Billions (2016–…): Season 2, Episode 7 - Victory Lap - full transcript

Previously on Billions...

Today you're the man
who brought down Lawrence Boyd.

You're under arrest.

Today you're Elvis.

The only question now is...

which mansion will it be,
Gracie or the Governor's?

Head of Crim. Man, plum purchase.

Freaking launch pad
of the private sector.

I mean, you land it, you're minted.

My part is done for now.

What the fuck.



Hang for a minute, Bryan.

Listen to what Bobby has to say.

Come work for Bach's firm,
on my account.

You know what Rhoades is, Bryan,

and I know you made that call.

What did you do to get
Axelrod to drop his civil suits?

I went back to work at Axe Capital.

I'm happy that it works for you.

But for us,
I'm afraid it's a deal breaker.

If you ever decide to grapple with

why you feel happiness
for you can only exist

in the company of hairless
21-year-old girls, come see me.

We can fix that quick.

Thanks for taking the meeting.



Anything for Bruno.

Sandicot's downtown is
ripe for redevelopment.

The whole county's on
the edge of default.

If they don't get the casino,

it goes from something to consider

to something to never think about again.

Move forward with the bond.

The casino is coming to Sandicot.

We are committing to this play.

Sandicot's not getting
the gaming license.

It's over.

How did I get fucked?

That casino was supposed
to be locked-the-fuck in.

When an op goes sour,

we're taught to go back to its genesis.

Bobby.

Put the bat down.

The gaming license went to another town.

No.

Let's have a talk with your nephew.

Who paid you?

It's not like that.

Marco, it better fucking not be.

It's not, Uncle Bru.
It's not, Mr. Axelrod.

And you, sir.

- I'm gonna be sick.
- You should be...

because you know who you
really hurt with this move.

There was no move.

You fronted like the
whole thing was wired.

Was that bait? Or were you the bait?

I swear.

If you didn't set Mr. Axelrod up,
who set you up?

Nobody. It's a thing that happened,

not something anyone did.

That is the kind of thing I'd say.

You vetted the info yourself.

I did.

Which means whoever put you up to this

was careful and targeted.

Do you understand me?

I swear... on my eyes.

Yes, you do. Now, who paid you?

No one even knew who I was going to
for the financing, not at first.

It's some kind of Albany machine shit.

The kind that's been
going on for 100 years

that we got caught in.

You're getting fottuto for
something someone's cousin did

to someone else's boss in a
distant part of the state.

"Fottuto" means getting fucked.

I picked that up in context.

You know the kind of options

this leaves me to get my money out.

Go long.

My bad. I overshot you.

Looks like you finally
have some family time.

Thanks for coming down here.

No, the Boyd business kept
me living at the office,

so I promised Kevin I'd spend the day

with him when it was done.

But I'm always happy
to find time for you.

Kevin, come here for a minute.

There's someone I'd like you to meet.

This is Mike Dimonda,

an excellent and very
influential young journalist.

Mike, my son Kevin.

Nice to meet you, sir.

Helluva handshake, Kevin.

He's a good kid.

Okay, go out.

Skinny post.

Omaha, Omaha. Hut.

This is the kind of
unadulterated high point

that rarely comes along.
It's hard to see what more

there is for you to
gain as U.S. Attorney.

House, Senate, or do you have plans
to run for Governor?

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

- Where'd you get that?
- What I hear is

you're taking a quick victory lap,

and then it's City Hall,
Capitol Building, or Albany.

I would never even consider
it while still in office.

You will be the first to
know should that change.

Do you mind if I,
shoot a few of you guys

throwing the ball around?
Or is that private?

It is.

But if you think it has some value,

then... we can make an exception.

That'd be great.

Come on, Kev.

All right?

How's that?

Ryan, why don't you show
me the rest of the house?

Soon, baby.

It's just...

I'm so close.

Is the pool heater on?

I think you can handle...

Yeah, I can.

Get inside. Now.

Get the fuck out.

I'm a pretty chill boss,

but how far do you want
to fucking push it?

