Billions (2016–…): Season 3, Episode 11 - Kompenso - full transcript
It's bonus time at Axe Cap and Bobby has an iron fist around all things compensation, which has Taylor wondering if she is in the right place. Chuck goes out on a limb to save his closest ...
Previously on Billions...
He's a rich man.
There always have been rumors
as to the way he earned it.
You are willing to testify.
Jock Jeffcoat profited
along with his brother?
I know he does.
We're doing a massive cap raise.
Welcome to the new
quant headquarters.
He fired you.
I was fodder. Don't try
to tell me different.
So, is it prison
or start talking?
Let's do this.
Who the hell gave you
permission to talk to my son.
Good thing is there's
no paperwork.
Off the books. The
Chuck Rhoades Special.
Your best friend sold you
down the river for nothing.
I'm willing to pay you 30
million to tell the truth.
But I sure as hell will testify
about what Chuck Rhoades did.
You sold out my relationship.
No, no. You did.
That's why you told me
he was at your dinner.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
I can't believe you
brought me here.
Thank you.
I was surprised to learn
the viral videos
so afflicted you.
Oh. They don't... usually...
but I mean...
Oh, my God. Oh!
You know we could just
order the tomahawk
and have him do his whole
thing here at the table.
- Uh, no.
I'm all right looking at the
eclipse through the cereal box.
Ah, well, well, well.
How'd it go?
[groans, exhales sharply]
Bought you a present,
had it sent straight
to the office.
Well, I hope that's not
all you've brought me.
Texas is a bizarro world.
Jock Jeffcoat's a
pariah at Zabar's
but he's the second coming
on the 29th parallel.
So you weren't able to
substantiate what we know...
the brother, the cable company.
We have embarked on a
one-way mission here.
We either get to the other side
and line dance on Jock's grave
or he will most assuredly be
doing the Tush Push on ours.
Anybody who knew anything wasn't
willing to go on the record,
and anyone willing
to go on the record
didn't know anything.
I'm sorry, Chuck.
You know what's printed above
the Rhoades family crest:
"Never say sorry.
Make the other fella
sorry first."
Can you do that?
Will you do that?
I will.
Reach out to people you
feel dirty talking to,
employ tactics you wouldn't
confess even to a priest,
and find a way to crack someone
inside the cable company.
Because we cannot build a case
on the word of a confessed
liar like Cutler.
Yeah. On it.
Yep.
♪ Dream of you ♪
♪ What a wicked thing to say ♪
Mm-hmm. Thank you.
Be right back.
♪ What a wicked thing to do ♪
Excuse me.
♪ To make me dream of you ♪
♪ And I ♪
♪ Don't want to fall in love ♪
Well. Look at you,
fat and happy, taking down
the Cadillac of steaks.
Well, you must have made a
nasty nickel selling me out.
Fucking right I did.
Why didn't you come to me?
You could have come to me.
Ah.
You're married.
To Taiga.
Of course to Taiga.
Who was the best man?
There wasn't one.
Come on. Shapiro.
Oh. Shit... Really?
I'm sorry you could
only to do it
at 50 percent of my weddings.
Wouldn't have made you
Cal Ripken, but it
would have been nice
to keep the streak going.
I whopped you a good one.
And you whopped me a good one.
I don't believe in even,
but, uh, maybe,
we're even.
Maybe we are.
So... where is your bride?
Uh, Taiga's out of town.
Visiting family.
Hmm. So you're a bachelor
for the evening.
Boys' night out. Not quite.
This is work.
That guy's on the board of...
Doesn't matter.
Just... I'm trying to
impress him, build my book.
Making it monsoon?
Just trying to keep my head
above the flood waters.
Taiga's expensive.
She decided to start
a Yoga empire.
SoulCycle, but...
Mm. For yoga. Mm.
And of course you supported her.
It's who you are.
But how deep are you in?
Deep... and descending.
Location problems,
design problems,
all kinds of... Hypoallergenic?
Stuff that makes my
eyes glaze over.
Sorry to hear that.
It'll all be fine.
As soon as we get the
first location open
and have some money coming in
instead of just going out...
Right.
Of course.
Of course. Uh, well.
My best to Mrs. Schirmer.
And... it's good
to see you, Ira.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Where are the others?
They left... a while ago.
They didn't contact you?
To say?
Uh...
They quit. What happened?
Well, they're hacks and lame.
Did they quit because you
called them hacks and lame?
You backslid into being a dick.
Fine. Yes. Big time.
You know what? Those
other two were sweet,
but you're more talented.
I need you.
Damn right you do.
'Cause I'm the Yngwie
Malmsteen of coding,
total control of
the instrument...
Sad. Look, I need you to
model something for me.
If we give the algo an extra
20 billion to play with...
can it reliably generate returns
in excess of eight percent?
If so, how soon? How reliably?
And can any other
funds do the same?
Wait, this isn't some T test.
This is something you'd
pitch an investor.
Problem is: Bridgewater
would have 50 PhDs
writing software on this.
Molly Hatchet had
three guitarists.
Rising Force had one.
Are you going to tell me
you can't play this solo?
Of course not.
I'm sure we'll go faster
without the dead weight...
Whoops... You're
working alone now,
act however you want.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Take me to the fucking Regency.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
Thanks. Excuse me one second.
- Hey.
I don't think we knew
you were coming.
Just give us a second, and
we're gonna have your table.
Nah. No need, JT. Okay. Enjoy.
Thanks.
♪♪♪
- Hey, Axe.
- Hey, Lizzie.
♪♪♪
Ah, fuck, Axe. Can't
you skip a year?
I could. But what fucking
fun would that be?
I'm Martin Carlisle.
Who you are is a witness
to this year's edition
of Fuck Ups Fucking Up.
Today, at Axe Cap,
it's comp day.
And so, as always, I'm reminded
of the best day of my life.
The day that this man,
Bill McGann of
McGann Commodities,
told me I didn't have
enough Blarney in me.
What he meant was: I
didn't kiss enough ass.
I meant you didn't have a soul.
And so, by means of instruction,
he wasn't gonna bonus me right.
He shorted me by 50,000.
Hey, I can leave you two to...
Stay. I'm leaving.
So, here I am, as
I am every year,
to thank you.
And to buy you breakfast.
Just think.
If I'd stayed,
you maybe could have
owned this hotel.
Least I can do is
get your check.
Right before I engage
in the very same rumble
that left you knifed and
bleeding in the schoolyard.
You're about the same
age I was back then.
You've had a good run, kid.
But you can't stay clear of
the switchblades forever.
You're not a Greaser
anymore, Axe,
you're a Soc now...
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
Do you want to lean
down or bulk up?
Because either
way, suck my dick.
Is this how one runs
a service business?
Whatever I'm doing, it
seems to be working.
Because I invested in one.
And now I got five.
Ah. Some guys just
stumble into money.
Like Leonard Cohen into
the Chelsea Hotel.
Mm. You're looking
good, sweetheart.
Thanks.
Do you have any
idea what it takes
to make the pivot I did?
This is my lifeblood now.
I built it to where
there are guys
who would help me
take it public...
if I wasn't a fucking felon.
In your estimation,
that's my fault?
You went after Axe.
On the way you went after
Dollar Bill Stearn.
You didn't get any of them...
except for me.
Because I surrendered.
Thank you. That was convenient.
And it shows a remarkable sense
of personal responsibility.
Oh, I'd be glad to speak of
that to judges and clerks
and probation officers to get
your record sanded clean.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
And in return you want...
I do want.
Help me investigate
a money trail.
Don't you have all your boys
with windbreakers
to do that for you?
This is of a more
personal nature.
Very few are as expert as you
at disguising and veiling
and hiding money.
I'm a man of many talents.
And it's in your field,
fitness.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
Let me call you back.
Shit.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
This is chilling.
Does he always do this at comp?
To a degree. This is special.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
What's the mood down there.
They've got that lean
and hungry look.
Like to leave 'em that way.
Let the hunger set in.
Starvation, in small doses,
triggers an increase in energy,
clarity, aggression...
Right up until it kills you.
You gotta feed 'em something.
Why? I make the decisions,
do all the heavy-lifting,
actually earn the money.
Mortimer Duke said it best:
No getting around the
old minimum wage.
Actually, that was
said to Mortimer Duke,
but that's a helluva pull.
The thing is: Most years,
I'm paying with other
people's money.
Now it's my own money.
That reminds me of
a prayer I said
every night as a kid:
"And now I lay me
down to sleep,"
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
and if I die before I wake,
I pray that all my
toys should break."...
So my fucking brother and
sister can't play with 'em.
Why don't you just
delay comp decisions
until after the raise?
Outside money will
be back on board,
you'll feel better
about the whole thing.
Three things in life
you can't postpone
without dire consequences:
Calling a doctor when gutshot,
finding a toilet when
traveling in India,
and paying your people.
The last two being
more or less the same.
Listen. Don't think the
raise isn't the thing;
It's the only thing.
Without that money, I'm
not bonusing people,
I'm putting them out
on an ice floe.
Okay. Then I just want to
make sure you're aware
of a promise I made to
everyone while you were gone:
No one makes less
than last year.
That's why they stayed.
I am aware that that
was your promise.
Anyone you think deserves more?
- No.
Kid's practically your gimp.
I think he's ready
to move to PM.
I could see that.
Then let the promotion
be his bonus this year.
Too much too fast
could overwhelm him.
Has it overwhelmed you?
♪ Dramatic music ♪
Looks like you're up.
Let's move over to the desk.
- Mnh-mnh.
Be bold. Check in with me later.
First time in the ring without
training in Catskill with Cus.
You ready?
Yeah. I got my Kevin Rooney.
I'll be fine.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Fifteen million dollars.
You aren't going to start with
a performance review or...
Helluva year. Fifteen.
I was thinking 50.
How'd you get there?
