Billions (2016–…): Season 1, Episode 6 - The Deal - full transcript

Previously on "Billions"...

The key to bagging Axe
is Dollar Bill Stearn.

Bill Stearn bribed the
Pepsum researcher

for proprietary information for
a drug called Vaccarizine.

I wanna put him on the rack

and stretch him until he gives us Axe.

The good news is this...
when you get out of there,

you're starting at $1.4, easy.

- Better news... I'll hire you.
- I'm staying.

Still, Wendy's

making things difficult for you.



Why is she still working there?

We started to discuss it.

I've been working there since
before we were married

and long before you were in office.

Your value to the firm is absolute.

Stick with me.

I don't wanna be out of line,

but you might wanna consider
recusing from this case.

The conflict of interest...
it's gonna be an issue.

So what's the minimum investment

for family and friends?

I promised I wouldn't take
any money away from Axe.

What if he never finds out?

If they bring an action,



the whole strategy becomes
about leveraging a settlement.

I'd never settle.

William Stearn, you are under arrest...

Lawyer.

...for insider trading
and securities fraud.

- Lawyer.
- You have the right...

- Lawyer.
- ...to remain silent.

Go on ahead. Right through there.

Hello?

You came.

Did I have a choice?

You always have a choice.

Come in.

It's been a weird couple of days.

Yeah.

Hello.

Did you strike a blow for
justice today, Mr. Rhoades?

I do believe we did.

You organized this

and then made sure I wasn't
there when it happened.

You're welcome.

Did you consider for a second
what that was gonna do to me?

Should I go?

- Yes!
- Yes.

Okay.

My name, my absence when it happened

puts me under suspicion there forever.

What should I have done?

Told you so that you could
be there for an arrest?

And if you had been there,
you'd be even more pissed off.

You don't think so, but I know it.

At least then they wouldn't
think I knew it was coming.

Oh, they all know it was coming.

It's Judgment Day.

My office is taking an
action, and there's nothing

that you or anybody
there can do about it.

And when that action is
finished, it will be the end.

There will be nothing left.

So what they think of you,

you can see how that might
not matter so much.

It's my job.

You're beautiful and talented,

and I'm sure you'll land on your feet.

Fuck you.

Get Emi Kenyon back in here!

Hello?

Yesterday, this company
came under attack

by an unscrupulous adversary

who will stop at nothing

to abuse the authority of the state,

take away our freedoms,

and close our doors forever.

And it left us all

wondering one thing...

What happens next?

Dollar Bill Stearn.

Stingiest multimillionaire
on the planet.

Better get ready to pay full price.

Insider trading, securities fraud,

conspiracy, wire fraud.
What are we up to?

Uh, 12-year prison term.

Mm.

$9 million fine,

plus civil when it moves to SEC.

Jesus, that's pricey, and
that's just the beginning.

They came for Dollar Bill yesterday,

but it was an attack on all of us.

- Right. Right.
- Yeah.

- That's right.
- Yeah.

- And I feel it. Do you?
- Uh-huh.

Yeah.

Any one of us could be next.

We're with you, Bobby!

Yeah!

Do you think this makes me happy, Bill?

You don't need to answer that.

- You happy, Bryan?
- Yeah, I'm...

Right?

It doesn't feel right.
It doesn't feel fair.

Why you? Why are you
sitting in that chair...

and not somebody else?

Today...

we are standing at the precipice.

Today is one day after.

You have one chance to avoid a cell.

Give me Axelrod.

The day after Pearl Harbor,

everybody knew a Japanese
invasion would be coming.

Air raid wardens.
Anti-aircraft artillery.

Cities blacked out.

Mothers and fathers staying by the door

with baseball bats and kitchen knives,

bellies full of fear of
the invading hordes.

I know what he means to you.

I know you're a loyal
man, and I admire that.

But this is what you know.

You know he's crooked, and
you know he's going down.

But everyone was wrong.

What happened on American soil next?

Nothing.

That's right.

The invasion never came.

Turned out Pearl Harbor was the best

those sneak attacking
motherfuckers had.

I have the men. I have the tools.

I have the will.

Now if it's not you,
it'll be someone else.

