Billions (2016) s05e01 Episode Script
The New Decas
1
[AXE] Previously on Billions
You want me to help put you
in the State Attorney General's office.
I do.
[HARRY] The Churchill World War II
it's a hell of a set.
Well, maybe I can circle back
and grab them before they're gone.
These are the books you asked for.
Find all the other signed
first editions for sale.
And buy them all,
every single last one of them.
You could've been anything
you chose to be a prosecutor.
You're the guy who taught me everything.
I'm glad you still feel that way.
Your father has tasted
the fruits of our tribe.
Is that my little sister,
for Chrissakes?
- When are you coming home?
- I don't know.
But you are coming home?
I don't know.
[CHUCK] When I look at the
shambles my life has become
[CHUCK] from my firing,
[CHUCK] to my election
with strings attached,
[CHUCK] to the destruction
of my marriage,
it all tracks back to one source.
One man. And that very man
charged me with arresting you
in order to force you
back into his employ.
You were such a worthy
fucking adversary.
I want you on my side.
And I want you to help me take him down,
[CHUCK] once and for all.
Chuck Rhoades wants to use
me to help him nail Axe.
[TAYLOR] They're both lined
up to destroy each other.
[TAYLOR] At the right moment
when both have their guns
[TAYLOR] raised, I'll step out
of the way and let it happen.
[TAYLOR] They'll put
each other in the ground
[TAYLOR] and I'll go
about my fucking business.
Welcome home.
Happy to be here.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
It's so wonderful to be
gathered here together
to witness this blessed occasion.
Two souls, who've found one another,
in the great expanse.
Two people, fiery and strong,
joining their flames into
a single burning ember
[JANE HALFTOWN] In our tradition,
marriage means 'never alone.'
[JANE HALFTOWN] So
will you take this man,
[JANE HALFTOWN] to care for,
for all of your days?
[ROXANNE] I will.
[JANE HALFTOWN] And will
you take this woman,
to care for, for all of your days?
Of course I will.
For as many as I've got left, anyway.
[LAUGHTER]
[CHEERFUL MUSIC]
[SIGHS]
You will now live together
under one blanket
[APPLAUSE]
[PATTI SMITH'S "GONE AGAIN"]
-
-
Hey, now, man's own kin
We commend into the wind
Grateful arms, grateful limbs
Grateful soul, he's gone again
[INDISTINCT SINGING]
[MARACAS SHAKING]
[RHYTHMIC CHANTING]
[STEAM HISSES]
[CHANTING CONTINUES]
[EXHALES HEAVILY]
[SOFT MUSIC]
[EXHALES HEAVILY]
[GAGS]
[RETCHING]
[COUGHING]
[GAGS]
Ugh.
[BOTH BREATHING HEAVILY]
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
[INHALES SHARPLY]
[OWL HOOTS]
Right?
Right?!
Yessssssss.
See it?
Feel it?
It's almost too much.
Too much goodness in the world.
The great Earth Mother
blowing it around
like smoke from the trees
[AXE] Kings!
They don't blow around, man.
They stand there and they take.
First the village, then the city.
Mass the troops for the keep.
And once the keep
Yeah. The whole world.
That's a whole lot of war to wage.
That's a whole lot of heads to chop,
heads to chop,
heads to chop
Chop, chop, chop
Mess,
messy, mess.
Beautiful mess.
Yeah
[LAUGHS]
Come on,
let's see if we can make it back.
[BAND PLAYS STRAY CATS'
"ROCK THIS TOWN"]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
Well, my baby and me went
out late Saturday night
I had my hair piled high and
my baby just looked so right
Well, pick you up at ten,
gotta have you home at two
Mama don't know what
I catched off of you
But that's all right 'cause
We're looking as cool as can be
You okay, Chuck?
- Oh. You know it!
- You sure?
Better than okay. Yes.
A venerable occasion.
Weddings can be tough when
you've become recently
unattached.
All that romance in the air.
Exactly what I'm looking
to capitalize on.
Who's the brunette stunner over there?
[BROGAN] How 'bout an intro
And change of a
dollar for the jukebox
- That'd be his wife.
- Ouch.
- Or is it ex?
- Uh, uh.
Not officially. Yet. Heading that way.
What's the statute of
limitations on exes these days?
- Ohh!
- Until your shvantz
turns to rust and falls off, Brogan.
Which is why I'm kidding!
Naturally. 'Cause we're all friends.
- Sure, you're kidding.
- Absolutely.
And I am truly blessed
to have a brain trust,
a cadre,
a kitchen cabinet such as you all.
We're gonna rock this town,
rock it inside out
Excuse me
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
[INDISTINCT SPEAKING]
Hey, hey, hey, watch it, Kev.
Come on. We don't do that.
You wanna try some wine at dinner,
we can do it together.
- Like people.
- Sorry, Dad, I just wanted to taste it.
- But it's gross.
- Exactly.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
It's family.
That's what families do: stick together.
That's why you're here?
You're actually fucking here.
"Sticking together"
while he marries someone
who could be his
Soldier forth.
That's what Charles always told me,
and he's right.
We're gonna rock this town,
make 'em scream and shout
Maybe it's time to stop listening
to what Rhoades men say
and decide what we think
for a fucking change.
We're gonna rock till you drop,
we're gonna rock
Excuse me.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS IN DISTANCE]
Ms. Sacker.
Sorry to crash, but I have what I need
to give the go-ahead on
the crypto mine takedown.
As soon as you give me the go-ahead.
They will get in position tonight.
Move first thing in the morning.
- Click, click, boom. Do it.
- What about press?
They're salivating over all
things crypto right now.
No press. Yet.
Then at the right moment,
lots and lots of it.
Do the thing. I have to go, uh,
get back to the nuptials.
[SACKER] Maybe I'll stick around,
watch the toast.
- [CHUCKLES]
- See you celebrate the love.
You're a ruthless prosecutor.
It's why I hired you over.
Don't waste it here.
Use it on the operation.
[SACKER] Ah. First I watch you squirm.
Then I make them squirm.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
We'll have our fill of tears
Our share of sighs
A dance with the groom?
- My only prayer
- Can I say no?
I think not.
Is that you realize
You'll always be beautiful
In my eyes
You will always be
- Avert your eyes, Chuck.
- We'll watch for you.
We'll We'll tell you if
the old man gets handsy.
Oooh, he's bringing out the
old American Bandstand moves.
Feels more like Soul Train to me.
Ooh, he's got a pep in his step
I'm impressed.
She looks stunned. In a good way.
Good for him. Not for you.
It does feel like a
betrayal of some sort.
From one of them. Or both.
No, no, no, no. It's as it should be.
The bonds of family are stronger than
- Whoa, that's a deep dip!
- [LAUGHS]
Bravo! Real Rudolph Valentino move!
Ahh, Jesus.
[LAUGHTER]
[LAUGHS]
I'll be sad to lose you
as a member of the family.
You're the grandfather of my children:
we'll always be family.
So stop this madness.
Go get some ass if
that's what you want
- [SIGHS]
- and then re-up with the unit.
Like you did?
We're at your wedding.
To someone else.
I'm sitting at a table
with your ex-wife.
Thing you have to understand
about me and your ex-mother-in-law is
May I cut in?
You had your chance, sonny.
Maybe if you'd been this
insistent when she was yours
Dad!
Your dance, my boy.
You'll always be beautiful
In my eyes
I figured I'd move in for the save.
There was a time for that.
It's long passed.
You mean to say you
enjoyed dancing with him?
I mean, he does move like Valentino.
Oh, for Chrissakes.
- Really? You too?
- [CHUCKLES]
And the passing years will show
There's not a second of this I enjoy.
Old days,
we would have made our getaway.
McQueen and Ali MacGraw style.
Mm. More like Beatty and Dunaway
lot of talk of escape, but in the end:
[CLICKS TONGUE] ratatatat
with the Tommy gun.
Bloody, tragic.
No escape. From any of it.
Just because we haven't
made our escape as of yet,
doesn't mean we can't.
As friends, I mean, not romantically.
Just find our way out of here.
Talk.
Oh, there'll be an escape.
Here it is.
[MUSIC ENDS]
[APPLAUSE]
Go time.
Ah.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
[SOFT PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]
[MICROPHONE SQUEALS]
I was speaking with my
mother the other day,
about how hard it would be to
appropriately, to honestly,
salute my father on the
day of this blessed union.
And she said to me:
"Look, you do not have to stand
in front of a group of people
"and say nice things about that man.
"You do not have to valorize him.
Speak your truth, son."
Now, as most of you know,
I have no problem making a speech
that goes against convention,
that brooks the tide of the expected,
so that I may speak the unvarnished.
And that is what I have
decided to do today.
[CHUCKLES]
So buckle up
because
I am not gonna say nice
things about my dad.
I don't want to.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
You all know what I would say.
You all know the truth. No.
Instead: I want to
celebrate his magnificent bride,
Roxanne!
[LAUGHTER]
- [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
- [LAUGHS]
No. Because she has done that
which I'd thought impossible.
Turned my dad into a big pile of mush.
- [LAUGHTER]
- Defanged the old wolf.
Well. Made him into one
of those Build-A-Bears
with the bright red
valentine for a heart
and the cuddly fur to hold onto and hug.
[CHUCK] Certainly got
him going to Build-A-Bear
[CHUCK] for his little daughter.
[CHUCK] And Roxanne, and her people,
have taken him in as their own.
Much as we consider her ours.
That's the wonderful thing about family.
It lives and breathes.
It never contracts.
Only expands.
As ours has now.
[CHUCK] I can't believe
a man can get so lucky.
And, uh, now I'm speaking
about me, not Dad.
Because I have someone who
loves him as much as I do,
someone to share him with.
- [BAD COMPANY'S "BAD COMPANY"]
- [CHUCK] So. Here's to you both.
And to all of us basking in
the radiance of your joy.
[CHUCK] As we raise our glasses
- Yeah!
- Cheers!
- [LAUGHTER]
- Cheers!
[APPLAUSE]
Company
Always on the run
You've come far and learned much.
- Destiny
- Until we see each other
and move your knowledge into the world,
be well.
- Safe travels.
