Billions (2016–…): Season 6, Episode 8 - The Big Ugly - full transcript
Previously on Billions...
The
Olympic Games in 2028
are awarded to...
New York City.
- My guess is,
somewhere inside this
is a direct bribe of sorts.
A quid pro quo.
The Olympics.
You want to be on the
performance coaching team.
To run it.
Use my talents to
turn those athletes
into medal machines.
Done.
I can't stay. You can come with,
but I have to go back
to the St. Regis to pack.
- Pack?
- Before the Games,
I need to spend
time in the mountains.
Yeah, but I thought we
were going to try here. Us.
The Olympics mean
something very different to me
than they do to you.
This is everything
I ever worked for,
and I need you to do the work
and climb for the kiss.
Yes. You're right.
And I will.
Prince
didn't pull this off
all by his lonesome.
So we separate Prince
from his power base.
Let him fall like the
smoke from the fireworks
drifting down on this fine city.
Prince, let's go. Wake up.
Get your shit on. Time to go.
How cold is it out there?
We're not doing that.
Let's go, come on.
I guess that's
why I hired Gabby Reece.
The worst
thing that can happen
is a person gets comfortable,
and then they think the
world is a comfortable place.
You have to be comfortable
being uncomfortable.
You catch my drift?
I mean, otherwise,
you would think, like,
this pace is running.
But this is a jog.
Well, it's more like a walk.
It's a long run.
It's not a sprint.
Life is a sprint. You
just hope it's a long one.
When I do this for real,
when I run the
original marathon route,
it'll remind people
of doing hard things,
and the original
meaning of the Games.
The original run into Athens
was to bring a message
about a war that
was finally won.
And the messenger, he died
because his cardio was crap.
And you know what? You
haven't won a damn war yet.
Come on! Pick it up!
- All right.
- Okay, thanks.
There he is.
Good to see you, Mike.
We saved a seat for you.
Good to see you.
Very impressive pace. Bravo.
I'm just trying to stay
loose, turn my mind off.
It's the closest thing
I know to meditation.
But this particular run has
a higher purpose, doesn't it?
I want to celebrate what
humans are capable of.
And, yes, when I do this
run in the summer months
before the Games begin,
I hope thousands join
me all around the world.
Millions, even, just to
help welcome the Games
to New York City.
But that is the purpose
of the traditional run, right?
People all around the world
get to carry the torch
to the destination.
But with you, it
seems very personal.
You seem, some
say, deeply invested,
maybe more than what
people are comfortable with.
So here's a question:
what, if anything, are you
trying to say about yourself?
And I ask that
because these Games
are for all global citizens,
not just for Michael
Thomas Aquinas Prince.
Well, Gayle, I could throw
the famous
Roosevelt quote at you
about getting in the ring.
But instead, I'll give
you some Dusty Rhodes.
Okay.
"Let me tell you
something, Daddy.
"I am the bull of the
woods, and it ain't my dream.
It's the American dream."
Now be careful you don't
accidentally get in the
way of a bionic elbow.
Duly noted. And ouch.
Is that the purpose
of the traditional run?
- That people all around...
- Wow, look at that.
A couple of bona
fide heroes, huh?
Split times are no joke.
Especially into mile eight.
Really?
And for Prince
to stay with her...
that's no mean feat.
And the guy's got a day job
with pretty decent remuneration.
They ought to bottle his sweat
and sell it for a million
dollars an ounce.
I'm surprised--
shocked, really--
to see you succumb to
the testosterone-infused
stylings of this guy.
You don't buy into
him carrying the torch
for all of New York City, then?
Oh, yes, of course.
The great man carries
the torch for us all.
Be a real shame if
the bull of the woods
got his big run canceled and
ended up hanging on a hook.
The question is, how?
What's the only thing worse
than not getting what you want?
Getting what you want,
but having it ripped
from your hands.
It's like I hired my own twin.
Anyone know what
"sic 'em" actually means?
It's a command originating
from the order for attack dogs
to seek, to pursue
with lethal focus.
Now, if you own a
great dog, a loyal dog,
a dog that would kill for
you on that command,
as every person here
would for each other,
you're very careful not to
speak that command loosely.
You save those words
for when the target is clear
and the moment is exactly right.
The rest of the time,
you rein them in,
keep them fed but not full,
exercised and ready to go.
Now, why am I giving you
this little canine chalk-talk?
Because the Olympic
Games are going to present
an opportunity
for maximal profits,
and so I want everyone
here to free up some capital.
Sell off that which
you've been holding on
for the same reason
a college senior
holds on to her high
school yearbook,
for sentiment and comfort.
And remember what it was
like when the future was brighter
than a shiny red F-150.
When you say free
up some capital...?
I mean sell the house,
go west and find the gold
before the next guy does.
Games open
a window for sure,
but I don't want to
dump out of great shit
on some flyer.
To respectfully
echo that concern,
maybe some of us
could sit this one out.
I don't mind the bench.
Well, when you own
dogs, you feed them all,
but you save the freshest
meat for those that don't hesitate.
Find the best ways
into new plays,
and I'll back your
move with the main fund.
Targets will be transportation,
recommendation apps,
keycard entry
systems, personnel,
and hospitality start-ups.
Give Airbnb a good scare.
We're allocating
based on performance.
- Whose book has done the best.
- I'll be getting into--
Hold that thought.
Philip get first pick.
He's outperformed
everyone lately.
Thanks.
I'll take air travel,
aim to secure official airline
sponsorship for the Games.
I already started
working on Hypersonic,
a new high-tech
passenger airline
that travels 3X
the sound barrier.
I've done the research,
and I'm in the process
of building a
relationship with the CEO.
Good. You can
put Philip in touch.
I'm happy to let
Taylor go first if they want.
Take Hypersonic, I can see
you're emotionally invested.
I'll go with self-driving
cars instead.
Similar sponsorship
opportunities.
But next time I get
first pick, I'll be taking it.
No sympathy.
Okay.
Divvy up the rest.
Now, where my dogs at?
Sic 'em!
I don't think I've
ever actually seen
a rich, powerful
man enjoy it before.
Moments like this, if
you don't actually enjoy it,
what's the darn point?
Where do you go when
you need to breathe a little?
I have a wonderful library
on the first floor of my duplex.
Great old 78 player.
And a 60-year-old
Speyside single malt.
But your family's there.
That makes it all
the more pleasant.
Shit.
Hit me with the real of it.
I'm moving in
with Chelz, my girl,
and she wants me to get
rid my rooms at the Pierre.
I want to make her happy,
but I can't do it, not yet.
I'll move out and in with her,
but I can't actually
let the suite go.
So I was thinking you could let
me put them under your name.
I'd pay, of course,
off the books.
For a host of reasons,
primary among them
that I don't believe this
serves you or your relationship,
I say no.
I also say-- and I mean this--
if you ever find you need
a moment to breathe,
come on over to my place.
There's more than enough
60-year to go around.
I'll do it.
You can put the
rooms in my name.
Really?
I can tell that's what
you need, not a pep talk.
It's like at Brown,
they didn't lecture
you not to do Molly.
Instead, some students
gave you a testing kit
to make sure it's actually
Molly you're doing.
And they hope eventually
you'll just decide to quit.
God fucking bless them.
And you.
Well, I hope you're
enjoying the city, Miss Brett.
Or do you prefer Katerina?
We do not yet know each other.
Then Miss Brett it is.
Thank you very
much for seeing us.
I'm a big, big Olympics person.
- One of my first memories
was watching Klammer
on the downhill.
Couldn't believe the
way he got up in the air
yet stayed on the course.
Inspired me to
try to do the same
in my chosen field.
The Games mean
something like this to so many.
And I never tire of hearing it.
The majesty,
the patriotic pride,
the striving for excellence.
That's all why I
was so glad, at first,
to know that they were
coming to New York.
From my understanding,
you wanted to stop them.
Oh, once I found out who
was bringing them to New York,
and whom he was working
with-- a certain Colin Drache--
then, yes, I took action.
Not to stop the Games.
No, to protect them from
disgrace, from shame.
But this Drache is not the one
person involved with Prince.
He put together a top group.
Every important business
leader in New York.
Surely they are
not all "in on it."
They may not know every
move that Prince has made, but--
Every four years
the rumors start.
This is how I know the
Games are really about to begin.
Oh, no, no, no, no.
Much more than that here.
You have a case to present
against Michael
Prince and his group?
Let me answer
that with a question.
Do you believe an
animal-- a bear, say--
can commit crimes
against nature,
even though that bear is only
doing what he was made to do?
- I do not.
- Ah.
Then you've never
seen such an animal
engaging in an activity
called high-grading, have you?
- Hmm?
- This is when
the bears are in the last
stages of hyperphagia.
They're eating twenty, thirty,
forty thousand calories a day
to ready themselves
for winter's hibernation.
Now in the beginning,
they catch a salmon,
they eat a salmon.
Natural. As intended.
Yes. But towards the end,
the bears are mostly full.
The supply could be
cut off and they'd be fine.
They'd sail through the winter.
