Original subtitles

I, Aaron Wallace,

am serving a life sentence for something I didn't do.

No!

But today, I've got a way to fight back.

I'm gonna start attacking the D.A. case by case.

This is gonna get me home.

This man has preened before the press.

He has used his position in prison

to find vulnerable inmates and twisted their cases around

to malign me and my record.

Daddy!

I'm gonna need you,

and your grandson is gonna need you, too.

Aaron Wallace is the rat.

I can't do this without you, Jamal.

You're my only friend here.

Hold on!

I didn't create this situation. You did.

You might want to take some responsibility,

instead of lashing out at the people who've come

to clean up your mess.

All that chatter about you and the riot,

I'll make sure it gets buried.

You're mine now.

Marie unearthed a game-changer.

That girl who OD'd at the club...

I got her hospital records.

Which can get me my retrial.

I am compelled to find that a retrial is warranted.

Yes!

Mr. Wallace deserves an opportunity

to present his defense before a new jury.

I have a way for all of this to come to an end.

Take the deal.

You're a very smart man, Mr. Wallace.

Do the smart thing.

Synced & corrected by -robtor- www.addic7ed.com

I used to have a vision of what it would be like,

of seeing a jury declare my innocence

in front of the world...

of finally stepping out of this place,

no longer a convicted drug kingpin...

Just a man going home to his family.

But that was a long time ago,

before I knew what it would take,

before I understood

how powerful the forces against me really were

and what they're willing to do.

Going after my wife...

threatening my friends...

leveraging everything I care about against me.

So, what if that was just a fantasy?

What if life doesn't really work that way?

What if I somehow get my freedom

but have to give up the justice?

Would I be able to live with that?

Yeah. No, they both just got here.

He's probably gonna run them through the deal.

You know Roswell's not his lawyer.

You don't have to let him in.

His license is still suspended.

He's got no right to be there.

I thought you wanted to be able to know

what they're thinking.

You'll be able to hear everything?

Everything.

Fine. Let me know.

So, you can be free?

Time served, but no exoneration.

I'm still a felon.

And no law license.

He can just take that from you?

He's gonna be Attorney General, Marie.

Think about this, though, Aaron.

It's a panic move.

Their most important witness fled the country?

Your friend Michael could be ready to recant.

Plus, you're gonna get an incredibly sympathetic jury now

- in the Bronx. - Mm-hmm.

They know they're screwed, Aaron.

That's why they don't want you to finish this.

Yeah, but they're going after Marie.

For looking at someone's medical records.

I've never heard of anyone being charged with that.

Worst case, they report her to the hospital.

What? She loses her job? No.

No, I can't have that.

Not after how hard you worked.

What about the transfer order?

When's that supposed to go through?

Uh, four days.

Okay, so you can sit in your cell and wait till then?

Unless the warden forces me to take my meals in the cafeteria

or throws me in the yard.

Aaron Wallace gets killed in here

days after he very publicly gets awarded a retrial?

There's no way.

This is all a bluff.

Doesn't mean we have to call it.

You're really willing to let go of being a lawyer?

After all you've worked for?

No, me becoming a lawyer was just a means to an end.

Oh, don't give me that.

You're better than almost anybody I've ever seen.

That's more important than knowing for sure

I can get home to my family?

Aaron, maybe you never stopped for long enough

to think about what it is

you've really accomplished in here.

I just hate to see you throw all that away.

Last night...

holding our grandson in my arms

and thinking about his future,

I felt so sure that he would always know

that you fought.

For yourself, for your name, for his name.

Because you were innocent.

You were innocent,

and they took that from you anyway.

So I want the bastards who send men

to my daughter's hospital room the day after she gave birth

to swallow that

and then watch you walk out of here on your own

because you showed the world they were wrong and you were right.

If you accept what they're offering,

you'll be letting them take who you've become.

That little boy shares your name, Aaron.

We need to do this for him.

