Empire (2015–…): Season 3, Episode 9 - A Furnace for Your Foe - full transcript

Previously on Empire...

I want you to write a
song for Angelo's campaign

and perform it at the Captain's Ball.

He had a DUI some 20 years ago.

His family pulled some strings
and got him out of that.

Why you got shades on?

Boy, are you high?

Poor Tariq, he's jealous

of everything you got,

especially your memories of your daddy.

That's Freda Gatz.



You know, her father was locked
up with Lucious at the BCC.

Seems "" and "BK" must have done
something for Lucious and got paid.

The question is, who is "" and "BK"?

And as your mayor,

I will not only go to
sleep fighting for you,

I'm gonna wake up fighting for you.

You're in Queens, brah.

You can't piss on my
leg, tell me it's raining.

You come down here for a photo op,

then you limbo your bougie
ass back across the river

for some uptown fundraiser.

Shut him down, Angelo.

He can't because he's telling the truth.

- Okay...
- I got, I got it, babe.



How y'all doing?

The name's Cookie. Ask about me.

- We know you.
- You do?

- Cookie Lyon.
- That's right.

Where's Lucious?

Forget about Lucious, baby.

I'm with him now.

Look here, y'all,

I-I'm just an around-the-way
girl from the hood

in North Philly.

It looks almost like this one, but...

except for your bougie-ass beach.

Look, my daddy was a plumber

and we lived check to check,

so I wouldn't be with this man

if he wasn't the real deal.

If he wasn't a man of the people.

Man of the people!

And so what, he went to Columbia?

That makes him smart.

But he still lives in the same
fifth floor walk-up in Harlem.

Now you try walking up five
flights in these heels, baby.

Hey, what about the Captain's Ball?

"The Captain's Ball"?

Yeah, well, we-we know there's a problem

with the Captain's Ball,

that's why we've,
um, decided to hold it

right here in the streets
with you guys, with the people.

Tell them, Angelo!

Yes, hell yes!

And we're going to call
it the People's Ball.

That's right, baby.

The People's Ball,
and you're all invited!

And my son, Jamal Lyon,
will be headlining.

Angelo Dubois for mayor!

We'll see you then.

Thank you.

- See y'all at the People's Ball.
- People's Ball.

500 major donors have
pledged to this event.

Just invite them all here.

Yeah, it's too late to pull out now.

We've committed in front
of all these cameras.

There is not enough time. You
need permits, tents and security.

And who is gonna produce
this street bazaar?

Well...

Cookie's the name. All right.

Bye-bye, baby.

You're getting a little
too local, darling.

Just a little too local.

Mother.

Hey, hey, hold up.

Cut!

Jamal, you just fell off the stage.

All right.

Look, babe,

now the tape marks the edges
of the stage at the Waldorf,

just follow your key
light and don't go past it.

Seriously, Derek, like I don't
know what the damn tape means?

Come on, man. I messed up, I'm sorry.

Yeah, but it's gonna
be your little booty

that gets busted up, not mine.

I don't even know what the hell
I'm doing this Captain's Ball for.

Why you're doing it?

You're doing it to remind everyone

that you're the dopest in the world.

All right, hey, quiet.

- Well, well, look at the little pimp,
- Let's...

ready to take the stage, like a ho.

How you feeling?

Amazing, thank you, Philip.

- Of course.
- Yeah.

Listen, don't you think you might
want to do a couple of smaller venues

before jumping onto some kind
of stage of this magnitude?

- Thanks for your concern, Dad.
- Well, it's genuine...

but here, I got a little advice for you.

If you planning on doing
some of them trash ass,

airing out the family
laundry or something,

you'd be better off taking a handful
of them damn pills all at once

and take a permanent dirt nap

and I'll see you in the next lifetime.

I'm off my meds.

Good.

- Let's go.
- All right.

All right, from the top.

So, Rockaway
Beach, day after tomorrow?

Yes, thank you.

Ooh, Alonzo, I owe you, baby.

Yeah.

I got to go, but I
owe you big time, okay?

I got you, all right, okay, bye-bye.

Porsha!

Yes, girl.

I thought you was Porsha.

What the hell you want, Lucious?

I want to talk to you.

About?

This People Ball thing.

Look, you sure you can
pull this thing off?

Well, I didn't do too bad
with that Free Lucious concert

that helped save your janky ass.

Yeah, that's 'cause you're the
baddest producer in the damn game.

Truth is I really do hope

that the whole thing
is a smashing success.

It's about time New York
had a black mayor again.

Well, the lineup is a who's
who of our top artists.

I'm gonna start with
a Hakeem and Tiana duet

and Jamal is going to be epic.

