Billions (2016–…): Season 3, Episode 3 - A Generation Too Late - full transcript

Previously on Billions...

I'm holding in my hand
Robert Axelrod's signature

relinquishing his ability
to trade securities.

He gave it up?

These fuckers can take
away my ability to trade

but not my ability to see.

Taking on the police
fund as a client was

one of the proudest moments of my life.

I knew that if I gave you my
money that you wouldn't sleep

until you put it in
all the right places.

Michael Panay! I know how much you lost.



You're not exactly trending in
the right direction, either.

Maybe we help each other.

It's not the sort of thing
most clients ask for,

especially not when
they're drawing heat.

These are my needs.

Either you meet them or you can't.

We can get it done.

Sometimes a man comes into your life
at just the right time, you know?

Absolutely.

I know that I have
transgressed materially

but, more importantly,
in terms of loyalty.

I'll never talk to you again
once this conversation's over,

which it is.

So, I know you figured out what
I have planned for tonight.



I know it's not a surprise.

A girl's intuition.

And a bit of spycraft, but...

Still very excited.

My favorite pasta on the menu.

Tagliatelle with Guffanti
butter from Emilia Romagna.

If you'd like it to
be even more magical,

I recommend white truffles,

$14 a gram.

- No, I'm good.
- Yes, please.

I love truffles.

Ira, you turned me on to them.

No, not now.

Just... just for her, I guess.

Say when.

That's good.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

20 grams. Biggest portion
of the season. Wow.

Sir, maybe just...

Uh, no, thank you.

Enjoy.

You are... you're great.

Uh, I don't even really understand

how I'm sitting across from you.

Some nights when you're asleep

and light's coming in
through the window,

I just... I... I almost
can't catch my breath

'cause of how beautiful you are.

Even now.

The smoothness of your skin.
Who has skin like that?

You are the sweetest man.

So, all this is why I was planning
to ask you to marry me tonight.

But...

But?

I'm not sure it's fair to you,

with everything that's happened.

Leaving my partnership at the firm,
the company going down,

my entire savings gone. Anyway...

I can't give you the
wedding you deserve,

the honeymoon we discussed,

the life we planned.

I can't tell you to quit your job.

I can't even afford the
ring I picked out for you.

Now, if knowing all this,

you want to go ahead...

No. You're right. We should wait.

Okay. Good.

Oh, my God.

This is delicious.

Now that the papers are signed,

the process can take as
little as four months.

But your case is more
complicated than usual.

Even though you've agreed
to a division of assets,

it'll take a while
before it's finalized.

Thank you, Orrin.

The marriage was broken
down irretrievably.

That's what the document said.

I read it.

Never thought I'd be putting
my signature on that statement.

Me, neither.

No one does.

It happens.

Yeah.

Lar?

The assets.

We need to talk about that.

I know you didn't have to
honor what we've always said,

that we'd split everything 50-50.

You could have fought it. And won.

I appreciate it.

Well, we built it together.

That's not what I'm talking about.

The government. The case.

I'm looking ahead to
what happens if I lose

and they take it all.

I haven't heard you even
entertain that outcome.

Well, I'm at the point now
where I have to.

The Feds traded out the
good judge like they were

doing the cup-and-balls
trick in clear plastic

and flaunting how they
were fucking with me.

But Orrin has said
that the government can

only claw back what they
can prove is ill-gotten.

The prosecutors and the courts,

they're like the mob, worse.

They have methods of accounting
that can taint most of it, all of it.

What do you mean, all of it?

I mean if I take into account

everything that's run
through the banking systems,

everything that's on the radar,

all that's left that I'm
sure can't be touched

is 300 mil,

maybe 320.

Fuck, Bobby.

I...

I can't believe I'm saying this,
but that just...

it doesn't sound like it's enough.

I mean, of course it is.

It's just that the life
that we're used to living...

No, it's not enough.

So when it's done and life starts over,

how long will it take to
build back up from there?

Too fucking long.

So, what?

I have to get more they can't see,

much less touch,

and I have an idea how.

Center mass.

You never pulled your piece
during your time on the job.

Likelihood of that happening
now has got to be far less,

- and yet you practice.
- Got to keep my cert.

I'm not the kind of man to
let hard-earned skills falter.

Neither am I.

It's easier for me, though.

All I have to do is show up here,
aim, and shoot.

You're barred from
practicing what you do.

Well, the investing was only part of it.

There was also the raises.

I loved walking into a room,
knowing there were ten guys

who'd been in front of me,
five waiting for me to leave.

You know my favorite sound in
the world was the one I heard

on the way out,
when those saps in the lobby were told

that their meetings were canceled?

You can't raise, either.

Yeah, well, not at the moment.

But I can advise close friends
on what they ought to do

with money they've been entrusted with.

Let me guess what those funds are.

Things like Ionosphere
or Victor Mateo's?

Those are excellent choices.