- Is the rising sun
Oh, I was born
Six gun in my hand
- Behind a gun
- [ENGINES START]
I'll make my final stand
I'll make my final stand
That's why they call me
Bad company
And I can't deny
Bad company
Till the day I die
Till the day I die
Till the day I die
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[DOOR CREAKS, CLOSES]
[GATE CREAKS]
[SIGHS]
[WENDY] Kevin was drinking.
Chuck, where the fuck are you?
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[BRAKES SQUEAL]
[POUNDING ON DOOR]
[EXHALES HEAVILY]
He's sleeping it off.
[SIGHS]
[DOOR CREAKS, CLOSES]
I handled it.
It's handled.
There's nothing for you to do.
Babysitter will be here soon.
- Then I'll go to work.
- Oh. Fuck.
I don't know how I missed your calls.
[SCOFFS]
- I know.
- [SIGHS]
[WENDY] I know where you were
and what you were doing
because that's the only time
you're off the grid completely.
That's a stiff fucking shot.
And it landed.
So. Standing eight count for C. Rhoades.
Now. Can we stop punching
at each other, please?
You flail at me wildly
and then y-you put
your chin right there.
What do you expect me to do?
[SIGHS HEAVILY]
I was in no way prepared
for how that travesty of a
wedding was going to hit me.
How it was gonna make me
feel about things between us.
I was just
totally alone.
And [CHUCKLES] you guys here
in Bobby Axelrod's
spare fucking apartment.
With goddamned Van Goghs on the walls.
While I'm, uh [CHUCKLES]
Ahh,
it was the only thing I could think of.
How could I have known
there would be an emergency?
Part of being a parent
No, no, part of being a person,
a grown person,
is carrying that thought
somewhere inside:
that you might be needed
by those you love,
by those you're responsible to,
and making sure you're
available for that.
Instead of being a
prisoner to your appetites.
[SOFT MUSIC]
You know this.
What do I know anymore, really?
I have lost my bearings.
Oh. Until recently,
I had always had a North Star.
Twin North Stars.
Justice and Wendy Rhoades.
And with those guiding me,
I was able to move forward,
to progress,
to find and stay on my path.
But in the end,
although they were always there for me,
I served neither.
[CHUCK] Not nearly enough.
But I have lately determined
to find my way back.
It's clear that I must.
I want to dive in.
[SIGHS]
To engage. But it's too late.
It's time for some self-care now.
I can't let my happiness be
controlled by anyone but me.
It was a mistake to call
you last night for help.
It was my night with the kids.
My problem.
That's how divorced people talk.
Yeah.
It is.
The separation has convinced me.
We need to be done.
And I want to issue a public statement.
I-I-I want to
I want to do it this week.
Today. I want it to be out there.
Have your office draw one up
and have it sent it to me by day's end.
Look at me.
Look into my eyes.
I know you won't believe this,
because I've given you little cause to:
But I am on the brink of huge change.
I am going to force myself to evolve.
I believe that you believe that, Chuck.
[INHALES SHARPLY]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
[TIRES SCREECH]
You are under arrest for utility theft.
For starters.
Lock 'em up and shut 'em down.
- [SACKER] Come on.
- [HANDCUFFS CLICK]
[SACKER] Let's go.
[POWER FADES]
Look at all this wattage, fellas
You see this little dink of a column?
That was last year's
usage at the warehouse
- Mm-hmm.
- Then see this middle column?
That was the estimated usage of
a 120-unit apartment building,
as it was phonily classified.
But look at this monster.
That's a big, throbbing,
ugly red megawatt number
- Mm.
- now isn't it?
What that column means is that
your little operation was
pulling so much juice,
the entire town ran
clean out of electricity.
And had to go on the open market
to buy more from the grid.
It cost hundreds of
thousands of dollars
and drove the town's entire rate up.
Taxpayers, eating that burden.
Because of you.
And for what?
So your multitude of
computers and servers
could solve some abstract math equations
resulting in the mining of Bitcoin.
Worth millions right now whoopee
but backed by what?
Nada. Nix. Zot.
What's the dollar backed by,
since we went off the gold standard?
Well, uh, roads, the military, industry,
the credit of the federal government,
that sort of thing.
But, I get your point.
We're not here to discuss
monetary theory though.
We're here to discuss who
put you fucking nerds
sorry: 'engineers' in business.
[CHUCKLES]
We have information you work
for a Wall Street consortium
There are indeed certain
finance dudes involved.
I'll allow it.
You don't get to "allow."
That's for court. Names.
You're going to have to say the name.
There's no way we're saying it.
Any number of hedge fund magnates.
Uh. Let's go alphabetical.
Axelrod, Robert, for starters.
Yes, but none of us dealt
with that guy directly.
Then I'm gonna need the person in town
who got paid off to let
you pull so much power
you caused a brownout across the county.
Because he did. Didn't he?
[SIGHS]
You can tell me
or I can prosecute you
until your lives are
smoking piles of rubble
and you're put in a
place where a calculator
is as close as you'll get to a computer.
Your choice
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
It's the Town Supervisor. His name is
[DOOR CLOSES]
Gimme a ticket for a carousel
Airplane.
Gimme a ticket for an airplane.
Ain't got time to take a fast train
No. Those go place to place,
I'm just going around in circles.
Hence the carousel.
Why was I surprised when
Axelrod's name got mentioned?
- Why weren't you?
- Because I knew he was in this.
That's why I wanted to go after it.
Hmm. I'm happy to be working
with you again, Chuck.
It has to help me advance
and grow this time.
- I came over here
- To help me make this place
the preeminent prosecutorial
office in the state.
Which we will. We are.
And so you could be my rabbi
for my congressional run,
end of next year.
But I need to be on the inside.
To see the moves as they are happening.
Not as they are revealed to the world.
I need to be your worthy assistant,
setting up the tricks and seeing
what you did with your hands.
- [CHUCKLES]
- Not gonna be one of those rubes
in the audience gasping
at the magic anymore
[SCOFFS]
You know. The thing about change is:
even when you want to,
it's really fucking hard.
I know I have to bring you in.
And that I can trust you.
I know it up here.
And I'm working on bringing it
down here, too.
Don't work on it.
Do it. Now.
You don't have to trust me,
but you have to trust me.
- Ya know?
- You're talking about a partnership.
- You offering that, for real?
- If I don't, you staying?
You already know the answer.
Then you know mine.
Yes.
And if you see me giving in
to the man I used to be
I'll be all over it.
Good.
That's good.
As it should be.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
Okay people, town hall time.
This gonna be an every month thing,
like my period?
[LAUGHTER]
Keep that up and we can
make it a daily thing,
- like you getting fisted.
- Ohh!
As in up the junker just like a punker.
That'll teach ya to come at the brass
Spyros!
This forum should be looked forward to.
It's a chance for us
to investigate issues
that affect our culture here
But this time it's serious.
There was an incident
Someone reversing the
water on the toilet flush
in the unisex bathroom,
which sprayed a Mase Capper
[LAUGHTER]
Gross negligence on the part
of building maintenance.
And, uh, oh, I-I do mean gross.
No one can prove it was sabotage
Give me that.
[FLASK CLINKING]
This shit literally
has got to stop.
[WENDY] There were
investors on premises.
[WENDY] They may redeem.
[WENDY] We're making ourselves look like
world-class schmucks here.
So now it's time:
We need to come together
as one company, one team, one family.
Now I want to hear from you all
about what exactly the problem is here.
[SIGHS]
This is a safe space.
Fine, I'll speak.
Far from being welcoming
these last couple of months,
the Axe Cap folks have
been downright dickish
- What?!
- [ALL MURMURING]
Oh, did I not properly welcome you?
Let me correct that rudeness right now.
[IMITATES FARTING]
[LAUGHTER]
And just so you know I'm not
some thin-skinned whiner,
I've been through Plebe
Summer at the Naval Academy.
- [ALL MURMURING]
- Wow.
This goes beyond practical jokes.
It's getting hostile
and it's unprofessional.
- Exaggerated.
- Totally.
I've got to say,
this isn't a one-way street.
Oh, please
There's a haughty,
condescending attitude
flowing from the quant side.
Bunch of stuck-up bitches and bros.
- Yeah!
- Lording their giant cerebellums
And we're not some Luddite dumbasses
just because we come from
an analysis-driven
[CHUCKLES] Could've fooled me
So we don't want to debate
Full Stack versus Mean Stack
over bagels in the kitchen.
That doesn't mean we
can't do the math
Uh. Yes, it does
Some of us can do the math!
- Some of them can't.
- Mafee.
- Suck my Node.js, Bill
- Oh!
You don't even know what
the fuck that means.
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
[WENDY] Alright. Hey.
I'll take you outside! I will
Hey! Hey! Hey!
- Let's go!
- Hey!
Meeting fucking adjourned.
For now.
But this is far from over.
Your homework for next time
- Homework?
- Fucking right.
You will each of you will
[WENDY] come up with three
productive things that you,
[WENDY] personally, can do to
make this place function better.
Do it. Or risk me getting really mad.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
We both know it:
with this business the way it is,
it's a fight just to survive.
We need unity.
And this discord I won't have it.
The one you should be having
this conversation with is Axe.
It's his Plug Uglies that
are doing the instigating.
And we both know that.
I did have this conversation with him
- before he left on his trip.
- And?
He said something very
similar to what you just did.
All systems have to die eventually.
Excuse me.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[ENGINES SHUT OFF]
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
You okay?
I don't know which end,
but I feel like
something's gonna come out.
Well. You can handle your drugs,
must have been the bumpy road.
[GROANS] Bumpy is right.
I've got a case of the grapes
like they talk about in literature.
[SIGHS HEAVILY]
You know, what we took last
night is nature's antidepressant.
I see the value.
The clarity I had, the perspective.
Everyone should have the chance
to gaze upon their life from that perch.
But I did not like what
I saw from that perch.
Well, archon, we had to do something
to ring in your status.
Most never make it to a
million much less a billion.
And you have ascended to that
lofty plateau of ten of those.
If a personal net worth of ten big tubs
doesn't bring a smile to your face
'You're in the wrong line of work?'
- Mm.
- Well. Maybe I am.
I thought all of this
would make me feel
good.
