Billions (2016–…): Season 6, Episode 3 - STD - full transcript
Previously
on Billions.
Michael Prince Capital
is not off to a banner start.
I work for a legend.
- I'm out.
- Team up?
Done.
We need to be clean.
Beyond reproach.
I find myself
unwilling to help you.
He seems to be after
more than profits here.
I am hereby creating
The Prince List,
shedding all the dirty
capital currently invested.
Bud Lazzara. He's the key.
We're not paying.
Big retailer's
been playing dirty.
Rask Sportswear.
And we're gonna
short the snot out of it.
There's a problem
with the short.
You created this problem,
fix it.
His wife came by yesterday.
It's no coincidence that you
got involved with my sponsor.
Are you trying to buy back
the relationship you want?
I haven't given up.
I know you bribed Mr. Santulli,
the head of the Door
& Custodial Union.
Rask is tanking.
Killed the buyout
and fed it to the dogs.
You saw the
news about the Games?
They're pulling them.
Prince isn't just
playing the markets.
His chessboard is much bigger,
and I don't think he's done
making his moves yet.
The very first New
York Olympics.
Every time New York has fallen--
It has been lifted
up and rebuilt
by a great man.
And that's you this time.
And he won't stop till
he gets what he wants.
Well, I've got to run
To keep from hidin'
And I'm bound...
I just achieved slow-wave sleep,
which you know I struggle with.
- Why am I--
- We've got a problem.
Better be a real, bigtime--
Trust me. It is. It's
why I called you in.
The issue is--
You didn't call me in.
Of course, there's no need.
That's why I have
an alert set up.
If there's
middle-of-the-night swipe-ins,
it's either because people
are quitting en masse
and stealing drives,
or there's a margin
call-level problem.
Which is it?
It's... more of the latter.
Well,
you have a captive audience.
I, uh...
met up with Mafee tonight. Drinks,
you know?
We stayed friends,
I hope that's not any kind--
- Speak.
- Right, well...
he kinda spilled some major tea.
"Tea" is gossip.
Yeah. About what?
About the Olympics.
We are rolling, Wyatt.
I'm not on Molly
right now. Or ever.
Tombstone?
Never mind. We got
something huge in the works.
Real estate-focused SPAC.
Offering's coming out this
week. You should invest.
- I should?
- It's our ticket, man.
They call these things
"blank check companies."
Whale-sized
investors launch them
to raise IPO-level money
they can plow into whatever
the hell they want to,
totally unbridled.
In this case,
holding company for prime city real estate.
I'm familiar with SPACs.
- They're all over the Street.
- Right.
Anyway,
it's a partnership with a big--
Well, a really big and
also really not-so-big guy.
You sound enthusiastic.
We blew through
our risk management,
doubled down on this thing.
You're a brand-new firm,
and you're risking it all
on sponsoring a SPAC?
No worries. It's an STD.
- Uh, what? Gross.
- A sure thing, dude.
- Oh.
- And beyond that,
it's a gold medal situation.
Buying up
land for the Olympics.
Another player's
making my move. Who?
He didn't say. Thus,
this meeting.
Now I get why you woke me up.
All right, if anyone needs to go home,
shower up,
put on your daytime Garanimals,
go ahead and get back here.
I can send one of
the drivers if anyone needs it.
- Do it. Also--
- I'll send the other driver
to Veselka, then Chinatown.
Anyone want anything else,
let me know, we'll deal with it.
Okay, folks,
Kristy's organizing the midnight snacks
and strong coffee.
- Let's get into it.
Sacker,
I want your best ideas--
press, political, financial,
hell, I'll even take spiritual--
on how we'll fell the
highest net worth individual--
Son.
I thought there'd be
some perfectly legal
fringe benefits to you being AG,
but I find myself a
squirrel who can't get a nut.
Dad, you can't just--
Oh,
I told your girl I was expected.
And asked could she
get me a tomato juice
from the diner
around the corner.
Told her I'd protect the door.
And I did. From the inside.
Anyway.
I was getting my
paperwork in order
to make an offer
to buy your land,
and then you let someone
skip in line ahead of me?
- My land?
- The NYAG's Office
monitors the disbursement
of certain land for proper use,
does it not?!
Ah, family.
Love to see it.
Love to leave it behind.
Jesus Christ, Dad.
We can do this at your house,
later.
- Or never. Never works, too.
- Not for me.
I was going to throw up
one of those 80/20 jobs
with the "poor door."
Luxury condo building
with the separate
entrance for the unwashed.
Subsidized housing units
to trigger the tax breaks.
A real man of the people.
But someone is buying it all up.
As is the normal course of--
No, this is about as normal as
a Gaylord Perry Mystery Pitch.
Just loaded up
with viscous slime.
Aha.
Who bought the land, Dad?
Looks like several
buyers. All shell corps.
Terms have been set. They have
30 days to close with the cash.
Anything unusual
with the approvals?
No. Except there hasn't been
much activity until recently.
You don't need this development,
Dad.
And even if you did,
I wouldn't lift a finger to help.
Not 'cause I don't love you.
Because it would be wrong.
In the past, you didn't really--
Ah. I can't change any of that.
Well,
I was a straight shooter about my plans.
Being shameless does not
change a Haman into a Mordechai.
Bye, Dad.
I can't believe that I'm raising this,
but,
we forget who brought us
this information and we use it.
Yeah.
If a big player or corporation
is going through the land bank
to make big purchases
on the downlow.
Yes. That's absolutely
against the spirit of the thing.
And likely means
some other high-baller
is looking to make the
same move as my father.
- You want me to--
- Yeah.
We need to find out who's
trying to buy up all this land,
and why.
We're gathering.
I know how we're going to
smoke out this mystery bidder.
Put a piece of land up for sale.
The piece bordering Stuy Town.
I thought you were
trying to buy more land--
He is. Whoever's backing
Mafee and Dollar Bill will bite at it.
Yes. It'll come anonymously,
through a shell corp.
Which we'll reject.
But we'll get enough
details to figure out
who's spearheading the SPAC.
And once it IPOs,
we can bend this thing over,
no lube required, and...
I mean, there are many things
within SEC guidelines we can do
to express our
negative sentiment on it,
and convince others
to see it the same way,
- once it is trading publicly.
- There ya go.
That's where I
thought you were going.
But this is Mafee and
Dollar Bill's big investment.
Don't we still love--
I mean, have fond feelings for--
well,
most of us-- some of us-- I do...
Spit it out, you stuttering--
Mafee! I still care about Mafee.
Yes, as I do, Ben.
But once we find out who's
really going to run the SPAC
for them, Prince will block it,
and, yes,
whatever they've invested
in it will be worthless.
And he feels bad about it,
that fucking baby.
How can you not even care?
You were in an intimate
relationship with Dollar--
I am in a relationship with dollars,
end sentence.
Look,
I love those guys. For real.
We've plundered and partied
with 'em back in the day.
But if they fuck with our shit,
they get fucked.
Great to see the
team spirit is intact.
But I'm a builder,
not a destroyer.
I'll always find a
positive solution
before considering
a destructive path.
I look at every competitor
as a potential new partner...
right up until I can't anymore.
I'm on board with this approach.
We're happy.
- He's on his way up.
- Good.
We have an important visitor,
someone I'm convinced will
help win over the Commission.
Wags,
I want you on this detail with Scooter.
I'll sit in with you fellas.
Try to have fun.
We're a team.
So it seems.
Fab.
You believe in this
potential new partner bit?
I want to.
Sure, the president of
the International
Commission of Sport
does have some sway,
but there are 104
voting members,
enough of whom must be wooed,
convinced,
to influence the others
who aren't susceptible
to extracurricular handling.
Mike, you want to...
And I speak from experience,
selecting a host city
is a very political process.
Mr. Drache, how does it work?
I want to make an impression.
But as I understand it,
the men and women
of the Commission,
even those key few I might turn,
don't look kindly upon
strangers bearing gifts.
Because those strangers might
be wearing wires, mightn't they?
But they will take them from me.
Because I was one of them,
before what I refer
to as the "ugliness"
forced me out.
But trust,
I'm still one of them.
Good.
I'm glad I can count
on your endorsement
of my plan to land the Olympics.
Possibly.
Possibly?
Your reputation
speaks. It shouts.
And you certainly
seem a top man. But...
you're a little
late to this game.
L.A. had things locked.
Until they didn't.
Yeah,
until they didn't. Cheers to you.
He had nothing to do with that.
No. Of course not.
I'd never suggest.
You kinda did,
but we'll let it slide.
Look,
you can't have a Games without a stadium.
And New York doesn't have a
stadium suitable for the Games--
modern, able to be turned over
quickly depending on the event.
- But we will. I will.
- Will you?
Well, then you may have me too.
If it seems the thing to do.
Gentlemen, I get one shot
every two years between the
Summer and the Winter Games,
so I hew to the
Aintree approach:
stick with the favorite.
No time for long shots.
Eh, maybe we'll speak again.
Cheers.
Do we really need
that fucking guy?
Sadly, we do.
He's the best in the space.