Whatever it takes.

Attention Block C.

Exit your cells and line up for lunch.

Heard you're taking your meal in here?

Yeah.

There a problem with that?

I know Hunt's in the D.A.'s pocket.

Most everyone thinks it's messed up,

warden being owned like that.

Yeah?

Most everybody gonna stop me from getting killed

if I step out of here?

I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

I guess that sympathy doesn't help me much, now, does it, Huey?

Word is, you got offered a deal.

I'd take it and get the hell up out of here.

That's what I'm doing.

You quit?

I'm getting out while the getting's still good.

I'll make sure you get your meal.

Hey.

I keep asking about Jamal.

I'm his lawyer.

I got a right to see him.

I'll see what I can do.

You do what you're gonna do, man, but take me out of it.

I'm gonna be fine either way.

You know they're gonna charge you with attempted murder.

And now Maskins owns the warden,

they're gonna throw the whole book at you.

You think I ain't know that before I ran into the gym

- with a shiv? - I know, but it's...

But nothing, man. Listen.

I'm the guy who took out The Man.

Which means I'm the man now.

Alright?

Either way, my time is gonna be better in here now.

Just take me out of it.

Tell me what you're thinking.

Marie's the one pushing me to fight.

That's got to feel good.

Roswell thinks they're panicking.

But desperate people are dangerous.

By the time I get to trial,

Maskins is gonna be Attorney General.

There are so many ways they can work me over.

And how am I gonna stay safe in this place?

Got Cassius' crew needing to take me out to save their names.

Got everybody else thinking maybe I'm a rat.

Was that even legal, man? What they did?

The... The D.A. getting to the warden,

- muscling you? - No.

There's no way to prove it.

Unless I could break one of the guards...

get someone to snitch.

Huey buried my burner.

I just found out he gave notice.

You know he's the one who set you up in the gym

when he thought I was gonna take you out?

Yeah, he got a guilty conscience.

Nah. Ain't that guilty, man.

Sounds like you don't got a choice.

Just accept what you got and be grateful.

Yeah?

Just know that it was you who got you where you are.

Them caving right now? That means you won.

Take that home with you.

And go meet your grandson.

Hmm.

I understand you'll be taking the mantle.

Big shoes to fill.

Well, hopefully, I can walk my own path.

Institutions are bigger than people.

That's how we get corrupted,

even if you have the best of intentions.

Speak for yourself, Henry.

Oh, I do.

Now that I'm not inside it.

And we are all glad you saw the light.

Come on, Dez.

This can't be what you signed up for when you took the job.

Playing things this way?

I mean, really?

This is everything we agreed to.

Mr. Roswell has already read it over.

Hope your wife's still gonna respect you.

But then, maybe your name wasn't worth all that much

to begin with.

You know what?

I'm gonna need a few more days to think about it.

I think I'll just commute back and forth to Albany,

and Beth and Charlie will stay here.

At least until he graduates.

Hey, let me call you back.

Someone just stepped into my office.

I'll talk to you later?

What happened?

Hunt's a maniac. That's what happened.

What did Hunt say exactly to make him change his mind?

He baited him, Glen. What difference does it make?

Because I need to know what Wallace is thinking.

Well, now you don't, because Wallace figured out

Hunt's got microphones everywhere.

What's going on with you?

I don't understand why we're playing this game.

And, frankly, I'm not comfortable with some of our tactics.

Hunt's not going to let Wallace get hurt,

as long as he stays in his cell,

and that's exactly what he'll do.

Yeah, and gunning for Wallace's wife?

What's our next move?

Grab his daughter out of the hospital,

throw her in jail for cutting school?

You really want to start your career as D.A.

having to retry this case?

When one of our star witnesses has disappeared

and we have no idea if the other one will stick to his story?

Angelo Torres didn't just disappear, Glen.

You helped him flee the country.

Be very careful, Dez.

And what makes you think

that Michael Miller won't stick to his story?

