Original subtitles

[Dave] Previously on Billions...

Billionaires plot in secret to take everything for themselves.

Unlike Chuck, I want to invest in your future.

I failed to protect my goddamn queen.

Dave, I just need another day with the files.

I will messenger them back first thing in the morning.

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

He had to remind me that he took from me.

Prince has different priorities.

So we're gonna trust this guy?

- - - You good? - - - Absolutely.

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

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

Motherhusker.

Michael fucking Prince is running for president.

President of the United States of America.

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

...could be running Michael Prince Capital.

We need to save the country

by stopping Mike Prince.

So now you see why it wasn't enough

to remove Chuck from office,

to try to neutralize him.

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

I have a series of questions,

for which I expect truthful answers,

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

the other will remain to be arrested and indicted.

So I'd like to know

what this drive of yours contains, Mr. Prince.

Crypto, I suspect.

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

And even if I did, so what?

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

And before you say it doesn't--

He already said it.

Guilty of giving a false statement.

Slow down, Chuck.

You should know, Mr. Prince,

that we believe this drive has crypto on it,

to finance your Mike Money program

and catapult you into the lead for the presidential.

Let's start by getting it open.

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

I'll allow you to use your phone or computer

to retrieve the code.

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

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

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

because it was retrieved from one of your companies--

We will be examining the legality

-of how it was retrieved. - - - Happy to.

Let's talk about the last 72 hours and how we got here.

Okay, where do you want to start?

Oh, I'll start.

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

- - - Current. - - - Both, really.

One to me, another to you.

Isn't that right, Kate?

Do not directly address your counterpart's attorney

unless she addresses you first.

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

But, like Rollergirl, I skated out the way,

and you went crashing into the boards.

[sighs]

You a dead-end gumshoe now, sitting stakeouts?

Because I saw you when I walked in.

Your skills are lacking.

You're gonna want to get in the car.

Yeah. Seems like it.

An oldie, but it has a solid backbeat.

A case against the Butters family

and their company that produces opioids,

but you declined to prosecute.

- - - I remember. - - - Feds finally took them down,

two years after you played "not it."

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

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

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

including the museum,

with the head of the Butters family.

Yeah, maybe I'm not so dead-end

when it comes to gum-shoeing after all.

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

when the public finds out you sided

with drug pushers and fat cats.

Which means you're asking the right question.

And the answer to that query is, yes,

you are on the wrong side of history.

I'm always on the right side of everything.

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

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

Letting others go first.

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

and when he ends up in the White House,

you get a cabinet appointment?

Is that the grand plan now?

Oh, you didn't know.

You know what?

He could win.

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

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

- - - I'd walk away. - - - Do what?

He's Greg Stillson, Kate.

And you don't need a coma or supernatural powers

to know I'm right.

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

Can you think of anyone more capable?

I will take this under advisement.

Uh, no thinking, just moving.

Helping me take down Mike Prince.

Not doing that.

[sighs]

You know, if there was one reason

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

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

ahead of yours.

And that includes grandiose ones like being elected president.

The shoes and the bags are not that nice.

They're pretty nice.

If you don't help me,

I'll roast you.

And you'll never even make the statehouse.

[inhales deeply]

I can keep this?

Nice try. I have copies.

[Prince] Well, Chuck, while you were trying

to turn my people against me--

Your people? You took her from this office.

I was trying to do some darned good.

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

Oh, forget the rest, Dave.

Arrest him for felonious use of the third person.

[Dave] Would that I could,

but now that we're focused on you,

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

Me?

It's fine. Answer.

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

watching the leadership of my company

take its next natural steps in its growth.

Help yourselves.

Someone offers you caviar, don't be bashful.

Don't hold back. Take it.

It's a life rule.

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

mark a big occasion,

is I'd get someone like Nobu Matsuhisa in here

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

Or Guy Fieri to fire up

some kind of insane grilled cheese concoction.

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

Not even legends.

Because tonight is about us.

It's about celebrating us.

Who we are and who we're becoming.

Who and what I'm becoming.

Tonight is about locking in my succession plan.

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

a spirited debate, fight to the death,

I was presented with an undeniable proposal:

a council of two.

