Michael.
Michael Desiato is out of prison.
I got you a job.
- Why? - Standard work release.
I got to make your exit from prison look legit.
I'm thinking an assignment
that would get him out into the world.
Mr. Desiato, you're out.
Seven ODs in one night.
Pull it.
I ain't got shit to move.
How about we start with two keys?
How about we start with 20?
I want to buy the Grand Rain.
You gonna run a nightclub in the Quarter?
You say you want to champion for Black-owned businesses.
Why not help a Black owner get her hand on a business?
Congratulations.
I look forward to seeing what you do with the place.
My God, it really is you.
You-you may still be exposed.
You need to watch yourself.
You asked me to bury something and now here we are.
It was a car.
Not a body.
It was a coffin with a set of headlights.
Double latte. Maurice.
- It's been a minute. - Does anyone know you're here?
The question is: anyone know you here?
Thank you for coming back.
I need to show you something.
This is Rocco Adam Baxter.
He's your grandson.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
No, no, no, no.
No.
No, no.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Hi, Grandpa.
Yeah, baby.
Yes, baby, yes.
You don't like LSU?
I just don't like them to cover.
You lied to me.
- Sin of omission. - You should have told me.
Not my secret to tell.
Besides, that girl tried to tell you many times.
You just didn't want to listen. Would you like some wings?
Goddamn it.
Why don't you sit down, Michael?
I don't understand what you want from me.
You don't have to understand.
I can't be a spy for you.
I didn't get you out of prison for your espionage skills.
I don't need you to fake anything, okay?
I just need you to be you.
Why?
Because you have relationships that no one else has.
No, no...
Everyone who gets close to me ends up hurt.
I'm not going to let that happen.
Listen to me. I know you, okay?
I know what you're capable of.
I know what you're incapable of.
So what's his name?
You already know his name.
Inch by inch,
I will get you to where I need you to go.
Are you really going to fight me every step of the way?
Jesus, what exactly are you asking of me?
At this moment, Michael,
all I want you to do is love that baby.
- Synced & corrected by MementMori - -- www.addic7ed.com --
The grandest hotel in the city,
with the largest casino in the state.
Next to it, high-end stores with the best of everything:
jewelry, clothing,
artisanal handcrafted leather goods.
Luxury condominiums.
And a theater impressive enough to host Jazz Fest,
the Bacchus Ball, and the London Philharmonic.
Retail, residential and entertainment at its finest.
And perched above it all,
our family suites
with panoramic views of the entire Crescent City.
Can we come back when all this shit is built?
God, don't you want to build anything with your life?
Carlo, I'm-I'm trying to instill something into you.
Because everything we have, we've built. Everything.
And-and this is for all of us,
but I-I need you beside me right now, hmm?
Building it with me, hmm?
- Yeah? - Yeah.
Now, apply yourself.
Because with hard work, you can do anything.
That's the promise of the Baxter District.
Because when people come through here from all over,
it'll be our family name that they see.
And it'll remind them that the world is their oyster.
Is it okay that I'm here?
Yeah, yeah.
You left pretty quickly the other night.
Uh, I was... taken aback by...
Hmm. I've been trying to tell you for a while, so...
Maybe it was a mistake.
I just want you to know he exists.
If you don't want us to bother you, I'll-I'll respect that.
No, uh...
I don't know what I want.
It's... it's just a lot.
I know.
Um...
Well, I'll leave you to it.
Are you working tomorrow?
- Uh, no. - I'll call you?
Excuse me.
_
This is the most money I ever trusted somebody with at one time.
You asking me to hand it over to an unknown
just don't sit right with me.
Yeah, well, I know him.
Ooh, Trey know him.
Trey took a five-year bid on a case that wasn't his.
You can trust him.
That make him loyal. Don't make him smart.
Well... scared money don't make money.
Last time I trusted you with something this big, you lost him.
You fucked up.
The last time...
... was the last time.
Go make me some money.
- Good morning. - Good morning.
Mr. Evans. How are we doing today?
Good, ma'am.
Is that a new character?
Uh, yes, ma'am.
- What's he called? - Uh, Kofi.
Hey. Now, I know y'all know better.
Hey, are you all right?
Justin?
I just need to get to class.
I shouldn't have slapped you.
Apology accepted?
