06x12 - Cold Storage

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Billions...

Billionaires plot in secret to
take everything for themselves.

Unlike Chuck,
I want to invest in your future.

I failed to protect my g*dd*mn queen.

Dave, I just need
another day with the files.

I will messenger them back
first thing in the morning.

Those who come alone to pack up
their gear and soak in the loss.

He had to remind me
that he took from me.

Prince has different priorities.

So we're gonna trust this guy?

- You good?
- Absolutely.

You had to have told him that
I would be in a warring posture

toward the man who took
what I was away from me.

Motherhusker.

Michael f*cking Prince
is running for president.

President of the United
States of America.

- And one of us...
- Both of us.

...could be running
Michael Prince Capital.

We need to save the country

by stopping Mike Prince.

So now you see why it wasn't enough

to remove Chuck from office,

to try to neutralize him.

We need to take that son of a bitch
entirely off the board.

I have a series of questions,

for which I expect truthful answers,

at the end of which one of you
will walk out a free man,

the other will remain
to be arrested and indicted.

So I'd like to know what this
drive of yours contains, Mr. Prince.

Crypto, I suspect.

I don't know what's on
this particular drive.

And even if I did, so what?

Strong indication of tax fraud.
We'll get to the particulars.

And before you say it doesn't...

He already said it.

Guilty of giving a false statement.

Slow down, Chuck.

You should know, Mr. Prince,

that we believe this
drive has crypto on it,

to finance your Mike Money program

and catapult you into the
lead for the presidential.

Let's start by getting it open.

I-I can't open it.
I don't have the code.

I'll allow you to use
your phone or computer

to retrieve the code.

It's not that I don't have it on me.

- It's that I don't have it.
- [SCOFFS]

I hope we're not disputing
that this belongs to you,

because it was retrieved
from one of your companies...

We will be examining the legality

- of how it was retrieved.
- Happy to.

Let's talk about the last
hours and how we got here.

Okay, where do you want to start?

Oh, I'll start.

And volunteer how I had reason
to hip-check a former employee.

- Current.
- Both, really.

One to me, another to you.

Isn't that right, Kate?

Do not directly address
your counterpart's attorney

unless she addresses you first.

And, no, you tried to hip-check me.

But, like Rollergirl,
I skated out the way,

and you went crashing into the boards.

[SIGHS]

You a dead-end gumshoe now,
sitting stakeouts?

Because I saw you when I walked in.
Your skills are lacking.

You're gonna want to get in the car.

Yeah. Seems like it.

An oldie, but it has a solid backbeat.

A case against the Butters family

and their company that produces opioids,

but you declined to prosecute.

- I remember.
- Feds finally took them down,

two years after you played "not it."

Can't prosecute them all,
Chuck, even if we want to.

Well, that's the thing.
You didn't want to. Not really.

'Cause I learned your father
is on three charitable boards,

including the museum,

with the head of the Butters family.

Yeah, maybe I'm not so dead-end

when it comes to gum-shoeing after all.

And right now you're asking
yourself how it will look

when the public finds out you sided

with drug pushers and fat cats.

Which means you're asking
the right question.

And the answer to that query is, yes,

you are on the wrong side of history.

I'm always on the right
side of everything.

- It's the only way I roll.
- Sure.

But you're living out your pathology,
aren't you, Kate?

Letting others go first.

Or is it, uh...
Prince gets what he wants,

and when he ends up in the White House,

you get a cabinet appointment?

Is that the grand plan now?

Oh, you didn't know.

You know what?

He could win.

If I thought otherwise,
we wouldn't be here.

I wouldn't be forced to do this to you.

- I'd walk away.
- Do what?

He's Greg Stillson, Kate.

And you don't need a coma
or supernatural powers

to know I'm right.

So you're the man to get
him to hold up a baby?

Can you think of anyone more capable?

I will take this under advisement.

Uh, no thinking, just moving.

Helping me take down Mike Prince.

Not doing that.

[SIGHS]

You know, if there was one reason

for your leaving NYAG
that was valid, it was this.

You shouldn't be putting
anyone else's political plans

ahead of yours.

And that includes grandiose ones
like being elected president.

The shoes and the bags
are not that nice.

They're pretty nice.

If you don't help me,

I'll roast you.

And you'll never even
make the statehouse.

[INHALES DEEPLY]

- I can keep this?
- Nice try. I have copies.

[PRINCE] Well, Chuck,
while you were trying

to turn my people against me...

Your people?
You took her from this office.

I was trying to do some darned good.

See, here's the thing
about Mike Prince...

Oh, forget the rest, Dave.

Arrest him for felonious
use of the third person.

[DAVE] Would that I could,

but now that we're focused on you,

why don't you tell me
what you were up to?

Me?

It's fine. Answer.

Well, Kate, as you know,
it was a beautiful time for me,

watching the leadership of my company

take its next natural
steps in its growth.

Help yourselves.

Someone offers you caviar,
don't be bashful.

Don't hold back. Take it.

It's a life rule.

Usually, what I'd do if I
wanted to celebrate something,

mark a big occasion,

is I'd get someone like
Nobu Matsuhisa in here

to prepare some one-in-a-million sushi.

Or Guy Fieri to fire up

some kind of insane
grilled cheese concoction.

But tonight, I don't want
any outsiders aboard.

Not even legends.

Because tonight is about us.

It's about celebrating us.

Who we are and who we're becoming.

Who and what I'm becoming.

Tonight is about locking
in my succession plan.

Now while I thought we'd be
in for a battle of ideas,

a spirited debate, fight to the death,

I was presented with
an undeniable proposal:

a council of two.

Taylor and Phillip will
be co-heads of the firm,

which will shortly
convert to a blind trust

as I step away to pursue...