If this doesn't
Yeah.
What will?
Maybe this.
An invitation for you to do a
Vanity Fair cover photo shoot
for the "New Decas" issue,
all about the rarified few
who have hit the ten
billion dollar mark.
That cover is valuable real estate.
Lot of fresh capital
flowing in after it.
- It's worth it
- No, no, we're here, we're doing this.
We should see it through.
Thirty-four hundred more miles to go.
Yeah. Sure. Okay.
Somebody else will
probably get the cover.
- Is our claim to fame
- Probably Mike Prince.
Huh
So, what's your call?
I can hear them say
Bad company
And I won't deny
Bad, bad company
Till the day I die
Oh, yeah, till the day I die
When did you know it wasn't just me?
That doesn't matter at all.
It's the New Decas!
The Ten-Billion crew.
The crema on top of the
crème-de-la-crème.
And you are right in the center of it.
Because who is more Deca than you?
What this gathering
seems to say is that:
We're all about the same.
Which is not really the message
I'm looking to get out to our investors.
You're not gonna look the same.
Not with your posture,
the way you set your eyes
And where you really set
yourself apart is the interview.
We'll do a five minute power
session before you sit
Is this why you made sure she came with?
- That and
- So I wouldn't kill you?
I did think if there were a witness,
it would be harder for
you to commit homicide.
Harder. Not impossible.
But it's good you made sure she's here.
Wend, let's go psych out
these motherfuckers,
so they look shook on that cover.
We can do that. We will do that.
[DOOR BANGS]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
Ah, the 'great man.'
Mm-hmm.
Mike
'Lo, Axe.
- Scooter.
- Wagsy.
I see you're still making sure
his hand never touches a doorknob.
As you are trying and failing
to do the same for your general.
Michael Prince.
Michael "Thomas Aquinas" Prince.
- Really?
- Always an honor to meet a legend.
And yes, just like my father
and his father and his and his.
[CHUCKLES] Better than St. Blaise,
patron saint of throat ailments.
If that were the name my
dad and the rest wore,
I'd bear it proudly.
I have no doubt you'd
find a way to be proud.
With just a dash of humility on top.
A man with no humility is
a man with no pride at all.
Alright, let's do this.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
How are ya?
Turn a little bit into Yep.
Couldn't get him the cover alone, huh?
[CHUCKLES] Wags, so sad.
We didn't want a solo cover.
Too much focus, too much attention.
We are at the place in our lives
all of us
where it is time to turn
our focus to others.
You guys got to feel
the same way, right?
No, of course, mos' def.
Indube.
Okay, everybody, eyes over here.
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]
You know,
they didn't tell me you'd be here, Axe.
Yeah, they failed to mention that detail
in the pitch to me, too.
- Been a faster "yes" had I known.
- [PHOTOGRAPHER] Awesome.
Ball coach in high school told it to me,
I never forgot:
You make sure the guy passing the ball
to the guy passing it to
you gets as much credit
as you do for putting it in the hoop.
Yeah. But it was you won Mr. Basketball
in the state of Indiana that year,
wasn't it?
- Not the other guys.
- [PHOTOGRAPHER] Yep.
Only because my teammates were so great.
- [PHOTOGRAPHER] Great.
- It's much more fun to share the praise.
Oh. Sure it is.
Wish my whole team was here with me.
Yeah. Which is why I was hoping
you'd make it to 'The Mike' this year.
We could keep this going.
I already accepted.
As you always do,
but then you never show up.
Well. I always mean to, you know?
We'd love to host you.
You and I could do a fireside chat.
It'd be the highlight of the conference.
- Ah. Maybe this year we will.
- [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]
[PHOTOGRAPHER] Awesome.
This looks great.
He seems in prime form.
So how was your trip?
Good.
I met the Creator of Souls.
[CAMERA BEEPING, CLICKING]
Oh.
[PHOTOGRAPHER] Turn your bodies
[PHOTOGRAPHER] a little bit
over on that one, please.
Yeah, that's great. No.
That's good. Perfect.
[CAMERA BEEPS, CLICKS]
That was really good.
- You got it?
- Yeah. I think we're great.
[PHOTOGRAPHER] Alright.
Let's break down the set
and, uh, get ready
for the individual portraits.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
Got a problem upstate. The mining town.
I can't sit for the
portrait or the interview.
We reschedule for tomorrow.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[KEYS CLACKING]
[SIGHS]
You asked for me.
[DOOR CLOSES]
I know that a) you don't
directly work for Axe Cap
and b) this isn't exactly your job
but I was hoping you might
help me with something.
- Why am I the one that
- It's a sensitive thing.
[INHALES DEEPLY]
It needs to be released
to the right people,
in the right way,
I figure with your experience,
with your delicate touch
With my connections from
my W Magazine and NY Post gossip days?
Yeah.
You sure you want to do this?
Chuck was supposed to do it. He didn't.
So when one of us wants to move on,
with other people, in public,
I don't want them to think
it's some kind of a scoop.
Give the press a little red meat
so they don't come looking
for the kill later.
Smart.
There are a couple phrases
I might switch around.
Do it. I'll email it to you.
I trust you to make it better.
[CHUCKLES] That's what I'd say
to someone to let them know
that I see them, that they're special.
Leave 'em feeling great
for doing me a service.
But you're smoother.
I think I might be able to
learn something from you.
I will handle this right away.
But first,
let me learn from you.
How do we fix this bullshit
between your crew and ours?
It's getting tribal out there.
I'm not sure that's the problem.
It might just be the
result of the problem.
Instead of thinking about
the culture conflict,
maybe think about the culture itself.
In what way?
Mafee says Axe Cap used to be the
most fun place to work on earth.
At one point.
Yeah. For a time.
Not lately. And not just from Mafee.
The stories are out there
the way I hear it,
this place used to be outrageous.
Eating contests, body sushi,
impromptu trips on the
private jet to Amsterdam
for frites and spacecakes
from The Bulldog.
Fucking fun, you know,
where anything could happen.
Now, everyone's feeling the
pressure of the numbers.
[LAUREN] The quarter. The P&L.
Important. Also dry.
[LAUREN] And pressure kills results.
I can rise above.
But if you want the rest
of these folks to stop
thinking of each other as enemies
and come together as a unit,
you've got to put some
fun back in this bish.
Start tossing midgets or something.
Or call 'em little people if
that makes you feel better.
But toss 'em.
[CHUCKLES]
You're right.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[DOOR CLOSES]
Becky, Wendy Rhoades. Long time.
[DOOR OPENS]
[WAGS] I spoke to Bach:
The crypto-mine action was
done by the State AG
not the US Attorney or the DA.
It was Chuck Rhoades.
Isn't that fucking cute.
Okay.
So. We've got to minimize damage
and figure out a way to get
up and running elsewhere.
Also. We need to talk to the other
fund managers that we partnered with.
But you're the only
one who might be able
- to make this go away.
- [AXE] Yeah.
Okay. So. I'll see what I can do.
But in the meantime you make
sure that the click monkeys
and our inside man get some
nice insulation, okay
get 'em good lawyers and make
'em understand
they should stand up.
- Yep.
- On it.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[CELLPHONE VIBRATES]
[SIGHS]
[INHALES DEEPLY]
- Hello.
- Hey, Chuck. I need to see you
As soon as you can do it.
I'll tell you what it's about in person.
Well. I'm, uh,
in the middle of something,
it's going to have to be tomorrow.
What you're in the middle
of is what it's all about.
Needs to be now.
[CHUCKLES]
Well. Sorry, pard,
it's going to have to hold.
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
[TAYLOR] Rage room?
I don't see a situation where I'd
I can't imagine the pressure
building inside of you
as you try to navigate
what you're trying to.
All without ever losing your cool
or letting on how you really feel.
Just letting everyone believe I
see the world the way they do.
I've got this.
Just so you know, there's an outlet
for when you can't keep
it off your face anymore.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[DOOR OPENS]
Hmm.
I was about to break my PB.
For swimming in place?
This is the most time and energy
efficient way to get laps in.
- No need for flip turns.
- Ah.
And I'm not sure questioning
my workout practices
- is something I'd do
- Then let me make a flip turn
and tell you about the
call I just got from Axe.
I have him in a Peruvian Necktie.
- You know what that is?
- No. But it sounds tight.
Mm. Gets even tighter.
I made a certain bust
in the crypto space.
One that's costing him a lot of money.
Which you wouldn't have
stumbled upon but for me.
What I need now is for you
to get close to any small,
seemingly off-the-cuff
meetings you see happening,
to listen to the whispers, to
You still don't know how
all the pieces go together
on the crypto thing, huh?
I can't tie it to Axe as is,
if that's what you're asking.
Which means this thing won't touch him.
Axe still isn't talking to me about
what you might call
'the deckle of the chop.'
Mm. Just nibbling at the edges, huh?
And, uh, swimming in place.
As you see, yes.
But you have both the
imagination and the perseverance
to convince yourself that
this is not treading water.
What this pool says about you
is that you have the
capacity to fight boredom,
the tide, the endless,
beating march against you.
These are basically the
only qualities of my own
that are worth a damn.
They speak well of you.
And are almost the direct
opposite of the qualities
that make Axe the
shining light of his age.
Oh. People like us must
destroy people like him.
You're not wrong.
I understand how and
why you see it that way.
As I, of course, do.
I will try my best.
I trust that you will.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[POOL BEEPS, HUMS]
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
Did you serve me best by
letting me walk into that shoot,
or would it have been better to prep me,
deal with the consequences
of me refusing to go?
- Well, which is it?
- I haven't decided yet.
Yes you have.
And you're here to thank me.
I'm here because when I
hit the ten billion mark,
I felt a flicker of excitement
about the same as finding
a twenty dollar bill
on the sidewalk, and then nothing.
The ayahuasca
I had a moment of seeing
the whole thing, from above,
from inside,
from a whole other dimension.
But even from every vantage point,
what I saw was ugliness,
and while maybe I hadn't lost yet,
there was no feeling that
[SIGHS] that I'd won.
None at all.
You would never allow
yourself to take it in,
to appreciate it,
because that would mean
acknowledging you'd done well,
succeeded, won the game.
