03x10- Trading Up

Episode transcripts for the TV show "StartUp". Aired: September 2016 to November 2018.*
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"StartUp" follows an unlikely group of collaborators in Miami who band together to develop a digital currency, except this particular founding story is riddled with crime: from the fraudulently obtained funds that comprise GenCorp’s seed money to the crooked FBI agent trying to get his own money back.
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03x10- Trading Up

Post by bunniefuu »

I'll do what I can with Saginaw.

You need to tell me everything you know

about the shop, and who's unhappy.

I've been hearing a lot of awful stories

coming out of that world lately.

You have no idea.

Her real name's Jane Mills.

She got recruited by some
black ops division of the CIA.

If you cross this woman,

she won't hesitate.

You said you think she was
trying to cover her tracks.

There's a virus that's
just ripping through

the entire network right now.

It was doing great.

But Izzy, she stepped
in. Look, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

- We can't trust you anymore.
- You supposed to have my back.

He threatened to k*ll me,

so let's not act like he's the victim.

He's your friend.

No, I don't have any friends.
I have you, I have ArakNet.

Well, now, you just have ArakNet.

We gotta give 'em
something in return, bro.

My boys?

Izzy, you see the news?

Again, if you're just joining us ,

there has been some
sort of chemical w*apon

that has been detonated in the
heart of downtown Los Angeles,

right near Pershing Square.

He did fine.

If Isabelle hadn't grown a conscience,

we'd all be in the clear by now.

She doesn't have any proof,
as far as I know. But...

she is definitely compromised.

I understand.

She'll be dealt with then.

I'll let you know when it's done.

Neither the president,
nor any spokespeople

from the intelligence community,

have given any official statement...

- Still can't sleep?
- Uh-uh.

You sure you don't wanna swap?

Yeah, no, I like being on the couch.

Reminds me of being sick.

Well, I made the bed, if...

if you want to.

... toxic fumes, which is now
being confirmed as BX gas...

This is stupid, okay? I'm
not gonna make any excuses.

I've said things and I've done
things that I am not proud of.

I've had tunnel vision.

And I've lost sight of
what is important, but...

I don't want to do this without you.

Without what we are. I love you.

And I know we don't say it enough.

And I know I don't talk about it enough.

But, I mean, for the last year,

I've just pictured that this is
gonna be my life, forever, you and me.

I thought we would get
married and have children.

I don't know how it go to be like
this with you sleeping on the couch,

and looking for other
places, but it's not okay.

I love you, I'm crazy about you.

I don't want to be without you.

Is this because Ronald's coming
back to the office tomorrow?

Because you're worried that my
dad is gonna have that vote, and...

and you need me on your side.

Is that really what you think of me?

- I'm just asking a question.
- Wow...

okay.

I'm gonna take a shower,

and go in early to take
care of some stuff, but...

think about what I said,
'cause I really meant it.

I will.

Here's the thing, we gotta look

further down the road than I.O.T.,

but what does that mean? Any ideas?

Also, I feel like we
missed the boat on some A.R.

opportunities, I do not
want that to happen again.

- Uh, hey, Tuck?
- What?

- Uh, yeah, maybe we should end the meeting.
- What're you talking about?

Let's, uh... we should end
the meeting for a little bit.

The hell you talkin' about?

Uh, hey, guys. Let's
take a quick break, 'kay?

Maybe we'll come back,
um, reconvene after lunch?

- Can we squash it?
- It's The Herald.

Okay, yeah but it's not live yet, right?

- Right?
- It's The Herald!

You can't squash it, we gotta
come out in front of this thing.

- How?
- How? I don't know...

you couldn't keep your d*ck
in your pants, you idiot!

- My d*ck?
- Yeah.

You're blaming this on my d*ck?

Yeah, your name is all over this thing.

You're groping assistants? You're
offering them dr*gs?! You...

You've been pullin' that sh*t

before I ever even
started pullin' that sh*t.

- Bullshit, bro. Bullshit.
- No! It's not bullshit, you know what's bullshit?

Is that no one ever comes down on you

because you have five angelic children,

and beautiful skin, you piece of sh*t!

I'm sorry, man, we gotta stick together.

We gotta work on this together.

- Such an idiot.
- You're not a piece of sh*t.

- Hey.
- Hey, can you gather your team

around the bullpen in 10?

- Yeah, okay.
- Thanks.

Uh, hey everyone. Can I have your
attention real fast? Just, uh...

just wanted to say a few words and
then I'll let you get back to it.