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

which will shortly convert to a blind trust

as I step away to pursue...

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm gonna entrust you with it.

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

[applause]

Oh, sh-- Oh, damn.

[grunts] Stains. Gotta fix that.

[humming nervously]

Club soda-- No, okay. Excuse me.

[chuckles]

[breathing rapidly]

I'd tell you to breathe,

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

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

or a "leave you to it

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

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

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

Context?

Okay, well, you, for one.

And Philip.

And your new job you were just given.

Because this whole political-presidential deal

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

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

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

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

because Prince won't be president.

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

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

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

Okay.

I slept with our boss,

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

And the people who were boinked get treated way worse.

I'll be Monica.

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

Monica's sort of a hero now.

I'm gonna be Sydney fucking Leathers.

Donna Rice. Rielle.

The women who cost them the office.

Oh, I don't want to fucking be Rielle.

Okay.

You were converting your business

because you wanted to run for higher office.

The only thing more obvious than that for a billionaire

is building a space program, a real toy rocket.

You have one of those?

My whole life is a rocket ride.

[scoffs] Must be nice, as they say.

Ah, yes, the battle cry of the bitter.

The mating call of the meek and the miserable.

But you know what? It is nice.

Oh, it's so nice.

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

Space isn't my final frontier.

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

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

New York. The country. Not me.

Yeah, no, a hundred percenter right there.

I mean, that's why a guy named Mike

would call a thing Mike Money,

'cause he wants the focus away from himself.

Yeah, it's all well documented.

I was meeting with other similarly minded people of means

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

The name was just branding.

I've said all this publicly.

And the support was rolling in.

Rolling like a Pete Weber alley-shaker.

And it would have saved you all this trouble,

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

you would have remembered Mr. Weber's words:

"Who do you think you are?

I am!"

You?

You're the fella couldn't get

his own friends to stand with him.

We're not footing the bill ourselves.

Even the first installment was too much and dangerous.

We need to approach all these folks.

- - - Ask for broad support. - - - Yes, yes.

So it doesn't sound like noblesse oblige,

like a guy trying to personally buy--

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

Instead we go with the hat out and--

Absolutely, a little pinch of sawdust from the pocket,

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

[Prince] I had it going, too,

until you tried to foul that all up.

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

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

Least, not according to them.

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

if it's a cause I give a shit about.

You know, one that makes a certain great man

grow in the public stature.

That man would be you, then?

Who the fuck else, Rhoades? You?

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

If I'm not banging the cheerleader,

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

How were you able to resist Prince's entreaties?

In our game, everyone's smart.

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

Learning how to say "fuck no"

in a way they keep doing favors for you,

that's the skill.

You all usually can't wait

to form up the circle jerk

and start passing the Jergens.

What's different this time?

Got tired of all the chafing, I guess.

So not one of them joined in.

They must be concerned

that something about it isn't legit,

or will reflect badly on them.

What do you think?

Or maybe they decided he's a dick,

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

- - - Or-- - - - Don't you think

you could be running these scenarios on your own?

Or not running scenarios and living your life.

You don't need me here.

Contrary to what you seem to believe,

I do have better things I could be doing.

Hmm. Other, sure. Not better.

My wife texted me she just got something very special

from the Goop store,

which she wanted to try out in front of me.

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

You're my sounding board, buddy.

No, no, I'd never charge you.

I'd just want you to actually hear the sounds

bouncing off the board telling you to stop.

Au contraire, mon frère.

Hearing myself think aloud has made it clear.

Guys like Prince,

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

their investors think they're all in on it

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

He needs cover.

But I'm gonna strip that away.

[Prince] You can be skeptical about motive.

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

having enough money to both eat and buy textbooks

for your middle schooler without having to work 18-hour days

and all the rest, but you cannot deny

that the kids here at this Boys and Girls Club

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

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

Fix systemic imbalances. Really help.

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

No, no. Not how Mike Money works.

This is unrestricted income--

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

And why, when you failed to entice them,

you had to bankroll the entire $3.5 billion yourself.

Chuck, you're letting your personal animus--

[Chuck] Animus?

[chuckles] Oh.

Is that what they call seeing the truth these days?

Because this is the truth,

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

who will think you mad.