That there was a place to pause.
Or stop.
Is it a game can be won?
Eh. The answer to that is
a philosophical axiom
true without needing to be proved:
When you decide you've won, you've won.
Until then, no.
Hmm.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
So you gonna thank me?
You asked for Vanity Fair.
[AXE] This is last month's.
The one he's gracing the cover of.
The only one that matters.
It's not out yet.
It's hitting online shortly.
[DOOR OPENS]
Hmm.
- [DOOR CLOSES]
- I'd like to try this.
Huh. On it, sire.
Update on the crypto situation.
[VICTOR] Our miners walked.
- Huh. That was quick.
- [VICTOR] Yeah.
You think they cut a deal? If those
little shits cut a deal, I will
Of course they cut a deal. What else?
The Town Supervisor was picked up.
He's being held without bail.
- [CELLPHONE VIBRATES]
- They're squeezing him.
Vanity Fair article dropped.
[KEYS CLACKING]
Those ink-stained motherfuckers.
Sonofabitch.
Mike Prince made a move.
[WAGS] Fuck. We'll have this taken down.
We'll pay to pull back
the print version.
We'll pulp the whole goddamned run.
Enough, Wags.
You got flanked by his guy
- Fucking Scooter
- And I got flanked by him.
[AXE] [CHUCKLES]
"Investors with a traditional strategy,
"like Axe, have become legends,
"and they deserve to be legends.
"But legends fade,
and their value is then
"mostly in the stories about them,
lessons to future generations
on what to do, what not to do."
Fucking Prince's pull quote.
Fucker is putting me out to pasture.
- Cocksuc
- There's more:
[AXE] "But I'm not interested
in becoming a story just yet.
"So I change with the times.
"Investors like me,
who are also business operators,
"are always on the cutting edge,
[AXE] "shifting to machine
learning and impact investing,
not just for profit but for
the profitability of mankind."
Prick.
You want me to look over
his companies for weakness?
- Maybe put some shorts on?
- No.
He's too big, he's too powerful.
Man's a Grizz, Kodiak Island sized.
And dangerous.
[SIGHS]
We got to get close to bring him down.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[CELLPHONE VIBRATES]
Hey. Good looking cover,
Mike, congratulations.
Kind of you to call, Axe.
I thought we were all
going to be on there,
I don't know how the hell they decided
to go with that picture of me.
Yeah, of course. How could you.
Me? I don't need that kind of press
[AXE] you know, investors and all
but good for you.
Anyway, I've, uh,
decided the time is right.
[AXE] Let's have that fireside chat.
Oh, that's great news. Great.
It'll be the highlight
of the conference.
- I'm looking forward to
- Yeah, me too.
Try to take me out in some magazine?
I'll come see you on
your home fucking turf.
[SIGHS]
- [WOMAN] Motherfucker, just let me in.
- [WOMAN #2] Who are you?
[WOMAN] I will run right through you.
[WOMAN] Who am I? Let me in.
[WOMAN #2] Yeah,
I'm just gonna call security,
and you need to stop yelling.
[WOMAN] No, you're not gonna
call security, you stupid dope.
[WOMAN] I will freakin'
dance on your head.
I need to see Wendy Rhoades.
Not without an appointment.
You tell Wendy Rhoades to
get out of her little office
[WOMAN] right now before I go back there
and fuck the head off her!
I told you to never come
to my place of work!
You're gonna have to throw me out.
- Whoa!
- Ugh! Ugh!
Ugh! Ugh!
[GRUNTS]
Ohh!
Oh!
[BOTH LAUGHING]
[WENDY] Axe Capital, MaseCap,
I give you, the champion of the world,
The MAN!
Becky Lynch!
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Thank you! Thank you, thank you,
thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thank you. Thank you.
Yeah.
Now, none of youse know this,
because Wendy over here
keeps her mouth shut,
but when I was in my low
and lost period of my life,
before I became The Man,
it was Wendy who convinced me
that finally a woman
could be the biggest star
in professional wrestling.
And she was right.
I am The Man in that business now.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
So when she asked me to come here
and share a few professional secrets,
there was no way I was lettin' her down.
So secret number one,
the real Kayfabe shit:
The greatest thing that
you can do in my game
is to "put someone over,"
to make them look good.
[LIGHT LAUGHTER]
In wrestling,
we don't all like each other.
- That part's not for show.
- [LAUGHTER]
I honestly cannot stand some of
them women that I have to fight.
But at the end of the day, we're all
part of a bigger family, alright?
And we all 'do the job' for each other.
Which is what we call it when
we let someone else pin us
because there is nothing more
noble than taking a beatin'
and makin' somebody else look good
for the good of the whole
goddamned operation.
And, no. No.
Sometimes it doesn't feel good.
We all want to fight.
We all want to win.
And when the time is right,
you shut your mouth and you do the job.
And then maybe you move
to a different town,
and someone does the job for you.
Can I just say holy shit!
Holy shit!
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
You may, Mafee.
Now. Becky, who could obviously
kick my ass to the ground,
just did the job for me.
To remind us that we're
all in this together,
and what a fucking pisser
it is to work here
where a stunt like this is,
you know, just a Tuesday.
[LIGHT LAUGHTER]
So: are we ready to
do the fucking job for
each other or what?
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[MID-TEMPO MUSIC]
That was impressive. A grand gesture.
I can see how much you
care about this place.
And it moves me to say:
I'll do what I can to
get my people to lean in.
Good.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
If that's how you feel,
then you should probably tell him.
Tell him what?
Whatever it is you're really doing here.
You think this will fix
the adjustment problems of our teams?
And also fix the problems
between me and you?
We need to feel like one company.
Or none of it will work
And then I would
confide in you again, right?
I am not here because
you forced me to be.
Or because Chuck did.
I am here as Chuck's operative
because he wants to get you.
I know.
I figured there was a
good chance of it anyway.
How?
If you were really here
'cause I forced you to be,
your body language would be different.
I have tried to slump my shoulders.
But if it were real,
you'd try to avoid showing
me you were hurting.
You'd walk with your shoulders back
If you didn't trust me,
why did you want me working for you?
'Cause I thought our goals were aligned.
And I still think they can be.
Even after what I just told you?
You need to be here.
Doing this not just for a living,
not just to keep your name
strong in the business
but to feel alive.
Maybe even to be alive.
You need that feeling you get
when you see what no one else can.
And bet on that vision. And be right.
'Cause you, Taylor,
are a profit generating organism.
You're just put together that way.
That's what I need.
And why we are aligned.
No matter your conflicted feelings.
And Rhoades?
Fight him off, neutralize him.
- And if I can't?
- Fuck 'can't.'
We just agreed on who you are.
The person who does.
Okay. I will.
I see that.
Good.
Now, how do you recommend
I deal with Rhoades?
He is going to continue
to act like a friend.
Remind him of why
actually being your friend
is the smartest course of action.
[COMPUTER DINGS]
-
-
Oh, what the fuck
[LINE RINGING]
You've reached Wendy Rhoades.
Please leave a message.
- [LINE BEEPS]
- Uh. Yeah, Wend, it's me.
I see we've reached the
place of unilateral action.
Not gracious, or cool,
or reflective in any way of
how we've fucking gone about
Just give me a call
back after you get this.
[CELLPHONE THUDS]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[SIGHS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
Everything okay?
Oh. Just some upheaval
on the home front, as you know.
Everything'll settle into place.
What do you got there?
Something meaningful.
[SOFT MUSIC]
Ahh.
[SIGHS]
[SNIFFS]
[CHUCKLES]
Ahh.
'Never give in.
'Never in nothing,
great or small; large or petty.
'Never give in,
'except to convictions
of honor and good sense.
'Never yield to force.
'Never yield to the apparently
overwhelming might of the enemy.'
[TAPS ON BOOK]
I went back to my book seller
a few months after I sold it.
He told me the set had been bought.
And I couldn't find any others.
No. It seems the, uh,
market on first-edition
Churchills had been cornered.
That's what I do to markets.
Ah. [CHUCKLES]
But now, I am returning these to
you as an act of friendship
Because I want you to remember
when we weren't friends,
how the world was a very
hot and uncomfortable place.
And to that end,
I would like you to also
help me keep it cool.
How shall I do that?
- That crypto mine that you busted upstate
- Mm.
I'd appreciate it if
you'd drop the case.
Well, Bobby,
I very much want to be friends.
[CHUCKLES]
And I was surprised
dismayed really
when we made the arrests
and found out you were
in the middle of that.
Not really in the middle
maybe loosely connected.
All the same
I can't just drop it, not altogether.
It's too far along.
Questions will be raised,
prying eyes will be focused.
Uh huh.
Then what can you do for me?
[SIGHS]
Best I can do is make it a
civil and not a criminal action.
Which will be hard to sell
to my team and my office
and is an act of friendship
that goes beyond the norm.
It is, in fact,
of the kind you just demonstrated.
So, it'll cost you some money in fines,
but as you like to remind the world,
you got plenty of that.
Yeah. Sure, Chuck.
That I do.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
It's a triple cross.
Taylor told Axelrod
why they're at Axe Cap.
- How'd you figure it?
- He came at me,
to remind me of the
last time I went at him.
- What it cost me.
- What are we gonna do about it?
He wants to be friends,
so we'll be friends.
Right up until the moment we drop him.
Unless you think that's too,
uh, "Old Chuck."
No, that's just Chuck.
- [CHUCKLES]
- As it should be.
As it ever will be.
Okay. Here's what I'm thinking.
[PATTI SMITH'S "SUMMER CANNIBALS"]
I was down in Georgia
Nothing was as real
As the street beneath my feet
Descending into air
The cauldron was a-bubbling
The flesh was lean
And the women moved forward
Like piranhas in a stream
They spread themselves before me
An offering so sweet
And they beckoned and they beckoned
"Come on, darling, eat"
Eat the summer cannibals
[GRUNTING]
Eat, eat, eat
You eat the summer cannibals
Eat, eat, eat
They circled around me
Natives in a ring
And I saw their souls a-withering
Like snakes in chains
And they wrapped
themselves around me
Mmm, what a treat
And they rattled their tales hissin'
"Come on, let's eat"
Eat the summer cannibals
Eat, eat
[AXE] Previously on Billions
You want me to help put you
in the State Attorney General's office.
