Billions (2016–…): Season 4, Episode 12 - Extreme Sandbox - full transcript

Axe makes a big decision. Connerty gets closer to the truth. Tensions rise, and dynamics shift.

[Axe] Previously on Billions...

I thought I would outlast you.

I was wrong about Axe.

He's backing me.

I'm waving the white flag.

Willing to go back
to supplying you.

You cut a fucking deal
with Taylor?

I saw the friction

that it already
had created between us.

So I let you off the hook.

We are here today to explore
serious charges



against Doctor Wendy Rhoades.

If she acted in
a medical capacity...

I did.

- [DOOR BANGS]
- FBI! Let me see your hands!

[BABY CRYING]

Don't you lay a hand on her!

If you answer my questions,

neither you nor your boy
need be clapped in iron.

I'm not saying a damn thing
to help you hurt my boy.

Have I ever told you

when I knew that you were gonna
be my partner at all this.

You remember?

What kind of man would I be
if I didn't?

Chuck, when did you know
you needed to marry me?



I mean the... the exact moment.

I don't remember.

The kind of destruction
you're considering,

the relationships
that'll be ruined...

You ready for all that?

What else is on
the unredacted tape?

What, exactly, was getting
locked in the safe?

Bryan! Stop pushing me.

They were dancing around
whatever they were doing...

If there's documentation
to be retrieved...

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[METAL CLANKING, CRANK CLICKING]

[GROANS]

I'm not ready...

Worm is always ready
for the hook.

No.
Not ready.

Let me down.

[EXHALES HEAVILY]

[CRANK CLICKING]

[GROANS]
No. Seriously.

[CLICKING CONTINUES]

Red.

[CLICKING STOPS]

Ah.
The safe word.

So you don't think you've earned
your punishment yet?

Fine.

Don't come back until you have.

[PETE TOWNSHEND'S "BEHIND BLUE EYES"]

[SIGHS]

♪ No one knows what it's like ♪

♪ To be the bad man ♪
[GLASS THUDS]

♪ To be the sad man ♪

♪ Behind blue eyes ♪

♪ No one knows what it's like ♪

♪ To be hated ♪

♪ To be fated ♪

When you look at it,

do you see the innocence
everyone talks about?

I guess. But I start thinking
about the man who painted it.

Not so innocent.

'Cause he was a stockbroker
first? Unfair.

Oh, you relate to him?

Well. Let me see:

he was always broke,
hounded by his creditors,

had a wicked case of syphilis
and liked to marry teenagers.

So, you know, not really.

He could have lived like a king

for a lifetime
on what you paid for this.

Not how it works, sadly.

The great ones...
They all have to suffer

to make something like this.

And then usually they only
get the recognition

once they're in the dirt.

There's no rule that says
the greater you want to be,

the more you have to suffer.

Well.
Sure seems like there is.

I mean, look at Wendy...

Mm.

I need a favor.

You know, this whole
medical license thing...

She could do with a distraction,
a reset.

What are you thinking?

A state changer.

In the Hamptons, a spa?

I have my chopper
standing by at the ready.

No fucking spa.
Um...

I have an idea.

Oh. Good.

Why not you?

I have the feeling she'll get
a lot more out of your insights.

Sure.

[PETE TOWNSHEND'S "BEHIND BLUE EYES"]

♪ No one knows what it's like ♪

♪ To feel these feelings ♪

♪ Like I do ♪

♪ And I blame you ♪

♪ No one bites back as hard ♪

Off to...?

♪ On their anger ♪

Uh. Day trip.
With Rebecca.

State changer.
Or something.

Good.

Yeah.
You let those shoulders drop.

I don't think they'll drop 'til

the exact terms of my suspension
have been announced.

And probably not
'til it's all over.

While you're gone,
I will be hard at it

trying to get those terms
relaxed or done away.

Would have been easier
ahead of time.

But, uh, there must be
a lever out there.

Too much of that
is what got me here.

Sure.
But you know that now.

Wouldn't you rather repent
with your medical license?

I suppose I would.

Then we've got to
get it done now,

before they officially rule.

They all but have.

And in that tiny space

between "all" and "have"

lies our hope.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

What's on the docket?

Karl, I need you to find out

what makes a certain man
light up.

What might move him.

Now, this is a medical man,
name of Zhang, a...

[JOCK] Rhoades...
[DOOR OPENS]

we have business.

What business could we possibly
have, Generalissimo?

The business of men...
[DOOR CLOSES]

one nearly vanquished,
the other ascendent again.

I was taught never to
negotiate with kidnappers.

So, first return my old man,
then, maybe we can...

Move your shit train,
and maybe your old man

will be back in this shit-town
the same day.

Done.
And now our colloquy is over.

Eh. Palaver with me
or just listen.

I give not a Tinker's-dam.

[SIGHS]

I am here to offer you
the chance to resign

before I crush you, publicly,

and loud as a cow elk trying to
squeeze out breached twins.

Oh. You have neither the power
nor the authority.

You once offered me
the chance to surrender

before being visited
by the plagues.

I did not,
and so I paid the price.

Now, I have no desire to bring
dishonor on our profession...

Spare me your rodomontade.

This is the same bargain you put
to me: the chance to walk away.

With just the bedrock
certainty you had

when you stood in my kitchen.

You knew that train
was already en route.

