06x03 - STD

[bunniefuu]

[SCOOTER] Previously on Billions.

Michael Prince Capital is
not off to a banner start.

I work for a legend.

- I'm out.
- Team up?

Done.

We need to be clean. Beyond reproach.

I find myself unwilling to help you.

He seems to be after
more than profits here.

I am hereby creating The Prince List,

shedding all the dirty
capital currently invested.

Bud Lazzara. He's the key.

We're not paying.

Big retailer's been playing dirty.

Rask Sportswear.

And we're gonna short
the snot out of it.

There's a problem with the short.

You created this problem, fix it.

His wife came by yesterday.

It's no coincidence that you
got involved with my sponsor.

Are you trying to buy back
the relationship you want?

I haven't given up.

I know you bribed Mr. Santulli,

the head of the Door & Custodial Union.

[PRINCE] Rask is tanking.

[SCOOTER] k*lled the buyout
and fed it to the dogs.

[TAYLOR] You saw the
news about the Games?

- [SCOOTER] They're pulling them.
- Prince isn't just playing the markets.

His chessboard is much bigger,

and I don't think he's done
making his moves yet.

The very first New York Olympics.

Every time New York has fallen...

It has been lifted up and rebuilt

by a great man.

And that's you this time.

And he won't stop till
he gets what he wants.

["MIDNIGHT RIDER" BY GREGG ALLMAN PLAYS]

♪ Well, I've got to run ♪

♪ To keep from hidin' ♪

♪ And I'm bound... ♪

I just achieved slow-wave sleep,

which you know I struggle with.

- Why am I...
- We've got a problem.

Better be a real, bigtime...

Trust me. It is.
It's why I called you in.

The issue is...

[PRINCE] You didn't call me in.

Of course, there's no need.

That's why I have an alert set up.

If there's
middle-of-the-night swipe-ins,

it's either because people
are quitting en masse

and stealing drives,

or there's a margin call-level problem.

Which is it?

It's... more of the latter.

Well, you have a c*ptive audience.

I, uh...

met up with Mafee tonight.
Drinks, you know?

We stayed friends,
I hope that's not any kind...

- Speak.
- Right, well...

he kinda spilled some major tea.

"Tea" is gossip.

Yeah. About what?

About the Olympics.

We are rolling, Wyatt.

I'm not on Molly right now. Or ever.

Tombstone?

Never mind.
We got something huge in the works.

Real estate-focused SPAC.

Offering's coming out this week.
You should invest.

- I should?
- It's our ticket, man.

They call these things
"blank check companies."

Whale-sized investors launch them

to raise IPO-level money

they can plow into whatever
the hell they want to,

totally unbridled.

In this case, holding company
for prime city real estate.

I'm familiar with SPACs.

- They're all over the Street.
- Right.

Anyway, it's a partnership with a big...

Well, a really big and
also really not-so-big guy.

You sound enthusiastic.

We blew through our risk management,
doubled down on this thing.

You're a brand-new firm,
and you're risking it all

- on sponsoring a SPAC?
- No worries. It's an STD.

- Uh, what? Gross.
- A sure thing, dude.

- Oh.
- And beyond that,

it's a gold medal situation.

[PRINCE] Buying up
land for the Olympics.

Another player's making my move. Who?

He didn't say. Thus, this meeting.

Now I get why you woke me up.

All right, if anyone needs
to go home, shower up,

put on your daytime Garanimals,
go ahead and get back here.

[KRISTY] I can send one of the
drivers if anyone needs it.

- Do it. Also...
- I'll send the other driver

to Veselka, then Chinatown.
Anyone want anything else,

let me know, we'll deal with it.

Okay, folks,
Kristy's organizing the midnight snacks

and strong coffee.

[CLAPS HANDS] Let's get into it.

[CHUCK] Sacker,
I want your best ideas...

press, political, financial,

hell, I'll even take spiritual...

on how we'll fell the highest
net worth individual...

Son.

I thought there'd be
some perfectly legal

fringe benefits to you being AG,

but I find myself a squirrel
who can't get a nut.

Dad, you can't just...

Oh, I told your girl I was expected.

And asked could she
get me a tomato juice

from the diner around the corner.

Told her I'd protect the door.

And I did. From the inside.

Anyway.

I was getting my paperwork in order

to make an offer to buy your land,

and then you let someone
skip in line ahead of me?

- My land?
- The NYAG's Office

monitors the disbursement of
certain land for proper use,

does it not?!

Ah, family.

Love to see it.

Love to leave it behind.

Jesus Christ, Dad.

We can do this at your house, later.

- Or never. Never works, too.
- Not for me.

I was going to throw up
one of those / jobs

with the "poor door."

Luxury condo building

with the separate
entrance for the unwashed.

Subsidized housing units
to trigger the tax breaks.

A real man of the people.

