Billions (2016–…): Season 1, Episode 7 - The Punch - full transcript

Previously on "Billions"...

Donnie Caan.

We're gonna triple up his stack.

Get started with 200,000
shares of Rubinex.

Dean, seventh President. Hint?
Two after Monroe.

Jackson. Andrew Jackson.

Gordie, where was he from?

Border areas near the Carolinas.

All I have to do is drop the hammer,

and you will look like absolute shit.

I need you to find Martina Slovis.



Dropped out of Brooklyn Law.
Only for me.

Raul Gomez. New York City
Police Pension Fund.

I wanna thank you for
meeting with me in person.

I knew that if I gave you my money,

you would do whatever you had to

and wouldn't care what it looked like.

This company came under attack.

We're gonna put him in a cell.

We will mobilize the war machine!

Fuck, yeah!

I have never seen him like this.

- You think I'm overreacting?
- Tell me more about

- what he's doing.
- He's looking for a win.

The defendant agrees to an
aggregate financial penalty



of 1.9 billion dollars.

Didn't he say that he
would never settle?

That's what he's been saying.

How did it happen?

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

Six.

You'll never trade securities again,

not even for yourself.

- I can't live in the middle.
- You won't.

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

I've recused myself.

You can count on me to
finish what you started.

I'm all in.

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

Then you're not really recused.

I am. Officially.

Hey, wait up. Dad's over there.

Again? You guys are bleeding me dry.

Axelrods, you learned
good from your dad.

Always let someone else float you,

no matter how rich you are.

- Thank you, Mr. Layner.
- Thanks, Dad.

Another, honey.

You guys could've bought
that crap for a nickel.

Guess it doesn't matter to you guys.
Let's go.

There?

Hey, Bruce! Boys!

Mommy, my soda!

Shit.

Okay, big guys.

- Hi, Mom.
- Hi.

- Hi, Mom.
- Hi.

Later.

So, how was it?

- Great.
- Awesome.

Hey.

Are the kids home okay?

Yeah. Why?

I saw them with Bruce Layner,

and it seemed like he was drinking.

He was drinking.

But I couldn't get to them in time.

Thank you, Lilly.
No, I definitely needed that info.

And I appreciate that you called.

Hey, guys, before you get in,
I need to ask you something.

Was Mr. Layner acting weird?

A little.

He kept saying things about money.

He tried to make us feel bad.

And what else?

Did he, like...

Was he drinking in the car?

Answer your mother.

He had a beer can in the car.

I could smell it from the backseat.

Why didn't you say something?
Why did you let him drive you?

He's an adult.

Are you sure he was drinking alcohol

while he was driving you?

Lilly said it was more than one.

Yeah, Dad. He was.

Bobby!

Margy time!

Who wants a Margy?

Hey, hey, Axe!

You drove my kids drunk?

Whoa, man. I had a beer or two.

Three tops. Hardly even buzzed.

I got your precious,
fucking babies home.

What? I will kill you,
you motherfucker!

- Uhh!
- Oh!

Get up!

That's gonna fucking cost you.

Someone call the police.

Would you like a water
or a coffee, Mr. Spyros?

I would love a cortado.

Uh...

We don't have a machine.

Well, maybe someone can run out.

It's just me on a Sunday.

No, no. On me.

Um... will they know what that is?

Cortado.

It's like a macchiato,
but with more foam.

Microfoam. Silkier.

Thanks, doll.

Just so you know,

I don't go for the price
of an espresso...

or even a few espressi

or for any price.

You blew up the settlement conference.

You recused yourself.

So we have to come to
a new understanding

about my role.

And it's gotta be a bigger one.

A lead role.

My stink is gonna be all over this now.

As you point out,

uh, I, myself,
am recused from the case.

On the outside.

So how could I possibly be bound by...

Oh, come on.

We both know your recusal is for show.

Don't make me dig out the old CB radio

and call in a convoy of
reporters and investigators

to examine it.

Oh, maybe we interview your wife or...

Okay.

You win. Again.

Uh, we did make a deal.

And even though I was
under duress at the time,

I will stick to it.

So you'll come in one
afternoon this week

when we're open for business.

I will make sure that Connerty
has his entire team assembled,

and they will run you through all of it.

Work hand in hand with you and the SEC.

No. Not hand in hand.

I'm gonna run point on this,

and I need to hear you say that
you're comfortable with that.

I wanna be the fucking commandant.

I'll pass word to my people.

