Previously on Billions.
Welcome home, Bobby.
I think there's a mutiny in the works.
Let's go to the videotape. We record everything.
I guess it's always important to keep a close eye
when your people are really your kidnap victims.
No, Axe, not a close eye.
A thousand eyes and ears,
and the software to make sense of it all.
There is an order to things.
Learn of a crime, investigate, confirm, announce.
And I assure you, we will find crimes.
Fruit of a poison tree called Michael Prince.
This is a drive that cannot be copied.
It contains a cataloguing
of moves I have made,
extralegal and plain illegal.
Would get me disbarred and jailed
if it were to come out.
You got a way to separate his cash
from all the people who work there for him
before you A-bomb his shit?
-There is no way. -Like it, don't love it.
What we need specifically is for you to reset
the parameters on the risk algo.
We have a time frame. It's right fucking now.
Bobby, you need to reach Dunlop.
Offer her whatever you can.
Make sure she doesn't do the wrong thing.
Axe, you're impressive, but this is something
I've worked my whole life for.
Then don't barter that dream
to a guy so transactional
he'll sell VP for your support.
I've made my decision
to not only throw my support
behind our next president, Mike Prince,
but to become his partner, his vice president,
for the good of our country and the whole world.
You're on the briefings, Mike.
-We're going to Camp David. -Boom.
Cardamom bun.
Fuck, Ryan.
That's good.
My take on La Cabra's,
which is really their take on one I ate
at Juno the Bakery in Copenhagen.
Thanks for sending me on that trip, Axe,
and for bringing me back on board.
Worth it.
Those buns are no joke.
Thanks, Chef Ryan.
So...game day, huh?
Ryan! Bring Sacker a bun! She needs to be fortified!
-And a coffee, please. -Coffee!
I love that you're ditching your race for Congress.
I am?
As much as we need you there, we need you here.
Besides, not enough hand sanitizer in the world
to make me do that job.
You should go long Purell. I'm not ditching a thing.
But you're still here?
My filing deadline's months away.
But Prince's campaign's days away
from becoming a black hole.
Everything in its vicinity, sucked right in.
You'll just be part of the fabric of the thing,
unable to assert yourself as anything other than
Prince's fill-in-the-blank.
All because he's about to throw down a gauntlet?
More of a grenade,
at the parties you'll need to nominate you.
So I establish a little distance when I leave, is all.
With your family dough?
With the whitest collar background
of anyone at the firm?
Ask Chang and Eng.
Not a lot of distance when you're joined at the hip.
What the fuck are you doing here?
Sacker called to meet. Not you too?
Yep. She called me to meet.
Shit.
Oh, this isn't good.
My favorite burger in the city.
But now I have lost my appetite.
Yeah, this isn't good at all. She's onto us. Has to be.
This is fucked that I have to do this.
Speak it aloud.
-I'm onto you. -No way.
I'm pretty sure I know what you three have been up to.
Or, more accurately, that you're up to something.
That bullshit on the elevator a few hours ago
was the final tip-off, Wags.
The why matters more than the what, Kate.
I came here because I respect you all.
But I work for Prince.
He took the shot on me.
So you have about one minute to convince me of that "why"
before I turn your asses in.
Give me three.
You hear anything unusual on your side?
Total focus on security and safety
and surveillance and protection: the new norm.
Philip is the only one able to make decisions,
so it's quiet.
Quiet is good.
We're here to set the terms for the performance reviews.
Should we wait until Philip is here before we start?
He's not coming.
We could have talked at the office.
But apparently you've stopped showing up
and taken to day drinking.
Yeah, the office is not a place I can be right now.
No?
I can't live with it.
Mike Prince rising off the rubble of Marc Ruloff.
Professor Ruloff didn't deserve that.
And yes, sure,
I know the old man Eastwood quote that guys in the industry
love to say when they screw the other party on a deal:
"Deserve's got nothing to do with it."
And I don't want to keep making money for someone
who buys into all that.
But I don't know what to do about it.
I do.
I know exactly what you can do about it,
something that needs to be done
because he won't stop just ruining businesses
and lone men like your favorite professor. And...