But someone is buying it all up.

As is the normal course of...

No, this is about as normal as
a Gaylord Perry Mystery Pitch.

Just loaded up with viscous slime.

Aha.

Who bought the land, Dad?

[SACKER] Looks like several buyers.
All shell corps.

Terms have been set. They have
days to close with the cash.

Anything unusual with the approvals?

No. Except there hasn't been
much activity until recently.

You don't need this development, Dad.

And even if you did,
I wouldn't lift a finger to help.

Not 'cause I don't love you.

Because it would be wrong.

In the past, you didn't really...

Ah. I can't change any of that.

Well, I was a straight sh**t
about my plans.

Being shameless does not change
a Haman into a Mordechai.

Bye, Dad.

I can't believe
that I'm raising this, but,

we forget who brought us this
information and we use it.

Yeah.

If a big player or corporation
is going through the land bank

to make big purchases on the downlow.

Yes. That's absolutely against
the spirit of the thing.

And likely means some other high-baller

is looking to make the
same move as my father.

- You want me to...
- Yeah.

We need to find out who's
trying to buy up all this land,

and why.

We're gathering.

I know how we're going to
smoke out this mystery bidder.

Put a piece of land up for sale.
The piece bordering Stuy Town.

I thought you were trying
to buy more land...

He is. Whoever's backing Mafee
and Dollar Bill will bite at it.

Yes. It'll come anonymously,
through a shell corp.

Which we'll reject.

But we'll get enough
details to figure out

who's spearheading the SPAC.

And once it IPOs,
we can bend this thing over,

no lube required, and...

I mean, there are many things
within SEC guidelines we can do

to express our negative sentiment on it,

and convince others
to see it the same way,

- once it is trading publicly.
- There ya go.

That's where I thought you were going.

But this is Mafee and Dollar
Bill's big investment.

Don't we still love...

I mean, have fond feelings for...

well, most of us...
some of us... I do...

- Spit it out, you stuttering...
- Mafee! I still care about Mafee.

[TAYLOR] Yes, as I do, Ben.

But once we find out who's
really going to run the SPAC

for them, Prince will block it,
and, yes,

whatever they've invested
in it will be worthless.

And he feels bad about it,
that f*cking baby.

How can you not even care?

You were in an intimate
relationship with Dollar...

I am in a relationship
with dollars, end sentence.

Look, I love those guys. For real.

We've plundered and partied
with 'em back in the day.

But if they f*ck with our sh*t,
they get f*cked.

Great to see the team spirit is intact.

But I'm a builder, not a destroyer.

I'll always find a positive solution

before considering a destructive path.

I look at every competitor
as a potential new partner...

right up until I can't anymore.

I'm on board with this approach.

We're happy.

- He's on his way up.
- Good.

We have an important visitor,

someone I'm convinced will
help win over the Commission.

Wags, I want you
on this detail with Scooter.

I'll sit in with you fellas.

Try to have fun.

We're a team.

So it seems.

Fab.

You believe in this
potential new partner bit?

I want to.

Sure, the president of

the International Commission of Sport

does have some sway,

but there are voting members,

enough of whom must be wooed,

convinced, to influence the others

who aren't susceptible to
extracurricular handling.

Mike, you want to...

And I speak from experience,
selecting a host city

is a very political process.

Mr. Drache, how does it work?

I want to make an impression.

But as I understand it,

the men and women of the Commission,

even those key few I might turn,

don't look kindly upon
strangers bearing gifts.

Because those strangers might
be wearing wires, mightn't they?

But they will take them from me.

Because I was one of them,

before what I refer to as the "ugliness"

forced me out.

But trust, I'm still one of them.

[PRINCE] Good.

I'm glad I can count on your endorsement

of my plan to land the Olympics.

[SIGHS]

Possibly.

Possibly?

Your reputation speaks. It shouts.

And you certainly seem a top man. But...

you're a little late to this game.

L.A. had things locked.

Until they didn't.

Yeah, until they didn't. Cheers to you.

He had nothing to do with that.

No. Of course not. I'd never suggest.

[WAGS] You kinda did,

but we'll let it slide.

Look, you can't have a Games
without a stadium.

And New York doesn't have a
stadium suitable for the Games...

modern, able to be turned over
quickly depending on the event.

- But we will. I will.
- Will you?

Well, then you may have me too.

If it seems the thing to do.

Gentlemen, I get one sh*t

every two years between the
Summer and the Winter Games,

so I hew to the Aintree approach:

stick with the favorite.

No time for long sh*ts.

Eh, maybe we'll speak again.

Cheers.

[SIGHS]

Do we really need that f*cking guy?

Sadly, we do.

He's the best in the space.

A very small, rarified space.

Find out who else he's talking to.

- And make those talks...
- [WAGS] Go south?

So he has nowhere else to go
but crawling back to us?

