"Previously on "Billions"..." "Get everything you might possibly need, 'cause they will destroy anything left behind." "You blew up your family for Bobby Axelrod." "I'm Keyser Soze, motherfucker." "Judge on the Dollar Bill case is going to be Whit fucking Wilcox." " Ugh." " I wonder if re-presented a warrant for bugging the Axelrod home." "No." "Asked and answered." "Look into Wilcox." "Go wherever it leads." "You're making a move on a federal judge." "Is he in your way?" "If you were in my situation, what would you do?" "You know, if you hadn't done anything wrong, but you were targeted anyway." "You want me to pressure my husband to back off." "You know I can't do that." " Why not?" " So I'm thrilled you got someone on the inside at Axe Cap." "I have no idea, because as you damn well know, I've recused myself." "FBI!" " There's someone in the house." " It'll be fine." "Sorry about your front door." "It's all right." "He can afford another one." "Go." "Donnie Caan walked out." "He say anything about where he was going?" "I think it'd be good if you found him, soon." "Where... the fuck... is Donnie?" "He could decide to walk into their office and tell 'em everything." "I'll testify against Axe, but right now I need..." " Ugh!" " Holy shit." "Donnie?" "No." "Donnie." " Oh, fuck." " Donnie." "You know, I was, for a time, supposed to become a Grandmaster." "Chess." "14 years old, and leapfrogging up the standings." "Put me in a practice game, and I'd be a young Boris Spassky in his prime." "By all rights," "I should've dominated live competition, but I had a flaw." "If I decided that my opponent didn't..." "respect the game, or me, or if I didn't like the way he carried himself..." "If I decided for whatever reason that he wasn't worthy, a dark rage would come over me." "And this rage became the driver." "All the strategy, patience, and practice would vanish, and I would begin obsessing about total destruction." "Some kid could fail to look me in the eye while shaking my hand at a tournament in the fall, and I would carry it until facing him again in the spring." "But then, while I was trying to destroy him..." "I'd forget to win." "I would play bold moves designed to intimidate, show him that he wasn't as smart as me..." "or as brave." "Leave voids in my defense." "That's not how you win at chess." "I knew better, but, uh... but I couldn't do better." "And then, at the end of the game, my opponent's arm would be raised in victory while I sat, humiliated and alone, bathed in anger and defeat." "Here I am again, beaten." "Although it has yet to be confirmed, there is no doubt that Donnie Caan is gonna die." "Soon." "I sat up all night until I saw it." "Bobby Axelrod used Donnie to feed us information that he would never live to testify to or confirm in court." "We'll claw back some of his trades, sure, but we have to assume that the names he gave us, the specifics, all of it... false." "No, I wish this loss were mine alone, but I cost all of you as well." "Soon, probably within the hour, uh, Adam DeGiulio from the Attorney General's office will walk in here and take us off the Axelrod case." "It won't matter that Axelrod is everything I said he is... a bloodless man." "A man who would use his dying friend in the manner that he did." "We needed to be bloodless to catch him, and we weren't." "I wasn't." "We were all suckers here, Chuck." "No, don't try to fall on it, Bryan." "I set the tone." "That's what the papers will say." " They'll call me sloppy." " Driven, unhinged." "And, uh, for once, they'll be correct." "What can we do?" "We can, from this moment forward, remember how the game is supposed to be played." "We'll play perfect strategy." "We will retreat so we can attack when it is to our advantage." "And then someday soon, we will be standing here, and it will be our turn." "I don't wanna stop you, Chuck." "No, we were just finishing up." "All right, get out there and make some fucking money." "You got a handle on this?" "I do not." "Well, I don't think it's good." " How fucked are you?" " Can I say it's nothing?" "Could you let me get away with that?" "Flu, maybe?" "God, what would you pay to have the flu right now, Donnie?" "Anything." " Cancer." " Yeah." " Shit." " Pancreatic." "Shit." "How far along?" "With this kind, it doesn't really matter." "Far enough." "Can we have the room?" "Sorry?" "Piss elsewhere." "You should've come to me right away." "I've been, ah, you know, letting it settle." "Kids know?" "Not