I can't do it, Axe.
I can't even think of doing it.

If I know that you're that close
to them, others do, too.

My board of directors
wouldn't allow that.

You got to know if I
got my eye on the money,

that's the best chance it
has to grow for your members.

You can't leave it behind.

I was that way, too,
when I first left the job.

- But then...
- Then what?

You found other interests,
deeper pursuits?

Learned the difference
between Warhol and Peter Max

by spending weekends at the museum?

I grew up in Westbeth, for fuck's sake.

I have always known one was shit,
the other a genius.

But, yes, all that.

Life changed.

Did it solve anything for you?

Did it make the transition easier?

Come on, man.

I saw the look in your eyes when
you had that gun in your hand.

You'll always miss it.

With every breath I draw.
But I had to move on.

As do you.

You knew it was coming. I didn't.

You did your 20. You planned for it.

And you had something
to do with your talents.

You went to B-school at night,

became a trustee of the pension fund.

You became a rich man for
the first time in your life,

but these things don't last.

You know, you have a few down years,
and you could

- get yourself voted out.
- Axe...

Look, what if
I could put you into a fund

where there was no hint
of a connection to me

but was one I could guarantee?

If I could give you the
2.2 Bil to manage, I would.

I can't.

The way that people look
at police these days,

we can't afford even the
whiff of impropriety.

You might want to come
home late tomorrow night.

Huh?

Your father.

I told you he wants to see the kids.

You did, and I told you
I wasn't interested.

Which is why you should
stay late in the office.

Return any and all phone
calls you've been ducking.

I'll text when he's leaving.

I don't duck.
I return all my calls every day.

Do people really do that,
not return calls?

Avoidance usually.

Most people don't want to give bad news
or admit they don't know the answer.

- What answer?
- To whatever the caller wants.

Most people aren't the final authority,
but they don't want

to let on someone else
is making the decisions.

Not me.

No. Not you.

Except about whether my own
father can cross my door frame.

He's a grandfather, too.

And the kids shouldn't
be deprived of him.

- "Can I get back to you?"
- What?

Why don't they just return or
take the call and say that?

"Can I get back to you?"

They can. They don't want to.

Well, I do, and I want to come
home when I want to come home.

I'm trying to keep this light.

I do not want an argument.

But there's reasons I
don't want him here,

and I don't want him seeing you.

Reasons it won't do either
one of us any good to go into,

I promise.

Okay.

I'll bring the kids to him.

Drop them off so they can see him,
and you're clear.

I'll pick them up after.

Okay.

The robots have come.

I got in this racket
a generation too late,

just like Tony Soprano.

Yep, this is how it ends.

Civilization?

Uh-huh. Just like in Tommyknockers.

First it makes things better for you.
Then it destroys you.

This is how computers
take over the world.

Tommyknockers was aliens, not computers.

Yeah, but I have heard about other funds

that bring in quants,
and it doesn't sound good.

Once they get the algo really going...

They get 'em measuring everything we do,

get us competing against it.

Who can beat a fucking computer?

Eventually, the only human left
is the guy feeding the machines.

No computer can get
the kind of info I can

or know what to do with it the way I do,

so buck the fuck up.

No fear!

Bucking. Absolutely.

Fuck fear.

Really?

Nope. Scared shitless.

- Me, too.
- Yeah. I'm totally scared.

Pussies.

I take it you've looked at
the object on the table.

Cardboard?

Yes.

You can see the folds and the tabs.

Fit the pieces into a box,

signal when you're done,
and we'll begin the interview.

I got her ingredients and followed
her recipe and process to the letter.

- You think you nailed it?
- You tell me.

Because it's fucking important
that when Raul bites into this thing,

he is carried away on
sweet reminiscences

of our visit to Ann's Snack Bar

and the Killer Mike R.A.P.
Music release party.

Hmm.

Piss-poor effort, Ryan.

Miss Ann's spinning in
her grave right now,

may she rest in peace.

It's not good?

Her sister told me exactly what to do...

Oh, no, it's good.

But this thing needs
to transport the man.

If you can't fucking do it,

we'll fly her sister up here

with a vat of their
original cooking oil,

even if we have to go down
there and kidnap her ourselves.

Easy, fella. Ryan, keep at it.

This is very close.

What the fuck, Wags?

I've been thinking about your situation.

And I realize it could be
my situation, too.

If this thing cascades

and the government
takes all of your shit,

I'm next.

And then I'll be in the
same boat as you are.

Let's be honest, if that comes to pass,

you'll be in a much
fucking smaller boat.

Don't I know it.

It's actually really good.

I might have overreacted there.

Yeah, so, again, what the fuck?

The quants.

Ahh.

Since 1602,

when the Dutch East India Company
first offered shares to the public,

smart, highly trained mathematicians

have tried, without success,
to solve that market.

And today, Taylor begins the
interviews to hire their own.

Our own.