Axe Cap made 929
million this year.
When you account for expenses,
nets to almost 700.
Seeing as how I ran the place
for most of that time,
less than one-tenth of the
profits seems more than fair.
Might be. But then
again, I was the client.
So you're kind of comparing
apples to my money.
I did more than just
run your money.
I kept us alive.
I killed it at the Idea Dinner.
I convinced the Street that
night, and every day since,
that there was always
someone at the helm.
I got us through a
natural disaster.
I all but closed Kansas
City before Ben Kim
went Thunder From
Down Under on them.
And let's not forget that
I was key in making up
the shortfall from
Grigor's redemption,
at great personal cost.
Still sore about Oscar?
Yet here I am, still ready
to help lock down the raise.
About that. No, you're not.
I don't actually need
you in the pitches.
For one thing, you bombed
your first raise meeting,
with Grigor's lieutenant,
bombed it on purpose.
And for another: The
investors need to know
that you're here at Axe Cap,
that someone's "always
at the helm."
Besides... the
raise is my thing.
I'm thinking that
the final number
will be something just shy of
half of what you're looking for.
I don't agree. This
isn't heavy petting
on the Oberlin campus: We
don't both have to agree.
I say what it is. You take it.
Yes, that is so. But still.
I don't accept.
I never made that
much at your age.
I've accomplished
more than you had.
But you don't have
your own shop.
If you were ready for that,
we wouldn't be having
this conversation,
I'd be looking at a
Taylor-shaped hole in the wall.
Twenty is as much as anybody's
ever gotten out of me.
Learn to be rich on that.
And I was beginning to think
you were done teaching me.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
Let's finish this later.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
I'd like half a million.
You just got here. Your
signing bonus is your comp.
I didn't say I deserved
half a million.
But you rarely get what
you don't ask for.
So I'm fucking asking.
Otherwise, why are
we doing this?
We've never talked one-on-one.
I wanted to get a
hit off of you.
I hit like the Purple
People Eaters.
So be careful what you wish for.
Oh. This is gonna be fun.
I believe I've proved my value.
Don't need to justify a
thing to you at this point.
Oooh, working stiff.
Just like your personal
totem, The Undertaker.
Do you have people
feeding you this shit
about us ahead of time?
Thing is, for the
last couple of weeks,
I haven't really
felt your presence.
You saying I've been coasting.
I'm saying there's no garbage
time at Axe Capital.
Every minute of every
quarter matters.
No scrubs get playing time.
And even if you are my MVP
at the All-Star break,
if you stop performing,
you will be replaced.
Pay me what you're gonna pay me.
Save the pep talks for
someone who needs 'em.
I think I like that
version of you.
But I could hate
it another time.
Ok. What you did with
the Wendy thing aside,
and it's hard to put it aside,
I'm paying you 1.3,
a personal record.
On top of your other bonus
that's more than a
two-ball for this year.
But that is not a
repeatable trick.
When we're here 12
months from now,
if you're not still
bodyslamming like... uh...
King Kong Bundy...
Did you pretend not
to remember that
to make me feel good?
Goodbye Mafee.
I think... I should not
throw out the first number.
Because I have a tendency
to undervalue myself.
I'd like to make you a PM.
Portfolio Manager?
I would have gone
Prime Minister,
but there you go, undervaluing.
- Meet the new salary,
same as the old salary.
I'm a PM.
♪♪♪
I've asked my special counsel,
Bryan Connerty, to sit in.
We meet again, young man.
The Axelrod case.
Yeah.
That thing was like
cleaning out intestines
before you eat 'em, a giant
fucking waste of time.
But I'm here to speak of
something more concerning.
It has come to my attention
that there are men
and probably women,
within the Federal B-I,
perhaps even within
this very office,
who are undermining
our sacred purpose.
- Which is...
- I don't know if it's
some Deep State bullshit,
or just some vigilantes who
think they know better,
leaking to the
press, and causing.
Lord knows what other ruckus.
I will keep a lookout for
what the Lord knows.
The Lord knows all, madam.
Took care of that for you.
As for the rest, I want
a hard-target search
of every e-mail, text
message, and online footprint
so we know who's trustworthy
and who needs to be purged.
I'm just not sure it's
strictly legal for us
to undertake this ourselves,
or if it's too gray of an area.
Maybe it would be best to
have a court order first...
We can do it.
And if you want to stay
out of the deep gray,
Director Lynch, I can
lead the review myself.
You know, chart a... A
whiter shade of pale.
Impressive.
All too often I am told of
obstacles and regulations
when what I really wanna
hear is "sí, se puede".
Ira, uh, this is Pete Decker.
He's in the health and
conditioning industry.
Is this a bailout?
More like an intervention.
Tell him what you told me, Pete.
"The bitch is a booster. The
bitch is a born thief."
You talking about my wife?
You looked into her?
She needed looking into, so I looked.
Go on.
Her business is... well,
there is no business.
Everything you gave
her was transferred
into the account of her
supposed business partner,
Anthony Radaelli.
I assume they, you know...
Thank you.
Do right by me, Chuck.
My middle name.
I know this is hard to hear.
The commercial property
she told you she
plunked down on,
that doesn't exist either.
But there's an apartment,
a very expensive apartment,
they're about to close on.
I'm sorry.
Yeah...
You knew.
Yeah. Some. The
rest I suspected.
Oh, boy. To carry that around...
Fucking kills me.
But, uh, you know, Chuck,
I know you're only
trying to help,
but please stay out of it.
It's, um...
There's no prenup.
And New York's a no-fault state.
And I'd be halved financially.
There's no prenup?
Oh, Ira, you're a
fucking lawyer.
For once I didn't want to be.
I wanted to be a romantic.
Mm. I still do.
I gave up on a marriage once.
I've regretted it
every day since.
I'm not giving up this time.
It'll blow over.
She's young. It's a last hurrah.
You know, she'll get whatever
it is out of her system
and then... then
she'll come home.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪ Mid-tempo music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
I really have to watch
what I tell you.
It's like you're
listening to every word.
Especially when you
start talking about
hiding out in bathtubs.
And places that remind you
of what that felt like.
I wasn't hiding. It's just
that when I was younger
the bathtub was the
only place I could go
to be alone and think.
I'd press myself against
the sides so hard
eventually my legs
would go numb.
Then I'd start thinking
I didn't have legs,
and I'd wish for fins.
Because then not fitting
in would make more sense.
I get it.
I almost feel like
a mermaid here.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
Comp didn't go the
way you wanted.
He said I was off
the raise team.
Is he punishing me for doing
exactly what he asked of me?
Axe doesn't punish people.
Unless they've wronged him.
Or Lara. Or his kids.
Or me.
Or the New York Football Giants.
I won't stagnate.
Not for Axe. Not for anybody.
You know Axe has never
changed a comp decision.
So I've heard. And I
might be able to live
with the number
he can live with.
But what I need is
forward momentum,
above all things, even money.
♪♪♪
Yes. You do.
I'll talk to him.
Give me a day.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Kvankam.
Although.
Pensis.
Thought.
Comp.
Kompenso.
So you're not here to help
me with my Esperanto.
I haven't had my comp
meeting scheduled yet.
Must be an oversight.
Must be.
Axe, you remember Ari Spyros.
Works down in Compliance.
Uh. Rings a bell.
But like children of the
1800s, seen and not heard.
And not even seen, you know?
Spyros was concerned
that his comp meeting
wasn't on the books.
I am sure it's an oversight.
Was it an oversight?
Compliance does not get
performance-related comp.
- Oh.
- Sure. Usually.
But Compliance doesn't usually
turn around a shop overnight.
But before I got here
this place was dirtier
than the porta potty outside
a third-rate donkey show.
Arrests, fines,
investigations up the wazoo.
And since the Greek Freak
has been on the scene...
You cannot call yourself that.
There is no bonus
for Compliance.
What about the other stuff?
Extracurricular stuff...
I'm talking about the stuff
in Bill's other garage.
Doesn't Ari get to wet his beak?
Ohh. I forgot about that...
That reminds me
of where you were
right before you decided to
share that little brainstorm.
Fired. Halfway out the door.
Three quarters. Literally.
Dead to me.
No, your comp is
getting your job back.
Getting to hiss and tinker
with your little
espresso erector set
rather than pick
through the Dumpster
for your mangled steam wand.
- I see...
- If we were to do
a little accounting of how
much you meant to Axe Cap,
we would first have to
look at what you cost me
by turning Wendy in.
The consequences of
your "chaos grenade."
[whistles, imitates explosion]
Yeah. To say nothing
of the nightmare
that you plunged her into,
and the unthinkable
acts I had to perform
in order to set things right.
I mean dollars and cents alone.
The fines, the bonuses, the
jet fuel to Nova Scotia,
you owe me 1.195
million dollars.
You know what?
I don't think I need
a comp meeting.
My... My base is very generous,
and I think we should just
leave it right there.
That was the full
Signor Roberto.
"The rent stays like before."
Yeah. That's the
first comp meeting
I've actually enjoyed.
You know, I'm tempted to fire
the whole fucking lot of them.
Except maybe like two.
But someone has got
to roll the coins up
into those little sleeves.
Yeah. Practically all they do.
Nah, you can't fire 'em, estro.
Right before the raise,
it'll look like panic.
Like there's not enough grain to
get everyone through the winter.
I know.
So I'm not doing it...
But, you know, when I'm sitting
across the table from them
and I see their
hungry little mouths,
they're people, sure, my people,
and I love 'em most of the year.
But today, all I can see is
their snapping fucking mouths,
and instead of
wanting to feed 'em,
I just want to punch
their teeth in.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
The rest of them are scared
to come in when I'm in here.
I clocked you going in
about 20 minutes ago,
I figured this was as
close to a Beta state
as I'll ever find you in.
Mm. What then?
You've got personnel problems.
That's what they'd all
like you to think.