You are so determined not to look like a man

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

30% of your net worth.

[laughs] As a starter.

[reporter] Is it true, Mike?

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

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

[reporters clamoring]

[reporter] Mr. Prince...

[overlapped shouting]

[all clamoring]

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

about you financing Mike Money on your own?

Why were you dodging that?

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

but the way I grew up,

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

you're just supposed to do them.

[all clamoring]

[chimes]

Oh, come on.

One nice part about doing the right thing,

even if you're on your own at first,

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

sooner or later.

You'll already be there.

Un-fucking-believable.

You know what? I need to take a minute.

Phone break, comfort break, all of it,

as I'm sure you two do.

[sighs]

[laughs]

Well, I'll admit this much.

You sucked me in like fucking Johnny fucking Chan

to get you to cop it was your money.

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

You wanted the glory,

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

[chuckles] Brilliantly done, Mike.

You're the guy spinning the backgammon cubes

and trying to roll a double six.

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

You know she's recording us

in hopes of a self-incrimination twofer.

And you also know I did no such thing.

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

and he goes by the same name.

It was the women in that flick were the lawbreakers.

Rhoades, we are here entirely because of you.

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

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

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

and plummet you will.

No, I do not feel taken advantage of.

I was down for it. I am down.

No power dynamic was at play.

If anything, I led and he followed.

But I didn't know the ramifications

and how they would ramificate.

Ramify?

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

Shutting me up, probably, right?

Shit, I'm a motormouth.

I can't even shut myself up.

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

- - - Strategize? - - - Rian, I don't believe

it would be useful to hear whatever

is said next for you or me.

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

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

- - - Shh! - - - Right. Okay, then.

So, yeah.

First step is sanitize.

Assume the press will find out once he announces.

His opponents will certainly be looking.

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

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

ergo security company, ergo system has a feed,

ergo guy watches the feed.

Million points of vulnerability

nobody thinks about when they get distracted.

Staff was mostly on clean-up after the party,

but they were there.

Coat check would've noticed her coat was the only one hanging.

Party that big, you figure a 10% abandonment,

-but possible. - - - Cell phone pings.

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

- - - We are. - - - Money.

A payoff. I imagine not your first with him.

The fact that you are forced to imagine

says a lot about my level

of discretion in this setting, does it not?

I am impressed.

And now I know the cash is locked down on your side.

It's our side. All of us.

And it has to be solid enough

that we're not in some parking lot

feeding disinformation to some guy

we hope gets it into the Post or the Times.

- - - Agreed. - - - Has she asked for a payoff?

Do we think she even wants that?

Because she didn't seem concerned about herself.

They never seem. It is simply easier,

cleaner if she takes the money.

Mm...

You disagree with the plan?

We're not saying the actual, actual thing,

which means we're thinking the thing.

And maybe it's my new life with Chelz

and the promise of a more wholesome future,

but we all know the cleanest way

is when the young girl turns up dead.

- - - What the fuck, Wags? - - - Fucking hell.

And that's where I draw the line.

I'm not fucking going there.

Nobody is killing anyone.

It isn't even under consideration.

- - - Right? - - - No, not really.

Not at all.

Though I must say I'm surprised, Wags,

'cause this is usually the point

where you say you "know a guy"

who can make all the problems disappear.

But you're not volunteering him now.

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

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

with his family just downstairs,

and you're willing to do just about fucking anything.

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

before anything happens.

In the meantime...

which hatches do we have to batten?

Let's start with the digital.

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

For our investors. It's what we do.

I'm sure what happened there was essential

to the survival of MPC.

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

Oh, you mean this knucklehead breaking into my warehouse?

[Chuck] Oh, no breaking. No entering.

Technically, Chuck, and for the record--

Yes, all right, yes, entering.

But legally, within the legal limits.

I was piqued that you played me into having the city

celebrate you like Jeter after the flip.

And embarrassed, I admit.

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

I decided, as an afterthought,

to look into the specifics

of how you were financing the plan.

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

whether it be on a big purchase or big initiative.

Fire sales, disruption.

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

the wheels start coming off.

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

Far from it, Chuck.

It's business as usual at Michael Prince Capital.