Or an epic fail.

Don't you think it's a
little early to be putting him

on a stage in front of
an uncontrolled crowd?

I mean, something like this could
push him all the way over, Cook.

Am I to believe that
"father of the year"

is suddenly worried about his son?

Look...

truth is, I just don't
want you to make the mistake

of-of-of putting the needs of
your boyfriend's campaign...

ahead of the needs of our son's health.

That's it. I know you, Cook.

You go all in.

But if this goes terribly
wrong for Jamal, and it could,

you are going to hate yourself forever.

I'll get right to it, Your Honor.

What you just saw is authorized
FBI surveillance video of rapper

Freda Gatz aka Freda Gathers,
daughter of Frank Gathers.

The drug kingpin who was
chopped up in prison last year.

Yeah, in those rap lyrics,

she referred to two men
who worked for her father.

Both were with him in Brooklyn
Correctional when he was murdered.

Agent Cousins, if you're
hoping to get a murder indictment

based on rap lyrics...

This is an e-mail that leaked in
the Empire hack a few weeks ago.

It mentions cash payoffs
to the families of two men

identified only by their initials,

"" and "BK"...

Now, we weren't able to I.D. them until
Gatz's lyrics filled in the blanks.

"" Is Mikey Moses,

BK is Bobby "Bam Bam" King.

If you're implying that
the Gathers hit was paid for

with Empire money,
get to the who already.

Yes, Judge Chae, I give you
the only man with the money,

the muscle and the
motive to pull it off,

Lucious Lyon.

Well...

I've got a football game to go to, so...

I'll sign a court order freezing
Empire's assets for 30 days.

It'll be up to you to
gather enough evidence

to bring about a federal murder
indictment against Lucious Lyon.

This smells personal, Agent Cousins.

- It better not be.
- No, I assure you, sir,

I'm just trying to bring a
dangerous criminal to justice.

- You got your ticket?
- Here you go.

I thought I felt a
certain chill in the air.

So, you're unhappy about my
son's relationship with your ex.

Cookie and I have what you call history.

We share three sons.

She's the co-chair of my company.

So I watch her back.

But, lady...

don't ever try to read me.

I would never.

I read books, not graffiti.

But here you are asking
me to bust up Cookie

and your little... cupcake?

I have no doubt that you
would have done that already

if it were in your power to do so. No.

Our campaign has a bigger
problem than Cookie Lyon.

Are you familiar with Edison Cruz?

He's planning to publish a story
on the eve of our Captain's Ball

that could cost us the election.

Is it true?

There's always a droplet of truth,

but once that droplet hits the water,

it turns into a tidal wave.

I'd like to see that evaporate
before that can occur.

See, this is what's funny to me.

This is the history of America.

Rich snobs like you,

that I could burp their net worth,

asking men like me

to do things that you
lack the courage to do.

Well, now that isn't really
the history of America,

but we can talk about
that at a later date.

I need to know if you can
persuade him to back off.

Well, I'm very gifted
at the art of persuasion,

but what's in it for me?

Well, I could end Cookie's romance.

I know my son's hot buttons

and if I press them,
she will be incinerated.

"Incinerated"?

Poof.

Anika.

What did I tell you about
never being in my bed

when I wake up in the morning?

Yeah, whatever.

Your little friend didn't
seem to mind too much.

You weren't calling
him little last night.

Why don't you say hello?

- You are so nasty.
- Please.

- I'm not going...
- Please!

Don't make me make you.

You stupid.

Yes.

Okay.

Ma!

What are you doing?

The same thing she's doing.

But I'm sucking the dirt out of the rug.

Okay, you know what?

I am not doing this, Lucious!

Okay, you got a choice, all right?

It's either me and Bella

or your crazy-ass momma.

So you decide.

I'm not going anywhere.

Yeah, we'll see about that.

Mom.

Look.

I have seen what bullets can do,

so I know your guts are torn up, Jamal.

But I don't want you
backsliding because of that pain.

Ma, I'm straight, all right?

What, Lucious get in your head?

Of course he did.

'Cause if I don't get back
on that stage, then he wins.

No and I want you to
win. I want us to win.

But not at the expense of your health.

I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

I'm all right.

Completely off the pills, I'm good.

Good, that's good to hear.

Then you can give 'em to me, then.

- Give you what?
- Give me what?

The pills, boy. Don't act stupid.

- All right, Mom.
- Yeah, all right, you off,

done, give 'em to me.

I mean all of them. Don't
make me come back there.

I will ransack this place.

You ain't ransacking no place.

Yes I would. Don't play with me.