I know you know this on a deep, subconscious level.
But first, we're gonna have to play out a scene
back at my office.
Prince should be at Camp David soon.
Once he gets there, he may have to wait a while,
'cause the president waits for no one.
Your man is rolling in.
I'll let you know when he's done.
Thanks, Hall.
He's nine minutes out.
That should give us between 90 minutes and two hours.
Chuck, I guess you should go stop those leaks.
-Indeed, sir. -If I had a cue, that's it.
Better get over there.
Yep. Time to open up the side door.
I'll get to it.
Morning, sir.
I have Candidate Prince for a meeting with the president.
Also attending, Scooter Dunbar. And I'm Bradford Luke.
Yes, sir, I have you.
I'll need all your IDs and phones.
All clear.
We are about to embark on something
that we cannot afford to have confirmed
by sources in this office before we're sure.
And so I will be noting each and every one of you here.
And if it does leak,
I will assume it came from one, two, three of you,
and all will go down.
What US Attorney Rhoades is doing here
is giving you an opportunity to let us know
- before that happens. - In many organizations
such as ours in other countries,
they have whole mini organizations
designed to spot this kind of betrayal and punish it.
Do I have a similar, tight-knit operation going?
I'd tell you, but then I'd be leaking.
We have a source who has shared information
that six of the largest U.S. natural gas companies
have been colluding with and price fixing alongside of
Russia, China, and Iran.
We are prioritizing this investigation,
and because it threatens
the country's entire energy infrastructure,
we shall do so with stealth and rigor.
I know we've had our differences of late
on how this office should function,
but I think you'll agree that finding out
if there's been malfeasance by the energy sector
and these companies is exactly what we're here for.
And if you will take it on,
I promise you, we will act on what you learn.
Okay.
I'm on it.
My part is done.
The algo will now zig when it used to zag.
So, if all the rest goes according to plan--
Yeah, that's the if.
You know, when all this is over,
I want you back with me, running things.
It always feels like this between us at first
because of the mind-meld thing.
But then something happens.
I think it'd be different now.
I'm different. You are.
We have a concrete goal in mind for you,
so there'd be a defined exit.
Then you could go do all the positive things
that you're destined for.
Won't be forever.
But I think it'd be very, very good for everyone.
You and me, together again, kid.
I'll give it real consideration.
You do that.
The president's been looking forward to this, Mr. Prince.
We should be up at the cabin in a few minutes.
Sounds good.
All capital's now deployed.
Thank God we're off the sidelines.
Not that we can make shit in this low-margin stuff.
Hey, it's what the algo dictated,
it's what we got.
Chill and scroll Variant News
for ideas or something.
Something is amiss at the Circle K.
As in, there is cash in a long-dormant account.
A lot of cash.
All funds are invested. What account?
Unclear.
Must be some reserve the algo dictated
be held back for optimum timing.
And Mike and Scooter mentioned something about it.
I'll check it out.
I also couldn't help but notice
a bit of a concentration in the energy sector
in the portfolio.
We should alert the brass.
You're into allocation now?
A falcon sees what he sees.
You sound like someone who thinks they know better
than the Trojan Defense algorithm.
Maybe you should have a meeting about that
with leadership when they're back.
The press start whacking the sector yet?
No. It's quiet so far.
This whole thing doesn't work if--
Chuck will get it done.
Hold up.
Posts are starting to hit.
Fintwit and the other socials are getting into the act.
Business press, the FJ, bulletins are landing.
- There we go. - Nice.
They're starting to take bets on sanctions,
and when CEOs are gonna get hauled in front of Congress.
That must be setting off some alarm bells
over at Mike Prince Capital, huh?
The account's available to you.
You poised and ready for when it's time?
Hell yes, I'm ready.
I'm as sharp as a bell.
I mean, as clear as a--
We know what you mean.
The stories about collusion in the natural gas sector
are starting to hit the financial press.
Ain't that the way it goes.
You tell a group of people, government attorneys no less,
to be quiet about something, and it's on the news sites
20 minutes later.