Have you given any more thought to the baptism?
- Yeah. - And?
Well, God is still dead, so...
Why does everything have to be so difficult with you?
It's an absurd request to make of an atheist.
You are not an atheist.
With the absence of God as my witness, yes, I am.
This child is named after his uncle.
I need to know that one day both Roccos will be together.
That is so fucking morbid.
Please, if you, if you don't do another nice thing for me
as long as you live...
please do this.
Please.
Oh, what's the matter?
- He's hungry. - He just ate.
Sometimes he takes two.
I bet he's gassy. That formula's not good for him.
The formula they give you at the hospital?
Yeah, it's probably poison.
Experts say "breast is best."
So do teenage boys.
Here.
I could never get you to latch on properly.
Carlo and Rocco, no problem, but not you.
Every feeding was a battle.
And I thought it was my fault, but it wasn't.
We do the best we can.
You have a mother's instinct.
Perhaps you can trust that I have one as well.
Mama?
Hey.
- Nephew. - Hey.
Mmm, what you doing here?
We're here to see my favorite auntie, of course.
Lies, lies, lies.
I'm looking to buy a '73 DeVille.
Trying to restore it. But I need Trey to inspect it first, though.
Know we can't let him leave town with a lemon.
Mm-hmm.
How's your real favorite aunt?
I'm-a hear about it anyway. You might as well tell me.
She's good.
Hmm. I'm sure she is.
She's actually trying to buy a club in the Quarter.
So people forget she sell drugs in the Ninth?
Oh, here we go.
You see, well, this is why I didn't say anything.
Hmm. Mm-hmm.
I'm sure y'all is hungry.
Ain't much left in there, but go on and fix you a plate.
- Car out front? - Yes, boss.
Is she coming with?
Hello.
On your way to see the mayor?
- We are. - I thought I'd join you.
Wonderful.
We won't bite.
My mom wants Rocco to be baptized.
What do you want?
Thank you for asking.
You're the first person who has.
Uh, heaven, the afterlife, I-I...
I never believed in that stuff.
But after losing my brother...
... and then Adam...
You want heaven to exist.
Judge Desiato?
You're out.
And you're with my sister.
Mm-hmm. He's Rocco's grandfather.
Does Dad know about this?
You want to be my brother or his spy?
Hmm?
I'm sorry.
- Hi. - Hi.
Hi, baby.
So, were you released on good time, or... ?
- Please don't be rude. - How is that rude?
We're just two ex-cons having a conversation.
I should be going.
- Please don't. - No, no, I-I...
I need to leave.
- What? - What is wrong with you?
- I'll apologize. - Yeah.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Do you want to tell me what you're doing with my sister?
She reached out to me.
Yeah, she's in a tough spot right now.
She needs family,
not some bum who just got out of prison.
You don't see the irony of that statement?
I was young. Plus, I served my full sentence.
Not for killing Kofi Jones.
That was self-defense, remember?
He had it coming.
You don't worry about karma?
Hasn't caught up to me yet.
His brother did try to kill you.
Yeah.
Yeah, but he missed.
I'll see you around, Judge.
Carlo.
Ever heard of Harry the Hook?
No.
A guy out of Chicago.
You remind me of him.
Should I bring him in?
Let him wait another minute.
You know what you're going to do?
What do you think I should do?
With Jimmy Baxter's deal?
Just rubber-stamp it and be done with it.
This deal is better for him than it is for the city.
Yeah, but we didn't make this deal.
Your predecessor did.
Yeah, but if I'm the one who has to...
then it's on me.
And I don't want this deal with him on me.
So what are you going to do?
Let's find out.
- The mayor will see you now. - Thank you.
Nice to meet you.
Mr. Baxter.
And Mrs. Baxter.
What a lovely surprise.
- Hi. - Hello, Mr. Mayor.
Yeah, y'all come on in, have a seat.
Thank you.
- Please. - I apologize, sir,
that, uh, this is the first time we've managed to...
get together since your election.
Now, our relationship with the previous mayor was superb.
We certainly hope that tradition carries on with your administration.
Well, I don't see why it shouldn't.
Splendid, splendid.
What can I do for you today?
I represent a group of investors who were...
awarded the lease to the 12 acres across the river.
And that lease still needs city approval.