I do.
[HARRY] The Churchill World War II
it's a hell of a set.
Well, maybe I can circle back
and grab them before they're gone.
These are the books you asked for.
Find all the other signed
first editions for sale.
And buy them all,
every single last one of them.
You could've been anything
you chose to be a prosecutor.
You're the guy who taught me everything.
I'm glad you still feel that way.
Your father has tasted
the fruits of our tribe.
Is that my little sister,
for Chrissakes?
- When are you coming home?
- I don't know.
But you are coming home?
I don't know.
[CHUCK] When I look at the
shambles my life has become
[CHUCK] from my firing,
[CHUCK] to my election
with strings attached,
[CHUCK] to the destruction
of my marriage,
it all tracks back to one source.
One man. And that very man
charged me with arresting you
in order to force you
back into his employ.
You were such a worthy
fucking adversary.
I want you on my side.
And I want you to help me take him down,
[CHUCK] once and for all.
Chuck Rhoades wants to use
me to help him nail Axe.
[TAYLOR] They're both lined
up to destroy each other.
[TAYLOR] At the right moment
when both have their guns
[TAYLOR] raised, I'll step out
of the way and let it happen.
[TAYLOR] They'll put
each other in the ground
[TAYLOR] and I'll go
about my fucking business.
Welcome home.
Happy to be here.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
It's so wonderful to be
gathered here together
to witness this blessed occasion.
Two souls, who've found one another,
in the great expanse.
Two people, fiery and strong,
joining their flames into
a single burning ember
[JANE HALFTOWN] In our tradition,
marriage means 'never alone.'
[JANE HALFTOWN] So
will you take this man,
[JANE HALFTOWN] to care for,
for all of your days?
[ROXANNE] I will.
[JANE HALFTOWN] And will
you take this woman,
to care for, for all of your days?
Of course I will.
For as many as I've got left, anyway.
[LAUGHTER]
[CHEERFUL MUSIC]
[SIGHS]
You will now live together
under one blanket
[APPLAUSE]
[PATTI SMITH'S "GONE AGAIN"]
-
-
Hey, now, man's own kin
We commend into the wind
Grateful arms, grateful limbs
Grateful soul, he's gone again
[INDISTINCT SINGING]
[MARACAS SHAKING]
[RHYTHMIC CHANTING]
[STEAM HISSES]
[CHANTING CONTINUES]
[EXHALES HEAVILY]
[SOFT MUSIC]
[EXHALES HEAVILY]
[GAGS]
[RETCHING]
[COUGHING]
[GAGS]
Ugh.
[BOTH BREATHING HEAVILY]
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
[INHALES SHARPLY]
[OWL HOOTS]
Right?
Right?!
Yessssssss.
See it?
Feel it?
It's almost too much.
Too much goodness in the world.
The great Earth Mother
blowing it around
like smoke from the trees
[AXE] Kings!
They don't blow around, man.
They stand there and they take.
First the village, then the city.
Mass the troops for the keep.
And once the keep
Yeah. The whole world.
That's a whole lot of war to wage.
That's a whole lot of heads to chop,
heads to chop,
heads to chop
Chop, chop, chop
Mess,
messy, mess.
Beautiful mess.
Yeah
[LAUGHS]
Come on,
let's see if we can make it back.
[BAND PLAYS STRAY CATS'
"ROCK THIS TOWN"]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
Well, my baby and me went
out late Saturday night
I had my hair piled high and
my baby just looked so right
Well, pick you up at ten,
gotta have you home at two
Mama don't know what
I catched off of you
But that's all right 'cause
We're looking as cool as can be
You okay, Chuck?
- Oh. You know it!
- You sure?
Better than okay. Yes.
A venerable occasion.
Weddings can be tough when
you've become recently
unattached.
All that romance in the air.
Exactly what I'm looking
to capitalize on.
Who's the brunette stunner over there?
[BROGAN] How 'bout an intro
And change of a
dollar for the jukebox
- That'd be his wife.
- Ouch.
- Or is it ex?
- Uh, uh.
Not officially. Yet. Heading that way.
What's the statute of
limitations on exes these days?
- Ohh!
- Until your shvantz
turns to rust and falls off, Brogan.
Which is why I'm kidding!
Naturally. 'Cause we're all friends.
- Sure, you're kidding.
- Absolutely.
And I am truly blessed
to have a brain trust,
a cadre,
a kitchen cabinet such as you all.
We're gonna rock this town,
rock it inside out
Excuse me
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
[INDISTINCT SPEAKING]
Hey, hey, hey, watch it, Kev.
Come on. We don't do that.
You wanna try some wine at dinner,
we can do it together.
- Like people.
- Sorry, Dad, I just wanted to taste it.
- But it's gross.
- Exactly.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
It's family.
That's what families do: stick together.
That's why you're here?
You're actually fucking here.
"Sticking together"
while he marries someone
who could be his
Soldier forth.
That's what Charles always told me,
and he's right.
We're gonna rock this town,
make 'em scream and shout
Maybe it's time to stop listening
to what Rhoades men say
and decide what we think
for a fucking change.
We're gonna rock till you drop,
we're gonna rock
Excuse me.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS IN DISTANCE]
Ms. Sacker.
Sorry to crash, but I have what I need
to give the go-ahead on
the crypto mine takedown.
As soon as you give me the go-ahead.
They will get in position tonight.
Move first thing in the morning.
- Click, click, boom. Do it.
- What about press?
They're salivating over all
things crypto right now.
No press. Yet.
Then at the right moment,
lots and lots of it.
Do the thing. I have to go, uh,
get back to the nuptials.
[SACKER] Maybe I'll stick around,
watch the toast.
- [CHUCKLES]
- See you celebrate the love.
You're a ruthless prosecutor.
It's why I hired you over.
Don't waste it here.
Use it on the operation.
[SACKER] Ah. First I watch you squirm.
Then I make them squirm.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
We'll have our fill of tears
Our share of sighs
A dance with the groom?
- My only prayer
- Can I say no?
I think not.
Is that you realize
You'll always be beautiful
In my eyes
You will always be
- Avert your eyes, Chuck.
- We'll watch for you.
We'll We'll tell you if
the old man gets handsy.
Oooh, he's bringing out the
old American Bandstand moves.
Feels more like Soul Train to me.
Ooh, he's got a pep in his step
I'm impressed.
She looks stunned. In a good way.
Good for him. Not for you.
It does feel like a
betrayal of some sort.
From one of them. Or both.
No, no, no, no. It's as it should be.
The bonds of family are stronger than
- Whoa, that's a deep dip!
- [LAUGHS]
Bravo! Real Rudolph Valentino move!
Ahh, Jesus.
[LAUGHTER]
[LAUGHS]
I'll be sad to lose you
as a member of the family.
You're the grandfather of my children:
we'll always be family.
So stop this madness.
Go get some ass if
that's what you want
- [SIGHS]
- and then re-up with the unit.
Like you did?
We're at your wedding.
To someone else.
I'm sitting at a table
with your ex-wife.
Thing you have to understand
about me and your ex-mother-in-law is
May I cut in?
You had your chance, sonny.
Maybe if you'd been this
insistent when she was yours
Dad!
Your dance, my boy.
You'll always be beautiful
In my eyes
I figured I'd move in for the save.
There was a time for that.
It's long passed.
You mean to say you
enjoyed dancing with him?
I mean, he does move like Valentino.
Oh, for Chrissakes.
- Really? You too?
- [CHUCKLES]
And the passing years will show
There's not a second of this I enjoy.
Old days,
we would have made our getaway.
McQueen and Ali MacGraw style.
Mm. More like Beatty and Dunaway
lot of talk of escape, but in the end:
[CLICKS TONGUE] ratatatat
with the Tommy gun.
Bloody, tragic.
No escape. From any of it.
Just because we haven't
made our escape as of yet,
doesn't mean we can't.
As friends, I mean, not romantically.
Just find our way out of here.
Talk.
Oh, there'll be an escape.
Here it is.
[MUSIC ENDS]
[APPLAUSE]
Go time.
Ah.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
[SOFT PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]
[MICROPHONE SQUEALS]
I was speaking with my
mother the other day,
about how hard it would be to
appropriately, to honestly,
salute my father on the
day of this blessed union.
And she said to me:
"Look, you do not have to stand
in front of a group of people
"and say nice things about that man.
"You do not have to valorize him.
Speak your truth, son."
Now, as most of you know,
I have no problem making a speech
that goes against convention,
that brooks the tide of the expected,
so that I may speak the unvarnished.
And that is what I have
decided to do today.
[CHUCKLES]
So buckle up
because
I am not gonna say nice
things about my dad.
I don't want to.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
You all know what I would say.
You all know the truth. No.
Instead: I want to
celebrate his magnificent bride,
Roxanne!
[LAUGHTER]
- [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
- [LAUGHS]
No. Because she has done that
which I'd thought impossible.
Turned my dad into a big pile of mush.
- [LAUGHTER]
- Defanged the old wolf.
Well. Made him into one
of those Build-A-Bears
with the bright red
valentine for a heart
and the cuddly fur to hold onto and hug.
[CHUCK] Certainly got
him going to Build-A-Bear
[CHUCK] for his little daughter.
[CHUCK] And Roxanne, and her people,
have taken him in as their own.
Much as we consider her ours.
That's the wonderful thing about family.
It lives and breathes.
It never contracts.
Only expands.
As ours has now.
[CHUCK] I can't believe
a man can get so lucky.
And, uh, now I'm speaking
about me, not Dad.
Because I have someone who
loves him as much as I do,
someone to share him with.
- [BAD COMPANY'S "BAD COMPANY"]
- [CHUCK] So. Here's to you both.
And to all of us basking in
the radiance of your joy.
[CHUCK] As we raise our glasses
- Yeah!
- Cheers!
- [LAUGHTER]
- Cheers!
[APPLAUSE]
Company
Always on the run
You've come far and learned much.
- Destiny
- Until we see each other
and move your knowledge into the world,
be well.
- Safe travels.
