Chapter 3

"...Michael Ehrmantraut, 62, reported missing earlier this week, is slowly crawling up New Mexico's Most Wanted list, as reward for his capture doubles to over $400,000...before the disappearance, DEA agents had found evidence that Ehrmantraut had been working with the deceased Gustavo Fring, former head of local Albuquerque-based Los Pollos Hermanos fast-food chain, and, as later evidence revealed, drug kingpin of the Southwest...with us now is head of the investigation, ASAC Hank Schrader...thanks for joining us, Hank."

"My pleasure."

"Now, my sources tell me that this has been a year-long investigation for your men to find out who is responsible for the infamous blue meth...what does Ehrmantraut have to do with this?"

"Well, we think that Ehrmantraut was Fring's right-hand man. He definitely worked with him in the meth business, we're sure of that. But we're still unsure of what his involvement in the current business is. Because you know, the blue meth is still showing up on the streets, everywhere. But we know he is involved somehow."

"Could he be at the head of that operation?"

"Well, not necessarily. We figure Ehrmantraut had been working with Fring for years from leaked bank accounts that Fring had for his employees. But this blue meth is relatively new. By Fring's standards, anyway. The only name we have for the person who's behind the blue meth is a pseudonym, 'Heisenberg.' We figure that due to Fring's switch to blue meth, Heisenberg worked with Fring for about...well, at least for a little bit...before they had a 'falling out,' you could say. Maybe Ehrmantraut was involved in that nursing home bombing. We don't know. Either way, we suspect that Ehrmantraut worked, and possibly is still working closely with this Heisenberg when the cook decided to go rogue."

"So is that why the DEA seems to be hunting Ehrmantraut with such vigilance? To find this 'Heisenberg'?"

"Yes. I have no doubt in my mind that not only does Ehrmantraut know the identity of Heisenberg, but, if the right buttons were pushed, he'd lead us to him."

"Where do you think Ehrmantraut is now?"

"Hard to say...he's almost surely out of the state. There's a chance he might be dead. But we don't think so, because-"

David Holder pressed the power button on the small TV, turning it off. That was enough. He had gotten the message. So Mike had finally been found out. He knew it would happen eventually. Part of him felt glad that he hadn't been caught. At the same time, he felt dread.

Dave knew what was going to happen next. He knew what this meant. It was only a matter of time before Mike would be knocking on his door. How long would it take? One day? One hour? One minute?

One second?

Only a few hours later it turned out. The ring of the doorbell echoed throughout the small apartment. Summing up his remaining courage, he walked to the door and opened the door. Sure enough, there he was. Older, much older, but he recognized that dead-eye stare from anywhere.

"...Garret Palmer?" Mike said. Dave's 'new' name. Even after twenty years, it had never fitted. "Can I come in?"

Silently, Dave let him in. Mike walked into the apartment. Mike. Mike Ehrmantraut. The last time he had seen him was...what, twenty years? Yes. That would be about it.

Mike walked around the apartment, sizing it up. "Hasn't changed much since I last saw it." Mike said.

Dave said nothing in response.

"I assume you've been keeping up with the news."

Dave nodded silently.

Mike sighed. "You know why I'm here?"

Dave nodded.

"Talk to me, Dave."

"Yes, I know why you're here." Dave forced himself to say. "You need a place to hide."

"To put it one way, yes." Mike said. "I just need to stay here for a little while. Until things cool down."

"How did you get here so quickly?" Dave asked.

"I have outlets that smuggled me across the country," Mike said, "once I got in touch, it didn't take me long to get here. New York City. You know, this is the closest I've been to Philadelphia in a long time."

"How long?"

"Excuse me?"

"How long do you need to stay here?"

"A month, tops. The DEA will move on as my former...associate makes even worse decisions."

"Ah." Dave said. He didn't know how to respond. He didn't even know what to say to this man.

"You know, Dave, you don't have to be afraid of me." Mike said finally. "We used to be friends."

"Yeah, and you used to be a cop and not some scumbag hit man." Dave said. He was unleashing pent-up anger that he had been holding for over twenty years at him now. The betrayal. The lies. The greedy motivation.

"You have ample reason not to like me. I understand that. But don't forget that you owe me. You finally get to pay me that favor."

"Oh yeah, Mike...I asked for this. Leaving my entire past in the dust. Oh, I certainly owe you so much for living alone in this lovely, cramped apartment." Dave said sarcastically.

"Okay then, I suppose you prefer the inside of a jail cell?" Mike snapped. "I held up my part of the bargain and protected you. Now are you gonna protect me, or aren't you?"

There was a pause as Dave tried to come up with a comeback. When nothing came to mind, he reluctantly said "I will."

"Good." Mike said. "Just a month. Then you're done with me. For good." Dave kept a wary eye on his former partner as he looked around the small apartment.

It was his first day on the job, and David Holder had never been more nervous. The prospect of being a beat cop in as big a city as Philly was exciting and scary at the same time. No more pencil pushing at the desks. No more of the months of rigorous training. His job was about to get serious.

New job. New atmosphere. New partner. He'd never had a partner before. That was exciting. He wondered who it would be. A professional? A beginner like himself? Dave knew he would soon find out.

As he walked into the police station, he saw Captain Ortega, the man who had promoted him to this job in the first place. Apparently, he had "fit the skill set and the proper motivation" for the job.

Next to the Captain was a man he didn't recognize. He was about his age, if a few years older. Thin, brown hair collected on his head and a healthy goatee laid on his chin. His eyes were young and ambitious.

"Officer Holder," said Captain Ortega, smiling. He shook his hand. "First day on the job. I'd like you to meet your new partner. Dave, this is Officer Michael Ehrmantraut."

"Pleasure to meet you, Officer," Dave said while extending his hand.

"How do you do," Officer Ehrmantraut said while shaking his hand. "And please, call me Mike."

Dave smiled. "Okay, Mike. Call me Dave."

"Now, you both might as well get to know each other. You're partners now." Captain Ortega said.

Partners. Something about that word seemed exciting to him. Maybe it was just because Dave was new to this whole system, but it made him feel comfortable that he wouldn't be going through it alone.

"Now," said Mike, grinning. "Where do we get our uniforms?"

((Wow, sorry for the long wait everyone! Well, here is Chapter 3, at last! I will try my best to update this story a bit quicker in the future. Anyway, thanks to a few different people on here I have finally figured out how to edit these documents, so if you look back at the previous two chapters you'll see they have been tidied up and fixed of some grammatical errors. And also, in Chapter 1, I only recently realized that the entire introductory paragraph was missing! So yes, I have made some changes. Thanks for the continued support, it really means a lot to me. Anyway, enjoy this update!))