-Wouldn't you know it. -Shocked.
We'll get a fainting couch moved in.
It's like, if I could turn this fucking Bloomberg upside down,
all the positions would be headed in the right direction.
These are major fucking hits we are taking.
What can we blow out of right now?
I'm checking the risk algo. This'll self-correct.
We are well within the parameters.
Self-correct my ass.
Nat gas stocks are cratering, pulling us down with them.
This bloodbath gets any worse, they're gonna halt these stocks.
There's no way the exchange
wants to answer to the SEC on this.
-We gotta make moves. -Our moves are prescribed.
We've got the infant car seat of algos protecting us.
Just hang tight for the turnaround.
Presenting Kate Sacker,
formerly of the Southern District.
Formerly of the attorney general's office.
Presently general counsel of Michael Prince Capital.
Miss Sacker, it occurs to me that in a very short time,
your political prospects will be in tatters.
But turning that around need not be a laborious process.
You have ideas on that front?
I do.
The very fact that you were willing
to sacrifice your ambitions marks you
as the exact person we all need in office.
It's who you were when we first met.
And you've found your way back.
So, what's the path?
Because you're the person I want guiding me now.
The path would entail a return to SDNY, a pay cut,
and perhaps some more sedate
clothing choices, unfortunately.
But some high-profile cases.
Crusader-type stuff.
You can have your pick.
The kind of cases that bolster and burnish a reputation.
The kind that people in these offices
have been using as a springboard for generations.
Pencil me in.
You crusaded to make this happen, and now it will.
Our visitor is here? That's the knock?
Believe so. You want to open it?
Well, he knows the way in. You know the way in! Come on in.
I did not expect to hear your voice or see you, Kate.
Chuck didn't mention it with the invite.
Wouldn't be a surprise party without the surprise.
Or without gifts.
You guys went and did it. You reinstated my law license.
Somehow got around the mandatory seven-year wait.
Uh, we might've hurried the process along a bit, yes.
But you applied and got the recommendations
and did the work.
But you paid the fee, didn't you?
Who knows? Important thing, it's paid.
I'm moved.
I find this...moving.
We look forward to seeing you across the aisle in court.
I don't.
Yeah, let's just...not.
Before you quit that hibachi,
save Chuck and me a seat for one last fantail shrimp.
You know, fantail shrimp are a different thing.
One's a Chinese delicacy, the other--
Oh, you... know that, don't you?
Okay. Bye. Thanks for this.
Bye.
That was really...
If someone asks me if anything fazes me,
I can no longer say I am unfazed.
That fazed me.
Never get used to it.
- Pretty G-D cool. - Sir? Your phones.
Gentlemen.
Uh, you're a few minutes late
for me to ask the president to pardon you, Axe.
No, Mike, I am right on time.
And I'm glad you got your audience,
'cause that's the closest you'll get to that office.
Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life.
Mike. Look, Mike.
Well, that can't be right. That's got to be a hack.
-It says-- -Yeah.
That the entire portfolio is wiped out.
Whatever you think you're doing, it's not gonna work.
Not "doing," Mike. Done.
Getting into the portfolio now.
Have the chopper blades spinning when we get there.
Scooter, you'll go from the heliport right to the SEC,
-get this cleared up. -Got it.
It's not letting me do anything.
I'm locked out.
Drive!
-Fun. -Well, it's about that time.
-I'm ready. -This part should be--
-Exhilarating? -Delightful?
I was gonna say "fucking nuts," but yeah, all of it.
Yep. Let's go.
This is a...
weird thing to say to a peer, but...
I'm proud of you.
Regardless of whatever we pull off or don't.
The end result here isn't really in doubt.
So that's the country's future.
What about your future?
I'd ask you same.
You know, I didn't think going on as before--
either version of before, for either of us--
was gonna be an option.
Yes. And yet the temptation.
Isn't that the thing.
You know, if you had looked at each of us
the day before we got into this business,
you would have said, "Ah, there's the one.
There's the thread that can go
through the smallest eye of the smallest needle."
-Alas. -No. Yes. Alas.