- Uh, what about your cortado?
- You drink it.

Yeah, Dale?

I'm gonna need Martina
Slovis's contact info now.

I'm here for the Stewart bachelor party.

Uh, right back there.

Do all guys in my position hate
themselves for doing this?

No reason you should.

You're doing the right thing now.

Not that they should.
It's just human nature.

Look, Axelrod, you know,
sweeps his phones,

hires security to defend himself.

So believe me, on some level,
this is what he expects,

what he knows he deserves.

Not from me.

So feel a little bad then,

but don't change what you're doing,

like me with double cheeseburgers.

No, but, Dale, you need to stop.
He needs to keep going.

We need him to do a
deal with you directly.

And when he does,
we need you to confirm

the source of the information,
that it's insider.

Well, that's gonna be
hard to get him to do.

That's why you're getting
such a cherry fucking deal

for making it happen. Huh?

Okay, let's get him wired up.

Sorry to bother,

but I wanted to check
in on the Kemlot trade.

And you canceled the
Sunday night call, so...

It turned into a bit of a weekend.

Okay. Uh, I want to know if
you think I should be ready

to pull the trigger
at the open tomorrow.

Wait.

- But you said...
- I'm not certain.

Okay, then. Thanks.

Uh, is everything all right?

Yeah. Yeah, like I said,
it was a bit of a weekend.

Why don't you come in for a drink?

It...

It's more than understandable.

Given the circumstance,
it was inevitable.

The son of a bitch deserved it.

But I earned my living by
staving off the inevitable.

Let the other dogs drool
when the bell rings.

I wait for the actual food to turn up.

That way I get fed while
the rest howl in the wind.

We don't get to choose
how and when we react.

That's what the experiment proves.

You've actually read
Pavlov's study, haven't you?

Yeah. I was a psych/philosophy major.

Minor in economic theory,

which, at Yale, is like
another philosophy class.

Broadness of thinking.

That's the shit that
sets you apart, Donnie.

It's this shit that used to distract me

while the other guys were racking
up cartel-sized bonuses.

No more.

Look, no matter how civilized we get,

at base, we are animals.

Oh, yeah. I know. I know.

I just wish I had... I...

You, Donnie, you'd have shown restraint.

For the sake of your kids.

Me? My kids are gonna grow
up thinking that's the way

- you're supposed to act.
- They didn't see it!

They'll hear about it.

They'll be embarrassed.

Or worse, proud.

Bullshit.

They should damn well be proud.

Their father stood tall for them.

It did feel pretty good.

If I could be that for my kids...

You are...

and you will continue to be.

All right, okay.

So let's go over what we've got so far.

The CI is close to Axelrod.

He has been leveraged and
he's highly motivated

to save his own ass.

Get Connerty in here this afternoon.

Tell him to bring the team working

the Construction Bid Rigging RICO cases.

I need an update.

If word of this gets out, and it will,

it's a major key problem.

Your business faces
an existential threat

if it's handled the wrong way.

The professional damage,

if you are convicted of even
simple misdemeanor assault...

The prick drove our kids drunk.

He's the one who should be prosecuted.

He can't really press charges
'cause Bobby popped him.

He will. He has to.

It'll make his civil
case that much stronger.

So we gotta control the narrative.

I'm already getting texts
from gossip writers

who've heard rumors.

It's only a matter of time
before Layner's team p...

And no doubt, he has a
team in place by now.

Before they pick where
they wanna dump the story

for maximum impact.

So we get our version out first.

You need your friend Lilly to speak up.

Say that she saw Layner drinking,

tried to stop him from
taking the kids in the car.

- She won't.
- She will.

I'll get to her today.

I asked Chief Mueller to join us

so can break down how things
will go at his former command...

Southampton PD.

Mr. Axelrod, I received some Intel

just as I was arriving here today.

The police out East may
have come into possession

of a video of the incident
taking on someone's phone,

which purports to show
you striking Mr. Layner.

- That should cut our way.
- I'm not so sure.

- How bad is it?
- Well, I haven't seen it yet,

but I've been told it's damning enough

that they're planning on arresting you

as early as tomorrow.

But when Mr. Bach reached
out to me, I reached out.

And fortunately, even though
I left the department

seven years ago, that I'm still
remembered fondly back there.

That's good for all of us.

It would be a big help if
you could get confirmation

of Layner's drinking.

With that, the air goes out of
the balloon on prosecuting you.

Without it, you'll likely
be indicted and tried.