yet." "We'll access the best, most creative, most forward-thinking medical treatment there is." "You'll see my guy, Ari Gilbert." "Top oncologist out there." "Works with select clients." "World leaders." "I've been funding his research for years." "Thank you for offering, but you don't have to do that." "Stop." "Stop." "Stop." "It's what we do." "Get yourself together." "Come and see me at the end of the day." "I have a thought." "Donnie's gone." "I, uh, I have to make some phone calls." "I'll help you." "How are you set financially?" "Are Walter and the kids gonna have enough?" "Nobody's gonna starve, but I could've done better." "When I met Walter, finally accepted who I am," "I felt so guilty about Karen." "I remember." "It was tough on both of you." "Yeah, so I kind of just gave her everything." "Didn't shelter it or put it in a trust." "Just sort of heaved it over to her." "Practically started back at zero." "That's all chutes and ladders, isn't it?" "It sure is." "The guy she remarried... he's got control of the money now, and I can't be sure what he's gonna do with it." "Emma and Harry are exposed?" "Yeah." "What were you hoping to get to?" "I-I don't have a number." "I just want them to be taken care of." "Good education, their first house, no debt." "Sure." "Also, you want them to be able to do what they want," " ...not what they have to." " Yeah." "Thought I was going to take care of that in the next 10 years." "Forty million." "What if we could get you there, pre-tax?" " For all the family?" " Big ladder." "But there's a way to make it happen." "To guarantee it." "Rewards of paradise here on earth?" "Really sharp evangelists could con me out of my house right now." "Unlike him, I'm gonna give you the downside." "It won't be simple." "It'll require deception." "And your final weeks and months, they won't be your own." "Are we talking about breaking the law?" "Because I-I can't spend one minute in jail." "Well, let's leave that to the lawyers." "Let me save you some breath." "Now the Attorney General thinks it best that my office drop its pursuit of Axe Capital." "And you tried to argue with her, but she was insistent." "Kids would hashtag that "one hundred."" "Any matter related to Axe Capital is to be handled by the Eastern District from here forward." "You know, the only thing I can't figure is if the AG's fear of negative publicity is because she's planning a Senate run or a return to the private sector." "Put on a blindfold, spin yourself around, and pin the tail on the donkey." " You know?" " I do." "Defy her in any way, she will recommend that the President fire you." "And he will not hesitate to take a recommendation." "I know." "And I would do the same thing were I sitting in her office." "I accept it." "I am off Axelrod." "Good man." "But, you know, that is not what you and I really need to talk about today." "It's not?" "Let's go out and take some air, and I'll tell you why musical chairs is a much better party game." " Oh." "Walter." " Hey, Wendy." "Friends." "Friends, may I ask that you all please take your seats now?" "Fuck." "Come on." "I'll sit with you." "What are you doing here?" "Came to pay my respects." "Not appropriate." "I knew the man." "Better than you let on, I'm sure." "Turn and leave." "Why would I?" "Get the fuck out of here." "All right." "It's a real loss." "Yeah." "For both of us." "Those ungrateful fuckers have to make me focus on this now?" "They hope you are too distracted and sad to focus on it at all." "Oh." "I can still focus." "Talk." "So lonosphere Fund... they set up shop downtown." "Carly's in charge?" "Or Channing." "Definitely not Hlasa." "How much?" "Two-hundred million under management, 40 of it's theirs." "Where's it coming from?" "They stole this list." "Some of these people are ours." "Can we block that?" "We absolutely could." "All three of them signed non-competes." "But they can fight it, claim that" "Axe Capital was no longer the place they signed on to, that their deals should be void." "They can't win, right?" "Not likely." "But with the current sentiment, who knows?" "And I don't think you want that kind of attention right now." "No, but we can't have the perception that the real talent at Axe Capital is flying under a new flag." "Where you going?" "Breakfast." "I'm not putting our friendship on the line." "I'm just asking." "I'm just trying to warn you that this lonosphere venture is doomed." "You trained these guys, right?" "I taught 'em all they know, not