But perhaps this gives us the chance
to pull up out of the nosedive.
Problem is, the money does the same thing
that flying through the clouds without instruments does.
You can't tell which way is up,
which is down,
and you don't know you're spinning until it's too late.
Unless you have a great co-pilot
who's monitoring the instruments.
Thanks for being mine.
Even when I thought I wanted to fly solo.
Same, Taylor.
Right back at you.
The chair of the SEC is expecting you.
You need to go over there and get on an open line
with the heads of the exchanges,
and with a steady but firm hand
ensure that no trading halts are instituted.
And that no trades are reversed.
To be sure, because no doubt they'll come asking.
-Demanding. -That's why you need to do it.
I'll get it all done. And while I say this with great affection,
I look forward to not working together with you
for a good long while, Chuck.
As do I, Miss Mahar.
Find me Wendy fucking Rhoades.
She's actually here?
What is so fucking wrong about me
that you're sure I shouldn't be fucking president?
Why don't we start with how you act
when things don't go your fucking way.
Now multiply that by a factor of your finger on the trigger.
You can all do me the courtesy
of getting the fuck out of my office before...
Another rough-and-tumble day on Wall Street, I see.
Governor, uh, much to talk about here,
but I have something to deal with first.
Not so much, I'm afraid.
Hi, Axe.
I want to thank you for your counsel.
Oh, shit.
So, aside from the best veal in the city,
what can you really offer me?
A revived candidacy
and an open road to the nomination.
Truth is,
whatever he proposes,
I could never be his VP,
because I never want him to be president.
Not after what he said about nukes.
The way he never gets there
is by you joining his ticket now.
When he topples, you'll move up.
You won't have to wait very long,
but you got to do it just as I say.
See, we need to get him off the grid.
Mike, I'm here to let you know I'm out,
as in off your ticket.
But very much still in the race.
I am reaffirming my own candidacy shortly,
and I'll be taking back my supporters,
my campaign apparatus.
You're making a rash decision here.
Bradford, don't walk out on me.
I'm still a viable candidate.
The nation is ready to follow me.
You saw me with the president.
I'm ready for this. It's my time.
I don't think so, Mike.
It's never happened that the whole premise
for a candidacy has been erased.
But today... it happened.
You were the self-made rich candidate,
and now you're not.
There's no coming back from this.
Not in this election cycle, anyway.
I get it.
The consultant jumps off the sinking ship like a rat.
Can't catch any air once you're underwater.
If you find yourself at loose ends, Bradford,
Wendy Rhoades did tip me to your skills,
and I have a spot for you.
Were you with them?
Nope.
But, uh, I am going with her.
Well, welcome aboard a very seaworthy ship.
Glad to be aboard, Governor.
And?
Exchanges won't be halting any trading.
The SEC won't have the exchanges reverse the trades.
They're honoring them.
In the face of blatant sabotage and market manipulation?
They said there was a federal investigation
into collusion in the sector.
Chuck Rhoades, no doubt.
And that it was their mandate to protect the counterparties
to all our trades.
Who is the "they" besides the SEC chair
who's shoveling this shit?
Dave Mahar was there,
in various capacities.
Goddamn fix is in across the board.
How is it that all of the firm's capital, levered three to one,
got concentrated into six nat gas stocks
that all happened to be under investigation
for an international scandal?
And then we bottom-ticked the market on the liquidation,
leaving us completely wiped out?
Worse than wiped out.
Actually, we went negative equity.
The risk management algo set the parameters
as per your orders, and... we never disobey.
Must've been a glitch which, I'm sorry to say, Mike,
lowered us below our capital reserves,
prompting margin calls.
And the fund was unable to meet the margin calls
without pledging the private equity stakes.
This is midnight at the costume ball.
All masks off. I know it was you.
You played me with that loyalty act.
And you, Kate,
you ratted them out to me
so that I'd trust you and Philip.
And to ferret out the extent of the surveillance.
You're too smart, Mike.
We knew you'd catch them sooner or later.
I suggested sooner.
Disbarment be damned.
I turned them in to you.