A very small, rarified space.
Find out who
else he's talking to.
- And make those talks--
- Go south?
So he has nowhere else to
go but crawling back to us?
- More or less.
- I'm on it.
Be on it together.
- Yeah, about that--
- Are you serious?
You want us to be your
Tenspeed and Brown Shoe?
I'd have gone with Murtaugh and Riggs,
but, yes.
I am.
News on the land.
All the entities track
back to the same address.
Who're we talking about?
Oh.
Our Sam LeFrak
wannabe has surfaced.
Welcome, welcome.
Todd Krakow.
I see life in the Beltway
was a real sacrifice for you.
It was
an honor to serve,
but, frankly,
I rather enjoy being
back in the private sector.
I missed not having
to report to anyone.
We're all accountable
to each other
and tethered to
this rock by gravity.
If you take the time
to be in the moment...
right there,
you can even feel the Earth move.
Mmm.
I feel the sky
Tumbling down!
Goddamn that felt good. Yeah.
Couldn't do that in
a Cabinet meeting.
POTUS could, but that was it.
So, is, uh,
that what brings you here?
Wouldn't be a certain
real estate SPAC
set to IPO soon?
Not that I'm involved,
officially.
No. I want you to think bigger.
"Bigger?" Really?
Join my bid.
We agree on one
thing: New York would be
a superb host for
the next Olympics.
Not only am I a believer,
I also happen to be
a highly capitalized
partner to buy land with,
to make inroads
with the city and state
to help win over the Commission.
The Commission? Hmm.
Only a man with Colin Drache
in his employ can achieve that.
- Do you have him?
- Met today.
Seeing him again tomorrow.
So what do you think?
That's a no. Too many words.
Why fight over
possession of the fumble
when we can both
be on the same team?
I'd love a Mike Prince-type
onboard as a partner,
but, just so you know,
I'm QB'ing this baby.
What are you going for, huh?
Rehab your public image
after that precipitous fall
from Treasury?
Reboot your
Manhattan bona fides?
Get on TV?
- Meet chicks?
You tell me what it is,
and I'll help build the new you.
No, I don't think you get it.
Once we IPO and close
on these properties--
and I can see I'm not
gonna get your piece
near Stuy Town,
but I don't need it--
I skip right through the
permits to build a new stadium.
Does your bid have one
of those? Didn't think so.
With it, I land the Games,
and then I can have
whatever I want in this town.
So if you want to
be a part of my bid,
then make me a real offer.
That starts with buying
a major block of shares
when they IPO
tomorrow and I announce.
Otherwise, you may end up
having to wait in line to get tickets
like the Commoners.
Can you imagine?
Usually this is the part
where the guy on the other side
of the desk flexes, huffs, puffs
and makes vague
but serious threats.
I don't go to war that way.
I just go to war.
You ready to get going?
Already going.
There's a guy we
used to work with
who can follow Colin around,
do a deep dive into
his data and history,
and find out exactly
what makes him tick.
Let's put a pin in black bag ops
that'll put us right out of
business and maybe into jail.
Unless and until such time as.
Fine.
Shall we?
- You mean...?
- He said "together."
I'm aware.
Come to where I'm working.
When I'm not riding
shotgun with Prince,
it's where I'm set up.
What the hell is this?
You've never seen a power map?
Naturally. Just...
wondering where the hell
you got this information.
Welcome to the 21st century,
Wags.
I will be your guide.
We have Colin Drache's
business associates,
romantic partners,
places he frequents,
cologne of choice--
Dior Sauvage!
So that was the stench
hovering around him like Pig-Pen.
We can't trust a man who
wears cologne before 10 a.m.
We have to. By using this,
we'll determine his
spheres of influence,
figure out what he wants,
and then we'll be able to
identify which way he's leaning.
I hate to give you even an
ounce of satisfaction, Scooter,
but this is pretty fucking cool.
Of course it's cool. I made it.
But sadly, it's just a start.
Not surprised to see the bulk
of Colin's network's in Europe.
Yeah. Lot of likely cities in Europe,
though.
We do have these
kids who work here.
Very energetic,
sometimes annoying.
So PC,
they make John Hodgeman look like an iMac.
We should use them.
Hey, quantlings,
special assignment. Who wants in?
Here's a chance to
be useful for a change.
Your taunts don't
hurt me anymore.
I'm not sure millennials are
motivated by competition.
How 'bout this? You
both win a trophy.
We need you to do an internet
scrape of one Colin Drache.
You want us to hack someone?
- Black hat?
- That's kinda weird.
Not a hack.
Definitely not asking
you to hack anyone.
More like a perfectly legal
ex-girlfriend stalking job.
Oh,
this is more your wheelhouse.
We need to
see who he's talking to.
He's our in to the Commission.
We need to know what other
cities he may be dancing with
and which way he's leaning.
I'll send you the details.
What do we get if we help?
My foot not up your ass?
Honestly, that approach
doesn't work with my generation.
Oh,
you're about to see how well it--
What do you want?
To borrow his
Bentley for a weekend.
You got it.
I decided to kill the
pending land bank deals.
Turn 'em down. Open up
a new application process.
I'd like us to issue
a press release,
then we string Krakow up
for trying to make a land grab
for illicit purposes
before his SPAC even--
You screwed me out
of my Treasury gig,
now you're trying
to do it again!
What's the name of that
Randy Rogers Band
song I like so much?
- "Speak Of The Devil"?
- That's the one.
I'll go get started.
I just don't understand
why you'd side with
Mike Prince on this.
Mike Prince?
Uh,
you think I sided with him to--
Uh,
the land bank killed my transactions.
We had to.
Because like so many
others in the billionaire class,
you're using loopholes
to game the system.
Using private shell
companies to buy public lands?
Veiling disclosures about land
use for community redevelopment?
It may not be illegal,
but it's unethical.
So is your office
accepting graft,
- but that didn't stop you.
- From whom?
Oh, uh,
I suppose we're back to Mike Prince.
You know he just wants
the land for himself.
- How'd he get you on his side?
- He didn't.
But if he tries the same tactic,
he'll face the same scrutiny.
Whatever gig he's offering
you with the Commish,
I'll up it if you restore
my transactions.
- Commish. Right. Sure.
- The Olympic Commission.
Is he gonna give you
something with teeth,
- or something ceremonial?
- Oh.
You two are trying to steer
the Olympics to the City.
May seem weird now,
but Mitt Romney was a fucking god
when he brought
them to Salt Lake.
I could use some
of that social capital.
Turn it into actual
capital. Ka-ching.
Don't make the
cash register sound.
I would never.
So you get this land,
you lead the effort,
you become the chair of the
New York City Commission.
You win, and Prince suffers?
Humiliations galore.
Perhaps we can work this out.
Resubmit you applications,
cards up.
Transparency will
protect us both.
Being open and honest
has never worked for me,
but... I'll try anything.
And, matter of fact,
I will take something.
I'll steer infrastructure
so the people of this city
benefit from all the spending,
and so they don't just end
up with abandoned venues
like Rio's Olympic Park.
That place is a
fucking dustbowl.
You're a true steward of the people,
Chuck.
- Mm-hm.
- I appreciate the consideration.
We have a deal.
Good.
Ka-ching.
Let's, uh,
hold a beat on the press conference.
What's up?
Our friend Krakow will get
his shot at the land after all.
How? And more importantly, why?
A different way,
with some different codicils--
That greed-driven
Meisterburger gets to bite off
a big part of the city that
we're supposed to safeguard?
To invite redevelopment
into those areas of the city,
don't we need developers?
Not ones who
bypass public approval
to do whatever
the hell they want.
This project doesn't advance
without my guiding hand.
It's for the greater good.
It may not feel that way now,
but it is.
It certainly doesn't
feel that way.
- It feels more like--
- Understood, Mrs. Sacker.
Mr. Mateo.
Mr. Prince.
It turns out my
partnership overtures
weren't met with open arms.
Was that about the Dollar
Bill and Mafee SPAC?
Did he assign
you to sanction it?
Like Nicholai Hel?
It's out of my hands.
That means you
are gonna sanction it.
Kill it. Them.
Shit.
Shit.
Are you still okay
with Prince going after
our former compatriots?
Because he is.
I'm surprised Mafee was
so forthcoming with you
considering he hadn't
suggested any real estate
- speculation with me.
- You and Mafee talk, too?
Of course. We're friends.
We have a standing
weekly dinner.
So then you have to
agree we should save them.
If they are anti-fragile,
they will survive
and thrive no matter
what Prince does.
And if not, well,
I have to take the long view.
So harsh.
That's the way of the gun.
And you're okay with it.
The gun doesn't care
what I'm okay with.
The ruination of the High
Plains SPAC is coming,
and I feel terrible.
I can't focus through the guilt.
You want to be a martyr,
be my guest,
but you're not gonna
find any grenades
to throw yourself onto in here.
I'm the one who put
them in the crosshairs.
Inadvertently.
You woke half the team
in the middle of the night.
That's advertent.
Because we have a lot
riding on the Olympics.