That's everything?

I know you got some in your purse.

- It's a murse.
- Don't play with me, boy,

This is not funny.

Is that it?

- Boy!
- Ma, come on, all right...

Come on! You come on!

Yeah, all right, my ass.

That's everything.

You gonna get your ass on that stage,

and you gonna perform.

You gonna perform your ass off.

You gonna perform like
you've never performed before

and you gonna do it

clean and sober.

Sure you don't
want another drink, Edison?

I'll have the crooked
politician, filleted.

You are really not a fan of his.

Angelo Dubois skates 'cause he's black.

If it wasn't for the color of his skin,

he would never have a chance
of being elected mayor.

Yeah, I know,
this black privilege.

All us Negros, running around here

getting everything handed to us

because of the color of our skin.

You said it.

Are you a fan of rap music, Mr. Cruz?

What did he just say?

He is talking about...

how some men can inspire such
loyalty in their soldiers,

that they'll do anything for them...

kidnap, maim, murder.

Is that a threat?

No, it's a song.

You see, rap is a reflection
of reality, Edison.

See, that man is speaking
about a special power that

has the ability to humble a man.

Especially when the streets
come kicking down his front door,

you know what I'm saying?

So, the black gangster

is trying to intimidate a
journalist for telling the truth.

No, I'm an advocate for
truth and good government.

I just hate to see our
city's mayoral campaign

sullied by tawdry,
unsubstantiated allegations.

Angelo Dubois will never
be mayor of this city.

But that's no longer your choice, is it?

Well, it appears that Mr. Cruz

was easily persuaded that

slanderous article he was
about to publish on your son,

Angelo... have a seat...

would not be in his best interests,

seeing it wouldn't
hold up under scrutiny.

That's an enormous relief.

Probably shouldn't ask how
you managed to persuade him.

You know, the same way I won't ask how

you fulfill your end of the bargain.

Yes, that.

Well, Lucious,

this is a report from our pollster.

Until a few days ago,

we were running consistently
five points behind John Meeks,

then Angelo's numbers spiked,

now he's two points ahead,

and research says it's Cookie.

Cookie?

She resonates with the voters.

It seems she humanizes Angelo
and lands some street cred.

They're calling it "The Cookie Effect."

So, does this mean that
you're backing out of the deal

after I fulfilled my side of it?

I don't see where I
have a choice, really,

but I will make it up
to you, somehow, I mean.

Um, that, um... that zoning issue?

- I could promise you it'll be on the...
- Nah.

This ain't right.

This ain't fair.

What can I do?

What do you want?

An ambassadorship?

Invitation to a State dinner?

Diana, can you imagine

the number of State
dinners I've gone to?

We had a deal.

But I did initially
decide to help Angelo

because I thought New
York deserved a good mayor.

So why don't I make this

my own personal
contribution to his campaign.

Dre?

Dre, are you okay?

Andre, you're scaring me.

I have bipolar disorder.

It's a mental illness,

marked by periods of depression,

and periods of elevated mood.

I know what it is, Dre.

What did your wife do?

She took care of me when
I couldn't get out of bed.

She managed my medication.

She kept me under control.

That's intense, Andre, but...

I'm not gonna do any
of those things for you.

You don't want me anymore.

I want you to learn how to do
these things for yourself, Dre.

And I'm not going anywhere.

She's trying to take
you away from me, Andre.

"When they got me,

"it wasn't at the end of a gun,

it was with the stroke of a pen."

- Al Capone said that.
- I don't care who said it.

I need to know what's going on, Lucious.

Why can't I use my credit cards?

'Cause the feds have put a
freeze on all of our assets.

Well, that mean they got something!

- Somebody snitched!
- No, not necessarily.

Look, why don't you
just relax and stay calm.

'Cause the only people
that know about this

- is me and Thirsty.
- You stay calm,

I did 17 years!

Calm down.

Look, I got this whole
world on lock right now.

And I promise nothing will
ever happen to you again.

That was that look.

You just reminded me...

you were so bold.

The first time that you kissed me.

Look, I got somebody working
on the inside with the feds.

So, if there is a rat,

we're gonna send him a nice
little Colombian necktie, okay?

Okay.

Trust me.

What's all this cash from?

You slanging again?

It's... Look.

It's for the People's Ball.

All of the accounts are frozen,

I got to pay the vendors somehow.

Angelo Dubois is just another
opportunistic politician...

with... that got skeletons
in his closet, Cookie.

Okay, just looking out for you.

Okay, thank you.

What do you mean he's on his way up?

He just cleared security, sir.

You want me?

Here I am.

You come in here to make a confession?