- More or less.
- I'm on it.

Be on it together.

- Yeah, about that...
- Are you serious?

You want us to be your
Tenspeed and Brown Shoe?

I'd have gone with Murtaugh
and Riggs, but, yes.

I am.

News on the land.

All the entities track back
to the same address.

Who're we talking about?

Oh.

Our Sam LeFrak wannabe has surfaced.

[SIGHS]

Welcome, welcome.

Todd Krakow.

I see life in the Beltway
was a real sacrifice for you.

[CHUCKLES] It was an honor to serve,

but, frankly, I rather enjoy being
back in the private sector.

I missed not having to report to anyone.

We're all accountable to each other

and tethered to this rock by gravity.

If you take the time
to be in the moment...

right there,
you can even feel the Earth move.

Mmm.

♪ I feel the sky ♪

♪ Tumbling down! ♪

[CHUCKLES]

g*dd*mn that felt good. Yeah.

Couldn't do that in a Cabinet meeting.

POTUS could, but that was it.

So, is, uh, that what brings you here?

Wouldn't be a certain real estate SPAC

set to IPO soon?

Not that I'm involved, officially.

No. I want you to think bigger.

"Bigger?" Really?

Join my bid.

We agree on one thing: New York would be

a superb host for the next Olympics.

Not only am I a believer,
I also happen to be

a highly capitalized
partner to buy land with,

to make inroads with the city and state

to help win over the Commission.

The Commission? Hmm.

Only a man with Colin Drache
in his employ can achieve that.

- Do you have him?
- Met today.

Seeing him again tomorrow.
So what do you think?

That's a no. Too many words.

Why fight over possession of the fumble

when we can both be on the same team?

I'd love a Mike Prince-type
onboard as a partner,

but, just so you know,
I'm QB'ing this baby.

What are you going for, huh?

Rehab your public image
after that precipitous fall

from Treasury?

Reboot your Manhattan bona fides?

Get on TV?

- Meet chicks?
- [LAUGHS]

You tell me what it is,
and I'll help build the new you.

No, I don't think you get it.

Once we IPO and close
on these properties...

and I can see I'm not
gonna get your piece

near Stuy Town, but I don't need it...

I skip right through the
permits to build a new stadium.

Does your bid have one of those?
Didn't think so.

With it, I land the Games,

and then I can have whatever
I want in this town.

So if you want to be a part of my bid,

then make me a real offer.

That starts with buying
a major block of shares

when they IPO tomorrow and I announce.

Otherwise, you may end up having
to wait in line to get tickets

like the Commoners.

Can you imagine?

Usually this is the part where
the guy on the other side

of the desk flexes, huffs, puffs

and makes vague but serious threats.

I don't go to w*r that way.

I just go to w*r.

You ready to get going?

Already going.

There's a guy we used to work with

who can follow Colin around,

do a deep dive into
his data and history,

and find out exactly
what makes him tick.

Let's put a pin in black bag ops

that'll put us right out of
business and maybe into jail.

Unless and until such time as.

Fine.

Shall we?

- You mean...?
- He said "together."

I'm aware.

Come to where I'm working.

When I'm not riding shotgun with Prince,

it's where I'm set up.

What the hell is this?

You've never seen a power map?

Naturally. Just...

wondering where the hell
you got this information.

Welcome to the st century, Wags.

I will be your guide.

We have Colin Drache's
business associates,

romantic partners, places he frequents,

cologne of choice...

[WAGS] Dior Sauvage!

So that was the stench hovering
around him like Pig-Pen.

We can't trust a man who
wears cologne before a.m.

We have to. By using this,

we'll determine his
spheres of influence,

figure out what he wants,

and then we'll be able to
identify which way he's leaning.

I hate to give you even an
ounce of satisfaction, Scooter,

but this is pretty f*cking cool.

Of course it's cool. I made it.

But sadly, it's just a start.

Not surprised to see the bulk
of Colin's network's in Europe.

Yeah. Lot of likely cities
in Europe, though.

We do have these kids who work here.

Very energetic, sometimes annoying.

So PC, they make John
Hodgeman look like an iMac.

We should use them.

Hey, quantlings, special assignment.
Who wants in?

Here's a chance to be
useful for a change.

Your taunts don't hurt me anymore.

I'm not sure millennials are
motivated by competition.

How 'bout this? You both win a trophy.

We need you to do an internet
scrape of one Colin Drache.

You want us to hack someone?

- Black hat?
- That's kinda weird.

- Not a hack.
- Definitely not

asking you to hack anyone.

More like a perfectly legal
ex-girlfriend stalking job.

Oh, this is more your wheelhouse.

[WAGS] We need to see
who he's talking to.

He's our in to the Commission.

We need to know what other
cities he may be dancing with

and which way he's leaning.

I'll send you the details.