If you recall, I recommended you fire the lot of them.
What am I guilty of?
Talking to them once you decided not to?
How did they convince you?
It couldn't have been money.
Once they got me to see past my personal interests,
my own political future,
it was clear.
How much did we leave on the table?
Besides hearts and guts?
How much?
Projections are, by the time the company's mature--
1.4 billion.
You made sure we lost a big piece of business
so the authority for the huge trades would go to Wags
and then to Philip,
the one person I could trust.
Because he's mine.
We lost that helium trade
because we were unable to do a deal
at that scale without your sign-off.
What you took from that, all the subsequent decisions,
those were yours and yours alone.
I, uh...I hate to interrupt,
but one of my favorite TV shows is on.
And I heard the rumors, too,
about corruption and collusion
by the top American natural gas companies
with some hostile nations.
And there were leaks
from various branches of law enforcement.
But after a penetrating investigation
by the Southern District of New York,
these vicious rumors are just that: rumors.
While actors from adversarial foreign governments
did approach these companies
in an attempt to convince them to hold back supply
and inflate prices,
these entreaties were rebuffed.
Forcefully.
And so we are closing this investigation.
These companies and this sector are healthy.
Robust, even.
Any short-term collateral damage
that was done is unfortunate,
but that is the nature of the free market.
Those positions are all going to rebound...
but you've sold them off.
The algo directed they be sold off.
My God. Comanche Gas H.O.D.
Western Plains H.O.D.
Marcellus Shale H.O.D.
All going out at the high of the day.
And we're completely sold?
As U.S. Attorney Rhoades mentioned,
there had been some rumors about collusion.
We did our investigation, and we were very quickly able
to gain cooperation from the companies in question,
as they had nothing to hide.
We are going to get to the source
of these leaks and rumors, I promise you that.
That is priority one.
I can take specific questions,
as I'm sure there are many.
The last time I was part of something this sweet,
Gust Avrakotos and Charlie Wilson
high-fived me at the end of it.
Not sure even I have the security clearance
to hear about that one right now.
If it was anything like this,
it must've floated you for quite a while.
For a night.
Next day, I was ready to get back to work.
Which is why I have you two so close by at all times.
Because I feel much the same.
You know, Chuck, when you talked me into coming aboard at SDNY,
you promised I'd feel this way.
Like I actually helped
to do something good.
I want more of it. Need more.
We all do.
And, like Allerd said,
tomorrow we will get cracking on just those kinds of projects.
But tonight, I'm gonna hang with my kids.
Both of you go have fun, rest, or whatever it is you do
when you're officially off the clock.
Good call. Karl,
you wanna come grab dinner with Taiga and me?
Normally I don't like third-wheeling it, but... yes.
Good. Good. Excellent.
Excellent work all around.
Scooter, I started with much less.
We both did.
Time to roll it back up again, my loyal friend.
I'm sure you will, Mike.
But you'll have to do it alone.
It's time for me to go it on my own.
I can't lose you.
Not now.
If I assess this for what it is,
it was an expensive lesson--
very expensive--
in hubris and self-aggrandizement run amok.
You know that's not what we set out to do.
You know our intentions were of the highest aims,
despite what those assholes down there think.
But you have to know we suffered...
drift, I guess you'd call it.
A degree off on the compass heading
on a long enough journey,
you end up far from your destination.
You end up lost. We did.
I did.
I failed to help you steer,
and this is where we've landed.
Broke and broken.
Our mission was righteous.
We just ran into a snag.
Our mission is something I will be unpacking
for a long time to come.
I can't say I committed blindly to it.
But I was blinded along the way
by my sense of fealty.
Loyalty to you.
By your generosity, focus, brilliance.
By our shared history.
In the end, the deal I made with myself was a someday deal.
And that day came sooner than I imagined,
and with harsher weather.
But it's here all the same, so...
Yeah.
Done.
Where does that leave me after all this?
In a reflective place, after the swelling goes down.
You accept that this happened.
You figure out why.
You go home and start over.
As it ever has been for men like you over the centuries.
You've orchestrated this thing
like Phil Spector did "River Deep."