Indeed. And that approval was set for the end of this month
by your predecessor.
Well, unfortunately, my predecessor made a lot of mistakes,
and this was one of them.
Hmm? How do you mean?
Well, the problem is, there should've been an RFP.
The process wasn't competitive.
Anyone who wanted to make a bid was free to do so.
Yet no one else did.
Well... I guess we got lucky, then.
How'd you manage that?
Years of planning and approval have gone into this.
The people of New Orleans own that land.
And I have promised them that if and when their land is leased,
it'll be done so in a way that benefits them.
That's why I've decided to reopen the bidding.
Now, we'll do a request for proposal.
And you are, of course, encouraged to resubmit.
Well, is there any way that we might bypass all of that?
Hmm.
- I'm afraid not. - Let's cut the bullshit.
What do you want?
I want the citizens of this city to have a say in its future.
The citizens?
The people who elected me.
They ought to benefit from a billion-dollar development deal
that goes through this office.
Well, who are we hurting?
The people who should be building these complexes.
The ones whose neighboring communities will be ravaged
by gentrification.
They're the ones who supported a platform of equal participation
and equal distribution of resources.
Resources like clubs in the French Quarter?
Oh. Uh, let-let's stay on topic. Shall we?
But that was just me helping out an enterprising constituent.
Ah. Well...
If only we could get as much support
as that drug-dealing bitch
- from the Lower Ninth. - Gina.
Why don't you name your price so we can get out of here?
I think what my wife is trying to say, Mr. Mayor,
is that our family's support can be very, very valuable.
And our animus can be incredibly destructive.
And what I'm saying is...
I made promises to the people of this city.
Helping rich folk get richer wasn't one of them.
So, what did you and Fia talk about?
Nothing.
You didn't talk about nothing, Michael, come on.
Heaven. We talked about heaven.
Really?
Okay. And what did you and Carlo talk about?
So, you're just watching me?
What did you and Carlo talk about?
Have I given you the impression that any of this is optional?
I don't know why you're trying to push me.
Seriously? Everything you know about the Baxters,
everything you've seen them do, it...
Honestly, it's just driving me a little batshit crazy
that I have to persuade you to take them down.
Oh. Well, that's because you still think that justice
- is something you can achieve. - Yes, I do.
But all I'm worried about right now
is what those people still plan to do
and all the evil that is planning to come.
Why do you care so much?
Why don't you care at all?
Where have you been?
I had business that required my attention.
Ah, what business?
Oh, at the, uh, at the Grand Rain.
Can't you leave that alone?
I don't want her across the street from my hotel.
Well, it's our hotel, sweetheart, so, uh...
And, frankly, I'm surprised you're willing
to just roll over and let it happen.
We have bigger things to deal with right now.
My family's name used to mean something here.
If this hotel were called Conti instead of Baxter,
no one would dare encroach on our territory.
Well, your personal vendetta is encroaching on my plans.
What plans?
You can't even convince the mayor to give you his support.
Uh-huh. It was meant to be a negotiation, Gina, not a shakedown.
Well, maybe he needs a good shakedown.
Ow!
Come on.
How dare you?
You will not tell me how to run my business.
It's our business,
and I most certainly will.
If you're really that, uh, bothered
about this nonsense across the street,
I can have Frankie take care of it.
- They took a shot at Carlo. - Mm-hmm.
And the shooter was disposed of.
You disgust me.
Move.
- Calm down. - Move!
Hmm? Hmm?
Let... Stop.
- What are you doing? - Stop it.
Hey.
Calm down.
- Calm down. - I'm gonna scream.
Go ahead.
Calm down. Calm down.
Calm down.
Calm down. Calm down.
Yeah.
Calm down.
- Yeah. Yeah. - Okay.
Hey.
Calm down.
Ooh, you want to fuck me?
Why don't you just let Frankie take care of that, too?
You got a girl yet?
No.
That's it?
Just no?
What you want me to say?
Shit, do you talk to any of them?
I mean, there is this one girl.
- Yeah. - Mandy.
There you go.
- She's just my study partner. - Yeah, the study partners.
I got about three study partners right now.
There's Kiara, now, we do chemistry.
Then I got Dahlia.
Now, that girl? She's all about anatomy.
Then there's Yasmine.