But they don't stop eating.
Instead, they become very picky.
The bears grab the
salmon in their mouths,
they turn them inside out,
devour only the brain and skin,
and throw the rest away.
Now, they are gorging on
only the most choice bits,
killing because they
can, because they want to,
not out of need...
and leaving a giant pile of
mostly whole, skinned salmon
sitting there to rot in the sun.
I'll admit this is a
disturbing image.
It should be.
And Mike Prince is
one of those bears.
Society is the river, the
citizens are the salmon.
And now he wants the Games, too?
It's high-grading.
I understand what you're saying.
I also understand that it means
you don't have any real
evidence of corruption
or anything else.
When you do,
I will act right along with you.
Until then, I move forward.
"Until then, I move
forward"? Come the fuck on.
We break Prince
off from his friends.
That's how he loses the Games.
With a threat to
take their money,
a convincing fucking threat.
- I can think of a few.
- Yeah.
There's one they're
particularly worried about.
Long promised.
Now we have to
make it come true.
We're going to tax their asses.
Yes, we are.
Here they are, the A-Team.
More like
heroes of the city.
They cheered for me
when I walked into Marea.
Some people stood.
That's good. I got
invited to join Augusta,
- which is better.
- Me too.
We should play a
round. Met Gala?
- Yep.
- Yep.
Love what I'm hearing.
It's what I expected.
Ah.
Miss Brett, welcome.
We are partners
now. Call me Katerina.
Congratulations
on your winning bid
and to this powerhouse
organization.
We're going to put
on a spectacular show.
I particularly love this
one-man torch relay
you have been training for.
This is already
driving huge traffic
to the ICS website.
Well, that was the intention.
We have all the
city's key real estate.
A whole array of
resources, really.
Which is why I have
assembled this group,
so I can deploy each
of their special gifts.
We already have
the entire bid office
converted to headquarters.
We're getting right to work.
Just wait till you see
the extent of the plans
- I have in place.
- Oh, before that.
A word.
Your attorney general is
telling an ugly story of bribery.
Don't they always?
Yes, of course,
as I suggested when
he came to see me.
- He visited you in person?
- He did.
And he had nothing when pressed.
Because, as you know,
nothing untoward happened.
If that reveals itself
to be otherwise,
you and I will be having
a completely
different conversation.
Great job.
First gold medal
of this Olympic era.
- Nice work, guy.
- Use me as your Jim Kiick.
Follow behind
and get your yards.
I will.
- What's the thing?
- Philip nabbed 10% of AutoTelic.
Plus they're donating
500 self-driving cars
for athlete transpo
during the Games.
Huge win.
The compressed timeline
to get the cars ready
means AutoTelic gets the
largest urban beta phase
in the history of
self-driving cars.
Good for all of them.
I need a huge fucking win.
Megan.
Shit.
Superhero stuff right
here in front of me.
Ah, I just worked a little
harder than the other ones.
Here's what I see:
someone with the
rarest of abilities.
And you inspire people.
You take them out
of their day-to-day
and give them an
injection of hope.
- I try.
- But you understand it.
I'm head performance
coach for the Olympics, and...
I'm trying to build out my team.
And I don't want a bunch
of performance shrinks
who haven't been out there.
I mean, the thing is, you
have to really consider
every word when
talking to an athlete
who are trying to perform
at the highest level.
It's one thing to have
a coach yell at us,
but if I let you
into my psyche...
This is exactly
what I need to hear.
And why I want you
to be my partner in this.
I'm in.
Not while I'm playing.
Cool.
That's the sixth generation,
taken at the
beginning of the flight
when we found out that
9.5 Gs was a bit too much.
- G-LOC.
- No.
Too much for the plane.
The fuselage buckled.
Had to punch out.
- Maté?
- No, thanks.
The projections on your
company are off the charts.
Business is secondary.
I know aircraft.
Delta wing design,
new composite materials,
tri-spool configuration.
Commercial travel's at
the stagecoach phase.
Hypersonic will
be like locomotives.
Make the world crossable.
Make things possible.
That's how I got back
from Australia so fast.
And that was just
in the Mini Hype.
Does Mach 2.2.
The Symphony will do
2.8 with 75 souls aboard.
Which is why my firm's
ready to take a big position
at the opening tomorrow,
but I wanted to discuss
a bigger partnership.
Don't want partners.
Don't like them.
Sure, ones who don't know
that the single crystal nickel alloy
that allows your engines to
operate above melting point
is the key to your tech.
You know about
high-bypass turbofans.
My principal just brought
the Olympics to New York,
and we need the ability
to fly in teams, fans, fast,
from far and wide.
- From Tokyo in eight hours--
- Six--
Once you start flying
passengers, of course.
But before that, you'll
need a bigger market cap,
which will give you
freedom with your board.
- I can give all that to you.
- How?
By making Hypersonic
the official airline
of the New York Games.
Fuck me.
We've got a hell of a lot to
talk about, my new friend.
Sure you don't want a maté?
Sure, I'll take one.
Azucar or amargo?
Gotta whip it. Whip it good.
It's hard to get
the state legislature
to go against the people whose
money put them in their seats.
That's why they call it
whipping the vote. Never easy.
Plus, we only need the
threats, not the action.
It's got to be convincing.
If we can get this
cabal of Prince's
to believe we're
finally going to close
the carried interest loophole...
And that all their capital gains
will suddenly be
considered income
at the state level, too.
That's a 22% tax hit for them.
Cap gains is
their very lifeblood.
Truth is, the
people will love this.
We just have to remind
our state reps of it,
that there's some things more
important than deep pockets.
- How do you do that?
- Well, Dave,
some things haven't changed
since Hugh Carey put
on his first straw boater.
You go into their world,
you speak their language,
you solve their problems.
You offer them friendship.
Albany is as Albany ever was.
Instead of duckpin bowling,
you show up just when
they need the help,
when their constituents
are about to rebel
because their property
taxes have been raised.
And you help remind
those constituents
just how powerful
their representative is.
And, of course, you
do the bandstand circuit
of bar mitzvahs, confirmations,
christenings and the like.
Sometimes, you recreate
with these fine folks,
up in the deer
stand or on the lake.
And, most crucially...
you feel their pain.
So I know you must've
anticipated this part,
even as we scare
them with the state tax,
they don't have to pull
support of the Games.
They're rich enough.
They can move themselves
and their firms out
of state to avoid it.
Ah, now we're talking
about the interstate compact.
- Yep.
- Which is why
you're going to
rope the governors
of neighboring and
other likely states
into a dinner to
make that compact.
They're not going
to agree to something
as jacked up as
that over dinner,
no matter how good the wine is.
They don't have to.
They don't even need to know
why they're coming to dinner.
They just need to come,
so give them a good reason.
Your guy's going to want
to be there, believe me,
or he'll be caught out.
We're bringing an antitrust case
against medical monopolies.
These bloodsuckers slowed
down essential testing,
shunted off patient care.
They made money
off the pandemic.
Fuck Big Health!
Well, it's a slam dunk
with your constituents,
so you'd better
get your boss there.
And two other governors
have already committed.
And it's going to be
a hell of a meal too.
Yeah.
So I'll see you there.
Hypersonic. Big plans for them.
They're positioned
and ready to go.
The elevator pitch is:
faster than the Concorde,
more accessible than Jet Blue,
and safer than
your mother's Volvo.
Do I have your blessing?
- You seem convinced.
- I am.
Then I am.
You know the "four out of
five dentists surveyed" thing
about Trident being
better for your teeth?
Apparently I'm
the fifth dentist.
- Meaning?
- We need to hold up a sec.
On Hypersonic.
I haven't been able
to independently verify
the tech claims
in their literature.
I see.
Well, we can't wait.
I got clearance, and I want to
size up before the stock moves.
The sizing you're suggesting
goes outside usual
risk parameters.
Because we are-- I am--
taking into account guaranteed
growth from the Games.
Guarantees don't even work
when you buy mangoes online.
Look, big positions
lead to big wins.
Is the big win on
Hypersonic, or against Philip?
I'm tempted to stand here
like Siddhartha until you relent.
Sidd's father knew the kid
would stand there until he died.
You got more Govinda in you.
So we both know
you'll give it up
the second you get
lightheaded from hunger.
Oh, and the fifth dentist?
He caved and agreed
with the other ones.
We're completing the buy.
- It's me.
- Good evening, sir.
Well, uh, good day
to you, I suppose.
You're a tough man to reach.
Where the heck have you--?
Sat phone's only
on an hour a day.
Makes the untraceable
more untraceable.
- Protocol, you know.
- Fine, listen...
if there were inquiries,
would our status be solid?
Quite.
Untraceable. Everything's
locked, my friend.
Mm-hmm. Most everyone
who's fallen thought that.
Please. Amateurs.
Right.
You know her better than I do.
Can I count on Katerina
Brett to stay locked
even if there's noise?
Oh, Michael, Michael...
Miss Brett is a mercenary type
who cares about a
proper Games above all.
She will not
countenance impropriety.
You understand?