I'll go through your
shop, one PM at a time,

pick up every piece of rotten fruit

and squeeze until the juice comes out.

You know.

You know.

So you can cooperate and
walk out of here free,

or you can go to jail
for no good reason.

You have one chance to make this deal.

A deal won't be on the table tomorrow.

What came next was a war

that unleashed the might of America.

What came next was a
victory that left us

as the most powerful nation on Earth.

Fuck, yeah!

No deal.

This company...

This company will not wait
for an uncertain future.

We will make our own future!

We will fight back hard.

We will mobilize the war machine.

And those who would try
to bring down our house

will see their own houses fall!

The case against my client
is entirely without merit.

Bill Stearn bribed a company official

in exchange for material
inside information.

It does not get any clearer.

He became friends with a farmer
working at a company he covers.

He was so moved by the plight
of that man's daughter

that he arranged transportation
and medical care for her.

Now if you can convince
a jury of citizens

that paying to save the
life of a sick child

constitutes an illegal benefit,

then you should go ahead
and take us to trial.

My client has no
interest in cooperation,

no interest in a plea...

And he does not recognize
your authority.

What the fuck does that mean?

Liquidate 2% of the fund immediately.

That's our war chest.

$300 million. Nice rack.
Legal defense is paid for.

How many billions are out the door

at the first redemption?

You should gate the whole damn fund

before they start a run on...

We're fucked.

That's not the impression
you gave out there.

Pretty tough talk.

You think I'm overreacting?

I think... open war isn't good.

- For who?
- For anyone.

I think your whole mentality
right now is a mistake.

You're not accepting

that certain things are
out of your control.

Damn right I'm not.

And it's causing you
to lose more control.

If you wanna get it back, if you
really wanna survive this thing,

then you may need to set aside
the piece of you that's...

raging, and do something

that makes you a little uncomfortable.

- He's not gonna flip?
- No, he will,

because you're gonna make it happen.
All of you.

Everything you have on
him, get underneath it.

Not the what... the why.

What motivates him. Fears. Goals.

Scars.

He has a weak point, and we
need to twist a knife in it.

Is there something else?

We know how Axelrod's operation works.

He keeps himself insulated.

Is there a point you're trying to make?

Some random PM at Axe Cap
isn't gonna have the goods.

We need inner circle. Bill
Stearn is our best shot.

Is this something you
think I don't understand?

Hey, I just don't want Axe to walk away

with a fine and a family
office like Birch.

Is that what you think I'm doing? No.

Axe is no ordinary billionaire.

He's not Steven fucking Birch.

He's an icon of the wealth of our age,

and he is a fraud.

So when he falls, he's
gonna hit the ground hard.

Skilling got 14 years for Enron.
I'm gonna beat that.

I just wanna take this one to
trial, let the jury decide.

We're gonna put him in a cell,
and everyone is gonna see...

in Washington, in the fucking press...

there's no better defender
of the public trust

than this office.

They'll say Chuck Rhoades did that,

and no one is out of his reach.

You're damn skippy they will.

Lara.

You shouldn't be here.

Come in quickly. I think
they're watching the house.

They went through everything.

They broke Bill's home office...
the door, in half.

And I was getting the key.
Look at this.

All our accounts are frozen.

They didn't even wipe their feet.

Sandy, stay strong, okay?

It's a difficult time for everyone.

You brought muffins?

This is your mortgage, property tax,

insurance, school tuition, and
that's for your foundation.

Everything is taken care of,
for as long as this lasts.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

Here.

Want a taste?

It's like whiskey dipped
in milk chocolate.

Are we celebrating something?

Mm-hmm. I want to apologize.

I was a big, puckered
asshole yesterday.

I had no right to talk to you that way.

I'll drink to that.

Oh, wow.

Right?

Yeah, the Taiwanese do it better
than the Scots these days.

How would you talk to me?

If you had a do-over.

What would you say?

I don't want to have this fight again.

Then let's not fight. Let's talk.

No posturing. No bullshit.

Okay.

Right.

What do you want to know?

Why are you going after him so hard?
Why Axe?

For the same reason my
office does anything.

He broke the law. He cheated.

Then why you?

How many cases are you this
involved with personally?

I don't know. Uh, four, five.

Why does this have to be one of them?

