Gustavo intended to dig a ten-meter-plus tunnel beneath the town, so what he asked Mike to do was simple: pick up an engineering expert from the border area. Using a hood, a van, and other tactics, Mike disoriented the man completely. Once they reached the equipment storage site, the expert would assess the project.
The first expert pulled a laptop out of his bag, glanced at the equipment a few times, and patted his chest confidently, promising to get the job done. For extra pay, he even offered to finish a month ahead of schedule—as if the project in front of him were a trivial task requiring no further consideration. After receiving a call from Gustavo, Mike drove him back to his original location and tossed in a round-trip plane ticket for good measure.
When the second expert, Werner, was picked up, he took a notebook out of his bag. After hours of calculations and measurements, he pointed out various potential problems with the project and still hesitated to guarantee its completion. This old-school, meticulous approach greatly satisfied Gustavo, who had been watching secretly. He emerged from behind the equipment and shook hands with Werner to seal the collaboration.
Meanwhile, Kim was at the courthouse defending minor cases. Though these were pro bono cases with no financial gain, she threw herself into them wholeheartedly. In the case of David, a troubled teen who had thrown a cinder block through a jewelry store window, Prosecutor Bill insisted on an 18-month prison sentence. But Kim dug through the files and found that the police had failed to read David his rights upon arrest. Seizing this as her breakthrough, she pressured Bill into agreeing to an 8-month sentence with 4 months of probation. With 4 months already served in detention, David avoided jail time entirely.
Saving others gave Kim a sense of accomplishment. Yet it was precisely this feeling that pushed her Mesa Verde Bank & Trust work to the back burner. Even when her old friend Paige from the bank called to report a major error in the documents, Kim prioritized Denise’s case—Denise, a first-time drug offense suspect. By the time she wrapped up Denise’s hearing and rushed to the bank, she was met with Paige’s stern expression. Mesa Verde needed Kim’s full dedication, and knowing she was in the wrong, Kim could only apologize repeatedly and promise to do better.
That evening, Kim pored over case files at home, making Jimmy—who was watching TV alone—fidget uncomfortably. Earlier that day, his shop had finally gotten its first customer. But what Jimmy was selling wasn’t "privacy"—it was "encrypted phones" that prevented privacy leaks. Anyone worried about confidential information getting out—cheaters, tax evaders, people with all sorts of skeletons in their closets—would find these phones as secure as a safe for their secrets. With his smooth talk, Jimmy convinced the customer to buy ten "encrypted" phones in one go.
Seeing Kim working so hard, Jimmy felt guilty about slacking off. He returned to his shop, tallied up the day’s sales, then hauled out a large box of phones to peddle along the street. Thanks to his silver tongue, he sold more than half the box—even the local biker gang, whom no one dared to cross, bought up the remaining dozen or so "encrypted" phones. Unfortunately, three thugs had been eyeing Jimmy all night. They cruelly robbed him of all the money he’d worked so hard to earn.
Bruised and battered, Jimmy stumbled home in the early hours of the morning. Kim, jolted awake from her sleep, hurried to clean his wounds and apply ice to the bruises. Jimmy was devastated. He thought back to a year ago—he could have smelled those thugs from a mile away, and few would have dared to mess with him. But now, it was like a tiger fallen into a ditch at the mercy of dogs.
The next day, Jimmy returned to his shop, wiped the advertisement off the window, and resolved to run his business honestly. That afternoon, Jimmy went to the district attorney’s office to sign in for pretrial diversion. In the bathroom, he unexpectedly ran into Howard, who looked exhausted. Plagued by insomnia, Howard had a court appearance in 25 minutes but still couldn’t rouse himself. Jimmy wanted to help, so he pulled out the therapist’s phone number Kim had found and offered it to Howard. But Howard declined, and Jimmy didn’t press the issue. At the DA’s office, Jimmy answered the prosecutor’s questions distractedly, unable to stop worrying about Howard’s condition.