I know much the same.

You're done.

You know, you once remarked you
knew all the fancy words I did.

That you'd gone to
the same schools.

Yet you love to deploy
the earthy, the homespun,

the language of the dirt road
and the barefoot walk to school.

[CHUCKLES]

The language, in short,
of your parents and cousins.

Well, I, too, can reach back
into familial lexicon

for bracing truths.

And my, uh... My mother's father
was from Italy...

[chuckles]
...yes, a Roman, you know.

And he taught me that
when someone talks to you

as though you are
of no consequence,

you have two choices.

The first is to wilt away.

And the second is get right
in their face and tell them...

Sei fuori come un balcone,
figlio di buona donna,

ti venisse un colpo,
a te e a tutta la palazzina tua

ma guardati che sei, burino,
cazzabubbolo, baciapile,

non ti vogliono manco li cani,

sei cosi stronzo che se
pesti una merda fai scopa,

li mortacci tua.

Vaffanculo!
Eh!

[LAUGHS]

[HAND POUNDS]

Oh! That's good.

That is real good, Chuck.
Mm.

[LAUGHING]
That was a good trick.

Ah, a good trick.

I don't understand
a word you said.

Mnm.
But I got the general feeling.

And I like it.

You know why?
Hmm?

Because it tells me that
you are not gonna pay heed.

So let me give you a final taste

of biscuits
and white gravy American.

You know what happens
to a lumberjack

who doesn't react when
he hears "timber"?

He gets crushed by a tree.

This case against you
will be complete,

and it is gonna land on you

like a clear-cut Ponderosa pine.

[DOOR SLAMS]

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

I'm getting back late,

so I will see you at
the board meeting tomorrow.

Yeah. You bet.

Have a great day.

And thank you.

[CHUCKLES]

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[BUTTON CLICKS]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[CELLPHONE VIBRATES]

Hello?

Sandy.
Lemme ask you a question:

You a man who likes
a good breakfast?

Hell yes, I like
a good breakfast.

Then you're gonna love
what I got for ya.

♪ ♪

I hate the expression
"mistakes were made."

Because it avoids blame.

And you know, in all the time
I worked for him,

there were two things I never
heard Bobby Axelrod say:

"I was wrong."
And "I'm sorry."

I'm here to tell you that
that is the last time

you will hear his name come out
of my mouth in this office.

Because I was wrong.
And I am sorry.

I got baited.

Hooked in the mouth
like a trophy marlin.

And narrowly escaped
being mounted on the wall.

But escape I did.
We did.

And now that's the end of it.

We are going to use this moment
to officially, formally,

and in all other ways,
move beyond rivalries,

anger, everything
that doesn't clearly

and demonstrably
help Mase Cap win.

Q is for quantitative, baby!

[LAUGHTER]
That it is.

We will return to
our mathematical model.

And you are now free,
all of you, to maximize,

without fear that I will be
too distracted to notice,

or that I will squander
the resources you are providing.

You are the smartest
and best people in the industry.

And I am proud to
retake my seat amongst you.

Damaged, but reborn.

Taylor Mason is back!
Yeah!

[APPLAUSE]
[TAYLOR] More importantly:

Taylor Mason Capital is back!

[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]

[MID-TEMPO MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[DOOR HANDLE CLICKS]

[SIGHS]

Dad.

How are my...

Your consort and child are fine.

Don't do that.

Her name is Roxanne.

And we call the little girl
Willow.

They're fine, anyway.
How are you?

[HORNS HONKING]

I am spent, to be honest.

When I was young I could've
withstood a bracing like that

while standing on
my fucking head.

But I felt myself fading.

You made it through.

Yeah.

But, Sonny, they are
coming for you strong.

I hope you're ready.

I hope so, too.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

You are my boss. So you get
to have me stand here.

But you don't get to ask me
the same question 17 times.

Or rather, you do,
but I don't have to answer it.

Let me ask it differently then,

since I'm not doing it
to fuck around

but rather to make a case,
which is,

lest we think we are here
to do the double dutch,

the entire reason
for our existence.

Mm.
Feels like double dutch.

Jumping in place.
Tripping over ourselves.

No way you trip doing...

Nope. I can go for hours.
But I bet you would.

Kate, this has gotten off track.
I just need to know,

and not officially...
But for myself, to plan...

If anyone is mentioned

in the privileged part
of that recording.

Anyone material to the case.

Eighteen. And I can't answer,
won't answer.

How do we know the agents
stopped listening

at just the right moment.

Maybe, after... No, no.

They, and I, heard it all.

Best for everyone
you don't listen.

Then I won't get Chuck.

Can you live with that...
Oh. Say you do get him.

Do you think you can ratchet
back the Jack Torrance shit?

Like from The Shining?

Yeah. You have that same
obsessed look in your eye.

The difference is: I'm not
seeing ghosts riding Big Wheels.

I'm seeing a wrongdoer
getting away.

Once he's nailed...
And Jock is pacified...

I'll be free of
all this... stuff.

And the Southern District
will become sovereign again.

In the cause of all that is
good and nob...

And don't you want to
be a part of that?

I do.

Then just tell me this:

does the recording spell out
who the idiot is?

That's the one person
who wasn't there.

But is mentioned.
We could lean on him.

Nineteen.

And you could.
If you knew who he was.

Can you give me a hint?