You know how I feel about that.

I do.

Billy Beane never won a World Series.

This isn't baseball.

Then why didn't you put
quants in place before?

Maybe I just didn't get to it.

Maybe I didn't feel like I needed to.

But Taylor might.

And if they want to do it,
it's your job to help them.

Fine.

Damn.

Apologize to Chef Ryan on your way out.

Sorry to keep calling,

but you know I need to speak
to all the major shareholders,

understand how and when the
company got on Axelrod's radar.

Oh, I love talking about this.

What else is on your pad?

Shall we, uh, relive my divorce
and the day the music died?

I want to put Axelrod away.

I imagine you want the same thing.

I want this done and out of my life.

His conviction sets up my civil suit,

so let's just cut to the...

What happens after this?

You go over what I said with your boss,

decide if you want to
interview me again.

I don't want to drag this out,
and I don't want to get all invested.

I've seen Axelrod wriggle
free plenty of times.

- I'm gonna stop that.
- We'll see.

Let's just do this with your boss.

Okay? You, me, and Dake.

I'll come down to your place
tomorrow or the next day.

One time, with feeling.

You know,
back before Texas was civilized,

if you were a Ranger

and one of your compatriots
fell at the hands of a rustler,

you'd bring that rustler in dead
if you brought him in at all.

Might just make use of
some rope and a tree.

Sure.

And people used to shit outdoors
in the middle of the night

so as not to stink up the house.

And then we found a better way.

I'm not so sure they did.

That walk to the outhouse
in the freezing cold

made a man nut up... literally.

But we ain't talking about
squatting in the dark here, Chuck.

Nossir.

It's probably that rustler stuff

that made you ask me to cancel
my morning and come here.

That it is.

Jos? Lugo. Convicted felon.

Killed a federal prison guard
when his back was turned.

Makes it a federal matter. Our matter.

Sounds like it might.

Might is a New Yorker's word.

I don't want to hear it.

It's a lawyer's word, sir.

I'll need to examine the facts.

Don't condescend to me, Chuck.

We went to the same kind of college,

same damn law school,
clerked in the same offices,

read the same books on ethical justice
by guys like Rawls and Dworkin.

"The suppression of liberty is
likely to always be irrational."

I even bought in to
that crap for a while.

But a man has to grow into who he is,

and who the fuck I am

is a man that's not gonna allow
a prisoner to shank a guard.

And neither are you.

I'll make sure my office looks into it.

Believe it has.

Believe it's dragged
its feet in prosecuting.

Believe that ends now.

Are you picking my cases for me,
General?

Oh, I would never do that.

I'm merely giving you continued guidance

on the types of matters
we are interested

in seeing brought to justice
under the current regime.

I never liked the idea
of a regime in power

in this country.

But you did drop all the cases
that didn't fit the agenda.

I did.

So now you're free to go
after the ones that do.

Thanks for stopping by this morning.

Can I look forward
to seeing you again soon, General?

I love all my children the same, Chuck.

But the Sovereign District of New York
is the first among equals.

Something I learned clerking

for the kind of New York
judge you revere so much is,

you don't let your firstborn
fuck up his Haftarah portion.

I looked in on your candidate.

I know what he's supposed
to be doing with that box.

He's not doing it.

Maybe we move to the verbal portion.

Maybe we just cancel at this point.

- Why would I do that?
- Because you've studied

the Flash Crash of 2010,
and you know that "quant"

is just another word for
"wild fucking guess... with math."

"Quant" is another word for "systemized,
ordered thinking

represented in an algorithmic
approach to trading."

Just remember:

Billy Beane never won a World Series.

If I had a few more minutes...

Forget it. Tell me why you're here.

I combine the human edge
with the quant edge.

My system mimics human peak performance.

Go on.

It's a decision pattern algo
me and my team are developing.

It'll be able to examine data sets

and mirror your own trade
logic in its executions.

At Axe Capital,
we support people from all cultures,

but when you talk to me,
it better be in fucking English.

I can model Taylor's trading patterns.

Reproduce them.

At ten times the speed.

My trading patterns are imperfect.

They're pretty fucking good.

Yes, but I don't want a
pretty fucking good algo.

- That's what I've been saying.
- No, but I start from there.

The way that you would
imitate Taylor's brain

- is by studying it, right?
- Yes, modeling, as I said.

He wants to steal your
fucking brainwaves,

like a witch doctor.

You see that, right?

Yes, actually, I do.

I don't need something
that thinks like me.

I need something that thinks better.

Thanks for coming.

Our master came calling
again with a new assignment.

Jos? Lugo.

That sound familiar?

It does. It's an inmate
who killed a guard.

Mm-hmm.

Uh, it was Connerty's case,
but he did not pursue charges.

We may not have that luxurious option.

Find out why.

On it.

Go for the Recession Special,

even though the recession's over.

You know what? I'm not even sure
which recession they're referring to.