Beyond that, though?
It's... my job.
I could say you're
a PM in a fund
20 times the size of theirs.
Mafee sloppily showed his hand,
you went all in against it.
In what world does that
make you the bad guy?
If you did, I might feel better.
And if I agreed you let
down your moral code?
Worse.
And I'd probably sulk.
So then...
own the fact that Mafee
doesn't work here anymore.
Neither does Dollar Bill.
- Well, yeah, but--
- We're competitors now.
I know. But couldn't I at least
warn them what's coming?
Sure. But play that out.
You'd get fired,
and you'd never work again
because everyone would
know you fed our plays
to the competition
because you're you,
and the world's the world,
and that is what will happen.
Wish I hadn't said anything now.
Can't put that shit
back in the goose.
You don't want
to feel bad again,
act differently. Beforehand.
In the meantime,
you're just gonna have to feel
two things at once because
that's what life demands of us.
Thanks, I guess.
I don't feel any better.
Seems to be my
specialty of late.
Tell me, Ben Kim,
do you wish you'd left with
them and stayed loyal to Axe?
Do you?
No.
But I, too,
admire what Mafee and DB did.
Know that.
Then do something.
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
Tryin' to make a livin'
and doin' the best I can
And when it's time for leavin'
I hope you'll understand
That I was born a ramblin' man
My father was a
gambler down in Georgia
And he wound up on
the wrong end of a gun
And I was born in the back seat
Of a Greyhound bus
Rollin' down highway 41
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
That's it.
That's enough.
Come on, ladies.
I think destiny is calling us.
And when it's time for leavin'
I hope you'll understand
that I was born...
Prince says we should add
Krakow to the list of Colin's suitors.
- Figures.
- Prince will knock him off.
We just have to
focus on whoever else.
- What's with the stuff?
- My office.
It's yours now. You take it.
- I'm fine--
- Nope.
I'm not unaware of the workflow.
You take it. I'll decamp here.
You sure?
As it should be.
On your way.
Welcome Mayor Johnson.
I get it. You need the room.
I see I'm not the only
new blood in town.
I hope to do in the hedge fund
space what you undoubtedly
will do in City Hall, Ms. Mayor.
I'm coming home, boys!
Mayor Johnson,
I'll keep this brief.
When I supported your campaign,
I promised to come
to you with big ideas.
You supported my
competitors as well.
But go on.
What would you say
to one of my competitors
concealing his efforts
to lure the Olympics here
without consulting you first?
Oh, that?
No new stadium, no bid.
Who is it?
Former Treasury Sec Todd Krakow.
He hasn't announced yet,
but it's him.
Hmm.
Maybe he has the juice,
but I'm not convinced. For when?
The Games need a
new host city for 2028.
That is a tight turnaround.
And the stadium
faced a lot of opposition
last time this idea was floated.
Because it's bad for
Manhattan. For congestion,
for affordable housing,
for the environment.
Okay. So you want to bring
this to the City Council to kill?
You could.
But I believe you
stand more to gain
by speaking out
against it yourself.
How's that?
- You're America's mayor.
With your new profile,
you'd shine a
spotlight on my plan
to build a stadium
in Westchester.
You'd come out
looking like a hero
for putting community
impact ahead of a photo op
and the whims of a rich guy.
I'm not interested
in what it looks like,
and I'm not interested in
making the same mistakes
as the idiot I replaced.
The mistake the idiot
who came before you made
was not caring
what stuff looked like.
Which is why he left
office as a punchline.
Hmm.
- They aren't gonna budge.
- You know for sure?
You know
who invented steam?
John Fitch.
Steam power, anyway.
The state legislature gave
him a 14-year monopoly
to come up with a
commercial use for it.
But Fitch fucked it up,
lost the monopoly
because he couldn't do it.
Steam power
transformed the world,
but the man who
invented it died penniless.
Killed himself.
That's a sad story.
Should come with a trigger
warning for the ending.
The ending is the warning.
You two are all
in on a steamboat,
but you're gonna
end up like Fitch.
You want to keep
affording these offices
and your business,
you need to listen.
Prince knows all about the SPAC
and the Olympic play,
and he's lining up to
destroy whatever it is
- you're bringing out.
- Wait.
How the fuck does Prince know
about the Olympics piece?
Shit. It was Ben Kim.
How the fuck does Ben Kim know?
I didn't tell him anything.
You know that this is the
moment when the detective
realizes you killed the guy,
right?
No one accused you of anything yet,
Mafee,
but you're proclaiming
your innocence,
which tells me
you're guilty as fuck.
What did you tell him?
I didn't tell him
the whole play.
Well,
I guess I gave him enough clues.
Prince knows. That's
all that matters now.
No. What matters
to you is Prince.
But I give no shits about
what matters to you, or him.
And we are not walking away
from a Mayweather-Pacquiao payday
so that Michael
Prince can take it.
We're
already in position.
Our incoming partner
has the land on lock.
Why not bring your boss in
to High Plains and
ride the wave with us?
Boys...
here's how this is gonna go.
When the IPO happens,
you're gonna feel like winners,
like you've finally made it.
But when Prince
kills the Olympic play,
the SPAC is gonna liquidate,
and you're gonna drown.
You need to abandon your plan.
Pull the filing
while you still can,
before you wreck your
reputations and lose your money.
Appreciate you
coming to us with this.
Do you?
First time here,
it's like you squatted
in the middle of the office
and took a big steaming
dump on the floor,
but we know when we're beat.
Speaking of dumps,
we've got some calls to make,
to some investors that are
gonna be plenty disappointed
we cancelled the
offering. We better get to it.
You two are terrible liars,
and you're pulling
from my playbook.
You're not going to heed my warning,
are you?
You wouldn't risk
your career like this.
So you're here at his behest.
And we don't do behest anymore.
What does he think he means,
they don't "do behest?"
It doesn't matter.
Dollar Bill and Mafee
are on a blind profit run,
and they're not going
to protect themselves.
Is there anything
else we can do?
Prince's plan is smart,
thoughtful,
and benefits a lot of people.
Especially people
at this company,
especially people at this desk. So,
no.
If I thought we could
save Dollar Bill and Mafee
from themselves long-term,
I'd do it.
I care for them,
Mafee especially.
But, like I told Ben,
they are who they are.
And, I guess, so are we.
It is my pleasure
to announce that
I will be spearheading the
High Plains Management
real estate SPAC
rolling out as we speak.
Consider it a Krak-SPAC,
if you will.
Once funded,
the company will purchase properties
along the East
River in Manhattan
earmarked for redevelopment,
bringing new life
to the community
by building an
all-weather stadium,
seating capacity for 85,000
and a retractable roof.
Zoning laws were
created for this very reason,
to protect tenant rights
and small business owners.
These are the people
who put me in office.
And I will not let the
Todd Krakows of the world
bulldoze their livelihoods
with plans to build
a nonessential
new stadium in Manhattan.
I won't fast-track it.
I won't even allow zoning for it
without it first going
through extensive
community, committee
and environmental reviews.
And I mean extensive.
I'm talking years.
Boom.
She dropped the payload.
Time to raid the villages.
Thank you. We'll get you those
architectural plans tout suite.
- Ciao.
- Great, thanks.
Oh fuck!
Fuck!
That Krakow SPAC IPO?
You should know,
it's not as rosy as you thought.
The rezoning's
just the beginning.
Krakow is getting machinegunned
like Elias in Platoon.
- Thing's taking a dirt nap.
- MPC has cleared a lane
for a stadium deal of our own.
We've got green lights all
the way to breaking ground.
But I'm your transport
out of the 'Nam.
I'm glad to hear that.
You're smart to stay
away from Krakow.
Dude,
you're not going through your list.
I will.
Just give me sec.
We found out Colin's
a rabid footballer.
- How rabid?
- Keeper at his club rabid.
Three trips across the
globe to see matches
during the pandemic rabid.
So he likes football,
as do millions.
We looked deeper.
There's an opening.
The IPO busted before it
even opened for trading.
I saw the
Exchange halt it
shortly after the
mayor's statement.
No money raised.
Krakow can't back his bids.
And Dollar Bill and Mafee can't
collect any sponsorship fees.
Look,
I didn't go into this to do damage,
but from my vantage,
we're destabilizing a bad actor,
saving the Games from
the corruption and exclusion
that follow men like Krakow,
who only see a payday in this.
But the land,
that's still worth
something to me.
I thought we were
building in Westchester.
Crown jewel was always
the waterfront in Manhattan.
We're just gonna build
there the right way.
Oh, this is Spanish Prisoner.
We're not at the blowoff yet.
There's another act coming.
You'll see soon enough.
I hope you've had some time
to consider my original offer,
though I'd say you've waived
the chance to negotiate.
I somehow thought
you were different.
But your approach
reminds me a lot
of the man whose
office you took.
It's possible you bring
out a similar reaction
in wildly disparate individuals.
I'll think it over when
I drink your blood
after decapitating you.
Accepting loss is hard
for those who lack humility.
But here's a reality check.