all I know." "But you extend them credit, it's on you." "It is." "I already have." "I'm first money in, I got very favorable terms, and I don't see a reason to give that up." "Do this for me, and I'll cut your fees to one and ten over the next three quarters." "I can't." "Check, sir." "It is the love God has instilled in us that has been our refuge, that has sustained us for generations." "Before the mountains were brought forth, or the earth was born, ...there was love." "And it is love that turns us back to dust, saying, "Go back, oh, child of earth."" "It is love that sweeps us away like a dream." "Your honor, our argument is simple and straightforward." "My client provided emergency medical care to Christina Grunwald." "Mr. Stearn met the young lady's father, learned of her desperate medical condition, had the resources at his disposal to save her life, and was moved to action." "I ask, uh, you to look at this photograph and tell me that, if you were in a position to save this child's life... wouldn't you do it just because you could?" "Mr. Stearn had no idea that medical treatment had any link to alleged inside information." "I ask you to consider the wisdom of putting altruism itself on trial." "May I?" "Mr. Connerty." "The people are fully prepared to prove benefit was provided in the form of medical expenses to the tune of some 211,000 dollars." "And that, as a direct response to insider information provided to Mr. Stearn." "Further, we can demonstrate that Axe Capital used this information to gain an 89 million dollar profit." "An 89 million dollar return." "On a 211,000 dollar investment." "Altruism is not on trial here, but the fairness of the financial markets is." "The US Attorney's office has made a considered decision to pursue and prosecute precisely this new brand of criminal." "They are bastardizing the fair market upon which this country is built." "Passionately executed, Mr. Connerty, but the humane gesture of providing medical treatment for an afflicted child as material benefit, begs that a jury learn the unknowable... that is, what lay in Mr. Stearn's heart." "I deem it best that the court grants defense counsel's motion for dismissal." "Your honor, I vigorously protest." "Nonetheless, my decision stands." "And I further advise that you and the Southern District reconsider the deployment of government assets in the settling of personal scores." "This session is adjourned." "He said "personal scores"?" "He used those words?" "Direct quote." "Motherfucker." "How goddamn comfortable in your seat do you have to be to do that?" "Should we start clearing the Axelrod files or..." "Tomorrow." "What you need to do now is take the day, at least." " Come back ready to go." " I can hang in here..." "Go!" "Breathe in some fall air." "I'd like to imagine someone is doing that today." "Might as well be you." "I bet Dollar Bill is doing exactly that with a giant fucking smile on his face." "What are you gonna do?" "Well, we've lost the Axe case." "Wilcox cut the Dollar Bill thread." "We need to get circular with our thinking." "Turn the impediments into our own blockers." "Don't worry." "I know what I'm talking about." "He wanted to see me?" "He did, but not right now." "This about those Ionosphere traitors?" "Quislings?" "Don't answer that." "So, Deb..." "Don't." "I make stupid money, and I'm ready for a relationship." "I make plenty, and I'm out of your league." "You're right." "Guys around here avoid you like you're a dangerous fighter, because you're a triple threat... power, speed, and footwork." "So give me some credit for stepping up." "Credit for the honesty." "If you have dinner with me, I'll buy you a Mini Cooper." "Oh, see?" "See?" "You smiled." "And you know and I know that a smile is a gateway to multiple convulsive orgasms." "I smiled because I'm too long for a Mini, and you almost look cute when you're nervous." "Hey, Mafee, get in here." "Go on in." "Keyser, Keyser, Keyser, Keyser," "Keyser, Keyser, Keyser, Keyser..." " Thank you." " Keyser, Keyser, Keyser..." "Thank you!" " Keyser, Keyser..." " Thank you, my children." "Bill Stearn!" "I'm back, baby!" "Get your ass in my office right now." "Close the fucking door!" "Um, you wanna tell me what I did here?" "Pretend we're having an argument." "You wanna fucking tell me why?" "I want the Street to think that you and I are on the outs!" "I especially want those fuckers who left to hear about it!" "I wanna give Channing, Carly, and Hlasa a good fucking!" "I