We are not fucking playing
Password, Bryan.

This is for your good.

For my good.

For fucking good, you know?

[MID-TEMPO MUSIC]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

'Becca, Wendy!

- Hi, Mark.
- Cubes!

I'm so fired up that
you made it up here.

This is gonna be so much fun.

Wait till you get to ride
on these things.

The power is incredible.

Anyways, this is my guy Phil.

He's gonna train you up and
make sure you have a good time.

Place is all yours.

Thanks.
Can't wait.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

...Sooooo, my Daddy,

and I know you'd think
I called him father,

but he was Daddy and Mommy was...

Mommy?
She sure was.

What Daddy said was:
elbow grease alone

won't solve what elbow grease
and a few silver coins will.

A real philosopher king.

He also told me to find a career
that would justify

elbow patches on my sport coats.

"Because that would signify
useful work, Pa?" I asked.

Pa, now?
Pa. Yes.

AND HE SAID: no, Son,

because folks will believe
you mean well.

All this to say...

Her trouble won't go away

because we smile nice
and ask even nicer.

It's gonna take some
institutional lubricant.

How much.

$25 million.

Ouch.
Now I think I need the lube.

But fine. Do it.

Hey, Ayles, you actually
even know your father?

Does anyone, really?

How was breakfast?

Eh. Went well...

Listen, I want you to
stay on this with Ayles.

Make sure it happens.
Never let her know we did it.

That might be hard.
These places like to advertise.

Try. I don't want her
to feel beholden.

You are that rarest
of creatures.

An actual gentleman.

Basically, just for her.

But yeah.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[SENIOR] ...You mean
about the idiot

[SENIOR] who stands to lose
the most? Can I really...

[STATIC HISSES]

[KEY CLACKS]

[SENIOR] ...You mean
about the idiot

[Senior] who stands to lose
the most? Can I really...

[STATIC HISSES]
Fuck.

[SIGHS]

♪ ♪

[KEYPAD CLICKS]

♪ ♪

Jock, I need some warrants...

No. No,
Funt won't grant these.

I need your, uh, friendly judge.

Yeah.

[PHONE HANGS UP]

♪ ♪

[KEY CLACKS]

♪ ♪

Now, we can talk in here.
It's been swept.

The fridge is stocked
and I can order...

...Let's not do
the whole service thing.

No food. No drink.
We'll make it quick.

Sure.
Pit stop at Le Mans,

tires, oil,
back out of the chute.

Not a long night of necking
at the drive in.

Definitely not.
Yeah.

No.
Here's the thing:

last time we sat here
we talked about revenge.

And how we were to help
each other achieve it.

And we have and will
continue to...

About that.

Look, I got Taylor in the well,

it has applied the lotion
from the basket.

All that's left is the skinning.

Which is to say: they will
soon be hemorrhaging money,

vulnerable, desperate and ready
to make the kind of move

that will make your job
very easy.

You're always telling me
how simple my gig is.

If it's all so basic,
why don't you do the skinning?

I'll tell you: because
it's bloody work. Grimy.

Then roll 'em up and sink 'em in
up to the shoulders.

Oh, is that an order?
It's shorthand.

But if you need me to curtsy
and bow, just say the word.

It's one or the other.
Not both.

And no. What I need is your
expertise to do it right.

I set people up all the time,
but to do it

without opening up an
entrapment charge is difficult.

The right trap
has to come from you.

If Taylor is floundering
and desperate,

you know better than me
what their next move will be.

What might tempt them
to take a chance?

The answer to
all their problems.

Yes.
And then, we dangle that.

Now, uh, a corrupt associate.

Weak former employee?
Someone you've let go.

Offering funds or a service

or an opportunity
too good to pass up...

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

I know just the fella.

Something about the directness
of the metaphor here

is going to feel absurd
for a minute.

I need you to fight that off.

And own the fact that you are
moving the fucking earth.

Because that's what you are and
what you do in the actual world.

[WHITE REAPER'S "TELL ME"]

♪ ♪

♪ He likes to roll ♪

♪ In a brand new
stretch-type limo ♪

♪ ♪

♪ And soak up the gold ♪

♪ From all the tickets
and the tees that he's sold ♪

Yes!

♪ ♪

Ah!

You were fucking right.
We moved earth.

We were destruction.

Elemental.
No gray area.

Being in the cockpit was like

hitting the stage
with The Clash.

You had to be totally present
to deal with it.

Got me right out of my head.

I figured it would work better
than a day spa.

Thank you for taking the time.

I needed the reset, too.

Though I probably don't have to
tell you what I need.

You already know in what...
Five minutes with someone?

Truth: Mm-hmm.

I'd love to work with you,

but you don't need much that
you don't already give yourself.

That's what sets you apart.

Most people let their
childhood bullshit run them.

You use yours to propel you.

And not in a way that
you're hiding from it, either,

and it's gonna bite you.

You synthesize it.

Like you do information
about companies.

You're doing exactly what
you're meant to be doing.

That was amazing.

And you know it.

And you get off on it.

Well, I'm doing what
I'm meant to be doing, too.

You ever want to be
out on your own?

Have your own practice?

I've thought about it
from time to time.

But I'm in the right place.
Which is a good thing,

because if I was out on my own,
this Med Board thing

would be putting me
right out of business.

How are you handling it?