Perhaps not who I'd have used to make the point, but, yes,
we put together a wrecking crew and let them play,
much as he did.
Watched it all happening on here.
Real toe-tapper.
I assume you made sure to be invisible
in the carrying out of your duties?
Have you known me to be otherwise?
Yes. Almost solely.
So I need to know, Dad, that you covered your tracks
when you planted the stories about the natural gas companies
because I put someone good, and I mean very good, on this.
Of course. You told me to cover my tracks,
I covered my tracks.
They will arrive at me
after they find the... the grassy knoll gunman
and who killed Jimmy Hoffa.
Good. Real good.
Fantastic.
-I should get back to it. -Chuck.
You did great.
You marshaled all resources.
You partnered with a man
you'd tangled with for almost a decade.
You set that aside to take out a bigger threat.
That's advanced. That's elevated.
That's the kind of thing that gives me comfort
for what happens after I'm gone.
Let's hope that's a long time from now.
It'll be when it'll be.
The point is...
I now know that you'll be fine.
You've learned all the lessons I have to teach and then some.
It's all inside you.
You know, Pop, I've long held
that the two heaviest letters in the alphabet
were J and R.
But now, after what we've been through together in this last,
they've started to feel just right.
Now that you're...you're wearing the Junior mantle easier...
Mm.
...maybe stop slumping about the shoulders when you walk.
Have some personal pride in your gait, for Christ's sakes.
You're still a Rhoades.
Found these guys on the way in.
We got the text inviting us to come see something special?
What...
um...
What happened here?
Mike, hear this in the manner I mean it.
Not as a dig,
or to rub your face in the situation.
Not about that at all.
But...
I'd like to assume the lease to this place.
Take it off your hands.
Uh-huh. Of course you do.
So this is it.
Hey, man, endings are tough.
Someone always ends up unsatisfied.
Truer thing never said.
I don't mind admitting I'm a bit rattled right now.
Standing eight count. I'll get my wind back.
You have to know I'm going to sue the lot of you
and see to it that criminal charges are brought.
I think you're gonna find a road to that
that's very steep and slippery.
And expensive,
which may present some difficulty.
But if you decide to persist,
please refer all legal action
to Orrin Bach here, my general counsel.
You gonna finally come on and do this for me, Orrin?
Why not? You'll take up all my time anyway,
but... I'm delighted to make it official.
So, yeah, Mike, this is what it's like to lose.
I bet that felt good.
That one did, yeah.
I read all about your deposits
in those black-owned banks through Killer Mike.
You've still got about a hundred million
in those accounts, don't you?
Just about, yeah.
Well, in Indiana,
that's like being a billionaire.
That's right.
Yes, it is.
You know what?
Maybe I should be thanking all you bastards
for giving me a chance to go out and do it all again.
Spin it up.
You're welcome, then.
Did wonders for me when you put me in that very position.
This country's built on second acts.
And when you see mine,
you'd better duck and fucking cover.
I'm surprised to see so many long faces in here right now.
Ain't you glad I'm back?
Uh, well, we would be,
but there's the little matter of the fact that all our money
got fucking wiped out with Prince's!
Oh, is that the thing?
Did it?
What's on your mind, commander?
You know I've had a hard time
warming up to the plan.
Siphoning the coffers of an enemy to near empty?
I wouldn't imagine that would cause you such problems.
No, Chuck, as much as I like the idea
of Mike Prince going broke--
And believe me, I do--
I can't help but feeling this is your guitar solo.
Now I'm fine guesting in a two-guitar band.
A supergroup, if you think about it.
Wow, you really are good at this, the ass-kissing.
Hey, it's heartfelt.
Okay, I know what's missing for me,
and I'm ready to lay down my overdub now.
It's not enough to just break him.
We gotta get everyone else rich in the process.
Really rich. Wealthy, even.
Well, that ups the degree of difficulty, doesn't it?
Takes it from a straight bet to a daily double with an exacta.
That's why the payout's so good.
But how? If we crash the fund, it all goes.
Doesn't have to.