I got up into the carcass,

but Prince's last big transaction

was a 2.5 billion payment to Axe.

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

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

There are lots of other business details, but--

[laughs] Wait.

Hot question:

Why would Mike Prince need an armored car company

without a bank?

Huh.

No, the hot question is:

Why would Chuck Rhoades, a private citizen,

stalk my companies, my vehicles, my life?

Answer: I should have gotten a restraining order.

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

against Chuck Rhoades.

That happens in court, not here.

Lot of bluster, but you didn't call it

a wild goose chase, did you, Mike?

[Dave] Chuck, the man has a point.

He was living his life,

and it seems you were trying to live his life, too.

It does hit me kind of weird.

Mr. Prince, how did you first find out

Chuck was all up in your business?

I started getting calls

from employees I'd never spoken to before.

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

including the banks,

but keeps the Axe Bank armored cars

that shuttle things to the bank?

And the drivers just standing by,

hanging out, waiting for what, exactly?

Is he heavily into bullion transport?

I don't know.

So he pays you all this money

and gives you all this power,

and you can't find out the mandate of a subsidiary?

Look, I am here at your demand, but I am simply unable

to share any information that I don't have.

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

And that is different.

I want the manifests from that company.

I want to know where those armored fucking cars are going.

You can go now.

You're gonna want to watch that tone with me.

I am not a recalcitrant child.

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

Because while I have the utmost respect for the Kate Sacker

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

what I am seeing here is someone who is uninterested

in what is good and right and fair.

And that is disappointing.

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

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

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

But knock yourself out, okay?

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

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

I'll throw first and last.

There won't be any in between.

[chuckles] And then,

I will get up off the floor and make it

so you are embarrassed to walk down the streets

of the very city you grew up in.

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

Now, go do what I need.

[Ira] Place is warmer, aesthetically at least.

Maybe just on the outside, though.

It accurately reflects the character of its owner.

If you say so.

I do.

I, uh-- I need a favor.

I need your help getting Chuck off me.

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

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

That may be,

but Chuck shouldn't extort and coerce,

well, anybody, but especially former employees.

Former mentees.

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

If he wants to find an angle on Prince,

have him do it the legitimate way.

Chuck has kept me apprised of his plans,

including with regards to you.

And I have given him counsel to relent.

- - - And? - - - He will not relent.

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

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

if he picked a different target,

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

Hmm.

[sighs]

Armored car company manifest.

That's what he wanted.

See if that ends my part of it.

Will try.

But pretty certain it will not.

What are you reading there, friend?

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

Tales of hard men on the open plain.

It's the Sacketts?

Those are good.

I'm a High Lonesome man myself.

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

not some device, for a change.

Yeah. Why not, right?

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

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

hoping it doesn't turn into a stagecoach robbery

like in, uh, The Sixth Shotgun?

Who'd you say you were again?

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

- - - Doing a survey. - - - Hmm. Adjunct.

I see.

Anyway, no, I'm not busy.

Lots of downtime.

Only about a dozen single runs have been made

since Mr. Prince took over the company.

Yeah. We're aware of that.

One truck to each of 12 of Prince's companies

within driving distance, huh?

Yep, his secure archive facilities.

Well, what got delivered, money bags?

Nuclear warheads?

Not so exciting.

A black plastic case.

Truck full of them?

Nope.

One in each truck.

Rattled around the whole way down I-90.

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

Nope.

Rule number one: no lookie-loos.

Just handed it off and then drove back.

Okay. As you should.

And well done.

You ought to try Zane Grey next.

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

and he put together what was happening,

I let him know the extent to which

I had been extorted by Chuck in all this.

You told him.

She did. Disgraceful conduct, Chuck.

Well, given what's at stake,

everything is fair and on the table.

Mr. Prince, based on these developments,

would you like new counsel for this proceeding?

I'll stick with Miss Sacker.

Your call.

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

Now, what's on this drive?

Data.

Billions in Bitcoin. He was gonna say that.

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

That would make everything I was doing much easier.

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

Sit down.

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

Is this considered sitting?

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

Official.

Sitting.

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

to witness this exchange--

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

but on your behalf.

Emotionally.

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

Proposing.