You have deals
with the City on land,
but your SPAC is liquidated
and you don't have
the capital to close.
My investors dumped
me like Winthorpe
and Billy Ray Valentine
in the orange juice pit.
That's the problem with
other people's money.
They can take it away from you.
So,
you'll either go into your pocket--
For a billion dollars of
New York fucking real estate
that you got the mayor to
oppose zoning changes on?!
Don't think so.
I like being rich.
Not gonna end up like Trump.
Or you'll...
Partner with you.
Fine.
Forget drinking your blood,
I'll stand with you instead.
I'll assign the deeds to you,
you and your investors pay.
And I'll be starting QB.
That's fine. It's fine.
Just know we'll be spitting
in Chuck Rhoades's eye.
Hey, don't worry.
I'll handle him.
I can't fucking believe
it. Here you are.
I thought, "There's no way
Taylor would think our dinner's
still on after their firm destroyed
my goddamn company."
But here you are.
It's unfortunate the
way the IPO went,
that the SPAC is zeroed out.
I understand you were
warned not to launch it.
One is business,
the other personal.
- I don't see the linkage.
- You thought you could just
sit across from me,
enjoying those
bok choy pot stickers,
while my life is falling apart,
because of you and the
company you help run?
I knew you were
a fucking cyborg.
And I thought about
letting you sit there
and put the pieces
together on your own.
But I had to see for
myself just how devoid
of all human
understanding you are.
I...
Spain's coming hard.
They somehow convinced
Real Madrid's manager
to give Drache soccer lessons,
all to win him over
to the Madrid effort.
Meaning they figured
out what matters to him.
Wasn't hard. Guy
raises millions for ALS.
So we back up the Brinks truck,
help cure a disease,
and the guy becomes a hero.
And Colin never walks
onto Madrid's pitch.
I'm have a sudden
craving for croquetas.
Want to put in an order?
Sure. Pull up a menu.
Alexa, play my faves playlist.
Playlist faves
on Amazon music.
You put this song
on your playlist?
Don't tell me you have a
problem with Harry Chapin.
No,
I just didn't realize you had any taste.
Oh...
Thanks.
I think.
While I was away
And he was talking 'fore I knew it,
and as he grew...
This song.
It used to hit me as the son.
Now it hits me as the father.
And the cat's in the cradle...
You?
Yeah.
Both.
But we'll get together then
You know we'll have
a good time then
I said I was fine
with what we did,
but maybe I didn't
see it through.
The associated loss,
in human terms.
I didn't see all the
possible outcomes.
After Mafee left the firm,
I always thought of
us as Bird and Magic.
Kill each other on the court,
but best friends
in the off-season.
We were never
trained to be worried
about unintended consequences.
The win was all that mattered,
and our success only
reinforced that idea.
I say "we were trained,"
but in truth,
I did most of that training,
which is why I guess my
attempt to undo it was clumsy.
The blame isn't just,
or even mostly, on you.
I keep getting sucked
back into the short game,
and I promised myself I
wouldn't do that anymore.
To be fair, your short game
is everyone else's long game.
That only makes it
more disappointing.
So then what actions are you...
are we going to
take to rectify it?
- Here we are again.
- The game has changed.
We need to put the stadium
in Manhattan after all.
- Built at no cost to the city.
- What about the congestion?
Affordable housing?
Impact on the environment?
None of that will be a problem
the way he's going to do it.
Sustainable.
Repurposable. Cutting edge.
And how am I not gonna
look like a flip-flopper?
You're gonna look like
a brilliant negotiator.
You have leveraged
the real estate community
to band together to
build low-income housing
unlike the City has seen before.
- State-of-the-art.
- Because first it's gonna be...
Yes. Athletes' quarters.
Built at the lowest
possible cost to the city,
by one of our great builders.
You mean if you win,
Chuck Rhoades suffers?
Humiliations galore.
Bud Lazzara's on board?
Not only that,
we have the site and surrounding property,
and a healthy war
chest to close on it with.
Most importantly,
you have my word and a witness.
Then let the Games begin.
Might want to watch your step.
There's blood
all over the floor.
Guess it wasn't good
enough you killed our IPO.
You just had to do a
stiff fucking pile driver
without protecting our necks.
Oh, no, I've got you tucked
safely between my thighs.
Kayfabe all the way.
- I've spoken to Prince.
- And what?
He wants to offer
us our old jobs back?
I'm not walking backwards.
Neither is Mafee.
Well, I'd consider it,
but no.
We know the SPAC was
going to be your opportunity.
Prince asked Spartan-Ives
to fund you instead.
Spartan will write the check,
as a make-good to Prince.
Meaning?
They saved our asses.
At what price? We
got to show fealty?
Pledge our firstborn sons? What?
How about you take this as
an object lesson, free of charge.
You're not giant-killers.
Don't go swinging your swords
into a battles
you've already lost.
I lobbied for this too,
to square things with us.
Suddenly had a conscience
program installed?
- Did you go to Wendy for that?
- I did seek her counsel,
to remind me what I value most.
So, what, Taylor?
A friendship where I'm
watching every word I say
for fear you're going to
gouge me in the eye later?
I won't offer you any empty platitudes,
Mafee.
But I would like a
chance to talk this through,
repair our trust.
Are we back on for
our regular dinners?
We are.
Did you hear that, Ben Kim?
My god, that was brutal.
But thank you.
Thank you!
Oh, thank Christ.
We didn't blow up!
Mortimer, we're back!
So, this happened.
And Mayor Tess is about to
give another press conference
reversing field.
Prince got to Krakow?
And the mayor.
Prince got Krakow's stadium?!
The way I see it,
you dangled our land
to get a preferred outcome,
and now, instead of a good
initiative against one bad pony,
we've lost it to a pair of 'em.
No, wait.
Wait. In a way,
this actually helps us.
I'm not seeing it.
This proves my point,
doesn't it?
Billionaires plot in secret
to take everything
for themselves.
And the laws protect
their rights to do so.
Prince may have the land,
but he doesn't have
the people that live on it.
Is he going to start
buying people now?
Bet he would if he could.
- We can't let him.
- Uh-oh.
Are we about to see the
return of Farmer Chuck?
What'd Bruce say?
"Wherever there's a fight
against the blood
and hatred in the air,
look for me, Mom,
I'll be there."
I promise I will
think of something
to make it clear that
we are the stewards
of the best interests of
the people of New York,
and not Prince or Krakow.
How?
I need to take a little walk.
That's how.
You ready for the Colin meeting?
Yep. Your office?
Our office.
I saw what you were
doing with the selfless
"donate the office"
play. Very elevated.
Bonding up with the guys.
Reifying your status as
their sergeant on the ground.
Can't let you get away with it.
- No?
- Uh-uh.
So you actually wanna...?
That's right. We share.
Seems our good friend
Mr. Drache is back.
Colin, please,
as we'll be all working together.
So, Todd Krakow no longer
has need of your services?
Alas, no. Nor Spain.
They seem to be the type that
reneges on their prior promises.
While you seem
like the soccer type.
We're pretty tight
with David Beckham.
Maybe there'll be
an opportunity for him
to be on the pitch with you
when he comes to
town for the Games.
Don't worry, you're home now.
I certainly see that.
I'll let you fellas get started.
I have a press
conference to attend.
There's no better time
to welcome the world
back to New York City.
I want to introduce
the man with the vision
and personal
investment as our partner,
the chairman of the NYC
2028 Olympic Commission,
Michael Prince.
- Thank you, Mayor Johnson.
We both share the same vision
of what a Summer Games
in New York should look like...
...an event for everyone.
A chance to showcase and rebuild
in all five boroughs.
But I don't think
the taxpayer...
- ...should shoulder the burden
of the costs.
My approach incentivizes...
...the private
sector to join me...
Get out of
the fuckin' street!
Move the fuckin' car, bro!
Get out of the way!
All right, back it up.
Oh,
I think we've got their attention.
So they want to
revitalize the City?
These plutocrats?
Have they thought about
the unintended consequences
to the average citizen?
Do they think about the
average citizen at all?
I am not in this for the
goddamned Bronx Cheer.
Nobody told me about
the "fuck you" parade.
This is the traffic for
a press conference.
What will New York look like
when the traffic quintuples?
A cabal of billionaires
remaking the city.
What the hell do they know
about the real New York?
How many people
will be displaced
so they can build
an Olympic stadium?
Yeah.
Have they at all considered
what real New Yorkers
want for our city?
Maybe we should
remind them who we are.
Yeah?
What do we do when
the carpetbaggers
and the land barons try
to shove us out of the way?
- We shove back!
- Yeah!
- We shove back!
- Yeah!
That's right.
And together, the people,
and those who
represent the people,
we will take back our city!
Take back our city!
- Take back our city!
- Take back our city!
Take back our city!
Take back our city!
- Take back our city!
- Take back our city!
Take back our city!
- Take back our city!
- Take back our city!
Take back our city!
The time is right for fighting
In the street, boy
But what can a poor boy do
Except to sing for
A rock 'n' roll band
'Cause in sleepy London town
There's just no place for
A street fighting man
No
Hey!
