01x08 - Boasts and Rails

[bunniefuu]

Previously on "Billions"...

I am not my husband, and I am not going to be the shuttlecock that you two smack back and forth.

The only deal with teeth would have to take him out of business forever.

That's the only deal he would never take.

I can get him to come to you.

Orrin: The defendant agrees to an aggregate financial penalty of 1.9 billion dollars.

Didn't he say that he would never settle?

[check rips, rustles]

Take a look at Chapter Ten. It's a problem.

Orrin: It isn't flattering.

Looking at some pretty serious reputational damage here.

He made some shrewd trades around 9/11.

You know, he did what he had to do.

You have an informant in Axe Capital.

Bryan: Our tech guys were able to pull metadata that established he'd been in contact with insiders.

We had him boxed up. He broke like a Mexican condom.

Do all guys in my position hate themselves for doing this?

I'm still gonna need you to keep me informed.

Then you're not really recused.

I am. Officially.

You used to be one of the most open people here.

But you've... withdrawn from me.

♪♪♪

What are you working on right now?

Internet fraud case.

Why don't you skip Don Pasquale and join us on this opera buffa, what do you say?

f*ck, yes!

[gravel crunching]

I think you're gonna be happy.

♪♪♪

[Jason Isbell's "Cover Me Up" playing]

♪ A heart on the run ♪

♪ Keeps a hand on the g*n ♪
♪ You can't trust anyone ♪

[vehicle door slams]

man: Go.

♪♪♪
♪ I was so sure ♪
♪ What I needed was more ♪

[ Vehicle door slams ]

♪ Tried to sh**t out the sun ♪

man: Let's go.

man: FBI!

man: Go!

[mutters, exhales]

There's someone in the house.

It'll be fine.

Go be with the kids.

♪ Such damage was done ♪

[dog barking in distance]

[switch clicks]

[pills rattle]

man: FBI! Let me see your hands!

[panting]

Dale: Donnie.

Dale: It's a nice place.

[Donnie grunts]

Moderne.

Sorry about your front door.

It's all right. He can afford another one.

[handcuffs clicking]

Let's go.

I wanted you to know what it's gonna feel like when we come to take you to jail.

I'm giving you what you want. I'm giving you Axe.

Is that what you're doing?

What the f*ck is this?

[flash drive clatters]

That's our internal audit on Kemlot Biochemical.

When Axe takes a big position on Kemlot, long, that audit is going to be a key piece of evidence proving he went against the numbers because he knew something.

There is nothing that connects that document to Axelrod.

Axe sent it to me. Check the cybertrail.

Our guys gave it one of these... [palms slap] ...and it's clean.

I'm doubting you're even for real.

You need evidence...

Bobby Axelrod trading material nonpublic information... and you need it in a week.

What happens in a week?

[inhales deeply]

That's when Axe is in federal custody... or you are. Get it done!

[indistinct conversations in distance]

[trash rustling]

♪ tense music ♪

[sets down trash can]

[wheels rolling]

[circus music playing over loudspeakers]

All right, cool. Right?

It's huge.

It is.

This is just the preshow.

[whistles and applause]

♪♪♪

Look at these guys.

[applause, whistles]

Oh! That was awesome. Huh?

♪♪♪

Kevin: Dad.

Chuck: Yeah?

It's Mark Teixeira. Can I have an autograph?

Chuck: Oh, yeah.

Sure, let's go ask. Come on.

♪♪♪

Hey, uh, Kev, you know what? Let's hold up.

Let's not bother the man right now. Okay?

Hey, Mark, do you mind, uh, talking to this little man?

Bobby: I know his mom and dad.

Yeah. Come on.

Kevin!

Bobby: Kevin, come on.

Can I go?

Yeah, of course. Go on.

[indistinct conversations, applause]

Teixeira: Hey, buddy. You a baseball player?

Kevin: Yeah.

All right, let's see if I can find a ball to sign for you.

Junior.

Baron Von Axelrod.

[indistinct conversations continue]

Gesture's appreciated.

Of course.

Never women and children.

It's a big deal for him.

Favorite player. Calls him the "Mark Man."

Well, he's obviously got his mother's instinct for people.

♪♪♪

Hi.

Did I miss something?

No. Hey.

[Chuck clears throat]

Mwah.

He's growing like a weed.

Yes.

Hey, Kev.

Let's leave Mr. Teixeira alone. Chuck Rhoades.

Thank you very much.

Teixeira: Yeah.

Thanks.

Teixeira: Pleasure.

I'll see you at the office.

[applause]

So you were telling me...

Yeah, Juice Press.

Our valuation's already up ten-x.

Mm-hmm.

The bankers are all over us about an IPO.

This thing's gonna huge.

Sorry to interrupt.

Mark, there's a couple guys over here you gotta meet.

Go ahead.

Sorry.

[Bobby mouths word]

Thanks, Bobby.

[applause, cellphone vibrates]

[cellphone button clicks, applause fades]

Hall: I've got a janitor.

It's as high as I could nail down so far.

