""It was very still, except for the tree toads and frogs in the brook, peeping mournfully." "And every little while, Mabel could hear strange rustlings in the leaves." "She tried to remember the way home, but the woods looked so different now." "She couldn't think which way to go." "She began to be frightened." "'What's that?" "' said Mabel." "'Oh, I'm..." "I'm so frightened.'" "In a minute or two, she heard the howl again:" "A long, wild cry." "She began to run, but the poor thing had lost her way."" "Is she gonna be okay?" " She'll be fine, Jimmy." " How do you know?" "Just listen." "You'll see." ""It was so dark that she stumbled over the bushes and the roots...."" "Okay." "I gotta go down." "Kim." "I know." "Does she need to spend the night?" "Once this is done, she'll be discharged." "Good." "Lawsuits." "Threats." "Recriminations." "This is a situation no firm ever wants to be in." "It's..." "Well, it's embarrassing." "I know we all want a swift resolution here." "So, what are our options?" "Take it to trial." "Expensive." "And extremely damaging for HHM's reputation." "Not my first choice, or yours, I imagine." "The firm could choose to buy me out... for an amount that is almost certain to bankrupt it." "I spent decades building this firm." "I don't want to be the agent of its destruction." "There is a third option." "There's no reason we can't put all this unpleasantness behind us... and continue on as we have been." "I'm willing to let bygones be bygones." "And if you agree..." "I think we can settle all this right now with a simple handshake." "Would you all give us the room for a moment?" "Seventeen years." "Eighteen in July, actually." "All those years we built this place together." "And all that time I've supported you... looked up to you, deferred to you." "Because I always thought you had the best interests of the firm in mind." "I have." "You did." "For a long time." "But you've let personal vendettas turn your focus away... from what's best for HHM." "You've put your needs first." " To our detriment." " I don't think that's accurate." "And the moment that I mildly suggest, with empathy and concern... that maybe it's time for you to consider retirement... the first instinct you have is to sue me?" "To sue the firm?" "Well, I...." "I don't even know...." "In what world is that anything but the deepest betrayal... of everything we worked so hard to accomplish?" "In what world is it anything but the deepest betrayal of friendship?" "I could argue you're the one who betrayed me." "That's bullshit." "And you know it." "This is pointless." "Here." "Just take this." "Three million dollars?" "The first of three payments, as per the partnership agreement." "The firm can't afford this." "Are you...?" " You're not shutting down, are you?" " I would never endanger the firm." "This is mostly from my personal funds." "And a few loans." "You're paying me out of your own pocket?" "You won." "There's one last thing." "Everybody." "Thank you for gathering." "I have some bittersweet news to share." "I'm sorry to say, but our fearless leader, Charles McGill... will be leaving HHM, effective immediately." "I wanted to take this moment to thank Chuck... for everything he's done for HHM." "We started off with six employees... and Chuck helped grow us into one of the largest firms in the state." "We will be forever grateful for his dedication." "Have anything you want to say?" "All right, then." "Let's give him a hand." "Hey." "Morning." "Close." "Gatorade." "You need electrolytes." "You hungry?" "I'll make you something." "Be right back." "Just finish that." "Hey." "I said I'd bring it to you." "I needed to stretch my legs." "Sit." "Eggs." " This is twisted." " Oh, thanks." "This one-handed crap is gonna get real old, real fast." "Is there coffee?" "Sure." "But more Gatorade first." "All right, your two options are:" "good old Ibuprofen, which, yeah, should take the edge off... or the proverbial good stuff." "The answer is always the good stuff." "All right, but food first." "You're not feeding me, Jimmy." "There are lines we do not cross." "I was looking into our lease on the office." "We'd definitely take a haircut if we broke it." "But we are allowed to sublet." "Might be our best option." "Furniture's mostly rented month to month... so that's not an issue." "For you, I think you need a desk, some file cabinets." "A Westlaw terminal." "And I haven't figured out Francesca yet, that's another conversation." "All that sound okay?" "Are you sure about this?" "I mean, even with the Sandpiper money?" "Look... after everything..." "I don't give a shit about the office." "So can I start looking for a tenant?" "Yeah." "Yeah." " I could've killed someone, Jimmy." " Yeah." "Yourself." "I worked most of last week on maybe six hours of sleep, and then I...." "I crossed three lanes of traffic and I don't remember any of it." "Look, you were just doing what you