Think the time is right for
on Billions.
Michael Prince Capital
is not off to a banner start.
I work for a legend.
- I'm out.
- Team up?
Done.
We need to be clean.
Beyond reproach.
I find myself
unwilling to help you.
He seems to be after
more than profits here.
I am hereby creating
The Prince List,
shedding all the dirty
capital currently invested.
Bud Lazzara. He's the key.
We're not paying.
Big retailer's
been playing dirty.
Rask Sportswear.
And we're gonna
short the snot out of it.
There's a problem
with the short.
You created this problem,
fix it.
His wife came by yesterday.
It's no coincidence that you
got involved with my sponsor.
Are you trying to buy back
the relationship you want?
I haven't given up.
I know you bribed Mr. Santulli,
the head of the Door
& Custodial Union.
Rask is tanking.
Killed the buyout
and fed it to the dogs.
You saw the
news about the Games?
They're pulling them.
Prince isn't just
playing the markets.
His chessboard is much bigger,
and I don't think he's done
making his moves yet.
The very first New
York Olympics.
Every time New York has fallen--
It has been lifted
up and rebuilt
by a great man.
And that's you this time.
And he won't stop till
he gets what he wants.
Well, I've got to run
To keep from hidin'
And I'm bound...
I just achieved slow-wave sleep,
which you know I struggle with.
- Why am I--
- We've got a problem.
Better be a real, bigtime--
Trust me. It is. It's
why I called you in.
The issue is--
You didn't call me in.
Of course, there's no need.
That's why I have
an alert set up.
If there's
middle-of-the-night swipe-ins,
it's either because people
are quitting en masse
and stealing drives,
or there's a margin
call-level problem.
Which is it?
It's... more of the latter.
Well,
you have a captive audience.
I, uh...
met up with Mafee tonight. Drinks,
you know?
We stayed friends,
I hope that's not any kind--
- Speak.
- Right, well...
he kinda spilled some major tea.
"Tea" is gossip.
Yeah. About what?
About the Olympics.
We are rolling, Wyatt.
I'm not on Molly
right now. Or ever.
Tombstone?
Never mind. We got
something huge in the works.
Real estate-focused SPAC.
Offering's coming out this
week. You should invest.
- I should?
- It's our ticket, man.
They call these things
"blank check companies."
Whale-sized
investors launch them
to raise IPO-level money
they can plow into whatever
the hell they want to,
totally unbridled.
In this case,
holding company for prime city real estate.
I'm familiar with SPACs.
- They're all over the Street.
- Right.
Anyway,
it's a partnership with a big--
Well, a really big and
also really not-so-big guy.
You sound enthusiastic.
We blew through
our risk management,
doubled down on this thing.
You're a brand-new firm,
and you're risking it all
on sponsoring a SPAC?
No worries. It's an STD.
- Uh, what? Gross.
- A sure thing, dude.
- Oh.
- And beyond that,
it's a gold medal situation.
Buying up
land for the Olympics.
Another player's
making my move. Who?
He didn't say. Thus,
this meeting.
Now I get why you woke me up.
All right, if anyone needs to go home,
shower up,
put on your daytime Garanimals,
go ahead and get back here.
I can send one of
the drivers if anyone needs it.
- Do it. Also--
- I'll send the other driver
to Veselka, then Chinatown.
Anyone want anything else,
let me know, we'll deal with it.
Okay, folks,
Kristy's organizing the midnight snacks
and strong coffee.
- Let's get into it.
Sacker,
I want your best ideas--
press, political, financial,
hell, I'll even take spiritual--
on how we'll fell the
highest net worth individual--
Son.
I thought there'd be
some perfectly legal
fringe benefits to you being AG,
but I find myself a
squirrel who can't get a nut.
Dad, you can't just--
Oh,
I told your girl I was expected.
And asked could she
get me a tomato juice
from the diner
around the corner.
Told her I'd protect the door.
And I did. From the inside.
Anyway.
I was getting my
paperwork in order
to make an offer
to buy your land,
and then you let someone
skip in line ahead of me?
- My land?
- The NYAG's Office
monitors the disbursement
of certain land for proper use,
does it not?!
Ah, family.
Love to see it.
Love to leave it behind.
Jesus Christ, Dad.
We can do this at your house,
later.
- Or never. Never works, too.
- Not for me.
I was going to throw up
one of those 80/20 jobs
with the "poor door."
Luxury condo building
with the separate
entrance for the unwashed.
Subsidized housing units
to trigger the tax breaks.
A real man of the people.
But someone is buying it all up.
As is the normal course of--
No, this is about as normal as
a Gaylord Perry Mystery Pitch.
Just loaded up
with viscous slime.
Aha.
Who bought the land, Dad?
Looks like several
buyers. All shell corps.
Terms have been set. They have
30 days to close with the cash.
Anything unusual
with the approvals?
No. Except there hasn't been
much activity until recently.
You don't need this development,
Dad.
And even if you did,
I wouldn't lift a finger to help.
Not 'cause I don't love you.
Because it would be wrong.
In the past, you didn't really--
Ah. I can't change any of that.
Well,
I was a straight shooter about my plans.
Being shameless does not
change a Haman into a Mordechai.
Bye, Dad.
I can't believe that I'm raising this,
but,
we forget who brought us
this information and we use it.
Yeah.
If a big player or corporation
is going through the land bank
to make big purchases
on the downlow.
Yes. That's absolutely
against the spirit of the thing.
And likely means
some other high-baller
is looking to make the
same move as my father.
- You want me to--
- Yeah.
We need to find out who's
trying to buy up all this land,
and why.
We're gathering.
I know how we're going to
smoke out this mystery bidder.
Put a piece of land up for sale.
The piece bordering Stuy Town.
I thought you were
trying to buy more land--
He is. Whoever's backing
Mafee and Dollar Bill will bite at it.
Yes. It'll come anonymously,
through a shell corp.
Which we'll reject.
But we'll get enough
details to figure out
who's spearheading the SPAC.
And once it IPOs,
we can bend this thing over,
no lube required, and...
I mean, there are many things
within SEC guidelines we can do
to express our
negative sentiment on it,
and convince others
to see it the same way,
- once it is trading publicly.
- There ya go.
That's where I
thought you were going.
But this is Mafee and
Dollar Bill's big investment.
Don't we still love--
I mean, have fond feelings for--
well,
most of us-- some of us-- I do...
Spit it out, you stuttering--
Mafee! I still care about Mafee.
Yes, as I do, Ben.
But once we find out who's
really going to run the SPAC
for them, Prince will block it,
and, yes,
whatever they've invested
in it will be worthless.
And he feels bad about it,
that fucking baby.
How can you not even care?
You were in an intimate
relationship with Dollar--
I am in a relationship with dollars,
end sentence.
Look,
I love those guys. For real.
We've plundered and partied
with 'em back in the day.
But if they fuck with our shit,
they get fucked.
Great to see the
team spirit is intact.
But I'm a builder,
not a destroyer.
I'll always find a
positive solution
before considering
a destructive path.
I look at every competitor
as a potential new partner...
right up until I can't anymore.
I'm on board with this approach.
We're happy.
- He's on his way up.
- Good.
We have an important visitor,
someone I'm convinced will
help win over the Commission.
Wags,
I want you on this detail with Scooter.
I'll sit in with you fellas.
Try to have fun.
We're a team.
So it seems.
Fab.
You believe in this
potential new partner bit?
I want to.
Sure, the president of
the International
Commission of Sport
does have some sway,
but there are 104
voting members,
enough of whom must be wooed,
convinced,
to influence the others
who aren't susceptible
to extracurricular handling.
Mike, you want to...
And I speak from experience,
selecting a host city
is a very political process.
Mr. Drache, how does it work?
I want to make an impression.
But as I understand it,
the men and women
of the Commission,
even those key few I might turn,
don't look kindly upon
strangers bearing gifts.
Because those strangers might
be wearing wires, mightn't they?
But they will take them from me.
Because I was one of them,
before what I refer
to as the "ugliness"
forced me out.
But trust,
I'm still one of them.
Good.
I'm glad I can count
on your endorsement
of my plan to land the Olympics.
Possibly.
Possibly?
Your reputation
speaks. It shouts.
And you certainly
seem a top man. But...
you're a little
late to this game.
L.A. had things locked.
Until they didn't.
Yeah,
until they didn't. Cheers to you.
He had nothing to do with that.
No. Of course not.
I'd never suggest.
You kinda did,
but we'll let it slide.
Look,
you can't have a Games without a stadium.
And New York doesn't have a
stadium suitable for the Games--
modern, able to be turned over
quickly depending on the event.
- But we will. I will.
- Will you?
Well, then you may have me too.
If it seems the thing to do.
Gentlemen, I get one shot
every two years between the
Summer and the Winter Games,
so I hew to the
Aintree approach:
stick with the favorite.
No time for long shots.
Eh, maybe we'll speak again.
Cheers.
Do we really need
that fucking guy?
Sadly, we do.
He's the best in the space.
A very small, rarified space.