I'm arranging a back door
arrival at the station house

for the two of us and Mr. Bach.

Well, most people would
kill to have your career.

Depending on what you want,

I can get on the phone and bring
you a dozen offers by 5 p.m.

Can we...

Let's slow this down.
I need to be discreet.

Understood.

This is just a reconnaissance mission.

I'm not committing here.

Right. You're not sure what you want,

which is a new feeling
for someone like you.

That won't work on me.
I know all the tricks.

I'm sure you do.

Plus, you're brilliant.

Billie always told me that
you were the smartest

of all of her friends.

She said nice things
about you, too, Chase.

I'm not sure I want the
specifics behind that look.

Good. That's all you're getting.

All right, well,
then let's talk about you.

What can I do for you to
help you figure this out?

No hedge funds.

Nothing in finance.

I can't work for a competitor.
That would feel wrong.

Well, that limits us.

What's more important to you,
the comp or the work itself?

Do I have to choose? I have both now.

- It's rare. Both is hard.
- How hard?

If you want to leave the hedgie world,

nearly impossible.

I don't know if I want to.

It's what's best for my family.

Well, corporate HR jobs with huge comp

won't be hands-on with clients.

And the rewarding work, like
the stuff you're doing now,

digging deep with folks who
need to change quickly,

that really only happens
in the nonprofit sector.

You'll be living on
love instead of money.

So you've got nothing for me.

Nothing without a compromise.

I wanna shoot straight with
you from the beginning,

which is not usually how I work.

Did you just say that out loud?

For some reason, I don't
wanna bullshit you

into giving me a retainer.

I wonder why that is.

You all have 'em.

So-called friends at other funds

who tell you that we're dinosaurs,

oblivious to our own extinction.

Are you gonna tell us they're
not our real friends, Mom?

I'm gonna tell you

that they're assholes... and wrong.

While it's true we have
less outside money,

the trade-off is freedom.

- Yes.
- This is our time.

Those of you in this room
will be telling the story

years from now about how
we got up off the canvas

and knocked the rest of 'em out.

Yeah!

In fact, we won't even
have to tell them,

because they will all be
in here begging for jobs.

Yeah!

To that end, you know...

- You know it.
- ...knocking folks out,

a couple of us got you something, Axe.

I mean, you earned it.

We just picked it up.

Whoo!

- All right.
- There it is.

We heard you knocked
that fucker on his ass.

Hey.

Well, you're certainly winning friends

and influencing people these days.

Oh, what do you want me to say?

I shouldn't have thrown that punch.

You've done a lot of rash things
you shouldn't have done lately.

Oh. Oh, you're talking about

that little sit-down with your husband?

I am.

You know, there's a
psychological profile

for people who self-sabotage,

and... you're starting to fit it.

The term, when it comes to
that settlement meeting,

is self-defense, not self-sabotage.

I might've been wrong at the barbecue,

but sometimes I gotta hit back.

- The way I heard it...
- Don't worry about it.

You just did what you thought was right,

and I appreciate that.

But just think about
who had what to lose.

I know that I went into that
room ready to make a deal.

It just bugs me, you know?

That Bobby clocked the guy?

No, that the kids didn't pick
up that Layner was drunk,

that they didn't call me.

They had a phone?

Yeah. They always do.

They call me to tell me that
their Instagram isn't loading.

They're just not street smart.

How are they gonna be street smart?

They've never been in the streets.

Yeah. Exactly.

If our situation ever changed,
how would the boys deal with it?

The last piece is,

the contractor from the New Jersey firm

kept records on three different devices.

They're all in our possession.

Trial is in six weeks.

Great work. Thank you, guys.

Take it easy this weekend, T., yeah?

- Yeah, I'll try.
- Take your kid

- to the batting cages.
- Mm.

Uh, Bryan, hang in for a second.

Let's go over some of the details.

Right.

You have an informant in Axe Capital.

Boss, we should stick to
the rules of recusal,

the old Chinese Wall, shouldn't we?

Okay.

So we've been profiling all the players

and scanning the activity at Axe Cap,

and we see this Donnie Caan.

Usually a mid-level guy, but suddenly,

he loads up on Rubinex,
a biochem company.

Loads way up. I mean,
way above his usual range.

- Mm-hmm.
- The company, miraculously,

gets an FDA seal of
approval on a product.

Even more miraculously...

Caan is already there,

and he sells at a monster profit.

So I put the agents on,

and then they start bloodhounding him.