One thing that's come
from this year:

I know I can handle
fucking anything.

And Axe Cap, it's mine.

They really rallied around
me... in their own weird way.

That's the upside of being
on a team, I guess.

I can see that.

It's just not how I work.

[INHALES DEEPLY]

I like owning a team.

[BOTH LAUGH]

Should we hit it?

[COUNTRY MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO]

You've had a few,
you sure you're alright?

We can drive you back
to your hotel...

Oh. Don't worry,
we're not driving.

[HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING]

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

You're not going for 20 are you?

Nope.
I went about this another way.

And you were right, and we are
going to get them all.

Sounds like somebody did some
old fashioned prosecutor work.

I figure, I'm behind the desk,
maybe I should do the job.

So I did the job. And got
some warrants and subpoenas.

And you are going to
execute same.

On?

The sitting Secretary of
the Treasury, Todd Krakow

and the safe of the father of

the sitting Attorney General
for the State of New York.

You will go, yourself,
to handle it.

Bring good agents with you.

These are the warrants.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

And I'm on my way.

♪ ♪

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

Hello everybody...

[CONVERSATIONS STOP]

Sanford, surprised
to see you here.

You passed on a board seat
when it was offered.

I did.

But I have a real
vested interest

in how this meeting goes.

Uh...

Alright, people.

Big announcement,
big acquisition.

Of Kling Appliances.

We have taken ownership
of the company

and will go back to
rolling out their product.

Now, this strategic
partnership...

We are not going to
sell Kling products.

We will be using Kling to
move toward profitability

in a wholly different way now.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[BENSINGER] Thank you.

Even I don't usually have
an Iron Chef make my pancakes.

All you have to do is ask...

And send the plane.

[BOTH LAUGH]
Thanks for this, Alex.

♪ ♪

Mm.

When a man puts on a show
like this, it's rarely...

That's true. But also,

if we're gonna have to have
this conversation, and we are,

we might as well have
something this good.

Well, it's in our mouths now.

So...

[SILVERWARE CLATTERS]

Saler's is a sinking ship.

But I know how to get
the chest of gold

before it hits the ocean floor.

You would do that to Rebecca?

For Rebecca.

It's helping her.

What I didn't realize,
but see now,

is that she made
the one sin that every

private equity investor knows
they can never make.

And it happened because she is

as kind-hearted and good
as she is smart.

And that is... Cares too much.

About this one in particular.

Mm. It's a suicide play
at this point.

She's lashed herself
to the side of this thing

and refuses to jump off.

We won't just be
saving ourselves.

We'll also be saving her.

Yeah.
I guess we will be.

You okay with it?

With getting the gold
and doing the right thing?

♪ ♪

Yes I am.

Now please pass the syrup.

These fucking things
are delightful.

[CHUCKLES]

[AXE] All Saler's locations
will be closed,

[AXE] effective immediately.

The real estate
will be transferred

to a real estate
investment trust,

controlled by
Sanford Bensinger... and me...

Where it will eventually be
sold off at market value.

[AXE] The clothing brands,
home goods,

[AXE] Treads For Tots shoe line,
Maker Man Tools,

[AXE] and the auto parts brand
will all be spun off

for top dollar to private equity
buyers who've been lined up.

Further, Saler's debt
will be dumped

onto Kling's balance sheet

[AXE] and that company
will then be put into

Chapter 11 bankruptcy
effective immediately.

Cute pitch, but I wonder

how the fuck do you think

you have the authority
to do that when I'm CEO.

[SIGHS]

Well, young lady, unfortunately,

if you don't ratify the plan,
you'll be removed.

I've converted my debt to shares
with voting rights.

When?

Yesterday.
[AXE] So his shares,

[AXE] along with mine and
everyone else in this room,

make up the majority.

You can't stop it.

What about the 50,000 employees?

Well, we'll settle out their
pension plans and benefits.

For a fraction of
what they're owed.

I know people, and what
those people will feel is:

something's better than nothing.

And you... you assholes...
You're gonna go along with this?

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

Ugh.
How could you?

[AXE] Oh. They already did.
The board voted.

Or gave me their proxies.
Same thing.

It's because every
shareholder will get

a massive one time windfall
dividend payment.

And then we can all go
our separate ways.

Keith, how many shares
do you hold?

Thirty-three thousand.

Well, congratulations, Keith.

You just graduated from
300 grand in a bad stock

to thirty-three million in cash.

Rebecca, you could be making

close to a billion
on this transaction.

Miss Cantu,

I know how this stings.

I had my paper route
stolen from me

after I'd built it up
to cover the entire city.

[BENSINGER] Damn newspaper
took it in-house.

I felt steamed

'til I bought the whole thing
and sold it to a chain.

Oracular wisdom feels better

when the oracle hasn't just
anally rended you.

Gentlemen, ladies, why don't we
go work out the myriad details

in the back office
and give them the room.

[DOOR OPENS]

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

[DOOR CLOSES]

You snake motherfucker.

You sent me off
and you set me up...

Your way was an arduous five
year, capital-intensive crawl.

Now you've just cleared
over a billion

in a few months' time.

It isn't about that for me
and you know it.

I want to run this business
for real.

This one wasn't fit to run.

You can build it back up
from the ground, better,

without the negative drag
of toxic fucking debt,

if you really want.