What do we get if we help?

My foot not up your ass?

Honestly, that approach doesn't
work with my generation.

Oh, you're about to see how well it...

What do you want?

To borrow his Bentley for a weekend.

You got it.

I decided to k*ll the
pending land bank deals.

Turn 'em down.
Open up a new application process.

I'd like us to issue a press release,

then we string Krakow up
for trying to make a land grab

for illicit purposes
before his SPAC even...

You screwed me out of my Treasury gig,

now you're trying to do it again!

What's the name of that
Randy Rogers Band song I like so much?

- "Speak Of The Devil"?
- That's the one.

I'll go get started.

I just don't understand

why you'd side with Mike Prince on this.

Mike Prince?

Uh, you think I sided with him to...

Uh, the land bank
k*lled my transactions.

We had to.

Because like so many others
in the billionaire class,

you're using loopholes
to game the system.

Using private shell companies
to buy public lands?

Veiling disclosures about land use
for community redevelopment?

It may not be illegal,
but it's unethical.

So is your office accepting graft,

- but that didn't stop you.
- From whom?

Oh, uh, I suppose
we're back to Mike Prince.

You know he just wants
the land for himself.

- How'd he get you on his side?
- He didn't.

But if he tries the same tactic,
he'll face the same scrutiny.

Whatever gig he's offering
you with the Commish,

I'll up it if you
restore my transactions.

- Commish. Right. Sure.
- The Olympic Commission.

Is he gonna give you
something with teeth,

- or something ceremonial?
- Oh.

You two are trying to steer
the Olympics to the City.

May seem weird now,
but Mitt Romney was a f*cking god

when he brought them to Salt Lake.

I could use some of that social capital.

Turn it into actual capital. Ka-ching.

Don't make the cash register sound.

I would never.

So you get this land,
you lead the effort,

you become the chair of the
New York City Commission.

You win, and Prince suffers?

Humiliations galore.

Perhaps we can work this out.

Resubmit you applications, cards up.

Transparency will protect us both.

Being open and honest
has never worked for me,

but... I'll try anything.

And, matter of fact,
I will take something.

I'll steer infrastructure

so the people of this city
benefit from all the spending,

and so they don't just end
up with abandoned venues

like Rio's Olympic Park.

That place is a f*cking dustbowl.

You're a true steward
of the people, Chuck.

- Mm-hm.
- I appreciate the consideration.

We have a deal.

Good.

Ka-ching.

Let's, uh, hold a b*at
on the press conference.

What's up?

Our friend Krakow will get his
sh*t at the land after all.

How? And more importantly, why?

A different way,
with some different codicils...

That greed-driven
Meisterburger gets to bite off

a big part of the city that
we're supposed to safeguard?

To invite redevelopment
into those areas of the city,

don't we need developers?

Not ones who bypass public approval

to do whatever the hell they want.

This project doesn't advance
without my guiding hand.

It's for the greater good.

It may not feel that way now, but it is.

It certainly doesn't feel that way.
It feels more like...

Understood, Mrs. Sacker.

[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]

Mr. Mateo.

Mr. Prince.

It turns out my partnership overtures

weren't met with open arms.

[NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE]

Was that about the Dollar
Bill and Mafee SPAC?

Did he assign you to sanction it?

Like Nicholai Hel?

It's out of my hands.

That means you are gonna sanction it.

k*ll it. Them.

sh*t.

sh*t.

Are you still okay
with Prince going after

our former compatriots? Because he is.

I'm surprised Mafee was
so forthcoming with you

considering he hadn't
suggested any real estate

- speculation with me.
- You and Mafee talk, too?

Of course. We're friends.

We have a standing weekly dinner.

So then you have to agree
we should save them.

If they are anti-fragile,
they will survive

and thrive no matter what Prince does.
And if not,

well, I have to take the long view.

So harsh.

That's the way of the g*n.

And you're okay with it.

The g*n doesn't care what I'm okay with.

The ruination of the High
Plains SPAC is coming,

and I feel terrible.

I can't focus through the guilt.

You want to be a martyr, be my guest,

but you're not gonna find any grenades

to throw yourself onto in here.

I'm the one who put
them in the crosshairs.

Inadvertently.

You woke half the team
in the middle of the night.

That's advertent.

Because we have a lot
riding on the Olympics.

Beyond that, though?

It's... my job.

I could say you're a PM in a fund

times the size of theirs.

Mafee sloppily showed his hand,
you went all in against it.

In what world does that
make you the bad guy?

If you did, I might feel better.

And if I agreed you let
down your moral code?

Worse.

And I'd probably sulk.

So then...

own the fact that Mafee
doesn't work here anymore.

Neither does Dollar Bill.

- Well, yeah, but...
- We're competitors now.

I know. But couldn't I at least
warn them what's coming?