They all end, though.

Yours can, too.

And two dogs and a drink at that price
is a hell of a deal.

You done?

'Cause I'm just getting ready to go.

Civil suit. Reimbursement and damages.

I help EDNY hang a
guilty verdict on you,

and my case is the
Dream Team versus Cuba.

Even if you slither out
of the criminal courts,

I hammer you like the Goldmans did O.J.

Ira, if that felon found
a way not to pay a penny,

what do you think I'm gonna do?

Besides, can you really
afford to wait that long?

Better question,

will that beautiful and
sweet fianc?e of yours?

Oh, you're following me,
you sick motherfucker?

What do you want?

Uh, two Recessions,
and what juice are you having?

Oh, too soon?

Couple Cokes.

Bobby, I'm not some sucker

who's just gonna play along with
whatever game you got running.

I'm taking you to court, guns up.

I'm gonna win a fat judgment,

and then, because I got nothing else,
thanks to you,

I'm gonna make it my
sole purpose in life

to stick to you like Lester Hayes

until you've paid it willingly
just to get me to go away.

So you take your hot dogs
and shove 'em up your ass,

lengthwise.

That's not very open-minded of you, Ira.

You should be more open-minded!

I'm not in a full panic.

When I get a full panic going,
I, well...

You can say it, whatever it is, in here.

I... There's things
I'd say to other people

without a second's thought,

but you listen so closely.

That's my job.

But it's like you see
inside the best parts of me,

and it makes me want to be better.

Mafee: what happens when you panic?

Butt sweat.

And now?

Yeah, a little. The whole idea
that we could all be replaced?

If that didn't make your butt sweat,
you wouldn't be human.

Not your butt. I would never
even think about your butt.

It's not like I stare
at it when you walk by.

I barely know you have one.

Jesus.

This quant thing has me all fucked up.

- You think I'm gross now.
- No, I don't. I think you're...

I don't think I can take this.

My mother begged me to code at Stanford,

but I went for Applied Mathematics,

which seemed, you know,
smarter then, but now not only

is she going to be proven right,
but I'm going to be replaced

by people who listened to their mothers

- and learned to code.
- Okay.

You, we, are not being replaced.

Will there be augmentation
of some kind? Yes.

Will it ask you, us,
to raise our game? Yes.

But we have to want that
for this place, don't we?

- No.
- No.

Go.

Express your fears to Taylor.

Let them tell you, Mafee.

Although it's lovely to see you, Bryan,

there was no need to come
in from your Rumspringa.

Much as I dig getting
my Amish on with Dake,

I did have to come. Jos? Lugo.

You can't prosecute this one, Chuck.

I went full Gil Grissom on this case,

and there was no way to
charge the kid with murder.

Body of a prison guard
would indicate otherwise.

Lugo was being held awaiting
charges on a drug offense.

Not the end of the world.

He couldn't make bail,

so they stuck him at MCC for two months.

Day one, this guard started in on Lugo,
and he went beast.

The kid ended up in the
infirmary a dozen times.

Orbital ridge fracture,
teeth, internal bleeding,

splintered wood in the rectum, name it.

You just did.

I've archived 25 prisoner
statements backing it all up.

And what about the other guards?

They refused to go on record.

But that in itself
tells the whole story,

which is this:

Jos? Lugo

is the kind of person
we are here to protect.

I'm asking you: please don't.

Don't do this.

Don't prosecute the case.

Didn't take much legwork

to put Mr. Slayton as one of
your sports-betting clients

who did his part at your behest.

Who were you working for?

We don't take orders. We give 'em.

I see. So, the full weight
of these felonies

should be earmarked for you two?

- And who are you now, sugar pop?
- I'm the one

that's about to pistol-whip you.

Guys, you know how it works.
Name the power behind you.

He's the guy that deserves
to be sitting here, not you.

We have no idea who you're referring to.

Who's paying for him?

- I'm guessing it's the same guy.
- You can't ask that.

You don't think we can
afford a good lawyer?

We own a nightclub.

Nightclub? Your pisshole?

We just got one of
those digital jukeboxes.

Give me Axelrod, the rest goes away.

Anything else,
I drop this whole thing on you.

You become the masterminds
at the head of a conspiracy

seeking to sabotage and
manipulate companies

and financial markets.

We're masterminds.

Masterminds is good. I like masterminds.

Put us down for masterminds.

Gentlemen, I suggest
we have a private conversation.

You know, that's a good idea, boys.
Go talk amongst yourselves.

You Inwood types never could
learn to shut your mouths.

Sorry?

Oh, we used to drove over from
Fordham and roll your kind

just 'cause it was easy pickings.

That's funny.
We used to ride over to the Bronx

and beat the shit out of Fordham
fruits for morning exercise.

Can't believe we missed you.

Must have been hiding in the corner.

I'm gonna ask that
this conversation stop.

Why don't you stop?
Let the men finish talking.