None of 'em are going anywhere.
I'm talking about one
person in particular.
Taylor is about to get paid
the same as James Harden.
You think they can't
get by on that?
It's not about money.
They keep demanding more of it.
Because you're not giving
them what's more important
than money. So money
is all that's left.
Well, I'm about to adopt
the official policy
of the United States and refuse
to negotiate with terrorists.
You know that's bullshit, right?
Our government
negotiates with
terrorists all the time.
Pays them with pallets
full of hundreds.
But when they're captured,
what breaks them,
in places like Gitmo,
isn't overt torture,
it's a sense of
disenfranchisement
and purposelessness.
That's what I'm sowing?
Here's the thing: With
someone like Taylor,
what they need is
forward momentum,
above all things, even money.
My recommendation: Take
them to the raise.
I could say yes.
Why don't I want
to say yes though?
Because it's yet another
fucking accommodation.
I got this rich so I
could stop making them.
Gates plays dollar poker.
Buffett eats a drive in
hamburger every day.
There's no amount of money that
frees you from being a person,
from interacting with others.
Those guys know that.
You know that.
It used to be an
investment pitch
entailed them begging you
to take their money.
Now you've got to peddle your
wares along with everyone else.
Like a fucking door to
door Electrolux salesman.
Giving up trading,
taking on Grigor,
now paying your people
out of your own pocket.
It must feel like death
by a thousand cuts.
Yeah. I'm at 999.
And I'm sticking.
You chose this
person for a reason.
Beyond their
mathematical ability.
Taking on Taylor
as a real partner
isn't gonna kill you.
It may be the very thing
that makes you stronger.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
The head of TexasSouthCable
likes to hire
undocumented workers and
pay them under the table.
Drivers, nannies, landscapers.
But this guy still
spends weekends
with Jock and his brother, Zeb.
Even if we manage to spook him,
how can we make sure he
doesn't run to Jock,
who then treats us to our own
personal My Lai Massacre.
The bloodshed and the cover-up.
That would be
obstruction of justice.
Yes. Yes, it would.
But that would not deter
Jock in the slightest.
He recognizes no legal
or moral authority,
no justice but his own.
Keep looking
for someone lower down:
Someone with the goods
but without Jock in
their speed dial.
We can't let him get word
and stop our investigation
before it starts.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
What are we drinking?
That is a complicated
question here.
Bring me the closest
thing you have
to a Casamigos on the rocks.
Make that two. And
don't judge us for it.
Hmm.
So, you were right, my
kid does need help.
He doesn't talk much,
but when he does,
I don't love the way it sounds.
I could give you the names
of a couple of good
people if you want.
But right now it's time
to help your husband.
Ex, I mean.
Not easy to get used to.
No.
With what?
Here you go.
You know what time
of year it is.
Right, comp...
You were his secret weapon.
He gave me that much credit?
I know you went through
everybody with him.
Told him when he was
being too soft...
When he was being an asshole.
He needs that.
Without it, without... you,
I think he's gonna make
some big mistakes.
Then he's gonna make
some big mistakes.
He doesn't want to hear
that stuff from me anymore.
I'm sorry. I'm not asking
you as his wife or his ex,
I'm asking you as the
largest single investor
in Axe Capital.
You're gonna want to do
it for your own sake.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Hey... You're not supposed
to get the kids back
until tomorrow.
They're sleeping.
Good.
Then fucking talk to me.
What are you
thinking about comp?
C'mon. My money's at stake, too.
Yeah. I'm taking
care of your money.
I'm taking care of everything.
You taking care of Taylor, too?
Wow. Wendy. Good move,
well, she's earning her money.
And so is Taylor.
Aren't they.
Are you ever coming to bed?
I could try to sleep,
but I know I won't.
I didn't want to keep you up.
I seem to have done that anyway.
Mm.
Jock?
Yeah. It's that. Sure.
But more than that,
it's still Ira.
I could be bounded in a nutshell
and count myself a king
of infinite space,
were it not that I
have bad dreams.
You've reached Shakespearean
levels of insomnia.
It's disorder in the house.
Ira is the brother I chose.
And this rift between us,
however he fought
back, I caused it.
I used him as an
instrument, not thinking,
not caring what I was
taking from him.
And I know, deep down,
if I were back there,
I would do it again.
Every bit of this makes
me feel like a...
Shit heel. Indeed.
But now that Ira's in jeopardy,
I have a chance to
put things right.
To rescue him. To be a hero.
If I pull it off,
and make him well,
does the reason really matter?
Why can't you give
Taylor what they want?
Because it's too much.
And what they want
can't be given.
It needs to be taken.
And what would you do if
they tried to take it?
Cut 'em down like I
was Connor MacLeod.
What does it say
that you always have to
quote the damn Highlander?
That I spent some time
watching cable TV alone
in high school. And that
I have pristine taste
in movies, even back then.
Or, that you see every
single challenge
as a life or death contest
to see who's gonna
lose their head.
Well, kind of is
from where I stand.
You really think I should
give Taylor what they want?
I think you should convince
Taylor that you're partners.
I'm kind of surprised that
you're taking their side.
You and I are on the
exact same side.
They are on the other.
But I want them
happy and earning.
Well, yeah. Me too.
You sure?
'Cause you know how
to keep somebody,
and how to drive them
the fuck away...
I know some people bail...
We're talking about Taylor.
If you want Taylor gone...
I don't want them gone.
So then give them more
than what you want,
even if it's less
than what they want.
Quickly.
You're right.
You're always right
about this stuff.
I'm right about a ton of stuff.
Not just this.
♪ Soft music ♪
Thanks for coming over.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪
Stay.
C'mon, Bobby.
We're not gonna get
sloppy, are we?
No, I guess not.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
I'll pick up the kids tomorrow.
Like the lawyers agreed.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Let's settle this.
You're a valued
part of this place.
You've been effective
in every meeting
you weren't deliberately
trying to sabotage.
Thank you. And about
the 50 million.
You can have half that.
I've never come up that
far, never paid that much.
Now, okay, I know it's not
exactly what you want.
But I've been giving
it some thought,
and I realize that what
you really need is...
forward momentum, above
all things, even money...
So I'm putting you
on the raise team.
Fuckin' A. Onward and upward.
There's gonna be 30
bil on the table,
get ready to help me
haul it outta there.
Oh, I am ready.
Well, you may be the
one person here
who actually earns her bonus
every single day on the job.
You saw Lara.
Because you did.
Thanks for that.
And for all of it.
Your Ice Juice profits, listed
under someone else's account,
they've been put back
under your name.
And I doubled it.
So you can take your comp
meeting off the books,
you just had it.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
He's in the library,
waiting and stewing.
- Good.
- You didn't open it.
Yeah. I meant to, then I got...
Oh, no, you gotta open it.
Oh, you are so right.
I won't wear it 'til we've got him.
Bad luck.
But once we do, yes,
it's gonna be like Chris LeDoux
came back to life in here.
Can't wait to see it.
Let's go.
Anthony Radaelli.
It's not quite what I pictured,
but I guess she has a type.
Who does?
Uh, Taiga, of course.
Oh. So that's what
this is about?
Mm. She is a key
figure in this story.
In your story.
But not for long. No,
because you are gonna
give her back all of her money,
really her husband's money.
And then fuck off
whence you came.
Yeah. That's not gonna happen.
Taiga and I, we're a good fit.
I know. You were
seeing her before Ira.
Before her last boyfriend, too.
You just keep popping up
in her life, suddenly
when things are
going well for her.
You're like that James
Woods character in Casino.
Come to think of it, maybe
just like James Woods.
Anyway, perhaps you think
you're soul mates,
maybe it's a scam. Either way,
you're gonna forget
she ever existed.
Or I will summon the
full power of my office
to erase any and all
meaning from your life.
Mm. You wouldn't use
your job like that.
Hmm.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
Uh, do you know the
expression Federal Case?
As in, "Hey, bub, don't make
a federal case out of it"?
- I guess. Yeah.
- Yeah. Reason people say it is:
Because a federal case
is the worst fucking
thing there is.
State crimes, city violations,
those can be defended,
mitigated, fought.
Yeah. And even if you
do get convicted,
you probably only serve a
fraction of the time given,
then you get off
for good behavior,
you get parole,
maybe you never even have to go
'cause the jails
are too crowded.
So you stay at home with a
bracelet on your ankle,
and you spend your day
trying to convince
the pizza delivery girl
to give you a blowjob.
But, you see, there
are no blowjobs
in a federal case.
Mm. Our conviction
rate is 97 percent.
And there is no parole, either.
So you do the full time.
And that time is almost always
exactly what the prosecutor,
what I, recommend.
So I say to you, Anthony:
Don't make this a federal case.
Ah, Jesus.
Oh, and whatever I do to you,
I can do to anyone you
gave any of that money to,
like your family.
I really should take a
closer look at them.
You're a real sonofabitch.
Oh. A lot of people hate me.
Tell him why they hate me, Karl.
You're a real sonofabitch.
I am. Especially when
you've fucked with
someone I care about.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
Go away.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
That was fun.
Just like how Janet Reno
and I used to run it.
You think he'll
really disappear?
Like a fart in the
wind on the Ponderosa.
Close the door.
How goes your data scrape?
I met with IT, explained
the sensitivity.
I've established a
series of searches
I can discreetly run
on agents' messages.
If anything pings, I can
widen out the search.
I'm sure the AG will eat that
up with a camping spoon.
Maybe even put a
letter in your file.
Isn't that why you
made your move?
To help rebuild your rep.
Maybe I did it to shield you.
So it wouldn't be
your ass on the line.
Uh-huh. Either way,
don't be too zealous in
finding wrongdoing here.
Jock's perch is many miles away.
But the people in this building,
you gotta live with
them every day.
My boy, my boy, my prodigal boy.
What more can I do for you?