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm gonna entrust you with it.

...as I pursue my run for
president of the United States.

[APPLAUSE]

Oh, sh... Oh, damn.

[GRUNTS] Stains. Gotta fix that.

[HUMMING NERVOUSLY]

Club soda... No, okay. Excuse me.

[CHUCKLES]

[BREATHING RAPIDLY]

I'd tell you to breathe,

but you're doing too
much of that as it is.

Is this a "stay and watch you
hyperventilate" situation,

or a "leave you to it

because the worst that will
happen is you'll pass out"?

I did something that's gonna
ruin things for everybody.

Define "things" and
"everybody" in this context.

Context?

Okay, well, you, for one.

And Philip.

And your new job you were just given.

Because this whole
political-presidential deal

is going to blow up
in Mike Prince's face.

And when it does,
he's going to come back to run the firm

if he doesn't close it,
and you'll lose your spot.

And then, also, everybody else,
like in the country,

because Prince won't be president.

And you're sure of this how?
And you did what?

[SIGHS] Somehow I knew
I was going to tell you,

even though you're the
last person I want to know.

Okay.

I slept with our boss,

and people who boink the young
employee don't get elected.

And the people who were
boinked get treated way worse.

I'll be Monica.

No, wait,
he was already president, and...

Monica's sort of a hero now.

I'm gonna be Sydney f*cking Leathers.

Donna Rice. Rielle.

The women who cost them the office.

Oh, I don't want to f*cking be Rielle.

Okay.

You were converting your business

because you wanted
to run for higher office.

The only thing more obvious
than that for a billionaire

is building a space program,
a real toy rocket.

You have one of those?

My whole life is a rocket ride.

[SCOFFS] Must be nice, as they say.

Ah, yes, the battle cry of the bitter.

The mating call of the
meek and the miserable.

But you know what? It is nice.

Oh, it's so nice.

Which is why, no,
I don't need an actual trip to Mars.

Space isn't my final frontier.

Too much to do right here
on the third rock from the sun

and in the sleepless city,
which is what I was focused on.

New York. The country. Not me.

Yeah, no,
a hundred percenter right there.

I mean, that's why a guy named Mike

would call a thing Mike Money,

'cause he wants the focus
away from himself.

Yeah, it's all well documented.
I was meeting

with other similarly
minded people of means

just to get them to kick in
with me to support Mike Money.

The name was just branding.

I've said all this publicly.

And the support was rolling in.

Rolling like a Pete Weber alley-shaker.

And it would have saved you
all this trouble,

and a likely trip to jail,
if instead of trying to trap me,

you would have remembered
Mr. Weber's words:

"Who do you think you are?

I am!"

You?

You're the fella couldn't get

his own friends to stand with him.

We're not footing the bill ourselves.

Even the first installment
was too much and dangerous.

We need to approach all these folks.

- Ask for broad support.
- Yes, yes.

So it doesn't sound
like noblesse oblige,

like a guy trying to personally buy...

That won't get it done. That's right.

Instead we go with the hat out and...

Absolutely, a little pinch
of sawdust from the pocket,

and its Coles and Atkins time.
The old soft-shoe.

[PRINCE] I had it going, too,

until you tried to foul that all up.

[CHUCK] I would like
to take credit for that.

But not one of them was
with you from the start.

Least, not according to them.

You know, I'm happy
to throw good money after bad

if it's a cause I give a sh*t about.

You know,
one that makes a certain great man

grow in the public stature.

That man would be you, then?

Who the f*ck else, Rhoades? You?

No, I'm done kicking in
on someone else's joyride.

If I'm not banging the cheerleader,

I'm not loaning my Silverado
out to the tailgate.

How were you able to
resist Prince's entreaties?

In our game, everyone's smart.

Everyone's got an angle.
Everyone asks the favors.

Learning how to say "f*ck no"

in a way they keep doing favors for you,

that's the skill.

You all usually can't wait

to form up the circle jerk

and start passing the Jergens.

What's different this time?

Got tired of all the chafing, I guess.

So not one of them joined in.

They must be concerned

that something about it isn't legit,

or will reflect badly on them.

What do you think?

Or maybe they decided he's a d*ck,

or realized it and don't want
to cosign his mission?

- Or...
- Don't you think

you could be running these
scenarios on your own?

Or not running scenarios
and living your life.

You don't need me here.

Contrary to what you seem to believe,

I do have better things
I could be doing.

Hmm. Other, sure. Not better.

My wife texted me she just
got something very special

from the Goop store,

which she wanted to
try out in front of me.

- So, yeah.
- Charge me hourly if you must.

You're my sounding board, buddy.

No, no, I'd never charge you.

I'd just want you to
actually hear the sounds

bouncing off the board
telling you to stop.

Au contraire, mon frère.

Hearing myself think
aloud has made it clear.

Guys like Prince,

if they're seen doing big
charity like this alone,

their investors think
they're all in on it

and not focused on them,
or they've gone socialist.

He needs cover.

But I'm gonna strip that away.

[PRINCE] You can be
skeptical about motive.

You can be angry that
this isn't a public right,

having enough money to
both eat and buy textbooks

for your middle schooler without
having to work -hour days

and all the rest, but you cannot deny

that the kids here
at this Boys and Girls Club

- will benefit the most.
- That's right.

Thank God we can intercede now.
Change the cycle of poverty.

Fix systemic imbalances. Really help.

You and your cronies will get
helped plenty by tax breaks.

No, no. Not how Mike Money works.

This is unrestricted income...

Perhaps that's why your cronies
aren't in this with you.

And why, when you failed to entice them,

you had to bankroll the
entire $ . billion yourself.