Sure. But play that out.

You'd get fired,
and you'd never work again

because everyone would
know you fed our plays

to the competition because you're you,

and the world's the world,
and that is what will happen.

Wish I hadn't said anything now.

Can't put that sh*t back in the goose.

You don't want to feel bad again,

act differently. Beforehand.

In the meantime,
you're just gonna have to feel

two things at once because

that's what life demands of us.

Thanks, I guess.

I don't feel any better.

Seems to be my specialty of late.

Tell me, Ben Kim,

do you wish you'd left with
them and stayed loyal to Axe?

Do you?

No.

But I, too, admire
what Mafee and DB did.

Know that.

Then do something.

[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]

["RAMBLIN' MAN"
BY THE ALLMAN BROTHERS PLAYS]

♪ Lord, I was born a ramblin' man ♪

♪ Tryin' to make a livin'
and doin' the best I can ♪

♪ And when it's time for leavin' ♪

♪ I hope you'll understand ♪

♪ That I was born a ramblin' man ♪

♪ My father was a gambler
down in Georgia ♪

♪ And he wound up on
the wrong end of a g*n ♪

♪ And I was born in the back seat ♪

♪ Of a Greyhound bus ♪

♪ Rollin' down highway ♪

♪ Lord, I was born a ramblin' man ♪

That's it.

That's enough.

Come on, ladies.

I think destiny is calling us.

♪ And when it's time for leavin' ♪

♪ I hope you'll understand
that I was born... ♪

Prince says we should add Krakow
to the list of Colin's suitors.

- Figures.
- Prince will knock him off.

We just have to focus on whoever else.

- What's with the stuff?
- My office.

It's yours now. You take it.

- I'm fine...
- Nope.

I'm not unaware of the workflow.

You take it. I'll decamp here.

You sure?

As it should be.

On your way.

[HUMS]

[PRINCE] Welcome Mayor Johnson.

I get it. You need the room.

I see I'm not the only
new blood in town.

I hope to do in the hedge fund
space what you undoubtedly

will do in City Hall, Ms. Mayor.

I'm coming home, boys!

[ALL CLAPPING, CHEERING]

Mayor Johnson, I'll keep this brief.

When I supported your campaign,

I promised to come
to you with big ideas.

You supported my competitors as well.

- But go on.
- What would you say

to one of my competitors

concealing his efforts
to lure the Olympics here

without consulting you first?

Oh, that?

No new stadium, no bid.

Who is it?

Former Treasury Sec Todd Krakow.

He hasn't announced yet, but it's him.

Hmm. Maybe he has the juice,

but I'm not convinced. For when?

The Games need a new host city for .

That is a tight turnaround.

And the stadium faced
a lot of opposition

last time this idea was floated.

Because it's bad for Manhattan.
For congestion,

for affordable housing,
for the environment.

Okay. So you want to bring this
to the City Council to k*ll?

You could.

But I believe you stand more to gain

by speaking out against it yourself.

How's that?

- You're America's mayor.
- [LAUGHS]

With your new profile,

you'd shine a spotlight on my plan
to build a stadium in Westchester.

You'd come out looking like a hero

for putting community
impact ahead of a photo op

and the whims of a rich guy.

I'm not interested
in what it looks like,

and I'm not interested in
making the same mistakes

as the idiot I replaced.

The mistake the idiot
who came before you made

was not caring what stuff looked like.

Which is why he left
office as a punchline.

Hmm.

- They aren't gonna budge.
- You know for sure?

[WENDY] You know who invented steam?

John Fitch.

Steam power, anyway.

The state legislature gave
him a -year monopoly

to come up with a commercial use for it.

But Fitch f*cked it up,

lost the monopoly because
he couldn't do it.

Steam power transformed the world,

but the man who invented
it d*ed penniless.

k*lled himself.

That's a sad story.

Should come with a trigger
warning for the ending.

The ending is the warning.

[CHUCKLES]

You two are all in on a steamboat,

but you're gonna end up like Fitch.

You want to keep affording these offices

and your business, you need to listen.

Prince knows all about the SPAC

and the Olympic play,

and he's lining up to
destroy whatever it is

- you're bringing out.
- Wait.

How the f*ck does Prince know
about the Olympics piece?

sh*t. It was Ben Kim.

How the f*ck does Ben Kim know?

I didn't tell him anything.

You know that this is the
moment when the detective

realizes you k*lled the guy, right?

No one accused you
of anything yet, Mafee,

but you're proclaiming your innocence,

which tells me you're guilty as f*ck.

What did you tell him?

I didn't tell him the whole play.

Well, I guess I gave him enough clues.

Prince knows.
That's all that matters now.

No. What matters to you is Prince.

But I give no shits about
what matters to you, or him.

And we are not walking away from
a Mayweather-Pacquiao payday

so that Michael Prince can take it.