So, in that way, yeah, you
can count on her absolutely.
- Boss--
- Oh, none of that. No, no.
You're no junior.
I paraphrase the modern
philosopher Steve Parish:
I am not the boss.
You are not the boss.
The situation, that's
the damn boss.
I didn't read
Parish at university.
Well, philosophy
was his sideline.
His main gig was lead
roadie for the Grateful Dead.
And his experience
on that long, strange trip
taught him, you
think you're the boss
right until the car breaks down.
At which point, it is revealed
the carburetor is the boss.
Well, right now, the situation
is an uncooperative boss
who goes by the name
of Governor Sweeney.
He has a conflict and
won't attend the dinner.
He is willing to
come a different night.
No, that's the complication,
not the situation.
The situation is,
we need him there.
That's the driver.
That's the boss.
That's why I'm
bringing it to you.
Yeah.
You know, I bet old Steve
Parish would recognize
that Sweeney is Buridan's ass...
caught between hay and water,
equally hungry and thirsty.
We have to convince
him to come our way,
or risk ending up dead.
...for that report.
Let's do more on this.
Our emerging action segment...
- Whoa.
You didn't just go
big on Hypersonic,
you went Snake River Canyon big.
I'm familiar.
Magic Valley region
of southern Idaho.
It's more of an Evel
Knievel reference.
The daredevil.
I've kept myself in
the dark about him
because his politics were...
The suits, though.
I'll admit I like
the suits. Colorful.
He tried to jump it. The canyon.
Made him the most famous
man in America for a summer,
Ali excepted.
I assume Ali is always excepted
from statements like that.
The problem was,
Snake River Canyon
can't be jumped.
Not by a motorcycle.
So Evel built himself a
steam-powered rocket
called the Skycycle
X-2 and tried to fly over.
And instead, the most
famous man in America...
Ali excepted.
...became the biggest
joke in America.
Whole nation watched
that Skycycle malfunction,
trip the parachute, and
Evel drift to the bottom.
His rep never recovered.
And you think
Hypersonic is the Skycycle.
I think it's unproven and
untested in just the same way.
And you came in here as
a compatriot to warn me,
not as a competitor
trying to dislodge me
from a winning position, sure.
This doesn't have
to be a competition.
If that were true, you
wouldn't be standing there.
I may not be rooting
for you to beat me,
but I am not rooting
against you, either.
A big win for you
won't do me any harm,
but you will screw everyone
if you take a big loss.
True in theory, yet
unlikely in practical terms.
You and I both know
your position is way too big.
For you maybe.
That's fine. Stay
safe at street level.
But as Mr. Knievel
might have put it,
I'm gonna rev my
engines and jump.
House rules?
Uh, this contains
certain unmentionables,
which will remain just that.
Keep my paws off
the top drawer. Got it.
No, no. The whole highboy.
And the armoire.
And the bottom
shelf in the bathroom.
And the top shelf
in the bathroom.
And the cabinet over the toilet.
I'll just steer clear of
the bathroom altogether.
Not that I'll ever be here
anyway, but of course.
I'll reimburse you on
Venmo in varying amounts,
balancing it out
every three months.
Under "what it's for,"
it'll say "sports bet."
Ooh, better mark those private.
Your gal could be stalking
your Venmo if she's suspicious.
- Stalking Venmo is a thing?
- It is.
Innovation sucks.
Could I maybe get
your POV on something?
It's slightly sketch.
"Slightly sketch" is
my nom de guerre.
You know what?
It was more of
an inside thought.
I get that.
I don't have as many
of those as I used to.
But I get it.
Governor, I need you
in the lineup tonight.
Oh, Chuck, I have to deal
with the Big Ugly tonight.
Everything the state legislature
hasn't voted on tonight gets--
Yes, reconciled,
voted on, decided.
- And you need to ratify.
- So you see--
No, I see that
you can do it all.
The Big Ugly doesn't wrap
until the wee small
hours of the morning,
and not even Nelson
Riddle could arrange it
so this excuse works on me.
And it is better for
you to be at this dinner.
If you don't go,
you will miss out on
this giant antitrust case,
which'll look bad for you.
I'm not as smart as you, Chuck.
No.
So I can't outthink you.
So I got to use
my instincts on this.
And they're telling me
not to go to this dinner
because you seem
to want me there.
Why?
Huh? Why there? Why then?
I just feel like you're
setting me up for something.
It's a trick,
and I'm just going to end
up looking like a schmuck.
- So, no, thanks.
Fine. Don't go.
In fact, yes, I'll admit
it, your gut is right.
It might be best for
you to leave it to me
and the other governors.
Talk soon, pally.
- Wait. Hold it.
- Mm-hmm.
That was too easy.
You asked me to come
so I'd feel included,
but you follow up here
so I couldn't say later
that you should have told
me it was important to be there.
Ah-ha, you-- you
don't want me to go.
And if I don't go,
I'm going to end up
looking like a schmuck.
- Ah.
Is that what I really want?
Ooh, wait--
- It actually works.
- Yeah!
- Wild!
The night you gave this to me...
It was the night before the
first company went public.
I found it in some
Sharper Image catalog,
or Hammacher Schlemmer, maybe.
The thought of us being like
those characters in Wall Street
was too funny to me.
We were too nervous to eat.
Never opened it.
Glad I kept this thing.
I mean, that would be sweet,
but I know you had
someone buy 20 of them
and stash them in
every home, just in case.
I still love that you
brought it out now.
Damn.
Well, I haven't ever
used it, any of them.
I know that too.
You're romantic.
Always have been.
Let me prove it to you.
Move in.
Move your stuff in, at least.
Forget a hotel, or
some other apartment,
on your trips here
for the Games.
I'm here now. What
more do you need?
I need it all.
You know that's the
reason I did the thing, right?
Got the Games
here in the first place?
No, you did it to
replenish the energy
and relevance coffers
of New York City,
along with the actual ones.
Yeah. Both.
I'm not the kind of person
who would ever assume
that level of gesture is for me,
even from you.
Which is why you warrant it.
And now you don't
have to assume.
We're a quorum.
Good. Let's begin.
I only came because you said
our futures were in the balance.
Oh, your lives are about
to change in a brutal way.
The carried interest
loophole is about to be closed.
Okay,
Rhoades, sure it is.
You know, this
happens every few years,
but there's never the
political will to pass it.
Student loan forgiveness.
Free universal health care.
There are a lot of big
ideas in flux right now,
but the loophole
isn't one with teeth.
Ah-ha, but tonight is
a very special night.
Have you ever
heard of the Big Ugly?
No?
Well, it's the last night
of the legislative session,
when all outstanding business
is voted on and passed.
You see, the Assembly
can't call it a night until it all is.
And tonight there is an
item that I have jammed
into a certain bill that
will also be passing:
closing the carried
interest loophole.
You fucking kidding me?
- Jesus Christ.
- Hold on, gang.
No need to sweat
through your Speed Stick.
Loophole closes, it's easy
enough to move a residence
or office or a server to
Jersey or Connecticut,
or even Pennsylvania
for tax filing purposes,
because as Chuck well knows,
without a little something
called an interstate compact,
meaning if those
other states don't agree
to closing the loophole too...
we're in the clear.
What do you think they're
agreeing to right now?
Those governors,
with my second-in-command
locking it all in.
Oh fuck.
Yeah.
So you fund managers can
kiss your cap gains rate goodbye
and suck on straight income tax.
But what's another 22% in
taxes between friends, huh?
Between city, state and federal,
this now brings
you right up to 50%.
Oh, and you guys
who just invest,
don't think they won't pass
the pain along to you in fees.
A few billion bucks
between you all...
next year alone.
Welcome to fucking Cuba, kids.
But you're showing
us before it closed.
That's no accident.
Lazarra, you must be one
tough out at Russian roulette.
So, what do we need to do
to get the bullet out of the gun?
Whoo! Yeah!
"I've seen better tennis
playing in a tampon commercial."
What the fuck?
Crap.
I needed to unplug.
Had to get away from
my roommate, you know?
Last time I had a roommate
was Chuck Sheen
at Promises in Malibu.
I don't have a roommate either.
I needed...
I needed to think.
Or not think.
What are you stressing
over? You're 12.
You want to talk it out?
Unpopular opinion:
Youth makes stress
worse, not better.
Like, I don't know
what the fuck I'm doing
with a certain work matter.
I don't know if I
should trust myself.
Ah, a real problem.
Thus, the Cheetos.
Yeah.
I found something on
Hypersonic, and it's bad.
Full on, not good, bad.
But Taylor doesn't
want to hear that shit.
That's been made
abundantly clear.
So I don't know what to do.
I've already pushed.
They're the genius, and I'm 12.
But this time they're wrong.
Is there a trade I can kill?
Too late. It's locked.
People who really
know about investing--
and I'm not talking about
cocktail party expert
bullshitters like me,
I mean real operators--
say, the bigger the position,
the more stress there
is on the research.
And if that research
shows a crack,
you better fucking
act on it ASAP.
If you freeze in the
moment, you're a corpse.
