Better Call Saul Episode 1.09 Pimento

A short while after Chuck surprised both Jimmy and himself by leaving his house without wearing a space blanket, the brothers sit quietly together on a park bench. It's a momentous day for Chuck. He tries to relax and enjoy the sunshine, but keeps glancing nervously at the power lines overhead. Jimmy redirects his brother's attention to the soft grass, successfully encouraging Chuck to take off his shoes. Finally reaching his limit, Chuck tells Jimmy that he's ready to go inside and get back to work building a case against Sandpiper Crossing. He rises and walks gingerly back toward his house, buoyant Jimmy at his side.

In Stacey's backyard, Mike and his daughter-in-law watch Kaylee play with a dog that Mike has adopted and wishes to give to Kaylee. Stacey struggles with the idea of taking on a pet, but Mike assures her that the dog is healthy and worthwhile. This is Mike's thinly-veiled attempt to see his family more frequently, and it works. Stacey relents, and agrees to let Kaylee keep the dog. Their conversation is interrupted when Mike receives a phone call. He steps away to answer it, and quietly accepts a job opportunity. Stacey doesn't ask any questions.

Mid-argument before a judge, Schweikart seeks a restraining order against Jimmy on the grounds that his "loud and flamboyant" nature disturbs the routine of the Sandpiper Crossing residents. The judge doesn't buy it, and rules in Jimmy's favor. Jimmy rides high on his victory all the way to Chuck's house, but deflates when he sees that Chuck isn't echoing his elation. In fact, Chuck's a bit overwhelmed: Schweikart and Cokely have sent over box after box of documents, trying to drown them in paperwork. Chuck tells Jimmy that the case is quickly becoming too big for them to handle alone, and insists they partner with HHM. Jimmy argues vehemently against it, but Chuck eventually convinces him that it's the only way to win the case.

Jimmy crashes on Chuck's couch that night, exhausted from burning the midnight oil. Chuck, however, is wide awake, and on a mission. He steals past his sleeping brother and retrieves a pencil and an oven mitt. Wrapped in his trusty space blanket, Chuck tiptoes outside and collects Jimmy's cell phone from the mailbox. Grimacing, he turns it on and uses the eraser end of the pencil to dial a mysterious party. "Hello. It's me," Chuck says into the phone.

Mike waits in a parking garage with two thugs: a paramilitary-looking man named Sobchak and a giant man-mountain. The three intimidating men have each been hired by the vet to provide protection for a new client. According to Sobchak, their guy has come into a plentiful supply of pharmaceuticals and has hired them to provide a little extra security during his first-ever drug deal. As they wait for their employer, Sobchak gives Mike a once-over. He asks the phlegmatic fixer-to-be what type of gun he's "packing," and Mike casually nods to a small, brown sac sitting on the nearby curb: He packed a pimento sandwich. Sobchak thinks Mike's kidding and presses him, but Mike stands firm. He didn't bring a gun.

Before Sobchak can needle him further, their employer drives up in a wood-paneled minivan. An unassuming man steps out and introduces himself as Pryce, though he explains that it's not his real name. Sobchak warns Pryce that Mike is dead weight because he didn't bring a weapon, but Mike calmly responds that if he needs one, he'll take one of Sobchak's. The thug scoffs and dares Mike to take it from him. He holds out a gun, tauntingly: He'll even make it easy for him. "You can make it not so easy," Mike replies, prompting Sobchak to point the pistol at Mike's head. Mike swiftly and effortlessly disarms him. Enraged, Sobchak lunges forward, but Mike puts him down with a single punch to the throat. He then proceeds to find and dispose of all of Sobchak's weapons. He holds up a particularly ostentatious one and offers it to the man-mountain. Terrified, the giant turns on the spot and heads for the hills. Mike dumps Sobchak's guns into a nearby trashcan, picks up his pimento sandwich, and heads for Pryce's minivan. An awestruck Pryce agrees to pay him the full fee for three men, and the two drive off to the meet.