We have a little thang that's been laying fallow
inside the structure of the company for a while now
known as the Admirals Fund.
-Tell 'em, Wags. -Little side pocket we had
so the brass could enjoy the spoils of the best ideas.
Cherry-picking trades for a secret internal fund.
That could look very bad.
Fraudulent, even.
In a certain light, maybe.
But, as I say, it's dormant.
Yeah, Chuck, we're well past that, aren't we?
Bloodhound can't help blood-hounding.
But he's all bark now,
and I suppose we all need our motivators.
Carry on.
We're gonna siphon the employee money
into the Admirals Fund,
and when the basket of stocks hits rock-bottom,
we're gonna buy them.
So that's where we are now.
If wiping out Prince was my masterpiece,
putting the Admirals Fund with all your money in
on the other side so we could take him out at the lows,
that is my magnum opus.
I've rarely seen a rocket ride like this one.
There's nothing like government
clearing these companies,
giving them a clean bill of health,
to send these stocks soaring
right to the close.
So that's what you're here to see, Ben.
Tuk.
All of you.
Our shit didn't go down the tubes.
Yeah. Even though you were too fucking mercenary to join me,
I let it happen.
We're in the Admirals Fund?
We're in the fucking Admirals Fund?
We're in the fucking Admirals Fund!
-Oh, shit! -Fuck, yeah!
We're in the Admirals Fund!
Ah!
Uh...am I?
Because, you know, I-I had your backs the whole time.
What the fuck happened to you?
Spyros, you ran all the way to Camp David
to try and warn Prince, didn't you?
The Marine Guards wouldn't let me in.
They're not a good group to get pushy with.
We included you anyway.
I must be getting soft in my old age.
So I'm not broke?
- I'm actually... - Yeah. Rich.
Very fucking rich.
All of you lucky bastards
are up 3X today and rising,
thanks to Bobby Axelrod.
In case any of you are wondering,
you are now standing in the new headquarters of Axe Global!
And I am looking for intrepid souls
who are willing to go out every day
and kill for me in an epic quest for fucking alpha.
So, who among you
is ready to join me in my new assault on wealth?
Who's with me?
Yeah!
Yeah! Yeah!
Yeah! Come on!
I heard those hyenas cheering down there.
I assume Axelrod threw them some fresh meat.
More or less.
I also assume you're staying.
Perfect.
I warned you once, back then,
that things would get dirty and dangerous.
You more than embraced that, though, didn't you?
Joining up with that backstabbing marauder
is the perfect post for you.
It's a wonder you didn't warn me
what kind of animal you'd become.
Let me stop you there,
before you really say some stuff
we're both gonna regret
at the next holiday get-together.
The holidays? You have got to be kidding me.
Hey, you're still my uncle. Family.
So, you didn't take the ride with us.
That wasn't something I could swing.
But I couldn't let you take the fall with Prince either.
You're still a rich man.
That is your account.
Kept it sidelined.
Totally out of the action today.
You're still at about a hundred mill.
Like Prince ended up.
There's something poetic in that.
I have gone from a rich man, to a pauper,
back to a rich man in the course of a single day.
And it has made me realize what I need to do with my life.
Pick up that baton for real.
My own.
One that belongs to me, not some legend's.
Find myself on the stage
and in front of an orchestra.
You'll do it, maestro.
I know you will.
Impressive work, man.
Well, you played an integral part in it.
No way it all happens without--
No, I just mean climbing up on that desk.
-Oh. -Impressive.
Christ, I'd need some Doan's for the back if I even tried.
Don't fool yourself.
I'm not the same guy I was when we first met.
I was worried I was gonna roll my ankle on the dismount.
Yeah. Sure.
You're not the same guy, either.
-Didn't like that version. -Hmm.
But the fella standing in front of me...
Yeah, I know it.
Something about going through the wars with someone.
Yeah, you learn a lot facing a man, battling against him.
But when you throw in together...
Absolutely.
Yeah, like Clapton and Winwood in Blind Faith.
Problem is,
that kind of talent in one group
can only ever last one album.