When did you land on your plan

to liquidate the company
out from under me, hmm...

Was it the first time
that I told you about it?

No.

No, it was much closer to
when you climbed into bed

and made a fucking pact
with my sworn enemy.

But, hey, as you once told me,

you'll come to see
the wisdom in this plan.

You already do...

Oh. Fuck you.
We're done.

[AXE] Well, you should
think fondly of me

when the Street calls you
a genius... for this plan...

As you approach
your next venture.

I need to know
what you told yourself.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[AXE] I wanted to let it go...

[AXE] what you did

[AXE] by making that deal
with Taylor.

[AXE] I wanted to think of it
the way you said:

[AXE] not as disloyal.

[AXE] Or an action against me.

[AXE] But as a practical
solution to a problem

[AXE] that you... someone I loved...
was faced with.

[AXE] And so that night,
I told you it was fine.

[AXE] And I wanted it
to be true.

[AXE] I laid there in bed
next to you,

[AXE] and I just tried to
breathe out the bad,

[AXE] breathe in the good.

[AXE] But with each breath,

[AXE] instead of peace, love and
understanding filling my lungs,

[AXE] the old bile was there.

[AXE] I stared at the ceiling,

[Axe] with you sleeping next to
me... beautiful and serene,

[AXE] and I played out
our relationship to its end.

♪ ♪

[AXE] I thought about marriage.

[AXE] Let it land for me
that it actually was

[AXE] something I'd already
assumed was going to happen.

[AXE] Us having kids
together, too.

[AXE] I smiled at the notion.

[AXE] It was hopeful.

[AXE] Romantic.

[AXE] The kind of thought
a normal man would be having.

♪ ♪

But then,

I felt something go cold in me.

And I knew the truth
was in that cold.

♪ ♪

And that eventually,
it would turn hot.

To rage.
And when it did,

[AXE] I would blow
the whole fucking thing up,

[AXE] kids and all.

'Cause, sure,
your choice was rational.

But to me, it was traitorous.

And I wouldn't be able
to live with it.

I'd wreck everything
we had over it.

[AXE] I would make you
suffer tenfold

[AXE] for what I had suffered.

[AXE] Especially if I waited,
without crushing Taylor.

[AXE] Because by then,
Taylor would be rich and safe.

[AXE] So I decided:
fuck it.

[SIGHS]

[AXE] Might as well
get my revenge

and rip the scab off
this fucking thing

between us at the same time.

♪ ♪

Then we'd be even, too.

Each fucked over.

Each aware of who
the other really is.

♪ ♪

Then...

Then we could find out
what was still between us.

♪ ♪

What's between us now
is nothing.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[DOOR CLOSES]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[HAMMON] Bobby Axelrod
has control of Saler's.

Rebecca is out.

He's putting Kling
into bankruptcy.

Our equity will be wiped out.
Our position will go to zero.

Our firm will lose
three quarters of a billion,

maybe a little more.

When news of that gets out,

we may not have a firm.

I can have Lauren get
to the investors first,

try to gain a vote of...
I wouldn't give me that vote,

they won't either. No.

What if we go Doug Flutie style,
toss a literal Hail Mary?

Just make a huge bet,
on, like, four names.

Double up or bomb out.

I'd like to work in
this business again.

So, yeah. No.
Fuck. We need time...

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

I might have something.
A text I got earlier.

♪ ♪

Mafee, we're going to a meeting
with a friend of yours.

[DOOR OPENS]

♪ ♪

Mm.
Seems I missed the party.

Taylor's P&L's been crippled.

They're ripe to make
that desperate move.

I thought I smelled blood.

Everything's in place on my end.

Good.
One more thing though.

I want you to arrest
but NOT charge Taylor.

[CHUCKLES]
After everything I've done,

all the plans I've laid in,
why would I do that?

Because it's what I want.

And 'cause I want Taylor back at
Axe Capital, working for me.

Come again?

They're the best player
I've seen in this league

in two decades.
Real five-tool, you know?

Back at the beginning
this was advertised as

me getting a Wall Street scalp.

But now that it's haircut time,
you tell me no.

Why don't you just
hire the kid back

and stop wasting
my fucking time?

'Cause they won't
come for money.

But they will come from fear.

And from leverage.
So leverage them and scare them.

And if anyone's been
wasting fucking time here...

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[KEYS CLACKING]

[CELLPHONE VIBRATING]

Hello?

[DR. ZHANG] Dr. Rhoades.
I am pleased to tell you

that the Medical Board
has taken into account

the fact that you
willingly came forward.

And that you could have
easily lied.

Really.

[DR. ZHANG] Yes. It showed that
you are already making changes.

[DR. ZHANG] And that you are,
at core, a doctor who cares.

[DR. ZHANG] We have also
been provided with

[DR. ZHANG] dozens of letters
to your character.

[DR. ZHANG] And that highlight
how much you have given

[DR. ZHANG] of your time
over the years

[DR. ZHANG] to those
less fortunate.

So we've decided to set aside
the findings of the proceeding.

And to give you
a verbal warning instead.

[DR. ZHANG] Consider that given,
and the matter concluded.

♪ ♪

Thank you, Dr. Zhang.

♪ ♪

[EXHALES SHARPLY]

Yeah. I'm just finishing up
a few things,

you can head out for the night.