He couldn't provide the
research on the trade.

He had no sign-offs from compliance.

He didn't have dick.

And our tech guys were
able to pull meta-data

that established he'd been
in contact with insiders.

We had him boxed up.

He broke like a Mexican condom.

He agreed to cooperate right away.

I wanna help you, Lara.

And Bobby.

Oh. Great.

And I would if I were sure, you know?

Sure? You're the one who told me.

I did.

And I feel bad that I started
a whole thing, but...

Keith told me that we can't
have any press right now,

that it would fuck his business
badly to be near any of this.

His business?

He's my husband.

Not much else I can say.

I have to go.

Maid's leaving at 3:00 today.

Some bullshit about taking
her kids to the doctor.

Mm.

Bye.

I got your precious,
fucking babies home.

What? I will kill you,
your motherfucker.

- Uhh!
- Oh!

Get up!

That's gonna fucking cost you.

Worth it.

Someone call the police.

The beginning... is there any more?

That's all.

Mm. This is not good.

We need to get more of the
original video, if it exists.

It'll tell a totally different
story about what happened.

- Who had this?
- It's from Mike Dimonda.

Says it landed in his
in-box this morning.

An exclusive.

- Well, he's doing us a solid.
- Not so solid.

He knows that charges are being filed.

He's requesting comment,

wants to run something right away.

Who filmed that?

Dimonda won't say.

Okay.

There were 11 people in the backyard.

There were two on the
other side of the pool.

They didn't have a good view.

The video was from my left side.

There were only...
six people on my left.

One of them was Layner's wife.

She was holding a platter.
She didn't have an iPhone.

Layner's kids were there...

...and his son from his first marriage.

It wasn't him either.

He was still wet and had
his bathing suit on.

That kid's girlfriend.

There was another girl

standing next to her,
about the same age... 17.

Neither of them had been in the pool.

Each of them had a phone out.

Holy shit!

I fucking love when you do that.

Your love is touching,

but what I need right now is
to find that original video.

Find it, pay what we need, get it.

I have to go to the Hamptons.

Ah. Tommy.

How you doing, Chief?

I tell you, I've been better.

Summers out here enough to
make you long for martial law.

You remember what it's like.

- Ah, sorry to hear it.
- Ah, don't be.

It'd be better if, in
addition to the college kids

and regular dirtbags,
I didn't have my billionaires

punching out my multimillionaires.

It's bad for business.

Well, that's why we're here,
to make your life easier.

We wanna quash this thing.
No need for news stories.

No need for undue chatter.

Sure. Of course.

I lift the rug, and you guys sweep?

Or were you thinking vice versa,
and I make with the broom?

Come on, Tommy, we both know

this is probably gonna end
up in a payment situation.

Why don't we work together
and get there sooner?

Uh-huh. Not so easy.

I've seen the video.

When it goes public, there's
gonna be a lot of pressure.

So we'll take a statement of Mr.
Axelrod's version of events.

If Mr. Layner refuses to relent,

if he insists on pressing charges,

if the DA doesn't like what he
hears and chooses to proceed,

well, courtesy or not, Chief,

it'll be out of my hands.

- Hey, sweetheart.
- Hey, baby.

What's the latest?

Oh, you know.

Kevin had a friend over from school.

Told Eva she could hang, too,

and then pretty much ignored her.

How'd that play out?

She cried, and then he was nicer.

Oh. So a normal weekday
afternoon negotiation, huh?

- Speaking of...
- Mm-hmm?

Mmm.

How did the, uh,

breakdown of the settlement play out?

'Cause the way you described
it didn't sound...

Yeah. Well...

Well, I'll tell you, uh...

Things were all
pre-negotiated, laid out.

But, you know, these conferences are...

unpredictable. Tensions are high.

Certain realities set in.

And, uh, big game fish often
has one final thrash in him

as he gets close to the boat.

Anyway, as I said, then...

he tore up the check.

We have the Gilberts tomorrow night.

They could only get a
table at 7:30, so...

make sure you can get there in time.

No chance of a reschedule?

This is the reschedule...

of a reschedule.

What?

I don't know. It's just I'm...

I'm just a little bit creeped out

by how close those two are.

They're married.
Shouldn't they be close?

Not that close.

Oh, thank you.

Mmm. That's great, Ryan.

My breakfast kind of sucks.

What did you just say?

I'm sick of cheese omelettes.

The cheese is kind of sticky.