I wasn't expecting you till tomorrow.

And you didn't call, so...

We don't need to fucking call.

Right. I'm sorry.

Of course.

I'm sorry.

You know how much I like you, Ryan.

But even still,
I'm tempted to broom your ass.

Tell me you didn't use our bed.

No, no. No.
I did not even let her inside.

That is lucky for you.

Those towels go in the trash.

Sounds like you've been pardoned.

I'm doing a war room.

I need you to make lunch for eight.

Thanks, Axe.

I'm really sorry.

And wash your fucking hands.

Right.

Hello.

That was quick.

Thought you'd be back later.

Yeah, well, we had our catch.

Then Dad did the interview,
and we came home.

Bye, Dad.

You said you wanted to
spend the day with him.

Yeah, I said I wanted to spend
time with him, and I did.

You used him as a prop.

Which you swore you'd never do,

since that's exactly what
your father did to you.

We spent the morning at the park.

And a reporter happened upon us

because, at the moment,

I am news-worthy.

Finally in a good way.

I'm sure it's a wonderful
lesson for Kevin

- on what really matters.
- Indeed it was.

He got to run around a little bit,

and he got some exposure

as to how you finesse relations
with the fourth estate.

That is exactly the kind of half-truth

that's led to our current situation.

As is your failure to tell me

you were going back to work for Axelrod.

My God.

I had to Columbo
that one for myself.

Yet it seems that I'm required

to disclose every detail
of how I spend my time.

No, you're not.
When it comes to the kids,

yes, complete transparency,
but otherwise,

you don't have to share anything,
so you know, go.

Do whatever the fuck you want,
and so will I.

There it goes. There it goes.

Your justification...

slid in there so maybe I
would realize it later.

But there it was.

You want the freedom
to see other people.

Yes.

I want freedom...

all around.

And I would be free, as well.

Consider that door open.

You're really saying those words?

Yes, I am.

For both of us.

Wendy.

What?

I'll see you tomorrow.

So, it's fallen upon all of you

to figure out how to get us un-fucked.

The gaming license was the guarantee

that Sandicot would pay off the notes.

Now, the license is gone,
the area is going to default,

and we're about to eat a half a billion,

including 100 mill in
fresh capital we put in.

Any suggestions?

There's no road to raising tax revenues.

I don't give a shit what we don't have.

I need to know the roads
that are open to us

or the ground that can
be cleared to make one.

Isn't there anyone we
can sell this turd to?

Not without taking a
nine-figure haircut.

Same goes for restructuring.

This thing stinks like Billy Batts

in the trunk right now.

Austerity.

You don't need to whisper
it like it's some dark spell

that'll come true if
you say it too loudly.

It kind of is, though, isn't it?

Yeah. Because once you say it,

you realize it's your only option.

Austerity.

Okay. Step it out for everyone.

Well, the note exchange requires
that the town pay you first,

before any of its other
financial obligations,

like union contracts with town workers,

teachers' salaries, all that.

Austerity just means you enforce that.

Yes. Go ahead, seize their assets,

like Singer did in Argentina.

What kind of assets?

Sandicot is not an entire
South American country.

Right. We wouldn't be
skimming cream off the top.

We'd be gutting them for their organs,

like in a Korean horror movie.

You'd be mostly looking at land,
buildings, and utilities.

Town also has an original Remington.

It's worth upwards of $900,000.

The fuck's a Remington?

Frederic. American artist
from the 19th century.

He specialized in
depictions of the Old West.

I took Art History for the automatic A.

Some of it stuck.

If you force them to pay you,

the county would have
to severely cut back

on its municipal workforce,
roll back labor contracts,

and pillage its pension funds.

Eventually they'd have
to shutter some schools,

leading to overpopulated classrooms

and forced free periods.

Decreased graduation rates,
increased crime.

They would be consolidation
of hospitals, fire houses.

There would also be
cuts in police manpower.

Which would bring other
kinds of problems.

The effects are viral.