♪ ♪

[DOOR OPENS]

[SIGHS]

[DOOR CLOSES]

[SNIFFS]

[CELLPHONE WHOOSHES]

♪ ♪

[CELLPHONE WHOOSHES]

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[DRAWER CLOSES]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[DOOR CLOSES]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[KEYS JANGLE]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[LOCK DISENGAGES]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[AUDIO FAST-FORWARDING]

[SENIOR] ...You mean
about the idiot

[SENIOR] who stands to lose
the most? Can I really...

[IRA] Yes.
I can't listen to future plans.

[IRA] But the things
you've already done.

[IRA] And the people with whom
you've done 'em,

[IRA] that I need to know.

[CHUCK] Go ahead. Press on.
Privilege was clearly in place.

[SENIOR] Once I tell you who
he is, Ira, we can't go back.

[SENIOR] It's a real mindblower.

[CHUCK] We should all brace
ourselves for what's coming.

[CHUCK] Yes.

[CHUCK] Well. Do it, Dad.
Say the name.

Well, I mean, at this point
it's gotta be clear, right?

♪ ♪

The idiot in question
is Bryan Connerty.

[CHUCK] Yes. Well.
The rub of it is.

[CHUCK] If Connerty is
listening right now,

[CHUCK] it means he's crossed
all legal and ethical bounds

[CHUCK] and our little plan
is about to bear fruit...

[Chuck] But, uh [chuckles]
you're not listening,

are you, Bryan?

'Cause you don't break the law.

[CHUCK] But, if he is
"headphones on" right now,

[CHUCK] it means he's gone
completely over the line

[CHUCK] and committed all manner
of crimes that led to this,

and his arrest is, uh,
moments away.

Which is why we dubbed
the man 'the idiot'.

Should've called him
the fucking idiot...

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Ah, fuck.

You should probably
say it again. Louder.

Cuz yeah.
You are fucked.

Let's go.

♪ ♪

Kate...

Bryan, I had them hold you
in here, as a courtesy...

But what the fuck?
I...

[SACKER] You kept asking if
you would understand everything

[SACKER] if you listened
to the tape.

[SACKER] I told you

[SACKER] unfortunately
the answer was yes.

It was my hope you never
found out what came next.

Whatever bullshit they were
running on that recording,

tell me you recovered stuff
from the safes

that will prove this thing
for what it is.

Oh, I got proof
from the safes, Bryan,

[SACKER] but not the kind
you were looking for.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

This isn't a contract laying out

your participation in
some real estate scam.

No, but it is
my participation in

a New York State sting operation
targeting certain

corrupt members of
the Department of Justice.

♪ ♪

An overzealous prosecutor...

Especially a US Attorney...

Is a very dangerous thing...

♪ ♪

And Rhoades Senior?

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[DRILL WHIRS]
Don't ruin my box.

♪ ♪

[KEYPAD BEEPING]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

It's not what you wanted,
but it is what was there.

♪ ♪

[SIGHS]

♪ ♪

Sonofabitch...

♪ ♪

[SIGHS]

May I?

♪ ♪

Keep it brief, we still
have processing to do.

[INHALES DEEPLY]

[DOOR CLOSES]

Oh. Bryan, it pains me
to be here like this...

Does it?
But you lined up against me,

and that just wasn't right.

We could've worked together.

But you broke ranks
and tried to take me out.

So I had to make
a contingency plan.

[SIGHS]

How far back?

Well, you know,

pretty far...

This development is my legacy.

Hell, it's your legacy too.

Well, I'm glad to see you've got
your legs under you again, Dad.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[SEA GULLS CRY]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Dad,

I know how we can
spin this like a top.

We're gonna have to put on
a hell of a show...

But, yeah, this will be
our legacy.

♪ ♪

[CHUCK] I knew you'd be
coming after me

[CHUCK] and that you'd be up on
me sooner than later...

[SENIOR] There's no heat.

[SENIOR] Sonny, my permits
came back without a hitch...

[CHUCK] And of course
I knew that you knew

[CHUCK] that Judge DeGiulio
would deny

[CHUCK] your wiretap request...

FBI observed father and son

on the building site
in question.

You got a family portrait.

[CHUCK] And come to me
with that information.

Connerty came for a wire on you.

Did you grant it?

I killed it.

[CHUCK] And that
you'd be watching.

[CHUCK] So we gave you
what you needed

[CHUCK] to secure
those wiretaps...

You have your wire.

[CHUCK] And I knew you'd do
as I trained you to do,

[CHUCK] programmed you almost,
so you'd get on our phones.

I have run into a financing snag
with my development.

What's the problem?

Now, I know you have some
banking contacts these days.

[CHUCK] I'll try to help.

[CHUCK] So I needed to squeeze
certain players for help.

You're probably wondering how
you're gonna get out of this.

[CHUCKLES] Indeed.
It crossed my mind.

Well, you'll join me
in a greater plan

for the greater good.

♪ ♪

Listening and loving it...

[CHUCK] I needed your boss
fully engaged,

[CHUCK] pushing you,
breathing fire down your back.

So once I knew it was
the thing that mattered to him,

I hit the election angle hard.

By the time I parked
the shit train in his backyard,

both you and Jock were
leaning in so hard,

it was just a question of
playing out an ending for you.

I've taken the liberty.

For our comfort...

[RUSTLING ON RECORDED AUDIO]
What's that rustling?