I'd like to use your apartment.
I know that Mom is in Palm Beach
and I need some privacy.
You also had to know
I'd ask why, so...
out with it.
I need a private place to
meet with a young woman.
I appreciate that
you're smart enough
not to take this to a hotel,
it's too public.
Even with things being the
way they've been between us,
I'm proud you know
you can always come to me.
It's not really like that,
Dad. I've always said:
Monogamy is a form of socialism.
It's testosterone redistribution
so a few bucks don't keep
all the does to themselves.
I'm doing this for Ira.
I'm taking care of something
that he can't take
care of himself.
So it's not concupiscence,
it's menschkeit.
I'm even prouder.
When is she due?
Hour or so.
I could stay,
in an advisory capacity...
No. No.
Thank you, Dad, no, um,
I just need the space.
Mm-hmm.
Taiga, I don't know
you very well.
I didn't try to get to know you,
and that's on me.
Perhaps I thought Ira
would move on to someone more...
Substantial?
Closer to his age bracket.
So I'm at a bit of a
loss whether to appeal
to your decency, your
vanity, your avarice...
or just to your fear center.
Please.
Anthony returned the money,
even got back the deposit
on that apartment.
And now he's gone.
You chased him off. I did.
And I can't say that
you were wrong.
I'm embarrassed and
ashamed and, yes,
I am afraid of whatever
you're gonna do next.
So congratulations.
Your fucked up tactics
fucked me up.
This is a postnuptial agreement.
It entitles you
to 50,000 dollars
for every year you
stay in the marriage.
Which means, all told,
you'll be walking away
with 50,000 dollars.
You don't need to read it.
I may play dirty, but
I don't deal dirty.
Just sign it, take it to Ira,
and then tell him
that you're leaving,
but that you wanted to
do it with integrity.
I liked him.
And I really did
try to love him.
Try harder.
- Dad...
- You give a marriage seven years
before you even entertain
- the notion of a divorce.
- Dad.
From the day the Dorsey Brothers
showed that Presley boy
swiveling his hips,
there's been a slow
but steady erosion
of the family.
Well, here is how
you keep one going:
You find a group of
friends better than you,
find one worse, bitch
about them to each other,
and then when you're
all bitched out,
run ten miles a day.
Take your birth control
pills and flush them;
And make that kid your
project together.
And if Ira doesn't
know how to fuck you,
you teach him.
Okay. Yeah.
I'm not done. One more thing:
Give yourself the lime test.
You stick your finger
in lime juice and
put it up inside.
And if it stings, get
yourself cleaned out.
Do not bring the clap
home to your husband;
It's uncivil.
That's what you
meant by "advisor"?
Ira doesn't want or
need another divorce.
He needs a wife who's broken in.
And since he can't break
her, I'll do it for him.
This is what's gonna
make him happy.
And that's what you
want, right, son?
I've missed you, Dad.
Normally we go over your
legal bill on the phone.
To avoid... you know.
After today, I don't think
I'm gonna be writing
any fat checks for a while.
Plus, this year's tab,
you outdid yourself.
Record-setting.
I knocked 30 percent
off the hours before
I even sent it to you.
Sure. Of course you did,
because you inflated 'em
in the first place.
Ten million fucking dollars...
You're gonna haggle with me,
after the victory I delivered?
You delivered it?
I seem to remember
you encouraging me
to tuck tail and take a plea.
Leaving me to figure out
how to work miracles.
How much do you want
to fucking pay?
Not a penny over nine million.
You're doing this over
a million dollars...
- Mm.
- A number that doesn't mean
jack shit to you, but
would mean the world
to my firm and the
dozen associates
who worked all-nighters
on your fucking case.
And yet you push and push.
Most people pick their spots.
- Well, I pick every spot.
- Of course.
You can't just engage,
you've got to compete,
you can't merely compete,
you've got to win,
and a win isn't a win
unless it's a kill.
You want the fucking
nine million or not?
Fine. Send it.
See ya soon.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
There.
Ah. Look at that porterhouse.
Dynamic duo.
Filet for me.
Strip for this guy.
Lovely. Thank you.
Mmm.
Mmm.
Salt?
Doesn't need it.
Three days seeing you in a row, Ira.
I like this new streak.
And I'm in better spirits
than when we last spoke.
Mm.
Taiga came home.
Did she?
With the money.
And a postnup.
Well, you were right.
It all blew over.
She just needed to get
it out of her system.
Thank you.
It's funny,
the thing I was most afraid of,
the thing that haunted me
in the middle of the night,
was Taiga finding
some other guy.
Thought it would
absolutely end me.
But the strange gift
in all this mishegas,
what it taught me.
Sometimes the worst thing
happening isn't so bad.
I'm not saying I would
have willed this
on purpose, but...
do I sound crazy?
No. On the contrary.
Very wise, my friend.
Very wise.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
Sacker, get us a meeting
with the state.
Attorney General, Alvin Epstein.
♪♪♪
What's the total?
Same as last year.
To the raise.
Ahh.
Next year, when you've got
30 billion under management,
you're gonna look back fondly
on how little you paid today.
Actually I still have
one comp meeting left.
Is it mine? I bet it's mine.
It is. I know it's been
a strange year for you,
serving different masters,
almost losing me...
Don't take me back there.
But through it
all, you have been
the bulwark that Axe Cap needs.
And so for this, I have
a special present.
That's more like it.
Reach behind the couch.
Whoa.
Oh, it brings me
back to childhood.
All the high-end nudity
of a cadged Playboy,
but with sophistication,
and that certain je ne
sais quoi of the French.
Oh, and your bonus
is the age you were
when you first discovered
that magazine.
Pains me to take from
your personal vault...
but nine million feels good.
Where did you find these?
I can't believe you
kept all of Dad's crap.
Yeah, well, at first I
thought he was coming back.
And then I was afraid
he'd come back.
Then when I realized he wasn't...
I thought
it'd be petty to
toss everything.
So I didn't want to
give him that power.
Yeah? So you
asserted yourself...
by spending 34 years storing
and toting all his stuff.
Your father was your
first great enemy.
Yeah, well, if you abandon
your kid, that's what you get.
Found it.
You know, you hated
him long before that.
The way you used to take
the fight to each other.
I used to like the way
you were such a fighter.
I'll admit that I didn't
love when you tried
to take the fight to me, though.
That was a fucking mistake.
I maybe should have told you
not to talk like that
when you were a kid.
I think I still would have.
Sure. But you also would
have had a little voice
in the back of your head
telling you not to.
Do you have that voice?
At all?
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
So, come on. Where?
Just came across them.
♪♪♪
Hmm.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
Oliver. Solid whiskers.
Gets me into the
professorial mindset.
Mm.
You enjoying the teaching?
When you know the practice
is that different
from the letter
and the spirit...
You feel like you're
lying to them.
Telling the truth is worse.
We don't need lawyers pre-jaded.
Hmm.
At least the, uh...
The wife is happy
to have me home.
Yeah.
So...
What I couldn't say
on the phone...
there is an FBI agent I know
who did an opp for Chuck.
Off the books.
The agent told you about it?
Mnh-mnh. Found another way in.
Hmm.
I don't know where this ends,
but I have a start.
You're trying to convince me
to help you go after Chuck.
No. I'm giving you a
chance to convince me.
Why'd you let yourself
get led astray?
Why'd you protect Chuck?
Why did you?
I believed in him.
I didn't believe in myself.
But I believe he
must be stopped.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
You said you had the cloak
and wanted me to
provide the dagger.
No idea what that means,
but it got me here.
I want you to launch
an investigation
into Jock Jeffcoat's brother
and TexasSouthCable.
Based on what.
Based on this.
This is Ashley Cutler.
This is unusable. Weak witness.
Yeah.
So no actual
deployable evidence.
None to speak of. No.
We know that our witness, Mr.
Cutler,
isn't strong enough
to win Case A,
but we're not trying
to win Case A.
No. We're gonna get Jock
on trying to stop it.
- Ah.
- So, in the end,
the case you'll be bringing
is: Obstruction of justice.
Against the Attorney General
of the United States.
Right now you're just
the Attorney General of New
York state, Mr. Epstein.
But to be the man you
gotta beat the man.
After you topple someone
of Jock's stature...
you'll be the motherfucking man.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
Nothing makes me feel so alive
as putting my head
in a tiger's mouth.
Right up until the moment
the tiger snaps his jaws shut.
But we will be there with
chairs and whips at the ready.
You sure he'll come?
The three of us,
we'll cause him to.
I was sweating over the
worst possible thing
that could happen, which was.
Jock finding out
what I've been up to
and stopping it.
And then I realized...
what if the worst
thing did happen?
What if we made it so?
Rather than worry about
Jock obstructing,
we're gonna invite it.
- Bait it.
- Your part is simple.
Proceed as usual.
Try to keep everything a secret.
The great impossibility. Right.
And once Jock knows
you're coming
for his brother, he will realize
that eventually it
will come back to him.
And before he can
let that happen...
He'll try to get to Cutler,
to shut him up and
shut it all down.
And that's what
we'll get him on.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
It's ready.
It's fucking ready. Don't
tell me it's not ready.
- It's ready.
It's like a Trident
missile in launch mode.
You sell Axe on deploying this,
he becomes state of the art.
He takes human decision making,
that fallibility,
out of the game.
And he starts moving
in micro-seconds.
We go live in a week. Good work.
[Don Babylon's "Ow,
My Tiny Heart"]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪ 'Cause you are above me ♪
♪ And you always will be ♪
♪ You stay there just for fun ♪
It looks like you're ready
to get into business.
I need a meeting with your
boss, Grigor Andolov.
♪ You're so much
fucking better ♪
♪ Than everyone ♪
♪ You're so much
fucking better ♪
♪ Than everyone ♪
♪ You're so much
fucking better ♪
♪ Than everyone ♪
♪ You're so much
fucking better ♪
♪ Than everyone ♪
♪ So much fucking better ♪
He's a rich man.