No sweat, big guy.
What can I make you?

Nothing. The omelettes are great,

and both of you are finishing them.

But these are lame, and we have them,
like, almost every day.

And dad never makes
us finish our plates.

First, apologize to Chef Ryan.

Sorry.

And now let's go.

- Where?
- Get in the car. Now.

Why is the water brown?

It just is. Now get in.

It's cold!

I wanna leave.

Stop whining, or I'll throw you in.

What are we doing?

You're clamming.

When I was a kid, me and
Aunt Lu and all your uncles,

we had to come out here with Grandma

and collect 50 clams for Sunday
dinner or we didn't eat.

And that taught us something about work,

about earning our own living.

What do we do?

You feel with your feet on
the bottom for littlenecks.

Like this.

You shimmy.

So how many do you want us to get?

Well, you eat what you catch,

so you get as many as you can
before the tide goes out.

When's that?

About four hours from now.

You know I didn't drive all
the way up here to Westport

to give out "attaboys."

Had to bring the kick-ass. With love.

Rumblings got to me.

I hate motherfucking rumblings

because truth is always underneath 'em.

You hit some guy and knocked him out.

Down. Not out.

A fine distinction.

Thanks, Wags.

I hung in after
Dollar Bill got arrested,

because if anyone knows you
can't let one miscreant

tattoo a whole place, it's an ex-cop.

But if people think you're
feeling the pressure,

acting out, hitting folks,
for fuck's sake,

they will run for the exits.

Banks'll even look at you
as a shaky investment.

Credit'll start drying up.

I won't let that happen.

The time to not let that happen
was before you threw the punch.

Last thing I want to
do is pull my money,

but I will.

If you take a conviction,
even for a misdemeanor,

we are gone.

Settle your trouble.

Get a non-disclosure form signed.

I know. Thanks for coming in person.

Dimonda said he vetted the
story and it's ready to run,

with or without comment.

Get me a meeting with
him before he posts it.

Ari Spyros, live and in person.

Any special beverage requests?

No, not today, Chuck.

I'm just looking forward
to seeing the team.

Oh, you'll see, all right.

I think you're gonna find
this pretty interesting.

Right in there.

Martina Slovis.

I warned you, if you fucked with me...

holy hell.

Did you ever wonder why we
weren't pals anymore, Spyros?

I mean, we were in study
groups together at law school.

Lawyers league softball team.

I thought it was just an
inter-agency rivalry.

Mm. Think back.

It's before you were
at SEC and I was here.

Summer of 2005,

the Willigut Farley mixer at Moran's.

I saw her at the bar, Martina Slovis.

She was a summer associate
in corporate work.

I pointed you out, said
that I'd come in with you,

and she went white.

Absolutely white.

And she just said the words,

"Ari Spyros raped me."

And you... you believed her?

We've been friends for six years.

I wasn't totally convinced,

until I found you at the table later.

And I said,

"Guess who I just ran into at the bar?

Martina Slovis."

You remember what you said?

"I fucked that little piece.
What'd she say?"

That's when I knew.

You can't...

Okay, don't. That's enough.

Sick.

It would be he said, she said.

The statutes have run.

We both know what it was.

You destroyed a good part
of that woman's life.

And she will work with me
to destroy all of yours

if you don't fall the
fuck back into line!

From here on in, I tell you
your position in this,

if you have one at all.

So?

Um...

Well, she said she was
surprised to get the call

considering she just went
back and got her degree

a few years ago.

Hasn't really practiced.

She's living near
Philly with young kids,

said she wasn't thinking
about going back to work.

If you don't mind me saying so,

there's lots of lawyers out there

with much stronger
litigation experience.

But I have notes on the interview.

No. Of course. It was just an idea.

Uh, pay for her ticket back

and put her on the reference
list at the Philly office.

- Mm-hmm.
- I look forward to reading your notes.

- Thank you.
- Okay.

Let's hear it for Nick,
ladies and gentlemen!

Yeah. And Sal...

He still... he still makes me pay.

I heard you ate everything on your plate

at the last joint, but you've
been shy about going back.

I need to be careful whose
tab I'm seen dining on.

And I'm not that comfortable
among the, uh, one percenters.

Well, a place like this,
a lot of these guys,

they don't show any income at all.

Yeah, but you didn't
bring me here to eat

and gossip about wiseguys.

You want to address the
story and the video.

And you're leading the pack with it.

Very impressive reporting.

Yeah. I landed it.