Why don't you recuse yourself?

- Out of the question.
- Why?

Because I owe it to my team.
I owe it to the public.

It's my responsibility to prosecute.

It doesn't have to be you.

Give the case to Bryan Connerty alone,

or the Eastern District.

This case?

SEC, Eastern, uh, State AG...

they have been whispering about
Axelrod for years, waiting.

I'm the one that stood up.

I'm the only one that did something.

This is an action against me.

Do you understand?

Do you? Because this
is bigger than you.

It's bigger than me.

He runs more money than the
GDP of a European nation.

He's untouchable, and I
have him dead to rights.

You may think you do, but you don't.

Really? What makes you so sure?

Because...

I have never seen him like this.

He is digging trenches and laying wire,

and he will scorch the
earth under our feet.

Tell me more about what he's doing.

I can't go further.

And it's wrong of you to push.
I took an oath.

Me, too. And that's why
I can't recuse myself.

Yes, you can.

You just won't.

Ahh.

We've gone down this road,
backwards and sideways.

Now we gotta do it on
our hands and knees.

That's a fun image.

I don't even know what
we're looking for anymore.

He's gotta be hiding something.

I've never seen anybody
so clean in his world.

Ah, except for, you know,

the bribery and securities fraud.

Ah, he might not think it's illegal.

He might be right. The courts
keep moving the goalposts.

Yeah, I know what they tell themselves.

I've been to those
Sohn conferences, too.

"Capitalism is under siege."

All those guys think if you can't
prove they did the murder,

then they're not a killer.

Don't fucking kid yourself.

They're only players 'cause
they rigged the game.

Of course.

Huh?

Hmm? That's all I got.

Greedy or cheap, it's a fine line.

What are his greatest hits, Terri?

Uh, reusing paper towels. $1
taco night at Acapulco's.

No Benz, no Audi.

Just two identical Honda minivans.

Who the fuck has two minivans?

One in beige, one in... boring.

Nobody.

Nobody has two minivans. That's it.

There's something there, and
we need to find out what.

We're gonna bleed out.

We'll be a family office
by the end of the year,

by SEC mandate or not.

We need to take action.

We need to cut through the chatter.

We need to get it out there...

Rhoades has no case, he'll
be laughed out of court.

You know that doesn't matter.

The smoke is enough to choke you.

There doesn't need to be a fire.

I don't accept that.

Why not embrace this?

We'll be a killer family office.

We can downsize the staff.

I can't stand half the
people here anyway.

Never. I need outside capital.

Why?

You have billions in assets to invest

without a penny of outside money,

and no one to answer to.

I'll be dead to the world.

I'll be called a cheat. Humiliated.

Another rich dick playing the
market with his own money.

But you'll be the biggest dick.
And it's so much money.

Wags...

What we need is a public endorsement,

from the prime brokers...
D-Bank, Citi, JP.

- All of them?
- No. There's only one

that matters... Spartan-Ives.

What would you want
Lawrence Boyd to say?

That he believes Axe Capital
to be a reputable company,

and we're gonna continue
to do business together.

Yeah, that's never gonna happen.

Make it happen.

What about a dog whistle?

They're seen together, photographed,

Boyd's arm around you at the Met.

No, not fancy.

A game, at the Stadium or
at his box at Barclays.

Boyd's touch is the healing
waters of Lourdes.

Cleaner than a maiden's honor.

Get me in those waters.

Both minivans registered to Bill Stearn

under the same group insurance policy.

But one of 'em...

EZ Pass records track
it all over New Jersey,

never Connecticut.

Speeding ticket from 2013 led
to the Saddle River address.

You went there? This is for real?

We've fucking got him.

601 Tanbark Trail.

That supposed to mean something?

How many days a week do
you stay over there?

I'm guessing 3.5. He's very meticulous.

I try to be fair.

He tell you?

Bill Stearn has a second family.

Two kids with a mistress in
Saddle River, New Jersey.

He's a family man.

I wanna know how the
hell you have the time

to bribe farmers,
manipulate the market,

and coach two travel baseball teams?

Timmy's in the spring,
Carson's in the fall.

I try to be fair.

I want to know, how would Sandy
react if she heard this?

She must be very fragile these
days since your arrest.