Um...

so, it's been a...
a... a weird couple...

... couple days. We had the
virus that almost wiped us out.

And um... on a lesser note,

there's been a fair amount
of fighting internally.

I'm sure some of you... most
of you have probably noticed.

And, um...

I don't even know if I'll
be here next week. Uh, but...

then something like Pershing
Square happens, and, um,

you know, it really puts
things in perspective.

I mean, we're here.
We're trying to build

a more stable future, more...

more just future. And...

what we've created...

uh, it... you know, it might feel
like a product sometimes because...

y'know, we're takin' home paychecks,

and we're at our desks all day, but...

I mean, you know, you know, you
wouldn't be here if you didn't know...

it's more than that.

It's about more than that, it's, um...

it's bigger than us, and...

anyway, just keep up
the good work. Okay...

Hey.

So, we're basically murderers,
right? I mean, that's it?

Well, what if I told you
that through all this mess,

losing half our users and
being quietly responsible

for the deaths of 1,400 innocent people,

that there's still a major financier

who's interested in
granting us our next round.

Big story on the boy's
club culture at Saginaw

just broke a couple hours ago...

the lawsuits are coming, and the
clients are dropping left and right.

They need fresh blood.

Tucker finally called me back
and he wants to meet tomorrow.

That story... was that something that...

did you?

Holy sh*t! Oh, my God, thank you!

I'm... I'm sorry. I don't...

I'm just proud of you.
I'm just proud, uh...

- Tomorrow?
- Tomorrow.

- Um, what... does your dad know?
- Uh, no.

No, like I said, they need fresh blood.

- Okay, I, uh, I should get on writing a new pitch.
- Okay.

Okay, um... okay, okay.

"It's more than an app,
it's more than a network... "

"It's more than an app,
it's more than a network,

it's more than a tech company.

You know what you're
investing in?" Nope. Um...

"What you're investing in is
the future of... planet Earth."

Mm-mm. Don't do that.

"People are gonna talk
about this in 10 years.

In 20 years, your kids are
gonna learn about it in school."

"... the same way we
tell our kids now... "

"... in 20 years... in 20
years, it's gonna be... "

Take your time, South Beach.

I'll wait.

Okay, come here, I got you.

Oh! Stop.

You good.

I'm finished.

You welcome to call
the unis on me again.

I got nobody else left to roll on,

so they prolly put me
away, legit this time.

But, if ArakNet off the table for me,

I might as well tell
everybody about Broken Egg.

That was some clever-ass
sh*t you pulled.

I wish you woulda told me when
you did, I'da given you mad props.

One million accounts hacked.

Damn, that's, like, one
million felonies right there.

This what you call "mutually
assured destruction."

Ain't that some sh*t?

Ha, ha. Problems with
the lawnmower, bruh?

What dey do, fam?

- Oh, what dey do? What dey do?
- Ahh.

- How the kids, bro?
- They ain't straight, but they good, they good.

I swear you got this yard
lookin' right. I like that.

- You know, trying, bro.
- I hear that, dog, I hear that. I hear that.

Look here, man. Tell Tam
and Elsie I say "what's up?"

Meanwhile, Los Angeles
hospitals are still overflowing

with those stricken
ill by the toxic gas.

Thousands of people
still suffering sympto ms

relating to the exposure even
days after the initial blast.

Symptoms include difficulty breathing,

burns on the skin, even seizures...

... not only for the
people of Los Angeles,

but for our entire nation.

Oh, my God.

- What happened?
- My friend, Ronald, came by.

Nick, we have Saginaw in a couple hours.

- And you can't go looking like that.
- It's okay.

Ronald goes to meetings
like this all the time.

Seriously, Nick, there's just no way.

We'll just have to push,
okay? They'll understand.

- They need this as much as we do.
- No, we can't push.

You can't go without me, I'm CEO, so.

We have two CEOs.

Are you serious?

Ronald?!

You're gonna go with
this f*cking maniac?!

- I don't have a choice.
- No! No! I...

no, you can't make that
decision without me,

I forbid it.

- I forbid it!
- Keep icing your face. You look like sh*t.

I'm going to that meeting.

Okay, you can come if
you want to blow it.

- Eat a little faster, baby, 'cause we gotta go soon.
- Mm-hm.

Wish me luck.

For what?

Just wish me luck!

Good luck.

You wanna run it a couple
times? Just, hear it out loud.