[SCOFFS] We're already in position.

Our incoming partner
has the land on lock.

Why not bring your boss in

to High Plains and
ride the wave with us?

Boys...

here's how this is gonna go.

When the IPO happens,
you're gonna feel like winners,

like you've finally made it.

But when Prince kills the Olympic play,

the SPAC is gonna liquidate,
and you're gonna drown.

You need to abandon your plan.

Pull the filing while you still can,

before you wreck your
reputations and lose your money.

Appreciate you coming to us with this.

Do you?

First time here, it's like you squatted

in the middle of the office

and took a big steaming
dump on the floor,

but we know when we're b*at.

Speaking of dumps,
we've got some calls to make,

to some investors that are
gonna be plenty disappointed

we cancelled the offering.
We better get to it.

You two are terrible liars,

and you're pulling from my playbook.

You're not going to heed
my warning, are you?

You wouldn't risk your career like this.

So you're here at his behest.

And we don't do behest anymore.

What does he think he means,
they don't "do behest?"

It doesn't matter.

Dollar Bill and Mafee are
on a blind profit run,

and they're not going
to protect themselves.

Is there anything else we can do?

Prince's plan is smart, thoughtful,

and benefits a lot of people.

Especially people at this company,

especially people at this desk. So, no.

If I thought we could
save Dollar Bill and Mafee

from themselves long-term, I'd do it.

I care for them, Mafee especially.

But, like I told Ben,
they are who they are.

And, I guess, so are we.

It is my pleasure to announce that

I will be spearheading
the High Plains Management

real estate SPAC
rolling out as we speak.

Consider it a Krak-SPAC, if you will.

Once funded, the company
will purchase properties

along the East River in Manhattan

earmarked for redevelopment,

bringing new life to the community

by building an all-weather stadium,

seating capacity for ,

and a retractable roof.

Zoning laws were created
for this very reason,

to protect tenant rights

and small business owners.

These are the people
who put me in office.

And I will not let the
Todd Krakows of the world

bulldoze their livelihoods

with plans to build a nonessential

new stadium in Manhattan.

I won't fast-track it.

I won't even allow zoning for it

without it first going through extensive

community, committee

and environmental reviews.

And I mean extensive.

I'm talking years.

Boom.

She dropped the payload.

Time to raid the villages.

Thank you. We'll get you those
architectural plans tout suite.

- Ciao.
- [WOMAN] Great, thanks.

[CELLPHONE VIBRATES]

[CHUCKLES]

[CELLPHONE VIBRATES]

Oh f*ck!

f*ck!

That Krakow SPAC IPO?

You should know,
it's not as rosy as you thought.

The rezoning's just the beginning.

Krakow is getting machinegunned
like Elias in Platoon.

- Thing's taking a dirt nap.
- MPC has cleared a lane

for a stadium deal of our own.

We've got green lights all
the way to breaking ground.

But I'm your transport out of the 'Nam.

I'm glad to hear that.

You're smart to stay away from Krakow.

Dude, you're not going
through your list.

I will.

Just give me sec.

[SIGHS]

We found out Colin's a rabid footballer.

- How rabid?
- Keeper at his club rabid.

Three trips across the
globe to see matches

during the pandemic rabid.

So he likes football, as do millions.

We looked deeper.

There's an opening.

The IPO busted before it
even opened for trading.

[TAYLOR] I saw the Exchange halt it

shortly after the mayor's statement.

No money raised.
Krakow can't back his bids.

And Dollar Bill and Mafee can't
collect any sponsorship fees.

Look, I didn't go into this
to do damage,

but from my vantage,

we're destabilizing a bad actor,

saving the Games from the
corruption and exclusion

that follow men like Krakow,
who only see a payday in this.

But the land,

that's still worth something to me.

I thought we were
building in Westchester.

Crown jewel was always the
waterfront in Manhattan.

We're just gonna build
there the right way.

Oh, this is Spanish Prisoner.

We're not at the blowoff yet.

There's another act coming.

You'll see soon enough.

I hope you've had some time
to consider my original offer,

though I'd say you've waived
the chance to negotiate.

I somehow thought you were different.

But your approach reminds me a lot

of the man whose office you took.

It's possible you bring
out a similar reaction

in wildly disparate individuals.

I'll think it over
when I drink your blood

after decapitating you.

Accepting loss is hard for
those who lack humility.

But here's a reality check.

You have deals with the City on land,

but your SPAC is liquidated

and you don't have the capital to close.

My investors dumped me like Winthorpe

and Billy Ray Valentine
in the orange juice pit.

That's the problem with
other people's money.

They can take it away from you.

So, you'll either go into your pocket...

For a billion dollars of
New York f*cking real estate

that you got the mayor to
oppose zoning changes on?!

Don't think so.

I like being rich.

Not gonna end up like Tr*mp.