Getting the photo
stream in her in-box...

all those happy pictures of
you and Carson and Anna...

with a woman ten years
younger than her...

Well, that might just break her.

I knew you'd come with that.

I wrote a letter to my
wife, the whole story.

I just sent it.

Uh...

You just blew up your family...

for Bobby Axelrod?

I'm Keyser Soze, motherfucker.

Ohh.

Worst part of these sessions.

I've got a small bladder.

What is it with these guys?

What... what is it about
the cult of Bobby Axelrod

that makes them wanna
immolate themselves?

You wouldn't understand.

You're a lawyer. Persuade me.

You're at the mercy of politics.

Loyalty is a convenience.

People turn on each other
every election cycle.

You do your three or
five or ten years here,

then you flip to our
side, cash seven figures

from the same big funds
you're trying to bring down.

For true believers like you,

it's the worst 'cause you
never see it coming.

That's the problem with being a cynic.
It blinds you.

You think everybody's
as cynical as you.

Axe's guys, they're in it for life.

Bill Stearn couldn't
walk down the street

if he sold out his friends.

Guys who talk in their world may
avoid a few years in a cell,

but they're dead forever.

See you soon, I guess...

when Chuck comes at Axe
with some lame fine,

because obviously you've got nothing.

No, not this time.

Not Axe.

This is personal for Chuck.

The whole city puts
your boy on a pedestal.

But he doesn't... he
doesn't make anything.

He doesn't do anything.

He's nothing but a filthy money pig.

And I can see why he'd
wanna make a deal,

because he knows we're coming,

and we will follow him till
the end of the fucking Earth

until he's walking in shackles.

You know you just work here, right?

- Lara, hi.
- Hi.

How is everything?

- Great.
- Good.

Yeah, you know, we should get the
kids together this Saturday.

Sure, at the Bancroft twins' party.

Right. Party.

In Montauk.

Yes, of course. I forgot
it was this weekend.

- Right.
- I'll see you there.

All right, I'll see you there.

Hey, take it easy!

You're at 120 feet per minute.
You're gonna blow an Achilles!

Aah!

What's wrong?

I'll be right back.

Hey, I'm not getting
anywhere with Lawrence Boyd.

- The problem is...
- Solve it.

All those years of thought
and planning and calculation

that you and he put in are for nothing,

and there's a high probability
that it does go wrong.

So it's in both your interests to...

I'll have to call you back.

You took $250,000 out of the fund.

Why does it bother you? I
still have $3 million in.

Why'd you take it out?

It's my money. I can do
whatever I want with it.

Or can't I?

Dollar Bill earned a $10
million bonus last year.

You know how much he took out? 2 grand.

You've known about this for weeks.

You're bringing it up now because

you wanna know something.
What is it you wanna know?

Why don't you take it all out?

I am not my husband.

And I am not going to
be the shuttlecock

that you two smack back and forth.

You two just sniffed each other one day

and decided you didn't like the smell.

So now you think you have to
do this thing, but you don't.

You don't have to do it.

Dollar Bill is hard, man.

Inspiring.

He makes me wanna lose 30 pounds

and stockpile automatic weapons
to protect all my sister-wives.

Will he be exonerated?

It's the government.

If he is, it'll be in five years,

and no one will remember it.

Look...

just because he's not cooperating

doesn't mean they can't
tie you to Pepsum,

doesn't mean they can't get
you on something else.

But we have an opportunity
now to broach a deal.

I'll never settle.

No. Now's the time you drop that.

Chuck's guy, Connerty...

he's rattled.

They're weak.

And I think we could get a deal

that would be very, very good for you.

Look, guys try to sell
me deals all day.

I decide when they're good.

The one I bring you
will be the best one

that'll ever on the table,

'cause that's what I do all day.

I see that.

And it won't really
hurt you, grand scheme,

other than emotionally.

It'll seem like a win
to them, and they stop.

Give them more time, who
knows what they'll find?

I didn't do anything

that anybody else in my
business doesn't do.

I just did it better.

And I will not tar myself
with an admission of guilt

- over some...
- You wouldn't plead guilty.

Any success that his bullshit
investigation yields is toxic.