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

that has been set aside to cement an agreement

between you and all parties.

A payoff. Hush money.

Which I definitely don't want.

Don't think of it like that, then.

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

That's all this is.

But that's not all, is it?

It's a lump sum.

And I take it.

And because I do,

all of a sudden a power dynamic

that never existed before rears up.

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

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

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

you don't get to decide that.

I don't want money.

I want you to trust me.

Well, that may be impossible.

Right, 'cause I could fuck things up for him.

But I don't want to,

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

Money is gonna make it way worse.

If money is off the table,

then we need to focus on points of contact.

- - - Ew. -[Scooter] No.

The ones reporters can find.

The ones people Wags employs can find,

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

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

Everything about that night and the morning after

is locked down.

Knocked out cell phone triangulation,

scrubbed records.

NDA's been signed by your morning-after driver.

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

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

you should probably expend some effort

sanitizing the following two days as well.

[sighs]

Is this, A, a fuckup of major proportion

that will define the rest of my life,

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

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

that I learn from?

The answer is D.

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

Are you saying that to just put me off

because you're pissed at what I did?

I am not angry with you for sleeping with Prince.

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

It's growth.

Hurt, though? Did I hurt you by--?

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

No.

I understood exactly what you said and meant.

And I fucking admired you for knowing yourself

well enough to say it.

Which means you knew enough before hooking up with Prince

to calibrate what it might feel like afterwards,

and you knew you could handle it emotionally.

That was before I understood the dealio at this level.

And so what do you want now?

I want...

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

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

The appetite he has, it doesn't turn off

just because his brain tells it to.

Yeah.

But I also don't want to be burnt.

And when people find out,

I'm gonna feel really, really bad.

Then don't let them.

How do I control that?

Did you take the money?

No. No.

Then you are still in control,

and you control every single thing you do from here.

Affairs are revealed through behavior.

That's what gives spouses,

or, in this case reporters, the clues.

So I act like nothing happened,

and then it's like nothing happened?

That has worked for many a serial killer

through the centuries.

The problem is, after a while,

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

of its significance, leads to mistakes.

The killings get closer together.

The methods get wilder.

Then suddenly, the cops are at their door.

I don't want anyone at my door.

Then be careful and aware.

And if, at any time, you change your mind

or decide this isn't what you wanted,

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

And will be here.

And I will back you in whatever path you take.

To the fucking end, Rian.

[slurps and gulps]

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

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

My study partner was from the country.

Dirt-poor, and, uh,

she used to throw coffee beans in boiling water,

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

Coffee kept us grinding on our papers all night.

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

Even then, I knew the thing to do

was to learn to love the suck.

I had no illusions about what it would mean

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

That's why I have you by my side.

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

where Chuck tells us how he got the drive.

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

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

of each of Prince's companies,

the very same companies where I was offered jobs.

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

Let's take a peek.

Loving the sound of it

almost as much as this pizza pie.

Any ideas as to how?

Well, sure.

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

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

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

by a friendly judge without the particulars,

like addresses and dates filled out.

Just something I could merely wave to scare the rubes

into letting me in.

It seems like a hoot, Chuck.

I might happen to know just such a man.

And I bet he'd keep something like that

in a false-bottom drawer,

just waiting for the right reason

for it to see the light of day.

Are the drives locked down?

Why am I on speakerphone?

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

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

Each drive was driven to a warehouse

with a secure vault in it,

each warehouse in a separate state.

No drive is ever stored with any other drive.

We're clear.

Mind if we keep that?

- - - Paperwork. - - - It's okay by me.

[Scooter] The warehouses are all for different industries,

so which companies have vaults inside

will be hard to determine to the casual

or even considered observer.

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

the companies we chose all have legitimate reasons.

Precious metals, cash flow, et cetera.

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

We need to see inside.

[keypad beeping]

There she is.

Appreciate your help here, Officer.

Thank you, Scooter.

Hey, Scoot, uh,

let's go ahead and shuffle the deck

and move those cases anyway.

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

so I can't be compelled to answer.

Understood. I have some ideas.

Satisfied?

No. But unsurprised.

That's why I did what I did.

[chuckles]

[Nick] See, this is an Iron Forge,

very legitimate cold storage drive

with a self-locking feature.