Did they paper
this fucking deal?

I need to go back to D.C.

I have work to do.

Gentlemen.

[MOUTHS WORDS]

♪ ♪

[CHUCK] I've got to admit that
I was a little surprised

by how eager you were
for the dirty tricks

and even crime.

It's the power, of the office,
that gets you leaning forward.

It's dangerous and hard to ride,

like an unbroken horse.

[CHUCK] That's something
you never really heard me on.

It is not easy, not easy at all.

But I guess you'll have
a long time to think about it.

They call this getting
what you deserve, don't they?

It's coming for all of us.

[SIGHS]

What about Jock...

Is he left standing?

I just caught up with the man...

You are a real troublemaker,
Rhoades.

Runs in my blood.

[DOOR CLOSES]
Runs in your kind.

You take that to mean ethnic,
fine.

Or New Yorkers. Or guys with
hair all over their faces.

[LAUGHS]
That's just like you...

Focused on a man's beard
with so much intensity

you miss his foot coming up
to kick you in the gonads.

Good luck there, pard.

Ah. Don't need luck.

No.

You know, the last time
we were in here,

in what was my office,

it didn't turn out well for me.

And I told myself I wouldn't
step foot back in this place

until it was you
who'd be sent packing.

[CHUCK] And that is today.

That is right now.

How're those low hangers
feeling?

Heavy, full, and ready to shoot.

You think just 'cause I had
an overzealous underling,

that I'm gonna take a fall?

I am not.

Connerty acted on his own,
of his own volition.

He screwed up.

So now he's screwed.
Not me.

You came to me on biblical
grounds a short time ago.

And when you left,
it occurred to me

that faith can be
a beautiful thing,

except when it's misplaced.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[CONNERTY] I'm not legally
allowed to listen to this...

[JOCK] If I order it,
it's fucking legal.

[JOCK] Now, you get your hands
on that fucking tape...

♪ ♪

So, the ballsack has to feel
at least a twinge by now.

How the fuck...?

♪ ♪

[CHUCK] I had an instinct that

[CHUCK] at least some of
what Connerty did

[CHUCK] would be
at your direction...

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[CONNERTY] We are running down
some promising leads and...

[CELLPHONE VIBRATES]

This could be the call.

Connerty...

♪ ♪

[CONNERTY] No,
I'll be right there.

[CONNERTY] Good work.

Good luck finishing off
the Rhoadeses.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[GROANS]

You really did it...

got me right in the onions...

[SHOE SLAMS]

[SHOE SLAMS]

[CHUCK] So, no, Bryan, no.

[BREATHES DEEPLY]

When it comes to me, the thing
you've got to learn is:

no one's left standing.

[RUDY] ♪ Ma il mio mistero
è chiuso in me ♪

♪ Il nome mio nessun saprà ♪

♪ No, no, sulla tua bocca ♪

♪ Lo diro ♪

♪ Quando la luce ♪

♪ Splenderà ♪

My dude, that was...
I have like tears in my eyes,

and I don't even own
that Three Tenors album.

My father was a...

Look, I'll sing for you
another time.

For now, let's talk
Nigerian Oil Warrants.

You talk. I'll listen.

They are highly
illiquid instruments.

There's no real market for them.

So the few brokers
who deal in them

can set almost any price.

You invest
a few million dollars,

we wait a week,
and I have them revalued.

How high?

Units that cost you,
say, ten grand each

could suddenly be valued
at a hundred grand.

Or two.
Or five hundred.

For a few million dollars
we can balloon these things up

and basically state that
the firm is even on the year.

♪ ♪

So, what do you think...?

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[CORK POPS]

[DOOR OPENS]

[DOOR CLOSES]

Hello there.

You said I was foolish
for wishing for a miracle.

But I guess they do happen...

When you make them happen.

I'm grateful you got
my suspension lifted.

Well, I'm glad that
it all worked out.

[CHUCKLES]

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[SIGHS]

♪ ♪

[EXHALES SHARPLY]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Grab me a glass.

I'll come join you.

♪ ♪

[SHOES SCRAPING]

♪ ♪

[TABLET DINGS, VIBRATES]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[SIGHS]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Did you even fucking try?

♪ ♪

No. I didn't.

I could explain.

But no.

[CHUCK] [SIGHS] Yeah.
I thought not.

Watch the kids.

Where are you going...

Out.

When are you coming home?
I don't know.

But you are coming home?

I don't know.

[SIGHS]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[DOOR OPENS AND SLAMS]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[SCOFFS]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[CAR DOOR OPENS]

Hold up.

[CAR DOOR CLOSES]

You're not under arrest.

But it would be good
if you act like you are...

[EXHALES HEAVILY]

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Let's talk
Nigerian Oil Warrants.

You talk. I'll listen.

That right there is

the very picture
of criminal conduct.

And the part where
I refuse and walk out?

Thank you, Rudy.

But you were singing
"Nessun Dorma" before,

which is about
somebody hiding something.

Which makes me wonder why
that particular aria

was in your mouth.
So it's a no for now.

I'll learn to live without
the Nigerian Warrants. And you.

♪ ♪

You're a charming tenor.

Do more of that.
Less of this.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

It seems there was
a camera malfunction...

I see.

Well, in that case,
I'd like to speak to...