- Is the rising sun
Oh, I was born
Six gun in my hand
- Behind a gun
- [ENGINES START]
I'll make my final stand
I'll make my final stand
That's why they call me
Bad company
And I can't deny
Bad company
Till the day I die
Till the day I die
Till the day I die
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[DOOR CREAKS, CLOSES]
[GATE CREAKS]
[SIGHS]
[WENDY] Kevin was drinking.
Chuck, where the fuck are you?
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[BRAKES SQUEAL]
[POUNDING ON DOOR]
[EXHALES HEAVILY]
He's sleeping it off.
[SIGHS]
[DOOR CREAKS, CLOSES]
I handled it.
It's handled.
There's nothing for you to do.
Babysitter will be here soon.
- Then I'll go to work.
- Oh. Fuck.
I don't know how I missed your calls.
[SCOFFS]
- I know.
- [SIGHS]
[WENDY] I know where you were
and what you were doing
because that's the only time
you're off the grid completely.
That's a stiff fucking shot.
And it landed.
So. Standing eight count for C. Rhoades.
Now. Can we stop punching
at each other, please?
You flail at me wildly
and then y-you put
your chin right there.
What do you expect me to do?
[SIGHS HEAVILY]
I was in no way prepared
for how that travesty of a
wedding was going to hit me.
How it was gonna make me
feel about things between us.
I was just
totally alone.
And [CHUCKLES] you guys here
in Bobby Axelrod's
spare fucking apartment.
With goddamned Van Goghs on the walls.
While I'm, uh [CHUCKLES]
Ahh,
it was the only thing I could think of.
How could I have known
there would be an emergency?
Part of being a parent
No, no, part of being a person,
a grown person,
is carrying that thought
somewhere inside:
that you might be needed
by those you love,
by those you're responsible to,
and making sure you're
available for that.
Instead of being a
prisoner to your appetites.
[SOFT MUSIC]
You know this.
What do I know anymore, really?
I have lost my bearings.
Oh. Until recently,
I had always had a North Star.
Twin North Stars.
Justice and Wendy Rhoades.
And with those guiding me,
I was able to move forward,
to progress,
to find and stay on my path.
But in the end,
although they were always there for me,
I served neither.
[CHUCK] Not nearly enough.
But I have lately determined
to find my way back.
It's clear that I must.
I want to dive in.
[SIGHS]
To engage. But it's too late.
It's time for some self-care now.
I can't let my happiness be
controlled by anyone but me.
It was a mistake to call
you last night for help.
It was my night with the kids.
My problem.
That's how divorced people talk.
Yeah.
It is.
The separation has convinced me.
We need to be done.
And I want to issue a public statement.
I-I-I want to
I want to do it this week.
Today. I want it to be out there.
Have your office draw one up
and have it sent it to me by day's end.
Look at me.
Look into my eyes.
I know you won't believe this,
because I've given you little cause to:
But I am on the brink of huge change.
I am going to force myself to evolve.
I believe that you believe that, Chuck.
[INHALES SHARPLY]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
[TIRES SCREECH]
You are under arrest for utility theft.
For starters.
Lock 'em up and shut 'em down.
- [SACKER] Come on.
- [HANDCUFFS CLICK]
[SACKER] Let's go.
[POWER FADES]
Look at all this wattage, fellas
You see this little dink of a column?
That was last year's
usage at the warehouse
- Mm-hmm.
- Then see this middle column?
That was the estimated usage of
a 120-unit apartment building,
as it was phonily classified.
But look at this monster.
That's a big, throbbing,
ugly red megawatt number
- Mm.
- now isn't it?
What that column means is that
your little operation was
pulling so much juice,
the entire town ran
clean out of electricity.
And had to go on the open market
to buy more from the grid.
It cost hundreds of
thousands of dollars
and drove the town's entire rate up.
Taxpayers, eating that burden.
Because of you.
And for what?
So your multitude of
computers and servers
could solve some abstract math equations
resulting in the mining of Bitcoin.
Worth millions right now whoopee
but backed by what?
Nada. Nix. Zot.
What's the dollar backed by,
since we went off the gold standard?
Well, uh, roads, the military, industry,
the credit of the federal government,
that sort of thing.
But, I get your point.
We're not here to discuss
monetary theory though.
We're here to discuss who
put you fucking nerds
sorry: 'engineers' in business.
[CHUCKLES]
We have information you work
for a Wall Street consortium
There are indeed certain
finance dudes involved.
I'll allow it.
You don't get to "allow."
That's for court. Names.
You're going to have to say the name.
There's no way we're saying it.
Any number of hedge fund magnates.
Uh. Let's go alphabetical.
Axelrod, Robert, for starters.
Yes, but none of us dealt
with that guy directly.
Then I'm gonna need the person in town
who got paid off to let
you pull so much power
you caused a brownout across the county.
Because he did. Didn't he?
[SIGHS]
You can tell me
or I can prosecute you
until your lives are
smoking piles of rubble
and you're put in a
place where a calculator
is as close as you'll get to a computer.
Your choice
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
It's the Town Supervisor. His name is
[DOOR CLOSES]
Gimme a ticket for a carousel
Airplane.
Gimme a ticket for an airplane.
Ain't got time to take a fast train
No. Those go place to place,
I'm just going around in circles.
Hence the carousel.
Why was I surprised when
Axelrod's name got mentioned?
- Why weren't you?
- Because I knew he was in this.
That's why I wanted to go after it.
Hmm. I'm happy to be working
with you again, Chuck.
It has to help me advance
and grow this time.
- I came over here
- To help me make this place
the preeminent prosecutorial
office in the state.
Which we will. We are.
And so you could be my rabbi
for my congressional run,
end of next year.
But I need to be on the inside.
To see the moves as they are happening.
Not as they are revealed to the world.
I need to be your worthy assistant,
setting up the tricks and seeing
what you did with your hands.
- [CHUCKLES]
- Not gonna be one of those rubes
in the audience gasping
at the magic anymore
[SCOFFS]
You know. The thing about change is:
even when you want to,
it's really fucking hard.
I know I have to bring you in.
And that I can trust you.
I know it up here.
And I'm working on bringing it
down here, too.
Don't work on it.
Do it. Now.
You don't have to trust me,
but you have to trust me.
- Ya know?
- You're talking about a partnership.
- You offering that, for real?
- If I don't, you staying?
You already know the answer.
Then you know mine.
Yes.
And if you see me giving in
to the man I used to be
I'll be all over it.
Good.
That's good.
As it should be.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
Okay people, town hall time.
This gonna be an every month thing,
like my period?
[LAUGHTER]
Keep that up and we can
make it a daily thing,
- like you getting fisted.
- Ohh!
As in up the junker just like a punker.
That'll teach ya to come at the brass
Spyros!
This forum should be looked forward to.
It's a chance for us
to investigate issues
that affect our culture here
But this time it's serious.
There was an incident
Someone reversing the
water on the toilet flush
in the unisex bathroom,
which sprayed a Mase Capper
[LAUGHTER]
Gross negligence on the part
of building maintenance.
And, uh, oh, I-I do mean gross.
No one can prove it was sabotage
Give me that.
[FLASK CLINKING]
This shit literally
has got to stop.
[WENDY] There were
investors on premises.
[WENDY] They may redeem.
[WENDY] We're making ourselves look like
world-class schmucks here.
So now it's time:
We need to come together
as one company, one team, one family.
Now I want to hear from you all
about what exactly the problem is here.
[SIGHS]
This is a safe space.
Fine, I'll speak.
Far from being welcoming
these last couple of months,
the Axe Cap folks have
been downright dickish
- What?!
- [ALL MURMURING]
Oh, did I not properly welcome you?
Let me correct that rudeness right now.
[IMITATES FARTING]
[LAUGHTER]
And just so you know I'm not
some thin-skinned whiner,
I've been through Plebe
Summer at the Naval Academy.
- [ALL MURMURING]
- Wow.
This goes beyond practical jokes.
It's getting hostile
and it's unprofessional.
- Exaggerated.
- Totally.
I've got to say,
this isn't a one-way street.
Oh, please
There's a haughty,
condescending attitude
flowing from the quant side.
Bunch of stuck-up bitches and bros.
- Yeah!
- Lording their giant cerebellums
And we're not some Luddite dumbasses
just because we come from
an analysis-driven
[CHUCKLES] Could've fooled me
So we don't want to debate
Full Stack versus Mean Stack
over bagels in the kitchen.
That doesn't mean we
can't do the math
Uh. Yes, it does
Some of us can do the math!
- Some of them can't.
- Mafee.
- Suck my Node.js, Bill
- Oh!
You don't even know what
the fuck that means.
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
[WENDY] Alright. Hey.
I'll take you outside! I will
Hey! Hey! Hey!
- Let's go!
- Hey!
Meeting fucking adjourned.
For now.
But this is far from over.
Your homework for next time
- Homework?
- Fucking right.
You will each of you will
[WENDY] come up with three
productive things that you,
[WENDY] personally, can do to
make this place function better.
Do it. Or risk me getting really mad.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
We both know it:
with this business the way it is,
it's a fight just to survive.
We need unity.
And this discord I won't have it.
The one you should be having
this conversation with is Axe.
It's his Plug Uglies that
are doing the instigating.
And we both know that.
I did have this conversation with him
- before he left on his trip.
- And?
He said something very
similar to what you just did.
All systems have to die eventually.
Excuse me.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[ENGINES SHUT OFF]
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
You okay?
I don't know which end,
but I feel like
something's gonna come out.
Well. You can handle your drugs,
must have been the bumpy road.
[GROANS] Bumpy is right.
I've got a case of the grapes
like they talk about in literature.
[SIGHS HEAVILY]
You know, what we took last
night is nature's antidepressant.
I see the value.
The clarity I had, the perspective.
Everyone should have the chance
to gaze upon their life from that perch.
But I did not like what
I saw from that perch.
Well, archon, we had to do something
to ring in your status.
Most never make it to a
million much less a billion.
And you have ascended to that
lofty plateau of ten of those.
If a personal net worth of ten big tubs
doesn't bring a smile to your face
'You're in the wrong line of work?'
- Mm.
- Well. Maybe I am.
I thought all of this
would make me feel
good.
If this doesn't
Yeah.