But he's already coming through.

He saw something last night.

We may have a real issue.

[indistinct conversations]

[dog barking in distance]

It was a great day for Kevin.

He fell asleep with that ball in his hand.

Mm-hmm. Good.

I was glad all the... sh*t didn't get in the way.

I was impressed you could be civil...

Pretty much took everything I had to let it f*cking go down.

Hey, really?

Something good happened to your son, and you can't sidestep your personal feelings?

Sometimes I wish I were your patient...

[clicks teeth] Because then maybe I would get a sympathetic ear every time I'm not my absolute best self 24 hours a day.

[sets down glasses]

Chuck: Yeah, I admit it.

I didn't like standing there, grinning like an idiot, while Axe got to play Santa Claus and Bob Costas all rolled up into one.

[sets down glasses]

If you were my patient, I would tell you to let it go.

But you're not, so grow the f*ck up.

I'm trying.

You know, Axe was being nice.

He has that capacity. He wasn't looking to hurt you.

He was looking to do something nice for Kevin, because of me.

Because of your special relationship.

Yes.

Why can't you just...

♪ tense music ♪

I have seen someone... a headhunter.

Really?

When you recused yourself, that meant a lot to me.

And I...

I felt like I should look into it... for us.

♪♪♪

What'd you find out?

[inhales deeply]

[sighs deeply] Well...

The numbers don't add up.

We could make that work.

You make 185 a year.

If I leave Axe Capital and start over, I'll make a quarter of that, less at a clinic.

Really?

You could forget private schools for the kids.

Oh, come on, Wendy.

The money that you have in Axe's fund... if you're allowed to take it out, if it's not just a Ponzi scheme...

So we burn our savings?

We'd have four, five years tops living where we're living before the money runs out. No.

♪♪♪

[inhales sharply]

You know, Brooklyn Heights Elementary is nice.

Wendy: It's closer.

I want my kids to go to the same school that I went to, that my father went to.

There's a continuity that bridges the generations.

You can't put a price on that.

Well, they do, and it's 70 grand a year.

[scoffs]

You should see a headhunter.

No. We're in the middle of major things right now.

♪♪♪

Major.

It's not the right time.

♪♪♪

How about this?

If you get that big job you've always talked about, I'll quit.

I will leave Axe Capital.

[scoffs]

♪♪♪

[indistinct conversations]

[jazz music playing over speakers]

[whispers] Hi.

Hey. [Chuckles] Hi. It's been too long, babe.

How did you drag me out to this?

You always try to avoid them.

Usually, but this is one you needed to make.

My boss is here, and he's got a book with a redacted chapter that you'll be interested in.

Come here.

Albus.

I wanted you to meet my friend, Kate Sacker.

We were in Tiger, in together. And she's a voracious reader.

Hello there. [Chuckles]

What brings you to this haven of words and wine?

Oh, just the chance to meet erudite gentlemen and learn from them.

[indistinct conversations]

[printer whirring]

There is nothing illegal in here, nothing actionable, but f*ck.

A guy who has so much of his public reputation built on 9/11.

Bryan: It's...

[door opens]

[door closes]

Okay, if this is about Axelrod, I can't be here. Why'd you text me?

Kate: You just need to read this thing I found.

It'll make your day.

Tell me.

The reason Axe wasn't in the Towers on 9/11 with the rest of his company was because he was at his attorney's office going over his severance package.

That's what's great about you, Sacker. Always ears out.

So they were brooming him?

Bryan: Big-time.

Partners thought his trades were over the line, maybe illegal.

9/11... their deaths... saved his career.

It allowed him to take over the firm, rename it for himself.

Bryan: And it gets worse. Listen to this...

"Bobby claims that he was supporting the rescue efforts on 9/11, but like everything else in his life, this is a lie. Because after the dust settled..." [sighs] "...the whispers began. But by the time the New York markets reopened, Bobby was hundreds of millions of dollars richer."

[papers thud]

If this gets out...

I will have nothing to do with this. No.

Nor will I leak it.

♪ tense music ♪

[door closes]

Did he just tell us to leak it?

How could he? He was never even here.

♪♪♪

[door opens]

[door closes]

Who should we give it to? [sighs]

[files thud]

Sacker has a friend at the Times, but someone might figure that out.

Dimonda.

Dimonda? He's torched us twice already.

You're gonna reward that?

Yes, I am. I'll give it to him.

He understands contract.

He'll know the value of what we're bringing him.

And he'll reward it.

It's not just about this story.

It's about the next one, the one after that.

And he's not Axe's guy anymore. He's our guy.

Hmm.

[footsteps depart]

[door opens]

Hey. This came for you.

What's up?

[scoffs]

[envelope rustles]

Hall called yesterday with some distressing news.

US attorneys pulled in an informant in the middle of the night.

He doesn't have a name, but he knows he works here at Axe Capital.

What the f*ck? You sat on this for half a day?

What should I have done?

Fire everyone, right now, including me.

Wags, if it's you, you got me.

I am gonna fire somebody, though.