Chuck, you're letting
your personal animus...

[CHUCK] Animus?

[CHUCKLES] Oh.

Is that what they call
seeing the truth these days?

Because this is the truth,

a truth you no doubt want
to keep from your investors,

who will think you mad.

You are so determined
not to look like a man

who can't keep his promise
that you are willing to risk

% of your net worth.

[LAUGHS] As a starter.

[REPORTER] Is it true, Mike?

You're putting billions of
your own dollars into this?

So no other investors?
You're out on this limb alone?

[REPORTERS CLAMORING]

[REPORTER] Mr. Prince...

[OVERLAPPED SHOUTING]

[ALL CLAMORING]

Mr. Prince, do you care
to comment on the story

about you financing
Mike Money on your own?

Why were you dodging that?

Gosh, you know,
maybe it's the Midwest in me,

but the way I grew up,

you weren't supposed to take
credit for doing good deeds,

you're just supposed to do them.

[ALL CLAMORING]

[CHIMES]

Oh, come on.

_

One nice part about
doing the right thing,

even if you're on your own at first,

is that everyone's gonna
get to where you're at

sooner or later.

You'll already be there.

Un-f*cking-believable.

You know what? I need to take a minute.

Phone break, comfort break, all of it,

as I'm sure you two do.

[SIGHS]

[LAUGHS]

Well, I'll admit this much.

You sucked me in like
f*cking Johnny f*cking Chan

to get you to cop it was your money.

Well, you knew
I'd sniff it out and expose you.

You wanted the glory,

but didn't want to be
seen as asking for it.

[CHUCKLES] Brilliantly done, Mike.

You're the guy spinning
the backgammon cubes

and trying to roll a double six.

And you're the only guy in
this room who broke the law.

You know she's recording us

in hopes of a self-incrimination twofer.

And you also know I did no such thing.

Though there is one Magic
Mike-level lawbreaker in here,

and he goes by the same name.

It was the women in that
flick were the lawbreakers.

Rhoades, we are here
entirely because of you.

I'm about as far aboveboard
as Greg Louganis in his prime.

Well, and like that great
platform man, you may indeed

rise above for a short moment,
but gravity will do its work,

and plummet you will.

No, I do not feel taken advantage of.

I was down for it. I am down.

No power dynamic was at play.

If anything, I led and he followed.

But I didn't know the ramifications

and how they would ramificate.

Ramify?

Linguistics don't matter here.
What matters is...

Shutting me up, probably, right?

sh*t, I'm a motormouth.

I can't even shut myself up.

I will shut up now, though,
as you all, what, brainstorm?

- Strategize?
- Rian, I don't believe

it would be useful to hear whatever

is said next for you or me.

I-I need to know who's
gonna talk to Prince

- to tell him I outed...
- Shh!

- Shh!
- Right. Okay, then.

So, yeah.

First step is sanitize.

Assume the press will find
out once he announces.

His opponents will certainly be looking.

And feeding it to the press.
We need points of exposure.

- Beyond the...
- Security cameras at his house,

ergo security company,
ergo system has a feed,

ergo guy watches the feed.

Million points of vulnerability

nobody thinks about
when they get distracted.

Staff was mostly on
clean-up after the party,

- but they were there.
- Coat check would've noticed

her coat was the only one still hanging.

Party that big,
you figure a % abandonment,

- but possible.
- Cell phone pings.

- Car service. Food delivery.
- We're dancing around the thing.

- We are.
- Money.

A payoff.
I imagine not your first with him.

The fact that you are forced to imagine

says a lot about my level of discretion

in this setting, does it not?

I am impressed. And now I know

the cash is locked down on your side.

It's our side. All of us.

And it has to be solid enough

that we're not in some parking lot

feeding disinformation to some guy

we hope gets it into
the Post or the Times.

- Agreed.
- Has she asked for a payoff?

Do we think she even wants that?

Because she didn't seem
concerned about herself.

They never seem. It is simply easier,

cleaner if she takes the money.

Mm...

You disagree with the plan?

We're not saying the actual,
actual thing,

which means we're thinking the thing.

And maybe it's my new life with Chelz

and the promise of a more
wholesome future,

but we all know the cleanest way

is when the young girl turns up dead.

- What the f*ck, Wags?
- f*cking hell.

And that's where I draw the line.
I'm not f*cking going there.

Nobody is k*lling anyone.

It isn't even under consideration.

- Right?
- No, not really.

Not at all.

Though I must say I'm surprised, Wags,

'cause this is usually the point

where you say you "know a guy"

who can make all the problems disappear.

But you're not volunteering him now.

Well, I must say I'm surprised, Scoot,

because you're a guy who listens
to Brahms and quaffs Scotch

with his family just downstairs,

and you're willing to do
just about f*cking anything.

Guys, we need to figure out
if a payment is welcome

before anything happens.

In the meantime...

which hatches do we have to batten?

Let's start with the digital.

Everyone in my firm was working
for the good of the enterprise.

For our investors. It's what we do.

I'm sure what happened
there was essential

to the survival of MPC.

But I'd like to turn our focus
to what brought you here.

Oh, you mean this knucklehead
breaking into my warehouse?

[CHUCK] Oh, no breaking. No entering.

Technically, Chuck,
and for the record...

Yes, all right, yes, entering.

But legally, within the legal limits.

I was piqued that you played
me into having the city

celebrate you like Jeter after the flip.

And embarrassed, I admit.

So, I don't know,
maybe to save face with myself,

I decided, as an afterthought,

to look into the specifics

of how you were financing the plan.

You know what happens when
these stock floggers go for it,

whether it be on a big
purchase or big initiative.