The losses spin off to the businesses

that provide services to the town.

Other area businesses start to close,

and more jobs are lost.

Won't all this be a PR nightmare?

PR that comes with losing that
much money is a nightmare, too.

And we lose the money.

I don't like any of the
answers I'm hearing.

There has to be a way to get this done

without destroying the place.

Model it up for me.

All scenarios.

Son, I did something today

that is gonna absolutely floor you.

I thought you went golfing today.

I did. Played my 18,

and then I withdrew my membership
from the Garden City Golf Club.

That's your natural habitat.

Few places a man can be as comfortable.

But it was time.

They don't allow women.

And I cannot be a member of
a restricted club anymore.

Noble.

Anticipatory. Of the future.

That's baked right into the word.

Your future,
which should start right now.

It's unethical for me to run while...

The Tappan Institute
commissioned a poll.

Your buddy Tate Tappan's
think tank just happened...

Independent.

No connection to me.

The results are quite...

I don't want to hear anything about it.

No, I've just gotten out
from under a cloud.

If word leaks out about a
poll while I'm in office,

that is gonna be a darker cloud.

What is this, then?

That's Camelot right there.

Don't try to spin it.

That is a picture of a
man running for office.

You're doing more than
just dreaming about it.

I'll send you those poll results.

I think they're gonna be encouraging.

But you're gonna have to
resolve things with Wendy.

You cannot be an effective candidate

if your marriage is in the crapper.

That's not really a thing anymore, Dad.

That I'd need a woman standing
behind me on the podium,

that's archaic.

Son, you do know why you need her
in your life, don't you?

She is a natural-born killer.

That's what she builds,
all day... killers.

You're a good candidate.

She'd make you unstoppable.

Don't get your hopes up.

You still got your shucking skills.

Summer job on City Island when I was 14.

For the record,
I am not eating any of those.

Any answers?

Getting there.

Marc was absolutely not conning you.

No wires or transfers.

No evidence of inbound cash

or altered behavior whatsoever

in him, the wife, or other family.

So he was conned right along with me.

The Gaming Facility Location Board

reassigned the license to
Kingsford at the last minute.

I confirmed that.

A guy named Joe Scolari
made the call to switch.

No one motivated him?

It's hard to pinpoint where the idea
to change even originated,

or who he's trying to keep happy.

But I do know that
these things don't move

unless somebody orders it to happen.

Okay. Stay on it.

I'm gonna get with Scolari,
see if I can get a read on him.

Thank you for agreeing to meet,
Senator Scolari.

Call me Joe.

What brings you up the Thruway?

You looking for approval for another,

outdoor shower at your
place in the Hamptons?

Well, if you've gone to so
much trouble to research me,

you must know why.

I'm here as an investor
in New York State

meeting with one its
finest representatives.

Of course.

I know about the note
exchange on Sandicot.

And I want you to know
the Location Board

doesn't take matters of
gaming licenses lightly.

The committee chose the location

that would bring the greatest benefit

to the greatest number of people.

That turned out to be Kingsford.

I believe
that the state-appointed board,

handpicked by the Governor,

would be nothing short of rigorous.

Thing is, I have it on good authority

that Sandicot was
gonna get that license.

So the late switch seems... odd.

Our process always
seems odd to outsiders.

That's where the whole
sausage-making thing comes from.

But let me reassure you,

there was nothing out of
the ordinary about it.

The committee chose the location

that would bring the greatest benefit

to the greatest number of people.

That turned out to be Kingsford.

Yeah, no, you said.

What I was looking for
is a specific reason

that decision was made.

You want specifics.

Details into our process.

Inner workings and so forth.

That would be helpful.

Sure.

I can share that.

The committee chose the location

that would bring the greatest benefit

to the greatest number of people.

That turned out to be Kingsford.

Just as I'm sure you took on
the obligations of Sandicot

for the good of those fine people.

I hope this has been as much
fun for you as it has for me.

Absolutely.

He doesn't make any
of his own decisions.

He's got a string hanging
right out of his back.