There always have been rumors
as to the way he earned it.
You are willing to testify.
Jock Jeffcoat profited
along with his brother?
I know he does.
We're doing a massive cap raise.
Welcome to the new
quant headquarters.
He fired you.
I was fodder. Don't try
to tell me different.
So, is it prison
or start talking?
Let's do this.
Who the hell gave you
permission to talk to my son.
Good thing is there's
no paperwork.
Off the books. The
Chuck Rhoades Special.
Your best friend sold you
down the river for nothing.
I'm willing to pay you 30
million to tell the truth.
But I sure as hell will testify
about what Chuck Rhoades did.
You sold out my relationship.
No, no. You did.
That's why you told me
he was at your dinner.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
I can't believe you
brought me here.
Thank you.
I was surprised to learn
the viral videos
so afflicted you.
Oh. They don't... usually...
but I mean...
Oh, my God. Oh!
You know we could just
order the tomahawk
and have him do his whole
thing here at the table.
- Uh, no.
I'm all right looking at the
eclipse through the cereal box.
Ah, well, well, well.
How'd it go?
[groans, exhales sharply]
Bought you a present,
had it sent straight
to the office.
Well, I hope that's not
all you've brought me.
Texas is a bizarro world.
Jock Jeffcoat's a
pariah at Zabar's
but he's the second coming
on the 29th parallel.
So you weren't able to
substantiate what we know...
the brother, the cable company.
We have embarked on a
one-way mission here.
We either get to the other side
and line dance on Jock's grave
or he will most assuredly be
doing the Tush Push on ours.
Anybody who knew anything wasn't
willing to go on the record,
and anyone willing
to go on the record
didn't know anything.
I'm sorry, Chuck.
You know what's printed above
the Rhoades family crest:
"Never say sorry.
Make the other fella
sorry first."
Can you do that?
Will you do that?
I will.
Reach out to people you
feel dirty talking to,
employ tactics you wouldn't
confess even to a priest,
and find a way to crack someone
inside the cable company.
Because we cannot build a case
on the word of a confessed
liar like Cutler.
Yeah. On it.
Yep.
♪ Dream of you ♪
♪ What a wicked thing to say ♪
Mm-hmm. Thank you.
Be right back.
♪ What a wicked thing to do ♪
Excuse me.
♪ To make me dream of you ♪
♪ And I ♪
♪ Don't want to fall in love ♪
Well. Look at you,
fat and happy, taking down
the Cadillac of steaks.
Well, you must have made a
nasty nickel selling me out.
Fucking right I did.
Why didn't you come to me?
You could have come to me.
Ah.
You're married.
To Taiga.
Of course to Taiga.
Who was the best man?
There wasn't one.
Come on. Shapiro.
Oh. Shit... Really?
I'm sorry you could
only to do it
at 50 percent of my weddings.
Wouldn't have made you
Cal Ripken, but it
would have been nice
to keep the streak going.
I whopped you a good one.
And you whopped me a good one.
I don't believe in even,
but, uh, maybe,
we're even.
Maybe we are.
So... where is your bride?
Uh, Taiga's out of town.
Visiting family.
Hmm. So you're a bachelor
for the evening.
Boys' night out. Not quite.
This is work.
That guy's on the board of...
Doesn't matter.
Just... I'm trying to
impress him, build my book.
Making it monsoon?
Just trying to keep my head
above the flood waters.
Taiga's expensive.
She decided to start
a Yoga empire.
SoulCycle, but...
Mm. For yoga. Mm.
And of course you supported her.
It's who you are.
But how deep are you in?
Deep... and descending.
Location problems,
design problems,
all kinds of... Hypoallergenic?
Stuff that makes my
eyes glaze over.
Sorry to hear that.
It'll all be fine.
As soon as we get the
first location open
and have some money coming in
instead of just going out...
Right.
Of course.
Of course. Uh, well.
My best to Mrs. Schirmer.
And... it's good
to see you, Ira.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Where are the others?
They left... a while ago.
They didn't contact you?
To say?
Uh...
They quit. What happened?
Well, they're hacks and lame.
Did they quit because you
called them hacks and lame?
You backslid into being a dick.
Fine. Yes. Big time.
You know what? Those
other two were sweet,
but you're more talented.
I need you.
Damn right you do.
'Cause I'm the Yngwie
Malmsteen of coding,
total control of
the instrument...
Sad. Look, I need you to
model something for me.
If we give the algo an extra
20 billion to play with...
can it reliably generate returns
in excess of eight percent?
If so, how soon? How reliably?
And can any other
funds do the same?
Wait, this isn't some T test.
This is something you'd
pitch an investor.
Problem is: Bridgewater
would have 50 PhDs
writing software on this.
Molly Hatchet had
three guitarists.
Rising Force had one.
Are you going to tell me
you can't play this solo?
Of course not.
I'm sure we'll go faster
without the dead weight...
Whoops... You're
working alone now,
act however you want.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Take me to the fucking Regency.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
Thanks. Excuse me one second.
- Hey.
I don't think we knew
you were coming.
Just give us a second, and
we're gonna have your table.
Nah. No need, JT. Okay. Enjoy.
Thanks.
♪♪♪
- Hey, Axe.
- Hey, Lizzie.
♪♪♪
Ah, fuck, Axe. Can't
you skip a year?
I could. But what fucking
fun would that be?
I'm Martin Carlisle.
Who you are is a witness
to this year's edition
of Fuck Ups Fucking Up.
Today, at Axe Cap,
it's comp day.
And so, as always, I'm reminded
of the best day of my life.
The day that this man,
Bill McGann of
McGann Commodities,
told me I didn't have
enough Blarney in me.
What he meant was: I
didn't kiss enough ass.
I meant you didn't have a soul.
And so, by means of instruction,
he wasn't gonna bonus me right.
He shorted me by 50,000.
Hey, I can leave you two to...
Stay. I'm leaving.
So, here I am, as
I am every year,
to thank you.
And to buy you breakfast.
Just think.
If I'd stayed,
you maybe could have
owned this hotel.
Least I can do is
get your check.
Right before I engage
in the very same rumble
that left you knifed and
bleeding in the schoolyard.
You're about the same
age I was back then.
You've had a good run, kid.
But you can't stay clear of
the switchblades forever.
You're not a Greaser
anymore, Axe,
you're a Soc now...
♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
Do you want to lean
down or bulk up?
Because either
way, suck my dick.
Is this how one runs
a service business?
Whatever I'm doing, it
seems to be working.
Because I invested in one.
And now I got five.
Ah. Some guys just
stumble into money.
Like Leonard Cohen into
the Chelsea Hotel.
Mm. You're looking
good, sweetheart.
Thanks.
Do you have any
idea what it takes
to make the pivot I did?
This is my lifeblood now.
I built it to where
there are guys
who would help me
take it public...
if I wasn't a fucking felon.
In your estimation,
that's my fault?
You went after Axe.
On the way you went after
Dollar Bill Stearn.
You didn't get any of them...
except for me.
Because I surrendered.
Thank you. That was convenient.
And it shows a remarkable sense
of personal responsibility.
Oh, I'd be glad to speak of
that to judges and clerks
and probation officers to get
your record sanded clean.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
And in return you want...
I do want.
Help me investigate
a money trail.
Don't you have all your boys
with windbreakers
to do that for you?
This is of a more
personal nature.
Very few are as expert as you
at disguising and veiling
and hiding money.
I'm a man of many talents.
And it's in your field,
fitness.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
Let me call you back.
Shit.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
This is chilling.
Does he always do this at comp?
To a degree. This is special.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
What's the mood down there.
They've got that lean
and hungry look.
Like to leave 'em that way.
Let the hunger set in.
Starvation, in small doses,
triggers an increase in energy,
clarity, aggression...
Right up until it kills you.
You gotta feed 'em something.
Why? I make the decisions,
do all the heavy-lifting,
actually earn the money.
Mortimer Duke said it best:
No getting around the
old minimum wage.
Actually, that was
said to Mortimer Duke,
but that's a helluva pull.
The thing is: Most years,
I'm paying with other
people's money.
Now it's my own money.
That reminds me of
a prayer I said
every night as a kid:
"And now I lay me
down to sleep,"
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
and if I die before I wake,
I pray that all my
toys should break."...
So my fucking brother and
sister can't play with 'em.
Why don't you just
delay comp decisions
until after the raise?
Outside money will
be back on board,
you'll feel better
about the whole thing.
Three things in life
you can't postpone
without dire consequences:
Calling a doctor when gutshot,
finding a toilet when
traveling in India,
and paying your people.
The last two being
more or less the same.
Listen. Don't think the
raise isn't the thing;
It's the only thing.
Without that money, I'm
not bonusing people,
I'm putting them out
on an ice floe.
Okay. Then I just want to
make sure you're aware
of a promise I made to
everyone while you were gone:
No one makes less
than last year.
That's why they stayed.
I am aware that that
was your promise.
Anyone you think deserves more?
- No.
Kid's practically your gimp.
I think he's ready
to move to PM.
I could see that.
Then let the promotion
be his bonus this year.
Too much too fast
could overwhelm him.
Has it overwhelmed you?
♪ Dramatic music ♪
Looks like you're up.
Let's move over to the desk.
- Mnh-mnh.
Be bold. Check in with me later.
First time in the ring without
training in Catskill with Cus.
You ready?
Yeah. I got my Kevin Rooney.
I'll be fine.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Fifteen million dollars.
You aren't going to start with
a performance review or...
Helluva year. Fifteen.
I was thinking 50.
How'd you get there?
Axe Cap made 929
million this year.
When you account for expenses,
nets to almost 700.
Seeing as how I ran the place
for most of that time,
less than one-tenth of the
profits seems more than fair.