Did you coerce him nine years ago?

Is that why?

You're not starting to think Wallace is innocent?

I don't know, Glen.

And I don't think you do, either.

Henry!

What? You don't love me anymore?

I've been trying you for hours.

Hanging on by a thread, trying to save my marriage,

and somehow find a new job.

Come on!

You're the most qualified unemployed former prison warden

in the history of New York.

You left out "disgraced." Now, what do you want?

Thought you might want to know that Cyrus Hunt ended the lockdown early

to put your favorite prisoner at risk.

I also think he's gonna ignore

that transfer order you got for Aaron, too.

Damn it.

To top it off,

he's been planting microphones all over the place,

passing intel to Maskins on Aaron's witnesses.

Now, listen, I know you're busy sulking,

but it kind of makes you want to do something about it,

don't you think?

I'm all ears.

Aaron's got a way to smack Maskins

and get himself out of there fast.

Thanks, Joey.

C.O. came to my cell,

said you were ready to see me about my complaint.

I figured you needed something, so I played along.

Yeah, I figured I could count on you.

Yeah.

The word is going around.

You're a marked man.

Yeah.

That's why I need your help.

Well, you can just jump right past the part

where you're gonna warn me about all it's gonna cost me.

'Cause whatever you need, you know I got you.

I want you to file a complaint

that the C.O.s brought you to the gym and roughed you up

Tuesday morning around 8:00.

I'm gonna be representing you.

I'm gonna demand to see the surveillance footage.

I'll subpoena for it if I have to.

Whatever happens, I got your back.

Thanks, man.

I got 15 minutes before I got to be back from lunch.

I know you always disagreed with my approach here.

It's not that I disagreed, ma'am.

It's that you never asked any of us what we thought.

We all had ideas, too, you know.

Well, I hear Cyrus Hunt listens to what everybody says...

With microphones.

Did you know he leaked Aaron Wallace's witness list

and all kinds of confidential information about his case

to Glen Maskins?

No.

But I saw Hunt watching and taking notes.

Yeah, well, now Hunt's upped his game.

He's ended the lockdown so that Wallace would be intimidated.

What do you want from me?

I need to get my hands on the raw footage from the gym...

Tuesday morning around 8:00.

Maskins threatening Wallace.

It shouldn't be hard to find.

Ma'am, I need this job.

And I'll make sure you don't lose it.

Heard you turned down the deal.

I couldn't let them have my name.

Man, you're crazier than I thought.

No.

I just got principles.

Anyways, got a package for you.

Aaron Wallace is now defending a prisoner

who claims he was assaulted in the Bellmore gym.

He's subpoenaed surveillance footage

of the supposed incident.

What day?

This past Tuesday, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

You know what this is about?

This is Hunt.

Did you record my conversation with Wallace

in the gym on your surveillance?

Surveillance cameras run 24/7, Glen. You know that.

You have microphones out there?

Sure. I mean, it's unclear of their range...

Doesn't matter. The body language alone.

H-Hold on. No one's gonna see it.

What are you worried about?

Erase it, Cyrus.

Erase it how?

Are you kidding me?

Just figure it out.

Let me know when it's done.

I don't even want to know what I just heard.

But you did hear.

So now you're in as deep as I am.

Okay, here's the situation.

Henry Roswell and I are going over to the D.A.'s office.

They're gonna ask me some questions

about how I got those hospital records

that helped us find Lexi Richardson.

They may even ask about Jose Rodriguez.

Remember your dad's first case?

Dad told me he asked you to do something for him.

Now there's a chance they may arrest me.

What?

To try and scare us into backing down,

but we ain't doing that.

Not when we've come this far.

I don't understand why all of this is happening.

It's just them doing what they do.

'Cause he got his retrial, and they're scared now.

But we'll get through it, 'cause that's what we do.

You can go ahead and have a seat.

Ready when you are, Mr. O'Reilly.