Nah, I don't work like that.

sh*t's gotta come from the heart.

Okay, right...

What, you don't trust me?

What? No, of course I do.

- I do.
- Okay then.

You know what I think is funny?

Couple days ago, you were in jail.

And now, you're pitching to
secure a massive Series B.

America, right?

f*ckin' America.

- Oh, wow. You all right?
- Mm-hm.

All right, look sharp, here we go.

- Oh sh*t. Hi, hi, hi. How you doin'?
- Hi.

- Nice to see you.
- Nice to see you.

- How you doin', man? Have a seat.
- Good to see you.

- Great, thanks for comin'.
- Where's, uh, where's Mike?

- Nick?
- That's right, yes.

Where's Nick? Where's that guy?

Nick, uh, Nick, Nick, Nick.

I had to whoop his ass.
He ain't gonna make it.

We had a little disagreement.
Lip busted up, eye swole shut.

- Oh...
- He ain't really presentable right now.

- It's, uh...
- Nice, nice open.

You know, Nick and I, we share a brain,

so it's basically like
having his ass here, except...

except blacker, smarter, cuter.

You're right. That's a good opener.

You crazy, man. I like this guy.

- Thanks for making this happen so quickly.
- Absolutely.

Yeah, no, we've been psyched about
this for a while. We just, uh...

had a couple of timing issues, ya know?

- Of course.
- It's all about timing, right?

Amen, brother.

Okay. So...

what've you got?

Now, each and every one
of you at this table,

y'all are looking for an image
change, ain't no frontin' about that.

But image is fleeting, ain't that right?

You know about this Saginaw meeting?

- Yeah.
- You weren't gonna tell me about it?

These two clowns are
over there right now.

They're right there.

Well, will you look at you two.

What, you bullshit your
way through this one?

Nah, I was straight with 'em.

- Cards on the table. - Tell them
about the 40 million user drop-off?

Mm-hm.

Virus, missteps, all of it.

Even told 'em how I whooped Nick's ass.

Great.

How'd that go for you?

It went pretty well, actually.

Ronald laid everything
out, about the virus,

about how fast our
recovery rate has been.

And they're pretty desperate
for an image change.

So...

they're down.

Down? Down how?

$320 million down.

- That's fantastic!
- Yeah, it is.

But they got a couple
conditions, though.

- Ain't that right?
- That's right, they're a little concerned

with our corporate
structure. The whole...

co-CEO thing.

But, that shouldn't be a big problem.

Well, it was... it was
kind of a big deal, though.

- It is to them, yeah.
- But, look, ya'll. What I realized, though,

titles don't really mean sh*t.

You know what I'm sayin'?

I just want to be a part of
something that's bigger than myself.

Something that's bigger than all of us.

You know, something I could raise
a family on at the end of the day.

- That's very admirable of you.
- Why, thank you, Nick.

That's why I don't mind lettin'
Mara take the reins here.

Hm?

Yeah.

That was they terms.

That Mara... is sole CEO.

And, I said...

"Aight."

"Aight"?


You just...

you just said "aight"?

You don't have the decision
power to say "aight."

Oh no, you got that right. We
don't have that decision power.

But, 320 million, that's...

your decision power.

Aight?

Lower it to the ground. Slowly.

Hands in the air.

Who else is with you?

Everyone knows who you are.

- I told them.
- You don't know who I am...

Jane Mills. CIA black
ops. You lived in...

Ah!

Who else knows?!

You think I care what you do to me?

You know what I've been through?

- I can make this hurt, Isabelle.
- Do it.

- I can drag this out in the worst ways.
- Good! Good, I deserve it.

k*ll me! Do it, bitch! Go!

Ah!

Okay, just settle down...

Give me your phone.

- I don't have one.
- Give me your phone!

Slide it.

- You really messed the bed...
- Shut up!

- No, you did, Isabelle.
- Shut...

You think I'm the only one here...

- ... trying to clean this up.
- Shut up. Stop talking.

Yeah, Izzy?

Come in.

- I didn't know you guys were in trouble.
- You never asked.

That's right. I didn't.

So, you're really gonna do this?

It's still your decision.

We get all the money...

you take all the control.

You know you know we can
do this together, right?

Forget the kid, forget everybody.

You and me...

against the whole world.

We already tried that once.

And it didn't work out so great for me.

I'm real proud of you,
Mara. You know that?

Thank you.

Sorry...

sorry I wasn't better.

