Billions 3x3

1. Previously on Billions...

2. I'm holding in my hand Robert Axelrod's signature

3. relinquishing his ability to trade securities.

4. He gave it up?

5. These fuckers can take away my ability to trade

6. but not my ability to see.

7. Taking on the police fund as a client was

8. one of the proudest moments of my life.

9. I knew that if I gave you my money that you wouldn't sleep

10. until you put it in all the right places.

11. Michael Panay! I know how much you lost.

12. You're not exactly trending in the right direction, either.

13. Maybe we help each other.

14. It's not the sort of thing most clients ask for,

15. especially not when they're drawing heat.

16. These are my needs.

17. Either you meet them or you can't.

18. We can get it done.

19. Sometimes a man comes into your life at just the right time, you know?

20. Absolutely.

21. I know that I have transgressed materially

22. but, more importantly, in terms of loyalty.

23. I'll never talk to you again once this conversation's over,

24. which it is.

25. So, I know you figured out what I have planned for tonight.

26. I know it's not a surprise.

27. A girl's intuition.

28. And a bit of spycraft, but...

29. Still very excited.

30. My favorite pasta on the menu.

31. Tagliatelle with Guffanti butter from Emilia Romagna.

32. If you'd like it to be even more magical,

33. I recommend white truffles,

34. $14 a gram.

35. - No, I'm good. - Yes, please.

36. I love truffles.

37. Ira, you turned me on to them.

38. No, not now.

39. Just... just for her, I guess.

40. Say when.

41. That's good.

42. - Thank you. - You're welcome.

43. 20 grams. Biggest portion of the season. Wow.

44. Sir, maybe just...

45. Uh, no, thank you.

46. Enjoy.

47. You are... you're great.

48. Uh, I don't even really understand

49. how I'm sitting across from you.

50. Some nights when you're asleep

51. and light's coming in through the window,

52. I just... I... I almost can't catch my breath

53. 'cause of how beautiful you are.

54. Even now.

55. The smoothness of your skin. Who has skin like that?

56. You are the sweetest man.

57. So, all this is why I was planning to ask you to marry me tonight.

58. But...

59. But?

60. I'm not sure it's fair to you,

61. with everything that's happened.

62. Leaving my partnership at the firm, the company going down,

63. my entire savings gone. Anyway...

64. I can't give you the wedding you deserve,

65. the honeymoon we discussed,

66. the life we planned.

67. I can't tell you to quit your job.

68. I can't even afford the ring I picked out for you.

69. Now, if knowing all this,

70. you want to go ahead...

71. No. You're right. We should wait.

72. Okay. Good.

73. Oh, my God.

74. This is delicious.

75. Now that the papers are signed,

76. the process can take as little as four months.

77. But your case is more complicated than usual.

78. Even though you've agreed to a division of assets,

79. it'll take a while before it's finalized.

80. Thank you, Orrin.

81. The marriage was broken down irretrievably.

82. That's what the document said.

83. I read it.

84. Never thought I'd be putting my signature on that statement.

85. Me, neither.

86. No one does.

87. It happens.

88. Yeah.

89. Lar?

90. The assets.

91. We need to talk about that.

92. I know you didn't have to honor what we've always said,

93. that we'd split everything 50-50.

94. You could have fought it. And won.

95. I appreciate it.

96. Well, we built it together.

97. That's not what I'm talking about.

98. The government. The case.

99. I'm looking ahead to what happens if I lose

100. and they take it all.

101. I haven't heard you even entertain that outcome.

102. Well, I'm at the point now where I have to.

103. The Feds traded out the good judge like they were

104. doing the cup-and-balls trick in clear plastic

105. and flaunting how they were fucking with me.

106. But Orrin has said that the government can

107. only claw back what they can prove is ill-gotten.

108. The prosecutors and the courts,

109. they're like the mob, worse.

110. They have methods of accounting that can taint most of it, all of it.

111. What do you mean, all of it?

112. I mean if I take into account

113. everything that's run through the banking systems,

114. everything that's on the radar,

115. all that's left that I'm sure can't be touched

116. is 300 mil,

117. maybe 320.

118. Fuck, Bobby.

119. I...

120. I can't believe I'm saying this, but that just...

121. it doesn't sound like it's enough.

122. I mean, of course it is.

123. It's just that the life that we're used to living...

124. No, it's not enough.

125. So when it's done and life starts over,

126. how long will it take to build back up from there?

127. Too fucking long.

128. So, what?

129. I have to get more they can't see,

130. much less touch,

131. and I have an idea how.

132. Center mass.

133. You never pulled your piece during your time on the job.

134. Likelihood of that happening now has got to be far less,

135. - and yet you practice. - Got to keep my cert.

136. I'm not the kind of man to let hard-earned skills falter.

137. Neither am I.

138. It's easier for me, though.

139. All I have to do is show up here, aim, and shoot.

140. You're barred from practicing what you do.

141. Well, the investing was only part of it.

142. There was also the raises.

143. I loved walking into a room, knowing there were ten guys

144. who'd been in front of me, five waiting for me to leave.

145. You know my favorite sound in the world was the one I heard

146. on the way out, when those saps in the lobby were told

147. that their meetings were canceled?

148. You can't raise, either.

149. Yeah, well, not at the moment.

150. But I can advise close friends on what they ought to do

151. with money they've been entrusted with.