I can do it for you,
but the truth is,
you can't let your boss
eat a giant shitburger.
In the end, they will blame you.
You've got to have the
courage to tell Taylor yourself.
Is this like a way for you
to sort of hedge your bet?
This place?
Because I was in a
relationship a while back.
We moved in together,
but we each kept a
locked-drawer file cabinet
in the name of privacy
and independence.
Some real Edgar Allan
Poe shit started happening
about what was in
each other's drawer.
I'm not going to say that's
why it didn't work out...
but it didn't work out.
I guess I'm saying,
hedging's for work, not this.
And if I do it again, it'll
be open drawers only.
Not locked.
Yeah.
Where have you been?
The whole world just blew up.
I need you to look past
my glowing complexion
and focus on what
you need to hear.
You're not acting on logic.
What am I acting on?
Jealousy.
The Hypersonic
investment is totally fucked,
and so are we.
Fucked how?
A small aerospace
company of a different name--
a front for Hypersonic--
secretly tested the technology.
This highly pressurized
super stratosphere shit.
- And?
- Dalton's Law,
Graham's Law, Henry's Law.
There are major problems
with their tech and
aviation physiology.
Static pressure at
the altitude they fly,
resulting in pulmonary
hypertension,
clotting, embolisms.
They're trying to fix
it, but it'll take years.
And when people find out...
Here.
Then "bad" is the right word.
How deep is this link buried?
It took you long
enough to find it.
Don't even think about
pinning this "garbahge" on me.
I felt the spidey
senses tingling.
I tried to come to you.
You were having some
space cowboy moment.
You're right. Crap.
I got sucked in by that
Chuck Yeager-wannabe flyboy.
If I found it,
everyone else will.
Soon.
What do you want to do?
The second we make a move,
we'll alert the market.
It'll take a split second
to connect the dots
from us to MPC to the
Olympics back to Hypersonic.
This fucking stock
will go down to a price
that represents the company's
office furniture and phones.
There's no way to trade out
without taking a massive loss.
Yeah, no.
But sitting on it
could be even worse.
We're gutting
ourselves either way.
Yeah Yeah, I'm out that Brooklyn
Now I'm down in Tribeca
Right next to De Niro
- But I'll be 'hood forever
And since I made it here
I can make it anywhere
Yeah, they love me Everywhere
- Sorry to barge.
- Couldn't reach you.
Didn't want to be reached.
The phone was off for a reason.
Took it to my stashbox
560 State Street
Catch me in the kitchen like
A Simmons whippin' pastries
And so it's clear that
there was a conspiracy
to bring the Games to New York
by whatever underhanded method
was deemed most expedient.
Had we known,
and I speak for all
of us on this stage,
we never would have been
party to such malfeasance.
Yes.
We know Michael
Prince led the effort
and engaged in these
actions by himself.
These men and women
were unknowingly brought in
to an attempt to commit
bribery at a very high level.
You got to be kidding me, Mike.
It's B.S., Andy.
Every friend
who betrayed you,
I'll hunt each and every one of
them down and skin them alive.
I'll do it because I want
to, and I'll do it for you.
Yeah, I appreciate it, but no.
I'm going to need them later.
Look, this is bad,
but it's not over till
the ICS says it is.
I need to talk to Katerina.
Thanks.
Not even Dollar Bill could help
me pawn it off anonymously.
No one wanted the
block? Spartan-Ives?
The Sovereign Wealth Funds?
- Some dumb Third World despot?
- They smelled it.
We're going to have to
wait until the market opens,
try to bleed it off
share by share.
No. We can't do anything.
Our hands are tied
as long as Hypersonic's
bound to the Olympics.
You going to tell Prince?
What?
That I fell prey to
first instinct fallacy
like some rube stumbled
on the monte table
along the midway?
- You outplayed me this time.
I pray to the Good
Lord in heaven
this is the last time
we have to hondle.
You're welcome, Todd.
As long as we're square.
That we are.
Thank you.
- Well, they did their part.
Yep, I guess I
have a bill to pull.
Or we let it go to a
vote, see if it passes.
The Big Ugly's on our side.
If it goes through,
it would be New York's
most aggressive wealth reform
since FDR was
bankrolling La Guardia.
Could become a test
case for the nation.
The world.
Mm-hmm.
Oh, that's fucking tempting.
So I say we clock
out for the night.
Leave it to fate.
No.
No, if I do that,
break my word to this camarilla,
I lose all future leverage.
And your future in the
public sector goes extinct.
Without an actual
interstate compact,
which was really just
a fancy-tasting dinner,
the whole thing's
toothless anyway, and...
and I have to be
honorable to my word.
Even in this. So we pull it.
And then we take the office
out for a celebratory pop.
Pull the damn thing.
Yanking like Pee
Wee Herman himself.
We can work through this
and still do great things together.
You're looking at the only man
who can bring the
Olympics to New York.
- Baseless charges.
- Utter bullshit.
Katerina, standing
against these tactics
is the only way we can protect
the Games from real corruption.
You should refer
to me as Miss Brett.
I gave this a chance to go away,
but I am afraid the New
York Games are tainted now.
My statement is about
to go up on the ICS site.
After an unfortunate
series of developments,
the ICS has come
to the conclusion
that the 2028 Games
can no longer be
held in New York City.
Fortunately, after talking to
the organizers in Los Angeles,
they will be ready
to host the Games,
with brand-new sponsors
and renovated stadiums.
Man, that sucks
for our Mikey Prince.
Yes, it does.
But it doesn't suck for us. Me.
This news is our boarding
pass out of our fucked situation.
We can make a statement
saying that we're exiting our position
because Hypersonic
will no longer be
the official airline of
the New York Games,
since L.A. will make
their own airline deal.
We're going to take a hit.
Damn right we are.
But 10, 15%, not 80.
This will be the story long
enough for us to evacuate
before the real news gets out.
That their planes will
fucking hospitalize you?
Exactly.
I figured there might
be one person at this company
who wasn't upset the
Games just went bye-bye.
I also figured
you'd need help unloading
the shares at the open.
Yes, another set of
hands would be good.
Good. These hands
are gonna start
by getting some coffee going.
It's not the particular
memories in this place.
It's the idea that this is
where my memories happened.
But now, new memories.
And no secret rooms.
Or secret compartments out here.
Or up there.
That's the idea.
Never did it before.
Never even tried.
Well, we'll try together.
Yeah, we will.
All in. It's time.
Before you got to go Go, go, go
I wanted you to know
Know, know, know
You're always on my mind
- Hi.
- Hi.
I'd ask how it went, but I
saw the announcement.
Yeah.
Where you going?
My hotel. I need to
pack. It's an early flight.
I can change that, you
know. It is my plane.
I know, but I need to
get home and organized.
I missed too much time already,
and I need to start booting
things back up in L.A.
- Ouch.
- Sorry.
But...
I guess we're back
where we started.
In some ways.
In others, not.
Our thing's been dormant,
switched off for years...
because of distance.
Not just distance, you know?
It's switched back
on now, unless...
I hate to say it,
but if this grand gesture of
yours was really about us--
It was, as I said.
I was trying to bend the world
to my specifications to do it.
Well, that's the way it goes
when you try and do that.
It doesn't work.
You used to say that
in the beginning with us.
Before.
It's gone my way plenty since.
Yeah, I can see that.
But the world's a
beast sometimes.
You said you'd
be willing to travel
before you knew it was
going to be here, so...
Of course. I'll be in Colorado,
then L.A. every weekend.
Or every other.
Good.
I'll see you next weekend.
For sure.
Well, not next weekend,
'cause the fallout from this
is going to be...
I know.
I'll see you when I see you.
Call me when you get this
Before you got to go Go, go, go
I wanted you to know
Know, know, know
Hey!
I be Spike'd out
I could trip a referee
Tell by my attitude
That I'm most Definitely from
- In New York - Hey, ah-ha
Concrete jungle Where
dreams are made of
There's nothing You can't do
- Yeah - Now you're in New York
Ah-ha, ah-ha, ah-ha
These streets will make
you Feel brand-new
Big lights will inspire you
- Let's hear it for New
York - You're welcome, OG
- New York, New
York - I made you hot...
Catch me at the X with
OG At a Yankee game
Shit, I made the Yankee hat
More famous then a Yankee can
You should know I bleed blue
But I ain't a Crip, though
But I got a gang of...
Walking with my clique Though
Welcome to the melting pot
Corners where We selling rock
Afrika Bambaataa shit
Home of the hip-hop
Yellow cab, gypsy cab
Dollar cab, holla back
For foreigners It ain't fair
They act like they
forgot How to act
Eight million stories
Out there in the naked
City is a pity Half
of y'all won't make it
Me, I got a plug Special
Ed, "I Got It Made"
If Jeezy's payin' LeBron
I'm payin' Dwyane Wade
Three-dice cee-lo
Three-card monte
Labor Day Parade,
Rest in peace, Bob Marley
Statue of Liberty Long
live the World Trade
Long live the King, yo
I'm from the
Empire State That's--
- In New York - Hey
Concrete jungle Where
dreams are made of
There's nothing You can't do
The
Olympic Games in 2028
are awarded to...