What will?
Maybe this.
An invitation for you to do a
Vanity Fair cover photo shoot
for the "New Decas" issue,
all about the rarified few
who have hit the ten
billion dollar mark.
That cover is valuable real estate.
Lot of fresh capital
flowing in after it.
- It's worth it
- No, no, we're here, we're doing this.
We should see it through.
Thirty-four hundred more miles to go.
Yeah. Sure. Okay.
Somebody else will
probably get the cover.
- Is our claim to fame
- Probably Mike Prince.
Huh
So, what's your call?
I can hear them say
Bad company
And I won't deny
Bad, bad company
Till the day I die
Oh, yeah, till the day I die
When did you know it wasn't just me?
That doesn't matter at all.
It's the New Decas!
The Ten-Billion crew.
The crema on top of the
crème-de-la-crème.
And you are right in the center of it.
Because who is more Deca than you?
What this gathering
seems to say is that:
We're all about the same.
Which is not really the message
I'm looking to get out to our investors.
You're not gonna look the same.
Not with your posture,
the way you set your eyes
And where you really set
yourself apart is the interview.
We'll do a five minute power
session before you sit
Is this why you made sure she came with?
- That and
- So I wouldn't kill you?
I did think if there were a witness,
it would be harder for
you to commit homicide.
Harder. Not impossible.
But it's good you made sure she's here.
Wend, let's go psych out
these motherfuckers,
so they look shook on that cover.
We can do that. We will do that.
[DOOR BANGS]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
Ah, the 'great man.'
Mm-hmm.
Mike
'Lo, Axe.
- Scooter.
- Wagsy.
I see you're still making sure
his hand never touches a doorknob.
As you are trying and failing
to do the same for your general.
Michael Prince.
Michael "Thomas Aquinas" Prince.
- Really?
- Always an honor to meet a legend.
And yes, just like my father
and his father and his and his.
[CHUCKLES] Better than St. Blaise,
patron saint of throat ailments.
If that were the name my
dad and the rest wore,
I'd bear it proudly.
I have no doubt you'd
find a way to be proud.
With just a dash of humility on top.
A man with no humility is
a man with no pride at all.
Alright, let's do this.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
How are ya?
Turn a little bit into Yep.
Couldn't get him the cover alone, huh?
[CHUCKLES] Wags, so sad.
We didn't want a solo cover.
Too much focus, too much attention.
We are at the place in our lives
all of us
where it is time to turn
our focus to others.
You guys got to feel
the same way, right?
No, of course, mos' def.
Indube.
Okay, everybody, eyes over here.
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]
You know,
they didn't tell me you'd be here, Axe.
Yeah, they failed to mention that detail
in the pitch to me, too.
- Been a faster "yes" had I known.
- [PHOTOGRAPHER] Awesome.
Ball coach in high school told it to me,
I never forgot:
You make sure the guy passing the ball
to the guy passing it to
you gets as much credit
as you do for putting it in the hoop.
Yeah. But it was you won Mr. Basketball
in the state of Indiana that year,
wasn't it?
- Not the other guys.
- [PHOTOGRAPHER] Yep.
Only because my teammates were so great.
- [PHOTOGRAPHER] Great.
- It's much more fun to share the praise.
Oh. Sure it is.
Wish my whole team was here with me.
Yeah. Which is why I was hoping
you'd make it to 'The Mike' this year.
We could keep this going.
I already accepted.
As you always do,
but then you never show up.
Well. I always mean to, you know?
We'd love to host you.
You and I could do a fireside chat.
It'd be the highlight of the conference.
- Ah. Maybe this year we will.
- [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]
[PHOTOGRAPHER] Awesome.
This looks great.
He seems in prime form.
So how was your trip?
Good.
I met the Creator of Souls.
[CAMERA BEEPING, CLICKING]
Oh.
[PHOTOGRAPHER] Turn your bodies
[PHOTOGRAPHER] a little bit
over on that one, please.
Yeah, that's great. No.
That's good. Perfect.
[CAMERA BEEPS, CLICKS]
That was really good.
- You got it?
- Yeah. I think we're great.
[PHOTOGRAPHER] Alright.
Let's break down the set
and, uh, get ready
for the individual portraits.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
Got a problem upstate. The mining town.
I can't sit for the
portrait or the interview.
We reschedule for tomorrow.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[KEYS CLACKING]
[SIGHS]
You asked for me.
[DOOR CLOSES]
I know that a) you don't
directly work for Axe Cap
and b) this isn't exactly your job
but I was hoping you might
help me with something.
- Why am I the one that
- It's a sensitive thing.
[INHALES DEEPLY]
It needs to be released
to the right people,
in the right way,
I figure with your experience,
with your delicate touch
With my connections from
my W Magazine and NY Post gossip days?
Yeah.
You sure you want to do this?
Chuck was supposed to do it. He didn't.
So when one of us wants to move on,
with other people, in public,
I don't want them to think
it's some kind of a scoop.
Give the press a little red meat
so they don't come looking
for the kill later.
Smart.
There are a couple phrases
I might switch around.
Do it. I'll email it to you.
I trust you to make it better.
[CHUCKLES] That's what I'd say
to someone to let them know
that I see them, that they're special.
Leave 'em feeling great
for doing me a service.
But you're smoother.
I think I might be able to
learn something from you.
I will handle this right away.
But first,
let me learn from you.
How do we fix this bullshit
between your crew and ours?
It's getting tribal out there.
I'm not sure that's the problem.
It might just be the
result of the problem.
Instead of thinking about
the culture conflict,
maybe think about the culture itself.
In what way?
Mafee says Axe Cap used to be the
most fun place to work on earth.
At one point.
Yeah. For a time.
Not lately. And not just from Mafee.
The stories are out there
the way I hear it,
this place used to be outrageous.
Eating contests, body sushi,
impromptu trips on the
private jet to Amsterdam
for frites and spacecakes
from The Bulldog.
Fucking fun, you know,
where anything could happen.
Now, everyone's feeling the
pressure of the numbers.
[LAUREN] The quarter. The P&L.
Important. Also dry.
[LAUREN] And pressure kills results.
I can rise above.
But if you want the rest
of these folks to stop
thinking of each other as enemies
and come together as a unit,
you've got to put some
fun back in this bish.
Start tossing midgets or something.
Or call 'em little people if
that makes you feel better.
But toss 'em.
[CHUCKLES]
You're right.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[DOOR CLOSES]
Becky, Wendy Rhoades. Long time.
[DOOR OPENS]
[WAGS] I spoke to Bach:
The crypto-mine action was
done by the State AG
not the US Attorney or the DA.
It was Chuck Rhoades.
Isn't that fucking cute.
Okay.
So. We've got to minimize damage
and figure out a way to get
up and running elsewhere.
Also. We need to talk to the other
fund managers that we partnered with.
But you're the only
one who might be able
- to make this go away.
- [AXE] Yeah.
Okay. So. I'll see what I can do.
But in the meantime you make
sure that the click monkeys
and our inside man get some
nice insulation, okay
get 'em good lawyers and make
'em understand
they should stand up.
- Yep.
- On it.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[CELLPHONE VIBRATES]
[SIGHS]
[INHALES DEEPLY]
- Hello.
- Hey, Chuck. I need to see you
As soon as you can do it.
I'll tell you what it's about in person.
Well. I'm, uh,
in the middle of something,
it's going to have to be tomorrow.
What you're in the middle
of is what it's all about.
Needs to be now.
[CHUCKLES]
Well. Sorry, pard,
it's going to have to hold.
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
[TAYLOR] Rage room?
I don't see a situation where I'd
I can't imagine the pressure
building inside of you
as you try to navigate
what you're trying to.
All without ever losing your cool
or letting on how you really feel.
Just letting everyone believe I
see the world the way they do.
I've got this.
Just so you know, there's an outlet
for when you can't keep
it off your face anymore.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[DOOR OPENS]
Hmm.
I was about to break my PB.
For swimming in place?
This is the most time and energy
efficient way to get laps in.
- No need for flip turns.
- Ah.
And I'm not sure questioning
my workout practices
- is something I'd do
- Then let me make a flip turn
and tell you about the
call I just got from Axe.
I have him in a Peruvian Necktie.
- You know what that is?
- No. But it sounds tight.
Mm. Gets even tighter.
I made a certain bust
in the crypto space.
One that's costing him a lot of money.
Which you wouldn't have
stumbled upon but for me.
What I need now is for you
to get close to any small,
seemingly off-the-cuff
meetings you see happening,
to listen to the whispers, to
You still don't know how
all the pieces go together
on the crypto thing, huh?
I can't tie it to Axe as is,
if that's what you're asking.
Which means this thing won't touch him.
Axe still isn't talking to me about
what you might call
'the deckle of the chop.'
Mm. Just nibbling at the edges, huh?
And, uh, swimming in place.
As you see, yes.
But you have both the
imagination and the perseverance
to convince yourself that
this is not treading water.
What this pool says about you
is that you have the
capacity to fight boredom,
the tide, the endless,
beating march against you.
These are basically the
only qualities of my own
that are worth a damn.
They speak well of you.
And are almost the direct
opposite of the qualities
that make Axe the
shining light of his age.
Oh. People like us must
destroy people like him.
You're not wrong.
I understand how and
why you see it that way.
As I, of course, do.
I will try my best.
I trust that you will.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[POOL BEEPS, HUMS]
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
Did you serve me best by
letting me walk into that shoot,
or would it have been better to prep me,
deal with the consequences
of me refusing to go?
- Well, which is it?
- I haven't decided yet.
Yes you have.
And you're here to thank me.
I'm here because when I
hit the ten billion mark,
I felt a flicker of excitement
about the same as finding
a twenty dollar bill
on the sidewalk, and then nothing.
The ayahuasca
I had a moment of seeing
the whole thing, from above,
from inside,
from a whole other dimension.
But even from every vantage point,
what I saw was ugliness,
and while maybe I hadn't lost yet,
there was no feeling that
[SIGHS] that I'd won.
None at all.
You would never allow
yourself to take it in,
to appreciate it,
because that would mean
acknowledging you'd done well,
succeeded, won the game.
That there was a place to pause.