That's for f*cking certain.

Who?

The informant.

Do you know who it is?

I will.

♪ dramatic music ♪

[telephone ringing in distance]

Put your phones down! Put your phones down!

[receivers thud]

Everybody, right now!

Mafee: Bid 71 the figure.

Fifty half a hundred.

man: Put it in.

Like, right now.

Who are you talking to?

Uh, nobody.

[cord clatters]

Our... our... our sales monkey at Morgan.

Let me see your phone.

[receiver clatters]

Not that phone! Not your work phone!

[phone clatters, thuds]

Your real phone!

[whispers] Ah, here.

[touchscreen clicks]

This is an offshore number. What is this?

A-a guy, an analyst.

With a f*cking Antigua country code?

Mafee: A-all right, it's my bookie. He's set up offshore.

Bobby: What's this? Unmarked?

I'm calling this right now.

Don't. Please don't. Don't.

Mafee: Don't.

Who the f*ck are you talking to?

It's my... my girlfriend from high school.

[line ringing]

I didn't have the heart to erase her number.

She's... she's so sweet.

And chesty.

[line rings]

J...

woman sighs: You have to stop calling me.

[cellphone thuds]

Everyone here is on notice.

Everything you do will be picked apart until I discover who is on the level and who's a f*cking quisling!

♪♪♪

[under breath] That should get the rat scurrying.

[exhales]

What the f*ck is a quisling?

Turncoat.

sh*t!

I knew it didn't sound good.

[machines whirring, key taps]

[telephone ringing]

Hey. Congrats on getting the book.

Really f*cking awesome.

Thanks.

Come out with me tonight. We should celebrate.

Is this a superior taking out a subordinate for a job well done?

Uh, yeah, I guess.

Love to, but I have, uh, dinner plans.

My parents.

I see.

Come along.

The wire at Axe Cap is humming.

What?

Axelrod went full Captain Queeg on a trader.

He's launching a mole hunt.

I don't know if he knows something or if he's just paranoid, but our man's in trouble.

sh*t.

[footsteps depart]

You've got a problem.

[mouth full] He'll smoke out your guy.

Bury the SEC file on that Rubinex trade he got pinged on.

Spyros's office is a f*cking sieve.

Axelrod's probably got a leg in there right now, looking for anything open on his people, so...

I will.

[scoffs]

Bibimbap? [Sighs]

[utensils clank in distance]

You of all people. It's... It's f*cking mall food.

[mouth full] What? It's good. Vegetarian.

Yeah, you think it keeps you thin.

Well, at least put some kimchi on it, for f*ck's sake.

Come on.

[Bryan groans]

[Chuck chuckles] [kimchi splats]

Thattaboy.

[bowl clatters]

Chuck: Mm.

[chopsticks clacking]

[indistinct conversations]

You know, you still have a problem.

[mouth full] If he's looking for a mole, he's not gonna stop until he's got a mole.

So you gotta give him a mole.

You want me to take some schmuck and start talking to him, make him look like he's the informant?

Frame an innocent guy, get him fired, ruined?

No. You want to.

I'm just telling you how.

Lara: A Michelin star.

man: Whoo!

[applause]

I could not be more proud of our family.

And, of course, we have to single out one member.

'Cause when you get that star, it means you have a world-class chef.

This one just happens to be my baby sister.

So let's raise a glass to the woman who made this all possible...

Lu.

Whoo!

To Lu!

all: Whoo!

[chuckles]

[glasses clinking]

woman: Cheers!

Lara: Cheers!

man: Cheers.

[chair scrapes floor, utensils clinking]

♪ tense music ♪

[glass slides]

Lara: How long have they been hanging out?

[birds chirping]

Past three days.

Are they in uniform?

No, but they're watching the farm like they're undercover or something.

I don't know. Maybe cops. Maybe miga.

Does everyone have their papers?

[sighs]

♪♪♪

Don't make me lie to you.

Cross-referenced e-mail contents, web histories, ten most profitable trades, anything that tried to duck compliance.

Forward the e-mails to me.

These guys are, uh, saying some pretty terrible things about you in them.

Of course they are. I'm their boss.

Hit me with some of the worst.

[taps keys]

[inhales deeply]

"The man f*cking creeps me out. Is he even a man or some kind of alien magi?"

"His eyes see the dark truth inside us all, a truth that wasn't even dark until he looked at it."

[snickers] [keys tap]

"He knows I'm typing this. He's having this e-mail read aloud to him right now."

Who wrote that?

No. Don't tell me.

I already know from the syntax.

What do they say about Wags?

No. No way. I'm not like you.

I can't hear it. It would break me.

[chuckles]

Well, uh, I'll say one thing.

People are scared.

Three people deleted their hard drives and overwrote them with new data.

Is there a reason to do that?

Yeah, to intentionally make the files unrecoverable.

Who?

Um... [taps key] Channing Feldt. Butch Probert.

The Pouch?

The Pouch?

And, uh, Donnie Caan.