152. Let me guess what those funds are.

153. Things like Ionosphere or Victor Mateo's?

154. Those are excellent choices.

155. I can't do it, Axe. I can't even think of doing it.

156. If I know that you're that close to them, others do, too.

157. My board of directors wouldn't allow that.

158. You got to know if I got my eye on the money,

159. that's the best chance it has to grow for your members.

160. You can't leave it behind.

161. I was that way, too, when I first left the job.

162. - But then... - Then what?

163. You found other interests, deeper pursuits?

164. Learned the difference between Warhol and Peter Max

165. by spending weekends at the museum?

166. I grew up in Westbeth, for fuck's sake.

167. I have always known one was shit, the other a genius.

168. But, yes, all that.

169. Life changed.

170. Did it solve anything for you?

171. Did it make the transition easier?

172. Come on, man.

173. I saw the look in your eyes when you had that gun in your hand.

174. You'll always miss it.

175. With every breath I draw. But I had to move on.

176. As do you.

177. You knew it was coming. I didn't.

178. You did your 20. You planned for it.

179. And you had something to do with your talents.

180. You went to B-school at night,

181. became a trustee of the pension fund.

182. You became a rich man for the first time in your life,

183. but these things don't last.

184. You know, you have a few down years, and you could

185. - get yourself voted out. - Axe...

186. Look, what if I could put you into a fund

187. where there was no hint of a connection to me

188. but was one I could guarantee?

189. If I could give you the 2.2 Bil to manage, I would.

190. I can't.

191. The way that people look at police these days,

192. we can't afford even the whiff of impropriety.

193. You might want to come home late tomorrow night.

194. Huh?

195. Your father.

196. I told you he wants to see the kids.

197. You did, and I told you I wasn't interested.

198. Which is why you should stay late in the office.

199. Return any and all phone calls you've been ducking.

200. I'll text when he's leaving.

201. I don't duck. I return all my calls every day.

202. Do people really do that, not return calls?

203. Avoidance usually.

204. Most people don't want to give bad news or admit they don't know the answer.

205. - What answer? - To whatever the caller wants.

206. Most people aren't the final authority, but they don't want

207. to let on someone else is making the decisions.

208. Not me.

209. No. Not you.

210. Except about whether my own father can cross my door frame.

211. He's a grandfather, too.

212. And the kids shouldn't be deprived of him.

213. - "Can I get back to you?" - What?

214. Why don't they just return or take the call and say that?

215. "Can I get back to you?"

216. They can. They don't want to.

217. Well, I do, and I want to come home when I want to come home.

218. I'm trying to keep this light.

219. I do not want an argument.

220. But there's reasons I don't want him here,

221. and I don't want him seeing you.

222. Reasons it won't do either one of us any good to go into,

223. I promise.

224. Okay.

225. I'll bring the kids to him.

226. Drop them off so they can see him, and you're clear.

227. I'll pick them up after.

228. Okay.

229. The robots have come.

230. I got in this racket a generation too late,

231. just like Tony Soprano.

232. Yep, this is how it ends.

233. Civilization?

234. Uh-huh. Just like in Tommyknockers.

235. First it makes things better for you. Then it destroys you.

236. This is how computers take over the world.

237. Tommyknockers was aliens, not computers.

238. Yeah, but I have heard about other funds

239. that bring in quants, and it doesn't sound good.

240. Once they get the algo really going...

241. They get 'em measuring everything we do,

242. get us competing against it.

243. Who can beat a fucking computer?

244. Eventually, the only human left is the guy feeding the machines.

245. No computer can get the kind of info I can

246. or know what to do with it the way I do,

247. so buck the fuck up.

248. No fear!

249. Bucking. Absolutely.

250. Fuck fear.

251. Really?

252. Nope. Scared shitless.

253. - Me, too. - Yeah. I'm totally scared.

254. Pussies.

255. I take it you've looked at the object on the table.

256. Cardboard?

257. Yes.

258. You can see the folds and the tabs.

259. Fit the pieces into a box,

260. signal when you're done, and we'll begin the interview.

261. I got her ingredients and followed her recipe and process to the letter.

262. - You think you nailed it? - You tell me.

263. Because it's fucking important that when Raul bites into this thing,

264. he is carried away on sweet reminiscences

265. of our visit to Ann's Snack Bar

266. and the Killer Mike R.A.P. Music release party.

267. Hmm.

268. Piss-poor effort, Ryan.

269. Miss Ann's spinning in her grave right now,

270. may she rest in peace.

271. It's not good?

272. Her sister told me exactly what to do...

273. Oh, no, it's good.

274. But this thing needs to transport the man.

275. If you can't fucking do it,

276. we'll fly her sister up here

277. with a vat of their original cooking oil,

278. even if we have to go down there and kidnap her ourselves.

279. Easy, fella. Ryan, keep at it.

280. This is very close.

281. What the fuck, Wags?

282. I've been thinking about your situation.

283. And I realize it could be my situation, too.

284. If this thing cascades

285. and the government takes all of your shit,

286. I'm next.

287. And then I'll be in the same boat as you are.

288. Let's be honest, if that comes to pass,

289. you'll be in a much fucking smaller boat.

290. Don't I know it.

291. It's actually really good.

292. I might have overreacted there.

293. Yeah, so, again, what the fuck?

294. The quants.

295. Ahh.

296. Since 1602,

297. when the Dutch East India Company first offered shares to the public,

298. smart, highly trained mathematicians

299. have tried, without success, to solve that market.

