Jimmy sat in Nacho’s luxurious Lincoln, the custom gold-plated speakers flanking the backseat blaring deafeningly. His heart raced, unsure what these drug dealers wanted from him. Nacho’s car pulled into an auto repair shop; the driver and other men took the hint, leaving and rolling down the metal shutter. Only Nacho, Jimmy, and Lalo—who smiled warmly but hid a knife behind his grin—remained.
At first, Jimmy thought it was about some grudge with Nacho. Later, when he heard Lalo was Tuco’s cousin, he smoothly praised Tuco with his silver tongue. Finally, Lalo mentioned it was a legal matter, and Jimmy breathed a sigh of relief. Domingo was currently in jail awaiting trial; Lalo wanted Domingo to leak some information to the police—and Jimmy, as his lawyer, would go to the detention center to instruct Domingo on exactly what to say. Honestly, Jimmy didn’t want to get mixed up in this mess, so he casually named an exorbitant price: $7,925. Lalo said nothing, pulled out $8,000, and stuffed it into Jimmy’s hand.
Jimmy drove home to hear a whistle from above—Kim was on the balcony drinking beer. Kim looked uneasy; she had over a dozen pro bono cases scheduled for tomorrow. Jimmy didn’t complain—he understood her. Taking on free legal work for low-income families was Kim’s passion, and even though it meant less income, Jimmy supported her. Besides, Saul Goodman had made $8,000 that day, which would cover the gap.
The next morning, Jimmy arrived early at the detention center and met with Domingo as his lawyer. He pulled a stack of papers from his briefcase—notes he’d crafted the night before—and told Domingo to memorize every word. Jimmy then waited outside the detention center. About half an hour later, a DEA car pulled up. Agents Hank and Steve got out, nodded at the front desk, and smoothly went through the formalities before entering the visitation room.
It was good news that drug dealer Domingo was willing to snitch—but as soon as Domingo opened his mouth, Lawyer Saul burst into the room, intervening abruptly. Hank and Steve were seasoned veterans; they’d seen this trick a hundred times. A lawyer’s presence meant haggling over an immunity deal, and even if the information turned out false, there was nothing they could do to the drug dealer. As Hank and Steve stood up to leave, Jimmy quickly offered a condition: the deal would be conditional. In other words, the immunity would only kick in if the information was true and the relevant suspects were arrested. Additionally, to eliminate any suspicion that Domingo was snitching to the police, the DEA would need to play along with Jimmy in court—making it look like the lawyer had secured Domingo’s acquittal. Furthermore, from then on, Domingo would continue to provide information only to Hank and Steve. If he ran into any trouble, he’d call Jimmy, who would then contact Hank and Steve to resolve it.
Jimmy’s terms were reasonable, so Hank and Steve agreed—unaware they’d walked right into Jimmy’s trap. Domingo then revealed that drug proceeds were laundered through three drop points every Thursday, giving precise addresses for each.
With everything done, Jimmy met with Lalo and Nacho to report back. Lalo’s original plan had been to have Domingo expose Gustavo’s three drop points, costing Gustavo a fortune. But Jimmy’s plan was even more thorough: it not only protected Domingo from retaliation but also allowed Lalo to feed information to the DEA whenever he wanted. Lalo was thrilled, deciding to hand over all his legal matters to Jimmy from then on. Jimmy groaned inwardly—maybe, as Nacho had said, there was no turning back once you stepped onto this path.
The same could be said for Nacho. Having gained Lalo’s trust, he now had a big house, a luxury car, and beautiful women. Fearing for his father’s safety, he tried to have someone else buy his father’s tire shop at an inflated price. But his father, disapproving of Nacho’s lifestyle, saw through the scheme and refused to sell. Now Nacho was caught between two sides. This time, Gustavo had kept the three drop points operational to protect his pawn—but who knew what the future held.
That night, Kim came home late. Jimmy, holding a beer, whistled at her as she got out of her car. Kim looked dejected; she went upstairs, grabbed a beer, and joined him on the balcony. She’d had a terrible day—her partner Rich called to say Kevin from Mesa Verde Bank had specifically requested Kim handle a holdout on the construction site of their new branch.
The elderly man, named Axel, had lived there since 1974. Under the contract, he didn’t own the land, but he’d signed a 100-year lease with the real estate company. The agreement included a clause allowing the company to buy out the lease for $5,000. Kim knew $5,000 forty years ago was worth far more than $5,000 today, so Mesa Verde had offered to raise it to $18,000. But the old man still refused to move, unwilling to leave his home. Kim had no choice but to sternly give him an ultimatum in front of her colleagues: if he didn’t move by tomorrow, the compensation would drop to $10,000, and if he still refused, the police would be called for an eviction.
This wasn’t the way Kim wanted to do things. She’d spent time contacting the real estate company and found several affordable, nice houses for the old man. After dark, when the construction workers had gone home, Kim knocked on Axel’s door again, holding the housing documents. She even told him about her childhood—moving from place to place with her mother, never having a stable home. But her kindness was dismissed by the old man as a made-up story to get what she wanted.
Kim was heartbroken. She’d been sincere, yet she was seen as a liar. The resentment bubbled up inside her; she lifted her beer bottle and smashed it onto the parking lot below. Jimmy, also bottling up frustration, did the same. The sound of shattering glass prompted some neighbors to turn on their lights to check. Jimmy and Kim looked at each other, smiled, and quickly ducked back inside.