[inhales deeply]

[exhales]

If this is what you say it is and I can verify it, we are in a whole new place, Chuck.

Well, that's why I brought it to you.

Chase down what he did after the first plane hit.

The implications...

I understand the implication.

Right. What are you eating there, cabbage?

Yeah. Goi Ba.

Uh-huh.

Delicious. [Slurps]

[mouth full] You know, there's more to bahn mi than bread.

If you say so. [Sniffs]

[mouth full] Just so you know, if you're playing me, and this story doesn't make, I swear to God...

I'm not.

Fact-check it, run it, and you'll see you're not the only one who understands contract.

[horns honking in distance]

Winnie: Thank you so much for joining us, Bryan.

Winnie: We're honored.

It's my honor.

From how our daughter described you, I figured you'd blow it off.

I'm a businessman, after all.

[laughs]

I don't hate business. I hate criminals.

I can see the difference.

Most civil servants can't, which is what they use to justify their own less-than-scrupulous behavior.

[exhales] Whoa.

[imitates Boston accent] sh*ts fired.

Uh, I don't think we're the ones...

[normal voice] Don't take the bait, Bryan.

Franklin: No, no. He already has.

Are you saying you don't occasionally give in to the impetus to get down in the gutter and brawl no-holds-barred style?

Uh, I might've shown him the manuscript, told him the sitch.

Why would you show him...

I...uh...

I tell my dad everything.

And when I brought that book home, I needed some advice.

I knew what would happen with it, and I didn't know if I could or should be involved in that.

And he convinced me to bring it in.

Thanks for setting her straight.

I advised her it was her duty to share it with her superiors, even if something unethical might happen with it after.

Unethical?

Dad...

Maybe it's inevitable that Axelrod's darkest secrets will be made public.

Inevitability is a problematic moral justification for anything.

Look, Mr. Sacker...

Call me Frank.

Frank...

I've accepted certain realities.

Doing bad to do good.

Nothing you say could convince me that's all right.

No. We need to fight back. Think of it what you will.

Hey, I have responsibilities beyond niceties.

Let me ask you one thing.

Bryan: Hmm?

How does it make you feel, Bryan?

You know, when I was young, I would've done the same thing.

Not anymore. Sleeping well has become important to me.

So is looking my daughter in the eye, knowing she's looking back at a good person.

Principle doesn't usually go away all at once.

It's a, uh, creeping erosion.

[jazz music playing over speakers]

Bobby: A Michelin star.

Well, it was a great moment.

[glasses clink]

That's not a real smile.

[sips]

[sets down glass]

I had to let Marta and her family go.

Their papers were forged.

We're going through everyone. [inhales deeply]

Tito thinks that immigration agents are watching the farm, and I think so, too.

You sure?

I saw them, and they're not local cops.

[glass clatters]

[sighs]

They're Rhoades's people.

FBI.

They've been staking us out here, too.

They're watching our house?

I didn't know that they were on you for sure.

I didn't want to alarm you.

Well, please f*cking alarm me.

I need to know what's going on.

No. Not always.

Not if there's nothing we can do to change it.

This is the way things are now.

Didn't the possibility cross your mind that they might be watching us?

Of course.

Well, then you wouldn't have done anything differently.

Don't handle me.

I wasn't. I'm not.

f*ck them. I want you to live unencumbered.

This is a new reality.

Don't f*cking pretend it isn't.

♪ tense music ♪

[ball squeaking]

[sighs]

[door closes]

I thought about it, what you said.

And you're right. Tactically. But I can't do it.

I won't frame an innocent man as our mole.

It's, uh, an... erosion of principle.

There are no innocent men, not on Wall Street. [inhales deeply]

So you won't act to protect the source?

No. Not... not this way.

If you don't play back at him, he'll find the guy.

That's how this is gonna play out.

Axelrod is gonna be with your guy in a room, just the two of them, sitting there, and he's gonna be staring right the f*ck through him.

Maybe by the end of today.

[inhales deeply]

[Chuck scoffs]

But you know what? Maybe it's not my game anymore.

[sighs]

Yeah, maybe it's you young guys, eating your salads and remaking the world.

[pats shoulder]

No, I know how to win. But, uh... if that's not what it is anymore, then, uh... you do it your way, Bryan.

Okay, I will.

[door opens]

[door closes]

Donna, what days a week is Adam DeGiulio in New York?

Uh, Wednesdays, I believe.

Good. Get me on his schedule for breakfast in my office.

I don't think he eats breakfast.

Well, then, whatever it is he does in the mornings.

And get this... ball chair outta here.

[indistinct conversations]

What's up with the meditation room?

I asked one of the workmen.

Axe is having it reinforced into a panic room in case of a f*cking att*ck.

Who does he think's gonna att*ck?

[footsteps approach]

[telephone ringing in distance]

Donnie. Axe wants you in the conference room right now.

Well, we don't have anything scheduled.

Good.

He didn't want to give you the chance to prepare.

♪ dramatic music ♪
♪♪♪

[sliding door closes]

♪♪♪

[gagging]

I'm gonna be sick.