Are you two sawed-off
pricks including yourselves

in that category?

You don't have shit on
us but some dink's word.

You had more than that,
this wouldn't be a conversation.

So if you got the sack, make your move.

Otherwise, we got kegs to change.

Next time I see you boys,
I'll watch 'em slap the cuffs on.

Then I guess we won't
be seeing each other.

I used to love visiting
museums when I was a young man,

back before I could
afford the paintings.

Now I'd rather look at 'em on my walls.

I'm selling all my shit.

You were right at the car auction.

I am barely hanging on.

Redemptions are starting
to hit in a big way.

It doesn't matter anyway.

I never knew what was any
good about my collection.

I just bought what the
art advisor told me to.

That's one way to go.

I can't imagine what I sound like.

You sound like a guy who's
had a rough couple of years.

Happens to everyone.

I'll have to shutter soon.

What are you walking with?

40.

I guess I can live on that.

Can you?

Got the city apartment,

the Hamptons place, Beaver Creek.

The debt service and running
the properties is ten a year.

You'll have to start
your new family office.

There's a lease, an analyst or two,

an assistant, an accountant.

You got private school,

your daughter's horse, you got charity.

You can't dip below two a year on that,

or you lose your board seats
and your wife loses all her friends.

You can forget flying
wheels up from now on.

You're sucking it up in commercial.

You'll hold on to your driver
until it kills you, but...

soon, he'll be gone, too.

Fuck! I'm broke.

What would you give to get it back?

Your status, all your money,
the whole thing.

Anything.

My leg. My spleen. An inch off my dick.

Well, then this is the
best day of your new life,

'cause I got a line on
an orphaned two billion

looking for a home,

and I can get you in the
room to pitch for it.

All you have to do is say yes.

Got a minute?

Roughly two minutes.

The quants, why?

Why now? What if we didn't?

What if we kept things the same?

Think of the Pulaski Academy Bruins,
Mafee.

You read me?

The high school football
team that never punts?

Right. They were pretty solid before,

so why'd they do that?

Because the coach deduced that,
statistically,

they'd be better off using
all four downs on offense

and not giving the ball back.

Yes. And because the coach
wanted championships.

- So it's about edge.
- Always.

ETFs. They sucked the dumb
money out of the market.

Trillions have poured into them.

That was our edge, and our edge is gone.

When I look around now,

it's only other killers
like us staring back.

But there are a bunch of quants
already out there on the market,

already working that edge.

That's why ours has to be better.

Okay. Okay.

Look, people down on the
floor thought this was about

wholesale firing and replacement.

So I see the wisdom in adding.

But otherwise, are we good?

I don't know. Are we? Are you?

Are you running all four downs,
playing every play like it's your last?

Is your mouth guard always in,
chin strap always buckled?

If that's you, we're good.

Please describe the nature of
your approach to the market

and how your algorithms serve that end.

Boring.

What the fuck kind of way is
that to kick off an interview?

I'm rejecting the premise
or flipping the script.

I should interview you.

For what, the school newspaper?

Yassss, Queen. Good one, but no.

I've got offers from half
the funds on the Street

and several tech firms out West,

and they pay guarantees, not bonuses.

Now, don't get me wrong.
I've heard about Taylor Mason.

Love to see if you live up to the hype,
but I've got options.

So, let me put this in your language:

What's in it for moi?

You Patrick Bateman/Bud Fox
hybrid wannabe.

He was doing Spader in Wall Street.

But I don't care about
his insulting tone.

I only care about his ability

to think clearly and
rationally under pressure.

You're not thinking of hiring him?

She's no fool.

No.

But, sadly,
though you may have a genius-level I.Q.,

you have no control over
your emotional state.

That's why you're lashing out in here,

defensive,
allowing your rage at yourself

to manifest in boorish,
childish behavior.

He couldn't figure out the box,
so he did that to it.

Then he let the rest of his
bullshit cloud his thinking.

He has no idea why he had
to resort to brute force,

so he doesn't get to work here.

Take your feet off the table

and get the fuck out of our office.

So, are we done with this now?

No.

Let me remind you. August 2007.

The Dow crashed 400 points
because of a coding error.

That was more than ten years ago, which,

even with the breakdown
in Moore's Law, is more like 100.

Feels like yesterday to me.

We need to be thinking about tomorrow.
So we keep going.

Warden, I need you to say
that if the guard were alive,

you'd fire him for abuse

and that the kid is innocent.

My hands are clean,
my conscience clean enough.

I'm not gonna take you off the hook

and hang myself there instead.

Well, I didn't devote my life to the law
to prosecute innocent men.

Nor I to oversee their incarceration,

but once they send them to me...

Yep, you do your level best.

Currently, there are 400 cases
filed against you by inmates,

which could suggest your level best
isn't very good.

Almost all of them pro forma.

Their beds are too hard.
Their food sucks.