New York City.
- My guess is,
somewhere inside this
is a direct bribe of sorts.
A quid pro quo.
The Olympics.
You want to be on the
performance coaching team.
To run it.
Use my talents to
turn those athletes
into medal machines.
Done.
I can't stay. You can come with,
but I have to go back
to the St. Regis to pack.
- Pack?
- Before the Games,
I need to spend
time in the mountains.
Yeah, but I thought we
were going to try here. Us.
The Olympics mean
something very different to me
than they do to you.
This is everything
I ever worked for,
and I need you to do the work
and climb for the kiss.
Yes. You're right.
And I will.
Prince
didn't pull this off
all by his lonesome.
So we separate Prince
from his power base.
Let him fall like the
smoke from the fireworks
drifting down on this fine city.
Prince, let's go. Wake up.
Get your shit on. Time to go.
How cold is it out there?
We're not doing that.
Let's go, come on.
I guess that's
why I hired Gabby Reece.
The worst
thing that can happen
is a person gets comfortable,
and then they think the
world is a comfortable place.
You have to be comfortable
being uncomfortable.
You catch my drift?
I mean, otherwise,
you would think, like,
this pace is running.
But this is a jog.
Well, it's more like a walk.
It's a long run.
It's not a sprint.
Life is a sprint. You
just hope it's a long one.
When I do this for real,
when I run the
original marathon route,
it'll remind people
of doing hard things,
and the original
meaning of the Games.
The original run into Athens
was to bring a message
about a war that
was finally won.
And the messenger, he died
because his cardio was crap.
And you know what? You
haven't won a damn war yet.
Come on! Pick it up!
- All right.
- Okay, thanks.
There he is.
Good to see you, Mike.
We saved a seat for you.
Good to see you.
Very impressive pace. Bravo.
I'm just trying to stay
loose, turn my mind off.
It's the closest thing
I know to meditation.
But this particular run has
a higher purpose, doesn't it?
I want to celebrate what
humans are capable of.
And, yes, when I do this
run in the summer months
before the Games begin,
I hope thousands join
me all around the world.
Millions, even, just to
help welcome the Games
to New York City.
But that is the purpose
of the traditional run, right?
People all around the world
get to carry the torch
to the destination.
But with you, it
seems very personal.
You seem, some
say, deeply invested,
maybe more than what
people are comfortable with.
So here's a question:
what, if anything, are you
trying to say about yourself?
And I ask that
because these Games
are for all global citizens,
not just for Michael
Thomas Aquinas Prince.
Well, Gayle, I could throw
the famous
Roosevelt quote at you
about getting in the ring.
But instead, I'll give
you some Dusty Rhodes.
Okay.
"Let me tell you
something, Daddy.
"I am the bull of the
woods, and it ain't my dream.
It's the American dream."
Now be careful you don't
accidentally get in the
way of a bionic elbow.
Duly noted. And ouch.
Is that the purpose
of the traditional run?
- That people all around...
- Wow, look at that.
A couple of bona
fide heroes, huh?
Split times are no joke.
Especially into mile eight.
Really?
And for Prince
to stay with her...
that's no mean feat.
And the guy's got a day job
with pretty decent remuneration.
They ought to bottle his sweat
and sell it for a million
dollars an ounce.
I'm surprised--
shocked, really--
to see you succumb to
the testosterone-infused
stylings of this guy.
You don't buy into
him carrying the torch
for all of New York City, then?
Oh, yes, of course.
The great man carries
the torch for us all.
Be a real shame if
the bull of the woods
got his big run canceled and
ended up hanging on a hook.
The question is, how?
What's the only thing worse
than not getting what you want?
Getting what you want,
but having it ripped
from your hands.
It's like I hired my own twin.
Anyone know what
"sic 'em" actually means?
It's a command originating
from the order for attack dogs
to seek, to pursue
with lethal focus.
Now, if you own a
great dog, a loyal dog,
a dog that would kill for
you on that command,
as every person here
would for each other,
you're very careful not to
speak that command loosely.
You save those words
for when the target is clear
and the moment is exactly right.
The rest of the time,
you rein them in,
keep them fed but not full,
exercised and ready to go.
Now, why am I giving you
this little canine chalk-talk?
Because the Olympic
Games are going to present
an opportunity
for maximal profits,
and so I want everyone
here to free up some capital.
Sell off that which
you've been holding on
for the same reason
a college senior
holds on to her high
school yearbook,
for sentiment and comfort.
And remember what it was
like when the future was brighter
than a shiny red F-150.
When you say free
up some capital...?
I mean sell the house,
go west and find the gold
before the next guy does.
Games open
a window for sure,
but I don't want to
dump out of great shit
on some flyer.
To respectfully
echo that concern,
maybe some of us
could sit this one out.
I don't mind the bench.
Well, when you own
dogs, you feed them all,
but you save the freshest
meat for those that don't hesitate.
Find the best ways
into new plays,
and I'll back your
move with the main fund.
Targets will be transportation,
recommendation apps,
keycard entry
systems, personnel,
and hospitality start-ups.
Give Airbnb a good scare.
We're allocating
based on performance.
- Whose book has done the best.
- I'll be getting into--
Hold that thought.
Philip get first pick.
He's outperformed
everyone lately.
Thanks.
I'll take air travel,
aim to secure official airline
sponsorship for the Games.
I already started
working on Hypersonic,
a new high-tech
passenger airline
that travels 3X
the sound barrier.
I've done the research,
and I'm in the process
of building a
relationship with the CEO.
Good. You can
put Philip in touch.
I'm happy to let
Taylor go first if they want.
Take Hypersonic, I can see
you're emotionally invested.
I'll go with self-driving
cars instead.
Similar sponsorship
opportunities.
But next time I get
first pick, I'll be taking it.
No sympathy.
Okay.
Divvy up the rest.
Now, where my dogs at?
Sic 'em!
I don't think I've
ever actually seen
a rich, powerful
man enjoy it before.
Moments like this, if
you don't actually enjoy it,
what's the darn point?
Where do you go when
you need to breathe a little?
I have a wonderful library
on the first floor of my duplex.
Great old 78 player.
And a 60-year-old
Speyside single malt.
But your family's there.
That makes it all
the more pleasant.
Shit.
Hit me with the real of it.
I'm moving in
with Chelz, my girl,
and she wants me to get
rid my rooms at the Pierre.
I want to make her happy,
but I can't do it, not yet.
I'll move out and in with her,
but I can't actually
let the suite go.
So I was thinking you could let
me put them under your name.
I'd pay, of course,
off the books.
For a host of reasons,
primary among them
that I don't believe this
serves you or your relationship,
I say no.
I also say-- and I mean this--
if you ever find you need
a moment to breathe,
come on over to my place.
There's more than enough
60-year to go around.
I'll do it.
You can put the
rooms in my name.
Really?
I can tell that's what
you need, not a pep talk.
It's like at Brown,
they didn't lecture
you not to do Molly.
Instead, some students
gave you a testing kit
to make sure it's actually
Molly you're doing.
And they hope eventually
you'll just decide to quit.
God fucking bless them.
And you.
Well, I hope you're
enjoying the city, Miss Brett.
Or do you prefer Katerina?
We do not yet know each other.
Then Miss Brett it is.
Thank you very
much for seeing us.
I'm a big, big Olympics person.
- One of my first memories
was watching Klammer
on the downhill.
Couldn't believe the
way he got up in the air
yet stayed on the course.
Inspired me to
try to do the same
in my chosen field.
The Games mean
something like this to so many.
And I never tire of hearing it.
The majesty,
the patriotic pride,
the striving for excellence.
That's all why I
was so glad, at first,
to know that they were
coming to New York.
From my understanding,
you wanted to stop them.
Oh, once I found out who
was bringing them to New York,
and whom he was working
with-- a certain Colin Drache--
then, yes, I took action.
Not to stop the Games.
No, to protect them from
disgrace, from shame.
But this Drache is not the one
person involved with Prince.
He put together a top group.
Every important business
leader in New York.
Surely they are
not all "in on it."
They may not know every
move that Prince has made, but--
Every four years
the rumors start.
This is how I know the
Games are really about to begin.
Oh, no, no, no, no.
Much more than that here.
You have a case to present
against Michael
Prince and his group?
Let me answer
that with a question.
Do you believe an
animal-- a bear, say--
can commit crimes
against nature,
even though that bear is only
doing what he was made to do?
- I do not.
- Ah.
Then you've never
seen such an animal
engaging in an activity
called high-grading, have you?
- Hmm?
- This is when
the bears are in the last
stages of hyperphagia.
They're eating twenty, thirty,
forty thousand calories a day
to ready themselves
for winter's hibernation.
Now in the beginning,
they catch a salmon,
they eat a salmon.
Natural. As intended.
Yes. But towards the end,
the bears are mostly full.
The supply could be
cut off and they'd be fine.
They'd sail through the winter.
But they don't stop eating.
Instead, they become very picky.