He cannot just walk around
using rumor and hearsay

and destroy lives and businesses.

I won't allow it. That
needs to be the message.

He's got nothing.

Billionaires all over the world

are trying to bring me down every day.

This guy? He can't even
bring me to trial.

He has failed at his job.

Why the hell would I give him a win?

What win? It's your win.

You go free.

You pay a fine,

get busted down to a family office.

That's nothing. It's headed
that way anyway, isn't it?

No!

Adam.

What brings you to our fair city, sir?

I'm giving the commencement
at Columbia Law.

Ah. I gave that speech two years ago.

You need some tips?

Hey, congrats on getting Steve Birch.

That's a solid double.

Axelrod...

that's bigger.

You speaking for the Attorney General

or is this off the cuff?

I speak for everyone.

It's fundraising season.

The administration needs Wall
Street money to compete.

Nobody wants this to look
like some kind of crusade.

I'm doing my job.

I don't think about what it looks like.

Well, the AG does.

I see.

We feel... or she feels...

that your investigation is problematic,

given your personal
connection to Axe Capital.

I mean, the optics are bad.
That article...

Has no basis in fact.

The idea, the very concept that
I would be soft on Axe Capital

because my wife works there,

I'm going to erase that
very, very quickly.

I have. An arrest was made.

Okay, so maybe you targeted
Axelrod because she works there,

which is fucked up.

First, I'm too soft. Now I'm too tough.

Uh, which is it, Goldilocks?

Both. Either. I don't care. The
point is, she works there.

That's what they're
gonna be writing about.

And Axelrod will be paying an
army of white-shoe lawyers

$1,000 an hour...

...to come up with a
thousand different ways

to yell "conflict of interest."

This is my office.

I have broad discretion
to pursue any actions

exactly the way I see fit.

Of course. The AG doesn't
care about one case.

She's thinking globally here.

She's into movements, like a maestro.

But a lost case is still a wrong note.

I've never lost a case.

And I'm sure you won't lose this one.

if that conviction
gets kicked on appeal

because you didn't
recuse yourself, well...

even if you win, you lose.

Does the Attorney General
want me removed?

She just wants you to be right.

You do what you're gonna do, Chuck.
Just be right.

I gotta grab this.

Yes?

Fucking maestro.

Get ready to head to Brooklyn.

Tonight's the night of your baptism

at the church of Barclays.

Lawrence Boyd has
invited you to his box.

Washed in the blood of the lamb, baby.

How'd it go down?

Uh, maitre d' at a place I go

had $1,000 on him to tell
me when Boyd came in.

Sent over a '61 Château Latour
and picked up his dinner,

courtesy of Bobby Axelrod.

- Well played.
- I have my moments.

How you holding up?

My lawyer today told me they
don't have a case against me,

but I should still settle.

Can you believe that?

Yeah.

I'm guessing you don't mean that

in a "fucking lawyers" kind of way.

I think you have the
best fucking lawyers.

They know the law like
you know the market.

And if they're giving
you a piece of advice,

I think you should consider it.

Wow. How does Chuck Rhoades
terrify everybody so much?

I don't give a shit
about Chuck Rhoades.

I care about protecting this family.

We're gonna be pariahs.

The kids got uninvited
to the Bancroft party,

and nothing's even happened yet.

So if there is even close
to an easy way out of this,

I hope you would take it.

Since when do I take the easy way out?

This isn't some stock play.

It's no different.

It's all about tolerance and risk.

Look, you don't win, you
don't get to where I am

without tolerating a lot of risk.

We. Where we are.

This is real, Bobby.
You're risking our lives.

You could go to jail. We
could lose everything.

And you can make it all
go away and you won't?

I can't. Not like that.

Why not?

Because I don't get on bended knee

and pledge fealty to the king.

It's not who I am. It's
not who you married.

Well, that's just fucking stupid.

The ground is shifting, and
you don't even see it.

Or you refuse to see it.

But if this were some stock play,

it wouldn't be about pride.

You'd have already cut your losses.

Lara, the ground is shifting
because I'm the one moving it.

Lawrence Boyd invited
me to his box today.

That tells the Street, tells the world,

that my stock, our
stock, is about to rally

because Spartan-Ives
does not back a loser.

I gotta go to work.