heard they went out on their own!" "You didn't bless that?" " I did not bless that at all." " That's a shame!" "They were talented, and I kind of liked them!" "Oh, so you don't wanna help me out?" "Fuck that!" "They fuck you, they fuck me, so let's fuck them!" "What do you want me to do?" "!" "I'm gonna poke you." "Poke me back." "I'll poke you all goddamn day." "You throw in with them, you tell them I was a prick, but you stuck your neck out..." "more to come." "Got it!" "You've been through a lot." "You all right?" "It was hell, but I survived!" "When you walk out that door," "I want you to tell me to go fuck myself, good and loud!" "They're gonna hear me in the back office!" "Come bonus time, I am gonna show you enough love, you could start a third family!" "Two's fucking plenty!" " I'm gonna shove you now!" " Go ahead!" "I love you like a brother." "I fucking love you, too, man." "Go fuck yourself, Axelrod!" "And now let us take a moment to appreciate the beauty of nature, which Donnie loved so well." " Amen." " Amen." "And now, according to Donnie's wishes, we drink and have a good time." "Walter." "Donnie said, and I'm quoting here," ""Have them all bury my picture in autumn leaves, and as they do, they should make a wish for the world... that has nothing to do with the financial markets."" "The paint was about eight layers thick and hard, but I scratched it." "And beneath the layers?" "Wilcox." "Greasy muck on his shoes." "Talk to me." "Well, I looked at his sentencing history, and about seven years ago, there's a significant pattern shift." "Suddenly, he becomes the toughest hanging judge on the federal bench, but not on white collar crime." " Oh, no?" " No, not on white of any kind." "He lets the white guys skate if he thinks you have access to lawyers or press or other noisemakers." "But poor Black and Latino boys from the hood get slapped with all kinds of time." "Uh-huh." "Now is that racism, or is there money somewhere?" "Well, I did a deep dive on his financial history, and seven years ago, he joined an investment group." "One of their holdings..." "Baldinger Prison Systems, a privatized for-profit prison company." "They charge inmates a dollar a minute to use the phone..." "And then soak the government with a 300% markup." "They net 17,000 dollars a year per prisoner." "Wilcox is building his business from the bench." "Exactly." "And he's doing it to poor kids with public defenders who are far less likely to file an appeal and far less able to win one." "Jesus Christ." "Where is the money going?" "It bounces into the Caymans, but it winds up in Dominican, where he has a condo." "This is great work." "And he's fucking his Dominican housekeeper." "I'm gonna get you back from Eastern and make you happy." "I'd like to be happy." "Fuck." "Really?" "Pretty grown-up, huh?" "If I live to a hundred, I wouldn't be this grown-up." "You want anything?" "I'm fine." "Thanks." "This isn't from Ikea, is it?" "No." "But it works the same way." "Dad." "What are you doing here?" "I was going through some things, and I came across this." "It's your Indian Head penny collection." "Thought you might get a kick out of it." "You came all the way out to Brooklyn to give me my penny collection?" "No, I'm meeting Perry and Richie at Luger's later." "I thought, as long as I'm over here..." "Oh, fuck it." "This isn't the year that I start choosing my words to avoid offense." "Just when I got my hopes up." "Okay, you want delicate?" "How about this?" "Perhaps it's time to be more careful about how you process and react." "It's a critical time." "And here's the less delicate way... stop... fucking... up!" "Insightful." "This must be how Ali felt when Angelo Dundee whispered in his ear." "Do you know what the press is saying about you?" "Didn't bother checking." "I have a general idea." "Well, they are clubbing you like a baby seal." "It's time that you got out in front of this." "You are a target for the Attorney General now." "Maybe it's time you got out of there before you get fired." "And do what?" "Hmm?" "Go over to Horvath?" "Maybe I get on my hands and knees and crawl up to Westport, drum up some business defending Bobby Axelrod or his friends." "Huh?" "I didn't show up here with just my rod in my hand." "No." "You brought coins." "And I have an idea." "Go ahead." "Take a year off." "Move the family up to the farm." "Mount Kisco?" "It's beautiful." "Wendy can open a practice." "God knows there are plenty of bored housewives