Fire sales, disruption.

They start swinging erratically,
moving money, and before long,

the wheels start coming off.

Mm-hmm. Is that what's happening here?

Far from it, Chuck.

It's business as usual
at Michael Prince Capital.

I got up into the carcass,

but Prince's last big transaction

was a . billion payment to Axe.

He kept the investment arm.
It's up on the year.

He spun off the bank,
but kept the armored car company.

There are lots of other
business details, but...

[LAUGHS] Wait.

Hot question:

Why would Mike Prince need
an armored car company

without a bank?

Huh.

No, the hot question is:

Why would Chuck Rhoades,
a private citizen,

stalk my companies,
my vehicles, my life?

Answer: I should have gotten
a restraining order.

In fact, Dave, I'd like to apply
for a restraining order

- against Chuck Rhoades.
- That happens in court, not here.

Lot of bluster, but you didn't call it

a wild goose chase, did you, Mike?

[DAVE] Chuck, the man has a point.

He was living his life, and it seems

you were trying to live his life, too.

It does hit me kind of weird.

Mr. Prince, how did you first find out

Chuck was all up in your business?

I started getting calls

from employees I'd
never spoken to before.

Guy offloads anything with the
stench of Bobby Axelrod on it,

including the banks,

but keeps the Axe Bank armored cars

that shuttle things to the bank?

And the drivers just standing by,

hanging out, waiting for what, exactly?

Is he heavily into bullion transport?

I don't know.

So he pays you all this money

and gives you all this power,
and you can't find out

- the mandate of a subsidiary?
- Look, I am here

at your demand, but I am simply unable

to share any information
that I don't have.

I'm not seeing unable,
I'm seeing unwilling.

And that is different.

I want the manifests from that company.

I want to know where those
armored f*cking cars are going.

- You can go now.
- You're gonna want

to watch that tone with me.

I am not a recalcitrant child.

Oh, no, I don't think I will watch it.

Because while I have the utmost
respect for the Kate Sacker

that walked out the door to
find her own way in the world,

what I am seeing here is
someone who is uninterested

in what is good and right and fair.

And that is disappointing.

So, yeah, I will speak to you
like John Kelly did to a skel,

wristwatch off and everything,
until I get what I asked for.

It won't elicit you any more
answers than I've already given.

But knock yourself out, okay?

Oh, and if you think
you're gonna tune me up

like David Caruso did
felon of the week, know this:

I'll throw first and last.

There won't be any in between.

[CHUCKLES] And then, I will get up

off the floor and make it so you are

embarrassed to walk down the streets

of the very city you grew up in.

I have the goods on you.
Don't forget that.

Now, go do what I need.

[IRA] Place is warmer,
aesthetically at least.

Maybe just on the outside, though.

It accurately reflects
the character of its owner.

If you say so.

I do.

I, uh... I need a favor.

I need your help getting Chuck off me.

He's running me like a cheap C.I.

Oh, he is taking advantage of
the resources available to him.

That may be,

but Chuck shouldn't extort and coerce,

well, anybody,
but especially former employees.

Former mentees.

Me. So... you can get him
to back off of this.

If he wants to find an angle on Prince,

have him do it the legitimate way.

Chuck has kept me apprised of his plans,

including with regards to you.

And I have given him counsel to relent.

- And?
- He will not relent.

You're getting jammed
by a master of the craft.

I wish it weren't so, and I'd be happier

if he picked a different target,

but... we don't control that, do we?

Hmm.

[SIGHS]

Armored car company manifest.

That's what he wanted.

See if that ends my part of it.

Will try.

But pretty certain it will not.

What are you reading there, friend?

- Louis L'Amour.
- Ah. America's storyteller.

Tales of hard men on the open plain.

It's the Sacketts?

Those are good.

I'm a High Lonesome man myself.

It's good to see it going down on paper,

not some device, for a change.

Yeah. Why not, right?

I'm surprised a man of action
like yourself has the time.

Aren't you busy running
Mike Prince's cash to and fro,

hoping it doesn't turn
into a stagecoach robbery

like in, uh, The Sixth Shotgun?

Who'd you say you were again?

I didn't. I'm an adjunct to the
Private Security Advisory Board.

- Doing a survey.
- Hmm. Adjunct.

I see.

Anyway, no, I'm not busy.

Lots of downtime.

Only about a dozen single
runs have been made

since Mr. Prince took over the company.

Yeah. We're aware of that.

One truck to each of
of Prince's companies

within driving distance, huh?

Yep, his secure archive facilities.

Well, what got delivered, money bags?

Nuclear warheads?

Not so exciting.

A black plastic case.

Truck full of them?

Nope.

One in each truck.

Rattled around the whole way down I- .

Did you happen to take a look inside?
What was in there?

Nope.

Rule number one: no lookie-loos.

Just handed it off and then drove back.

Okay. As you should.

And well done.

You ought to try Zane Grey next.

So, of course, after the armored
car driver called Mr. Prince

and he put together what was happening,

I let him know the extent to which

I had been extorted
by Chuck in all this.

You told him.

She did. Disgraceful conduct, Chuck.

Well, given what's at stake,

everything is fair and on the table.

Mr. Prince, based on these developments,

would you like new counsel
for this proceeding?

I'll stick with Miss Sacker.

Your call.

And you're going to
have to live with it.

Now, what's on this drive?

- Data.
- Billions in Bitcoin.

He was gonna say that.

- It just caught in his throat.
- [PRINCE] I wish.

That would make everything
I was doing much easier.

As it was, there were flare-ups
that were distracting my people.

Sit down.

[RIAN] I am, or I think I am.

Is this considered sitting?

No, it is not. You're, uh, perched.

Official.