[rapid footsteps depart]

Bobby: We'll pick this up again tomorrow.

[key taps]

[headphones thud]

I'll let 'em sweat it out overnight.

Bobby: Tell Hall's guy to tail him.

♪ tense music ♪

[touchscreen clicking]

[cellphone vibrates]

[sighs]

[touchscreen clicks]

♪ pulsating music ♪

[chair wheels roll]

[engine revs]

♪♪♪

[engine revs]

♪♪♪

[engine revs]

[telephone rings]

[indistinct conversations]

♪♪♪

[telephone rings in distance]

T., where do you lead on beside the bid rigging thing?

The Scarsdale payroll fraud.

Give that to Cook.

Yes, sir.

[papers thud]

Yale, right?

Beloit, then Yale, then Okin & Cutler.

Five years?

Eight.

I always wanted to work here, of course, but I had to get... [inhales deeply ] set up first.

And when you go back, you go back to a senior position.

You're a dot-gov lifer, right?

Only the monastery for me. Mm.

[chuckles]

What are you clearing my plate for?

Patience, T.

[telephone ringing in distance]

[footsteps depart]

[train whistle blowing in distance]

[engine idling]

[cellphone vibrates]

♪♪♪

Bryan: You're being followed. Go home.

♪♪♪

[engine revs]

Ten-two.

Match point.

Chuck: Thank God.

[ball thuds]

[shoes squeak]

Chuck: Jesus Christ, Ira.

When did you turn into Sharif Khan?

I gotta confess.

I-I'm working on my boasts and rails with a pro.

Mm.

300 an hour.

But hey, at least I don't suck anymore.

You want his number?

You just gave it to me.

[chuckles]

And it's too much.

What's going on, Chuck?

We don't play for two months, and then twice in a week.

I know you. You're up to something.

[hand thuds]

Chuck: Maybe.

Truth is, I don't know what I'm up to.

Yeah, you put in the hours, the years, to get to a certain point, then you get there... [hand thuds] and, uh... [chuckles]

Not everything you want it to be.

Nothing ever is, but, uh...

[inhales deeply]

You ever feel like you're on the cusp of a great triumph, and then you just wanna give it all up?

Yeah, sure.

And at what point do you enjoy what you've achieved?

I could be the f*cking president and still be boxed in from above and below.

Bobby Axelrod... could run through the Serengeti and not break a sweat.

I go down in the subway, I gotta change my shirt.

You do what you do just as well as him.

Maybe better.

I wanna test the waters in a private firm.

[inhales deeply]

Really?

Mm. [Exhales]

Oh, Chuck. You... you... you gotta let me do it.

You gotta let me be the one to set it up.

They all want you. You'll cash in.

Let me wheel you into three places and get the bidding w*r started.

Mm, no. Just one.

Horvath.

Of course.

The best Supreme Court litigator.

Big here and in Washington.

Get me a meeting at Horvath. Keep it confidential.

You say where and when.

[crickets chirping]

[engine revving]

[engine revs]

[lock clicks]

[keys jangle]

How did you know I was being followed?

Oh, right. You're watching Axe Capital.

Out of the three of us, Pouch always plays on the straight and narrow.

For f*ck's sake, they glossed him "Pouch" because he's got no balls.

They say he has a vag*na.

Wonderful. What else?

Look, if Axe doesn't trust me anymore, he might give the Kemlot trade to someone else.

[glass clatters]

Don't let him.

Get the trade, make the trade, testify, and we're done.

Testify? You never said...

There's a thing called the Constitution.

Sixth Amendment, Confrontation Clause.

♪ tense music ♪

You have a right in this country to cross-examine your accuser.

It's not enough that you tell us what the tapes mean.

You gotta say it in court.

I can't even imagine it.

Axe there in the room with those Laura Mars eyes.

That's what he's gonna do tomorrow, too.

Hey, hey, hey. You'll get through it.

[groans]

You'll get through it.

[exhales]

[slurping]

I'll never know why everybody drinks that Star Wars sh*t.

[smacks lips] To optimize performance.

[sips] Well, you're certainly high-performance.

Well, I try to be.

You... you aren't a "try-er."

You never have been.

Aw, you've been watching, huh?

[mouth full] Mm-hmm, as you've watched me.

I was living out in Seattle doing my first clerkship on the Ninth Circuit.

And I remember when you got your first clerkship...

Supreme Court. A year before me.

Well, clerking for Ginsburg was the highlight of my career.

I'll tell you something... for five-one, that woman can hold her liquor.

[chuckles]

That was a hell of a year.

I remember. I thought, "DeGiulio is flying past me."

Well, it was never a competition.

We were both just trying to do good.

You know, I always figured you for the robes yourself.

Circuit judge.

Maybe even the big one... Justice Adam DeGiulio.

Someday. Yeah.

Hmm.

There's still a romance to the judicial branch that certainly transcends the petty politicking in the executive.

But I-I don't even see how I get there now.

I mean, there's no opening in the offing.

Things change.

Assignments shift.