And it's the Governor who's pulling it.

I'll see what I can find out.

I didn't sleep last night.

Your numbers have been strong,

even in a tough market.

Yeah, they have been.

So what was it kept you up?

Russian hackers.

They can fuck with us so easily,

in ways we can't even comprehend.

A few keystrokes and they can bring

an entire airline to a standstill.

Thousands of people stranded.

So your fear is, what?

These hackers targeting you?
The entire market?

My portfolio could go up in flames.

I have a family.

When did you start losing sleep over it?

Just last night.

Anything happen yesterday?

I had to go out to Axe's house

in the Hamptons for a special meeting.

Axe bought the distressed
debt on this town upstate.

Now they're defaulting.
It's a shit load of money.

What do you think you should do?

Well, what are the options?

Austerity. Or lose money.

Do you see the connection?

With the hackers?

You're saying we're like them?

They're agents of chaos

who can destabilize all our lives

just because they feel like it.

Who are you to those people upstate?

- Chaos.
- Yes.

Axe Cap is the agent of chaos.

You know what austerity means.

You guys traverse moral
and legal gray areas

all the time, but you can live with it

because you're rarely aware
of anyone getting hurt by it.

With this town,
you know exactly who's getting hurt,

and where they're gonna feel their pain.

And how their lives are
gonna spin out of control

because of decisions
made in your presence,

at a fucking mansion in the Hamptons.

I don't even know that
it's wrong for him

to do what he's doing...

only that I don't like
how it makes me feel.

This is all connected.

When a situation starts affecting you

so much you can't sleep,

you have to take action.

Fighting for those people

and fighting for yourself
are one and the same.

I taught elementary school for 30 years,

always contributing to my pension.

That was my nest egg for retirement.

Then that nest egg got invested.

But the town it was invested in
mismanaged its finances.

And now they don't want
to pay what they owe,

and my retirement is threatened.

A spot like this will kick
off our Astroturf campaign

to make it look like the
area's getting a bailout

and not a death sentence.

Commercials like this one,

but specific to Sandicot,

sell the idea that our investors,

teachers from the Midwest,

hardworking,
responsible people from all over,

they are the ones who suffer
if Sandicot is allowed to default.

Make it clear that we are the
ones willing to negotiate.

It's the town that's being difficult.

Of course.
Sandicot is being uncooperative.

We'll say all that.

Any questions?

Danzig.

You've been awfully quiet.

Are we really gonna do this?

I mean, we can make some market moves

and potentially pick up some
of the losses by next quarter.

We're making it look like
our investors are down

to eating cat food.

The people up there are
sure to turn to the media

and to cry poor,
to play the victim card.

It makes sense for us to point out

that there are other victims.

Exactly.

But we are not really the victims.

They are.

I kind of feel like he's right.

We could hold the debt,
take a short-term loss,

but then take the lead
in re-growing Sandicot,

redeveloping the downtown.

Create a food hall

or bring in a minor-league team.

Taylor, something
you want to add to that?

Yes.

It is unfortunate...
offensive, actually...

to even be talking about this,

and that people have to
live in near-poverty.

But in many ways,
a town is like a business.

And when a business
operates beyond its means,

when numbers don't add up,

and the people in charge continue on,

heedless of that face,
sure that some sugar daddy,

usually in the form of
the Federal Government,

will come along and scoop them
up and cover the shortfalls,

well, that truly offends me.

People might say you hurt this town.

But in my opinion,
the town put the hurt on itself.

Corrections are in order.

There's a way to make this work,

and that way is hard, but necessary.

As Taleb says,
"Become antifragile, or die."

Once we do this,
the town will face that challenge

and come out stronger.

Or it will cease being.

Either result absolutely natural,

as in, of nature itself.

You've been stepping things up lately.

Extra-nice ties, new suits.

You been speed-dating with law firms?

I might've tried a lightning round.

And?

She's not as hot as her profile pic.

Yeah?

No. Line AUSA's like us,

you're only looking at 600K to start.