that could use her help." "And you write a book." "In no time, you will have established residency." "Ahh." "Patrick Esposito's congressional seat." "Oh." "Patrick is tired." "I talked to him." "He'll step aside." "You'll be a shoo-in." "Congress." "Boy, that sounds like fun..." "535 stooges and blowhards, some of whom even believe in science." "Well, you'll stand out." "You know, if you had listened to me in the first place and hadn't blown up the deal with Axelrod, we would not be in this spot, would we?" ""We"?" "We?" "No." "You don't get to do that." "Not anymore." "Let me be delicate now." "The game has changed, and you haven't changed with it." "Your advice is no longer welcome." "So the next time you wanna waltz in here with your "I told you so" routine, do us both a favor and stay the fuck out." "Four million dollar rip on DKA, up 2% in our first week." "There are tips, and there are tips." "You plan on telling us where you got it?" "You'll hear the next one yourself." "He's here." "Dollar Bill, Mr. Hundred Cent." "Billy Buck Buck, motherfucker!" "I should've known." "Everyone's been talking about your brawl with Axe." "Fucking prick." "I keep my mouth shut, risk doing time for him, and then he treats me like that." "Look at this." "Little shop that could." "And from the acorn grew the mighty oak." "No doubt, all-star team like this." "Could always use one more." "Champagne?" "I'll take one of those Heinekens." "What do you say?" "We can talk after the first of the year." "I am contractually owed a bonus." "Meantime, want some more candy?" "Yeah." "You know how Penn Consol's been rising on takeover rumors?" "I've been watching that." "Behind the scenes?" "There's a bidding war." "It is fucking on." "Sure?" "I am not uncertain." "Come on in, Chuck." "Sit down." "I can deliver this on my feet." "Know that if this "urgent meeting"" "is to slam me for my ruling on the William Stearn case, you should proceed to the other side of that door and tell it to the doorknob." "Whit, that's a closed case." "Forget "Dollar" Bill Stearn." "No, this is about Daquan Forrester." "You remember Daquan, the first offender kid dealing pot he bought in New Jersey his senior year of high school that you slapped with 15 years?" "What about him?" "It's about Julio Lopez." "Remember him, too?" "11 years for credit card fraud because he bought a PlayStation?" "This won't do anyone any good." "Some of those are your cases, your office." "How did I miss it for so long?" "You know, all those middle class types walking out of your courtroom free." "All those Black and Latino kids going upstate for 20 years." "I am no racist." "Oh, no." "That's selling you short." "You're worse... a racist and a profiteer." "You want proof?" "Wait for it." "Baldinger Prison Systems." "There's no way to reopen those cases." "I can draw a straight line to you and your partners, your offshore bank account, and even your little girlfriend, Maribel Solarte, at your condo in Punta Cana." "Theories and accusations." "After I've spent a lifetime on the bench, until I got splinters in my ass and all for... a civil servant's wages." "We both know they're not just accusations, Your Honor." "What do you want?" "You will resign immediately for undisclosed personal reasons." "And there will be a little party and tearful goodbyes, and you will stride off into private practice." "Or the FBI could come in here and give you a far different reception." "You... won't prosecute?" "No." "You do it that way, and the Southern District declines to prosecute." "Because if we did, you would dig those badger teeth and claws of yours in and fight." "It would take two years, and you would go to jail, but the Southern District believes that your swift departure would be best for the justice system." "Oh..." "And shame on you." "Hi." "Hi." "How you holding up?" "Funeral arrangements were a welcome distraction." "I brought a casserole, just like it was the '50s." "This Secret Santa project looks overwhelming." "Do you need a hand?" "Help is literally on the way." "Lara's taking over the whole operation." "Oh." "So good of her." "She's been great." "Both of them, really great." "You're in a... complicated position." "Yeah." "It was... hard on Donnie, not being able to tell you." "What do you mean?" "I just mean his privacy, you know." "It meant a lot to him." "Did other people know?" "Hey." "Hey." "I've got a big truck outside." " Oh, do you need me to move?" " If you wouldn't mind." "It's so