thought you had to do." "Because of me." "You didn't make me get in that car." "That was all me." "I'm an adult." "I made a choice." "Hey." "All I can say is, I am gonna fix things." "Okay, so we're gonna do everything around back." "It's mostly commercial around here, so it's quiet at night." "Pull the trucks up to the doors, unload right into the shop." "We can break down the stuff in here." "There's space in the back for storing scales and supplies... when the shop's open." "Should be able to process everything overnight." " I'll be here to see it gets done right." " Where's Papi?" "I'll be taking care of all this." "But he's good." "Once we get everything packed, Arturo will pick up and supervise distro...." " make sure everything is cleared." " Here's Papi." "Don Hector." "This is my father, Manuel." "Dad, Don Hector Salamanca." "Relax." "We're friends." "Better?" "Please..." " get out of my store." " Dad, please." "Don Hector is being very generous." "Don't be disrespectful." "Dad...." "Think about Aunt Rosa and the twins." "Mama's family in Galeana." "Please." "He's old-fashioned." "He'll come around." "Don Hector?" "I'll talk to him." "He'll come around." "I don't trust him." "These are from Kevin and Paige." "Well, I guess they're from everybody at Mesa Verde." "Oh, and there's a card somewhere in here." "Here." " You brought the book?" " Sure." "Mr. Gatwood." "The card wasn't clear, but I'm pretty sure you're getting steaks, too." " Really?" " Texas." "He wishes you a speedy recovery." "You are so lucky." "I..." "I used to drive that highway every weekend... to visit my brother and his kids... and I saw an accident almost every single time." "People die on that road all the time." "I..." "I already rescheduled everything you had this week." "But I didn't touch that meeting with the regulator." "I know that whole Utah timeline is delicate." " All right." "It's next Wednesday, right?" " Yes." "There's a lot of prep that we pushed... so you could focus on getting Mr. Gatwood up by the end of the quarter." "Which isn't happening now." "Actually, I talked with Colleen... and she said everyone's fine doing that meeting Monday." "So, you know, that means we could still slide in... just under the deadline." "Did you bring a breakdown of the documents?" " I would..." "I would have to figure out..." " Yep." " How long that'll take me." " Right." "That's a quarter to 6, 7...." "Go to 11." "Found it." "Here you go." "And Paige's timeline is on the top." "Kim?" "You okay?" "I can always come back." "I'm gonna need you to cancel Gatwood and push everything else." " What?" "Everything?" " Yeah." "Everything." " Okay." " But first, could you give me a ride?" "Absolutely." "Where to?" "Ms. Wexler sends her apologies, Mr. Gatwood." "And she feels terrible about this, but with her accident and the recovery... she's just not gonna be able to finish her work for you in time." "Oh, of course, I'll tell her." "And again, she is very sorry... and I know she'll be giving you a call herself soon." "Well, yes." "Ms. Wexler did ask me to tell you... she strongly recommends Schweikart  Cokely." "They're an exceptional firm." "Okay." "Well, I will send that info over today... and Ms. Wexler will follow up herself shortly." " Thanks for the meat." " And she says thank you for the steaks." "She's so excited to fire up that grill." "Thank you." "Bye." "Okay, how many do I have?" "Nine?" "Good." "It's Jimmy." "I know you don't wanna see me, but I just wanna know you're okay." "Come on, Chuck." "I just want to see your face." "Come on, Chuck." "Just need a minute." "I just need to know you're all right." "I'm all right, Jimmy." "Hey." "Good." "I mean, I'm glad you're all right." "I...." "Can I come in?" "Just talk for a minute?" "As you can see, I'm more than all right." "I'm very well, in fact." "How...?" "I always told you I'd get better." "You just never believed me." "Sure I did." "But, Chuck, this is great." "How did you do it?" "What was it you wanted?" "Beyond proof of life?" "Oh...." "Something happened... and it made me think about what..." "Went down between you and me." "And...." "So I wanted to say, in hindsight, I could've made different choices." " Is that so?" " Yeah." "I mean, I'm not saying it's all on me." "It's not, but... if I had to do it all over again..." "I would maybe do some things differently." "And I just thought you should know that." "That you have regrets?" "Yeah." "I have regrets." "Why?" "Well, 'cause you're my brother." "There aren't that many of us McGills left... and I think we should stick together." "No." "Why have regrets at all?" "What's the point?" " What do you mean?" " Well, look at you." "You're in so much pain." "Why are you putting yourself through all this?" " 'Cause I wanted to tell you..." " That you have regrets." "And I'm telling you don't bother." "What's the point?" " You're just gonna keep hurting people." " That's