Might be. But then
again, I was the client.
So you're kind of comparing
apples to my money.
I did more than just
run your money.
I kept us alive.
I killed it at the Idea Dinner.
I convinced the Street that
night, and every day since,
that there was always
someone at the helm.
I got us through a
natural disaster.
I all but closed Kansas
City before Ben Kim
went Thunder From
Down Under on them.
And let's not forget that
I was key in making up
the shortfall from
Grigor's redemption,
at great personal cost.
Still sore about Oscar?
Yet here I am, still ready
to help lock down the raise.
About that. No, you're not.
I don't actually need
you in the pitches.
For one thing, you bombed
your first raise meeting,
with Grigor's lieutenant,
bombed it on purpose.
And for another: The
investors need to know
that you're here at Axe Cap,
that someone's "always
at the helm."
Besides... the
raise is my thing.
I'm thinking that
the final number
will be something just shy of
half of what you're looking for.
I don't agree. This
isn't heavy petting
on the Oberlin campus: We
don't both have to agree.
I say what it is. You take it.
Yes, that is so. But still.
I don't accept.
I never made that
much at your age.
I've accomplished
more than you had.
But you don't have
your own shop.
If you were ready for that,
we wouldn't be having
this conversation,
I'd be looking at a
Taylor-shaped hole in the wall.
Twenty is as much as anybody's
ever gotten out of me.
Learn to be rich on that.
And I was beginning to think
you were done teaching me.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
Let's finish this later.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
I'd like half a million.
You just got here. Your
signing bonus is your comp.
I didn't say I deserved
half a million.
But you rarely get what
you don't ask for.
So I'm fucking asking.
Otherwise, why are
we doing this?
We've never talked one-on-one.
I wanted to get a
hit off of you.
I hit like the Purple
People Eaters.
So be careful what you wish for.
Oh. This is gonna be fun.
I believe I've proved my value.
Don't need to justify a
thing to you at this point.
Oooh, working stiff.
Just like your personal
totem, The Undertaker.
Do you have people
feeding you this shit
about us ahead of time?
Thing is, for the
last couple of weeks,
I haven't really
felt your presence.
You saying I've been coasting.
I'm saying there's no garbage
time at Axe Capital.
Every minute of every
quarter matters.
No scrubs get playing time.
And even if you are my MVP
at the All-Star break,
if you stop performing,
you will be replaced.
Pay me what you're gonna pay me.
Save the pep talks for
someone who needs 'em.
I think I like that
version of you.
But I could hate
it another time.
Ok. What you did with
the Wendy thing aside,
and it's hard to put it aside,
I'm paying you 1.3,
a personal record.
On top of your other bonus
that's more than a
two-ball for this year.
But that is not a
repeatable trick.
When we're here 12
months from now,
if you're not still
bodyslamming like... uh...
King Kong Bundy...
Did you pretend not
to remember that
to make me feel good?
Goodbye Mafee.
I think... I should not
throw out the first number.
Because I have a tendency
to undervalue myself.
I'd like to make you a PM.
Portfolio Manager?
I would have gone
Prime Minister,
but there you go, undervaluing.
- Meet the new salary,
same as the old salary.
I'm a PM.
♪♪♪
I've asked my special counsel,
Bryan Connerty, to sit in.
We meet again, young man.
The Axelrod case.
Yeah.
That thing was like
cleaning out intestines
before you eat 'em, a giant
fucking waste of time.
But I'm here to speak of
something more concerning.
It has come to my attention
that there are men
and probably women,
within the Federal B-I,
perhaps even within
this very office,
who are undermining
our sacred purpose.
- Which is...
- I don't know if it's
some Deep State bullshit,
or just some vigilantes who
think they know better,
leaking to the
press, and causing.
Lord knows what other ruckus.
I will keep a lookout for
what the Lord knows.
The Lord knows all, madam.
Took care of that for you.
As for the rest, I want
a hard-target search
of every e-mail, text
message, and online footprint
so we know who's trustworthy
and who needs to be purged.
I'm just not sure it's
strictly legal for us
to undertake this ourselves,
or if it's too gray of an area.
Maybe it would be best to
have a court order first...
We can do it.
And if you want to stay
out of the deep gray,
Director Lynch, I can
lead the review myself.
You know, chart a... A
whiter shade of pale.
Impressive.
All too often I am told of
obstacles and regulations
when what I really wanna
hear is "sí, se puede".
Ira, uh, this is Pete Decker.
He's in the health and
conditioning industry.
Is this a bailout?
More like an intervention.
Tell him what you told me, Pete.
"The bitch is a booster. The
bitch is a born thief."
You talking about my wife?
You looked into her?
She needed looking into, so I looked.
Go on.
Her business is... well,
there is no business.
Everything you gave
her was transferred
into the account of her
supposed business partner,
Anthony Radaelli.
I assume they, you know...
Thank you.
Do right by me, Chuck.
My middle name.
I know this is hard to hear.
The commercial property
she told you she
plunked down on,
that doesn't exist either.
But there's an apartment,
a very expensive apartment,
they're about to close on.
I'm sorry.
Yeah...
You knew.
Yeah. Some. The
rest I suspected.
Oh, boy. To carry that around...
Fucking kills me.
But, uh, you know, Chuck,
I know you're only
trying to help,
but please stay out of it.
It's, um...
There's no prenup.
And New York's a no-fault state.
And I'd be halved financially.
There's no prenup?
Oh, Ira, you're a
fucking lawyer.
For once I didn't want to be.
I wanted to be a romantic.
Mm. I still do.
I gave up on a marriage once.
I've regretted it
every day since.
I'm not giving up this time.
It'll blow over.
She's young. It's a last hurrah.
You know, she'll get whatever
it is out of her system
and then... then
she'll come home.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪ Mid-tempo music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
I really have to watch
what I tell you.
It's like you're
listening to every word.
Especially when you
start talking about
hiding out in bathtubs.
And places that remind you
of what that felt like.
I wasn't hiding. It's just
that when I was younger
the bathtub was the
only place I could go
to be alone and think.
I'd press myself against
the sides so hard
eventually my legs
would go numb.
Then I'd start thinking
I didn't have legs,
and I'd wish for fins.
Because then not fitting
in would make more sense.
I get it.
I almost feel like
a mermaid here.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
Comp didn't go the
way you wanted.
He said I was off
the raise team.
Is he punishing me for doing
exactly what he asked of me?
Axe doesn't punish people.
Unless they've wronged him.
Or Lara. Or his kids.
Or me.
Or the New York Football Giants.
I won't stagnate.
Not for Axe. Not for anybody.
You know Axe has never
changed a comp decision.
So I've heard. And I
might be able to live
with the number
he can live with.
But what I need is
forward momentum,
above all things, even money.
♪♪♪
Yes. You do.
I'll talk to him.
Give me a day.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Kvankam.
Although.
Pensis.
Thought.
Comp.
Kompenso.
So you're not here to help
me with my Esperanto.
I haven't had my comp
meeting scheduled yet.
Must be an oversight.
Must be.
Axe, you remember Ari Spyros.
Works down in Compliance.
Uh. Rings a bell.
But like children of the
1800s, seen and not heard.
And not even seen, you know?
Spyros was concerned
that his comp meeting
wasn't on the books.
I am sure it's an oversight.
Was it an oversight?
Compliance does not get
performance-related comp.
- Oh.
- Sure. Usually.
But Compliance doesn't usually
turn around a shop overnight.
But before I got here
this place was dirtier
than the porta potty outside
a third-rate donkey show.
Arrests, fines,
investigations up the wazoo.
And since the Greek Freak
has been on the scene...
You cannot call yourself that.
There is no bonus
for Compliance.
What about the other stuff?
Extracurricular stuff...
I'm talking about the stuff
in Bill's other garage.
Doesn't Ari get to wet his beak?
Ohh. I forgot about that...
That reminds me
of where you were
right before you decided to
share that little brainstorm.
Fired. Halfway out the door.
Three quarters. Literally.
Dead to me.
No, your comp is
getting your job back.
Getting to hiss and tinker
with your little
espresso erector set
rather than pick
through the Dumpster
for your mangled steam wand.
- I see...
- If we were to do
a little accounting of how
much you meant to Axe Cap,
we would first have to
look at what you cost me
by turning Wendy in.
The consequences of
your "chaos grenade."
[whistles, imitates explosion]
Yeah. To say nothing
of the nightmare
that you plunged her into,
and the unthinkable
acts I had to perform
in order to set things right.
I mean dollars and cents alone.
The fines, the bonuses, the
jet fuel to Nova Scotia,
you owe me 1.195
million dollars.
You know what?
I don't think I need
a comp meeting.
My... My base is very generous,
and I think we should just
leave it right there.
That was the full
Signor Roberto.
"The rent stays like before."
Yeah. That's the
first comp meeting
I've actually enjoyed.
You know, I'm tempted to fire
the whole fucking lot of them.
Except maybe like two.
But someone has got
to roll the coins up
into those little sleeves.
Yeah. Practically all they do.
Nah, you can't fire 'em, estro.
Right before the raise,
it'll look like panic.
Like there's not enough grain to
get everyone through the winter.
I know.
So I'm not doing it...
But, you know, when I'm sitting
across the table from them
and I see their
hungry little mouths,
they're people, sure, my people,
and I love 'em most of the year.
But today, all I can see is
their snapping fucking mouths,
and instead of
wanting to feed 'em,
I just want to punch
their teeth in.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
The rest of them are scared
to come in when I'm in here.
I clocked you going in
about 20 minutes ago,
I figured this was as
close to a Beta state
as I'll ever find you in.
Mm. What then?
You've got personnel problems.
That's what they'd all
like you to think.
None of 'em are going anywhere.
I'm talking about one
person in particular.
Taylor is about to get paid
the same as James Harden.
You think they can't
get by on that?