good of you to take over the Secret Santa thing." "Yeah." "We were pretty close." "And closer in troubled times." "That's the true test of friendship." "Yes, it is." "What are you doing here?" "I'm saying hi to Walter, seeing if he needed anything." "He's taken care of." "I see." "Well, I figure, at a time like this, the more the merrier." "At a time like this, a family pulls together." "That's what Axe Capital is... a family." "One I'm part of, too." "Of course you are." "We're fine." "Thanks for the casserole." "Want company?" "No." "I'd be no good." "All right." "You okay?" "Sure." "You and Donnie were close, especially these last few months." "How long you figure it's been since we've had a session?" " We talk all the time." " No, a real session." "Three and a half years." "Will you come see me?" "Hey." "Christmas coming a little early this year?" "This is Donnie's Secret Santa project." "I took it on." " We're elves." " Slave elves." "Gordie." "Pretty big job here, boys." "You want some help?" "What are you doing?" "I'll get a half a dozen interns from the office." "They'll knock this off in no time." "They're Ivy Leaguers." " Yes." " Conference." "You two keep wrapping." "Remember, there are more presents in the other room." "This is one of those teachable moments that we talked about." "The idea is that we do something with our own hands to benefit the less fortunate, as a family." "Is this a teachable moment for me or for the kids?" "All right, I'll wrap." "And, Bobby..." "I ran into Wendy at Walter's today." "And?" "She was probing Walter for information." "Is that right?" "It made be wonder about her continuing value." "We're vulnerable, and so are they." "I trust her." "Mmm." "Thank you." " Your Honor." " Counselor." " Mmm." " You didn't have to come." "Oh, of course I did." "Wouldn't be seemly otherwise." "Boy, you know what I love about this cake?" " What?" " Sour cream." "It's just like my grandmother used to make." "Gives it a little... tang." " Yes, it does." " Yeah." "You like a little tang every so often, don't you, Whit?" " Sure, Chuck." " Yeah." "It's a really nice crowd." "I think I'll say a few words." "No, that won't be necessary." "I love to speak." "Uh..." "Ladies and gentlemen?" "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention for a moment?" "Thank you." "Hmm." "Justice." "Rooted in truth, watered by tenacity, and flowering in wisdom." "May be the single most beautiful expression of humanity." "For a man to dedicate his life in its pursuit rings of a certain nobility." "And this day we gather to acknowledge that nobility in the Honorable Whit Wilcox." "Devoted servant of justice and one of its most industrious sentinels." "Congratulations, Judge Wilcox." "And thank you for your noble service." "Hello, Judge." "You're going to jail." "You may even own it." "You're a fucking liar." "I said the Southern District wouldn't prosecute." "I can't speak for Eastern." "You'll be coming with us." "You have the right to remain silent." "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." "Twenty-eight percent of our goddamn fund by the time we dug ourselves ...out of the position." "Was there ever even a real takeover being considered?" "Who cares?" "It's over." "How are we gonna explain this to our investors?" "Nice space." "Edgy." "Mind if I take a seat?" "Going forward, you might want to consider vetting your information a little better." "Lesson learned." "I could take pleasure in watching you three circle the drain, but I am a practical man." "And there was a reason that I hired and trained all of you in the first place." "So... here's what I'm prepared to do." "I will seed lonosphere... stupid fucking name, by the way... with 250 million dollars." "That should keep the lights on." "You'll be required to sign non-compete and non-solicitation agreements." "We will enter into a revenue share agreement." "The current rate for seed money is 20 to 25%," " ...so why don't we call it 40?" " 40?" "Swallow that and wash it down with this." "You will provide total transparency." "I want your trade files sent to my office every night." "There will be a limit on how much outside capital you can raise." "At no time can you manage more than 999 million dollars." "There will be no buy-out to eliminate the revenue share agreement and no lock-up on my money." "I can pull the plug at any time." "That's the deal." "No negotiation." "I'm counting to five, and then it's off the table." " One..." " We'll do