Uh-huh. Self-locking.

Yeah, I've heard of that.

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

making it impossible to access whatever's on it.

So, what I'd do, I'd buy like 20 Iron Forges,

get to work uncapping and finding side channels

to access the digital keys.

Well, get to work, then.

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

Ah, six months?

You've got closer to six fucking hours.

I need this one opened so I can use it

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

I'm gonna need to bring in some equipment.

Running crypto-hunter password cracker software.

- - - Some real dark web shit. - - - Grand. Now what?

We sit back and let it work.

[sighs]

[snaps fingers]

What do we got?

We got something.

Yeah? Crypto?

Yeah.

It's a wallet.

Fair warning on the ten attempts.

How many shots you have left?

Two more. That's why I woke you.

Didn't want to pull the trigger without--

Proceed.

You... sure?

Do it.

-[computer chimes] -[gasps]

Holy shit.

- - - Is that...? - - - Yes.

[laughs] Yes, it is.

Crypto wallet holding various coins that,

at today's rates,

total approximately $150 million.

[laughs]

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

No, not one digital farthing.

Dave?

We have it.

It's clear to me.

Prince is funding Mike Money with crypto.

There's nothing illegal about that.

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

These guys all bought shit tons of it

back when it cost a dollar.

Now they're on a freeroll.

My tech guy checked the transaction record,

and 150 mil in coin was sold last year

and put into an account that became the feeder fund

for the Mike Money program.

And guess who wasn't notified.

That would be the New York State Department

of Taxation and Finance.

Multiply it by the other locations

where he undoubtedly has more drives stashed,

and we are talking about a financial scam

on the same scale as the biggest ever played.

It's a full Al Capone.

You mean a full Lauryn Hill.

-[sighs] - - - If we can prove it.

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

You just need to authorize and conduct the raids

on all the other locations.

And you're dead certain there's crypto

on those other drives?

If you don't have independent proof,

I will have had no cause to stage the raids,

since the first one was illegally gotten.

It was under your purview.

You just need to state that under oath,

that you instructed me--

And I will if you're right.

And then Prince will swing.

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

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

You can walk away, drop this.

We return this drive and make sure he squares up.

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

Because if we go down this road,

one of you is ending up in jail.

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

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

But we gotta move quick,

because I also bet he's gonna move them.

Okay, then.

The raids are a go.

[sighs]

[sirens blaring]

[tires screech]

Kneel down, you sinners To streetwise religion

Greed's been crowned The new king

Hollywood dream teens

Yesterday's trash queens

Save the blessings For the final ring

Amen

Take a ride On the wild side

Wild side

Thank you. Appreciate that.

I carry my crucifix

Under my death list

Forward my mail to me In hell

Liars and the martyrs Lost faith in the Father

Thank you.

Long lost In the wishing well

And that's when we sent for you.

Oh, and there's more.

There are these.

[door closes]

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

We managed to intercept them

just as you were trying to have them removed.

Hold on--

Those were gained through improper seizure.

Probable cause based on the first drive.

Which was gained through fraudulent means.

We'll see about that,

since this one has been opened and does hold crypto.

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

This is probably a good time

to disclose that Miss Sacker has made my client aware

that she has critical information about the nature

of Mr. Prince's tax dodge.

You're going to be heartily sorry

you didn't swap out counsel when she starts swearing a statement

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

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

Wasn't actually true.

[chuckles]

But I made it plain that your failure to prosecute

the opioid case would result--

Chuck, you really shouldn't--

Yeah, incriminate yourself. Further.

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

All those years we worked together,

I was paying attention real close.

So, that case you wanted to squeeze me on

won't break the way you think,

because I didn't fail to prosecute the Butters family

in order to protect my father's friends.

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

Nothing unusual or special about it.

[Chuck] No.

The only unusual thing is,

you pulled the federal declination request

from the file when you slipped it back to Dave.

[Sacker] I did pull the federal declination request

from the file.

You go public, I look like a hero.

After Dave screwed us on the subway cars,

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

Chuck was always willing to consider

mutually assured destruction,

even if the other side didn't know.

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

one that would make me look vulnerable.