The bears grab the
salmon in their mouths,
they turn them inside out,
devour only the brain and skin,
and throw the rest away.
Now, they are gorging on
only the most choice bits,
killing because they
can, because they want to,
not out of need...
and leaving a giant pile of
mostly whole, skinned salmon
sitting there to rot in the sun.
I'll admit this is a
disturbing image.
It should be.
And Mike Prince is
one of those bears.
Society is the river, the
citizens are the salmon.
And now he wants the Games, too?
It's high-grading.
I understand what you're saying.
I also understand that it means
you don't have any real
evidence of corruption
or anything else.
When you do,
I will act right along with you.
Until then, I move forward.
"Until then, I move
forward"? Come the fuck on.
We break Prince
off from his friends.
That's how he loses the Games.
With a threat to
take their money,
a convincing fucking threat.
- I can think of a few.
- Yeah.
There's one they're
particularly worried about.
Long promised.
Now we have to
make it come true.
We're going to tax their asses.
Yes, we are.
Here they are, the A-Team.
More like
heroes of the city.
They cheered for me
when I walked into Marea.
Some people stood.
That's good. I got
invited to join Augusta,
- which is better.
- Me too.
We should play a
round. Met Gala?
- Yep.
- Yep.
Love what I'm hearing.
It's what I expected.
Ah.
Miss Brett, welcome.
We are partners
now. Call me Katerina.
Congratulations
on your winning bid
and to this powerhouse
organization.
We're going to put
on a spectacular show.
I particularly love this
one-man torch relay
you have been training for.
This is already
driving huge traffic
to the ICS website.
Well, that was the intention.
We have all the
city's key real estate.
A whole array of
resources, really.
Which is why I have
assembled this group,
so I can deploy each
of their special gifts.
We already have
the entire bid office
converted to headquarters.
We're getting right to work.
Just wait till you see
the extent of the plans
- I have in place.
- Oh, before that.
A word.
Your attorney general is
telling an ugly story of bribery.
Don't they always?
Yes, of course,
as I suggested when
he came to see me.
- He visited you in person?
- He did.
And he had nothing when pressed.
Because, as you know,
nothing untoward happened.
If that reveals itself
to be otherwise,
you and I will be having
a completely
different conversation.
Great job.
First gold medal
of this Olympic era.
- Nice work, guy.
- Use me as your Jim Kiick.
Follow behind
and get your yards.
I will.
- What's the thing?
- Philip nabbed 10% of AutoTelic.
Plus they're donating
500 self-driving cars
for athlete transpo
during the Games.
Huge win.
The compressed timeline
to get the cars ready
means AutoTelic gets the
largest urban beta phase
in the history of
self-driving cars.
Good for all of them.
I need a huge fucking win.
Megan.
Shit.
Superhero stuff right
here in front of me.
Ah, I just worked a little
harder than the other ones.
Here's what I see:
someone with the
rarest of abilities.
And you inspire people.
You take them out
of their day-to-day
and give them an
injection of hope.
- I try.
- But you understand it.
I'm head performance
coach for the Olympics, and...
I'm trying to build out my team.
And I don't want a bunch
of performance shrinks
who haven't been out there.
I mean, the thing is, you
have to really consider
every word when
talking to an athlete
who are trying to perform
at the highest level.
It's one thing to have
a coach yell at us,
but if I let you
into my psyche...
This is exactly
what I need to hear.
And why I want you
to be my partner in this.
I'm in.
Not while I'm playing.
Cool.
That's the sixth generation,
taken at the
beginning of the flight
when we found out that
9.5 Gs was a bit too much.
- G-LOC.
- No.
Too much for the plane.
The fuselage buckled.
Had to punch out.
- Maté?
- No, thanks.
The projections on your
company are off the charts.
Business is secondary.
I know aircraft.
Delta wing design,
new composite materials,
tri-spool configuration.
Commercial travel's at
the stagecoach phase.
Hypersonic will
be like locomotives.
Make the world crossable.
Make things possible.
That's how I got back
from Australia so fast.
And that was just
in the Mini Hype.
Does Mach 2.2.
The Symphony will do
2.8 with 75 souls aboard.
Which is why my firm's
ready to take a big position
at the opening tomorrow,
but I wanted to discuss
a bigger partnership.
Don't want partners.
Don't like them.
Sure, ones who don't know
that the single crystal nickel alloy
that allows your engines to
operate above melting point
is the key to your tech.
You know about
high-bypass turbofans.
My principal just brought
the Olympics to New York,
and we need the ability
to fly in teams, fans, fast,
from far and wide.
- From Tokyo in eight hours--
- Six--
Once you start flying
passengers, of course.
But before that, you'll
need a bigger market cap,
which will give you
freedom with your board.
- I can give all that to you.
- How?
By making Hypersonic
the official airline
of the New York Games.
Fuck me.
We've got a hell of a lot to
talk about, my new friend.
Sure you don't want a maté?
Sure, I'll take one.
Azucar or amargo?
Gotta whip it. Whip it good.
It's hard to get
the state legislature
to go against the people whose
money put them in their seats.
That's why they call it
whipping the vote. Never easy.
Plus, we only need the
threats, not the action.
It's got to be convincing.
If we can get this
cabal of Prince's
to believe we're
finally going to close
the carried interest loophole...
And that all their capital gains
will suddenly be
considered income
at the state level, too.
That's a 22% tax hit for them.
Cap gains is
their very lifeblood.
Truth is, the
people will love this.
We just have to remind
our state reps of it,
that there's some things more
important than deep pockets.
- How do you do that?
- Well, Dave,
some things haven't changed
since Hugh Carey put
on his first straw boater.
You go into their world,
you speak their language,
you solve their problems.
You offer them friendship.
Albany is as Albany ever was.
Instead of duckpin bowling,
you show up just when
they need the help,
when their constituents
are about to rebel
because their property
taxes have been raised.
And you help remind
those constituents
just how powerful
their representative is.
And, of course, you
do the bandstand circuit
of bar mitzvahs, confirmations,
christenings and the like.
Sometimes, you recreate
with these fine folks,
up in the deer
stand or on the lake.
And, most crucially...
you feel their pain.
So I know you must've
anticipated this part,
even as we scare
them with the state tax,
they don't have to pull
support of the Games.
They're rich enough.
They can move themselves
and their firms out
of state to avoid it.
Ah, now we're talking
about the interstate compact.
- Yep.
- Which is why
you're going to
rope the governors
of neighboring and
other likely states
into a dinner to
make that compact.
They're not going
to agree to something
as jacked up as
that over dinner,
no matter how good the wine is.
They don't have to.
They don't even need to know
why they're coming to dinner.
They just need to come,
so give them a good reason.
Your guy's going to want
to be there, believe me,
or he'll be caught out.
We're bringing an antitrust case
against medical monopolies.
These bloodsuckers slowed
down essential testing,
shunted off patient care.
They made money
off the pandemic.
Fuck Big Health!
Well, it's a slam dunk
with your constituents,
so you'd better
get your boss there.
And two other governors
have already committed.
And it's going to be
a hell of a meal too.
Yeah.
So I'll see you there.
Hypersonic. Big plans for them.
They're positioned
and ready to go.
The elevator pitch is:
faster than the Concorde,
more accessible than Jet Blue,
and safer than
your mother's Volvo.
Do I have your blessing?
- You seem convinced.
- I am.
Then I am.
You know the "four out of
five dentists surveyed" thing
about Trident being
better for your teeth?
Apparently I'm
the fifth dentist.
- Meaning?
- We need to hold up a sec.
On Hypersonic.
I haven't been able
to independently verify
the tech claims
in their literature.
I see.
Well, we can't wait.
I got clearance, and I want to
size up before the stock moves.
The sizing you're suggesting
goes outside usual
risk parameters.
Because we are-- I am--
taking into account guaranteed
growth from the Games.
Guarantees don't even work
when you buy mangoes online.
Look, big positions
lead to big wins.
Is the big win on
Hypersonic, or against Philip?
I'm tempted to stand here
like Siddhartha until you relent.
Sidd's father knew the kid
would stand there until he died.
You got more Govinda in you.
So we both know
you'll give it up
the second you get
lightheaded from hunger.
Oh, and the fifth dentist?
He caved and agreed
with the other ones.
We're completing the buy.
- It's me.
- Good evening, sir.
Well, uh, good day
to you, I suppose.
You're a tough man to reach.
Where the heck have you--?
Sat phone's only
on an hour a day.
Makes the untraceable
more untraceable.
- Protocol, you know.
- Fine, listen...
if there were inquiries,
would our status be solid?
Quite.
Untraceable. Everything's
locked, my friend.
Mm-hmm. Most everyone
who's fallen thought that.
Please. Amateurs.
Right.
You know her better than I do.
Can I count on Katerina
Brett to stay locked
even if there's noise?
Oh, Michael, Michael...
Miss Brett is a mercenary type
who cares about a
proper Games above all.
She will not
countenance impropriety.
You understand?
So, in that way, yeah, you
can count on her absolutely.