Sitting.

Uh, I am here to offer
some measure of comfort,

to witness this exchange...

not in the legal sense,
we're all signing NDAs...

but on your behalf.

Emotionally.

I can't stop them from
proposing what they will.

Proposing.

They're going to convey
a number, an amount,

that has been set aside
to cement an agreement

between you and all parties.

A payoff. Hush money.

Which I definitely don't want.

Don't think of it like that, then.

Think of it as a bonus for
work well done at Mase Carbon.

That's all this is.

But that's not all, is it?

It's a lump sum.

And I take it.

And because I do,

all of a sudden a power dynamic

that never existed before rears up.

Not between him and me,
but between all of you and me.

There's always been
a power dynamic at play here.

Unless you were there,
and I know you weren't,

you don't get to decide that.

I don't want money.

I want you to trust me.

Well, that may be impossible.

Right, 'cause I could
f*ck things up for him.

But I don't want to,

and you kind of have
to have faith in me on that.

Money is gonna make it way worse.

If money is off the table,

then we need to focus
on points of contact.

- Ew.
- [SCOOTER] No.

The ones reporters can find.

The ones people Wags employs can find,

because they see all,
hear all, and know all.

[WAGS] Not easy, but we got it done.

Everything about that night
and the morning after

is locked down. Knocked out
cell phone triangulation,

scrubbed records. NDA's

been signed by your
morning-after driver.

Prince housekeepers,
already under gag orders, have been...

Well, then,
while I'm not taking a payoff,

you should probably expend some effort

sanitizing the following
two days as well.

[SIGHS]

Is this, A, a fuckup of major proportion

that will define the rest of my life,

B, an unforced error that's
merely a blip on the radar,

or C, a life experience,
neither good nor bad,

that I learn from?

The answer is D.

It's whatever you decide
to make it right now.

Are you saying that to just put me off

because you're pissed at what I did?

I am not angry with you
for sleeping with Prince.

At your age, expressing yourself
and your desires is necessary.

- It's growth.
- Hurt, though? Did I hurt you by...?

Did you lie to me when
you demurred at the party?

No.

No.

I understood exactly
what you said and meant.

And I f*cking admired you
for knowing yourself

well enough to say it.

Which means you knew enough
before hooking up with Prince

to calibrate what it might
feel like afterwards,

and you knew you could
handle it emotionally.

That was before I understood
the dealio at this level.

And so what do you want now?

I want...

I don't want to burn Prince in any way.

I wish he'd have thought
this through, but...

The appetite he has, it doesn't turn off

just because his brain tells it to.

Yeah.

But I also don't want to be burnt.

And when people find out,

I'm gonna feel really, really bad.

Then don't let them.

How do I control that?

Did you take the money?

No. No.

Then you are still in control,

and you control every single
thing you do from here.

Affairs are revealed through behavior.

That's what gives spouses,

or, in this case reporters, the clues.

So I act like nothing happened,

and then it's like nothing happened?

That has worked for many a serial k*ller

through the centuries.

The problem is, after a while,

the urge to let someone
in on what you've done,

of its significance, leads to mistakes.

The killings get closer together.

The methods get wilder.

Then suddenly,
the cops are at their door.

I don't want anyone at my door.

Then be careful and aware.

And if, at any time,
you change your mind

or decide this isn't what you wanted,

or what you want to keep secret,
I'm here.

And will be here.

And I will back you in
whatever path you take.

To the f*cking end, Rian.

[SLURPS AND GULPS]

I can't believe you had to drink
this garbage all these years.

My platonic ideal of coffee
was the one I drank in college.

My study partner was from the country.

Dirt-poor, and, uh,

she used to throw coffee
beans in boiling water,

and put a paper towel over a
cup and pour it right through.

Coffee kept us grinding
on our papers all night.

You were rich.
You could've bought her a machine.

Even then, I knew the thing to do

was to learn to love the suck.

I had no illusions
about what it would mean

to give in to my desire for a
more comfortable, easier way.

That's why I have you by my side.

Let's go.
We're just about to get to the part

where Chuck tells us
how he got the drive.

- Stole it, you mean.
- Come on in. Let's find out.

A hard-sided plastic case was
delivered to the secure archives

of each of Prince's companies,

the very same companies
where I was offered jobs.

And I need to put my
hand to one of these.

Let's take a peek.

Loving the sound of it

almost as much as this pizza pie.

Any ideas as to how?

Well, sure.

I thought I'd go to an old and trusted.

You know, the resourceful type
who may, in his travels,

have come across a dummy warrant
that might've been signed

by a friendly judge
without the particulars,

like addresses and dates filled out.

Just something I could merely
wave to scare the rubes

into letting me in.

It seems like a hoot, Chuck.

I might happen to know just such a man.

And I bet he'd keep something like that

in a false-bottom drawer,

just waiting for the right reason

for it to see the light of day.

Are the drives locked down?

Why am I on speakerphone?

It's Kate and me only.
She's up to speed.

I need to know where they are
and what's protecting them.

Each drive was driven to a warehouse

with a secure vault in it,

each warehouse in a separate state.

No drive is ever stored
with any other drive.

We're clear.

Mind if we keep that?

- Paperwork.
- It's okay by me.

[SCOOTER] The warehouses are
all for different industries,

so which companies have vaults inside

will be hard to determine to the casual

or even considered observer.

Still, if someone found out
we had a vault, and where,

the companies we chose
all have legitimate reasons.

Precious metals, cash flow, et cetera.

We keep the platinum here
before it's processed into chips.

We need to see inside.

[KEYPAD BEEPING]

There she is.

Appreciate your help here, Officer.

Thank you, Scooter.