I get it.

The cases are filed against you
in your official capacity as warden

and, therefore, defended by me

in my official capacity
as U.S. Attorney.

And you're gonna throw
them if I don't play ball?

I wouldn't even know
how to throw a case,

how to lose on purpose.

Normally, I would knock
these nuisances away

like a windshield wiper
during a light rain.

But what if I just... slowed down...

let 'em build up...

cloud your field of vision,

the drops becoming a deluge.

But if I say the kid was tortured
and it was the guard's fault...

Then I fight those cases off
as if they were against me personally.

- You can't think I'd testify.
- No.

No. There's a young journalist I know.

He'll take your testimony.

Stalwart, ambitious fellow
branching out from finance

into what we might call national news.

He can protect your name

if you give him enough corroboration
to make his story undeniable.

Thank you, Warden.

Happy to do the right thing.

How'd you know not to bet me?

Win, lose 100, who gives a shit?

You have more money than god.

I didn't get it by wagering
against Willie Mosconi.

You were gonna sandbag me.

Let me win a few games,

then double the bet, then run me down.

I didn't even bring my own cue.

If you had, maybe I'd have gone for it,

counting on that special vanity
that a man with a custom cue has.

Once you started chalking up, no chance.

Oh.

Thanks, Chef Ryan.

Mm.

Last time I had a burger this good...

Remember that time down in Atlanta,
with Killer Mike?

That was right before I gave Axe Capital
that extra half-billion from my fund.

Good anchoring technique.

No.

But no matter how tasty, I'm not sure

I can give the same
treatment to Michael Panay.

There is no linkage to me,
so that solves the first problem.

But he will listen to me
and invest exactly as I instruct,

so that solves problem two.

Yeah, but he's on a bad run, Axe.
He's bleeding out.

But you got a surgeon stepping in.

I know that, but my board can't.

I got to hard-sell this guy to them.

Well, get Panay to convince them.

Get him in front of that board.

You sure?
It's hard to defend numbers like his.

He's presentable.

Let's get him in here and see. Panay!

Looks like I'm not the
only sandbagger in here.

Mike,

this is Raul.

- He's gonna take you in.
- Not unless you can tell me

why you ran your fund into the ground.

They'll expect some answers.

He'll have answers.

Just show strength and pitch
them your best three ideas,

which I'll give you.

And if anybody steps in your face...

Kick 'em in the cock.

Okay.

I'll wear sharp shoes.

All right.

I'll let you know when
we've booked a meeting.

So?

I might be able to sell him.

But why would I?

_

I must be out of my fucking mind.

Oh, I disagree.

I think you're showing some
real nuance in your thinking,

which is what is required
since you have suffered

at the hands of some
very devious opponents

in Rhoades and his father.

Yeah, well, I'm here
for some goddamned reason,

so, uh, what is it you want to propose?

That I acquire your virtually
worthless shares in Ice Juice

for considerably over market.

30 million dollars.

A firm called Ionosphere
would paper the transaction.

In return, you forgo your civil suit

and refuse to testify against me.

You'll give my people a statement
laying out how Rhoades did what he did.

Your best friend sold you
down the river for nothing.

He's not worth saving.

I'm willing to pay you 30
million to tell the truth.

It's just a transaction to you,
this whole thing?

Numbers move from here to there,

and emotions are smoothed out,

like ice under a Zamboni.

No, I understand what's fair.

And I know how to make a deal.

So, take your life back.

Gary?

While you're at it,
go ahead and pick one.

On my tab.

Why should she have to suffer?

How does it work? What am I missing?

We'll get back to that.

R?sum? says you were at NASA,
the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

20 years. The most rewarding job
a data scientist could ask for.

And now finance. Why?

The stock market is representation
of the psychology of the entire world

at any given moment.

Data is an exact
thumbprint of that moment.

I get to know what the world
is thinking and feeling

and what it will do next.

What a refreshing, excellent answer.

Yes.

Would you be willing to let me test it

so I can observe it
under market conditions?

Of course.
I'll give you access for the day,

and you'll be able to see how it works.

It doesn't fit together, right?

You're testing the
ability to realize that,

the confidence to admit it?

Outstanding.

Connerty called.

He saw the article.

A lot of people have seen it.

They found a good photo of the kid.

Looks innocent, no?

Handsome, for sure.

Even better.

Can't make us proceed now.

If you had been forced to prosecute,

could you have?

Honestly, I don't know
that I have it in me.

Glad we won't have to find out.

Well, now that we're all here...

As you both know, I had a large
ownership stake in Ice Juice.

It was to be worth a
great deal at one point.

Turned out to be worth
substantially less.

Thanks to Axelrod's involvement.

Uh, I can't and won't speak to
the actions of Bobby Axelrod.

- What?
- Hold on.

'Cause I don't actually
know what he did.

But I sure as hell will testify
about what Chuck Rhoades did.