I know for a fact Garth
Sykes is dumping Axe.

- Mm.
- Moving over to Vista Verde.

So there is blood in the water.
It's a thing of beauty.

I guess the invisible
hand of the market

is, uh, pushing him off a cliff.

I would kill for a window

into the panic flowing
through that place.

Charles, be sensitive.

Axe must take three sessions

just to make it through a day, huh?

Ugh. They're Neanderthals.

It's the hormones. It makes
their brains seem small.

It's all right, Ellen.
It is a difficult time.

And it's going to get worse
before it gets better.

I don't understand why you
can't smoke in the house.

I don't smoke.

You're not allowed to, you mean?

I pretty much do what I want.

Maybe not as much as you.

Mm.

Getting him to take the plea deal...

that's the trick.

A big settlement that'll hurt him,

get him off of outside money.

What makes you think I would settle?

My desktop calendar.

A conviction could take years.

You don't want it to be your
successor that gets the credit.

No, I'll be on the podium for this.

Son, has your vision
of the future changed?

Or is it just my vision?

Because after... after that
short squeeze incident...

and I understand that I put
you in a bad position.

I understand that.

Your performance left me
more convinced than ever

of your greatness.

There is no high office in the
land you could not attain.

- Okay, Dad, I appreciate...
- But if you want that,

you have to think about
things in a certain way.

I didn't when I was
younger, and it cost me.

You can't allow yourself

to get drawn in to an unwinnable fight.

And I won't.

Victory will be swift, Dad.

No. Be realistic.

This guy is gearing up...

...for trench warfare.

You've been talking to
Wendy, haven't you?

Well, you're the one
who's always telling me

that she has your best
interests at heart.

What the hell was that?

You've twisted my father into
carrying your water now?

He called. I told him what I think.

He agreed with me.

That I should settle, huh?

Nice try.

You want me to think that, uh,
you're trying to save your job?

Really, you're trying to save Axelrod.

I am trying to save you

and me and him...

and your father.

Do you trust me?

Just because I trust you

doesn't mean I think you're right.

Ask me anything.

Are you gonna open up
the book on Axe for me?

The whole way?

- What about the oath?
- What do you want to know?

What's he thinking right now?
What's he doing?

He's looking for a win.

Always. He needs to find
at least a small win

in every endeavor, every exchange.

What happens if he can't find one?

Then he'll play a different game,

with different rules...
ones you don't know,

no one knows, where...

he can make your loss
bigger than his loss.

A lose-lose scenario. And
that doesn't bother him?

Of course it does, but
Axe came from nothing.

So unconsciously, he fears...

No, he may even expect
he'll have nothing again.

So he...

loves to put that same
fear into others,

especially if they're
not familiar with it.

Like the Eads family.

The naming rights? I heard about that.

But that's just the
part of him I know...

that he's allowed me to see.

But you know him better than anybody.

Well, I think I do, but I'm
not really sure anyone can.

He's most likely ahead of you...

Especially when it looks like he's not.

And if he does go down, he
will pull you down with him.

I'm not afraid to prosecute anybody.

Okay, it's not about that.

It's about you being your alpha self,

not letting him pull
you out of your game.

That's his goal in all his deals...

get under their skin, get
them to make a mistake.

If this was a different
case, uh, at this stage,

I would pursue a plea agreement.

You would.

It's a cardinal rule... you
don't trust your career

in the hands of a jury of
12 random crazy people

who might decide a case
based on a wink and a smile

and not the law,

which they can't fucking
understand in the first place.

Would he take a deal?

He'd settle if he thought it was a win.

If he thought he tricked
you, even better.

The only deal with teeth

would have to take him
out of business forever.

That's the only deal
he would never take.

Would he take a family office?
Would he admit guilt?

Why don't you ask his lawyer?

No, they have to come to me.

If they come to me,
then it's on my terms.

I can get him to come to you.

Are you sure?

I mean...

what if the Axe we're
dealing with now...

What if that's the part of
him you don't know about?

What happened?

Well, Lawrence Boyd
sent me the message.

He pissed right in my face.

Holy shit. Bobby Axelrod!

Can I get a selfie? I'll get
mad followers on my Instagram.

He didn't show.

