The construction foreman was absolutely furious. Sheriff had brought a court eviction order that morning to forcibly remove Old Man Ackerman, and the project—delayed for days—was finally set to start. But out of nowhere popped a lawyer named Saul Goodman, insisting the address on the eviction order wasn’t Old Man Ackerman’s actual home. Sure enough, the address on the mail in Old Man Ackerman’s mailbox was 1240 Badlands Drive, not 1130 as listed on the order. The construction site was deserted, with no street signs left standing, and all other neighbors had long since moved away—no one could testify. Both sides stuck to their stories, and the police were powerless to intervene. The foreman had no choice but to head back to the company to retrieve the survey plans, proving someone was up to no good. But that round trip cost them yet another day.
A one-day delay meant nothing to Kevin—certainly not as much as his friends waiting for him to tee off at the golf course. However, Kim volunteered that the opposing lawyer was her boyfriend and, due to a conflict of interest, wanted to recuse herself from the case. Kevin didn’t trust any other lawyer, convinced the crafty Old Man Ackerman had deliberately hired Jimmy to make Kim back down. The more he thought this, the more Kevin refused to budge, insistent that Kim continue handling the matter.
Subsequently, Jimmy and Kim teamed up, pulling one trick after another. First, ancient pottery shards appeared at the construction site. Even though experts immediately recognized them as modern fakes, out of caution, the site was shut down for a week for detailed investigation. As soon as that was over, Jimmy filed a lawsuit against the construction on behalf of the water district. Then he claimed there were loopholes in a government land grant contract from over a hundred years ago, followed by an anonymous tip that the construction contractor was a fugitive wanted for serious crimes… After several inexplicable lawsuits, the project was delayed by over a month, with substantial legal fees piling up.
At the bank’s executive meeting, even partner Rich suggested Kevin relocate. Kim seized the moment to present an evaluation report, proving that the losses from relocating at that point would be negligible compared to the current situation. But Kevin, a former soldier at heart, had too much pride to surrender his ground—he’d rather die than back down.
Jimmy had calculated everything, except that Kevin would abandon a banker’s inherent profit-driven nature and fight to the bitter end. That night, feeling discouraged, Jimmy suggested to Kim that they just sign a compensation agreement. If it was a battle they were destined to lose, there was no point in dragging it out. Moreover, if things escalated, it would turn into a personal vendetta, which wouldn’t benefit either of them. Kim thought for a moment, then decided to abandon their petty tactics—if they were going to fight, they’d fight a real war.
With his girlfriend’s resolve, Jimmy was more than willing to oblige. To dig up dirt on Kevin, he immediately thought of the best person for the job: Mike Ehrmantraut, a man with extensive connections and a tight lip. When he made the call, the connection was poor, filled with loud static. Jimmy shouted into the phone for a while, but Mike on the other end calmly refused and hung up. Jimmy was puzzled—what had happened to the Mike who used to be so eager to make money?
Through classified ads, Jimmy hired a private investigator called “Mr. X.” A few days later, in a small office behind a nail salon, Mr. X reported back: Kevin had no skeletons in his closet. The only time he’d been in jail was for a DUI after his college graduation 34 years earlier. Jimmy refused to believe a banker could be as clean as a baby, accusing Mr. X of being incompetent. Mr. X defended himself—he’d posed as a security company employee to infiltrate Kevin’s mansion, taking photos of every room. He’d even pried open a safe hidden behind a painting, photographed its contents, and didn’t miss a single document inside. Despite being this thorough, he couldn’t find any wrongdoing. Staring at the stacks of photos Mr. X laid out, Jimmy had nothing to say and had to show him out. When he turned around, Jimmy was shocked to see Kim holding one of the photos, a triumphant smile on her face.
However, while Kim’s tricks fooled Kevin, they didn’t fool Rich. First, Kim had repeatedly delayed going to the site to evict the tenant despite Rich’s urging. Then, after Kim’s push for relocation failed, Jimmy suddenly became Old Man Ackerman’s lawyer. These signs aroused Rich’s suspicion. Of course, Rich only asked Kim to temporarily step down from the case, assuring her that her salary and bonuses would remain intact. Anxious, Kim didn’t hesitate to publicly confront Rich in front of their colleagues. Rich really couldn’t explain why Kim would ruin her career for a stranger who was a holdout, so he dropped the matter.
Jimmy had no idea that Mike was currently in a small village in Mexico. Ever since refusing Gustavo’s offer, he’d been depressed, aimless, and drinking heavily every day. One night, he got into a fight with some thugs and was stabbed. When he woke up, he found himself lying in a simple hut, being cared for by an elderly Mexican woman. Mike knew immediately that Gustavo must have saved him—only Gustavo could have spirited him away to Mexico without a trace.
Mike tried to leave, but after struggling to walk a few kilometers, his wounds reopened. A doctor—obviously sent by Gustavo—picked him up from the side of the road, sutured his wounds, and told him to rest. From the doctor, Mike learned the elderly woman was Senora Cortazar. Despite the language barrier, after a few days of living together, they could roughly understand each other. When Jimmy called, even if Mike had wanted to help, he was too far away.
As he started to feel better, Mike helped Senora Cortazar repair her dilapidated hut. Keeping himself busy was the only way to stop thinking about drinking. Finally, one day, he heard Gustavo’s voice outside. He stood in front of Gustavo, wanting to know the purpose of all this. Gustavo didn’t hide anything—he was about to be drawn into a war and needed soldiers. He’d chosen Mike precisely because Mike understood the drive that comes from revenge.