subway car purchase when you are.
Purchase order for the factory?
This confirms that Michael Prince Capital
will order the cars directly from them
and will donate them as soon as they come off
the production line.
Our ownership will be temporary, a matter of minutes.
Why do these rich boys always want to buy shiny things
that go fast?
[knock on door]
Yeah?
Ah, the AG‘s office has some concerns,
so instead of delaying your deal,
I thought we could orchestrate a productive dialogue.
Sure. Let‘s dialogue.
I was expecting Dave.
Letters of support from the governor, the mayor,
the Transport Workers Union. I didn‘t make you copies.
-I trust you. -If they have an acronym
on a polyester windbreaker, they are supporting this.
And so is the Attorney General‘s office.
But we have a problem
that no amount of our complete and total support can fix.
Is that right?
The MTA can‘t use Mr. Prince‘s money to buy the cars,
and Prince can‘t use Prince‘s money to buy the cars
because they are Chinese cars.
No. They are made in Wisconsin, U.S.A.
[Dave] By a Chinese- owned company.
And, as xenophobic as it may be in its inception,
Federal law prohibits the purchase,
and the state will abide by that on this one.
I‘d like to see the language on the Federal provision?
I‘ll challenge this in court.
Challenging a Federal law in court
would definitely put the New York state budget at risk.
I worry that even attempting this
will bring a Federal case that would jeopardize
all those Federal funds that flow into the state treasury.
Oh, that‘s your worry?
This donation is the best thing to happen
to the city and state.
While I can‘t sign off on anything that
threatens our Federal funds,
the unions and the state
are always supportive of buying American.
How about that?
No American-owned manufacturer can make the cars in time
for the New York Olympics.
Well, that is a shame.
It really is.
-You were great in there. -Don‘t fucking patronize me.
I would never.
So tell me what you picked up off me when we met.
You said how quickly things move in the private sector.
Speed was clearly the top priority.
From there, it was a matter of finding the right law to use
to slow you down to where the cars
were worthless to your boss.
Sorry I missed it. I just got back.
-Was it-- -Perfect in every way.
[laughs]
She‘s good, isn‘t she?
She‘s something.
You should come back. The two of you together.
Imagine you on either side of me.
Like a coxswain, both oars in the water.
Thanks. I‘m good where I‘m at.
Then know you have hitched your wagon
to Lord Mountbatten‘s boat.
And that if you don‘t leave now,
you will burn with him.
You‘re the bear in the outhouse.
I‘ve been called some things, never that.
You bought Winch.
I brought it to you, and you said no,
and then you went behind my back, bought it,
and used it the opposite way it was intended.
Leon Sherald is stepping down from The Combine,
and Lauren was fired.
And I only found out about it all like that
woman in Alaska in the outhouse did the bear:
by getting bit on the ass.
Prince said make Leon happy,
but that wasn‘t going to work,
so I made Leon irrelevant
so he couldn‘t taint any of our other investors.
Yes, with your tech, which works nicely in reverse.
But I didn‘t go behind anyone‘s back.
So I missed an email where you villain-monologued your plan?
A move like this could have blown up in both our faces.
So instead I bought in secretly, for both of us.
You can check your books.
And it will be reflected in your bonus.
But....
I thought we were partners.
What would make you think that?
I told you what this job does to people.
Did you even start this job as people?
I‘d cut off my pinky and give it to you
in a handkerchief, but we‘re not yakuza.
So...
I resign.
-No. -I agree.
I won‘t have it, and you can‘t do it.
We knew this was war.
If you go, it‘ll look like I‘m taking a knee
and admitting defeat, and that can‘t happen.
The question is,
what are you going to do about it now?
There is no now. We lost. This is defeat.
And you don‘t know how to come back from defeat?
She‘s never lost before.
-You‘ve never-- -Not like this.
Not really.
How does it feel?
Sick.
Burning.
Like I want to win.
We can appeal, but the NYAG
could drag this out for months and years,
and we‘d miss the delivery deadline on the Olympics.
Calder said we had the support of the unions and the state.
We could try to get an exception to the federal law.
Go above Chuck.
She didn‘t mention the governor?