Find out who
else he's talking to.
- And make those talks--
- Go south?
So he has nowhere else to
go but crawling back to us?
- More or less.
- I'm on it.
Be on it together.
- Yeah, about that--
- Are you serious?
You want us to be your
Tenspeed and Brown Shoe?
I'd have gone with Murtaugh and Riggs,
but, yes.
I am.
News on the land.
All the entities track
back to the same address.
Who're we talking about?
Oh.
Our Sam LeFrak
wannabe has surfaced.
Welcome, welcome.
Todd Krakow.
I see life in the Beltway
was a real sacrifice for you.
It was
an honor to serve,
but, frankly,
I rather enjoy being
back in the private sector.
I missed not having
to report to anyone.
We're all accountable
to each other
and tethered to
this rock by gravity.
If you take the time
to be in the moment...
right there,
you can even feel the Earth move.
Mmm.
I feel the sky
Tumbling down!
Goddamn that felt good. Yeah.
Couldn't do that in
a Cabinet meeting.
POTUS could, but that was it.
So, is, uh,
that what brings you here?
Wouldn't be a certain
real estate SPAC
set to IPO soon?
Not that I'm involved,
officially.
No. I want you to think bigger.
"Bigger?" Really?
Join my bid.
We agree on one
thing: New York would be
a superb host for
the next Olympics.
Not only am I a believer,
I also happen to be
a highly capitalized
partner to buy land with,
to make inroads
with the city and state
to help win over the Commission.
The Commission? Hmm.
Only a man with Colin Drache
in his employ can achieve that.
- Do you have him?
- Met today.
Seeing him again tomorrow.
So what do you think?
That's a no. Too many words.
Why fight over
possession of the fumble
when we can both
be on the same team?
I'd love a Mike Prince-type
onboard as a partner,
but, just so you know,
I'm QB'ing this baby.
What are you going for, huh?
Rehab your public image
after that precipitous fall
from Treasury?
Reboot your
Manhattan bona fides?
Get on TV?
- Meet chicks?
You tell me what it is,
and I'll help build the new you.
No, I don't think you get it.
Once we IPO and close
on these properties--
and I can see I'm not
gonna get your piece
near Stuy Town,
but I don't need it--
I skip right through the
permits to build a new stadium.
Does your bid have one
of those? Didn't think so.
With it, I land the Games,
and then I can have
whatever I want in this town.
So if you want to
be a part of my bid,
then make me a real offer.
That starts with buying
a major block of shares
when they IPO
tomorrow and I announce.
Otherwise, you may end up
having to wait in line to get tickets
like the Commoners.
Can you imagine?
Usually this is the part
where the guy on the other side
of the desk flexes, huffs, puffs
and makes vague
but serious threats.
I don't go to war that way.
I just go to war.
You ready to get going?
Already going.
There's a guy we
used to work with
who can follow Colin around,
do a deep dive into
his data and history,
and find out exactly
what makes him tick.
Let's put a pin in black bag ops
that'll put us right out of
business and maybe into jail.
Unless and until such time as.
Fine.
Shall we?
- You mean...?
- He said "together."
I'm aware.
Come to where I'm working.
When I'm not riding
shotgun with Prince,
it's where I'm set up.
What the hell is this?
You've never seen a power map?
Naturally. Just...
wondering where the hell
you got this information.
Welcome to the 21st century,
Wags.
I will be your guide.
We have Colin Drache's
business associates,
romantic partners,
places he frequents,
cologne of choice--
Dior Sauvage!
So that was the stench
hovering around him like Pig-Pen.
We can't trust a man who
wears cologne before 10 a.m.
We have to. By using this,
we'll determine his
spheres of influence,
figure out what he wants,
and then we'll be able to
identify which way he's leaning.
I hate to give you even an
ounce of satisfaction, Scooter,
but this is pretty fucking cool.
Of course it's cool. I made it.
But sadly, it's just a start.
Not surprised to see the bulk
of Colin's network's in Europe.
Yeah. Lot of likely cities in Europe,
though.
We do have these
kids who work here.
Very energetic,
sometimes annoying.
So PC,
they make John Hodgeman look like an iMac.
We should use them.
Hey, quantlings,
special assignment. Who wants in?
Here's a chance to
be useful for a change.
Your taunts don't
hurt me anymore.
I'm not sure millennials are
motivated by competition.
How 'bout this? You
both win a trophy.
We need you to do an internet
scrape of one Colin Drache.
You want us to hack someone?
- Black hat?
- That's kinda weird.
Not a hack.
Definitely not asking
you to hack anyone.
More like a perfectly legal
ex-girlfriend stalking job.
Oh,
this is more your wheelhouse.
We need to
see who he's talking to.
He's our in to the Commission.
We need to know what other
cities he may be dancing with
and which way he's leaning.
I'll send you the details.
What do we get if we help?
My foot not up your ass?
Honestly, that approach
doesn't work with my generation.
Oh,
you're about to see how well it--
What do you want?
To borrow his
Bentley for a weekend.
You got it.
I decided to kill the
pending land bank deals.
Turn 'em down. Open up
a new application process.
I'd like us to issue
a press release,
then we string Krakow up
for trying to make a land grab
for illicit purposes
before his SPAC even--
You screwed me out
of my Treasury gig,
now you're trying
to do it again!
What's the name of that
Randy Rogers Band
song I like so much?
- "Speak Of The Devil"?
- That's the one.
I'll go get started.
I just don't understand
why you'd side with
Mike Prince on this.
Mike Prince?
Uh,
you think I sided with him to--
Uh,
the land bank killed my transactions.
We had to.
Because like so many
others in the billionaire class,
you're using loopholes
to game the system.
Using private shell
companies to buy public lands?
Veiling disclosures about land
use for community redevelopment?
It may not be illegal,
but it's unethical.
So is your office
accepting graft,
- but that didn't stop you.
- From whom?
Oh, uh,
I suppose we're back to Mike Prince.
You know he just wants
the land for himself.
- How'd he get you on his side?
- He didn't.
But if he tries the same tactic,
he'll face the same scrutiny.
Whatever gig he's offering
you with the Commish,
I'll up it if you restore
my transactions.
- Commish. Right. Sure.
- The Olympic Commission.
Is he gonna give you
something with teeth,
- or something ceremonial?
- Oh.
You two are trying to steer
the Olympics to the City.
May seem weird now,
but Mitt Romney was a fucking god
when he brought
them to Salt Lake.
I could use some
of that social capital.
Turn it into actual
capital. Ka-ching.
Don't make the
cash register sound.
I would never.
So you get this land,
you lead the effort,
you become the chair of the
New York City Commission.
You win, and Prince suffers?
Humiliations galore.
Perhaps we can work this out.
Resubmit you applications,
cards up.
Transparency will
protect us both.
Being open and honest
has never worked for me,
but... I'll try anything.
And, matter of fact,
I will take something.
I'll steer infrastructure
so the people of this city
benefit from all the spending,
and so they don't just end
up with abandoned venues
like Rio's Olympic Park.
That place is a
fucking dustbowl.
You're a true steward of the people,
Chuck.
- Mm-hm.
- I appreciate the consideration.
We have a deal.
Good.
Ka-ching.
Let's, uh,
hold a beat on the press conference.
What's up?
Our friend Krakow will get
his shot at the land after all.
How? And more importantly, why?
A different way,
with some different codicils--
That greed-driven
Meisterburger gets to bite off
a big part of the city that
we're supposed to safeguard?
To invite redevelopment
into those areas of the city,
don't we need developers?
Not ones who
bypass public approval
to do whatever
the hell they want.
This project doesn't advance
without my guiding hand.
It's for the greater good.
It may not feel that way now,
but it is.
It certainly doesn't
feel that way.
- It feels more like--
- Understood, Mrs. Sacker.
Mr. Mateo.
Mr. Prince.
It turns out my
partnership overtures
weren't met with open arms.
Was that about the Dollar
Bill and Mafee SPAC?
Did he assign
you to sanction it?
Like Nicholai Hel?
It's out of my hands.
That means you
are gonna sanction it.
Kill it. Them.
Shit.
Shit.
Are you still okay
with Prince going after
our former compatriots?
Because he is.
I'm surprised Mafee was
so forthcoming with you
considering he hadn't
suggested any real estate
- speculation with me.
- You and Mafee talk, too?
Of course. We're friends.
We have a standing
weekly dinner.
So then you have to
agree we should save them.
If they are anti-fragile,
they will survive
and thrive no matter
what Prince does.
And if not, well,
I have to take the long view.
So harsh.
That's the way of the gun.
And you're okay with it.
The gun doesn't care
what I'm okay with.
The ruination of the High
Plains SPAC is coming,
and I feel terrible.
I can't focus through the guilt.
You want to be a martyr,
be my guest,
but you're not gonna
find any grenades
to throw yourself onto in here.
I'm the one who put
them in the crosshairs.
Inadvertently.
You woke half the team
in the middle of the night.
That's advertent.
Because we have a lot
riding on the Olympics.
Beyond that, though?
It's... my job.