According to the clerk at the hospital, you told him

you wanted to see the records from that night

because you were doing a Naloxyn study.

That's correct.

But, as it turns out, you wanted to see those records

so you could find out the name of the young woman

who had overdosed at your husband's club.

On advice of counsel,

I'm going to plead the fifth on that one.

Is it true that you received no approval from any supervisor,

nor was anyone at your hospital aware

that you were supposedly engaging in this study?

We can make this a lot quicker for you, Dez.

She's gonna take the fifth from here on out.

Ms. Wallace, we have a sworn affidavit

from a custody officer at Bellmore named Nick Trammell.

He asserts, on July 21, 2019, that your husband

handed you a letter in the Bellmore visiting room.

He recalls that the letter was addressed to a Jose

and signed by someone named Molly.

Jose was the name of your husband's first defendant,

and Molly was the key witness in that trial.

Did you know that that note, which was then used as evidence,

was forged?

You know the warden got Trammell to lie

and go after my wife?

Aw, geez. I'm sorry.

Yeah, everybody's sorry.

How do you even put on that uniform every day

and go to work at that place?

Guess I just try to be as fair as I can to everybody.

No. No, you don't.

Wasn't until I impressed you at the D.A.'s office that day

that you started to see me as anything more than just a number.

I know you got it rough right now.

Doing what I can.

While I'm waiting for the judge to rule on my subpoena,

I'm gonna need some time with my wife and Roswell

in the hallway.

Yeah, man. Of course.

It was all a lie.

The guard never even saw that letter.

We know, and she completely held her own.

Yeah, but she could get arrested.

We had a deal on the table, and we should have just taken it.

- Listen to me. - What?

We are not gonna let this stop us.

Just means we have to dig in and fight harder.

We know the judge is gonna grant that subpoena.

We just need a little more,

one more thing to squeeze Maskins.

Yeah, but what?

What about Michael?

If we could at least get a statement from him,

Henry can use that to pressure them.

- Maybe I can go over and... - No.

No.

Get your phone out.

I'm gonna record something.

Good?

Hey, Mikey.

Now, I understand how bad you must be feeling

about how everything is going down.

And I get you were too scared to go back inside.

Now that I've been through it, seen what it is,

I understand a man doing anything to keep himself out.

Even throwing his best friend under the bus.

You remember when we were kids?

That deal we had?

Whenever we got in trouble, one would step up for the both of us

and take the licks.

I've done nine years for you, Mikey.

Now it's your turn to take the licks.

Please, Mikey.

Come on, man.

Help me get out.

Please.

Heard you talked your way out of the infirmary.

Now you're asking to see me.

Yeah, it's a lot of new moving parts around here these days.

Might be time to shake it up.

So now you want to play shot-caller? Is that it?

Way I see it, man,

we can go to war, carve this whole place up.

Or we call a truce,

take the Aryans down once and for all,

run this place together.

Cassius' boys are gonna want someone to answer for him.

Mm. Aaron Wallace.

You think we're gonna fall for that again?

Hear me out, man.

Just might got something to make everybody happy.

Come on. Jamal wants to talk to you.

This ain't the way to the infirmary.

He got himself out a few hours ago.

I guess you didn't see him in the pod.

No.

He knows you can't get out of there during the day,

so we arranged this.

Jamal?

It's alright, lawyer man.

We just want to talk.

It is what it is.

Mm, mm, mm.

I thought you'd still be in solitary

after what you did to Wild Bill.

Yeah, I'm gonna need representation for that.

But I hear you're not gonna be around.

That depends...

Alright, that's enough!

You heard him! Back off!

Hey, that's enough! Get them out of here now!

We got what we came for.

Everybody's gonna know about it.

Let's go!

Come on. Come on.

You alright?

What the hell you doing?

Your debt's paid, man.

Which means even if you lose, I got your back.

Like always, for good.

Yeah, well, I had my own plan.