300. And today, Taylor begins the interviews to hire their own.

301. Our own.

302. You know how I feel about that.

303. I do.

304. Billy Beane never won a World Series.

305. This isn't baseball.

306. Then why didn't you put quants in place before?

307. Maybe I just didn't get to it.

308. Maybe I didn't feel like I needed to.

309. But Taylor might.

310. And if they want to do it, it's your job to help them.

311. Fine.

312. Damn.

313. Apologize to Chef Ryan on your way out.

314. Sorry to keep calling,

315. but you know I need to speak to all the major shareholders,

316. understand how and when the company got on Axelrod's radar.

317. Oh, I love talking about this.

318. What else is on your pad?

319. Shall we, uh, relive my divorce and the day the music died?

320. I want to put Axelrod away.

321. I imagine you want the same thing.

322. I want this done and out of my life.

323. His conviction sets up my civil suit,

324. so let's just cut to the...

325. What happens after this?

326. You go over what I said with your boss,

327. decide if you want to interview me again.

328. I don't want to drag this out, and I don't want to get all invested.

329. I've seen Axelrod wriggle free plenty of times.

330. - I'm gonna stop that. - We'll see.

331. Let's just do this with your boss.

332. Okay? You, me, and Dake.

333. I'll come down to your place tomorrow or the next day.

334. One time, with feeling.

335. You know, back before Texas was civilized,

336. if you were a Ranger

337. and one of your compatriots fell at the hands of a rustler,

338. you'd bring that rustler in dead if you brought him in at all.

339. Might just make use of some rope and a tree.

340. Sure.

341. And people used to shit outdoors in the middle of the night

342. so as not to stink up the house.

343. And then we found a better way.

344. I'm not so sure they did.

345. That walk to the outhouse in the freezing cold

346. made a man nut up... literally.

347. But we ain't talking about squatting in the dark here, Chuck.

348. Nossir.

349. It's probably that rustler stuff

350. that made you ask me to cancel my morning and come here.

351. That it is.

352. José Lugo. Convicted felon.

353. Killed a federal prison guard when his back was turned.

354. Makes it a federal matter. Our matter.

355. Sounds like it might.

356. Might is a New Yorker's word.

357. I don't want to hear it.

358. It's a lawyer's word, sir.

359. I'll need to examine the facts.

360. Don't condescend to me, Chuck.

361. We went to the same kind of college,

362. same damn law school, clerked in the same offices,

363. read the same books on ethical justice by guys like Rawls and Dworkin.

364. "The suppression of liberty is likely to always be irrational."

365. I even bought in to that crap for a while.

366. But a man has to grow into who he is,

367. and who the fuck I am

368. is a man that's not gonna allow a prisoner to shank a guard.

369. And neither are you.

370. I'll make sure my office looks into it.

371. Believe it has.

372. Believe it's dragged its feet in prosecuting.

373. Believe that ends now.

374. Are you picking my cases for me, General?

375. Oh, I would never do that.

376. I'm merely giving you continued guidance

377. on the types of matters we are interested

378. in seeing brought to justice under the current regime.

379. I never liked the idea of a regime in power

380. in this country.

381. But you did drop all the cases that didn't fit the agenda.

382. I did.

383. So now you're free to go after the ones that do.

384. Thanks for stopping by this morning.

385. Can I look forward to seeing you again soon, General?

386. I love all my children the same, Chuck.

387. But the Sovereign District of New York is the first among equals.

388. Something I learned clerking

389. for the kind of New York judge you revere so much is,

390. you don't let your firstborn fuck up his Haftarah portion.

391. I looked in on your candidate.

392. I know what he's supposed to be doing with that box.

393. He's not doing it.

394. Maybe we move to the verbal portion.

395. Maybe we just cancel at this point.

396. - Why would I do that? - Because you've studied

397. the Flash Crash of 2010, and you know that "quant"

398. is just another word for "wild fucking guess... with math."

399. "Quant" is another word for "systemized, ordered thinking

400. represented in an algorithmic approach to trading."

401. Just remember:

402. Billy Beane never won a World Series.

403. If I had a few more minutes...

404. Forget it. Tell me why you're here.

405. I combine the human edge with the quant edge.

406. My system mimics human peak performance.

407. Go on.

408. It's a decision pattern algo me and my team are developing.

409. It'll be able to examine data sets

410. and mirror your own trade logic in its executions.

411. At Axe Capital, we support people from all cultures,

412. but when you talk to me, it better be in fucking English.

413. I can model Taylor's trading patterns.

414. Reproduce them.

415. At ten times the speed.

416. My trading patterns are imperfect.

417. They're pretty fucking good.

418. Yes, but I don't want a pretty fucking good algo.

419. - That's what I've been saying. - No, but I start from there.

420. The way that you would imitate Taylor's brain

421. - is by studying it, right? - Yes, modeling, as I said.

422. He wants to steal your fucking brainwaves,

423. like a witch doctor.

424. You see that, right?

425. Yes, actually, I do.

426. I don't need something that thinks like me.

427. I need something that thinks better.

428. Thanks for coming.

429. Our master came calling again with a new assignment.

430. José Lugo.

431. That sound familiar?

432. It does. It's an inmate who killed a guard.

433. Mm-hmm.

434. Uh, it was Connerty's case, but he did not pursue charges.

435. We may not have that luxurious option.

436. Find out why.

437. On it.

438. Go for the Recession Special,

439. even though the recession's over.

440. You know what? I'm not even sure which recession they're referring to.

441. They all end, though.

442. Yours can, too.

443. And two dogs and a drink at that price is a hell of a deal.

444. You done?

445. 'Cause I'm just getting ready to go.