Ah. Now we get to the reason for our meeting, don't we?

I was talking about you, but, uh, yes.

Yeah. Also about the situation here.

I want to inform you that Bryan Connerty is moving off the Axe Capital prosecution.

His caseload is too heavy.

And Tonelle Burton has the better skill set.

That's a problem.

The Attorney General and I signed off on Connerty in part because of his integrity.

T. Received the US Attorney's Award for Excellence in the Prosecution of Fraud.

I'm sure "T." is as clean as a baby fawn.

That's not what this is about.

High-profile case, Washington watching.

This can't have the appearance of string-pulling.

You're recused.

I, alone, determine which attorneys lead investigations in the Southern District, Adam, not Washington.

Absolument.

But... if there's going to be a change, I think we would change it all the way to the Eastern District.

It's cleaner.

[slurping]

[exhales]

It was fun reminiscing.

Enjoy your food.

[chuckles]

[door opens, closes]

I'm looping you in. I'm having one-on-ones today with Butch, Channing, and Donnie.

I'd like you to sit in.

For what purpose?

Create an atmosphere of truth.

Maybe they'll feel more comfortable.

You know these guys well.

I'd like your opinion on what they have to say.

Donnie. My Bryan Doyle.

Would you say you've done well for me?

Yeah, Axe. I feel good about it.

♪ tense music ♪

Tell me about FedEx.

Uh, that's not my sector.

No, somebody saw you in there.

Mailing a package.

Who was it to?

I don't know... uh, when that was.

Have you ever met anybody that worked at the FBI?

I mean, just socially.

I...

No, I don't think so.

Excuse me. Can we talk for a minute?

♪♪♪

[sliding door opens, footsteps depart]

[indistinct conversations]

I'm not gonna sit there and be your human lie detector.

You weren't looping me in. You were roping.

It's different.

I'm just asking you to listen.

You don't have to do anything.

I won't be used to legitimize this bullshit.

♪♪♪

[under breath] I can't do this.

Can't do it.

Yes, you can.

He can't hear you.

[computer chirps]

I know that.

♪♪♪

Why'd you overwrite your hard drive?

I don't know. Just thought you'd want me to.

I do it once a month.

Some of those first quarter trades last year...

You wanted me to leave that paper trail?

Tell me about Morien Sciences.

Morien? Is that biotech?

Solid company. Could be a monster.

There is no Morien Sciences. I made it up.

Bobby: You still picking your feet in Poughkeepsie, Channing?

What?

Never mind.

I would never, Axe.

I don't know what my wife has to do with this.

What about that Cross-Co. Trucking play, Pouch?

You still have a problem with it?

Hey, I made my peace with that.

How many helpings of strawberries did you have at lunch last week?

Uh, two. Two.

If they arrested you, what would you do?

I'd stand up, like Dollar Bill.

Would you look me in the eye and spew lies about me on the witness stand?

♪♪♪

How did you respond to the SEC letter on Rubinex?

I didn't. I gave it to my lawyer.

I thought you said Rubinex never raised flags with the regulators.

It didn't. I'm sorry.

Are we done here?

Yeah, you're done. Burnt f*cking toast.

[headphones thud]

[headphones clatter]

[engine idling]

[horn honks in distance]

[car door closes]

[indistinct conversations, glasses clinking]

[clinking continues]

[sighs]

Alex, thanks for coming. I appreciate your discretion.

Of course.

Please.

[exhales]

Well...

You probably know I have standing offers from a number of firms.

I chose to set this meeting with you.

We respect that.

Our firm has a lot to offer.

[glass clatters]

Now... I know this is not about money for you, but I also know that your current annual salary, 185,000, is what you would make in a week at Horvath.

Hmm.

And what would you expect from me in exchange?

Your expertise, image, prestige.

You would never have a boring day because you would never have to do anything you don't wanna do.

If you wanna be a rainmaker, you can make rain.

If you want to play golf, you can be on the circuit every Monday.

Company box at sporting events, partner junkets to the Super Bowl.

Four weeks vacation every year.

Well, eight if you prefer.

In due time, your name would be on the firm, of course.

♪ pensive music ♪

All you have to do is say yes.

♪♪♪

Hall: We got him.

An investigation we dug up at the SEC.

He got picked up, leveraged, turned against you.

Don't be surprised. Happens all the time.

On a long enough timeline, everyone you know will turn against you.

I'm not surprised.

Irritated that I didn't see it coming.

[papers rustle]

[gate creaks, birds chirping]

[engine revving]

[engine idling]

[engine stops, car door opens]

How long have you been here, Dimonda?

Those things charge by the hour, right?

I'm running a story on you. I'm hoping to get a comment.

That's not why you're here. You could've called.

You're here 'cause you have something big... to you.

Something you think you can hurt me with.

Goes like this...

September 11, 2001. You're in a lawyer's office.

You're being fired by your partners.

A plane crashes into the North Tower.

[cover closes, iPad clicks]

People are burning and dying.

And everyone you work with sees it happen.