Fine as hell,
but I'm gonna have to cut her loose
because she's trying to get me to do some multiplication.
And I ain't with it.
You're so stupid, bro.
Man, he text you back yet?
No, it's travel baseball. It's an away game.
What the hell does that mean?
Probably extra innings.
Yo, I'm trying to get out of here tonight.
Don't trip, man.
I'm sure he'll be back soon.
Hey, man, I can hear the tennis ball.
So, how you holding up?
So, no small talk then, huh?
Jimmy Baxter came to see me today.
His wife, too, actually.
What'd they want?
Key to the city.
They want to develop the land across the river.
They won the bid a while back.
It was just them and one other potential buyer.
Now, the Baxters say they got that contract fair and square.
But on the evening that the bids were supposed to be submitted,
the other buyer disappeared.
No one ever heard from him again.
They can't buy me, so...
I'm guessing their next move is to try to scare me.
Do they know anything about me that could scare me?
No.
You're in a dark place and I'm sorry, but...
I've got to ask.
Did you ever tell anyone anything
that I should be worried about?
You're the only friend I've got left.
You know I would do anything to protect you.
? Twerk, twerk, twerk ?
Hey, stay put, Little Man.
What for?
Watch that.
- Here you go, Mo. - Thank you.
Hello, Monique.
That's a good whiskey smash.
Think I'm gonna have to hold onto that bartender.
We need to talk.
We are talking.
No easy way to say this.
Got a better offer.
Oh, did you now?
How unfortunate for you that we already made a deal.
Well, it's not quite that simple.
Yes, it is.
I agreed to your terms and you accepted.
Well...
She offered ten percent above the purchase price.
Oh, she did?
I am sorry.
Why don't you say sorry to Gina Baxter?
Yeah.
She, uh, she made it real clear to me
that it'd be in the interest of my long-term health to sell to her.
Well, in the interest of your short-term health,
you should reconsider.
You know what she can do to me?
Oh, you're worried about hypotheticals.
Let me offer you a guarantee.
Either you sell me this club...
or your heirs will.
Les bons temps rouler.
Can you match her offer?
Ten percent.
Her offer was to close at the end of the week.
And all cash.
I appreciate you.
Roderick's on the way back.
- Be about two hours. - It's about time.
All right, hold on.
Hey.
You ain't made the buy?
In a couple hours.
Good.
Change of plans. Run it back.
I need the cash back now.
Run it back? It's already set.
You know we can't back out now.
Hold on, no, no, no... I ain't asking.
When I say change of plans, you change the fucking plans.
Do you understand what happens if we piss this guy off?
I ain't getting into that right now.
Just get your ass on the road and bring me my fucking money.
Yeah?
Order up.
Yo.
Mo. Where the hell you going?
- Big Mo. She canceled the order. - What?
I'm bringing the money back to New Orleans.
I think the fuck not.
Yo, don't fucking touch me, man.
Mo, if you leave town now, I'm fucked.
You know Roderick don't play about his money.
And neither does she. I got orders, Trey.
Well, fuck them orders.
And fuck Aunt Mo!
I told you I didn't want to do this shit in the first place.
Now you're gonna pull out the last second?!
After I stuck my fucking neck out?!
Yo, Trey, don't answer that.
Fuck, man, what the fuck?
Trey, man, stop!
Get the fuck off me!
Goddamn. Fuck you, man.
Come here.
I fucking told you.
- Hey. - Hey, hey.
- Stop right now! - Houston PD!
- Hey, stop right there. - Chill.
Chill out, Trey!
Hey, I got him.
- What's up? - Get over here.
Aah!
Get off me!
God, my nose.
Fuck!
Stay down.
Fuck. God.
Move. On your feet, let's go.
Get up, get up.
Evening, Carlo.
Hi, Dad.
How's our hotel?
Safe and sound.
Everything all right?
- Mm-hmm. - Mmm.
Talk to me.
Did I get lucky last year?
How so?
At the murder trial. My acquittal.
Mm-mm. Justice was done.
You acted in self-defense.
If we had to do it over...
... do you think I'd get off?
Double jeopardy, son.
You can't, uh... can't be tried for the same crime twice.
You know who Harry the Hook is?
Mm, not to my knowledge.
He was a mobster in Chicago.
Hmm.