She didn't say nothin' else?

Just that the future of
ArakNet depends on it, so...

probably nothing.

- Look, man...
- Hey, don't say nothin', South Beach.

You wanna apologize? Don't bother,
'cause I know it ain't real.

You and me... we ain't nothin' no more.

Now you gonna say yes
to that Saginaw guap

'cause that's the only
chance that we got.

We on our last leg,
and you know that sh*t.

That's the good news.

But you and me, we ain't
sh*t but co-workers.

Moving forward, that's all we is.

That's all we ever gonna be.

- Hey, Iz.
- In here!

- You all right?
- Just come in here.

No.

Wait! Ronnie!

Guys! Guys!

- I ain't steppin' in her bullshit no more, dog,
- Listen, listen.

That woman, whoever she
is, she has our number.

You don't think leaving Izzy in
charge of this situation is a bad idea?

- Guys, please!
- Come on, she already saw you.

She saw you.

Trouble just finds you, huh?

She came after me. She
broke in, tried to k*ll me.

She woulda k*lled my dad if he was here.

- No, just you, actually.
- Let's talk this out. Huh?

- She's not who she says she is.
- Yeah, we got that part.

She's CIA. Black ops.

Pershing Square was her f*ck up,

and now she's trying to erase it.

All of it.

Meaning me, meaning us, meaning ArakNet.

Why don't you tell them
how you know all that?

Meaning, you've been
working for me at ArakNet.

Meaning, I saved her ass in Cuba.

And she wanted to be my mole.

I think they're much more
interested in you than me.

- Isabelle Morales.
- She threatened my family.

I vouched for you.

You did.

I didn't have a choice. She
didn't leave me a choice.

- You always got a choice.
- You don't always have a choice.

- Hey, shut up!
- This was different.

- We have to fix this now.
- I vouched for you.

- I'm sorry.
- We will talk about that later.

Right now, we have to fix this.

Here's what we need to do.

You should let me go. You should
let me walk right out of here.

- What?
- Yeah, 'cause y'all have blood on your hands.

Or did you think I didn't know?

That you could've stopped what
happened at Pershing Square.

But you didn't.

But people are gonna find out.

And once they do...

this beautiful agnosticism of yours...

was just a little too
cozy between ArakNet

and the t*rrorists now, isn't it?

She's bluffing.

I am not. I swear on my mother's grave.

She can't be trusted. We
can't trust this woman.

I'm sorry, who's the woman
in the room we can't trust?

Goddamnit!

We gotta out her.

Folks like her, is like a lizard's tail.

You cut it off, another
one grow in its place.

Only way we gon' be safe now, Izzy,

is to shine a big ole'
bright light on it.

You got a landline?

- We gotta call the unis...
- Are you f*cking high?!

- No.
- You're gonna call the cops on a... on a federal black op...

whatever the f*ck?

- The cops don't have anything on that.
- Don't matter, Nick!

The police come, the media come,
we put... we put Mara on it.

The more people that know,
the safer that we are.

Ronald, it will expose ArakNet.

f*ck ArakNet!

People, Nick!

This ain't about no company,
this about me and mine.

About you and yours. Izzy?

You and your old man and your old girl.

This bitch done f*cked us all up.

Are you scared of this bitch right here?

- Ronald f*cking Dacey?
- Izzy, you don't want to mess with all this.

She the kinda people that
scary people are afraid of.

She the kinda people
that bad people say,

"God damn, we need to
do somethin' extra bad.

So bad, we gotta send
somebody else to do that sh*t."

And then, they send her.
And she ain't the only one!

How else do you think we're
gonna get up out of here?

Jesus Christ...

Let go... just gimme that.

Do you have any idea what you just did?

We need to go. We need to go.

We gotta clean this up.

What you doin', Iz? You're
just makin' it worse.

Stop the blood from goin' everywhere.

All right, you got a
tarp or some garbage bags?

Yeah, I have the tarp from my car.

Okay, grab that. And get some duct tape.

Some twine, somethin' like that.

Bring my car around.

- Bring my damn car around.
- Okay.

All right? Park it as
close as you can park.

No handicapped spot, nothin' like that.

That ain't gonna work,
Iz. You got twine? Rope?

Twine.

Yeah, that'll work. Grab her arms.

Grab her arms, Izzy.

- Is this what we're doing?
- Yes, this is what we doin'.

Unless you want to go to jail.

All right, come on, Nick, help me, bro.
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