Hey, Scoot, uh,

let's go ahead and shuffle the deck

and move those cases anyway.

Maybe don't even tell me where,
short term,

so I can't be compelled to answer.

Understood. I have some ideas.

Satisfied?

No. But unsurprised.

That's why I did what I did.

[CHUCKLES]

[NICK] See, this is an Iron Forge,

very legitimate cold storage drive

with a self-locking feature.

Uh-huh. Self-locking.

Yeah, I've heard of that.

Yeah, ten incorrect attempts
and it'll encrypt itself,

making it impossible to
access whatever's on it.

So, what I'd do,
I'd buy like Iron Forges,

get to work uncapping
and finding side channels

to access the digital keys.

Well, get to work, then.

That's what I'd do if I had six months.

Ah, six months?

You've got closer to six f*cking hours.

I need this one opened so I can use it

to get to the others before
they're moved and hidden.

I'm gonna need to bring in
some equipment.

Running crypto-hunter
password cr*cker software.

- Some real dark web sh*t.
- Grand. Now what?

We sit back and let it work.

[SIGHS]

[SNAPS FINGERS]

What do we got?

- We got something.
- Yeah? Crypto?

Yeah.

It's a wallet.

Fair warning on the ten attempts.

How many sh*ts you have left?

Two more. That's why I woke you.

Didn't want to pull
the trigger without...

Proceed.

You... sure?

Do it.

- [COMPUTER CHIMES]
- [GASPS]

Holy sh*t.

- Is that...?
- Yes.

[LAUGHS] Yes, it is.

Crypto wallet holding
various coins that,

at today's rates,

total approximately $ million.

[LAUGHS]

Since we're in, could we, you know...?

No, not one digital farthing.

Dave?

We have it.

It's clear to me.

Prince is funding
Mike Money with crypto.

There's nothing illegal about that.

It is if he isn't paying
taxes on said crypto.

These guys all bought sh*t tons of it

back when it cost a dollar.

Now they're on a freeroll.

My tech guy checked
the transaction record,

and mil in coin was sold last year

and put into an account
that became the feeder fund

for the Mike Money program.

And guess who wasn't notified.

That would be the New
York State Department

of Taxation and Finance.

Multiply it by the other locations

where he undoubtedly
has more drives stashed,

and we are talking
about a financial scam

on the same scale as
the biggest ever played.

It's a full Al Capone.

You mean a full Lauryn Hill.

- [SIGHS]
- If we can prove it.

With a Wesley Snipes thrown in,
times a thousand, yes.

You just need to authorize
and conduct the raids

on all the other locations.

And you're dead certain there's crypto

on those other drives?

If you don't have independent proof,

I will have had no cause
to stage the raids,

since the first one
was illegally gotten.

It was under your purview.

You just need to state that under oath,

that you instructed me...

And I will if you're right.

And then Prince will swing.

But if there isn't,
you'll be swinging, Chuck.

This is your freedom on the line,
so decide now.

You can walk away, drop this.

We return this drive and
make sure he squares up.

But if you insist and I go for the rest,
you'd better be right.

Because if we go down this road,

one of you is ending up in jail.

I know my man. He doesn't do small.

One drive? Nah.
The rest are gonna be there.

But we gotta move quick,

because I also bet he's gonna move them.

Okay, then.

The raids are a go.

[SIGHS]

[SIRENS BLARING]

[TIRES SCREECH]

♪ Kneel down, you sinners ♪
♪ To streetwise religion ♪

♪ Greed's been crowned ♪
♪ The new king ♪

♪ Hollywood dream teens ♪

♪ Yesterday's trash queens ♪

♪ Save the blessings ♪
♪ For the final ring ♪

♪ Amen ♪

♪ Take a ride ♪
♪ On the wild side ♪

♪ Wild side ♪

Thank you. Appreciate that.

♪ I carry my crucifix ♪

♪ Under my death list ♪

♪ Forward my mail to me ♪
♪ In hell ♪

♪ Liars and the martyrs ♪
♪ Lost faith in the Father ♪

Thank you.

♪ Long lost ♪
♪ In the wishing well ♪

And that's when we sent for you.

Oh, and there's more.

There are these.

[DOOR CLOSES]

Didn't count on seeing those in here,
did you, Michael?

We managed to intercept them

just as you were trying
to have them removed.

- Hold on...
- Those were gained

through improper seizure.

Probable cause based on the first drive.

Which was gained
through fraudulent means.

We'll see about that,

since this one has been opened
and does hold crypto.

If it's been open the entire time,
why have...?

This is probably a good time

to disclose that Miss Sacker
has made my client aware

that she has critical
information about the nature

of Mr. Prince's tax dodge.

You're going to be heartily sorry
you didn't swap out counsel

when she starts swearing a statement

- on your attempt to defr...
- Ooh, no.

See, Chuck,
that's what I led you to believe.

Wasn't actually true.

[CHUCKLES]

But I made it plain that
your failure to prosecute

the opioid case would result...

Chuck, you really shouldn't...

Yeah, incriminate yourself. Further.

Truth is, I wasn't ever
in your crosshairs, Chuck.

All those years we worked together,

I was paying attention real close.

So, that case
you wanted to squeeze me on

won't break the way you think,

because I didn't fail to
prosecute the Butters family

in order to protect my father's friends.

I stood down at federal request
to let their charges play out.

Nothing unusual or special about it.

[CHUCK] No.

The only unusual thing is,

you pulled the federal
declination request

from the file when you
slipped it back to Dave.

[SACKER] I did pull the
federal declination request

from the file.

You go public, I look like a hero.

After Dave screwed us
on the subway cars,

I pretty much saw how this
was going to play out.