446. Civil suit. Reimbursement and damages.

447. I help EDNY hang a guilty verdict on you,

448. and my case is the Dream Team versus Cuba.

449. Even if you slither out of the criminal courts,

450. I hammer you like the Goldmans did O.J.

451. Ira, if that felon found a way not to pay a penny,

452. what do you think I'm gonna do?

453. Besides, can you really afford to wait that long?

454. Better question,

455. will that beautiful and sweet fiancée of yours?

456. Oh, you're following me, you sick motherfucker?

457. What do you want?

458. Uh, two Recessions, and what juice are you having?

459. Oh, too soon?

460. Couple Cokes.

461. Bobby, I'm not some sucker

462. who's just gonna play along with whatever game you got running.

463. I'm taking you to court, guns up.

464. I'm gonna win a fat judgment,

465. and then, because I got nothing else, thanks to you,

466. I'm gonna make it my sole purpose in life

467. to stick to you like Lester Hayes

468. until you've paid it willingly just to get me to go away.

469. So you take your hot dogs and shove 'em up your ass,

470. lengthwise.

471. That's not very open-minded of you, Ira.

472. You should be more open-minded!

473. I'm not in a full panic.

474. When I get a full panic going, I, well...

475. You can say it, whatever it is, in here.

476. I... There's things I'd say to other people

477. without a second's thought,

478. but you listen so closely.

479. That's my job.

480. But it's like you see inside the best parts of me,

481. and it makes me want to be better.

482. what happens when you panic?

483. Butt sweat.

484. And now?

485. Yeah, a little. The whole idea that we could all be replaced?

486. If that didn't make your butt sweat, you wouldn't be human.

487. Not your butt. I would never even think about your butt.

488. It's not like I stare at it when you walk by.

489. I barely know you have one.

490. Jesus.

491. This quant thing has me all fucked up.

492. - You think I'm gross now. - No, I don't. I think you're...

493. I don't think I can take this.

494. My mother begged me to code at Stanford,

495. but I went for Applied Mathematics,

496. which seemed, you know, smarter then, but now not only

497. is she going to be proven right, but I'm going to be replaced

498. by people who listened to their mothers

499. - and learned to code. - Okay.

500. You, we, are not being replaced.

501. Will there be augmentation of some kind? Yes.

502. Will it ask you, us, to raise our game? Yes.

503. But we have to want that for this place, don't we?

504. - No. - No.

505. Go.

506. Express your fears to Taylor.

507. Let them tell you, Mafee.

508. Although it's lovely to see you, Bryan,

509. there was no need to come in from your Rumspringa.

510. Much as I dig getting my Amish on with Dake,

511. I did have to come. José Lugo.

512. You can't prosecute this one, Chuck.

513. I went full Gil Grissom on this case,

514. and there was no way to charge the kid with murder.

515. Body of a prison guard would indicate otherwise.

516. Lugo was being held awaiting charges on a drug offense.

517. Not the end of the world.

518. He couldn't make bail,

519. so they stuck him at MCC for two months.

520. Day one, this guard started in on Lugo, and he went beast.

521. The kid ended up in the infirmary a dozen times.

522. Orbital ridge fracture, teeth, internal bleeding,

523. splintered wood in the rectum, name it.

524. You just did.

525. I've archived 25 prisoner statements backing it all up.

526. And what about the other guards?

527. They refused to go on record.

528. But that in itself tells the whole story,

529. which is this:

530. José Lugo

531. is the kind of person we are here to protect.

532. I'm asking you: please don't.

533. Don't do this.

534. Don't prosecute the case.

535. Didn't take much legwork

536. to put Mr. Slayton as one of your sports-betting clients

537. who did his part at your behest.

538. Who were you working for?

539. We don't take orders. We give 'em.

540. I see. So, the full weight of these felonies

541. should be earmarked for you two?

542. - And who are you now, sugar pop? - I'm the one

543. that's about to pistol-whip you.

544. Guys, you know how it works. Name the power behind you.

545. He's the guy that deserves to be sitting here, not you.

546. We have no idea who you're referring to.

547. Who's paying for him?

548. - I'm guessing it's the same guy. - You can't ask that.

549. You don't think we can afford a good lawyer?

550. We own a nightclub.

551. Nightclub? Your pisshole?

552. We just got one of those digital jukeboxes.

553. Give me Axelrod, the rest goes away.

554. Anything else, I drop this whole thing on you.

555. You become the masterminds at the head of a conspiracy

556. seeking to sabotage and manipulate companies

557. and financial markets.

558. We're masterminds.

559. Masterminds is good. I like masterminds.

560. Put us down for masterminds.

561. Gentlemen, I suggest we have a private conversation.

562. You know, that's a good idea, boys. Go talk amongst yourselves.

563. You Inwood types never could learn to shut your mouths.

564. Sorry?

565. Oh, we used to drove over from Fordham and roll your kind

566. just 'cause it was easy pickings.

567. That's funny. We used to ride over to the Bronx

568. and beat the shit out of Fordham fruits for morning exercise.

569. Can't believe we missed you.

570. Must have been hiding in the corner.

571. I'm gonna ask that this conversation stop.

572. Why don't you stop? Let the men finish talking.

573. Are you two sawed-off pricks including yourselves

574. in that category?

575. You don't have shit on us but some dink's word.

576. You had more than that, this wouldn't be a conversation.

577. So if you got the sack, make your move.

578. Otherwise, we got kegs to change.

579. Next time I see you boys, I'll watch 'em slap the cuffs on.

580. Then I guess we won't be seeing each other.

581. I used to love visiting museums when I was a young man,

582. back before I could afford the paintings.