Which is?

Purposefully induce
sabotage against my company,

use his status and position to
lure Bobby Axelrod to do it.

And I will confirm, on the record,

that Charles Rhoades Sr.
was steering his own money

and that Chuck's money
was directly involved...

Stop.

Mr. Schirmer,
you need to speak with counsel

before going any further.

We all need to hold and
contemplate the risks

these allegations pose to our case.

Dake! Oliver. We need to hear him out.

This meeting is over.

Yeah, I sort of figured.

Why'd you let him go?

We need to know what he had to say.

He said Chuck induced the sabotage.

We need to know what that means!
Why the fuck...

'Cause I know how to do my job,
and the job is Axelrod.

If Chuck is part of it,

it's prosecutorial misconduct,
at a minimum.

Is it?

At this moment, we don't know,

And we don't want to know.
Because if you keep asking,

you run the risk of a Brady disclosure.

The more he says about whatever
story he's put together,

the more likely we'll be obligated
to inform the defense of our findings.

And what do you think
they will do with that,

other than blow up
everything that we have?

We are in the right and wrong game,
and this is...

Today we're in the
"take the win and move on" game.

Is that what being a boss does to you?

Like when Sonny Black
gets upped in Brasco?

I was brought to Eastern
for one specific task:

to convict Bobby Axelrod.

You were brought to
Eastern for the same task

by the very person that you
are now trying to jam up,

a man who was a mentor to you.

That's disloyal,
and I don't cotton to that.

So if you can't do it,

I'll find someone who can.

That's all.

I told you I'd see 'em
slip the cuffs on.

No one here but you and me.

I guess this is your chance, bitch.

Ugh!

Hey! Johnny, you all right?

Let's go, douchebags!
We got warrants.

Hook 'em both up. Parole violations.

- Come on, asshole.
- What the fuck?

This guy just assaulted my brother.

- We didn't see nothing.
- Of course you didn't.

- Come on. Let's go.
- Ah, you suckered me.

Nah, you were born that way.

All right. Get in. Watch your head.

I'm glad you stayed.

I don't remember having had a choice.

You can take these with you when you go.

What are they?

Chuck's.

I've been cleaning out a walk-in closet
to have a humidor built.

Memorabilia for all his
achievements from growing up.

Seemed very important to him back then.

To him, not you?

Why would I ever give a shit

about his third-place squash
trophy from prep school?

If he'd won,
maybe I'd put it on the mantel.

Charles...

I can see what all this is doing to you.

Why don't you reach out, talk to him?

What if I seeded the ground?

Ensured you wouldn't be rebuffed?

I'm the aggrieved party here.

If there's any reaching out to be done,

it should be from the other side.

You don't know what your husband did.

You mean use your money

to bait Axe into
committing a federal crime

and wipe out his own
trust in the process?

He told you.

Your son is the man you made him.

Whatever greatness and whatever darkness
is in him came from you.

Clear this shit out of here.

I'm sorry. It'll have to wait.

I drove the Maserati tonight.
It won't fit.

Come on, kids.

Okay. Let's talk deal.

It's been a pleasure,
but this isn't going to work out.

But the algo performed beautifully.

Yeah, his algo performed beautifully.

You know I'm no fan,
but even I can see...

I could go into specifics,

but it's just not what
we're looking for.

The NDAs have all been signed,

and your model expired
at the close today, so...

I wish you well.

I spotted the back door he put in,

the one that would allow us to
support our plays retroactively

with legit-seeming data.

Really?

And I know that you
somehow organized it.

Is that how desperate
you are to avoid quants?

That you try to rig it to blunt them

and try to float it past
me without telling me?

Of course not. I...

All right, how'd you know?

Your body language,
the softball questions,

the register of your voice.

But the only thing I
can't figure out is why.

Do you know how Axe and I met,

what the source of my
loyalty to that man is?

I don't.

Well, I was at Lehman the last
time a bunch of brilliant kids

thought that they had solved the
fucking secrets of the market.

It almost cost me
everything that I had built

over my entire career.

The rest of us, we were at their mercy

because we didn't understand
what they were doing,

so we couldn't question it.

It was a chance meeting
with Axe at a golf outing

wherein he read my tarot cards for me,

told me what was gonna happen.

I was able to sell at 50.

If I had waited a few more months,

it would have been at two.

Axe's warning allowed me to save my ass
before it was too late.

I do not want to be in that position

ever again.

I see.

Even though your former
company was levered 31 times

and there were countless
other factors at play,

I get how traumatic that was.

So you're not gonna hire a quant?

I am not going to hire a quant.

That's become clear to me.

And you're correct.

Billy Beane never won a World Series.

But Theo Epstein did,
using all the same strategies

Billy came up with first,
and we will, too.

I accept I can't go outside
to find what we need,

so we're going to build our own.

I'm going to oversee it.

He did it.

He damn near actually
kicked the guy in the cock.