If you get Chief of Crim and go private,

it's a lot more than 600.

It's double.

I just don't think I can stick
around if Connerty gets it.

I'm not gonna have the
stomach for that shit.

Maybe he won't get it.

After Boyd?

Don't count yourself out.
You've been crushing it lately.

Chuck took him to Keens for lunch.

Shit.

Yeah.

Shit.

The mutton chop is the
thing to order here.

It's what they're known for.

Mutton? I don't know.

Come on, it's tradition.

This place has
a special character, doesn't it?

You can almost feel all
the history in this room,

all the deals that've been made.

It's where Senator Vandeveer
brought me when she told me

I was being appointed U.S. Attorney.

And it's where I always
thought I would take you

when you'd earned the
promotion to Head of Crim.

Mutton's an interesting euphemism,
isn't it?

Well, nobody ever says "sheep."

But who wants to eat
something so adorable, right?

So it's a mutton chop.

Definitely less objectionable.

The kangaroo industry
recently tried that.

- Did they?
- Yes.

In fact, there was a country-wide survey

to pick a name,

and they settled on "Australus."

But not for the same reason as a sheep.

No, this was entirely different.

Seems the kangaroo has a great
deal in common with the rat.

Hence, "Australus."

I mean, it's elegant, don't you think?

And yet, even by any other name,

there's still a slab of giant rat

sitting on the plate
right in front of you.

Can I get you started?

Here we go. He'll have the mutton.

I'm not ready yet.

Bryan...

do you have something to tell me?

I'm not sure what you mean.

I think you know.

Are we talking about the investigation?

Yes.

Yes.

We are.

This is it.

Your chance.

This is the conversation
that you knew, deep down,

you would have to have
if you had any desire

to continue to have any
relationship with me.

This is the conversation

that you have been dreading
all these many months.

The one about betrayal, disillusionment,

second chances, and lost opportunities.

This is the one where you tell me

how and why you brought

the investigation down upon my head.

All right, Chuck.

You got it right with all
that grandiose indignance.

I am the one who called the OPR.

I didn't hear a no.

Fuck.

Fuck!

Bryan.

One more thing.

Is Axe Cap bugged?

Not officially.

But right now,

I wouldn't be surprised
if it were unofficially.

Hey, look, I know you don't
want to come work for me.

I get it.

You're an idealist.

But the man that you work for now...

he's not just dirty,
he's worse than that.

He's a hypocrite.

And if you know that,
and you still let it happen,

then I think you know
what that makes you.

Well...

now I know for certain

who I have to thank for
my day at the Senate.

But unlike Julius Caesar,
seems I managed to pull through.

It's clear you're a survivor.

And it's clear I can't
make you Head of Crim.

You let him get to you.

Only because he spoke the truth.

You were abusing the office.

You lied about recusing yourself.

You stole evidence from
your wife's computer.

I made some missteps.

Mis...

Okay. More than missteps.

In my vigor, I transgressed...

in ways I never imagined I would.

But I have atoned for all of it.

And I am still in the process,
personally and professionally.

I dropped the case.

And now you're trying to punish me.

I earned that position.

But...

Chief of Crim goes to Lonnie.

For the foreseeable future,

the chair will remain vacant.

Going ahead, I am committed

to complete transparency between us.

No more silence or subterfuge.

If one of us is angry, or disappointed,

we express it.

So, you can either quit right now...

or you can stay.

Prove your loyalty.

And when you do,

you will truly have earned that chair.

Are you two planning to order?

I'll have the mutton.
What about you, Bryan?

I'll have the same.

Welcome sight, you in my office.

I'm not sure my message
will be all that welcome.

I don't think it's in the
best interest of this firm

to foreclose on that town.

It's not our doing.

We would merely be
collecting a debt owed to us.

Still, it would hurt our reputation.

Is that so?

Or would it hurt you to
watch other people suffer

and feel like you were part of it?

I would be...

in a sense.

Yes.

Truth be told,

I'm still glad you're in here

because I have conflicting
feelings about this, too.

