Boss

Ladies and gentlemen, Tom Kane!

Shots fired! Get me an ambulance now!

At 4:38 this afternoon,

an assassination attempt was made,

and Chicago Police Department is pursuing any and all leads as we speak.

You need to do something.

What kind of man sends his own daughter to jail?

Don't you fucking dare to judge my actions.

If you wanna get back at him or make him pay in any way,

you can't do it from the bottom of a glue tube in county jail.

Kane explicitly forbade you from speaking to press.

This is a gift from the gods.

We'd be crazy not to squeeze it for all it's worth.

Seems that Dr. Harris

- didn't disappear after all. - What?

Am I imagining things, or did you call me two weeks ago from Arizona?

I was on sabbatical.

Sabbatical or exile, Dr. Harris?

The Lennox Gardens vote is on.

Would a promissory note towards your reelection campaign help our cause here?

What in God's name happened to you?

You're not standing here but for my generosity.

We can talk off the record, I hope?

Do you know anything about Kane seeing a Dr. Ella Harris?

I don't understand. Are you saying he's sick?

Muscle rigidity, whole-body tremors, it's progressing.

Hallucinations have been minimal. - Boss?

Mr. Mayor, you have to know, your best days are behind you.

Mayor Kane cannot have such unchecked power.

Thought I taught you a lesson.

Change, whether we have the wherewithal to make it.

For on my watch at Lennox Gardens, mistakes were made.

Motion to vote.

There's a community there, not just a record of administrative blunders.

It won't go away with an architectural facelift.

If you want to make sure this project turns out right,

- perhaps you should come work for me. - What?

Tom.

Who let him in to see my wife before I do?

I spoke with the warden and parole board

about the possibility of house arrest for Emma.

They seem willing to consider it in light of family circumstance.

The ballistic trauma caused a severe pulmonary laceration.

Did...

What?

Did you do this to me?

Have mercy on me, God, in Your kindness.

In Your compassion, blot out my offense.

O, wash me more and more from my guilt

and cleanse me from my sin.

My offenses, truly I know them,

my sin is always before me.

O, see, in guilt I was born,

a sinner I was conceived

Morning, sir.

A fucking nightmare, this thing.

Hopefully you won't have to wear it much longer.

How's Mrs. Kane feeling?

Improved.

- Budget projections. - On your desk.

My daughter?

The sheriff will drop her off at 7:00. I've cleared your evening.

She's been authorized for visits to her NA meetings

and I've emailed you the contact information of her parole officer, Dave Hoffman.

I thought you might like to speak with him personally.

He'll be in charge of her monthly tests.

When can I expect to hear from the Superintendent of Police?

Morning, Mr. Mayor.

It appears the Cook County State's Attorney

will be point on the shooting investigation, given its high profile.

Doyle. When's he coming?

He said he's available later this afternoon, but would prefer to meet at his office.

Here.

10 minutes.

"You're a disease.

"If I see you on the street, I will fuck you up.

"I will fuck your daughter. I will fuck your wife."

So you have reason to believe that she might have been the target?

Not yet, no. It's possible, though.

"You're a parasite of lies and I am your worst enemy."

Hundreds of these.

And all have been dealt with by the proper authorities.

So unless you're telling me that you have proof

that one of those troglodytes shot my wife, I implore you to get to your point, Jeff.

My point, Tom, is that you're not exactly short on enemies.

There was a time, was there not, when I could count you among them?

You were cleared.

I repent. I've moved on.

Have you?

The ultimate objective here isn't merely prosecution, it's conviction.

Whoever did this cannot, on my watch, get off on a technicality.

Time must be taken...

My wife nearly died.

And while she relearns how to breathe,

I'm a prisoner in my own home, shuttled to work every day by armed guards,

strapped into a vise every time I wanna step outside,

and you have the gall to sit there, reciting the ramblings of the deranged.

Why hasn't the shooter been found?

Lack of physical evidence at the scene and the inordinate number of people

who hate you personally or hate what you do politically.

We're exploring all we can as quickly as we can.

That said, if there is anything that could have bearing,

moves you've made, conflicts, entanglements, it would help to hear them.

Conflicts, entanglements, moves?

You've just described my job.

And in 20 years, no one's ever shot at me for it.

Well, now someone has.

God damn it.

I don't anticipate any hardball questions coming to you, but if they do...

I pivot back to you, strength, character, courage. Relax, Ben.

We've been here before.

This is national.

It's still a camera.

You think the kids are up for this?

They're the whole reason we're doing it here.

Do we really need to go over all this again?

No.

You look beautiful.

Treasurer, Mrs. Zajac. I'm Sandra Klein.

Sandra. Ben, please.

Maggie. I love that suit.

Thank you. You look great. You feeling okay?

I hope this hasn't been too disruptive.

Well, I admit I was a little resistant to having my home taken over,

- but it's been pretty painless. - I'm glad to hear it.

So, we'll start with the two of you, then cut and bring in the kids.

Sounds good.

Maggie, can you talk about

what you were feeling in the moments surrounding the shooting?

You can't really put it into words, the feelings.

It all happened so quickly.

I heard a crack.

Mrs. Kane fell, and then Ben was on top of me.

Did he say anything? Do you remember?

"You're safe.

"You're safe."

Sorry.

Don't be sorry. Do you need a minute?

No.

Feels light.

Shit's slow.

Sounds like a personal problem.

Yeah, well, we all got problems.

Them Radiohead, beanie-wearing motherfuckers get to rolling...

Is that right?

What I hear, the Mayor got plans.

Look at you.

Young nigga get himself a suit, reads the paper,

and suddenly he's wise to how shit works.

All I'm saying is if you think your cut light now...

Son, your time will come.

Meanwhile, don't go trying to get in shit that ain't your domain.

You know what I mean?

Hey, T.

T-

Damn, cuz.

Hey, man, I need a place to crash, man.

You need a motherfuckin' bath. Bad.

Yeah, that, too.

What about your girl?

What about her?

She out. She didn't call you?

I mean, you know, she not exactly reachable.

Man, but listen, man, you gonna help me or not, man?

What the fuck you done got yourself into now?

I just need a place to crash. That's all, man.

And this is with, what, 20% Section Eight?

Fifteen.

We need to look at upping subsidized housing to 25%.

If we tie it to a work requirement.

That's not viable.

Twenty five triggers additional funding from HUD.

That, coupled with additional cost-cutting measures...

The number McGantry came in with is reasonable.

And that conclusion's based on?

This report from the Community Development Commission

and this one here from City Planning.

Sir, there's no reason not to move ahead with the proposal as is.

"Nothing is irreparable except a willing capitulation to the status quo."

Your words, sir. And this is exactly that.

Now, if you wanna go that way, fine,

but then I can't see any reason for me to be here.

Your alternative?

Open up the project to competitive bids.

Make it clear to the usual suspects there will be no skim, no graft, no ghost hires,

then use the savings to better the community.

A health clinic, a technology center.

There's no tax revenue in a health clinic.

And what's the point in rehabbing the place

if it's just gonna stay a ghetto for poor people?

These sorts of projects raise people out of poverty, which broadens the tax base.

Competitive bidding is a declaration of war against McGantry,

who just happens to be the single largest contributor to the Mayor's PAC.

And those usual suspects?

They're the same people pulling votes for us on election day.

You think they do that out of the goodness of their hearts?

Thanks for that.

Maybe when we're through here, you can explain how to play tic-tac-toe.

Sir, displacing the residents of Lennox Gardens will affect your support

in the African-American community across the board.