Chuck was always willing to consider

mutually assured destruction,

even if the other side didn't know.

So, I sent back a file
with the other cases,

one that would make me look vulnerable.

Call it insurance policy,
since that's what it was.

And I just removed the federal
notice asking me to stand down,

so Chuck would think I could be squeezed

for ignoring the opioid crisis.

And this is the squeezing time.

It would appear Mike Money
and your bid for office set him off.

He knows about the presidential bid.

He deduced it, then told me.

I'd have liked to have
been the one to do that.

To game out how to launch
your career in politics

along with mine. I'm sorry.

Hmm, we can have that conversation

when the light at the end of the tunnel

isn't a train called Chuck Rhoades.

What does he want?

He believes I have drives
squirreled away

with enough untaxed crypto
to fund Mike Money

and the rest of the trip to Washington.

And do you?

Because now is the time to tell me.

Is it real, or is it theater?

Empty drives,
or are you moving money around?

I am happy to get my popcorn
and unwrap my hard candy

before the curtain comes up
if it is the latter,

but I will need to know.

You seem awfully calm.

I have good people taking care of me.

No better place to be.

Let me walk you to the elevator.

[ELEVATOR DINGS]

I was expecting this visit.

Looking forward to it, even.

That's not the reax I figured.

When you spilled that champagne,
I almost laughed,

but I felt it would have
undercut the moment.

How could you laugh
at something so jeopardizing?

If I thought our time together
would jeopardize my candidacy,

I wouldn't have done it.

Are you sure you're in
that kind of control?

Maybe I'm too in control.

I need to offset it
with a little tolerable risk.

That's what I am? Acceptable risk?

Tolerable. Not acceptable.
It's different.

Yeah, tolerable because it's worth it.

This is fun.

Makes me feel more present,
and also more relaxed,

which will allow for
better decision making.

I'm like your f*cking Xanny?

[LAUGHS] Without the hangover.

I have one.

This whole thing has given me one.

That's because this is
the first time your actions

have broader ramifications.

Yeah, that's the word I used, sort of.

This is what happens as you become more.

Things you do matter.

But you can't let it stop you.
You just have to take steps.

You took steps?

The kind of people who
write those kind of stories,

they're the people I pay
to write other stories.

The networks, I'm in business with them.

Our coworkers,
they're happy and satisfied

with how they're paid by and large,

so they're not out to s*ab me or you.

This seems, I don't know,

a cavalier attitude to have
if you really want to end up

in the Oval Office.

I'd say that every guy
who ended up there

had a cavalier attitude
about this sort of thing,

and had teams of people
who ran fire drills

so that when the real fires happened,
they'd be ready.

Except for Nixon,
who was wound so tight,

he couldn't last out his term.

So you knew your peeps
would get on top of this.

You knew there would be a fire drill.

Sure. Knew there could be.

Does that make you feel better?

It makes me feel... weird.

And like you want to leave?

Not necessarily.

[SIGHS]

Like I need a drink.

I'm not the "I need a drink" type.

We're all that type
every once in a while.

Coming right up.

The thing of it is, Rian,
we'll have a drink,

but you don't really need one.

You just need to understand

that there are people
that things happen to

and people who make things happen.

And you need to land on
which one you want to be.

And when you do that,

when you decide what you want to feel,

that is the true source of power.

And when you get there,

people will see what you want
them to see on your face.

Most people never figure this out.

The ones that do,
they get to run the world.

[DAVID] So, here we are.

Are you prepared to run
password combinations

and try to open these suckers up?

I am.

This is really not necessary.

I can just take these back

and have them opened on my own time.

I've got topflight people for that.

We'll be filing to get

the original drive back immediately,

as well as the rest of these.

Yeah, and Chuck will be
on surveillance video

in my circuit board
company's secure archives.

Impersonating a state prosecutor.

Using a fraudulent instrument.

Hmm, not just suspect. Guilty.

[DAVE] We'll need to see
what's on these drives

before we sort all that out.

Now, Mr. Prince, are you sure
you don't have the passwords

for these properly obtained drives?

Because, as you know,
though you may pretend not to,

these are secure drives
that allow ten attempts

before locking forever.

I wish I could help you.

[DAVE] So here's the thing:

I'm going to have this technician

start making attempts.

So, if there's crypto on these drives,

you're faced with losing it.

There is, believe me.

And you, are you sure
you still want to proceed?

Because if this doesn't go
how you think, it's jail for you.

In the words of C.W. McCall...

let's put the hammer down.

[DEVICE BEEPS]

That's one...

- [BEEPS]
- ...two...

[TYPING]

- [BEEPS]
- ...three attempts.

You sure you have nothing
to volunteer, Mr. Prince?

- [TYPING]
- [NICK] Four.

- [BEEPS]
- Five.

I object to this activity.

I want a judge on the phone
right f*cking now to stop this.

[TYPING]

- [BEEPS]
- Six...

and seven.

Mr. Rhoades, Chuck,

if you relent,

there's a road to convincing
Mr. Prince to walk away.

Do you want to take a strategic retreat?

No, he'll cr*ck.

Expensive game of chicken.

I'll play.

- [TYPING]
- [COMPUTER BEEPS]

[NICK] Eight.

- [BEEPS]
- Nine.

Hold up. Let me just advise my client.

[WHISPERING] Mike,
we can b*at the case if there is one.

It's not worth losing
billions if they're there.

Let me stop this.

[TYPING]

Ten.

[RHYTHMIC BEEPING]

[SOFTLY] f*ck.

That's it.

[SIGHS]

You just sacrificed over $ billion.

Well, sh*t, I lost my f*cking bet.

[LAUGHS]

I don't f*cking believe it. He thinks...

he must think that there's another way

to open those drives.