And I'd like to talk about it.

No.

I can't get sucked
back into that. I won't.

Because instead of really
doing that exploration with me,

I now know you'd just be using
me to make yourself feel better

about what you wanted to
do in the first place.

That's not true.

What is true is that,

far from harming our reputation,

pressing our advantage at Sandicot
would only burnish it to our investors.

That is what is expected.

Still, I haven't decided
on a course of action

because I do care about
the potential toll

on the people out there.

And these are the feelings
I want to discuss.

No.

Then I'm not the only one who
might be putting my own needs

above those of the good
people of Sandicot.

A colleague saw you and
Chuck having lunch at Keens.

I hope congratulations are in order.

That night at the pizza place,

you never told me Axe
was gonna be there.

He's my client. I did as he asked.

No, you knew I would never
meet with him privately.

Because if anyone found out

I was meeting with Axelrod
in the middle of the night,

it would seriously compromise me.

And it has. So, no.

No, congratulations
are not in fucking order.

I'm lucky I still have my job.

If you still want it.

My client legitimately
saw in you what I see...

Prodigious talent.

He merely wanted to make sure
you understood the choice

you were making by continuing
to work for Rhoades.

The offer that was made
that night still holds.

You can come work for me.

Or you can take your chances
with a mentor you no longer trust.

I have no mentors. Not anymore.

You acted like my rabbi,

proffering wisdom when
you were working me,

fucking with my head,

undermining my sense of purpose.

Your job is not your purpose.

Chuck is not your savior.

And if I'm not your friend,

you have no friends.

Fuck your client,

and fuck you, too.

Stop.

Upside-down day, breakfast for dinner.

No thanks.

You always thought that your mother
made those waffles from scratch.

I was eating Eggos?

Yeah, she heated them on the griddle.

I used the toaster.

Put some syrup on it, it's delicious.

So...

the poll results.

What do you think?

I think I'm ready to...

explore.

- That's my boy.
- It's just preliminary.

I'm not committing to anything.

- I hear you.
- 'Cause the thing is,

I'm really not sure that
I finished my mission.

Well, who ever does, kid?

You can weigh all that from
your goddamn nursing home.

The poll...

What did you learn?

Well...

it's pretty clear what
my vulnerabilities are.

My upstate numbers are weak.

They are, but we can buff
and polish you up there.

I am not worried about that.

How do I go about this?

What do I do first?

First thing we do is
we get you anointed.

The whispered names.

You have to really know them now.

One at least... Black Jack Foley.

I haven't heard that
one in quite awhile.

By design.

You need some personal time with him

so that he can take your measure,

and so he'll bless you.

Things still run through him?

Indeed.

Now...

I want you to get his
granddaughter a clerkship.

Then we wait for the call.

Hi.

Morning.

How'd you sleep?

Good.

You know, my life moves fast.

And I tend to avoid
the kind of connections

that lead to dependence
or can slow me down.

I know.

Weightlessness is a priority for you.

It's one of the reasons I called.

Doesn't this seem like
a whole different thing?

This?

Us.

Like, I'm a restless person.

I'm never happy unless I'm in motion

or running seven
projects simultaneously.

But last night I was here.

Even right now.

I haven't stayed in bed
past 5 a.m. since 2001.

Yet right now I feel still,
and I like it.

And... since I'm here...

Hold up.

I'm glad you found another
dimension you can exist in.

But at the moment,

the present is all I can really handle.

And the light of day is a
little bright for me right now.

Okay.

I got an early meeting.

Mind if I take the first shower?

All yours.

Kids ready for camp?

They're brushing their teeth.

Did I just see,
the sitter getting into a taxi?

Why would she be here in the morning?

You know, I had a craving

for a boudin noir last night,

so I went to Bistro Grisby.

We used to go there all the time.

Yeah, when we were first married.

Not in a long time.

Now it's gone.

Gone?

It's, a nail salon now.

They closed four years ago.

Sad.

Look...