- Boss--
- Oh, none of that. No, no.
You're no junior.
I paraphrase the modern
philosopher Steve Parish:
I am not the boss.
You are not the boss.
The situation, that's
the damn boss.
I didn't read
Parish at university.
Well, philosophy
was his sideline.
His main gig was lead
roadie for the Grateful Dead.
And his experience
on that long, strange trip
taught him, you
think you're the boss
right until the car breaks down.
At which point, it is revealed
the carburetor is the boss.
Well, right now, the situation
is an uncooperative boss
who goes by the name
of Governor Sweeney.
He has a conflict and
won't attend the dinner.
He is willing to
come a different night.
No, that's the complication,
not the situation.
The situation is,
we need him there.
That's the driver.
That's the boss.
That's why I'm
bringing it to you.
Yeah.
You know, I bet old Steve
Parish would recognize
that Sweeney is Buridan's ass...
caught between hay and water,
equally hungry and thirsty.
We have to convince
him to come our way,
or risk ending up dead.
...for that report.
Let's do more on this.
Our emerging action segment...
- Whoa.
You didn't just go
big on Hypersonic,
you went Snake River Canyon big.
I'm familiar.
Magic Valley region
of southern Idaho.
It's more of an Evel
Knievel reference.
The daredevil.
I've kept myself in
the dark about him
because his politics were...
The suits, though.
I'll admit I like
the suits. Colorful.
He tried to jump it. The canyon.
Made him the most famous
man in America for a summer,
Ali excepted.
I assume Ali is always excepted
from statements like that.
The problem was,
Snake River Canyon
can't be jumped.
Not by a motorcycle.
So Evel built himself a
steam-powered rocket
called the Skycycle
X-2 and tried to fly over.
And instead, the most
famous man in America...
Ali excepted.
...became the biggest
joke in America.
Whole nation watched
that Skycycle malfunction,
trip the parachute, and
Evel drift to the bottom.
His rep never recovered.
And you think
Hypersonic is the Skycycle.
I think it's unproven and
untested in just the same way.
And you came in here as
a compatriot to warn me,
not as a competitor
trying to dislodge me
from a winning position, sure.
This doesn't have
to be a competition.
If that were true, you
wouldn't be standing there.
I may not be rooting
for you to beat me,
but I am not rooting
against you, either.
A big win for you
won't do me any harm,
but you will screw everyone
if you take a big loss.
True in theory, yet
unlikely in practical terms.
You and I both know
your position is way too big.
For you maybe.
That's fine. Stay
safe at street level.
But as Mr. Knievel
might have put it,
I'm gonna rev my
engines and jump.
House rules?
Uh, this contains
certain unmentionables,
which will remain just that.
Keep my paws off
the top drawer. Got it.
No, no. The whole highboy.
And the armoire.
And the bottom
shelf in the bathroom.
And the top shelf
in the bathroom.
And the cabinet over the toilet.
I'll just steer clear of
the bathroom altogether.
Not that I'll ever be here
anyway, but of course.
I'll reimburse you on
Venmo in varying amounts,
balancing it out
every three months.
Under "what it's for,"
it'll say "sports bet."
Ooh, better mark those private.
Your gal could be stalking
your Venmo if she's suspicious.
- Stalking Venmo is a thing?
- It is.
Innovation sucks.
Could I maybe get
your POV on something?
It's slightly sketch.
"Slightly sketch" is
my nom de guerre.
You know what?
It was more of
an inside thought.
I get that.
I don't have as many
of those as I used to.
But I get it.
Governor, I need you
in the lineup tonight.
Oh, Chuck, I have to deal
with the Big Ugly tonight.
Everything the state legislature
hasn't voted on tonight gets--
Yes, reconciled,
voted on, decided.
- And you need to ratify.
- So you see--
No, I see that
you can do it all.
The Big Ugly doesn't wrap
until the wee small
hours of the morning,
and not even Nelson
Riddle could arrange it
so this excuse works on me.
And it is better for
you to be at this dinner.
If you don't go,
you will miss out on
this giant antitrust case,
which'll look bad for you.
I'm not as smart as you, Chuck.
No.
So I can't outthink you.
So I got to use
my instincts on this.
And they're telling me
not to go to this dinner
because you seem
to want me there.
Why?
Huh? Why there? Why then?
I just feel like you're
setting me up for something.
It's a trick,
and I'm just going to end
up looking like a schmuck.
- So, no, thanks.
Fine. Don't go.
In fact, yes, I'll admit
it, your gut is right.
It might be best for
you to leave it to me
and the other governors.
Talk soon, pally.
- Wait. Hold it.
- Mm-hmm.
That was too easy.
You asked me to come
so I'd feel included,
but you follow up here
so I couldn't say later
that you should have told
me it was important to be there.
Ah-ha, you-- you
don't want me to go.
And if I don't go,
I'm going to end up
looking like a schmuck.
- Ah.
Is that what I really want?
Ooh, wait--
- It actually works.
- Yeah!
- Wild!
The night you gave this to me...
It was the night before the
first company went public.
I found it in some
Sharper Image catalog,
or Hammacher Schlemmer, maybe.
The thought of us being like
those characters in Wall Street
was too funny to me.
We were too nervous to eat.
Never opened it.
Glad I kept this thing.
I mean, that would be sweet,
but I know you had
someone buy 20 of them
and stash them in
every home, just in case.
I still love that you
brought it out now.
Damn.
Well, I haven't ever
used it, any of them.
I know that too.
You're romantic.
Always have been.
Let me prove it to you.
Move in.
Move your stuff in, at least.
Forget a hotel, or
some other apartment,
on your trips here
for the Games.
I'm here now. What
more do you need?
I need it all.
You know that's the
reason I did the thing, right?
Got the Games
here in the first place?
No, you did it to
replenish the energy
and relevance coffers
of New York City,
along with the actual ones.
Yeah. Both.
I'm not the kind of person
who would ever assume
that level of gesture is for me,
even from you.
Which is why you warrant it.
And now you don't
have to assume.
We're a quorum.
Good. Let's begin.
I only came because you said
our futures were in the balance.
Oh, your lives are about
to change in a brutal way.
The carried interest
loophole is about to be closed.
Okay,
Rhoades, sure it is.
You know, this
happens every few years,
but there's never the
political will to pass it.
Student loan forgiveness.
Free universal health care.
There are a lot of big
ideas in flux right now,
but the loophole
isn't one with teeth.
Ah-ha, but tonight is
a very special night.
Have you ever
heard of the Big Ugly?
No?
Well, it's the last night
of the legislative session,
when all outstanding business
is voted on and passed.
You see, the Assembly
can't call it a night until it all is.
And tonight there is an
item that I have jammed
into a certain bill that
will also be passing:
closing the carried
interest loophole.
You fucking kidding me?
- Jesus Christ.
- Hold on, gang.
No need to sweat
through your Speed Stick.
Loophole closes, it's easy
enough to move a residence
or office or a server to
Jersey or Connecticut,
or even Pennsylvania
for tax filing purposes,
because as Chuck well knows,
without a little something
called an interstate compact,
meaning if those
other states don't agree
to closing the loophole too...
we're in the clear.
What do you think they're
agreeing to right now?
Those governors,
with my second-in-command
locking it all in.
Oh fuck.
Yeah.
So you fund managers can
kiss your cap gains rate goodbye
and suck on straight income tax.
But what's another 22% in
taxes between friends, huh?
Between city, state and federal,
this now brings
you right up to 50%.
Oh, and you guys
who just invest,
don't think they won't pass
the pain along to you in fees.
A few billion bucks
between you all...
next year alone.
Welcome to fucking Cuba, kids.
But you're showing
us before it closed.
That's no accident.
Lazarra, you must be one
tough out at Russian roulette.
So, what do we need to do
to get the bullet out of the gun?
Whoo! Yeah!
"I've seen better tennis
playing in a tampon commercial."
What the fuck?
Crap.
I needed to unplug.
Had to get away from
my roommate, you know?
Last time I had a roommate
was Chuck Sheen
at Promises in Malibu.
I don't have a roommate either.
I needed...
I needed to think.
Or not think.
What are you stressing
over? You're 12.
You want to talk it out?
Unpopular opinion:
Youth makes stress
worse, not better.
Like, I don't know
what the fuck I'm doing
with a certain work matter.
I don't know if I
should trust myself.
Ah, a real problem.
Thus, the Cheetos.
Yeah.
I found something on
Hypersonic, and it's bad.
Full on, not good, bad.
But Taylor doesn't
want to hear that shit.
That's been made
abundantly clear.
So I don't know what to do.
I've already pushed.
They're the genius, and I'm 12.
But this time they're wrong.
Is there a trade I can kill?
Too late. It's locked.
People who really
know about investing--
and I'm not talking about
cocktail party expert
bullshitters like me,
I mean real operators--
say, the bigger the position,
the more stress there
is on the research.
And if that research
shows a crack,
you better fucking
act on it ASAP.
If you freeze in the
moment, you're a corpse.
I can do it for you,
but the truth is,
you can't let your boss
eat a giant shitburger.
