Billions

Previously on Billions...

NFL thinks it would be best for all involved

if you didn't bid.

Stated reason?

Public perception.

I think we should start something... a business.

Yay!

I'm already set up in an office of my own,

starting to see clients.

- Is that permanent? - I'm not sure... yet.

I'm keeping my options open.

Say hello to my nephew, Marco.

Kid just got elected

to county executive up in Sandicot.

I'm Marc. An honor to meet you, Mr. Axelrod.

You will give me what I need.

Or maybe we'll have a pepperoni slice in Yonkers.

We can invite your boss.

Sleeping well has become important to me.

So is looking my daughter in the eye,

knowing she's looking back at a good person.

Congratulations. If I fire you now, it'll look

like the administration is protecting Boyd,

obstructing justice.

There's a reason no one's done this.

I'll just fire you in a few months.

All you've bought is time.

I got news last night I never wanted to get...

Chuck Rhoades, coming at me.

You squared off with him, walked away unmarked.

I need your playbook, I need to know how to beat him.

Lawrence Boyd can be friend to no man.

He needs to dominate you in his own mind

by heaving his seed into your bride.

Turn it off.

Disgrace him. Humble him.

Boyd's been rigging Treasury bids.

I'll get you whatever I can.

Whatever it takes, I'm in.

I've seeded over 125 companies.

I don't do it to make money.

If money comes with that, and it always has, that's fine.

But it's not the driver.

I do it for the same reason

that Edison created telephonic communication,

Oppenheimer harnessed nuclear fission,

and DJ Kool Herc set up two turntables and a microphone

on Sedgewick Avenue in the Bronx...

to move at great velocity towards a better future.

And this?

This represents the culmination of it all.

Farpoint isn't just going to bring the earth closer together.

It's going to bring us closer to what's out there.

This is the first one you sent into orbit.

Yeah.

We're two generations beyond Manticore.

Manticore-3...

"The first ship to make a manned mission to Mars."

That your impersonation of me?

Well, you've certainly said it enough times.

That's how I make it happen.

Elena Gabriel.

Lead candidate for that first mission.

Well, it'll take a couple of days

for me to do a full work-up on it.

We have a conference room set aside.

I appreciate that, but since she has

no prior relationship with me...

Build rapport however you want, okay?

Just, keep in mind, we're not giving her the keys

to a school bus here. This is a $1.2 billion vessel.

And your legacy. I get all that.

You need to know that she's psychologically bulletproof.

There she is. Right on time.

Does that mean anything?

Yeah, that her watch works.

Elena Gabriel.

Ah, dominant handshake.

Intentional?

You tell me.

Elena will show you around the facility.

I know what you're doing with the lawsuit.

What am I doing with the lawsuit?

Look, Axe, I spent seven years

and more money than I care to admit

fighting the S. E. C. just to clear my name.

- And you did. - Fuck, yeah, I did,

but in those seven years,

I tried to buy two baseball teams.

You may notice... I don't own a baseball team.

You think the S. E. C. was the dealbreaker?

It fucking didn't help. That's for damn sure.

Look, Axe, we're different, right?

We didn't inherit our money.

We earned it calling bullshit early,

often, and very publicly.

The NFL doesn't like that shit.

They're afraid you're gonna break etiquette,

come in long and loud.

They think you're gonna be the Mark Cuban of the NFL.

Oh, so I'm pre-fucked?

You need to make it clear to them

that you're hanging up the gloves

and moving on to a new phase.

You know what else you need to do?

You need to stop fucking with the U. S. attorney.

I'm not gonna do that.

Come on, Axe.

So, when are they gonna make the decision?

This week.

You know, even if you win this lawsuit,

that's the long game.

If you really want this team, you got to ask yourself...

How are you gonna change hearts and minds today?

Well, the Japanese would be proud.

You waited until the meal was done.

But at this point, hit me with it,

and let us both get on with our days.

What's the status on Spartan-Ives?

- Only a matter of time. - How much time?

- How much time I got? - Not a lot.

The AG didn't appreciate you

leaking news of your investigation.

I didn't leak it. I denied it when asked.

Okay. You've lodged official protest of my statement.

Say what you came to say.

You're alive as long as you're making progress.

But the AG thinks that you stalled,

she's gonna show you the Hans Gruber Memorial Exit.

Well, it's nice to hear you take the potential demise

of my career so seriously.

Laugh or cry. You know what I mean?

I sure do.

Get me Bensinger.

Very few things get the third wealthiest man in America

to leave home.

A handful of economic conferences

and reeling in billionaires for the Giving Oath.

No conferences are happening

in the city right now, Mr. Bensinger.

Well done, young man.

If your publication will grant me a 48-hour hold,

I'll give you a head start.

Of course.

Richard Winstead is joining us

and pledging 80% of his assets.

It's a great act of philanthropy.

Excuse me.

Robert. A rare treat.

Can you find some time for me while you're visiting?

The city's so noisy.

If you want to have a real talk,

come to the house in Shaker Heights.

That's a kind offer, but I don't want to wait that long.

What are you doing tonight?

Bridge game, grabbing a hot dog.

So, the usual?

If I know you, you're gonna stop at a cart,

or, even worse, order room service.

New York is, in some respects, a fine city,

but not where cased meats are concerned.

I got a place.

I think it more than stacks up

against what you got in Cleveland.

Challenge accepted. I'll see you tonight.

It doesn't matter what I do.

The faucet's run dry.

What does that mean?

I can't get anything on Spartan-Ives'

Treasury bid-rigging 'cause there is

no Spartan-Ives' Treasury bid-rigging.

That's bullshit. We all know it's happening.

It was, till news got out that you guys were targeting them,

and then they just, you know.

Boyd's snake crawled back up his flap.

Look, I don't know what I'm supposed to do here.

I can't share a bed with my wife.

I can't move out, 'cause then she'll know that I know.

I spend half my day at home in the bathroom.

She thinks I have the shits.

Look, I don't think I'm gonna be able

to help you get Boyd.

I mean, I want to, but...

Your boss violated the sanctity of your marital bed,

and you can't man up to...

Bryan.

He's all man.

He's John Wayne in Liberty Valance.

'Cause most fellas in his position would run and hide,

but he is standing in.

Now, I don't know if I'd be man enough

to watch my wife sleep next to me, knowing what he knows.

Mr. McKinnon, a bit more time,

and your struggle will have been worth it.

Players return to their mean.

And we will be waiting.

Get back to work.

Keep it together.

We'll find another way to nail Lawrence Boyd,

and when we do,