Or at least
that was to be the case

when you balked
at the illicit deal.

But, uh [CHUCKLES]
I've lost my taste

for this particular set-up
right now.

Have you?

Mm.

When I look at the shambles
my life has become...

From my firing,
to my public disgrace,

to my election
with strings attached,

to the destruction
of my marriage,

to my family
falling into disrepair...

Ah, did I make mistakes
to cause it?

Perhaps.

♪ ♪

But a truer reckoning is:

it all tracks
back to one source.

One man.

A man so corrosive,
so virulently infective

as to strip me of every
good quality I ever had:

my kindness, my empathy,
my sense of justice.

Maybe even my ability to love.

[CHUCKLES]

And that very man

charged me with arresting you

in order to force you
back into his employ.

He wants me to come back
to work for him?

At Axe Capital.
He wants that?

Yes,

which gives us an opening.

[CHUCK] I don't want
to force you.

[CHUCK] I want you to go back
willingly, but as if I had,

and I want you to help me
take him down,

[CHUCK] once and for all.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[TAYLOR] I should have known
what would happen.

I once confessed to you that

competition brought on
vertigo-like symptoms in me.

Well. I certainly feel faint
right now.

Tighten your stomach.

It'll push the blood
back up into your brain.

You'll feel better.
Won't help my firm.

Or my balance sheet.
Which you destroyed.

I didn't make you
cook the books though.

That was all you.

I figured an extra quarter
or two without redemptions

and disruptions
and I could make a comeback.

Well.
We always think we can.

But then you had your friend
waiting to arrest me.

So I can't.

[CHUCKLES]

He's no friend of mine,
believe me.

[AXE] Just a useful tool.

[AXE] And I wasn't gonna
let him take you to jail.

As long as...

Yes. As long as
I come under heel.

Well.
Don't think of it like that.

Or do.
Whichever.

But, yes,
you are coming back to me.

You were such
a worthy fucking adversary

that even with
a much smaller bankroll

you cost me my relationship
and pushed me to a stalemate.

Right until the very end...

So, yeah, I want you on my side.

It won't be forever.

I'll walk away soon enough and
your firm will have survived.

Will it have?

That's gonna be up to you.

But it can.
It should.

You're still you.

So how would it work...
I keep my own shingle?

Yes.
Under my banner.

And you and I
are going to, what,

bullshit about ideas
all day long?

We don't have to be
best friends.

Or friends of any kind.

I just want your brain.

[AXE] And it won't all
be bad for you.

We'll pre-set a bonus structure.

And you will know exactly
where you will end up.

That will be a signed document.

[AXE] It will. And we will
also have a separate,

special document,
signed by Rhoades too,

that says at a date certain

whatever he has on you
disappears forever.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Where we at?

I'm going back to work
at Axe Capital.

Will you come with me?

[SIGHS]

In.

Chuck Rhoades wants to use me
to help him nail Axe.

Crazy.

Are you going to do it?

I told him I would.

And I made Axe believe I was
done trying to destroy him.

But I learned something:

they're both lined up
to destroy each other.

At the right moment when
both have their guns raised,

I'll step out of the way
and let it happen.

I'll help it happen.

They'll put each other
in the ground

and I'll go about
my fucking business.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[SIGHS]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[DOOR OPENS, FOOTSTEPS APPROACH]

Hey.

Hey.

Some day.

[CHUCKLING]
Yeah.

Look, um, that thing
with Rebecca,

I didn't mean to put you in a...

Nope.
I'm not here for that.

I want to thank you.

I don't know how...

You don't even have to.

And I don't want to
stay at home tonight.

Oh.

Or at some hotel.

Oh...
[STAMMERS]

Oh. Shit.

Six maids
and they leave it like this...

You can't sleep in Dean
and Gordie's room,

'cause they have small beds.

And art is piled all over
the other rooms.

You know what?

We can do this.

[SHEET FLUTTERING]

Welp.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

Text me what you want
for breakfast in the morning,

I'll let Chef Ryan know.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

And, you know,
if you want to talk,

I'm right down the hall.

♪ ♪

Have a good night.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[DOOR CLOSES]

♪ ♪

[SIGHS]

♪ ♪

[EXHALES HEAVILY]

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[ELEVATOR DINGS]

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Hi, Taylor!
Hi, Mafee!

Shut the fuck up, Ben.

Hi, Ben.

[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]

[ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS']

[WHAT'S SO FUNNY 'BOUT]

♪ Peace, Love,
and Understanding" ♪

Welcome home.

Happy to be here.

♪ As I walk through ♪

♪ This wicked world ♪

♪ Searchin' for light in
the darkness of insanity ♪

Now, I'm ready.

♪ I ask myself ♪
I've earned it.

♪ Is all hope lost? ♪
String me up.

♪ Is there only pain
and hatred ♪

♪ And misery? ♪
[CRANK CLICKING]

♪ And each time
I feel like this inside ♪

♪ There's one thing
I wanna know ♪

[THUD]
[GASPING]

♪ What's so funny 'bout peace,
love and understanding? ♪

♪ Ohh ♪

♪ What's so funny 'bout peace,
love and understanding? ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ And as I walked on ♪

♪ Through troubled times ♪

♪ My spirit gets
so downhearted ♪

♪ Sometimes ♪

♪ So, where are the strong ♪

♪ And who are the trusted? ♪