Or you'll...

Partner with you.

Fine.

Forget drinking your blood,
I'll stand with you instead.

I'll assign the deeds to you,

you and your investors pay.

And I'll be starting QB.

That's fine. It's fine.

Just know we'll be spitting
in Chuck Rhoades's eye.

Hey, don't worry.

I'll handle him.

I can't f*cking believe it.
Here you are.

I thought, "There's no way
Taylor would think our dinner's

still on after their firm
destroyed my g*dd*mn company."

But here you are.

It's unfortunate the way the IPO went,

that the SPAC is zeroed out.

I understand you were
warned not to launch it.

One is business, the other personal.
I don't see the linkage.

You thought you could just
sit across from me, enjoying those

bok choy pot stickers,
while my life is falling apart,

because of you and the
company you help run?

I knew you were a f*cking cyborg.

And I thought about
letting you sit there

and put the pieces together on your own.

But I had to see for
myself just how devoid

of all human understanding you are.

I...

Spain's coming hard.

They somehow convinced
Real Madrid's manager

to give Drache soccer lessons,

all to win him over
to the Madrid effort.

Meaning they figured
out what matters to him.

Wasn't hard.
Guy raises millions for ALS.

So we back up the Brinks truck,

help cure a disease,

and the guy becomes a hero.

And Colin never walks
onto Madrid's pitch.

I'm have a sudden craving for croquetas.

Want to put in an order?

Sure. Pull up a menu.

Alexa, play my faves playlist.

[ALEXA] Playlist faves on Amazon music.

["CAT'S IN THE CRADLE"
BY HARRY CHAPIN PLAYS]

You put this song on your playlist?

Don't tell me you have a
problem with Harry Chapin.

No, I just didn't realize
you had any taste.

Oh...

Thanks.

I think.

♪ While I was away ♪

♪ And he was talking 'fore I knew it,
and as he grew... ♪

This song.

It used to hit me as the son.

Now it hits me as the father.

♪ And the cat's in the cradle... ♪

You?

Yeah.

Both.

♪ But we'll get together then ♪

♪ You know we'll have a good time then ♪

- [CLEARS THROAT]
- [SOBS]

I said I was fine with what we did,

but maybe I didn't see it through.

The associated loss, in human terms.

I didn't see all the possible outcomes.

After Mafee left the firm,

I always thought of us
as Bird and Magic.

k*ll each other on the court,

but best friends in the off-season.

We were never trained to be worried
about unintended consequences.

The win was all that mattered,

and our success only
reinforced that idea.

I say "we were trained," but in truth,

I did most of that training,

which is why I guess my
attempt to undo it was clumsy.

The blame isn't just,
or even mostly, on you.

I keep getting sucked
back into the short game,

and I promised myself I
wouldn't do that anymore.

To be fair, your short game
is everyone else's long game.

That only makes it more disappointing.

So then what actions are you...

are we going to take to rectify it?

- Here we are again.
- The game has changed.

We need to put the stadium
in Manhattan after all.

- Built at no cost to the city.
- What about the congestion?

Affordable housing?
Impact on the environment?

None of that will be a problem
the way he's going to do it.

Sustainable. Repurposable. Cutting edge.

And how am I not gonna
look like a flip-flopper?

You're gonna look like
a brilliant negotiator.

You have leveraged the
real estate community

to band together to
build low-income housing

unlike the City has seen before.

- State-of-the-art.
- Because first it's gonna be...

Yes. Athletes' quarters.

Built at the lowest
possible cost to the city,

by one of our great builders.

You mean if you win,
Chuck Rhoades suffers?

Humiliations galore.

- Bud Lazzara's on board?
- Not only that,

we have the site
and surrounding property,

and a healthy w*r chest
to close on it with.

Most importantly,
you have my word and a witness.

Then let the Games begin.

[DOOR OPENS]

Might want to watch your step.

There's blood all over the floor.

Guess it wasn't good
enough you k*lled our IPO.

You just had to do a
stiff f*cking pile driver

without protecting our necks.

Oh, no, I've got you tucked
safely between my thighs.

Kayfabe all the way.

- I've spoken to Prince.
- And what?

He wants to offer us our old jobs back?

I'm not walking backwards.

Neither is Mafee.

Well, I'd consider it,

but no.

We know the SPAC was going
to be your opportunity.

Prince asked Spartan-Ives
to fund you instead.

Spartan will write the check,
as a make-good to Prince.

Meaning?

They saved our asses.

At what price? We got to show fealty?

Pledge our firstborn sons? What?

How about you take this as an
object lesson, free of charge.

You're not giant-K*llers.

Don't go swinging your swords

into a battles you've already lost.

I lobbied for this too,
to square things with us.

Suddenly had a conscience
program installed?

- Did you go to Wendy for that?
- I did seek her counsel,

to remind me what I value most.