583. Now I'd rather look at 'em on my walls.

584. I'm selling all my shit.

585. You were right at the car auction.

586. I am barely hanging on.

587. Redemptions are starting to hit in a big way.

588. It doesn't matter anyway.

589. I never knew what was any good about my collection.

590. I just bought what the art advisor told me to.

591. That's one way to go.

592. I can't imagine what I sound like.

593. You sound like a guy who's had a rough couple of years.

594. Happens to everyone.

595. I'll have to shutter soon.

596. What are you walking with?

597. 40.

598. I guess I can live on that.

599. Can you?

600. Got the city apartment,

601. the Hamptons place, Beaver Creek.

602. The debt service and running the properties is ten a year.

603. You'll have to start your new family office.

604. There's a lease, an analyst or two,

605. an assistant, an accountant.

606. You got private school,

607. your daughter's horse, you got charity.

608. You can't dip below two a year on that,

609. or you lose your board seats and your wife loses all her friends.

610. You can forget flying wheels up from now on.

611. You're sucking it up in commercial.

612. You'll hold on to your driver until it kills you, but...

613. soon, he'll be gone, too.

614. Fuck! I'm broke.

615. What would you give to get it back?

616. Your status, all your money, the whole thing.

617. Anything.

618. My leg. My spleen. An inch off my dick.

619. Well, then this is the best day of your new life,

620. 'cause I got a line on an orphaned two billion

621. looking for a home,

622. and I can get you in the room to pitch for it.

623. All you have to do is say yes.

624. Got a minute?

625. Roughly two minutes.

626. The quants, why?

627. Why now? What if we didn't?

628. What if we kept things the same?

629. Think of the Pulaski Academy Bruins, Mafee.

630. You read me?

631. The high school football team that never punts?

632. Right. They were pretty solid before,

633. so why'd they do that?

634. Because the coach deduced that, statistically,

635. they'd be better off using all four downs on offense

636. and not giving the ball back.

637. Yes. And because the coach wanted championships.

638. - So it's about edge. - Always.

639. ETFs. They sucked the dumb money out of the market.

640. Trillions have poured into them.

641. That was our edge, and our edge is gone.

642. When I look around now,

643. it's only other killers like us staring back.

644. But there are a bunch of quants already out there on the market,

645. already working that edge.

646. That's why ours has to be better.

647. Okay. Okay.

648. Look, people down on the floor thought this was about

649. wholesale firing and replacement.

650. So I see the wisdom in adding.

651. But otherwise, are we good?

652. I don't know. Are we? Are you?

653. Are you running all four downs, playing every play like it's your last?

654. Is your mouth guard always in, chin strap always buckled?

655. If that's you, we're good.

656. Please describe the nature of your approach to the market

657. and how your algorithms serve that end.

658. Boring.

659. What the fuck kind of way is that to kick off an interview?

660. I'm rejecting the premise or flipping the script.

661. I should interview you.

662. For what, the school newspaper?

663. Yassss, Queen. Good one, but no.

664. I've got offers from half the funds on the Street

665. and several tech firms out West,

666. and they pay guarantees, not bonuses.

667. Now, don't get me wrong. I've heard about Taylor Mason.

668. Love to see if you live up to the hype, but I've got options.

669. So, let me put this in your language:

670. What's in it for moi?

671. You Patrick Bateman/Bud Fox hybrid wannabe.

672. He was doing Spader in Wall Street.

673. But I don't care about his insulting tone.

674. I only care about his ability

675. to think clearly and rationally under pressure.

676. You're not thinking of hiring him?

677. She's no fool.

678. No.

679. But, sadly, though you may have a genius-level I.Q.,

680. you have no control over your emotional state.

681. That's why you're lashing out in here,

682. defensive, allowing your rage at yourself

683. to manifest in boorish, childish behavior.

684. He couldn't figure out the box, so he did that to it.

685. Then he let the rest of his bullshit cloud his thinking.

686. He has no idea why he had to resort to brute force,

687. so he doesn't get to work here.

688. Take your feet off the table

689. and get the fuck out of our office.

690. So, are we done with this now?

691. No.

692. Let me remind you. August 2007.

693. The Dow crashed 400 points because of a coding error.

694. That was more than ten years ago, which,

695. even with the breakdown in Moore's Law, is more like 100.

696. Feels like yesterday to me.

697. We need to be thinking about tomorrow. So we keep going.

698. Warden, I need you to say that if the guard were alive,

699. you'd fire him for abuse

700. and that the kid is innocent.

701. My hands are clean, my conscience clean enough.

702. I'm not gonna take you off the hook

703. and hang myself there instead.

704. Well, I didn't devote my life to the law to prosecute innocent men.

705. Nor I to oversee their incarceration,

706. but once they send them to me...

707. Yep, you do your level best.

708. Currently, there are 400 cases filed against you by inmates,

709. which could suggest your level best isn't very good.

710. Almost all of them pro forma.

711. Their beds are too hard. Their food sucks.

712. I get it.

713. The cases are filed against you in your official capacity as warden

714. and, therefore, defended by me

715. in my official capacity as U.S. Attorney.

716. And you're gonna throw them if I don't play ball?

717. I wouldn't even know how to throw a case,

718. how to lose on purpose.

719. Normally, I would knock these nuisances away

720. like a windshield wiper during a light rain.