The room was full of
20-year-old dipshits.

It was mailroom night.

Well, what the hell do we do now?

It's worse than I thought.

That's why we're standing here.

I didn't think it would go like this,

this fast.

What's the counter?

It's easy.

Rhoades is vulnerable, exposed.

Conflict of interest.

Wendy.

I make it look like she's involved.

Fraud, embezzlement.

Or maybe she's having an affair...

with Bill Stearn.

With you, even.

Watch how fast the case goes away.

I'll let you know.

He's working out of the office today.

Will you tell him I need to talk?

In person. It's important.

Of course.

You're gonna give him a deal?

You're gonna fucking let him walk?

If Axelrod comes to the table,
we'll see what we can get.

It's the smart way to go.

That's not what you said two days ago.
What happened?

I changed my mind.

Y... Ah, this is fucking
Birch all over again.

I didn't come here and
sacrifice real money

to let these guys write

their own "get out of jail free" cards.

Was it... Is that all just
bullshit posturing? Why?!

Because you don't have him!

Give me more time.

And I will build this case
into a fucking guillotine

and drop the blade.

It's too late. We went into his house

and, uh... we shit the bed.

Every day I don't bring
charges, we lose leverage,

and the deal gets better for him.

So, uh, take the rest of the day off.

Or better yet, wait by the phone

for his people to reach out.

Hello, Wendy.

Have we met?

No. And we still haven't.

If you wanna talk to him, get in.

Where are we going?

We have to take precautions.

There's a protocol.

It's been a weird couple of days.

Yeah.

It's hard to be sure about anything...

anyone.

I understand.

I need to understand something, too.

That's why we're sitting
here like this.

No one listening but us.

Have I won your trust?

What do you want to understand?

Why are you sticking around?

I am interested in what
that question means to you.

I wanna know...

No, I know, I... you just
wanna hear my answer.

I'm not gonna tell you I'm
staying because you need me.

Even though you do, more than ever.

And I'm not gonna tell you
I'm here for my patients

or because I love my job,
even though I do love my job.

And your collection of
insecure egomaniacs

would lose a billion a year

if I didn't keep their heads straight.

And I am not going to tell you
I'm here spying for Chuck,

Because you know that's
total fucking nonsense.

The answer...

My answer is, I'm here for me.

Because I built this company
just as much as you did.

That's a bold statement.

That's a true statement.

I put you back together again

when your whole world burned.

And I found meaning in that.

I still do.

I'm not...

happy here, not always. Not... now.

But meaning matters more
to me than happiness.

And I am in this water

because I don't want to see
you throw it all anyway

when you don't have to.

I know.

And I don't want us to lose you.

I wanna make a deal. Will he make one?

- Yes.
- Will I be able to live with it?

That's up to you.

That has nothing to do with the deal.

How do you feel?

Like somebody else.

What am I gonna say about it?

That I did the right thing.

For all of us.

Adam, hi.

Uh, just wanted to thank you
for stopping by the other day.

I thought about what you said,
and I'm not gonna recuse myself.

Well, that's unfortunate.

I believe the Greeks
call that hamartia.

I disagree,

because I'm not gonna lose, and
there will not be an appeal.

Axelrod surrendered.

What? A deal?

Mm-hmm. Yeah, we have
a deal on the table,

a termination, a plea,
and $1.9 billion.

Biggest insider fine ever paid.

Anyway, thanks again.

Give my regards to the maestro.

You got it, Chuck. Good job.

Your father's still holding
on the other line.

Dad, hello.

Chuckie boy, I heard. I
heard you took him down.

I'm, uh, I'm smoking a
cigar for you right now...

as soon as I get outside.

I'm not supposed to
in the house now that

your mother heard Wendy's rule.

But congratulations!

Yeah, we're quite happy with the terms.

- Well, it's the smart play.
- Yeah.

And even as a kid, you would
never get into a fight

unless you knew you could win it.

Oh, do you remember that Mintz boy?

He was a head taller than you,

probably could've made you eat dirt.

And he left that ball field
thinking you were best friends.

Okay, Dad, I gotta go.

And then I made sure he
didn't get into Dalton.

Goodbye!

Highest fucking fine ever levied...

$1.9 billion.