I know that I reacted poorly

when I learned that you were
going back to Axe Capital.

I'm sorry.

I was being selfish.

If you are happy there,

then... that's where you should be.

I want you to be happy.

That's lovely, Chuck.

It really is.

I'll go get the kids.

Boss...

I received a concerning bit of news.

Mick Danzig just quit.

Is that so?

I just never thought I'd have an issue

dating someone in the office.

And I really didn't.

I don't know...

it's just distracting with Everett here.

I see the way she looks at him, and...

We are in the middle of a session.

Mafee, out.

Yeah, we were just
shooting the breeze, catching up.

That was completely inappropriate.

How can I possibly do
my job if your guys

think you might come barging
through the door at any moment?

It takes me long enough to convince them
you don't have my office bugged.

Once you realized you couldn't
influence my thinking,

you decided to influence someone else's?

- That's my job.
- For the good of the firm,

which I do not define

as making one of my best earners quit.

I didn't make anyone do anything.

I know you had a session
with Mick Danzig.

What did you say to him?

I can't discuss that.

You contract here is very clear.

You are here to help
my employees perform

at their peak level.

In any manner I see fit.
You don't like it, fire me.

Pay me out. I agreed to come back.

I am back doing exactly
what I am paid to do.

You made the deal, Bobby.

You can get out of it any time.

That was a neat trick
you pulled with the A.G.

I mean, I've never seen her
flanked before.

Impressive.

All in the service of justice.

Well, and the Southern District.

Now you get to have your moment...

as well you should.

The question is,
what will you do with it?

Such ambitions are far from my focus.

I see a run for office.

Is it possible you'll go the other way?

Cash out, go private? That's not you.

No. Sadly, I'm like you.
Public servant for life.

And it's in that role that I'm here.

I have come across

a wonderful young law student,
Emma Foley.

She's at Cardoza. Smart. Studious.

And a clerkship with you would...

Slice that baby up.

Thank you.

I love the sound it
makes when they carve it.

There you go.

All right.

That crackle.

Look, if this young lady is qualified,

I'll consider her as I
would any other candidate.

I recognize the last name.

So I have a feeling if she were
really as super as you say,

she'd already have a clerkship.

Well, we're not talking
about appointing her

to the Supreme Court.

This is how things are done, right?

Not for me. Not anymore.

I look at the way things get done.

The view changes when you
see things from the bench.

Favor-trading, deal-making,

back channeling, patronage.

I'll admit, I took advantage
every now and then

when I was in the trenches.

But... I lost my taste for it.

True objectivity.

It's the ultimate luxury.

It's corrosive, Chuck.

I mean, I went to law school
to help fix the system,

not succumb to it.

Sounds like you're
feeling the holy spirit.

For the first time
since clerking for RBG.

Which is why I'm careful
with my own clerks.

This is very personal for me.

I mean, I'm finally in a
position to do some good.

Very inspiring.

Just don't forget, it was
the back channels and deal-making

that put you in that position.

Remind me again,
and this is the last meal we share.

Help yourself.

Absolutely right.

Thank you.

I think you'll make an
excellent candidate, Chuck.

I actually think you're
built for the political life.

I mean, if I'm you, I'd go for it.

It wasn't the Governor
who called the shot.

Sure, he controls Scolari.

But this goes to who
controls the Governor,

and that's Jack Foley.

I know who that is...
Old steel and railroad money.

One of the first Western businessmen
into Russia after the wall fell.

But more than that,
an Albany machine man.

His family goes all
the way back to Tweed.

Foley's war chest got three
of the last four Govs elected,

along with half the Assembly.

But it seems, in this case,
he focused on the casino.

So, why would Foley want to fuck me?

Unclear.
Look, it's like that Marco kid said,

this likely wasn't a targeted strike.

It was collateral on a
strike against someone else.

It may actually be
random Albany bullshit.

But we can't be sure it wasn't.

No, we can't.

I'm Tier two, which means I can sign out

during the day to look for a job.

But I don't want to
talk about this place.