Or stop.
Is it a game can be won?
Eh. The answer to that is
a philosophical axiom
true without needing to be proved:
When you decide you've won, you've won.
Until then, no.
Hmm.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
So you gonna thank me?
You asked for Vanity Fair.
[AXE] This is last month's.
The one he's gracing the cover of.
The only one that matters.
It's not out yet.
It's hitting online shortly.
[DOOR OPENS]
Hmm.
- [DOOR CLOSES]
- I'd like to try this.
Huh. On it, sire.
Update on the crypto situation.
[VICTOR] Our miners walked.
- Huh. That was quick.
- [VICTOR] Yeah.
You think they cut a deal? If those
little shits cut a deal, I will
Of course they cut a deal. What else?
The Town Supervisor was picked up.
He's being held without bail.
- [CELLPHONE VIBRATES]
- They're squeezing him.
Vanity Fair article dropped.
[KEYS CLACKING]
Those ink-stained motherfuckers.
Sonofabitch.
Mike Prince made a move.
[WAGS] Fuck. We'll have this taken down.
We'll pay to pull back
the print version.
We'll pulp the whole goddamned run.
Enough, Wags.
You got flanked by his guy
- Fucking Scooter
- And I got flanked by him.
[AXE] [CHUCKLES]
"Investors with a traditional strategy,
"like Axe, have become legends,
"and they deserve to be legends.
"But legends fade,
and their value is then
"mostly in the stories about them,
lessons to future generations
on what to do, what not to do."
Fucking Prince's pull quote.
Fucker is putting me out to pasture.
- Cocksuc
- There's more:
[AXE] "But I'm not interested
in becoming a story just yet.
"So I change with the times.
"Investors like me,
who are also business operators,
"are always on the cutting edge,
[AXE] "shifting to machine
learning and impact investing,
not just for profit but for
the profitability of mankind."
Prick.
You want me to look over
his companies for weakness?
- Maybe put some shorts on?
- No.
He's too big, he's too powerful.
Man's a Grizz, Kodiak Island sized.
And dangerous.
[SIGHS]
We got to get close to bring him down.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[CELLPHONE VIBRATES]
Hey. Good looking cover,
Mike, congratulations.
Kind of you to call, Axe.
I thought we were all
going to be on there,
I don't know how the hell they decided
to go with that picture of me.
Yeah, of course. How could you.
Me? I don't need that kind of press
[AXE] you know, investors and all
but good for you.
Anyway, I've, uh,
decided the time is right.
[AXE] Let's have that fireside chat.
Oh, that's great news. Great.
It'll be the highlight
of the conference.
- I'm looking forward to
- Yeah, me too.
Try to take me out in some magazine?
I'll come see you on
your home fucking turf.
[SIGHS]
- [WOMAN] Motherfucker, just let me in.
- [WOMAN #2] Who are you?
[WOMAN] I will run right through you.
[WOMAN] Who am I? Let me in.
[WOMAN #2] Yeah,
I'm just gonna call security,
and you need to stop yelling.
[WOMAN] No, you're not gonna
call security, you stupid dope.
[WOMAN] I will freakin'
dance on your head.
I need to see Wendy Rhoades.
Not without an appointment.
You tell Wendy Rhoades to
get out of her little office
[WOMAN] right now before I go back there
and fuck the head off her!
I told you to never come
to my place of work!
You're gonna have to throw me out.
- Whoa!
- Ugh! Ugh!
Ugh! Ugh!
[GRUNTS]
Ohh!
Oh!
[BOTH LAUGHING]
[WENDY] Axe Capital, MaseCap,
I give you, the champion of the world,
The MAN!
Becky Lynch!
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Thank you! Thank you, thank you,
thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thank you. Thank you.
Yeah.
Now, none of youse know this,
because Wendy over here
keeps her mouth shut,
but when I was in my low
and lost period of my life,
before I became The Man,
it was Wendy who convinced me
that finally a woman
could be the biggest star
in professional wrestling.
And she was right.
I am The Man in that business now.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
So when she asked me to come here
and share a few professional secrets,
there was no way I was lettin' her down.
So secret number one,
the real Kayfabe shit:
The greatest thing that
you can do in my game
is to "put someone over,"
to make them look good.
[LIGHT LAUGHTER]
In wrestling,
we don't all like each other.
- That part's not for show.
- [LAUGHTER]
I honestly cannot stand some of
them women that I have to fight.
But at the end of the day, we're all
part of a bigger family, alright?
And we all 'do the job' for each other.
Which is what we call it when
we let someone else pin us
because there is nothing more
noble than taking a beatin'
and makin' somebody else look good
for the good of the whole
goddamned operation.
And, no. No.
Sometimes it doesn't feel good.
We all want to fight.
We all want to win.
And when the time is right,
you shut your mouth and you do the job.
And then maybe you move
to a different town,
and someone does the job for you.
Can I just say holy shit!
Holy shit!
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
You may, Mafee.
Now. Becky, who could obviously
kick my ass to the ground,
just did the job for me.
To remind us that we're
all in this together,
and what a fucking pisser
it is to work here
where a stunt like this is,
you know, just a Tuesday.
[LIGHT LAUGHTER]
So: are we ready to
do the fucking job for
each other or what?
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[MID-TEMPO MUSIC]
That was impressive. A grand gesture.
I can see how much you
care about this place.
And it moves me to say:
I'll do what I can to
get my people to lean in.
Good.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
If that's how you feel,
then you should probably tell him.
Tell him what?
Whatever it is you're really doing here.
You think this will fix
the adjustment problems of our teams?
And also fix the problems
between me and you?
We need to feel like one company.
Or none of it will work
And then I would
confide in you again, right?
I am not here because
you forced me to be.
Or because Chuck did.
I am here as Chuck's operative
because he wants to get you.
I know.
I figured there was a
good chance of it anyway.
How?
If you were really here
'cause I forced you to be,
your body language would be different.
I have tried to slump my shoulders.
But if it were real,
you'd try to avoid showing
me you were hurting.
You'd walk with your shoulders back
If you didn't trust me,
why did you want me working for you?
'Cause I thought our goals were aligned.
And I still think they can be.
Even after what I just told you?
You need to be here.
Doing this not just for a living,
not just to keep your name
strong in the business
but to feel alive.
Maybe even to be alive.
You need that feeling you get
when you see what no one else can.
And bet on that vision. And be right.
'Cause you, Taylor,
are a profit generating organism.
You're just put together that way.
That's what I need.
And why we are aligned.
No matter your conflicted feelings.
And Rhoades?
Fight him off, neutralize him.
- And if I can't?
- Fuck 'can't.'
We just agreed on who you are.
The person who does.
Okay. I will.
I see that.
Good.
Now, how do you recommend
I deal with Rhoades?
He is going to continue
to act like a friend.
Remind him of why
actually being your friend
is the smartest course of action.
[COMPUTER DINGS]
-
-
Oh, what the fuck
[LINE RINGING]
You've reached Wendy Rhoades.
Please leave a message.
- [LINE BEEPS]
- Uh. Yeah, Wend, it's me.
I see we've reached the
place of unilateral action.
Not gracious, or cool,
or reflective in any way of
how we've fucking gone about
Just give me a call
back after you get this.
[CELLPHONE THUDS]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[SIGHS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
Everything okay?
Oh. Just some upheaval
on the home front, as you know.
Everything'll settle into place.
What do you got there?
Something meaningful.
[SOFT MUSIC]
Ahh.
[SIGHS]
[SNIFFS]
[CHUCKLES]
Ahh.
'Never give in.
'Never in nothing,
great or small; large or petty.
'Never give in,
'except to convictions
of honor and good sense.
'Never yield to force.
'Never yield to the apparently
overwhelming might of the enemy.'
[TAPS ON BOOK]
I went back to my book seller
a few months after I sold it.
He told me the set had been bought.
And I couldn't find any others.
No. It seems the, uh,
market on first-edition
Churchills had been cornered.
That's what I do to markets.
Ah. [CHUCKLES]
But now, I am returning these to
you as an act of friendship
Because I want you to remember
when we weren't friends,
how the world was a very
hot and uncomfortable place.
And to that end,
I would like you to also
help me keep it cool.
How shall I do that?
- That crypto mine that you busted upstate
- Mm.
I'd appreciate it if
you'd drop the case.
Well, Bobby,
I very much want to be friends.
[CHUCKLES]
And I was surprised
dismayed really
when we made the arrests
and found out you were
in the middle of that.
Not really in the middle
maybe loosely connected.
All the same
I can't just drop it, not altogether.
It's too far along.
Questions will be raised,
prying eyes will be focused.
Uh huh.
Then what can you do for me?
[SIGHS]
Best I can do is make it a
civil and not a criminal action.
Which will be hard to sell
to my team and my office
and is an act of friendship
that goes beyond the norm.
It is, in fact,
of the kind you just demonstrated.
So, it'll cost you some money in fines,
but as you like to remind the world,
you got plenty of that.
Yeah. Sure, Chuck.
That I do.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
It's a triple cross.
Taylor told Axelrod
why they're at Axe Cap.
- How'd you figure it?
- He came at me,
to remind me of the
last time I went at him.
- What it cost me.
- What are we gonna do about it?
He wants to be friends,
so we'll be friends.
Right up until the moment we drop him.
Unless you think that's too,
uh, "Old Chuck."
No, that's just Chuck.
- [CHUCKLES]
- As it should be.
As it ever will be.
Okay. Here's what I'm thinking.
[PATTI SMITH'S "SUMMER CANNIBALS"]
I was down in Georgia
Nothing was as real
As the street beneath my feet
Descending into air
The cauldron was a-bubbling
The flesh was lean
And the women moved forward
Like piranhas in a stream
They spread themselves before me
An offering so sweet
And they beckoned and they beckoned
"Come on, darling, eat"
Eat the summer cannibals
[GRUNTING]
Eat, eat, eat
You eat the summer cannibals
Eat, eat, eat
They circled around me
Natives in a ring
And I saw their souls a-withering
Like snakes in chains
And they wrapped
themselves around me
Mmm, what a treat
And they rattled their tales hissin'
"Come on, let's eat"
Eat the summer cannibals
Eat, eat