And I'm running it.

I'm not gonna spike it,

despite how good the
veal chops are here.

No, of course not.

But that's not what we're talking about.

We're talking about a short hold.

A day.

So you still got a shot
of being in the lead,

and you flying to Aspen to meet
with a certain network chairman

about a show of your own.

Charlie Rose has got to move
on at some point, right?

I can't accept a trip from you.

Won't be with me or my plane.

- Someone will see me.
- No.

You'll land on a private strip

on private land.

Then I can't see myself
running the piece tonight.

Mmm. Yummy.

This is yummy.

For years, I couldn't eat tripe.

I thought I could still
smell the shit in it.

Then I hypnotized him out of it.

- Mm.
- Mmm.

You going for hypnotism now, Nancy?

- Oh.
- Huh?

- It only works on him.
- Ah.

I stare into his eyes,

he locks in on me...

and we will the change.

Work it does.

Can't even smell my own shit anymore.

I think from a, uh,
biological standpoint,

there's a reason we smell our shit, hmm?

I think it's sweet, Chuck.
I wish I could hypnotize you.

How do you think you
got me here tonight?

So how's work?

- Mm.
- It's great.

You know, when we started
this little business,

we thought it was gonna be the two of us

selling our boutique robes
practically door-to-door.

And now we've got 40 employees,

and half the luxury hotels in America

have our bathrobes on the bathroom door.

- Mm-hmm.
- It is an amazing success story.

And to think,

you two are doing it together all day.

- Mm.
- Yeah.

I never understood that part.

- Hmm?
- How a husband and wife

can be like, uh, Siamese twins.

Conjoined, Chuck.

Sure.

Uh, no, I just...
I'm just saying that I...

I don't get how you do the
24-hours-a-day thing.

All day, every day.

Don't you ever just want to, uh...

Wanna what?

- No.
- Yeah?

17 years later, we can't
imagine it any other way.

We weren't always like this.

For the first few years in our marriage,

- we each had our own lives.
- Mm-hmm.

Siloed.

But we made a conscious
decision to live as one.

We started the business,

- commute together every day.
- Yeah.

Shared passwords with each other.

You know, we recently
crossed the final frontier.

- We have the same password.
- Yeah.

That's, um... that's not very secure.

I mean, we know each other's
passwords, too. Don't we?

Yeah. Was yours still the
same from two years ago...

- Yeah.
- When I reset your hard drive?

- Mm-hmm.
- Ah.

You?

Uh, well, you know, we have
to reset every nine months.

I didn't not tell you.
It just didn't occur.

- Mm.
- I would, of course, so I will.

I will.

We're close, but not conjoined.

We divide responsibilities at work.

- Hmm? How?
- Well...

I handle the hugs.
She takes care of the kisses.

Jesus Christ,

did they really say that?

I... You know,

maybe that's what a normal
relationship looks like.

You went to med school
and practiced analysis.

Have you ever seen anything like that?

Come on. Nobody can be that in love...

...after 17 years.

There's no way you make googly eyes

at each other all day,

and then get home and
still want to fuck.

We have to toughen up the kids.

They'll get tough when they need to.

Yeah? How?

Everything's served up
for them on a platter.

The way we grew up,

we had to learn how to
take care of ourselves.

Yeah, sure. We learned to
scratch and claw for ours.

Not all upside, though.

- No?
- No.

Remember when we first got together?

I was still an animal. I was too hard.

Not the sensitive flower you are today?

Exactly. I had to work to soften up.

You worked me over.

And being thorny still
gets me in trouble.

Yeah, well, I'd be willing for
them to go in that direction.

You always said that the desperation

is what gave you an edge
over the rich kids.

They are the rich kids.

Where are they gonna get their grit?

All right.

We'll put 'em on a fishing
trawler for the summer,

stick them in the Foreign Legion.

They'll be men when we pick 'em up.

This is serious.

I hear you.

Whatever you come up with,
you know I'll support.

Yeah. Hmm?

Mm.

- May I?
- Yeah.

You know...

I'm actually glad you
have this Axe thing now.

I can devote myself

to the hundred other cases I'm building.

I want you to know that.

I'm glad to hear you say that, boss.

Yeah.

I just wish I were sure about
this informant you have.

Uh-huh.

I mean, he sounds all right,
the way you describe it,

so that's good.

But then, you don't have
anything concrete yet.

- Early days.
- Mm-hmm.

