Chapter Text
Two blocks from Kim’s apartment Howard noticed he had a flat tire. He stopped the car at the curb and just sat there for a while, swearing at the steering wheel. Then he got out of the car, took his jacket off, held a flashlight between his teeth and changed the tire. He was proud of the fact that he didn’t need a mechanic to do this simple thing for him. He was man enough to change his own goddam tire in fifteen minutes, twenty in the dark.
This delay probably saved his life.
He spent some of his rage on this simple physical exercise and even thought about going home, but by the time he reached Kim’s place and went upstairs his incandescent fury was back. He made himself knock politely, banged at the door when no one answered – and it gave way under his fist.
A sensible person would take a step back, notice that a lock had been tampered with and call the police. Howard stopped being a sensible person a few hours ago. He pushed the door and came in. Jimmy sat in the middle of the room, tied to a chair, gagged.
Looking back on this moment Howard wondered at his reaction. This was something he wanted to see when he drove to their place: Jimmy McGill helpless, silent, at his mercy. He forgot about his need for revenge when he saw the look of pure terror in Jimmy’s eyes.
He pulled the gag away and started fumbling with the knots, getting nowhere because his hands were shaking too much.
“What’s going on? Where’s Kim?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Safe, I hope. I think. Oh, just get the knife from the kitchen!”
Jimmy sounded like he just ran a marathon.
“You… really… need… to sharpen… your knives,” Howard said through clenched teeth. He cut himself once and Jimmy twice.
Jimmy stood up and took several gulps of air.
“OK,” he said. “OK. Now get out and forget whatever you saw. Be quick”.
Howard looked at him incredulously.
“Like hell I will. I’m calling the police.”
“No, you’re not”.
They both reached for the phone. Howard forgot all of his boxing training and they tussled like two middle-aged men with white-collar jobs they were. Some imperceptible sound or movement attracted Howard’s attention, he looked behind his shoulder and froze. There were several armed strangers at the apartment, all pointing guns with silencers at him.
“No, don’t,” Jimmy said quickly.
“Where is he?” asked an old bald man with the gun.
“I don’t know, he left. Kim?...”
“She’s with my guys, she’s safe. Who’s this?”
Jimmy took Howard’s hand and squeezed it very hard.
“He’s alright. Is Kim really with you? How? Did he send her to the house you were in?”
“It doesn’t matter now. How long has he been gone?”
“I don’t know, he left almost instantly. Mike. Mike!”
“What?”
“He left me alive and sent Kim to the house you were in. He agreed to send her instead of me. No way he thought she’d succeed. And then he was gone. He left me alive and walked out”.
“Shit,” Mike said. “It’s a distraction”.
“He’s somewhere you’re not supposed to look”.
“I know where he is,” Mike said in a glum voice. “What are we going to do about your friend here?”
Jimmy squeezed Howard’s hand harder, nearly crushing his bones.
“Howard came here to get something from me,” he said. “And I’m going to give it to him. Tomorrow I’m going to call Cliff and Rich and admit it was all my doing. You’ll get your reputation back, right, Howard? That’s what you want, remember? All you need to do is to keep quiet”.
Howard nodded. He found the guns pointed at his face extremely unpleasant.
“Yes,” he said. “I actually saw nothing wrong tonight. As far as I’m concerned you guys could be role-playing”.
Mike gave him an appraising look.
“Stay that smart,” he advised. “One of you stay here just in case”.
One of the armed men stayed behind and stood quietly facing the door and still somehow not turning his back to Jimmy and Howard. The rest of them left as quietly as they came.
Jimmy wiped his glistening forehead. Howard looked at him and felt the beginning of the plan forming in his mind.
“Let me get this straight…” he began.
“No! No, Howard, you will not get this straight. You will stay exactly as confused as you are right now. Please”.
Howard nodded. The armed man was still inside the apartment, after all.
“I meant – tomorrow you and I are going to meet with Cliff and Rich and you will tell them how you set me up, right?”
“Yes, this is exactly what’s going to happen”.
If we both stay alive was not said aloud but still clearly meant.
“And you are coming to work for HHM,” Howard said firmly.
Jimmy stared at him.
“For Christ’s sake, Howard, between the last time you offered me a job and tonight what on earth happened to make you believe it’s a good idea?”
Put like this it honestly didn’t make a lot of sense.
“You think on your feet, it’s impressive. I want you on my team”.
“Howard. Tomorrow, when you talk to Cliff, ask him about my time at Davis and Main. And mind you, Cliff is a decent guy, I really liked him, even felt bad about messing with him. You? I’ll enjoy making your life a living hell”.
“No, you won’t, because I’ll have an upper hand”.
Jimmy gave him a pitying look.
“How? What are you going to do exactly? Go to the police? Oh, officers, I was high at an important work meeting but it was really Jimmy’s fault so I gave him a job at my law firm and now he’s acting like a jerk so I suddenly remembered that three months earlier I saw armed men at his apartment? The whole police department will think you’re tripping balls. It’s the lamest blackmail ever”.
Howard smiled.
“I’m not blackmailing you. I’m negotiating with you”.
“You’re negotiating what in exchange for what?”
“If you tell Cliff and Rich what you did they both will go to the bar association. The last time you held to your license by miracle, this time they’ll disbar you without even bothering with a hearing”.
Jimmy sighed.
“I guess”.
“Unless I tell them not to, because I’m giving you a job”.
This made Jimmy pause and think.
“That’s very noble of you, actually, but why? Why help me keep my license after everything I put you through?”
“Because I want something in return,” Howard said triumphantly. “I want you and Kim to fix my marriage”.