not true." "Jimmy, this is what you do." "You hurt people." "Over and over and over." "And then there's this show of remorse." " It's not a show." " I know you don't think it's a show." "I don't doubt your emotions are real... but what's the point of all the sad faces and the gnashing of teeth?" "If you're not going to change your behavior, and you won't..." " I can change..." " why not just skip the whole exercise?" "In the end, you're gonna hurt everyone around you." "You can't help it." "So stop apologizing and accept it." "Embrace it." "Frankly, I'd have more respect for you if you did." "What about you, Chuck?" "You didn't do anything wrong?" "You're just an innocent victim?" "Let me put your mind at ease, Jimmy." "You don't have to make up with me." "We don't have to understand each other." "Things are fine the way they are." "Hey." "I don't want to hurt your feelings... but the truth is you've never mattered all that much to me." "Gold comforter." "Green chair." "Brown journal." "Jimmy." "What a nice surprise." "Irene, as beautiful as ever." "Why don't you come in?" "Can I get you some tea?" "Oh, I don't want to be a bother." " I just have a couple things to drop off." " Well..." "What is all this?" "Well, when we win, we celebrate." "That's very sweet." "Yes, and I didn't forget about Oscar and Felix." "I've got some kitty toys and catnip in there for those two little rascals." "Oh." " You shouldn't have, Jimmy." " Of course I should." "Now, have you given any thought... to how you wanna spend that settlement money?" "I don't know." "I can tell you what I'd do." "Alaskan cruise." "You can walk on a glacier under the Aurora Borealis." "And if Alaska's too cold, maybe a European river cruise." "Float on down the Danube." "You and the ladies could split a deluxe suite." "You can get into all sorts of trouble." "That sounds very nice... but I don't think they'd really want to." "Why not?" "They're still... upset." "They must be excited about the settlement, though, right?" "You can't let one little misunderstanding destroy years of friendship." "Oh, it's just not the same, Jimmy." "She showed her true colors." "When it came to that settlement, we were the furthest things from her mind." "It just took her a bit to realize what was important to you." "She came around." "She just wanted to get back on our good side." "Okay, how do you trust someone who bends any way the wind is blowing?" "Where is her integrity?" "Well, I can't help but blame myself." " You were just trying to help." " No." "I stuck my nose in where it didn't belong and I stirred the pot." "So...." "Look, if you wanna blame someone... you should blame me." "Jimmy, you're a good friend." "She doesn't deserve you." "No, she doesn't." "Yes, I've shut off all the breakers." "Yes, I have checked." "Several times." "The power meter is still turning." "I think there's something in the house that isn't wired through the breaker box... and it's drawing power." "Well, I want you to send someone over to find it and disconnect it." "All right." "Wednesday?" "I can't wait that long." "Are you sure there's nothing sooner?" "Wednesday then." "Yes, hello, this is Charles McGill." "I have a 3:00 with Dr. Cruz today." "Yes, well, would you tell her that something's come up... and I'm not able to come in today?" "No, no need to reschedule." "I'll just see her next week." "Thank you." "Bye." "Good." "You got my message." "Yeah." "You strapped?" "They're coming." "Don Hector." "Don Eladio wanted me to speak with you face to face... so there's no misunderstanding." "From now on... there will be only one route over the border for our product." "The chicken trucks." "And that is final." "But you must understand this is for efficiency only." "There's no disrespect to you or your family." "What's he doing here?" "The boss wants you to settle this." "I settle it right now, okay?" "You have to work together." "It's what the boss wants." "The boss can suck me." " I'd watch what I say if I were you." " Who you think you are?" "You should be kissing my ass right now." "Me and my family." "We built this whole business." "We all did." "Together." "No, no!" "Salamanca did!" "Salamanca money!" " Salamanca blood!" " You have to calm down." "That hacienda!" "I paid for it." "And you treat us like dogs." "Hector, this isn't personal." "It is!" "It is personal!" "Call 911." "Stash the guns." "You should not be here when they arrive." "Yeah, I need an ambulance." "Don't die, you bastard." "Outside a garage at the corner of Aztec and Jordan." "My boss collapsed." "I think he's having a heart attack." "Don't die, you bastard." "Come on." "Be advised, we have one adult male...." "Does he have a history of cardiac issues?" "Yeah." "And was he taking any medications?" "He took these." "Thanks." "We're headed to Lovelace if you'd like to follow." " Hey." " Hey." "How's Relax-O-Thon 2003 coming along?" "No