So you call a broker... Lincoln Chang in Jersey City... and have him short aviation stocks in the European markets.

Then US hotels, shipping.

You go against it all.

The second plane hits.

Everyone you work with is dead.

People are lining up to give blood.

New York's bravest, your wife-to-be's brother, runs into the buildings to help.

He never comes back out, while you sit back in your chair with a smile on your face making hundreds of millions of dollars.

And you take that money and the rest of everything your dead partners had, and you call it Axe Capital.

That about right?

♪ tense music ♪

Congratulations.

[birds cawing]

♪♪♪

[footsteps approach]

It dropped.

♪♪♪

[files thud, phone clatters]

[sighs]

♪♪♪

[cap thuds]

[cellphone vibrates, carton thuds]

[touchscreen clicks]

[sighs]

♪♪♪

[rustling]

man on TV: We've got breaking news today.

Some damning revelations of a hedge fund giant... Robert "Bobby" Axelrod.

Just this morning, the "Financial Journal" reported that Bobby Axelrod may have made much of his considerable fortune by preying on aviation, hotel, and shipping companies when they were most vulnerable, shorting their stock during those early moments after the September 11th t*rror1st att*cks.

[remote beeps, TV turns off]

[weights clink]

...status as a philanthropist in the city, supporting many charities, especially the police and fire departments, as the only surviving partner at Wachtel, Rachlein, Rice, the company that eventually became Axe Capital.

Questions now being asked about the source...

Turn off the f*cking TVs! Get back to work!

man on TV: ...no comment from the Axelrod camp.

Wags: Turn it off! g*dd*mn it!

man on TV: ...world of hedge funds...

[TV turns off]

And just...

[knock on door]

I don't know where to...

[indistinct conversations in distance]

[door closes]

[whispers] There's a story about Axe on 9/11.

It's all over the news.

♪♪♪

[footsteps depart, door opens]

I am so sorry.

You'll have to excuse me.

[door closes]

♪♪♪

I'm pulling the kids out of school so they don't hear it from someone else.

That's smart.

I'm adding security.

Okay. I'll see you tonight.

Love you.

[cellphone clicks]

[sighs]

You knew?

Of course I knew.

Don't listen to the noise.

He didn't know our brother. He didn't even know me then.

♪♪♪

[footsteps depart]

♪♪♪

[vehicles passing in distance]

♪♪♪

[birds chirping]

[telephone ringing in distance]

[keyboard key taps]

[ringing continues]

♪♪♪
♪♪♪

Wags: We have your back. This will not f*cking stand.

[door closes]

I've got your denials written.

I've been in touch with Forbes to tell the real story.

Orrin: I recommend a defamation suit, regardless of the likelihood of victory.

It will buttress you...

No.

Orrin: Then a book.

I have a list of best-selling ghostwriters who can portray your mindset in a compelling way... that will...

It's true.

I never lied about it. I'm not proud.

It was before anyone knew for sure it was terrorism.

I just saw an opportunity to make 750 million dollars in a day.

And I knew the firm, the surviving families, would need it.

♪♪♪

Deb: Axe will see you now.

[receiver clatters]

[indistinct conversations]

[telephone ringing]

[door opens]

Pouch: Hey, you hanging in?

[door closes]

We all have things...

Shut the f*ck up.

You're fired.

[files thud]

You got nailed by the SEC, so you tried to sell me out?

You wearing a wire right now?

No.

I would never...

Oh, sure.

I don't ever want to see your face again.

Go get yourself another job in another country, 'cause you're gonna have a hard time in this one.

[exhales slowly]

♪♪♪

[pills rattling]

[indistinct conversations]

[bag and objects rustling]

[bag latches click]

[indistinct conversations continue]

[footsteps depart]

[keyboard keys tapping]

[knock on door]

[door squeaks]

You're not meditating.

Nah.

I just didn't feel like working in a glass box today.

Why don't you come into my office?

I'm okay.

[resumes typing on laptop]

[indistinct conversations in distance]

Good.

'Cause as we've talked about, I don't think you have anything to be ashamed of... in a relativistic sense.

You were scared, you didn't know what was happening, so you did what you knew how to do... you traded.

It was a tough position I put you in before. I know.

It was.

If we pretended today you worked for me, you know what I would tell you to do.

[door squeaks]

Go home.

[door squeaks closed]

[ship horn blows]

Hey.

Hey. Thanks for coming down.

[seabirds calling]

I did it.

Butch Probert. "The Pouch."

Took an old Wells notice and doctored it.

Backdated files to show an SEC inquiry.

You were right.

Axe found 'em, fired the guy.

Our inside man's safe... for now.

[helicopter blades whirring in distance]

How do you feel?

Like sh*t.

What... what do you go and do to be okay with it after a thing like that? [Sighs]

I'll show you.

[seabirds continue calling]

[engines rumbling]

[indistinct conversations, vehicles passing]

[horns honking in distance]

[man shouts indistinctly in distance]

[door bells jingle]

[chair scrapes floor]

[wine sloshing in bottle]

Hey, Bruno.