In the '70s. He killed a Teamster official.
They had a trial.
He was found not guilty.
25 years later, he was retried and convicted.
It must've been a-a hung jury the first time.
No, it wasn't.
It was an acquittal.
They said that double jeopardy didn't apply
'cause there was no actual jeopardy in the first place.
Because the judge had been gotten to.
Huh.
Who told you about this?
Find another place to drink.
I need to ask you something.
When Rocco died...
When Adam killed Rocco.
- When Adam killed Rocco... - Mm-hmm.
I drove him to the police station.
He was going to turn himself in that night.
But then I saw you there.
And I... turned around.
Everything that I did, everything that happened...
... flowed from that one moment,
that one decision.
If we had come forward right then, told the truth,
Adam killed Rocco...
... what would you have done?
When you saw me at the police station, what did you see?
You were... in a hallway with your wife.
A detective was speaking to you.
It-it looked... like he had just told you what happened.
Then you watched me lose my son.
Yes.
Mm.
Did I react differently than... you'd expect a man to react?
No.
Then why did you choose to see me as a monster?
I knew who you were.
Maybe you wanted to walk out of that police station
and just have it all go away.
Perhaps I was...
... your excuse.
You would have killed my son.
If someone comes for my family,
I promise that whatever you've seen or heard about me
would pale in comparison to what I'm actually capable of.
But this was an accident.
If you and Adam had come to me with honesty and contrition,
how could I have responded with violence?
He was just a boy.
Adam ran because he was afraid.
His fear was entirely forgivable.
It was your fear that got him killed.
Jim, if his kid had come forward that night...
I would've killed him with my own hands.
This is exactly what I had in mind
when I asked if we could go someplace to talk.
Jesus, right in the face.
I thought you were supposed to aim for the heart.
This guy had a bulletproof vest on.
Ah.
What do you want?
To become allies.
You can imagine how thrilled I was to find out
that Michael Desiato was already out of prison.
You're not looking at the big picture.
Right, the "release one criminal to catch another"?
No.
To catch a dozen more. A hundred more.
Let me explain this to you.
The Baxters are New Orleans, but they connect to crime families
all up and down the East Coast.
Right. And you're from the Southern District of New York, right?
So, I-I'm guessing that this transfer was a demotion.
I get it. You know, you're coming off of a loss,
and New Orleans feels small to you.
Well, it's true, right?
There are a lot of things that are true.
It's also true that you are not really known
for your ability to close cases,
but I don't have the time or the patience to go there.
Okay. I had Michael Desiato's conviction in hand
- until you stepped in. - You got a confession from a man
who was in shock and just lost everything.
Okay, this is an interesting tactic,
considering I know you want something from me.
I do.
I need help with Michael.
No. Sorry. He's yours. You can deal with him now.
So, the issue is, I am having difficulty motivating him.
Well, of course you are.
He's selfish and he doesn't care.
I mean, you can't motivate him.
So, what are you saying?
I have to motivate you to help me try?
We both want the same things, right?
I don't have any clue what you want.
Hi. Come in, come in. Sorry.
He was wide awake when I texted you.
No, it's-it's fine.
I keep putting him down and he keeps waking up,
so I-I have to hold him for a little bit.
You can come in.
Here, we can go...
- Just... - Here, let me...
- Let me, um... - Thank you.
Thank you.
- Sorry. - Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. Oh, I see he got you, huh?
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, that's for the-the potential christening.
My parents picked it out.
Hmm.
Adam was baptized.
Over my objections, as a matter of fact.
Right, you said you don't really believe in that...
No.
No, but Robin did.
That was Adam's mother.
Yeah, we had a lot of conversations about her.
You did?
Mm-hmm.
So, how'd she convince you?
Well, we discussed it and, uh...
No, we... we argued. For weeks.
And then one day she just said to me...
"Why do you fight so hard when it means nothing to you?"
Why did you?
Because I thought I was right.
And do you ever regret giving in?
I regret... not giving in more often.
Do you want to hold him?
Uh...
I'll just try putting him down one more time.
Oh, okay, yeah, all right.
Wish me luck.
Okay.
I-I've had to pee for an hour,
- so I'll be right back. Sorry. - Sure.
- Synced & corrected by MementMori - -- www.addic7ed.com --