So, what, Taylor? A friendship

where I'm watching every word I say

for fear you're going to
gouge me in the eye later?

I won't offer you
any empty platitudes, Mafee.

But I would like a chance
to talk this through,

repair our trust.

Are we back on for our regular dinners?

We are.

Did you hear that, Ben Kim?

My god, that was brutal.

But thank you.

Thank you!

Oh, thank Christ.

We didn't blow up!

Mortimer, we're back!

[EXHALES]

[GRUNTS]

So, this happened.

And Mayor Tess is about to
give another press conference

reversing field.

Prince got to Krakow?

And the mayor.

Prince got Krakow's stadium?!

The way I see it, you dangled our land

to get a preferred outcome, and now,

instead of a good initiative
against one bad pony,

we've lost it to a pair of 'em.

No, wait.

Wait. In a way, this actually helps us.

- I'm not seeing it.
- This proves my point, doesn't it?

Billionaires plot in secret
to take everything for themselves.

And the laws protect
their rights to do so.

Prince may have the land,

but he doesn't have the
people that live on it.

Is he going to start buying people now?

Bet he would if he could.

- We can't let him.
- Uh-oh.

Are we about to see the
return of Farmer Chuck?

What'd Bruce say?

"Wherever there's a fight

"against the blood
and hatred in the air,

look for me, Mom, I'll be there."

I promise I will think of something

to make it clear that
we are the stewards

of the best interests of
the people of New York,

and not Prince or Krakow.

How?

I need to take a little walk.

That's how.

You ready for the Colin meeting?

- Yep. Your office?
- Our office.

I saw what you were
doing with the selfless

"donate the office" play. Very elevated.

Bonding up with the guys.

Reifying your status as
their sergeant on the ground.

Can't let you get away with it.

- No?
- Uh-uh.

[WAGS] So you actually wanna...?

That's right. We share.

Seems our good friend
Mr. Drache is back.

Colin, please,
as we'll be all working together.

So, Todd Krakow no longer
has need of your services?

Alas, no. Nor Spain.

They seem to be the type that
reneges on their prior promises.

While you seem like the soccer type.

We're pretty tight with David Beckham.

Maybe there'll be an opportunity for him

to be on the pitch with you

when he comes to town for the Games.

Don't worry, you're home now.

I certainly see that.

I'll let you fellas get started.

I have a press conference to attend.

There's no better time
to welcome the world

back to New York City.

I want to introduce
the man with the vision

and personal investment as our partner,

the chairman of the NYC
Olympic Commission,

Michael Prince.

[APPLAUSE]

- Thank you, Mayor Johnson.
- [CAR HORN BEEPS]

We both share the same vision

of what a Summer Games in
New York should look like...

[CAR HORNS HONK]

...an event for everyone.

A chance to showcase and rebuild

in all five boroughs.

But I don't think the taxpayer...

- [HORNS CONTINUE HONKING]
- ...should shoulder the burden

of the costs.

[MULTIPLE HORNS HONKING]

My approach incentivizes...

[MAN YELLING]

...the private sector to join me...

[MAN] Get out of the f*ckin' street!

Move the f*ckin' car, bro!

Get out of the way!

[HORNS HONKING]

All right, back it up.

[TRUCK BEEPING]

Oh, I think we've got their attention.

[LAUGHS]

So they want to revitalize the City?

These plutocrats?

Have they thought about
the unintended consequences

to the average citizen?

Do they think about the
average citizen at all?

I am not in this for the
goddamned Bronx Cheer.

Nobody told me about
the "f*ck you" parade.

This is the traffic
for a press conference.

What will New York look like
when the traffic quintuples?

[CROWD MURMURS]

A cabal of billionaires
remaking the city.

What the hell do they know
about the real New York?

How many people will be displaced

so they can build an Olympic stadium?

Yeah.

Have they at all considered
what real New Yorkers

want for our city?

Maybe we should remind them who we are.

Yeah?

What do we do when the carpetbaggers

and the land barons try to
shove us out of the way?

- We shove back!
- [WOMAN] Yeah!

- We shove back!
- [VOICES] Yeah!

That's right.

And together, the people,

and those who represent the people,

we will take back our city!

Take back our city!

- Take back our city!
- Take back our city!

[ALL CHANTING] Take back our city!

Take back our city!

- Take back our city!
- Take back our city!

Take back our city!

- Take back our city!
- Take back our city!

Take back our city!

♪ The time is right for fighting ♪

♪ In the street, boy ♪

♪ But what can a poor boy do ♪

♪ Except to sing for
A rock 'n' roll band ♪

♪ 'Cause in sleepy London town ♪

♪ There's just no place for ♪

♪ A street fighting man ♪

♪ No ♪

♪ Hey! ♪

♪ Think the time is right for ♪