'Cause I don't need showmanship.

You send errand boys with calculators

to take the food out of the
mouths of my employees' children.

I think I know what you want,

but you're going about it like a coward.

What I want is justice.

Wow.

Fear of black people?

This belonged to our father.

- His father?
- Is he saying they're related?

He never told y'all.

Agent Cousins never told
y'all that we're brothers.

Our father was a Philadelphia cop.

He was a good man.

He made one mistake and
he was murdered for that,

and that mistake was you.

His bastard son.

But as he died in a Philadelphia street,

he made me promise to
look after my brother,

but he never told me your name.

I know you want to own something
that belonged to our father.

This ain't what brothers do.

Everybody get back to work.

You heard him. Back to work.

Andre.

Have you seen Jamal?

- No, no, ma'am.
- Okay.

Once you come down,

you're just gonna go
right back that way and...

Becky, Becky, where's Jamal?

He's still at his apartment.

The car's been waiting
for, like, two hours.

What? Okay, I'll be right back.

And now to introduce

the next mayor of New York,

please welcome the young
women and men from WOKE!

Jamal?

Jamal?

Jamal!

What happened?

I swear I tried to get
out the door, I really did.

Where is Philip?

I told him don't come
because him and Derek,

they're always arguing.

What happened? Did you take something?

No, it's withdrawal.

I've been throwing up and stuff.

- I am calling 911.
- No.

Can't have this out in the press.

If you not gonna go to the hospital,

- then I'm gonna call your doctor down.
- No.

I just need my pills.

- No.
- Please.

It's the last time, I just got to...

I got to get to the show, you know that.

No, Jamal, I'm dead-ass, no.

If I don't get there...

if I don't get there, then Lucious wins.

Lucious is not the enemy this time,

he wants you to get better
just as much as I do.

Lucious is the enemy, Ma,

he is.

Just please...

You said it yourself, if I don't
get there, my career's over.

It's over. Then what?

I'm not gonna stand by and watch you

become one of those pill-popping artists

who dies alone in a motel.

- Ma, I'm not some sort of addict!
- Not on my watch!

Come on!

God help me.

What are you doing?

My daddy was a plumber.

Lucious, hold up.

This arrangement's not working for me.

Look, I got 99 problems,
Shine, what's up?

Look, I got a discretionary
fund in my deal.

Now I can't access the accounts.

I've been paying for A-list producers

out of my own pocket, man, what's up?

Come here, I want to explain
something to you, Shine.

Right now,

Empire finds itself in the middle

of a little cash flow problem.

What kind of cash flow problem?

Real talk?

We got no liquid.

While Empire buys out
a 30-day asset freeze

by our buddies in the FBI, we're stuck.

Damn, Lucious, how come you
didn't come to me for help?

I mean, how much you need?

You're gonna boss up like that

and just burp out $50 million, man?

I can raise it.

Liquidate a few properties,

barbershops, Laundromats,

stuff me and Stone used
to buy back in the day.

The rest of it's in cash.

- Are you for real?
- Absolutely.

I mean, being that we family
now and everything, right?

All right, then what's
in it for you, man?

I want a stake in Empire.

A stake?

Do you mean like rib eye,

T-bone?

Get the hell out of here, man.

More like a seat at the table.

Think about it.

Well, let's think about it.

Without the 50, you're
gonna have to unload assets

and you're definitely
gonna lose Empire XStream.

That's without question.

But then again, letting
the wolf into the henhouse?

That's going to lead to a
lot of blood and feathers.

Roll the dice.

TaKeem! TaKeem! TaKeem!

TaKeem! TaKeem! TaKeem!
TaKeem! TaKeem! TaKeem!

I can't wait for you to meet Bella.

TaKeem! TaKeem! TaKeem! TaKeem!

TaKeem! TaKeem! TaKeem! TaKeem!

TaKeem! TaKeem! TaKeem!

TaKeem! TaKeem! TaKeem! TaKeem!

But she's right.

Isn't she right, shouldn't I
learn to take care of myself?

Do you think you can do it?

If you let me.

I need you to let me go, Rhonda.

You are the smartest...

and most devoted...

and most ruthless...

of the Lyon sons.

I'm the most ruthless.

I'm doing what we planned with Nessa.

I got her the Fashion Week
gig. I'm building her up.

Just like we planned.

Make her the biggest star.

And then you'll control the music.

And then you'll have all the power.

I believe in you.

Promise me you won't disappoint me.

I promise.

And, Andre?

Promise me that
you will destroy that bitch...

that murdered me...

and killed our baby.

Bye, Andre.

Good-bye.