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

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

so Chuck would think I could be squeezed

for ignoring the opioid crisis.

And this is the squeezing time.

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

He knows about the presidential bid.

He deduced it, then told me.

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

To game out how to launch your career in politics

along with mine. I'm sorry.

Hmm, we can have that conversation

when the light at the end of the tunnel

isn't a train called Chuck Rhoades.

What does he want?

He believes I have drives squirreled away

with enough untaxed crypto to fund Mike Money

and the rest of the trip to Washington.

And do you?

Because now is the time to tell me.

Is it real, or is it theater?

Empty drives, or are you moving money around?

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

before the curtain comes up if it is the latter,

but I will need to know.

You seem awfully calm.

I have good people taking care of me.

No better place to be.

Let me walk you to the elevator.

[elevator dings]

I was expecting this visit.

Looking forward to it, even.

That's not the reax I figured.

When you spilled that champagne, I almost laughed,

but I felt it would have undercut the moment.

How could you laugh at something so jeopardizing?

If I thought our time together would jeopardize my candidacy,

I wouldn't have done it.

Are you sure you're in

that kind of control?

Maybe I'm too in control.

I need to offset it with a little tolerable risk.

That's what I am? Acceptable risk?

Tolerable. Not acceptable. It's different.

Yeah, tolerable because it's worth it.

This is fun.

Makes me feel more present, and also more relaxed,

which will allow for better decision making.

I'm like your fucking Xanny?

[laughs] Without the hangover.

I have one.

This whole thing has given me one.

That's because this is the first time your actions

have broader ramifications.

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

This is what happens as you become more.

Things you do matter.

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

You took steps?

The kind of people who write those kind of stories,

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

The networks, I'm in business with them.

Our coworkers, they're happy and satisfied

with how they're paid by and large,

so they're not out to stab me or you.

This seems, I don't know,

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

in the Oval Office.

I'd say that every guy who ended up there

had a cavalier attitude about this sort of thing,

and had teams of people who ran fire drills

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

Except for Nixon, who was wound so tight,

he couldn't last out his term.

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

You knew there would be a fire drill.

Sure. Knew there could be.

Does that make you feel better?

It makes me feel...weird.

And like you want to leave?

Not necessarily.

[sighs]

Like I need a drink.

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

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

Coming right up.

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

but you don't really need one.

You just need to understand

that there are people that things happen to

and people who make things happen.

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

And when you do that,

when you decide what you want to feel,

that is the true source of power.

And when you get there,

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

Most people never figure this out.

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

[David] So, here we are.

Are you prepared to run password combinations

and try to open these suckers up?

I am.

This is really not necessary.

I can just take these back

and have them opened on my own time.

I've got topflight people for that.

We'll be filing to get

the original drive back immediately,

as well as the rest of these.

Yeah, and Chuck will be on surveillance video

in my circuit board company's secure archives.

Impersonating a state prosecutor.

Using a fraudulent instrument.

Hmm, not just suspect. Guilty.

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

before we sort all that out.

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

for these properly obtained drives?

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

these are secure drives that allow ten attempts

before locking forever.

I wish I could help you.

[Dave] So here's the thing:

I'm going to have this technician

start making attempts.

So, if there's crypto on these drives,

you're faced with losing it.

There is, believe me.

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

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

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

let's put the hammer down.

[device beeps]

That's one...

-[beeps] -...two...

[typing]

-[beeps] -...three attempts.

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

-[typing] -[Nick] Four.

-[beeps] - - - Five.

I object to this activity.

I want a judge on the phone right fucking now to stop this.

[typing]

-[beeps] - - - Six...

and seven.

Mr. Rhoades, Chuck,

if you relent,

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

Do you want to take a strategic retreat?

No, he'll crack.

Expensive game of chicken.

I'll play.

-[typing] -[computer beeps]

[Nick] Eight.

-[beeps] - - - Nine.

Hold up. Let me just advise my client.

[whispering] Mike, we can beat the case if there is one.

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

Let me stop this.

[typing]

Ten.

[rhythmic beeping]

[softly] Fuck.

That's it.

[sighs]

You just sacrificed over $3 billion.

Well, shit, I lost my fucking bet.