I could say you're
a PM in a fund
20 times the size of theirs.
Mafee sloppily showed his hand,
you went all in against it.
In what world does that
make you the bad guy?
If you did, I might feel better.
And if I agreed you let
down your moral code?
Worse.
And I'd probably sulk.
So then...
own the fact that Mafee
doesn't work here anymore.
Neither does Dollar Bill.
- Well, yeah, but--
- We're competitors now.
I know. But couldn't I at least
warn them what's coming?
Sure. But play that out.
You'd get fired,
and you'd never work again
because everyone would
know you fed our plays
to the competition
because you're you,
and the world's the world,
and that is what will happen.
Wish I hadn't said anything now.
Can't put that shit
back in the goose.
You don't want
to feel bad again,
act differently. Beforehand.
In the meantime,
you're just gonna have to feel
two things at once because
that's what life demands of us.
Thanks, I guess.
I don't feel any better.
Seems to be my
specialty of late.
Tell me, Ben Kim,
do you wish you'd left with
them and stayed loyal to Axe?
Do you?
No.
But I, too,
admire what Mafee and DB did.
Know that.
Then do something.
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
Tryin' to make a livin'
and doin' the best I can
And when it's time for leavin'
I hope you'll understand
That I was born a ramblin' man
My father was a
gambler down in Georgia
And he wound up on
the wrong end of a gun
And I was born in the back seat
Of a Greyhound bus
Rollin' down highway 41
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
That's it.
That's enough.
Come on, ladies.
I think destiny is calling us.
And when it's time for leavin'
I hope you'll understand
that I was born...
Prince says we should add
Krakow to the list of Colin's suitors.
- Figures.
- Prince will knock him off.
We just have to
focus on whoever else.
- What's with the stuff?
- My office.
It's yours now. You take it.
- I'm fine--
- Nope.
I'm not unaware of the workflow.
You take it. I'll decamp here.
You sure?
As it should be.
On your way.
Welcome Mayor Johnson.
I get it. You need the room.
I see I'm not the only
new blood in town.
I hope to do in the hedge fund
space what you undoubtedly
will do in City Hall, Ms. Mayor.
I'm coming home, boys!
Mayor Johnson,
I'll keep this brief.
When I supported your campaign,
I promised to come
to you with big ideas.
You supported my
competitors as well.
But go on.
What would you say
to one of my competitors
concealing his efforts
to lure the Olympics here
without consulting you first?
Oh, that?
No new stadium, no bid.
Who is it?
Former Treasury Sec Todd Krakow.
He hasn't announced yet,
but it's him.
Hmm.
Maybe he has the juice,
but I'm not convinced. For when?
The Games need a
new host city for 2028.
That is a tight turnaround.
And the stadium
faced a lot of opposition
last time this idea was floated.
Because it's bad for
Manhattan. For congestion,
for affordable housing,
for the environment.
Okay. So you want to bring
this to the City Council to kill?
You could.
But I believe you
stand more to gain
by speaking out
against it yourself.
How's that?
- You're America's mayor.
With your new profile,
you'd shine a
spotlight on my plan
to build a stadium
in Westchester.
You'd come out
looking like a hero
for putting community
impact ahead of a photo op
and the whims of a rich guy.
I'm not interested
in what it looks like,
and I'm not interested in
making the same mistakes
as the idiot I replaced.
The mistake the idiot
who came before you made
was not caring
what stuff looked like.
Which is why he left
office as a punchline.
Hmm.
- They aren't gonna budge.
- You know for sure?
You know
who invented steam?
John Fitch.
Steam power, anyway.
The state legislature gave
him a 14-year monopoly
to come up with a
commercial use for it.
But Fitch fucked it up,
lost the monopoly
because he couldn't do it.
Steam power
transformed the world,
but the man who
invented it died penniless.
Killed himself.
That's a sad story.
Should come with a trigger
warning for the ending.
The ending is the warning.
You two are all
in on a steamboat,
but you're gonna
end up like Fitch.
You want to keep
affording these offices
and your business,
you need to listen.
Prince knows all about the SPAC
and the Olympic play,
and he's lining up to
destroy whatever it is
- you're bringing out.
- Wait.
How the fuck does Prince know
about the Olympics piece?
Shit. It was Ben Kim.
How the fuck does Ben Kim know?
I didn't tell him anything.
You know that this is the
moment when the detective
realizes you killed the guy,
right?
No one accused you of anything yet,
Mafee,
but you're proclaiming
your innocence,
which tells me
you're guilty as fuck.
What did you tell him?
I didn't tell him
the whole play.
Well,
I guess I gave him enough clues.
Prince knows. That's
all that matters now.
No. What matters
to you is Prince.
But I give no shits about
what matters to you, or him.
And we are not walking away
from a Mayweather-Pacquiao payday
so that Michael
Prince can take it.
We're
already in position.
Our incoming partner
has the land on lock.
Why not bring your boss in
to High Plains and
ride the wave with us?
Boys...
here's how this is gonna go.
When the IPO happens,
you're gonna feel like winners,
like you've finally made it.
But when Prince
kills the Olympic play,
the SPAC is gonna liquidate,
and you're gonna drown.
You need to abandon your plan.
Pull the filing
while you still can,
before you wreck your
reputations and lose your money.
Appreciate you
coming to us with this.
Do you?
First time here,
it's like you squatted
in the middle of the office
and took a big steaming
dump on the floor,
but we know when we're beat.
Speaking of dumps,
we've got some calls to make,
to some investors that are
gonna be plenty disappointed
we cancelled the
offering. We better get to it.
You two are terrible liars,
and you're pulling
from my playbook.
You're not going to heed my warning,
are you?
You wouldn't risk
your career like this.
So you're here at his behest.
And we don't do behest anymore.
What does he think he means,
they don't "do behest?"
It doesn't matter.
Dollar Bill and Mafee
are on a blind profit run,
and they're not going
to protect themselves.
Is there anything
else we can do?
Prince's plan is smart,
thoughtful,
and benefits a lot of people.
Especially people
at this company,
especially people at this desk. So,
no.
If I thought we could
save Dollar Bill and Mafee
from themselves long-term,
I'd do it.
I care for them,
Mafee especially.
But, like I told Ben,
they are who they are.
And, I guess, so are we.
It is my pleasure
to announce that
I will be spearheading the
High Plains Management
real estate SPAC
rolling out as we speak.
Consider it a Krak-SPAC,
if you will.
Once funded,
the company will purchase properties
along the East
River in Manhattan
earmarked for redevelopment,
bringing new life
to the community
by building an
all-weather stadium,
seating capacity for 85,000
and a retractable roof.
Zoning laws were
created for this very reason,
to protect tenant rights
and small business owners.
These are the people
who put me in office.
And I will not let the
Todd Krakows of the world
bulldoze their livelihoods
with plans to build
a nonessential
new stadium in Manhattan.
I won't fast-track it.
I won't even allow zoning for it
without it first going
through extensive
community, committee
and environmental reviews.
And I mean extensive.
I'm talking years.
Boom.
She dropped the payload.
Time to raid the villages.
Thank you. We'll get you those
architectural plans tout suite.
- Ciao.
- Great, thanks.
Oh fuck!
Fuck!
That Krakow SPAC IPO?
You should know,
it's not as rosy as you thought.
The rezoning's
just the beginning.
Krakow is getting machinegunned
like Elias in Platoon.
- Thing's taking a dirt nap.
- MPC has cleared a lane
for a stadium deal of our own.
We've got green lights all
the way to breaking ground.
But I'm your transport
out of the 'Nam.
I'm glad to hear that.
You're smart to stay
away from Krakow.
Dude,
you're not going through your list.
I will.
Just give me sec.
We found out Colin's
a rabid footballer.
- How rabid?
- Keeper at his club rabid.
Three trips across the
globe to see matches
during the pandemic rabid.
So he likes football,
as do millions.
We looked deeper.
There's an opening.
The IPO busted before it
even opened for trading.
I saw the
Exchange halt it
shortly after the
mayor's statement.
No money raised.
Krakow can't back his bids.
And Dollar Bill and Mafee can't
collect any sponsorship fees.
Look,
I didn't go into this to do damage,
but from my vantage,
we're destabilizing a bad actor,
saving the Games from
the corruption and exclusion
that follow men like Krakow,
who only see a payday in this.
But the land,
that's still worth
something to me.
I thought we were
building in Westchester.
Crown jewel was always
the waterfront in Manhattan.
We're just gonna build
there the right way.
Oh, this is Spanish Prisoner.
We're not at the blowoff yet.
There's another act coming.
You'll see soon enough.
I hope you've had some time
to consider my original offer,
though I'd say you've waived
the chance to negotiate.
I somehow thought
you were different.
But your approach
reminds me a lot
of the man whose
office you took.
It's possible you bring
out a similar reaction
in wildly disparate individuals.
I'll think it over when
I drink your blood
after decapitating you.
Accepting loss is hard
for those who lack humility.
But here's a reality check.
You have deals
with the City on land,
but your SPAC is liquidated
and you don't have
the capital to close.