Well, I think the heroin and blow
had more to do with that breakup,
but I get your point.
At least they got that one great moment on tape,
together in the studio, before it blew apart.
Everything does.
Eventually.
Things end.
As our time working together has to.
I'm going back to doing what I do, so...
you'd best run this place right.
I once told you what a badge does to a man.
And as in almost everything,
you were right, Robby.
To that end, Carlos.
And Wags is really gonna hate that I'm doing this,
but I must have got caught up in the spirit of togetherness.
Here.
You're hoping this buys you some indulgences.
Damn straight I am.
Thanks, Axe.
For all of it.
My pleasure.
And to you too, Chuck.
I thought it'd convince you,
that all this today would be a good pitch.
But you're leaving for good, aren't you?
Yep. Just like you're staying.
Yeah, I am.
It's where I'm meant to be.
You sure?
'Cause we could do great things if you stayed.
Great and vicious things.
I know.
Exactly why I'm leaving.
It's time for me to be done with that.
My other office is now available.
Be a great place to run a philanthropy out of.
It's yours if you want it.
Final act of charity
I'll be doing today.
I bet you think I want to rub it in.
I actually think better of you.
You once offered me the chance, if I were feeling down,
to come share some Scotch with you.
I want you to know, I hope you do the same.
You made me better at what I do.
In every way.
Are you saying that's why you bested us?
No. I was kick-ass at that stuff.
I mean as a human
and second in command.
You're the tops I've seen.
And yet.
It's because you're a good person you lost.
Not Prince. You.
Oddly, of little consolation.
But you will come for that drink?
I think I actually might.
Yes.
Good.
I've been looking forward to this moment.
An old-fashioned negotiation for your services
as performance coach and head of HR.
Or, not to tip my hand,
you looking to expand your portfolio?
Shit.
You're out too.
I'd really love it if you stayed, Wend.
I finally made my way back. This could be like old times.
Part of me would really love to.
But I'm gonna stay at Mental,
that telehealth thing, and make a go of it.
I'm gonna help a lot of people from there.
Maybe one day you'll take me public.
Won't be the same without you here.
What if I can't do it?
It'll be different, but you can do it.
And I have the name of someone
who'll be a hell of a replacement for me too.
And most of the people here already know Dr. Mayer.
I really didn't want to say goodbye to you again.
Then don't.
We got through the shadow of 9/11
and stayed connected.
We got through the arrests,
the rebellions,
the exit, the rebuilding,
and always stayed connected.
Where it mattered.
We'll both be in the same city.
We're the same people.
We'll stay connected now, too.
Just not at this place.
Yeah.
Yeah to all of it.
Thank you, Bobby.
Thank you.
For everything.
I kind of hoped you'd be here waiting.
No, not kind of. I...
I hoped you'd be here.
I'm always here.
I know.
You are, too.
Seems to be true.
You know, I wasn't sure he'd let you leave.
Or you'd be able to resist.
It's time for me to find my own way.
And it's the only way
that the relationships can last
with either of you.
That's probably true.
Where are you off to right now?
I hadn't really thought about it.
I was probably just gonna head back to the house.
I have the kids tonight.
I was in the mood for some tempura or something.
You want to make it a family dinner?
The kids would love that. Absolutely.
And so would I.
Make sure all this shit gets carefully packed
and sent to him wherever.
I will.
Have the designer get all that green crap
off the walls downstairs, and strip out some of this wood.
Let's cool this place off a bit.
Thought about how you'll redecorate yet?
I've had other things on my mind, capo di tutti capi.
Well, after a victory such as this,
things do take a moment to settle.
-But... -Yeah.
You don't have to say it.
I will be here with you
to get this place cranking again.
-But then... -What?
Miami?
With all those other rich fucks?
You know, it does have a lot to recommend it.
It is the center of it all right now.
Maybe we take a trip down together.
But first, bring 'em in.
What are our instructions?
Yeah, Axe, what do you want us to do?
Do?
What do you think I want you to do?
Let's make some fucking money.
All right! All right, yeah!
- Fuck, yeah! - Let's go.
Whoa!