complaints." "Join me." "Oh, dip it in the sauce." " That seems like overkill." " Trust me." "So, what's next?" "Monty Python." "Solid choice." "Or we could just watch To Kill a Mockingbird again." " Again?" " Yeah, I watched it this morning." "It was my favorite when I was a kid." "I loved Atticus Finch." "All the girls were in love with Gregory Peck." "No, I wasn't in love with him." "Well, a little, but...." "No, I wanted to be him." "Fight the good fight, change the world?" "Yeah." "Didn't you?" "That was more Chuck's thing." "But, I mean, the good news is you made it." "Oh, yeah." "Yeah." "I am." "I'm changing the world by helping a mid-size local bank... become a mid-size regional bank." "Yay me." "So...." "No luck with Miss Landry?" "No." "Shit, that bridge is burned." "Ashes." "It's that bad?" "There's no putting that genie back in the bottle." "And I've tried everything." "I sent muffin baskets to the gals." " I signed them from her." " Nice." "They saw right through it." ""Oh, Jimmy, you're too nice." "Jimmy, she doesn't deserve you."" "More I try to make them like her again... the more they end up loving me instead." "Wow." "Well, sounds like you've exhausted all your options." " If muffin baskets don't solve it...." " I don't know what else to do." "I'm not good at building shit, you know?" "I'm excellent at tearing it down." "Oh, rookie move." "What the...?" " It's already cheese." " It's cheese on cheese." "See?" "You know, sometimes you gotta play to your strengths." " You should stitch that on a pillow." " Oh, I will." "All right, screw it." "Mockingbird encore it is." "No." "Oh, shit." "What?" "What is it?" "Mrs. Landry." "You figured it out?" "Yeah." "But I really, really don't wanna do it." " Hello." "Hi there." " Jimmy." "Jimmy." "Okey-dokey." "Testing, testing." " Good morning." " Good morning." "I know that many of you were expecting Sandy for this morning's chair yoga... but her daughter has a cold." "And she'll be fine." "The nice folks in front said I could sit in." "So you guys ready to get to it?" "Yeah." "Okay, let's wake up those spines with a cat-cow position." "Very good cat." "And then cow." "Sit up straight." "Very good, Jasper." "Cat." "And cow." "Long, deep breaths." "Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth." "And cow." "And cat...." "Mr. McGill?" "Erin Brill!" "You're just in time for chair yoga." "I need to talk to you." "Well, pull up a chair." "There's always room for one more." "Now, Mr. McGill." " What?" " You are unbelievable." "I could not for the life of me figure out why Mrs. Landry... would suddenly change her mind about the Sandpiper settlement." "I had to drag the information out." "You filled her and all of her friends' heads with lies." "I never lied to anyone." "You drastically misrepresented the reality of the case." " So?" " So?" "!" "You took advantage of Mrs. Landry." "Does she know how much money you're gonna make?" "Nope." "And again, I ask, so what?" "These people trusted you, Jimmy." "Do you have any idea how much time I had to put in... listening to their incipient ramblings about their sciatica... or which grandchild disappoints them the most?" "Damn right they trust me." " I worked my ass off earning their trust." " Then you betrayed it." "If the only thing standing between me and a million bucks is some old lady's tears..." " then I suggest investing in Kleenex." " You ruined her life..." " because you wanted your money faster." " Boo and hoo." "Besides, not like she's got that much time left, anyway." "You're disgusting." "And rich." "Hey, everyone." "Apologies." "That was probably more like 20 breaths instead of 10..." "I don't see a lot of forward folding going on." "Come on, girls." "Shame on you." "So?" " Like a charm." "Yeah." " She'll go back on the settlement?" "I imagine you'll hear from her within an hour or so." " Good." " Hey." "Well done in there." "I meant every word I said." "I know." "Thank you." " You got the address?" " Yep." "Okay, meet you guys there in an hour." "We'll unload." "Sounds good." "Hey." "You guys about done?" "Yep." "Listen, I...." "I'm real sorry that this didn't work out." "It's fine." "I already talked to my old supervisor." "Looks like they can take me back, so...." "Oh, that's great." "And, you know, if we ever get another office up... you'd be our first call." "Yeah, okay." "Good to know." " Bye, Kim." " Oh, bye." "She understands." "So, what's left?" "Think this is it." "This is all admin stuff." "Appointment book." "Your Rolodex." "Hey, why'd you do that?" "Because no senior's coming within 20 feet of me ever again." "I'm gonna need a whole new business model when I get my license back." "Kim, it's pointless." "They're smearing my name across the tristate area... sending telegrams to everyone far and near." "You never know." "It's a good wall." " You think?" " Yeah." "We'll get another." "A better wall." "Ready?" "Let's go home."