721. But what if I just... slowed down...

722. let 'em build up...

723. cloud your field of vision,

724. the drops becoming a deluge.

725. But if I say the kid was tortured and it was the guard's fault...

726. Then I fight those cases off as if they were against me personally.

727. - You can't think I'd testify. - No.

728. No. There's a young journalist I know.

729. He'll take your testimony.

730. Stalwart, ambitious fellow branching out from finance

731. into what we might call national news.

732. He can protect your name

733. if you give him enough corroboration to make his story undeniable.

734. Thank you, Warden.

735. Happy to do the right thing.

736. How'd you know not to bet me?

737. Win, lose 100, who gives a shit?

738. You have more money than god.

739. I didn't get it by wagering against Willie Mosconi.

740. You were gonna sandbag me.

741. Let me win a few games,

742. then double the bet, then run me down.

743. I didn't even bring my own cue.

744. If you had, maybe I'd have gone for it,

745. counting on that special vanity that a man with a custom cue has.

746. Once you started chalking up, no chance.

747. Oh.

748. Thanks, Chef Ryan.

749. Mm.

750. Last time I had a burger this good...

751. Remember that time down in Atlanta, with Killer Mike?

752. That was right before I gave Axe Capital that extra half-billion from my fund.

753. Good anchoring technique.

754. No.

755. But no matter how tasty, I'm not sure

756. I can give the same treatment to Michael Panay.

757. There is no linkage to me, so that solves the first problem.

758. But he will listen to me and invest exactly as I instruct,

759. so that solves problem two.

760. Yeah, but he's on a bad run, Axe. He's bleeding out.

761. But you got a surgeon stepping in.

762. I know that, but my board can't.

763. I got to hard-sell this guy to them.

764. Well, get Panay to convince them.

765. Get him in front of that board.

766. You sure? It's hard to defend numbers like his.

767. He's presentable.

768. Let's get him in here and see. Panay!

769. Looks like I'm not the only sandbagger in here.

770. Mike,

771. this is Raul.

772. - He's gonna take you in. - Not unless you can tell me

773. why you ran your fund into the ground.

774. They'll expect some answers.

775. He'll have answers.

776. Just show strength and pitch them your best three ideas,

777. which I'll give you.

778. And if anybody steps in your face...

779. Kick 'em in the cock.

780. Okay.

781. I'll wear sharp shoes.

782. All right.

783. I'll let you know when we've booked a meeting.

784. So?

785. I might be able to sell him.

786. But why would I?

787. I must be out of my fucking mind.

788. Oh, I disagree.

789. I think you're showing some real nuance in your thinking,

790. which is what is required since you have suffered

791. at the hands of some very devious opponents

792. in Rhoades and his father.

793. Yeah, well, I'm here for some goddamned reason,

794. so, uh, what is it you want to propose?

795. That I acquire your virtually worthless shares in Ice Juice

796. for considerably over market.

797. 30 million dollars.

798. A firm called Ionosphere would paper the transaction.

799. In return, you forgo your civil suit

800. and refuse to testify against me.

801. You'll give my people a statement laying out how Rhoades did what he did.

802. Your best friend sold you down the river for nothing.

803. He's not worth saving.

804. I'm willing to pay you 30 million to tell the truth.

805. It's just a transaction to you, this whole thing?

806. Numbers move from here to there,

807. and emotions are smoothed out,

808. like ice under a Zamboni.

809. No, I understand what's fair.

810. And I know how to make a deal.

811. So, take your life back.

812. Gary?

813. While you're at it, go ahead and pick one.

814. On my tab.

815. Why should she have to suffer?

816. How does it work? What am I missing?

817. We'll get back to that.

818. Résumé says you were at NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

819. 20 years. The most rewarding job a data scientist could ask for.

820. And now finance. Why?

821. The stock market is representation of the psychology of the entire world

822. at any given moment.

823. Data is an exact thumbprint of that moment.

824. I get to know what the world is thinking and feeling

825. and what it will do next.

826. What a refreshing, excellent answer.

827. Yes.

828. Would you be willing to let me test it

829. so I can observe it under market conditions?

830. Of course. I'll give you access for the day,

831. and you'll be able to see how it works.

832. It doesn't fit together, right?

833. You're testing the ability to realize that,

834. the confidence to admit it?

835. Outstanding.

836. Connerty called.

837. He saw the article.

838. A lot of people have seen it.

839. They found a good photo of the kid.

840. Looks innocent, no?

841. Handsome, for sure.

842. Even better.

843. Can't make us proceed now.

844. If you had been forced to prosecute,

845. could you have?

846. Honestly, I don't know that I have it in me.

847. Glad we won't have to find out.

848. Well, now that we're all here...

849. As you both know, I had a large ownership stake in Ice Juice.

850. It was to be worth a great deal at one point.

851. Turned out to be worth substantially less.

852. Thanks to Axelrod's involvement.

853. Uh, I can't and won't speak to the actions of Bobby Axelrod.

854. - What? - Hold on.

855. 'Cause I don't actually know what he did.

856. But I sure as hell will testify about what Chuck Rhoades did.

857. Which is?

858. Purposefully induce sabotage against my company,

859. use his status and position to lure Bobby Axelrod to do it.

860. And I will confirm, on the record,

861. that Charles Rhoades Sr. was steering his own money

862. and that Chuck's money was directly involved...

863. Stop.

864. Mr. Schirmer, you need to speak with counsel

865. before going any further.

866. We all need to hold and contemplate the risks

867. these allegations pose to our case.