It's not about money.
They keep demanding more of it.
Because you're not giving
them what's more important
than money. So money
is all that's left.
Well, I'm about to adopt
the official policy
of the United States and refuse
to negotiate with terrorists.
You know that's bullshit, right?
Our government
negotiates with
terrorists all the time.
Pays them with pallets
full of hundreds.
But when they're captured,
what breaks them,
in places like Gitmo,
isn't overt torture,
it's a sense of
disenfranchisement
and purposelessness.
That's what I'm sowing?
Here's the thing: With
someone like Taylor,
what they need is
forward momentum,
above all things, even money.
My recommendation: Take
them to the raise.
I could say yes.
Why don't I want
to say yes though?
Because it's yet another
fucking accommodation.
I got this rich so I
could stop making them.
Gates plays dollar poker.
Buffett eats a drive in
hamburger every day.
There's no amount of money that
frees you from being a person,
from interacting with others.
Those guys know that.
You know that.
It used to be an
investment pitch
entailed them begging you
to take their money.
Now you've got to peddle your
wares along with everyone else.
Like a fucking door to
door Electrolux salesman.
Giving up trading,
taking on Grigor,
now paying your people
out of your own pocket.
It must feel like death
by a thousand cuts.
Yeah. I'm at 999.
And I'm sticking.
You chose this
person for a reason.
Beyond their
mathematical ability.
Taking on Taylor
as a real partner
isn't gonna kill you.
It may be the very thing
that makes you stronger.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
The head of TexasSouthCable
likes to hire
undocumented workers and
pay them under the table.
Drivers, nannies, landscapers.
But this guy still
spends weekends
with Jock and his brother, Zeb.
Even if we manage to spook him,
how can we make sure he
doesn't run to Jock,
who then treats us to our own
personal My Lai Massacre.
The bloodshed and the cover-up.
That would be
obstruction of justice.
Yes. Yes, it would.
But that would not deter
Jock in the slightest.
He recognizes no legal
or moral authority,
no justice but his own.
Keep looking
for someone lower down:
Someone with the goods
but without Jock in
their speed dial.
We can't let him get word
and stop our investigation
before it starts.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
What are we drinking?
That is a complicated
question here.
Bring me the closest
thing you have
to a Casamigos on the rocks.
Make that two. And
don't judge us for it.
Hmm.
So, you were right, my
kid does need help.
He doesn't talk much,
but when he does,
I don't love the way it sounds.
I could give you the names
of a couple of good
people if you want.
But right now it's time
to help your husband.
Ex, I mean.
Not easy to get used to.
No.
With what?
Here you go.
You know what time
of year it is.
Right, comp...
You were his secret weapon.
He gave me that much credit?
I know you went through
everybody with him.
Told him when he was
being too soft...
When he was being an asshole.
He needs that.
Without it, without... you,
I think he's gonna make
some big mistakes.
Then he's gonna make
some big mistakes.
He doesn't want to hear
that stuff from me anymore.
I'm sorry. I'm not asking
you as his wife or his ex,
I'm asking you as the
largest single investor
in Axe Capital.
You're gonna want to do
it for your own sake.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Hey... You're not supposed
to get the kids back
until tomorrow.
They're sleeping.
Good.
Then fucking talk to me.
What are you
thinking about comp?
C'mon. My money's at stake, too.
Yeah. I'm taking
care of your money.
I'm taking care of everything.
You taking care of Taylor, too?
Wow. Wendy. Good move,
well, she's earning her money.
And so is Taylor.
Aren't they.
Are you ever coming to bed?
I could try to sleep,
but I know I won't.
I didn't want to keep you up.
I seem to have done that anyway.
Mm.
Jock?
Yeah. It's that. Sure.
But more than that,
it's still Ira.
I could be bounded in a nutshell
and count myself a king
of infinite space,
were it not that I
have bad dreams.
You've reached Shakespearean
levels of insomnia.
It's disorder in the house.
Ira is the brother I chose.
And this rift between us,
however he fought
back, I caused it.
I used him as an
instrument, not thinking,
not caring what I was
taking from him.
And I know, deep down,
if I were back there,
I would do it again.
Every bit of this makes
me feel like a...
Shit heel. Indeed.
But now that Ira's in jeopardy,
I have a chance to
put things right.
To rescue him. To be a hero.
If I pull it off,
and make him well,
does the reason really matter?
Why can't you give
Taylor what they want?
Because it's too much.
And what they want
can't be given.
It needs to be taken.
And what would you do if
they tried to take it?
Cut 'em down like I
was Connor MacLeod.
What does it say
that you always have to
quote the damn Highlander?
That I spent some time
watching cable TV alone
in high school. And that
I have pristine taste
in movies, even back then.
Or, that you see every
single challenge
as a life or death contest
to see who's gonna
lose their head.
Well, kind of is
from where I stand.
You really think I should
give Taylor what they want?
I think you should convince
Taylor that you're partners.
I'm kind of surprised that
you're taking their side.
You and I are on the
exact same side.
They are on the other.
But I want them
happy and earning.
Well, yeah. Me too.
You sure?
'Cause you know how
to keep somebody,
and how to drive them
the fuck away...
I know some people bail...
We're talking about Taylor.
If you want Taylor gone...
I don't want them gone.
So then give them more
than what you want,
even if it's less
than what they want.
Quickly.
You're right.
You're always right
about this stuff.
I'm right about a ton of stuff.
Not just this.
♪ Soft music ♪
Thanks for coming over.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪
Stay.
C'mon, Bobby.
We're not gonna get
sloppy, are we?
No, I guess not.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
I'll pick up the kids tomorrow.
Like the lawyers agreed.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Let's settle this.
You're a valued
part of this place.
You've been effective
in every meeting
you weren't deliberately
trying to sabotage.
Thank you. And about
the 50 million.
You can have half that.
I've never come up that
far, never paid that much.
Now, okay, I know it's not
exactly what you want.
But I've been giving
it some thought,
and I realize that what
you really need is...
forward momentum, above
all things, even money...
So I'm putting you
on the raise team.
Fuckin' A. Onward and upward.
There's gonna be 30
bil on the table,
get ready to help me
haul it outta there.
Oh, I am ready.
Well, you may be the
one person here
who actually earns her bonus
every single day on the job.
You saw Lara.
Because you did.
Thanks for that.
And for all of it.
Your Ice Juice profits, listed
under someone else's account,
they've been put back
under your name.
And I doubled it.
So you can take your comp
meeting off the books,
you just had it.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
He's in the library,
waiting and stewing.
- Good.
- You didn't open it.
Yeah. I meant to, then I got...
Oh, no, you gotta open it.
Oh, you are so right.
I won't wear it 'til we've got him.
Bad luck.
But once we do, yes,
it's gonna be like Chris LeDoux
came back to life in here.
Can't wait to see it.
Let's go.
Anthony Radaelli.
It's not quite what I pictured,
but I guess she has a type.
Who does?
Uh, Taiga, of course.
Oh. So that's what
this is about?
Mm. She is a key
figure in this story.
In your story.
But not for long. No,
because you are gonna
give her back all of her money,
really her husband's money.
And then fuck off
whence you came.
Yeah. That's not gonna happen.
Taiga and I, we're a good fit.
I know. You were
seeing her before Ira.
Before her last boyfriend, too.
You just keep popping up
in her life, suddenly
when things are
going well for her.
You're like that James
Woods character in Casino.
Come to think of it, maybe
just like James Woods.
Anyway, perhaps you think
you're soul mates,
maybe it's a scam. Either way,
you're gonna forget
she ever existed.
Or I will summon the
full power of my office
to erase any and all
meaning from your life.
Mm. You wouldn't use
your job like that.
Hmm.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
Uh, do you know the
expression Federal Case?
As in, "Hey, bub, don't make
a federal case out of it"?
- I guess. Yeah.
- Yeah. Reason people say it is:
Because a federal case
is the worst fucking
thing there is.
State crimes, city violations,
those can be defended,
mitigated, fought.
Yeah. And even if you
do get convicted,
you probably only serve a
fraction of the time given,
then you get off
for good behavior,
you get parole,
maybe you never even have to go
'cause the jails
are too crowded.
So you stay at home with a
bracelet on your ankle,
and you spend your day
trying to convince
the pizza delivery girl
to give you a blowjob.
But, you see, there
are no blowjobs
in a federal case.
Mm. Our conviction
rate is 97 percent.
And there is no parole, either.
So you do the full time.
And that time is almost always
exactly what the prosecutor,
what I, recommend.
So I say to you, Anthony:
Don't make this a federal case.
Ah, Jesus.
Oh, and whatever I do to you,
I can do to anyone you
gave any of that money to,
like your family.
I really should take a
closer look at them.
You're a real sonofabitch.
Oh. A lot of people hate me.
Tell him why they hate me, Karl.
You're a real sonofabitch.
I am. Especially when
you've fucked with
someone I care about.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
Go away.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
That was fun.
Just like how Janet Reno
and I used to run it.
You think he'll
really disappear?
Like a fart in the
wind on the Ponderosa.
Close the door.
How goes your data scrape?
I met with IT, explained
the sensitivity.
I've established a
series of searches
I can discreetly run
on agents' messages.
If anything pings, I can
widen out the search.
I'm sure the AG will eat that
up with a camping spoon.
Maybe even put a
letter in your file.
Isn't that why you
made your move?
To help rebuild your rep.
Maybe I did it to shield you.
So it wouldn't be
your ass on the line.
Uh-huh. Either way,
don't be too zealous in
finding wrongdoing here.
Jock's perch is many miles away.
But the people in this building,
you gotta live with
them every day.
My boy, my boy, my prodigal boy.
What more can I do for you?
I'd like to use your apartment.
I know that Mom is in Palm Beach
and I need some privacy.
You also had to know
I'd ask why, so...
out with it.