It didn't involve a beatdown.

Remember how you said Huey might be turning your way?

Yeah, well, we turned him around.

Got you a twofer.

You want to tell me what the hell this is?

It's how I leave here clean.

I close the book with Cassius, his posse saves their rep,

Aaron Wallace is still alive.

You know he's already put in a request for a transfer.

What if he issues a complaint?

I guess it won't look too good, sir.

Especially when I say you ordered me to do it.

I were you, I'd go see Wallace.

He'll let you know what he needs.

That's quite a stunt you pulled with Huey.

Seems you forced my hand.

What'd you offer him?

Cut of the drug money when you get out?

I saw surveillance video from the gym.

Yeah. Turns out not much happened there that morning.

Because you erased it.

That would be tough to prove.

Unless I already had it when I issued my subpoena.

I figured you were dirty and desperate enough to destroy the tapes,

even knowing it was a felony.

And combine that with the beatdown you ordered on me...

Go ahead. Check it out.

I have a backup copy outside of Bellmore.

So, assuming you're not bluffing...

...what do you want?

I want Maskins.

On a platter.

That first night when they arrested me,

I kept telling them Aaron didn't know anything,

that we was brothers from growing up,

and that's why he hired me.

I didn't want to roll on him... Not ever.

But they kept pushing and pushing and telling me

Angelo was already saying that Aaron was the mastermind,

so there was no point in trying to protect him.

I must have been in there like 12 hours.

Every time I asked for a lawyer,

they told me I'd cut a better deal without one.

So that's what I did.

I lied, told them Aaron was the one calling the shots.

But he didn't know nothing about those drugs.

A recantation on a phone on a guy's front porch

10 years after the fact?

This is just Exhibit A.

Here's Exhibit B.

But I know you're not too sure if you're safe here.

Now, the sound's not great,

but if you listen closely enough,

you can hear Maskins threatening Wallace.

And here, you see all the prisoners coming in

from the lockdown, let in by Cyrus Hunt

to coerce Wallace into taking a deal.

Come on, Henry.

You're gonna try to nail him on negotiating tactics

when he's got qualified immunity?

Well, we thought you might say that,

which is why Wallace subpoenaed for the video,

knowing that Maskins would ask Cyrus Hunt to destroy it.

If he destroyed it, then what is this?

Oh. This is the original footage.

What Cyrus Hunt presented Wallace

pursuant to that subpoena

was doctored video of an empty gym.

So that's clearly obstruction of justice.

Before you ask your next question, I can tell you

Cyrus Hunt's ready to flip on Maskins

to save his own ass.

I don't understand why you drove all the way up here

when you could be sitting in Glen's office...

making a deal with him.

We don't want a deal.

We want him gone.

Gone?

Gone.

And I got to tell you something.

If we have to put him before a grand jury

and drag this out,

there's just no way this doesn't roll uphill to you.

Are you threatening me, Henry?

I'm giving you a chance to do the right thing,

out of deference for our relationship.

You're giving me a chance?

Aaron Wallace is an innocent man.

Try to remember a day when that actually mattered.

If you still can.

God, grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

You know, I used to think there was a higher purpose

to what we do.

That punishing the guilty and protecting the innocent

was somehow a noble endeavor.

But, really, we're just running a factory.

Shipping people in and out of prisons,

trying to decide who deserves what,

having to choose, almost arbitrarily,

which handful of cases warrant our attention and time.

I don't even remember what turned it.

Why we ever decided to go full-court press

on Aaron Wallace.

Does it make sense to you that who we are and what we're about

should somehow come... Come down to...

how we handled him?

You know, he tried to tell me this was all about race...

As if that's why we went after him.

If he didn't want to get arrested, he shouldn't have had

a drug dealer working for him in his nightclub.

We didn't make that decision. He did.

Anyway...

it's all over now.

Soon, I'll be sitting in that chair.

You'll be taking my place.