You know, one thing
I used to do to informants

when I had your job,

every few weeks,
I'd rough 'em up a little bit.

Really made sure they knew
the spot I had 'em in.

Little motivational session.

Yes.

I have to meet with him soon,
anyway, to give him the script

to get Axe to really
incriminate himself.

- Mm-hmm.
- Mm.

You know, Axe knows people everywhere,

so make sure you use a secure location.

There's a place I've used.

Very secure.

No chance that Axe is hooked in there.

I don't want to overstep,
make an actual suggestion.

I'm sure you don't.

You wanted to see me?

Where have you been?

You haven't come in for weeks.

It looks like Axe has brought you close.

In the past, you've talked about feeling

almost intimidated by him
in the work setting,

but you've got a lot of
back and forth going now.

He's a great resource.

I decided I shouldn't shy
away from that anymore.

You used to be one of the
most open people here,

but you've withdrawn from me.

Even now, I sense you withholding.

Maybe I'm just tired.

Maybe I'm... I'm just doing well

and I don't wanna jinx it by...
talking about it.

I couldn't stop thinking
about your problem.

- Uh-huh.
- Now I know you're the doc,

but let me prescribe you something.

A boulevardier for her, please,
and another one for me.

It's like a Negroni, but with
rye instead of gin. Try it.

How the fuck did you
know I liked Negronis?

Billie told me.

Well, I asked her.

Is that something
a headhunter needs to know

about a client these days?

Well, you're more interesting
than my other clients.

Cut the shit. I don't
need to be flattered.

That's an occupational hazard,

and in your case, it's not flattery.

So... I came across something today...

a job that I think might
be your Shangri-La.

And they don't use outside headhunters,

and I'm not gonna charge you
directly if you get the gig.

Do you wanna talk about why
you're undervaluing yourself?

No.

Tell me about the job.

It is a blue-chip consulting firm.

They do turnarounds from the inside out.

And the clients... we're talking
innovators, thought leaders,

Fortune 500 folks...

crazy geniuses that need to
be met on their own terms.

You want a challenge,

this job's gonna require that
you seriously up your game.

- Huh.
- Mm-hmm.

You can play cool if you want,

but this façade's not fooling me.

You're excited as hell.

I'm intrigued.

I do have some questions.

About the comp? Platinum.
State-of-the-art package,

comparable to what you're making now.

I previewed who you were
without naming you,

and I know it's yours
if you're interested.

It's overwhelming, right?
Getting exactly what you want?

That's how I roll.

I would insist on
paying you a commission.

I want to do a nice thing. Let me.

I have to do something.

You can. Drink up.

This is today's downloads.

Few conversations.

Not what you're looking for... yet.

That's what I want to talk about.
You know...

There's a move. Guys try it so often,

we call it the Bojangle.

When someone who's been
caught, like yourself,

agrees to cooperate, then thinks
they can string us along,

giving us nothing until... what?

Maybe you think we'll lose
interest or somethin'?

Well, that's not gonna happen ever,

so don't you try to fucking Bojangle me.

"The price of any betrayal
always comes due in flesh."

What's that? Shakespeare?

Stephen King. Gunslinger.

But no less true.

You're right in recognizing that I...
am reluctant.

It makes me sick to sell out the man

who g-gave me everything...

...so I can be with my family.

So if that's not good enough,

you can go fuck yourself!

So you tell me,

you want me to keep
doing what I'm doing?

Yeah. Keep it up. We'll be in touch.

Jeez.

Are you fucking kidding me?!

Credible source. Well-developed.

I cannot believe how reckless this is.

Tomorrow, Bryan.

I will hear your complaints tomorrow.

And I will give those complaints

a good, long, loud hearing.

You can bray, and I will listen.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow.

But for now...

Excellent work.

- Hey.
- Hey.

Did you, uh, pay the sitter?

Yeah. She left a while ago.

What'd you do tonight?

Meeting with the, uh,

Federal Judiciary committee
at the Bar Association.

You?

Uh, I had a drink with Billie

and some of the girls from med school.

Guess we know who had more fun tonight.

Ha. Yeah.

What are those?

Sleeping bags.

Go get sweatshirts and toothbrushes.

Why?

'Cause you're going on a campout

with the Westport Sound Rangers.

- What?
- Mm-hmm.

It's time to learn some outdoor skills.

Camping, fire building,
map reading, ropes course.

Some life skills.

Dad.

It's your mother's decision,
and I'm behind her.

Get up.

I canceled your speech
at the conference.