My investors dumped
me like Winthorpe
and Billy Ray Valentine
in the orange juice pit.
That's the problem with
other people's money.
They can take it away from you.
So,
you'll either go into your pocket--
For a billion dollars of
New York fucking real estate
that you got the mayor to
oppose zoning changes on?!
Don't think so.
I like being rich.
Not gonna end up like Trump.
Or you'll...
Partner with you.
Fine.
Forget drinking your blood,
I'll stand with you instead.
I'll assign the deeds to you,
you and your investors pay.
And I'll be starting QB.
That's fine. It's fine.
Just know we'll be spitting
in Chuck Rhoades's eye.
Hey, don't worry.
I'll handle him.
I can't fucking believe
it. Here you are.
I thought, "There's no way
Taylor would think our dinner's
still on after their firm destroyed
my goddamn company."
But here you are.
It's unfortunate the
way the IPO went,
that the SPAC is zeroed out.
I understand you were
warned not to launch it.
One is business,
the other personal.
- I don't see the linkage.
- You thought you could just
sit across from me,
enjoying those
bok choy pot stickers,
while my life is falling apart,
because of you and the
company you help run?
I knew you were
a fucking cyborg.
And I thought about
letting you sit there
and put the pieces
together on your own.
But I had to see for
myself just how devoid
of all human
understanding you are.
I...
Spain's coming hard.
They somehow convinced
Real Madrid's manager
to give Drache soccer lessons,
all to win him over
to the Madrid effort.
Meaning they figured
out what matters to him.
Wasn't hard. Guy
raises millions for ALS.
So we back up the Brinks truck,
help cure a disease,
and the guy becomes a hero.
And Colin never walks
onto Madrid's pitch.
I'm have a sudden
craving for croquetas.
Want to put in an order?
Sure. Pull up a menu.
Alexa, play my faves playlist.
Playlist faves
on Amazon music.
You put this song
on your playlist?
Don't tell me you have a
problem with Harry Chapin.
No,
I just didn't realize you had any taste.
Oh...
Thanks.
I think.
While I was away
And he was talking 'fore I knew it,
and as he grew...
This song.
It used to hit me as the son.
Now it hits me as the father.
And the cat's in the cradle...
You?
Yeah.
Both.
But we'll get together then
You know we'll have
a good time then
I said I was fine
with what we did,
but maybe I didn't
see it through.
The associated loss,
in human terms.
I didn't see all the
possible outcomes.
After Mafee left the firm,
I always thought of
us as Bird and Magic.
Kill each other on the court,
but best friends
in the off-season.
We were never
trained to be worried
about unintended consequences.
The win was all that mattered,
and our success only
reinforced that idea.
I say "we were trained,"
but in truth,
I did most of that training,
which is why I guess my
attempt to undo it was clumsy.
The blame isn't just,
or even mostly, on you.
I keep getting sucked
back into the short game,
and I promised myself I
wouldn't do that anymore.
To be fair, your short game
is everyone else's long game.
That only makes it
more disappointing.
So then what actions are you...
are we going to
take to rectify it?
- Here we are again.
- The game has changed.
We need to put the stadium
in Manhattan after all.
- Built at no cost to the city.
- What about the congestion?
Affordable housing?
Impact on the environment?
None of that will be a problem
the way he's going to do it.
Sustainable.
Repurposable. Cutting edge.
And how am I not gonna
look like a flip-flopper?
You're gonna look like
a brilliant negotiator.
You have leveraged
the real estate community
to band together to
build low-income housing
unlike the City has seen before.
- State-of-the-art.
- Because first it's gonna be...
Yes. Athletes' quarters.
Built at the lowest
possible cost to the city,
by one of our great builders.
You mean if you win,
Chuck Rhoades suffers?
Humiliations galore.
Bud Lazzara's on board?
Not only that,
we have the site and surrounding property,
and a healthy war
chest to close on it with.
Most importantly,
you have my word and a witness.
Then let the Games begin.
Might want to watch your step.
There's blood
all over the floor.
Guess it wasn't good
enough you killed our IPO.
You just had to do a
stiff fucking pile driver
without protecting our necks.
Oh, no, I've got you tucked
safely between my thighs.
Kayfabe all the way.
- I've spoken to Prince.
- And what?
He wants to offer
us our old jobs back?
I'm not walking backwards.
Neither is Mafee.
Well, I'd consider it,
but no.
We know the SPAC was
going to be your opportunity.
Prince asked Spartan-Ives
to fund you instead.
Spartan will write the check,
as a make-good to Prince.
Meaning?
They saved our asses.
At what price? We
got to show fealty?
Pledge our firstborn sons? What?
How about you take this as
an object lesson, free of charge.
You're not giant-killers.
Don't go swinging your swords
into a battles
you've already lost.
I lobbied for this too,
to square things with us.
Suddenly had a conscience
program installed?
- Did you go to Wendy for that?
- I did seek her counsel,
to remind me what I value most.
So, what, Taylor?
A friendship where I'm
watching every word I say
for fear you're going to
gouge me in the eye later?
I won't offer you any empty platitudes,
Mafee.
But I would like a
chance to talk this through,
repair our trust.
Are we back on for
our regular dinners?
We are.
Did you hear that, Ben Kim?
My god, that was brutal.
But thank you.
Thank you!
Oh, thank Christ.
We didn't blow up!
Mortimer, we're back!
So, this happened.
And Mayor Tess is about to
give another press conference
reversing field.
Prince got to Krakow?
And the mayor.
Prince got Krakow's stadium?!
The way I see it,
you dangled our land
to get a preferred outcome,
and now, instead of a good
initiative against one bad pony,
we've lost it to a pair of 'em.
No, wait.
Wait. In a way,
this actually helps us.
I'm not seeing it.
This proves my point,
doesn't it?
Billionaires plot in secret
to take everything
for themselves.
And the laws protect
their rights to do so.
Prince may have the land,
but he doesn't have
the people that live on it.
Is he going to start
buying people now?
Bet he would if he could.
- We can't let him.
- Uh-oh.
Are we about to see the
return of Farmer Chuck?
What'd Bruce say?
"Wherever there's a fight
against the blood
and hatred in the air,
look for me, Mom,
I'll be there."
I promise I will
think of something
to make it clear that
we are the stewards
of the best interests of
the people of New York,
and not Prince or Krakow.
How?
I need to take a little walk.
That's how.
You ready for the Colin meeting?
Yep. Your office?
Our office.
I saw what you were
doing with the selfless
"donate the office"
play. Very elevated.
Bonding up with the guys.
Reifying your status as
their sergeant on the ground.
Can't let you get away with it.
- No?
- Uh-uh.
So you actually wanna...?
That's right. We share.
Seems our good friend
Mr. Drache is back.
Colin, please,
as we'll be all working together.
So, Todd Krakow no longer
has need of your services?
Alas, no. Nor Spain.
They seem to be the type that
reneges on their prior promises.
While you seem
like the soccer type.
We're pretty tight
with David Beckham.
Maybe there'll be
an opportunity for him
to be on the pitch with you
when he comes to
town for the Games.
Don't worry, you're home now.
I certainly see that.
I'll let you fellas get started.
I have a press
conference to attend.
There's no better time
to welcome the world
back to New York City.
I want to introduce
the man with the vision
and personal
investment as our partner,
the chairman of the NYC
2028 Olympic Commission,
Michael Prince.
- Thank you, Mayor Johnson.
We both share the same vision
of what a Summer Games
in New York should look like...
...an event for everyone.
A chance to showcase and rebuild
in all five boroughs.
But I don't think
the taxpayer...
- ...should shoulder the burden
of the costs.
My approach incentivizes...
...the private
sector to join me...
Get out of
the fuckin' street!
Move the fuckin' car, bro!
Get out of the way!
All right, back it up.
Oh,
I think we've got their attention.
So they want to
revitalize the City?
These plutocrats?
Have they thought about
the unintended consequences
to the average citizen?
Do they think about the
average citizen at all?
I am not in this for the
goddamned Bronx Cheer.
Nobody told me about
the "fuck you" parade.
This is the traffic for
a press conference.
What will New York look like
when the traffic quintuples?
A cabal of billionaires
remaking the city.
What the hell do they know
about the real New York?
How many people
will be displaced
so they can build
an Olympic stadium?
Yeah.
Have they at all considered
what real New Yorkers
want for our city?
Maybe we should
remind them who we are.
Yeah?
What do we do when
the carpetbaggers
and the land barons try
to shove us out of the way?
- We shove back!
- Yeah!
- We shove back!
- Yeah!
That's right.
And together, the people,
and those who
represent the people,
we will take back our city!
Take back our city!
- Take back our city!
- Take back our city!
Take back our city!
Take back our city!
- Take back our city!
- Take back our city!
Take back our city!
- Take back our city!
- Take back our city!
Take back our city!
The time is right for fighting
In the street, boy
But what can a poor boy do
Except to sing for
A rock 'n' roll band
'Cause in sleepy London town
There's just no place for
A street fighting man
No
Hey!
Think the time is right for