Only it was a woman board member.

They ate him up.

I'm just so happy for the
both of you it worked out.

Axe, I am just so grateful.

You gave me back my world.

Hey, hey!

- Hey, Dad.
- Hey.

How are you, sweetheart?
Good to see you.

How you doing, brother? You good?

Mwah. Good to see you.

Well...

I got dragged in.

How was it?

Fine, after your father
got done browbeating Kevin

over his handshake.

He could probably use it.

Right, because the tensile
strength of his grip alone

will dictate his outcome in life.

You'd be surprised.

Listen, he's doing his best to hide it,

but your father is...

wrecked by what's
happened between you two.

He gave as good as he got, believe me.

Maybe.

But men of his age,

the big blows have an actual
effect on their health.

Yeah, in Somerset Maugham stories.

He's an ox.

He'll likely see me into the ground.

Chuck, I might be persuaded to let it go
if you were sleeping through the night.

But you are basically the undead
wandering the house until morning,

so some resolution would help you, too.

If he came brokering peace,
I'd hear him out.

What, you want me to initiate,
for Christ's sake? Come on.

Yes, General?

You scheduled a press
conference for tomorrow?

Not yet, but wise idea.

Yes, given the wave of outrage at MCC

and sympathy for the young man,
I think it makes sense

to tell them that we
will not be prosecuting.

Yes. Tonight Jos? Lugo

is quite the cause c?lèbre.

But we are most certainly prosecuting.

I read different websites than you do,
watch different shows.

The more your New York Times
is blaring about Lugo's mistreatment,

the more Breitbart is inflamed
about a dead prison guard.

This case has national attention now,
so attention must be paid.

You savvy what I'm saying to you, Chuck?

You, uh, want to proceed
with the prosecution?

I don't know how cooperative
the witnesses at MCC will be.

Reading between the lines of that story,

I think the warden...

Warden's been fired.

But you got a good point.

You got some leaks up there,

either in your shop, the prison's.

I'll plug 'em.

Yeah, well, you'll do more than that.

Where I come from,

the dogs don't stop yapping,

you don't just muzzle 'em.

You hit 'em with a shock collar
until they quiet up nice.

What is it?

The attorney general is ordering me
to prosecute an innocent man,

and I don't think I can
stop it from happening.

I have yet to meet the
man you can't outmaneuver.

Find your angle.

Is that blood?

Not mine.

I-I hit someone tonight, hard.

Self-defense, or...

That law book you're reading
would call it assault.

Battery, too.

With intent to harm?

With intent to try and make myself feel
like I was actually doing something.

Did it work?

Nothing is. Move over.

They're in this.

I can't look away from it anymore.

Are you trying to show me
something by working this late?

No. By this.

Effort's never been my problem.

No, you're an effort guy.

That's why I keep you around.

No matter who else I bring in here.

Great. Have a good night.

Thanks for hanging in.

What's up?

Didn't work. We got to do Lugo.

We announce tomorrow,
so file first thing.

You serious?

Mm-hmm, as heart attacks and cancer
and all those serious things.

Proposed strategy?

Play racial animus.

Associate Lugo with the
violence of his neighborhood.

Imply unofficial gang affiliation

through any friends or acquaintances
with records or old charges.

Tie this death to
recent police violence,

like it was payback.

Hammer the most convenient
version of the facts.

Lugo, while awaiting
charges for drug possession,

had a confrontation with a man

hired to protect the
public from criminals,

and that man is now dead.

I guess you do have it in you.

Is this how it's going to be now?

Yes, it is.

And no.

You know all those cases
we dropped for the A.G.?

- Yeah.
- Tomorrow morning,

I want you to start working
that Ponzi scheme case

- that hurt all those teachers.
- LeRoy?

Yes, in earnest and off the radar.

Start building it out.
We'll figure out who to give it to.

And go to your FBI agent

and start adding others
that fit the bill.

This space is now assigned to you.

Officially, it is where you
will review office priorities.

Unofficially, it will be our war room.

Where we, the Maquisards,
will mount the resistance.

We will not let this son of a bitch
define justice for the SDNY.

Who are you?

Hey!

Hey, stop!

Hi, Mike.

Good job winning the board over.

Axe?

I am here to set the terms.

I thought.

Well, of course you did.

But. You will move assets
how and when I tell you.

Your 2 and 20 is now 1 and 10.

The rest will be converted
into cryptocurrency

and paid to me.

You will sign documents

testifying to your full
and willing participation

in all of this right now.

Those documents will
disappear from sight,

but they'll always exist.

The gentlemen here will
help you handle the details.

You have been brought back to life,

as promised.

But it's not free.

You can refuse right now, right here,

but then everything will go away.

Are you in?

Are you in?

Good.

Then all is as it
should be in the world.

You are now officially but unofficially

the proud owner of half of
my half of Panay's fund,

paid in crypto, of course.