Lalo didn’t buy Gustavo’s lies for a second, yet he couldn’t figure out what Gustavo was really up to. He visited his uncle Hector at the nursing home, mentioning that Gustavo might be digging tunnels or building a lab—but Hector showed no reaction. However, when Lalo said Gustavo was making money, Hector’s only mobile finger—his right index—furiously pressed the bell beside him. Lalo got the message: he didn’t need to worry about what Gustavo was doing. As long as he stopped Gustavo from profiting, he’d lose Don Eladio’s protection.
Lalo was plotting against Gustavo, and Gustavo was equally eager to take down Lalo. Gustavo had the perfect weapon: Nacho, who was in Lalo’s inner circle. With leverage over Nacho and threats against his family, Gustavo had forced Nacho to agree to spy on Lalo’s every move. But to uncover more, Nacho needed to gain Lalo’s trust—and that had him stuck. Unexpectedly, Jimmy inadvertently came to his rescue.
Jimmy’s phone was ringing off the hook early in the morning. His reputation was growing, and he now had 46 clients at once. His dream was to earn enough money to buy a standalone villa and live there with Kim. To make money faster, the key was to avoid lengthy court trials by cutting deals with prosecutors. Jimmy used all sorts of tricks to secure plea agreements, and prosecutors, unwilling to waste time on petty cases, let his tactics work time and again.
But Jimmy finally met his match: Assistant District Attorney Suzanne. She saw through Jimmy’s games and refused to negotiate any deals. Jimmy was desperate—Suzanne was handling over a dozen of his clients’ cases. If each went to trial, it would take forever to get paid.
So Jimmy seized a chance to be alone with Suzanne in an elevator—and sure enough, the elevator broke down, trapping them between floors. Suzanne wasted no time pulling out case files to review, but Jimmy rambled on with his defense arguments, driving her crazy. Fed up, Suzanne stopped fighting it and went through the cases with Jimmy right there in the elevator, working out mutually acceptable deals. Thirty minutes later, maintenance finally fixed the elevator—and most of the cases were resolved. Jimmy stepped out, cheerfully bidding Suzanne goodbye, then slipped the maintenance worker a stack of cash and offered to win his brother’s court case for free.
In reality, the recent surge in petty crimes was directly due to Jimmy’s discount promotion. Many small-time crooks were stealing and scamming without restraint—after all, as long as they didn’t use weapons or hurt anyone, their offenses fell under the "50% off non-violent crime defense" offer. Two of these crooks used their stolen money to buy drugs, then went out stealing again while high. This time, they stole a large sum and wanted to buy ten bags of cocaine. But the drainpipe at the Fourth Ward drop spot was dilapidated—shoving ten bags into it caused a clog. Late at night, the group huddled in the corner trying to fix the drainpipe, naturally attracting the attention of patrolling police. Everyone scattered, leaving Domingo stuck on the ladder, helpless.
Finding ten bags of drugs in the drainpipe, the police immediately dispatched an emergency team to conduct a blanket search. The crooks had fled in such a hurry that they left all the drugs on the second floor—fearful the police would seize everything. Lalo was frantic, but Nacho took a desperate gamble: he climbed over walls and ladders, slipped through the skylight on the roof, and entered the room. Just before the police broke down the door, he grabbed all the drugs and escaped.
Lalo was overjoyed, gaining newfound respect for Nacho and entrusting him with greater responsibility. But Lalo worried that Domingo, now in custody, might spill secrets to the police. Nacho and Domingo had been good friends for years—even with Nacho’s guarantee, Lalo wasn’t convinced. If Domingo ended up in jail, he’d be killed for sure. To save his friend’s life, Nacho thought of the most devious person he knew: Jimmy.