I want to hear about the world.

Well...

I'm having problems with
that bond I bought upstate.

I saw.

Albany moved the gaming license.

You trying to get it back?

It's too late. I have to take action.

The only way that I can come out ahead,

it's pretty grisly.

Playing Torquemada's never fun.

I'm still stuck on how the
whole license thing went down.

It was supposed to be a done deal.

But the switch...
it tracks back to Jack Foley.

What do you want to
know about Black Jack?

What drives him. What moves him.

Who he's close to.

How I can get close to him.

He's driven by maintaining influence...

naturally...

and growing his six-generation fortune
and staying invisible despite it all.

Advisor to kings and princes.

There was a time not long ago
I could have put you in a room with him.

But I'm off his speed dial now.

All the way off.

Roberto...

what you're considering upstate,

the vulture play, know this...

Everybody's a Libertarian
until it's their town that's dying.

Then a bailout only seems right.

Before I ended up in here,

I would've said to you,

"Let it implode. Raze the fucker."

Let something new grow in its place.

Prop it up and you're only delaying

"the inevitable collapse."

But now?

You have to handle it right,

or you'll be facing the
same torches and pitchforks

that landed me in here.

Except that what I'd
be doing isn't illegal.

I did everything I could

to make sure it didn't come to this.

But still it went bad.

Just don't forget...

if they hate you enough,

they will find legal
grounds to fuck you.

You know this.

You're not gonna be able to
find out what I need to know.

I'm gonna have to sit down
face-to-face with Foley.

He'll be resistant.

So start thinking of ways
to overcome that resistance.

Will do.

Yeah.

No, I wasn't.

But send him up.

I understand what "vulture"
means now.

I know things didn't work out
the way we thought they would.

And I know this is a
bad situation for you.

But I got to ask you to please
not take it out on Marco's town.

You know you've got a finder's fee
coming to you either way.

Come on, I don't give a shit about that.

You can throw it right in
if it changes anything.

Bobby, I've known you
since you're a kid.

I don't know why you want
to hurt all of these people

who got so little as it is.

These people, they're just
like you while growing up.

Now you've got everything.

They're gonna have less than nothing.

I can't have that on my head,
and you don't want it on yours.

I hear you, Bruno.

Like you said,
you've known me since I was a kid,

so you know I'm telling you the truth

when I say I want to avoid doing it.

I'm trying my best.

I saw Bruno down there.

He was here about the muni bond?

Lobbying for Sandicot.

What do you think I should do?

You finally asking me for my opinion?

I wasn't cutting you out.

I'm just trying to wrap
my head around all this.

But now I really need
to know what you think.

I can see how painful this is for you.

It was all over your face when
you were talking to Bruno.

It's tough.

I just sank a shit ton
of money into a place

that will never be able
to repay its obligations.

But if we go soft,
like Bruno wants us to,

we'll lose the better part
of 500 million dollars.

Whereas if we do what it
takes to make the bond viable,

we're gonna clear over $100 million.

I can see both sides of this.

Those people up there
are who we used to be.

That's what Bruno said.

Did anyone ever help us,
or look out for us?

When my mother was closing the blinds

so that bill collectors wouldn't
know that anyone was home?

No.

The way we were brought up,
it was always them or us.

And it still is.

That's what I think.

And like you said, Bobby...

in the end, everyone else
is cannon fodder.

So I say you go up there,
and you do what you got to do.

Cut off the gangrenous parts.

And then we go in with
charter schools and outrage,

for about $30 million.

We capture the tax write-off,

and those kids will be better off
than their parents, or we, ever were.

Before we go out,
can you order pizza for the kids?

Chinese tonight.

The one they like doesn't deliver.

And George isn't here yet.

I'll get it.

Seize all their assets...

property, utilities, machinery,
vehicles, buildings.

Everything, even Town fucking Hall.

Look to seize the town's bank accounts,

payroll accounts, pension funds.

Do it.

They'll fucking agree to it
because they've got no choice.

And don't stop till we
get what we're owed.