[laughs]

I don't fucking believe it. He thinks...

he must think that there's another way

to open those drives.

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

I will arrange bail right away.

[Dave] Once you finish with him,

you can escort Mr. Allerd from the building.

Am I free to go?

[Tuk] Andrea in accounting,

the girl who always gets out on the 11th floor

with the black hair,

and Jeannie from Mase Carb.

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

And you're not sleeping with any of them.

Let the man make a list.

If sexual congress between two office mates

is now considered okay,

I think we should avail ourselves.

I have availed in the past.

And if you can, I highly recommend it.

And I can help.

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

Erik just knows who he's serving.

Do you?

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

I know what I signed up for,

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

It wasn't because I was squeamish

about all the dirty money.

I begged you to get out.

But I knew how this was going to end:

with you running the place,

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

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

and fixes it all anyway.

Because that's your priority,

getting a guy like him into the White House.

Something very close to that, yes.

And everyone who's ever been in the White House

is a guy like him.

That's how they get in.

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

Thank you.

Thanks.

Mm.

I thought I was fine.

But you aren't?

The kind of man he is,

the outside that doesn't match the inside,

the whole thing...

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

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

because they're the ones that run the places.

That's why we do.

It doesn't mean anything.

We'll have our own places soon enough.

Do you feel like you have refuge?

[scoffs] Come on.

After this week? I don't know.

Which I guess is the point.

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

And yet you show up to work every day.

So do you.

I thought I would enjoy some proper scheming.

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

[chuckles]

But you don't feel that way?

With Axe, I know you shouldn't compare,

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

while shivving a motherfucker who needed shivving.

It was honest, in its way.

This is something else.

Maybe Prince's way is more powerful...

with its veneer of goodness.

It inspires.

Are you inspired?

Drinks are on me.

This night's cost me 3.5 billion already.

So let's drink the fanciest shit in the place.

- - - Goddamn it. - - - Yep, now you know.

...even more to lose

You and me bound To spend some time

Wondering what to choose

Goes to show

You don't ever know

Watch each card you play And play it slow

To our collective wounds of war.

Long may they remind us of the cost

of everything we've won.

I been gambling hereabouts

For ten good solid years

If I told you All that went down

It would burn off Both of your ears

Goes to show You don't ever know

Watch each card you play And play it slow

Wait until That deal come round

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

[door clanks shut]

Well, if I'd known you were coming,

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

- - - Like Eddie Murphy? - - - Mm.

Sure.

Roxanne

You don't have to put on The red light

Not really in the mood, Dave.

Not from you.

Roxanne

It's weirdly appropriate,

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

to spring your ass to get our man.

There's a car full of loot somewhere?

Chuck, we're gonna destroy Mike Prince together.

[laughs]

Ah.

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

I used a dummy warrant.

Gained evidence under false pretense.

All that shit you said that put me here.

I said that to cover our tracks.

You couldn't tell?

I was more focused on how tight the cuffs were.

Focus on this.

This is the real warrant that I had authorized,

with a judge who signed off.

Since you were acting at my direction

with this cooperation agreement,

dated before you used that fake warrant.

All you have to do is sign it.

You're gonna clear me.

You saw, didn't you?

Yeah.

I had to play the whole thing to the end,

but I've seen enough liars

in enough interrogation rooms to know.

His knees almost buckled when he tried to stand.

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

like Tom Reagan down at Miller's Crossing.

This fucker was planning to buy the White House

with cryptocurrency.

You got him to flush billions of dollars,

but that's not punishment enough.

Any man willing to do that

is willing to do unspeakable things to feed those desires.

We can't let that happen.

That's what I've been telling you!

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

-[laughs] - - - So, yeah,

you'll be in the clear.

But no one can know.

You're gonna be working

under cover of disgrace.

The world will think you're under indictment

and going away right up until the minute

we lock Mike Prince up.

Damn fucking straight.

You got a deal.

...you don't ever know

Watch each card you play And play it slow

Wait until that deal come round

Don't you let that deal go down

Wait until that deal come round

Don't you let that deal Go down

Wait until that deal come round

Don't you let that deal Go down

Don't you let That deal go down

Don't you let that deal Go down

No, no