Mike followed the signal to a suburban substation, where he saw the fuel tank cap being handed over to another man in an SUV from a distance. He tailed the SUV all night as it drove around, watching the driver stop at several locations to tuck small packages into his backpack. This strange behavior immediately made Mike think of drug trafficking. It wasn’t until dawn that the SUV driver grabbed the backpack from the car and walked into a Los Pollos Hermanos fried chicken restaurant. Moments later, the driver came out and drove away—but the tracker’s signal showed the fuel tank cap hadn’t moved with him. Mike was certain he’d found the drug dealers’ den.
Mike needed someone to go inside the restaurant to investigate. When he called Jimmy, a strange woman’s voice answered. It was Francesca Liddy, the new assistant who’d just started working. Kim had originally wanted a front desk assistant with legal experience, not someone who’d worked at the DMV for a few years. But Jimmy had low requirements—he just wanted someone friendly to the elderly. Francesca had dealt with many elderly drivers during her time at the DMV, so she was more than capable in that regard. Jimmy had told her to start work immediately without hesitation, much to Kim’s annoyance. Sitting at the front desk by the phone, Jimmy taught Francesca step by step how to communicate with elderly clients over the phone. They’d just started to see results when Mike’s call came in. The friendly small talk Jimmy had taught her was useless when dealing with Mike. As soon as Jimmy realized it was Mike, he told Francesca to transfer the call to his office right away.
Early the next morning, Jimmy went to the fried chicken restaurant as Mike had instructed. After entering, he ordered breakfast and sat quietly, waiting for the SUV driver to arrive. Though Jimmy was usually glib and dismissive of rules, he felt nervous about going undercover to investigate drug dealers. Right on the time Mike had mentioned, an SUV pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot. The driver, carrying his backpack over one shoulder, walked in—and Jimmy watched his every move closely: the combo meal he ordered, the seat he chose, where he placed his backpack, how long he ate, and even the trash can he dumped his chicken bones into (which Jimmy checked too). He didn’t see the driver interact with anyone, nor did he notice anything unusual. To be thorough, Jimmy had pretended to drop his watch into the trash can while discarding his leftover bones. The kind-hearted restaurant manager had even helped him fish it out personally—service that was truly top-notch. What Jimmy didn’t know, though, was that this friendly-looking manager was Gustavo Fring, the biggest drug lord in New Mexico.
Mike was disappointed after hearing Jimmy’s report. He sent Jimmy away, then sat in the used car he’d just bought and continued surveillance, jotting down the color and model of every vehicle that parked in front of the restaurant. Suddenly, an SUV swerved quickly into the parking lot, reversed toward the back door, then sped out just as fast and merged onto the interstate. At that moment, the tracker’s signal started moving—Mike immediately started his car and chased after it.
He drove on the highway for a while before the signal stopped moving, showing the target was 200 meters ahead. But the road ahead was straight, with no vehicles in sight. The fuel tank cap was lying in the middle of the road, with a cell phone on top of it. The phone rang, and when Mike answered, a strange voice came through the line.
Meanwhile, Jimmy was meeting with clients in his office. Kim was also impressed with the new front desk assistant Francesca’s work efficiency and admired Jimmy’s eye for people. The phone on the desk rang—it was Ernesto, and he was right outside the office. Like Ernesto, Kim had started out in the mailroom and had worked with him for several years. She stepped out to meet the nervous Ernesto, confused about why he was afraid to talk to Jimmy directly. Bound by the firm’s confidentiality agreement, Ernesto couldn’t tell Jimmy about the tape directly. So he beat around the bush, stammering and gesturing to hint at what had happened. Kim was shocked when she realized what he meant; she rushed back into the office and demanded to know what Jimmy had told Chuck. When Jimmy heard that Chuck had secretly recorded him, his heart dropped—he felt the sting of betrayal all over again.
Jimmy forced himself to stay composed and finished meeting with his remaining clients. During this time, Kim researched case laws, consulted law school professors, and confirmed that the tape was legally worthless. But she couldn’t figure out what Chuck’s real motive was. Jimmy seemed calm on the surface, but inside, anger was boiling. Chuck had secretly recorded his confession—and had even made Kim waste precious time investigating this mess. The more Jimmy thought about it, the angrier he got. Finally, he couldn’t hold back any longer; he drove furiously to Chuck’s house.
Chuck’s front door was locked. Jimmy didn’t hesitate—he kicked it open with a few hard blows. He roared at Chuck in a rage, grabbed the fire poker by the fireplace, and pried open the desk drawers one by one until he found the tape recorder. He pulled out the tape, and while yelling at Chuck, he snapped it in half right in front of him. Suddenly, Howard’s voice came from behind—Howard and a private detective Chuck had hired had been hiding in the back room, watching Jimmy’s every move. Only then did Jimmy realize he’d fallen into another one of Chuck’s traps.