We can finally move on.

Forget all about Aaron Wallace.

Can we?

Just forget about him?

God, I hope so.

Gentlemen.

Thank you both for coming.

Sit.

What do you, uh, remember about Michael Miller?

Wallace's childhood friend? The drug dealer?

He's claiming he was coerced into rolling over on Wallace,

that he tried to tell you Wallace was innocent.

He may have, but didn't take much to push him.

Less than it took Wallace?

What do you mean?

I understand you tried to leverage his wife against him.

She tampered with evidence, obstructed justice,

and committed a HIPAA violation.

And you asked Cyrus Hunt

to end the lockdown I mandated after the riot

in order to intimidate Wallace,

after the man had asked for protective custody

and a prison transfer.

Where did you hear that?

Henry Roswell.

You've got to be kidding me.

But Cyrus Hunt confirmed it.

He also told me that you and he colluded to destroy evidence.

He said what?

I saw the raw footage, Glen... Your threats to Wallace...

Before you had Hunt erase it.

This is...

Too farfetched to be believed?!

Beneath the man who is about to take

the highest legal office in the state of New York?!

I was just trying to make it go away.

Like you did with Angelo Torres,

when you got him out of the country

before Wallace could get him on the stand?

So...

this is an ambush.

I could help you bury some of this, Glen,

but that surveillance video?

You try to fight that,

you're gonna end up in front of a grand jury.

What are you saying, Allan?

Walk away now, with your reputation intact.

You'll land on your feet in the private sector.

Not quite ready to leave, huh?

You did this to yourself.

Wow.

Dez.

Bravo.

Bravo.

I know this will come as a surprise to many of you,

but after careful consideration,

I have decided to step down as Attorney General-elect

to spend more time with my family.

Dez O'Reilly will take my place

as acting District Attorney of the Bronx.

And for now,

Attorney General Burke will stay on

until a special election can be arranged.

Let me just say,

it has been an honor

to serve the great people of New York.

You got everything you wanted.

Jamal Bishop and your wife are off the hook.

You're exonerated, going home,

gonna get to practice law.

And Maskins is gone.

One thing we can't do.

The assault charge from the prison riot.

Only way out of that is to plead guilty to an "A" misdemeanor

and accept probation.

For three years.

Mind your P's and Q's, stay out of trouble,

you'll be fine.

Listen.

Now, you have a chance to do better.

You know that.

Gentlemen.

You got 10 minutes.

You remember the first time we were in here?

Yeah.

Yeah, the potatoes.

Potatoes.

That dude was off his rocker, man.

Yeah, he was.

Listen.

They're gonna look the other way on the Cassius thing.

Word is, he's getting out of the ICU.

And they're gonna send him straight back to Lubeck.

You know, it's really too bad, 'cause I know

a whole lot of cats who are really gonna miss him.

You know, I've been looking at your case.

I'm getting you out of here, too.

Come on, man.

That's my number at Marie's.

I'm your lawyer now.

Which means we got to confer.

Whenever you can.

Yeah, you got it.

Come here, man.

Thank you.

For everything.

Get your life back, brother.

Knock 'em dead, huh?

- I used to be just like you. - _

I had a wife I loved.

Cough.

I had a family and a home.

One day, all that changed.

And whether I wanted it to or not...

...that changed me.

Yeah!

That's right!

Don't forget about us!

Don't forget.

I won't.

I had a vision of how it would all come to an end.

But sometimes, you got to let go of what you're counting on

to find another way forward

to whatever waits on the other side.

I got it.

Thanks.

Hey, listen, man, I'm sorry about what I said before.

Don't be.

You were right.

What are you doing here?

I wanted to see it through to the end

and... and watch you walk out of there.

What you did for me these past couple weeks...

Helping you was the only thing I ever did

that's gonna make a difference.

That's not true.

You changed the culture in that place.

What are you gonna do now?

Guess I got to figure that out.