Hey, Bruno, what's this?

[check rustles]

Your piece of the profits.

[door bells jingle]

[man speaks indistinctly]

What, it's not enough?

Come on.

You said we're partners.

[check ripping]

[hand thuds on lap]

[wine sloshes in bottle, clatter]

You know...

[glasses clink]

[sniffs]

[wine pouring]

[bottle clatters]

You see the news today?

Nah, Bobby.

Had my head down throwing pies the whole day.

Salute.

[glasses clink]

Salute.

[chuckles]

[glass clatters]

[horn honks in distance]

[Bryan chuckles]

Another round.

[bottles clinking]

I'll tell you why, all right?

I'm gonna tell you why the Pouch doesn't f*cking matter.

Mm.

Number one...

He's probably dirty.

Not what Donnie said.

Jesus Christ. f*ck Donnie. He doesn't know.

He knows more than us. That's the whole f*cking point of it.

Here's why I don't have a problem with it.

Number one...

You're on two.

Number two... f*ck the Pouch.

Low seven figures for how many years?

He doesn't need more money.

If he's not saving, that's on him.

I wanna tell you something.

I turned down a job offer tonight.

Called him right from the car, and I said no.

White shoe defense firm. Major lucre.

Oh, ho! Nine million.

Ohh.

You wanna know why?

Because of you.

Me?

Yeah.

Because you did it.

[blues music playing over speakers]

And now I know you're in this for real... for the whole wagon train.

[hand thuds on counter]

And I can count on you to do what must be done.

Because without that sense of mission...

There's no f*cking point doing it.

♪♪♪

I struggled with it.

I know. [Scoffs]

[sighs] You think I don't?

[bottles clink]

You think I'm a whiff because of that?

No, I think I'm a whiff because of that.

I think you have decency.

Mm.

[sets down glass]

For me, doing this, it's about... it's about making the world better.

It really is.

[sips]

Just a little bit. Just a little bit more fair.

And as clean as that is in my head, m-my chest...

[exhales sharply]

Out there, the world's not clean. It's messy.

[laughter, indistinct conversations]

Now you're sounding a little whiffy.

[laughs]

[glass thuds]

Kidding, all right?

Number three.

Mm.

And number three is the best.

Even if he is an honest man, even if he's the g*dd*mn Pope, he's working at a dirty shop.

And that was always gonna end, and it was never gonna end well.

He should know the f*cking risks.

Right. Like he's a... haberdasher making uniforms for the Nazis.

Oh, that's a big contract.

Right, but you don't care if he loses it.

And whoever did the stitching on those things probably didn't hate Jews.

Or maybe they were Jews. Prison labor.

♪♪♪

Yeah. Yeah. [Sighs]

♪♪♪

I like number two better.

What was two?

f*ck the Pouch.

f*ck the Pouch.

[glasses clink]

[chuckles]

[sips]

[dog barking in distance]

Hey.

Hey. [Clears throat]

[chuckles]

I met with Horvath.

Big offer.

Mm. They recognize my worth.

[towel drops]

Felt good.

[clicks teeth]

But I said no.

Good for you.

You knew I'd never take the job, didn't you?

[chuckles]

Hmm?

I did, yeah. Was it obvious?

Then why the hell did you make me go through all of that?

You needed to.

You needed to try it on, feel it.

And my offer to quit, I knew it'd push you to do it.

Would you really have quit?

Does it matter now?

I really can't stand you being there, you know.

That's very honest.

[huffs]

Why is it? [Scoffs]

Why do I hate it so much?

♪ pensive music ♪

[sighs loudly]

♪♪♪

His looted gold pays for my kids' private schools.

[exhales] And, uh...

♪♪♪

And I'm... I'm the f*cking haberdasher.

[sighs]

[exhales]

[breathing heavily]

[exhales deeply]

It's not that simple.

I know.

[chuckles]

It's really f*cking complicated.

And you've been with him longer than you've been with me.

[sighs]

I love you.

I love you, too.

More than anything.

[clicks teeth]

Lots of people love each other.

[slaps leg]

[exhales deeply]

But you and Axe? Oh, that's something else.

It's weird, and it's deep, and I f*cking hate it.

I do. I f*cking hate it.

I know you do.

But you are strong because of it.

[exhales]

You are stronger than him, and you will get through it.

Because things are changing there, and it can't last like this much longer.

♪♪♪

It won't.

[vehicle approaches]

[crickets chirping]

[engine idling]

[window whirring]

I don't like it out here.

I'm sorry I didn't warn you first.

I knew what was going on. We had to put on a show.

But it still rattled my nerves.

That was the only way I could convince Rhoades you were legit.

You okay?

Sort of.

When do we give them Kemlot?

Soon.

[gears shift, tires squeal]

["Cover Me Up" playing]

♪ A heart on the run keeps a hand on the g*n ♪
♪ You can't trust anyone ♪
♪♪♪
♪ Cover me up ♪
♪ And know you're enough ♪
♪ To use me for good ♪