We got everything we wanted.

Family office. Sure.

- Yeah.
- That's worse

than the fucking fine.

The money I can get
back, but not my name.

We'll petition for reinstatement,

after Rhoades leaves, after
the White House turns over.

We'll get it.

You'll be managing outside
money again within five years.

That's five years I'll never get back.

Where's the silverware?

No, it's, uh, it's Ethiopian.

I got you extra injera, and,
uh, you use your hands.

This is an opportunity
to be here with us.

Step it up, Ben Kim.

Step... it... up.

Sorry. I'll go... I'll go get some.

You have it?

Right here.

Uh... there's one other thing.

I do not like other things.

I sensed a possible waffle on
the specifics of the plea.

Connerty did commit to a no guilty plea

but said he would have to
reconfirm with Rhoades.

What could they come with?

At worst, the company will have
to plead guilty to conspiracy.

- Fuck.
- Penalty is the same.

An admission of guilt?

If they put that in
front of me tomorrow,

I don't think I can sign it.

It's gonna be okay.

Mm.

They're coming up.

You've been briefed by
your lawyers, Mr. Axelrod.

We'll try to get you out of
here as soon as possible.

"As part of the proposed
global resolution,

the defendant agrees to an
aggregate financial penalty

of $1.9 billion.

To the termination of their
investment advisory business

and...

the company agrees to plead
guilty to conspiracy."

Do we have a deal, Mr. Axelrod?

Okay.

Okay.

Axe Capital accepts such a penalty as

fair, reasonable, and adequate
within the limitations

Congress has imposed
on federal regulators

to recover investor losses.

Bryan...

didn't he say that he
would never settle?

That's what he's been saying.

You know, out there, you
guys always talk so tough,

but you always end up in here.

Why is that?

Because he knows he's a crook.

Innocent people would never
take a hit like that.

Beyond the pale. My client...

You got me, Rhoades.

$1.9 billion.

It's gonna hurt.

But not... not like a shark bite.

It's more like a... what? A bee sting.

Bee sting? No, that hurts.
More like a horse-fly.

One of those little green horse-flies?

Yeah, a nasty nip.

No, more like an ant. Like a red ant.

Yeah, yeah. Stings for a minute
but doesn't ruin the picnic.

"Plea Agreement is subject
to judicial approval,

pursuant to Rule 11

of the Federal Rules of
Criminal Procedure."

Actually, it's good to
get past this stuff.

You know, just get it out of the way.

And we can make that $1.9
back in, what, eight months?

Six.

The termination of Axe
Capital's advisory business

closes the fund to outside investors.

Yeah, you can score that one for
the superstars over at the SEC.

As a family office,

Mr. Axelrod can invest
his personal assets...

No.

No family office.

Lifetime ban.

Put the money in a trust, fine.

but you never trade securities again.

Not for institutions, not
for individual investors,

not even for yourself.

What the fuck just happened?

I heard.

How did it happen?

The moment came and,
uh, Axe blew a gasket.

Took down the whole meeting.

Tore the check up into tiny pieces.

I thought he might trash
the room on his way out.

Christ.

We're back to this.

No, it's fucking worse.

I c... I can't... live in the middle.

You... you won't.

I've decided, for the
good of our marriage,

I'm not gonna be a part of
the case going forward.

- Really?
- Mm-hmm.

I've recused myself.

I already notified Washington.

- I am proud of you.
- Mm.

Looking past yourself.

Seeing the bigger picture.

Five years ago, you wouldn't have.

That... is substantial fucking growth.

Mmm.

I gotta go walk the dog.

Mm.

I'll be back.

Thanks for coming out so late.

Always.

You're a goddamn hero

for standing up to those pricks today.

Okay.

You can count on me to
finish what you started.

I'm all in.

And I'm gonna put a hurt on him

that he can't buy his way out of.

Good. I want you to keep me in the loop

about what you're doing.

But you're recusing yourself.

I'm still gonna need you
to keep me informed.

Then you're not really recused.

I am. Officially.

There can't be any trail back to me.

No documents, no e-mail
chains, no witnesses.

We only talk behind closed doors.

I can handle this case on my own.

Of course you can, but
the gloves are off.

We do whatever it takes.