868. Dake! Oliver. We need to hear him out.

869. This meeting is over.

870. Yeah, I sort of figured.

871. Why'd you let him go?

872. We need to know what he had to say.

873. He said Chuck induced the sabotage.

874. We need to know what that means! Why the fuck...

875. 'Cause I know how to do my job, and the job is Axelrod.

876. If Chuck is part of it,

877. it's prosecutorial misconduct, at a minimum.

878. Is it?

879. At this moment, we don't know,

880. And we don't want to know. Because if you keep asking,

881. you run the risk of a Brady disclosure.

882. The more he says about whatever story he's put together,

883. the more likely we'll be obligated to inform the defense of our findings.

884. And what do you think they will do with that,

885. other than blow up everything that we have?

886. We are in the right and wrong game, and this is...

887. Today we're in the "take the win and move on" game.

888. Is that what being a boss does to you?

889. Like when Sonny Black gets upped in Brasco?

890. I was brought to Eastern for one specific task:

891. to convict Bobby Axelrod.

892. You were brought to Eastern for the same task

893. by the very person that you are now trying to jam up,

894. a man who was a mentor to you.

895. That's disloyal, and I don't cotton to that.

896. So if you can't do it,

897. I'll find someone who can.

898. That's all.

899. I told you I'd see 'em slip the cuffs on.

900. No one here but you and me.

901. I guess this is your chance, bitch.

902. Ugh!

903. Hey! Johnny, you all right?

904. Let's go, douchebags! We got warrants.

905. Hook 'em both up. Parole violations.

906. - Come on, asshole. - What the fuck?

907. This guy just assaulted my brother.

908. - We didn't see nothing. - Of course you didn't.

909. - Come on. Let's go. - Ah, you suckered me.

910. Nah, you were born that way.

911. All right. Get in. Watch your head.

912. I'm glad you stayed.

913. I don't remember having had a choice.

914. You can take these with you when you go.

915. What are they?

916. Chuck's.

917. I've been cleaning out a walk-in closet to have a humidor built.

918. Memorabilia for all his achievements from growing up.

919. Seemed very important to him back then.

920. To him, not you?

921. Why would I ever give a shit

922. about his third-place squash trophy from prep school?

923. If he'd won, maybe I'd put it on the mantel.

924. Charles...

925. I can see what all this is doing to you.

926. Why don't you reach out, talk to him?

927. What if I seeded the ground?

928. Ensured you wouldn't be rebuffed?

929. I'm the aggrieved party here.

930. If there's any reaching out to be done,

931. it should be from the other side.

932. You don't know what your husband did.

933. You mean use your money

934. to bait Axe into committing a federal crime

935. and wipe out his own trust in the process?

936. He told you.

937. Your son is the man you made him.

938. Whatever greatness and whatever darkness is in him came from you.

939. Clear this shit out of here.

940. I'm sorry. It'll have to wait.

941. I drove the Maserati tonight. It won't fit.

942. Come on, kids.

943. Okay. Let's talk deal.

944. It's been a pleasure, but this isn't going to work out.

945. But the algo performed beautifully.

946. Yeah, his algo performed beautifully.

947. You know I'm no fan, but even I can see...

948. I could go into specifics,

949. but it's just not what we're looking for.

950. The NDAs have all been signed,

951. and your model expired at the close today, so...

952. I wish you well.

953. I spotted the back door he put in,

954. the one that would allow us to support our plays retroactively

955. with legit-seeming data.

956. Really?

957. And I know that you somehow organized it.

958. Is that how desperate you are to avoid quants?

959. That you try to rig it to blunt them

960. and try to float it past me without telling me?

961. Of course not. I...

962. All right, how'd you know?

963. Your body language, the softball questions,

964. the register of your voice.

965. But the only thing I can't figure out is why.

966. Do you know how Axe and I met,

967. what the source of my loyalty to that man is?

968. I don't.

969. Well, I was at Lehman the last time a bunch of brilliant kids

970. thought that they had solved the fucking secrets of the market.

971. It almost cost me everything that I had built

972. over my entire career.

973. The rest of us, we were at their mercy

974. because we didn't understand what they were doing,

975. so we couldn't question it.

976. It was a chance meeting with Axe at a golf outing

977. wherein he read my tarot cards for me,

978. told me what was gonna happen.

979. I was able to sell at 50.

980. If I had waited a few more months,

981. it would have been at two.

982. Axe's warning allowed me to save my ass before it was too late.

983. I do not want to be in that position

984. ever again.

985. I see.

986. Even though your former company was levered 31 times

987. and there were countless other factors at play,

988. I get how traumatic that was.

989. So you're not gonna hire a quant?

990. I am not going to hire a quant.

991. That's become clear to me.

992. And you're correct.

993. Billy Beane never won a World Series.

994. But Theo Epstein did, using all the same strategies

995. Billy came up with first, and we will, too.

996. I accept I can't go outside to find what we need,

997. so we're going to build our own.

998. I'm going to oversee it.

999. He did it.

1000. He damn near actually kicked the guy in the cock.

1001. Only it was a woman board member.

1002. They ate him up.

1003. I'm just so happy for the both of you it worked out.

1004. Axe, I am just so grateful.

1005. You gave me back my world.

1006. Hey, hey!

1007. - Hey, Dad. - Hey.

1008. How are you, sweetheart? Good to see you.

1009. How you doing, brother? You good?

1010. Mwah. Good to see you.

1011. Well...

1012. I got dragged in.

1013. How was it?

1014. Fine, after your father got done browbeating Kevin

1015. over his handshake.