Rhonda.

Where he at?!

Looks like y'all one
act shy of a headliner.

Yeah.

Jamal, Cookie?

Yeah, they're on their way.

Does anybody have eyes on Jamal?

Here we go, here we go.

- We made it.
- Okay.

- How you doing?
- All right now, all right.

Stay back, Lucious.

You gonna be okay?

Ready? Okay.

Look at me.

You got it. He all right, go ahead.

Let's go, Mal!

Hey, give me that big bottle
of Russian vodka right there.

With shot glasses.

Shine, look out, man.

Tariq, we got to stop meeting like this.

Yeah, well, what's the point in
helping me get enough evidence

to freeze up Empire's assets,

then you spotting Lucious
the money to outrun me?

No point. Maybe you just got played.

Yeah, well, Lucious got played, too.

What's stopping me from telling him?

Well, then everybody
will know you got played,

including the FBI.

And don't give me that you
gonna take my immunity mess,

because I know you can't
do that... it's too late.

You know, if you was a real G, Leslie,

you'd have started your
own label with that 50 mil.

Well, Tariq, it ain't about the label.

It's about Empire.

It's the crown jewel of all labels.

It's the Iron Throne.
Everybody want to be king.

Don't you?

Why you wasting my
liquor like that, man?

Come on, Tariq. Why you mad?

Aah!

Yeah!

- That was good, right?
- Yes. It was great, baby.

- You did a good job.
- Thank you.

I'm so proud of you.

- Thank you for coming.
- Of course, come on.

- I love you.
- I love you, too. Hey!

Hey.

You're going to rehab, okay?

What?

Bro, just... just go.

Ma, please don't do
this to me right now.

- Jamal...
- Don't touch me.

All right? Don't touch me.

It's time, son.

Our instant-polling
was very encouraging.

And the money we raised.

Look, when he gets out of there,

he's going to thank
you for what you did.

- Believe that.
- I hope so.

Look, you'd better go,

Your man's waiting.

Hey.

How's Jamal?

He's gonna be all right.

You're amazing.

Thank you.

Ooh, Councilman.

I have a gift for you
I forgot to give you.

- What is this...?
- Councilman...

- can I have a word?
- No, no, no, no, no...

That little droplet turned
into a mighty big ripple.

- What do you remember about the evening.
- What?

Of October 5, 1988?

You're as wretched as they say you are.

Mother.

It's the, night of my DUI.

- I was 17 years old...
- Okay, wait. Wait a minute.

Every teenager has
gotten into some nonsense.

"W" was arrested for a DUI.

Bill Clinton smoked marijuana.

Barack Obama wrote about it in his book.

Yes, well, to the best of my knowledge,

none of those presidents
ever drunk-drove into a lake,

saving himself while leaving
a poor, innocent girl to drown.

- What?
- That's a lie!

Cookie, that's
not what happened.

Shameful.

I warned you.

That's enough.

I'm the most ruthless. The most
ruthless. Baby, I'm the most ruthless.

God.

- Shine, let's go.
- The most ruthless.

I'm the most ruthless.

I told 'em it was closing time.

They don't listen. They
even took over the music.

It's awful late, fellas.

Shouldn't you boys be home in bed?

You kicking us out, bro?

I mean, they could've
at least sent the police,

somebody with some real muscle.

I'm not trying to kick you out, Shine.

As a matter of fact, I'm
here to join the celebration.

That's what this is,
right, a celebration?

Ladies and gentlemen,

let's toast to my man Shine.

To Shine!

Hell of a power move you made, brother.

Hell of a move.

Nessa said you was out
your rabbit-ass mind,

but that's okay.

I deal with a lot of crazy
dudes... a lot crazier than you.

Listen, what do you
think my father would do

if he knew you were the one who
set him up for the asset freeze?

I had nothing to do with that.

I can prove that you
leveraged all your Laundromats

and parking garages and strip clubs,

all your properties... if that's
what you want to call it...

two weeks before Tariq and the
FBI froze Empire's accounts.

- So what?
- "So what?"

That means you knew it was coming.

That means you tipped off Tariq.

My father respects his opponents, Shine,

but he hates a snitch.

Let's say you can prove
this crazy theory you got.

Tell him. Tell Lucious.

Let's see what happens next.

I got a much better
plan than that, brother.

Come over here, I'll tell you about it.

Here's how it's gonna
work from here on out.

You respect the hierarchy.

I pull the strings
here, including Nessa.

Now, you do what you do, I do what I do.

We'll put the pieces in
place to cover our tracks,

make all the moves we need to make

until it's time.

Time for what?

Time to kill my father.