In the end, they will blame you.
You've got to have the
courage to tell Taylor yourself.
Is this like a way for you
to sort of hedge your bet?
This place?
Because I was in a
relationship a while back.
We moved in together,
but we each kept a
locked-drawer file cabinet
in the name of privacy
and independence.
Some real Edgar Allan
Poe shit started happening
about what was in
each other's drawer.
I'm not going to say that's
why it didn't work out...
but it didn't work out.
I guess I'm saying,
hedging's for work, not this.
And if I do it again, it'll
be open drawers only.
Not locked.
Yeah.
Where have you been?
The whole world just blew up.
I need you to look past
my glowing complexion
and focus on what
you need to hear.
You're not acting on logic.
What am I acting on?
Jealousy.
The Hypersonic
investment is totally fucked,
and so are we.
Fucked how?
A small aerospace
company of a different name--
a front for Hypersonic--
secretly tested the technology.
This highly pressurized
super stratosphere shit.
- And?
- Dalton's Law,
Graham's Law, Henry's Law.
There are major problems
with their tech and
aviation physiology.
Static pressure at
the altitude they fly,
resulting in pulmonary
hypertension,
clotting, embolisms.
They're trying to fix
it, but it'll take years.
And when people find out...
Here.
Then "bad" is the right word.
How deep is this link buried?
It took you long
enough to find it.
Don't even think about
pinning this "garbahge" on me.
I felt the spidey
senses tingling.
I tried to come to you.
You were having some
space cowboy moment.
You're right. Crap.
I got sucked in by that
Chuck Yeager-wannabe flyboy.
If I found it,
everyone else will.
Soon.
What do you want to do?
The second we make a move,
we'll alert the market.
It'll take a split second
to connect the dots
from us to MPC to the
Olympics back to Hypersonic.
This fucking stock
will go down to a price
that represents the company's
office furniture and phones.
There's no way to trade out
without taking a massive loss.
Yeah, no.
But sitting on it
could be even worse.
We're gutting
ourselves either way.
Yeah Yeah, I'm out that Brooklyn
Now I'm down in Tribeca
Right next to De Niro
- But I'll be 'hood forever
And since I made it here
I can make it anywhere
Yeah, they love me Everywhere
- Sorry to barge.
- Couldn't reach you.
Didn't want to be reached.
The phone was off for a reason.
Took it to my stashbox
560 State Street
Catch me in the kitchen like
A Simmons whippin' pastries
And so it's clear that
there was a conspiracy
to bring the Games to New York
by whatever underhanded method
was deemed most expedient.
Had we known,
and I speak for all
of us on this stage,
we never would have been
party to such malfeasance.
Yes.
We know Michael
Prince led the effort
and engaged in these
actions by himself.
These men and women
were unknowingly brought in
to an attempt to commit
bribery at a very high level.
You got to be kidding me, Mike.
It's B.S., Andy.
Every friend
who betrayed you,
I'll hunt each and every one of
them down and skin them alive.
I'll do it because I want
to, and I'll do it for you.
Yeah, I appreciate it, but no.
I'm going to need them later.
Look, this is bad,
but it's not over till
the ICS says it is.
I need to talk to Katerina.
Thanks.
Not even Dollar Bill could help
me pawn it off anonymously.
No one wanted the
block? Spartan-Ives?
The Sovereign Wealth Funds?
- Some dumb Third World despot?
- They smelled it.
We're going to have to
wait until the market opens,
try to bleed it off
share by share.
No. We can't do anything.
Our hands are tied
as long as Hypersonic's
bound to the Olympics.
You going to tell Prince?
What?
That I fell prey to
first instinct fallacy
like some rube stumbled
on the monte table
along the midway?
- You outplayed me this time.
I pray to the Good
Lord in heaven
this is the last time
we have to hondle.
You're welcome, Todd.
As long as we're square.
That we are.
Thank you.
- Well, they did their part.
Yep, I guess I
have a bill to pull.
Or we let it go to a
vote, see if it passes.
The Big Ugly's on our side.
If it goes through,
it would be New York's
most aggressive wealth reform
since FDR was
bankrolling La Guardia.
Could become a test
case for the nation.
The world.
Mm-hmm.
Oh, that's fucking tempting.
So I say we clock
out for the night.
Leave it to fate.
No.
No, if I do that,
break my word to this camarilla,
I lose all future leverage.
And your future in the
public sector goes extinct.
Without an actual
interstate compact,
which was really just
a fancy-tasting dinner,
the whole thing's
toothless anyway, and...
and I have to be
honorable to my word.
Even in this. So we pull it.
And then we take the office
out for a celebratory pop.
Pull the damn thing.
Yanking like Pee
Wee Herman himself.
We can work through this
and still do great things together.
You're looking at the only man
who can bring the
Olympics to New York.
- Baseless charges.
- Utter bullshit.
Katerina, standing
against these tactics
is the only way we can protect
the Games from real corruption.
You should refer
to me as Miss Brett.
I gave this a chance to go away,
but I am afraid the New
York Games are tainted now.
My statement is about
to go up on the ICS site.
After an unfortunate
series of developments,
the ICS has come
to the conclusion
that the 2028 Games
can no longer be
held in New York City.
Fortunately, after talking to
the organizers in Los Angeles,
they will be ready
to host the Games,
with brand-new sponsors
and renovated stadiums.
Man, that sucks
for our Mikey Prince.
Yes, it does.
But it doesn't suck for us. Me.
This news is our boarding
pass out of our fucked situation.
We can make a statement
saying that we're exiting our position
because Hypersonic
will no longer be
the official airline of
the New York Games,
since L.A. will make
their own airline deal.
We're going to take a hit.
Damn right we are.
But 10, 15%, not 80.
This will be the story long
enough for us to evacuate
before the real news gets out.
That their planes will
fucking hospitalize you?
Exactly.
I figured there might
be one person at this company
who wasn't upset the
Games just went bye-bye.
I also figured
you'd need help unloading
the shares at the open.
Yes, another set of
hands would be good.
Good. These hands
are gonna start
by getting some coffee going.
It's not the particular
memories in this place.
It's the idea that this is
where my memories happened.
But now, new memories.
And no secret rooms.
Or secret compartments out here.
Or up there.
That's the idea.
Never did it before.
Never even tried.
Well, we'll try together.
Yeah, we will.
All in. It's time.
Before you got to go Go, go, go
I wanted you to know
Know, know, know
You're always on my mind
- Hi.
- Hi.
I'd ask how it went, but I
saw the announcement.
Yeah.
Where you going?
My hotel. I need to
pack. It's an early flight.
I can change that, you
know. It is my plane.
I know, but I need to
get home and organized.
I missed too much time already,
and I need to start booting
things back up in L.A.
- Ouch.
- Sorry.
But...
I guess we're back
where we started.
In some ways.
In others, not.
Our thing's been dormant,
switched off for years...
because of distance.
Not just distance, you know?
It's switched back
on now, unless...
I hate to say it,
but if this grand gesture of
yours was really about us--
It was, as I said.
I was trying to bend the world
to my specifications to do it.
Well, that's the way it goes
when you try and do that.
It doesn't work.
You used to say that
in the beginning with us.
Before.
It's gone my way plenty since.
Yeah, I can see that.
But the world's a
beast sometimes.
You said you'd
be willing to travel
before you knew it was
going to be here, so...
Of course. I'll be in Colorado,
then L.A. every weekend.
Or every other.
Good.
I'll see you next weekend.
For sure.
Well, not next weekend,
'cause the fallout from this
is going to be...
I know.
I'll see you when I see you.
Call me when you get this
Before you got to go Go, go, go
I wanted you to know
Know, know, know
Hey!
I be Spike'd out
I could trip a referee
Tell by my attitude
That I'm most Definitely from
- In New York - Hey, ah-ha
Concrete jungle Where
dreams are made of
There's nothing You can't do
- Yeah - Now you're in New York
Ah-ha, ah-ha, ah-ha
These streets will make
you Feel brand-new
Big lights will inspire you
- Let's hear it for New
York - You're welcome, OG
- New York, New
York - I made you hot...
Catch me at the X with
OG At a Yankee game
Shit, I made the Yankee hat
More famous then a Yankee can
You should know I bleed blue
But I ain't a Crip, though
But I got a gang of...
Walking with my clique Though
Welcome to the melting pot
Corners where We selling rock
Afrika Bambaataa shit
Home of the hip-hop
Yellow cab, gypsy cab
Dollar cab, holla back
For foreigners It ain't fair
They act like they
forgot How to act
Eight million stories
Out there in the naked
City is a pity Half
of y'all won't make it
Me, I got a plug Special
Ed, "I Got It Made"
If Jeezy's payin' LeBron
I'm payin' Dwyane Wade
Three-dice cee-lo
Three-card monte
Labor Day Parade,
Rest in peace, Bob Marley
Statue of Liberty Long
live the World Trade
Long live the King, yo
I'm from the
Empire State That's--
- In New York - Hey
Concrete jungle Where
dreams are made of
There's nothing You can't do