1016. He could probably use it.

1017. Right, because the tensile strength of his grip alone

1018. will dictate his outcome in life.

1019. You'd be surprised.

1020. Listen, he's doing his best to hide it,

1021. but your father is...

1022. wrecked by what's happened between you two.

1023. He gave as good as he got, believe me.

1024. Maybe.

1025. But men of his age,

1026. the big blows have an actual effect on their health.

1027. Yeah, in Somerset Maugham stories.

1028. He's an ox.

1029. He'll likely see me into the ground.

1030. Chuck, I might be persuaded to let it go if you were sleeping through the night.

1031. But you are basically the undead wandering the house until morning,

1032. so some resolution would help you, too.

1033. If he came brokering peace, I'd hear him out.

1034. What, you want me to initiate, for Christ's sake? Come on.

1035. Yes, General?

1036. You scheduled a press conference for tomorrow?

1037. Not yet, but wise idea.

1038. Yes, given the wave of outrage at MCC

1039. and sympathy for the young man, I think it makes sense

1040. to tell them that we will not be prosecuting.

1041. Yes. Tonight José Lugo

1042. is quite the cause célèbre.

1043. But we are most certainly prosecuting.

1044. I read different websites than you do, watch different shows.

1045. The more your New York Times is blaring about Lugo's mistreatment,

1046. the more Breitbart is inflamed about a dead prison guard.

1047. This case has national attention now, so attention must be paid.

1048. You savvy what I'm saying to you, Chuck?

1049. You, uh, want to proceed with the prosecution?

1050. I don't know how cooperative the witnesses at MCC will be.

1051. Reading between the lines of that story,

1052. I think the warden...

1053. Warden's been fired.

1054. But you got a good point.

1055. You got some leaks up there,

1056. either in your shop, the prison's.

1057. I'll plug 'em.

1058. Yeah, well, you'll do more than that.

1059. Where I come from,

1060. the dogs don't stop yapping,

1061. you don't just muzzle 'em.

1062. You hit 'em with a shock collar until they quiet up nice.

1063. What is it?

1064. The attorney general is ordering me to prosecute an innocent man,

1065. and I don't think I can stop it from happening.

1066. I have yet to meet the man you can't outmaneuver.

1067. Find your angle.

1068. Is that blood?

1069. Not mine.

1070. I-I hit someone tonight, hard.

1071. Self-defense, or...

1072. That law book you're reading would call it assault.

1073. Battery, too.

1074. With intent to harm?

1075. With intent to try and make myself feel like I was actually doing something.

1076. Did it work?

1077. Nothing is. Move over.

1078. They're in this.

1079. I can't look away from it anymore.

1080. Are you trying to show me something by working this late?

1081. No. By this.

1082. Effort's never been my problem.

1083. No, you're an effort guy.

1084. That's why I keep you around.

1085. No matter who else I bring in here.

1086. Great. Have a good night.

1087. Thanks for hanging in.

1088. What's up?

1089. Didn't work. We got to do Lugo.

1090. We announce tomorrow, so file first thing.

1091. You serious?

1092. Mm-hmm, as heart attacks and cancer and all those serious things.

1093. Proposed strategy?

1094. Play racial animus.

1095. Associate Lugo with the violence of his neighborhood.

1096. Imply unofficial gang affiliation

1097. through any friends or acquaintances with records or old charges.

1098. Tie this death to recent police violence,

1099. like it was payback.

1100. Hammer the most convenient version of the facts.

1101. Lugo, while awaiting charges for drug possession,

1102. had a confrontation with a man

1103. hired to protect the public from criminals,

1104. and that man is now dead.

1105. I guess you do have it in you.

1106. Is this how it's going to be now?

1107. Yes, it is.

1108. And no.

1109. You know all those cases we dropped for the A.G.?

1110. - Yeah. - Tomorrow morning,

1111. I want you to start working that Ponzi scheme case

1112. - that hurt all those teachers. - LeRoy?

1113. Yes, in earnest and off the radar.

1114. Start building it out. We'll figure out who to give it to.

1115. And go to your FBI agent

1116. and start adding others that fit the bill.

1117. This space is now assigned to you.

1118. Officially, it is where you will review office priorities.

1119. Unofficially, it will be our war room.

1120. Where we, the Maquisards, will mount the resistance.

1121. We will not let this son of a bitch define justice for the SDNY.

1122. Who are you?

1123. Hey!

1124. Hey, stop!

1125. Hi, Mike.

1126. Good job winning the board over.

1127. Axe?

1128. I am here to set the terms.

1129. I thought.

1130. Well, of course you did.

1131. But. You will move assets how and when I tell you.

1132. Your 2 and 20 is now 1 and 10.

1133. The rest will be converted into cryptocurrency

1134. and paid to me.

1135. You will sign documents

1136. testifying to your full and willing participation

1137. in all of this right now.

1138. Those documents will disappear from sight,

1139. but they'll always exist.

1140. The gentlemen here will help you handle the details.

1141. You have been brought back to life,

1142. as promised.

1143. But it's not free.

1144. You can refuse right now, right here,

1145. but then everything will go away.

1146. Are you in?

1147. Are you in?

1148. Good.

1149. Then all is as it should be in the world.

1150. You are now officially but unofficially

1151. the proud owner of half of my half of Panay's fund,

1152. paid in crypto, of course.

1153. - synced and corrected by sot26 - www.addic7ed.com