I told you, I don't have the passwords.

I will arrange bail right away.

[DAVE] Once you finish with him,

you can escort Mr. Allerd
from the building.

Am I free to go?

[TUK] Andrea in accounting,

the girl who always gets
out on the th floor

with the black hair,

and Jeannie from Mase Carb.

- Oh, I think her name is Jenny.
- Her name is Jane-Anne.

And you're not sleeping
with any of them.

Let the man make a list.

If sexual congress
between two office mates

is now considered okay,

I think we should avail ourselves.

I have availed in the past.

And if you can, I highly recommend it.

And I can help.

You told him to be that exact,
didn't you?

Erik just knows who he's serving.

Do you?

"Serving" is a strange word
in this context, but, yes,

I know what I signed up for,

which is why I told you
not to come work with us.

It wasn't because I was squeamish

about all the dirty money.

I begged you to get out.

But I knew how this was going to end:

with you running the place,

and that it's a bag of lava
that's gonna erupt all over you.

And you'll still be the guy
who knows it all

and fixes it all anyway.

Because that's your priority,

getting a guy like him
into the White House.

Something very close to that, yes.

And everyone who's ever been
in the White House

is a guy like him.

That's how they get in.

I can't help you anymore
now that we're here.

Thank you.

Thanks.

Mm.

I thought I was fine.

But you aren't?

The kind of man he is,

the outside that doesn't
match the inside,

the whole thing...

What does it say about us
that we work for him?

It says we're biding our time
for a little while longer,

because they're the ones
that run the places.

That's why we do.

It doesn't mean anything.

We'll have our own places soon enough.

Do you feel like you have refuge?

[SCOFFS] Come on.

After this week? I don't know.

Which I guess is the point.

I feel like I see things too
clearly to pretend anymore.

And yet you show up to work every day.

So do you.

I thought I would enjoy
some proper scheming.

The kind of galoshes-wearing
sewer crawl I cut my teeth on.

[CHUCKLES]

But you don't feel that way?

With Axe, I know you shouldn't compare,

but I didn't have to pretend
I was making glittery cupcakes

while shivving a m*therf*cker
who needed shivving.

It was honest, in its way.

This is something else.

Maybe Prince's way is more powerful...

with its veneer of goodness.

It inspires.

Are you inspired?

Drinks are on me.

This night's cost me
. billion already.

So let's drink the
fanciest sh*t in the place.

- g*dd*mn it.
- Yep, now you know.

♪ ...even more to lose ♪

♪ You and me bound ♪
♪ To spend some time ♪

♪ Wondering what to choose ♪

♪ Goes to show ♪

♪ You don't ever know ♪

♪ Watch each card you play ♪
♪ And play it slow ♪

To our collective wounds of w*r.

Long may they remind us of the cost

of everything we've won.

♪ I been gambling hereabouts ♪

♪ For ten good solid years ♪

♪ If I told you ♪
♪ All that went down ♪

♪ It would burn off ♪
♪ Both of your ears ♪

♪ Goes to show ♪
♪ You don't ever know ♪

♪ Watch each card you play ♪
♪ And play it slow ♪

♪ Wait until ♪
♪ That deal come round ♪

♪ Don't you let that deal ♪
♪ Go down, no, no ♪

[DOOR CLANKS SHUT]

Well, if I'd known you were coming,

I'd have given you my best "Roxanne."

- Like Eddie Murphy?
- Mm.

Sure.

♪ Roxanne ♪

♪ You don't have to put on ♪
♪ The red light ♪

Not really in the mood, Dave.

Not from you.

♪ Roxanne ♪

It's weirdly appropriate,

'cause I'm Nolte, and I'm here

to spring your ass to get our man.

There's a car full of loot somewhere?

Chuck, we're gonna destroy
Mike Prince together.

[LAUGHS]

Ah.

I don't appear to be a man
in a position to do that.

I used a dummy warrant.

Gained evidence under false pretense.

All that sh*t you said that put me here.

I said that to cover our tracks.

You couldn't tell?

I was more focused on
how tight the cuffs were.

Focus on this.

This is the real warrant
that I had authorized,

with a judge who signed off.

Since you were acting at my direction

with this cooperation agreement,

dated before you used that fake warrant.

All you have to do is sign it.

You're gonna clear me.

You saw, didn't you?

Yeah.

I had to play the
whole thing to the end,

but I've seen enough liars

in enough interrogation rooms to know.

His knees almost buckled
when he tried to stand.

He's a pro, but he almost puked himself,

like Tom Reagan down
at Miller's Crossing.

This fucker was planning
to buy the White House

with cryptocurrency.

You got him to flush
billions of dollars,

but that's not punishment enough.

Any man willing to do that

is willing to do unspeakable
things to feed those desires.

We can't let that happen.

That's what I've been telling you!

Well, it ain't gonna happen on my watch.

- [LAUGHS]
- So, yeah,

you'll be in the clear.

But no one can know.

You're gonna be working

under cover of disgrace.

The world will think
you're under indictment

and going away right up until the minute

we lock Mike Prince up.

Damn f*cking straight.

You got a deal.

♪ ...you don't ever know ♪

♪ Watch each card you play ♪
♪ And play it slow ♪

♪ Wait until that deal come round ♪

♪ Don't you let that deal go down ♪

♪ Wait until that deal come round ♪

♪ Don't you let that deal ♪
♪ Go down ♪

♪ Wait until that deal come round ♪

♪ Don't you let that deal ♪
♪ Go down ♪

♪ Don't you let ♪
♪ That deal go down ♪

♪ Don't you let that deal ♪
♪ Go down ♪

♪ No, no ♪