Werner left a letter in his bedroom, assuring he would only be gone for four days he just wanted to meet his wife. The letter also detailed the subsequent project arrangements, ensuring progress wouldn’t be delayed in his absence. But he underestimated the brutality of these drug dealers, and Mike Sr. was truly on tenterhooks for him. Staying calm, Mike analyzed: Werner hadn’t taken his passport, so he would never go to the airport. He immediately dispatched men to search the surrounding highways, as well as the nearest long-distance bus stations and train stations. He also remembered Werner had asked his wife Margaret in Germany to wire some money—Werner would most likely go to the bank to withdraw it.
Rushing to the bank, Mike lied to the teller that Werner was his wife’s brother, suffering from early-stage dementia and diabetes, who had run out without his medication that day. Having fooled the teller, Mike learned Werner had withdrawn the money and left an hour earlier. To make matters worse, Gustavo had already gotten wind of the situation and arrived in person. Gustavo had received a tip: Werner’s wife Margaret had boarded a Lufthansa flight and would land in Denver at nine o’clock. Someone would tail Margaret to their meeting place. Mike knew if Gustavo’s men found Werner, he would be dead for sure. He begged for one more chance—to find and bring Werner back before he met his wife—and pleaded with Gustavo not to take his life.
With Gustavo’s permission, Mike stepped up his search efforts. He had the security room retrieve the recording of Werner’s last phone call with his wife, which mentioned a trip to a hot spring resort. After calling each hot spring resort one by one, he finally found Werner’s reservation. To avoid alerting him, Mike told the operator not to connect to Werner’s room. But as he drove to the hotel, he noticed he was being followed. He cleverly evaded the trailing vehicle using a parking lot before continuing toward the hotel.
The man tailing Mike was none other than Lalo. Ever since his meeting with Gustavo, he had been closely monitoring the fried chicken restaurant’s movements. Today, he saw Gustavo leave in a hurry with his men, followed them to the bank, and watched Mike nervously explaining something—as if a major incident had occurred. He had intended to follow Mike to gather information, but ended up losing him.
Unwilling to give up, Lalo returned to the bank. Unlike Mike, he had no talent for deception. Pulling out a gun, he threatened the teller and learned Mike had been looking for someone. Lalo also found the hotel where Werner was staying and immediately told the operator to connect to Werner’s room. Pretending to be one of Gustavo’s men, he successfully tricked Werner, who repeatedly said he had arranged the follow-up work in his letter. Just as Lalo was about to press for more details, the line went silent.
Mike had stopped Werner just before he revealed anything crucial. After picking Werner up near the factory, Mike reported the truth to Gustavo—including the mysterious phone call at the hotel. Gustavo knew it must have been Lalo, and thus made up his mind to kill Werner. At that moment, Werner still didn’t understand the danger he was in, and begged Mike to let him return to the hotel to pick up his wife from the airport. Only when he saw Mike’s serious expression did he realize the gravity of the situation. The only thing Mike could do now was to have him call his wife and tell her to take the next flight back to Germany immediately. For the rest, even Mike was powerless to help.
The project was finally completed, and a massive basement had been built beneath the factory. Chemistry professor Gale was thrilled—with the addition of a ventilation system and the purchase of some equipment, this place would become a hidden yet highly efficient meth lab. Mike looked at Gustavo and Gale, then turned and walked away with a cold expression.
Today happened to be the first anniversary of Chuck’s death. Jimmy figured many of his fellow lawyers would go to the cemetery to lay flowers. He arrived early, standing in front of Chuck’s tombstone with tears in his eyes, putting on a convincing show. Kim waited in the car with snacks and coffee—after all, Jimmy would need to maintain this act all day.
This was just the first step in reshaping his image. Jimmy also anonymously donated $23,000 to a university to establish a reading room named after Chuck. Though it was supposed to be anonymous, he deliberately let it slip to the guests at the opening ceremony. Next came the Chuck McGill Scholarship, which Jimmy personally presented to three outstanding students.
With all preparations complete, it was time for the appeal hearing. Jimmy pulled out the letter Chuck had left him, intending to use Chuck’s words to move the bar association committee members. But he changed his mind at the last minute, speaking from the heart about his feelings for his brother Chuck. When Chuck was alive, he often criticized and condemned Jimmy, making him seem like a scoundrel. But every time, it turned out Chuck had been right. This resonated with the committee members, who couldn’t help nodding in agreement. Jimmy then admitted he would never reach Chuck’s level, but vowed to keep striving to not bring shame to his brother’s name.
Jimmy’s speech moved Kim to tears in the audience, and naturally changed the committee’s original decision. After the hearing, Kim overheard Jimmy mocking the committee triumphantly, and only then did she realize it had all been another impromptu performance by Jimmy—every word had been a lie.