User:Peace is contagious/sandbox

235 words: Post Breaking Bad, the first seven minutes of BCS opens in black and white, to a 1940's style song Address Unknown with no spoken lines of dialogue, to emphasize Saul Goodman's transformation from cavalier, loquacious "criminal lawyer" to toiling, fearful, mustached, Nebraskan, mall-Cinnabon manager. Later in his spartan apartment, "Gene" makes himself a Rusty Nail and watches a VHS tape of his Saul Goodman commercials. Now in color, we flash-back to 2002, where Saul, né James Morgan McGill, is a struggling public-defender in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "Jimmy" lives and works out of a cramped storage-room in the back of a Korean nail-salon. On his brother's behalf, Jimmy passionately and theatrically confronts firm partner, Howard Hamlin, of Hamlin Hamlin & McGill (HHM), a law firm Jimmy's brother Chuck co-founded; demanding HHM cash out his brother's $17 million share with "You must atone!"; Chuck has become semi-reclusive and claims to suffer from electromagnetic hypersensitivity. Chuck himself refuses to cash-out, claiming "I will beat this." At Loyala's diner, Jimmy exhorts Craig and Betsy Kettleman, the county treasurer accused of embezzling $1.6 million, to hire him, however the Kettlemans hire, Saul's antagonists HHM, instead. Frustrated, "Slipping Jimmy" sets up a skateboarding-accident scam with con-artist twins Lars and Cal, to secure the Kettlemans as clients. The twins accidentally target a the wrong, but similar car, and Jimmy ends up at the gun-point of gangster Tuco Salamanca. Peace is contagious (talk)

1 Following the events of Breaking Bad, Saul Goodman is living under an assumed name in Omaha, Nebraska and managing a Cinnabon. Flashback to 2002, James McGill (Saul's birth name) is trying to make an honest living as a struggling public defender in Albuquerque, New Mexico, living and working out of a cramped storage room in the back of a Vietnamese nail salon, while devotedly caring for his reclusive brother Chuck, who thinks himself allergic to electricity. "Jimmy" feels much ire and disdain for Chuck's former legal-partners, especially the impeccably-dressed and well-coiffed Howard Hamlin. However, (Jimmy's) love-interest, Kim, also works there.

2 Jimmy and his young, twin accomplishes accidentally make their acquaintance to several vicious Mexican drug-cartel members, most notably Tuco Salamanca and Ignacio Varga. Jimmy's respectful demeanor and eloquence saves both his and his friends lives. However the twins disrespect of a cartel matron leaves them broken and unable to walk home. Later at the nail salon, cartel-member "Nacho" Varga visits Jimmy, offering him 10% for help appropriating the $1.6 million embezzled by the very naive county treasurer. Jimmy declines and, the surprised but not undaunted, Nacho leaves his number, "call me when you realize you're in the game".

3 During a flashback, Jimmy, faces a litany of charges and the risk of being branded a sex offender. Jimmy successfully pleads with a fed-up Chuck. Back in 2002, Jimmy anonymously tips-off the Kettlemns of (Nacho's) impending robbery. They disappear and the police suspect foul play. Nacho, previously spotted casing their home, is arrested due to (unrelated) blood-stains in his van. Nacho suspects Jimmy of duplicity and threatens his life, demanding his freedom. Jimmy is in a precarious situation, needing to placate both Nacho and the police, while protecting his own self-interests. Thanks to Mike's sage advice, Jimmy locates the Kettlemans along with the embezzled $1.6 million. However a new ethical dilemma arises for Jimmy, in the form of a $30K bribe to keep mum about the misappropriated money.

4 In a flashback, Jimmy and an old friend (Marco) con a bar patron out of $580 using a fake Rolex watch. In 2002, Jimmy reluctantly accepts the $30K bribe from the Kettlemans and uses the money to both imitate and anger Howard Hamlin. Jimmy's imitation and the ensuing legal melodrama, culminate in a cease and desist order, followed by a speciously staged video that makes him a local hero, much to Hamlin's disgust. Jimmy however must hide his spurious heroism from Chuck, who, like Howard, will easily see through the "heroic" deed.

5 Chuck is hospitalized after a run-in with the Police over his strange habits and behaviors. Jimmy's new-found fame seems to attract mostly eccentrics and knaves, but eventually some legitimate business falls into his lap, in the form of an elderly lady in need of Estate planning. Jimmy stands up for his brother's eccentricity and brings Chuck home, against his doctors' advice. Kim's encourages Jimmy to try elder-law, as he finds inspiration from TV's Matlock and begins promoting himself at a local nursing home. Mike is paid a visit from an old friend from Philly and two uniformed police officers.

6 Jimmy repays a debt owed to Mike, with both legal expertise and street-hustle. In a flashback, Mike confronts his son's killers in Philadelphia, before moving to Albequerque to join his daughter-in-law and grand-daughter. Mike's act of vengeance eventually compels him to explain both his own personal short-comings and his son's moral strength to his widow. An offer of lucrative, but illegal work is placed in front of Mike, along the way.

7 Mike and Jimmy wrap-up loose ends on Mike's precarious legal situation, as Mike has a heart-to-heart with his former colleague. Jimmy rents out an upscale office in hopes of making Kim his law-partner. The Kettlemans became even more irrational and expect legal miracles from both HHM and Jimmy. Left with no other options, Mike must bail-out Jimmy, Kim and ultimately the Kettlemans, through some clandestine activity. At the end of the day, Jimmy is angry and frustrated, but hopeful.

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