Good. Next?

Raul Gomez says he needs to
know if he can tell his board

you're clear of charges.

Call back later.

You were right.

It was the girlfriend.

The video makes the whole thing clear.

He was drinking.

He basically admits to
driving your kids drunk.

He insults them and you.

We've got the full version now.
No one else does.

What'd it cost?

Well within my budget
for this type of thing.

Well done.

Now we just need to get it
into Mike Dimonda's hands.

Already being uploaded by my office.

- Ooh!
- All right.

All right, let's get those tents up!

Then we'll assign fire detail,
cook up some franks and beans.

Hey!

It's a screen-free,
electronics-free time

out here, buddies.

- Sorry.
- Hand it over.

You have one?

All right, then. Hop to!

I got your precious,
fucking babies home.

What? I will kill you, you motherfucker.

400,000 hits in less than two hours.

That's beyond viral.
That's goddamned virulent.

Well, it's official. This no
longer exists in the system.

The full video contained what
the police consider to be

an admission of DUI, so your
reaction was justifiable.

Just stay off the radar.

Thank you.

There you go.

If you need anything else,
you got my number.

Best one yet... "Mothers
Against Drunk Driving,

we salute #BobbyAxelrod for
doing what needed to be done.

#don'tdrinkanddrive."

You're an instant goddamn hero.

Your phone is blowing up.

Lawrence Boyd from Spartan-Ives...

"Bobby, share my chopper
out to the Hamptons

for Clean Water gala."

- Ooh.
- Ooh!

And Raul Gomez... "The police
remain behind Axe Cap."

There we go!

- Mm.
- Get up!

That's gonna fucking cost you.

Worth it.

Axelrod wins!

Of course.

Well, I said that I would hear you out,

and I will.

Uh, I'm not doing it this way.

Appoint someone else lead counsel.

I got plenty of other
cases to deal with.

Now is this because you think my advice

gives you less of a shot at winning?

No. I need to protect my integrity.

I need to run the case
if I'm running it.

Ego.

Bryan Connerty saying, I did it.

I took down Bobby Axelrod.

Not ego. And not alone.

We have more resources

than any governmental
prosecutorial division in the world.

I plan on using them as I see fit.

Sometimes even I lose perspective.

This whole winning and losing
thing can do that to you.

I say "I" instead of "we",
instead of "the people."

And I forget that history
won't give a shit

if Chuck Rhoades or Bryan Connerty

won or lost some dipshit case,

And in a hundred years,

that's what they'll all look like,

no matter how big.

But taken together as an aggregate,

they matter.

Instead of thinking about
how it's gonna feel

hearing a guilty verdict
only you brought in,

picture the retirees,
the hourly workers.

The innocent timecard-punching
factory employees

humping it out of bed every
day for their families.

Those people put their faith
in the American promise...

work hard, get paid what you deserve.

Invest your nest egg, grow it.

Retire with enough to live on.

That is the whole reason...

We're sold the idea that the
playing field is level.

But we both know the playing field

is tilted like a craps table
in Tombstone, Arizona.

And Bobby Axelrod is the one
who is sewing the legs.

Every dollar that he
takes through fraud,

insider information,
market manipulation,

is a dollar taken away
from one of those folks

who earned it.

And Axe will do everything

to keep it all going.

And that's why you need me,
because I am willing

to stare into the abyss
beyond conventional morality

and do what needs to be done

to even that fucking table back up.

- Sit in it.
- Come on.

Come on.

I want you to. Sit in it.

Someday you're gonna be sitting
in that chair for real.

And you're gonna remember this moment

and you're gonna understand it in a way

that you couldn't possibly now.

But know this...

this is your case, Bryan.

I'm not letting you walk away from it.

So what you have to ask yourself,

the only thing you have
to ask yourself is,

can you do a better job
standing up for those folks

with me in your corner...

or without me?

Now you stay there, right there.

Think about it.

I think you're gonna be happy.

Hey!

Go!

- He's coming!
- Hey, what the...

- Get in, get in.
- He's coming. He's coming.

Let's go!

- Buckle up.
- Yes!

What the hell?!

Smart move, Gordie,
holding on to your phone.

So you guys hungry?
What did they feed you?

- Franks and beans.
- It was shit.

- We're starving.
- See?

Now you've learned to
appreciate what you have.

- And watch your mouth.
- Okay.

So... tough night.

Wanna get some real food?

I know a diner, great milkshakes.

Yes!