Mike drives out to a construction site for the new Skyline Freeway, being worked on by Crown Construction. The night watchman, Wiggins greets him and they go into the construction shack. Meanwhile a driver gets into a bulldozer up the slope.
Inside, Mike tosses Wiggins an envelope containing $1,000 and demands the promised name of the man behind the construction company insurance racket. Wiggins demands to see the money first, and the bulldozer starts up outside. Wiggins looks out and sees the bulldozer coming toward them, and it slams into the shack. As it backs away, Mike crawls out of the wreckage and sees Wiggins' body nearby. The bulldozer driver pursues Mike, who runs but is quickly cornered. Black Beauty opens fire on the bulldozer, stopping it, and Hornet helps Mike into the car before Kato drives it off.
As Black Beauty drives off, Hornet asks Mike if he got Emmet Crown's name from Wiggins. Mike says that Wiggins was killed before he could give it to him, and Hornet says that if they work together then they could both get what they want. The reporter refuses, and Hornet tells him to discuss it with his employer first. Mike insists that Britt would refuse.
When Mike gets back to the Sentinel, Britt orders him to work with Hornet and cooperate completely. Disgusted, Mike leaves and Britt tells Casey that he's going to pay Emmet a reason and set up Mike's offering to become a turncoat.
Britt goes to Emmet's construction site and sees that the shack is intact. Emmet greets him and says that the shack has been there and intact the entire time. They go inside and Emmet says that he fired Wiggins three weeks ago for alcoholism. He suggests that Mike has a similar problem, and Britt agrees. However, Britt says that Mike asked for and received $1,000 to pay for the information. Emmet suggests that the reporter kept the money, and Britt agrees. As for Mike's story, Britt points out that Emmet has a contract with Mammoth Insurance Company. Emmet refuses to discuss it, and insists that he needs to complete his jobs on time. He warns that the insurance people are too powerful and too dangerous, and says that he has too much at stake to give any hints.
As Britt goes back to his car, a crane operator swings a boulder over Britt's head and drops it. Britt jumps out of the way just in time, and Emmet comes over and confirms that he's okay. The publisher asks if it was one of Emmet's "accidents" and leaves.
That night, Hornet and Kato meet Mike and Hornet says that they're going to Mammoth Insurance. When they arrive, Mike is to agree with everything Hornet says. The two heroes break in and subdue the guards, and Mike hurts his hand punching one man. The head of the company, Clinton Giles, goes for a gun and Kato throws a dart blocking him. Hornet tells Giles that he and his partner, Mike, have something to sell to Giles' employer. He tells Giles to set up a meeting with his boss and Kato hands Giles the phone. Giles calls Emmet and tells him that Hornet and Mike are there and want a meeting. Emmet figures that Mike is authentic based on what Britt said earlier, and Giles sets up a meeting for the next night before they leave.
The next day, Mike tells Britt that they don't need Hornet anymore. Britt refuses to discuss it and Mike storms out.
Emmet calls three of his men and says that he has a job for them.
Later, Mike returns to the office and discovers Britt is at home. Casey gets a call for Mike: it's Giles, who asks for a meeting with Mike at his office building that night.
At his penthouse, Britt uses a voice scrambler and calls Mike. Speaking as Hornet, he asks if Mike has heard from Giles. Mike lies and says that he hasn't, and Britt tells him that he'll check back in an hour. Mike then heads out, telling Casey to tell Britt that he doesn't need Hornet to wrap up the story. Casey reminds him that those aren't Britt's orders, but Mike insists that he'll wrap it up on his own and show the young reporters that he's still the newshawk he was 30 years ago. Casey calls Britt and tells him what happened.
Mike meets with Giles and explains that he's double-crossing Hornet. The heroes follow Giles' car to the construction site and Hornet figures that they have no choice but to walk into Emmet's trap.
At the shack, Mike tells Emmet that Wiggins said that Emmet is behind the insurance company racket. The reporter wants $10,000 to forget what Wiggins told him, but Emmet tells his men to take care of him. They drag Mike out just as Black Beauty pulls up. Mike takes advantage of his captors' distraction to run off, and Emmet's men go after him. Three bulldozers close in on Black Beauty, and their blades are proof against the car's missiles. Kato activates the Hornet Mortar and they manage to stop two bulldozers. The third one keeps coming.
Emmet's men tell Emmet that Mike got away. Meanwhile, Hornet takes out the second bulldozer and fires at Emmet and his men. They get into their car, but Black Beauty cuts them off and the heroes take on the five men as Mike watches. He comes over when the crooks are down, and Hornet leaves them to the reporter and drives off with Kato.
The next day, Mike reads his story to Britt and Casey. Police finds records at the insurance company ensuring their conviction. Britt wonders Mike disobeyed orders, and Mike claims that what he said was a joke. He says that he and Hornet planned the entire thing, and he met with Emmet alone so Hornet could move in if he got in trouble. Mike says that Hornet isn't as smart as some criminals think, and leaves chuckling. Casey asks if Britt is going to let Mike get away with a story like that, and offers to tell Mike the truth. Britt refuses to spoil the reporter's "fun" and points out to the bullpen where Mike is boasting to the young reporters about his fighting skills.
Written by Gadfly on Jul 25, 2017