it." "Wise." "And I'd better see you at the funeral." "I, uh, I don't go to funerals." "I can't bring myself to." "I-I skip 'em." "I send mountains of flowers and food to the wake, convince myself that's the right thing to do." "If I were asked why, I'd say," ""Well, we wanna remember him how he was,"" "or some other bullshit." "Truth?" "I like to keep moving so I don't have to think about it." "More truth?" "I'm not the type to grapple with it all." "But..." "There was no way that I was gonna skip this one." "Because Donnie... grappled with all of it." "He was courage." "And... hope." "And his intelligence and his kindness made me wanna be all those things, too." "As it did all of you." "I am so angry that he's gone." "So glad that while he was here," "I was one of the lucky few who knew him." "I admired Donnie Caan." "And I am proud to have called him a friend." "Let's do this." "Donnie." "To Donnie." "Why you working from home today?" "I went to a funeral and got kicked out... by my wife." "I needed the quiet." "The Judge Wilcox arrest..." "Mm-hmm?" " Slick move." " Mm." "That wasn't it." "It was just the opener, right?" "You got rid of an impediment, but that's not enough." "You're putting in your own blocker." "You wanna put someone in that seat... someone who'll owe you, not someone who's compromised." "Just a more... willing ear." "The person needs to be qualified." "He or she needs to check out gold stars across the board." "It's a Senate appointment, the Judiciary committee, so it won't be immediate, but it won't be long either." "Yeah, you're almost there." "Hmm." "Adam DeGiulio?" "And then he's out of your way at the AG's office, too." "And maybe he leaves a friendly behind in his place." "Wow." "Don't get too excited by how good it sounds." "Everything's gotta fall just right." "And the odds of that happening..." "Still, you're playing the game again." "Clear-eyed." "Oh, that I am." "Drink?" "No." "I'll..." "I'll keep mine clear, too." "You all right?" "Sad." "Yeah." "Good guy." "One of the few people at work who were remotely interesting." "Tell me about it." "And... he was our gay guy." "That make a difference?" "Yeah." "These days, it's great to have a gay." "You are a complete goddamn animal." "I ruined his life." "Say again?" "Donnie." "I was able to patch him up, keep him in a game that made him miserable." "If I just... let him fail, get fired, he would've been better off." "He could've made the life he wanted." "That's kind of a stretch, Wendy." "Oh, he would've been so much happier if he'd returned to academia." "Give me a break." "College professors are broke as fuck and bitter, too." "They certainly don't leave 40 mil to their families when they knock off." "Now, what... is really going on, Dr. Rhoades?" "Is it a little case of projection?" "Donnie walked with 40?" "Hyperbole." "Just making my point." "Right." "Worst part of my job, I'll tell you that." " Ari." " Hey, Bobby." "Thank you, Dr. Gilbert, for the excellent care, for trying so hard." "Walter, we're gonna take off." "A messenger's gonna stop by tomorrow." "You'll have all the info." "Any problems, you have the number, right?" "Yes." "Thank you." "I should be thanking you." "I took him away from you." "He should've been with his family, with you." "No." "You pulled him out of a dark well, made him himself again." "Got him reaching for that final piece of life instead of watching it go." "Oh, honey." "It was a good send-off." "It was very Donnie." "So nothing to worry about on the Secret Santa front." "I really couldn't have that around the house." "Donnie loved doing it so much." "He kept saying, "I just wanna make it to Christmas so I can be Santa one more time."" "He'd see them get the gifts and beam straight through New Year's." "He just didn't make it." "Okay." "I'll meet you in the waiting room." "Okay." "Ari?" "How is he?" "It's not contained, and it's spreading quickly." "I'm not into the calendar game, but..." "two, three months." "That's a shame." "He is a candidate for a drug trial in Pittsburgh that's been yielding some pretty interesting results." "Such as?" "Slowing growth down, buying time, really." "How much?" "Three or four months more, six." "I can get him in, but it is a pretty rigorous course." "So... kind of rough for a guy who's been through a lot already." "It can be." "Maybe we shouldn't bring it up." "You think?" "I..." "Well, I mean, what kind of quality of life will he have?" "Best not to bring it up then." "Yeah."