No.
The state, but not Sweeney specifically.
[door opens]
Ah, Michael Prince.
Thank you for taking the time to see--
I was on the other side of this move once.
Sweeter to be on this one, no?
Oh, it‘s great. Lot of fun.
I‘ll come back when you‘re unencumbered.
[Sweeney] Nonsense.
Chuck is here to commiserate
-with both of us. -Yeah.
Losing those cars, that was a, uh, was a blow.
A lovely gift for New York to have gotten.
A shame.
The only people standing in the way of the buy
are in this room.
The three of us, right now,
can do what‘s best for the average New Yorker.
No such thing as the average New Yorker.
If you were from here, you‘d know that.
But your generosity won‘t be forgotten.
There‘s no money without the cars.
Well, I am surprised to hear you say that.
I really am.
And I gotta say, a little disappointed.
It‘s not that you owe the city the two billion.
[chuckles] Would that he did.
No, but you did promise it to the MTA.
You see, when you made that promise,
I made other promises. I moved money around.
I made phone calls, took meetings.
I made assurances to a lot people.
Ohh, and you likely used Mr. Prince‘s name a lot.
Of course, ‘cause you know in those situations,
you want to give credit where credit‘s due, right?
And the newspapers?
They already have the story of his largesse.
Profiles are being written.
A hagiographic haze.
That is an awkward round of corrections.
[Sweeney] Yeah. So, you see in that light, Mr. Prince,
I‘m a little worried for you.
If you‘re saying I‘ve got to take those assurances back,
well... [chuckles]
...let‘s just say, they bought both of us
an enormous amount of good will.
And it‘s the rare man that can escape the perception
of a broken promise.
Perhaps Michael Prince is one of them.
Though it does seem rather risky for one who needs
the entire infrastructure of the state to support
a New York City Olympic bid.
We‘ll make an undirected donation
of two billion dollars to the MTA tomorrow morning.
Oof.
In exchange for?
Good will, and a player to be named later.
Your nephew is an investment that will pay off.
He is.
Undoubtedly.
You and I can‘t stay there forever.
You know where we‘re headed. You‘re the only one.
But when we leave,
to do the thing,
we need to install someone who‘ll run the place right.
["Every Breath You Take" by the Police plays]
♪ Every breath you take ♪
♪ And every move you make.... ♪
To the New York City Subway System.
Long may she run.
I‘ve been hired by these guys before.
He‘s gonna spend double what you took from him
to get the win.
Yes. He will.
The point isn‘t to stop him from attacking.
All we can do is find out what he plans to do next,
and then, like all good insurgents,
keep him coming,
spending, fighting.
Losing.
Stuart.
The Board was incredibly impressed
with your presentation. You changed a lot of minds.
But we‘re slower than you folks, so we took a moment.
They talked about it the whole flight back.
They were very flustered by your plane.
Could hardly handle the luxury.
I flew back commercial.
But,
we have a unanimous vote.
It seems that we are looking at misappropriated state funds
earmarked for the school.
And despite your new hunting cabin,
the Range Rover in your parking space, and...
your new, private, executive washroom,
I might still believe you used the funds correctly.
But my counterpart here in Indiana....
[laughs]
...does not agree,
and I am having trouble waving him off.
So what would wave him off?
Maybe if you were willing to help me
with a small alumni affairs matter
regarding Michael Prince.
We‘re on the Prince List.
Great news.
[whistles]
Mr. Legere, meet Michael Prince Capital.
MPC, meet the final piece of the Prince List.
Indiana A&M.
[all cheer]
♪ Every vow you break ♪
♪ Every smile you fake ♪
♪ Every claim you stake ♪
♪ I‘ll be watching you ♪
♪ Every move you make ♪
♪ Every step you take ♪
♪ I‘ll be watching you ♪
♪ Every breath you take ♪
♪ Every move you make ♪
♪ Every bond you break ♪
♪ I‘ll be watching you ♪
♪ Every single day ♪
♪ Every word you say ♪
♪ Every game you play ♪
-♪ Every night you stay ♪ -♪ I‘ll be watching you ♪
♪ Every move you make ♪