I need a private place to
meet with a young woman.
I appreciate that
you're smart enough
not to take this to a hotel,
it's too public.
Even with things being the
way they've been between us,
I'm proud you know
you can always come to me.
It's not really like that,
Dad. I've always said:
Monogamy is a form of socialism.
It's testosterone redistribution
so a few bucks don't keep
all the does to themselves.
I'm doing this for Ira.
I'm taking care of something
that he can't take
care of himself.
So it's not concupiscence,
it's menschkeit.
I'm even prouder.
When is she due?
Hour or so.
I could stay,
in an advisory capacity...
No. No.
Thank you, Dad, no, um,
I just need the space.
Mm-hmm.
Taiga, I don't know
you very well.
I didn't try to get to know you,
and that's on me.
Perhaps I thought Ira
would move on to someone more...
Substantial?
Closer to his age bracket.
So I'm at a bit of a
loss whether to appeal
to your decency, your
vanity, your avarice...
or just to your fear center.
Please.
Anthony returned the money,
even got back the deposit
on that apartment.
And now he's gone.
You chased him off. I did.
And I can't say that
you were wrong.
I'm embarrassed and
ashamed and, yes,
I am afraid of whatever
you're gonna do next.
So congratulations.
Your fucked up tactics
fucked me up.
This is a postnuptial agreement.
It entitles you
to 50,000 dollars
for every year you
stay in the marriage.
Which means, all told,
you'll be walking away
with 50,000 dollars.
You don't need to read it.
I may play dirty, but
I don't deal dirty.
Just sign it, take it to Ira,
and then tell him
that you're leaving,
but that you wanted to
do it with integrity.
I liked him.
And I really did
try to love him.
Try harder.
- Dad...
- You give a marriage seven years
before you even entertain
- the notion of a divorce.
- Dad.
From the day the Dorsey Brothers
showed that Presley boy
swiveling his hips,
there's been a slow
but steady erosion
of the family.
Well, here is how
you keep one going:
You find a group of
friends better than you,
find one worse, bitch
about them to each other,
and then when you're
all bitched out,
run ten miles a day.
Take your birth control
pills and flush them;
And make that kid your
project together.
And if Ira doesn't
know how to fuck you,
you teach him.
Okay. Yeah.
I'm not done. One more thing:
Give yourself the lime test.
You stick your finger
in lime juice and
put it up inside.
And if it stings, get
yourself cleaned out.
Do not bring the clap
home to your husband;
It's uncivil.
That's what you
meant by "advisor"?
Ira doesn't want or
need another divorce.
He needs a wife who's broken in.
And since he can't break
her, I'll do it for him.
This is what's gonna
make him happy.
And that's what you
want, right, son?
I've missed you, Dad.
Normally we go over your
legal bill on the phone.
To avoid... you know.
After today, I don't think
I'm gonna be writing
any fat checks for a while.
Plus, this year's tab,
you outdid yourself.
Record-setting.
I knocked 30 percent
off the hours before
I even sent it to you.
Sure. Of course you did,
because you inflated 'em
in the first place.
Ten million fucking dollars...
You're gonna haggle with me,
after the victory I delivered?
You delivered it?
I seem to remember
you encouraging me
to tuck tail and take a plea.
Leaving me to figure out
how to work miracles.
How much do you want
to fucking pay?
Not a penny over nine million.
You're doing this over
a million dollars...
- Mm.
- A number that doesn't mean
jack shit to you, but
would mean the world
to my firm and the
dozen associates
who worked all-nighters
on your fucking case.
And yet you push and push.
Most people pick their spots.
- Well, I pick every spot.
- Of course.
You can't just engage,
you've got to compete,
you can't merely compete,
you've got to win,
and a win isn't a win
unless it's a kill.
You want the fucking
nine million or not?
Fine. Send it.
See ya soon.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
There.
Ah. Look at that porterhouse.
Dynamic duo.
Filet for me.
Strip for this guy.
Lovely. Thank you.
Mmm.
Mmm.
Salt?
Doesn't need it.
Three days seeing you in a row, Ira.
I like this new streak.
And I'm in better spirits
than when we last spoke.
Mm.
Taiga came home.
Did she?
With the money.
And a postnup.
Well, you were right.
It all blew over.
She just needed to get
it out of her system.
Thank you.
It's funny,
the thing I was most afraid of,
the thing that haunted me
in the middle of the night,
was Taiga finding
some other guy.
Thought it would
absolutely end me.
But the strange gift
in all this mishegas,
what it taught me.
Sometimes the worst thing
happening isn't so bad.
I'm not saying I would
have willed this
on purpose, but...
do I sound crazy?
No. On the contrary.
Very wise, my friend.
Very wise.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
Sacker, get us a meeting
with the state.
Attorney General, Alvin Epstein.
♪♪♪
What's the total?
Same as last year.
To the raise.
Ahh.
Next year, when you've got
30 billion under management,
you're gonna look back fondly
on how little you paid today.
Actually I still have
one comp meeting left.
Is it mine? I bet it's mine.
It is. I know it's been
a strange year for you,
serving different masters,
almost losing me...
Don't take me back there.
But through it
all, you have been
the bulwark that Axe Cap needs.
And so for this, I have
a special present.
That's more like it.
Reach behind the couch.
Whoa.
Oh, it brings me
back to childhood.
All the high-end nudity
of a cadged Playboy,
but with sophistication,
and that certain je ne
sais quoi of the French.
Oh, and your bonus
is the age you were
when you first discovered
that magazine.
Pains me to take from
your personal vault...
but nine million feels good.
Where did you find these?
I can't believe you
kept all of Dad's crap.
Yeah, well, at first I
thought he was coming back.
And then I was afraid
he'd come back.
Then when I realized he wasn't...
I thought
it'd be petty to
toss everything.
So I didn't want to
give him that power.
Yeah? So you
asserted yourself...
by spending 34 years storing
and toting all his stuff.
Your father was your
first great enemy.
Yeah, well, if you abandon
your kid, that's what you get.
Found it.
You know, you hated
him long before that.
The way you used to take
the fight to each other.
I used to like the way
you were such a fighter.
I'll admit that I didn't
love when you tried
to take the fight to me, though.
That was a fucking mistake.
I maybe should have told you
not to talk like that
when you were a kid.
I think I still would have.
Sure. But you also would
have had a little voice
in the back of your head
telling you not to.
Do you have that voice?
At all?
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
So, come on. Where?
Just came across them.
♪♪♪
Hmm.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
Oliver. Solid whiskers.
Gets me into the
professorial mindset.
Mm.
You enjoying the teaching?
When you know the practice
is that different
from the letter
and the spirit...
You feel like you're
lying to them.
Telling the truth is worse.
We don't need lawyers pre-jaded.
Hmm.
At least the, uh...
The wife is happy
to have me home.
Yeah.
So...
What I couldn't say
on the phone...
there is an FBI agent I know
who did an opp for Chuck.
Off the books.
The agent told you about it?
Mnh-mnh. Found another way in.
Hmm.
I don't know where this ends,
but I have a start.
You're trying to convince me
to help you go after Chuck.
No. I'm giving you a
chance to convince me.
Why'd you let yourself
get led astray?
Why'd you protect Chuck?
Why did you?
I believed in him.
I didn't believe in myself.
But I believe he
must be stopped.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
You said you had the cloak
and wanted me to
provide the dagger.
No idea what that means,
but it got me here.
I want you to launch
an investigation
into Jock Jeffcoat's brother
and TexasSouthCable.
Based on what.
Based on this.
This is Ashley Cutler.
This is unusable. Weak witness.
Yeah.
So no actual
deployable evidence.
None to speak of. No.
We know that our witness, Mr.
Cutler,
isn't strong enough
to win Case A,
but we're not trying
to win Case A.
No. We're gonna get Jock
on trying to stop it.
- Ah.
- So, in the end,
the case you'll be bringing
is: Obstruction of justice.
Against the Attorney General
of the United States.
Right now you're just
the Attorney General of New
York state, Mr. Epstein.
But to be the man you
gotta beat the man.
After you topple someone
of Jock's stature...
you'll be the motherfucking man.
♪ Dramatic music ♪
Nothing makes me feel so alive
as putting my head
in a tiger's mouth.
Right up until the moment
the tiger snaps his jaws shut.
But we will be there with
chairs and whips at the ready.
You sure he'll come?
The three of us,
we'll cause him to.
I was sweating over the
worst possible thing
that could happen, which was.
Jock finding out
what I've been up to
and stopping it.
And then I realized...
what if the worst
thing did happen?
What if we made it so?
Rather than worry about
Jock obstructing,
we're gonna invite it.
- Bait it.
- Your part is simple.
Proceed as usual.
Try to keep everything a secret.
The great impossibility. Right.
And once Jock knows
you're coming
for his brother, he will realize
that eventually it
will come back to him.
And before he can
let that happen...
He'll try to get to Cutler,
to shut him up and
shut it all down.
And that's what
we'll get him on.
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
It's ready.
It's fucking ready. Don't
tell me it's not ready.
- It's ready.
It's like a Trident
missile in launch mode.
You sell Axe on deploying this,
he becomes state of the art.
He takes human decision making,
that fallibility,
out of the game.
And he starts moving
in micro-seconds.
We go live in a week. Good work.
[Don Babylon's "Ow,
My Tiny Heart"]
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
♪ 'Cause you are above me ♪
♪ And you always will be ♪
♪ You stay there just for fun ♪
It looks like you're ready
to get into business.
I need a meeting with your
boss, Grigor Andolov.
♪ You're so much
fucking better ♪
♪ Than everyone ♪
♪ You're so much
fucking better ♪
♪ Than everyone ♪
♪ You're so much
fucking better ♪
♪ Than everyone ♪
♪ You're so much
fucking better ♪
♪ Than everyone ♪
♪ So much fucking better ♪