Nacho's girlfriends -- reason for not murdering them?

Question

A very unusual (I can't think of anything similar in any crime movie I have watched) scene occurs when Mike and his men in preparation for the replacement of Nacho's safe in a surprisingly patient and humane way (considering who they are) enter Nacho's apartment and Mike tells the two women that they absolutely must leave.

Mike is gruff but understanding -- it seems like he knows of them which implies that the Salamancas must also, they are no big secret -- and says, You need to go to your families; if you don't have family, go to friends; and if you don't have friends, makes some. But you must never return.

Part of this is that they have very important things to do that the women should not observe. But also, I think Mike is concerned somewhat for their safety if the Salamancas find them -- they would almost certainly torture them for what they might know.

But the problem is, they actually might know something -- there is the woman who has become psychotic through meth use and the other one whom has things more together and Nacho may, isolated as he is from anyone he can talk to, have told her things.

So Mike is relying on those women really leaving Albuquerque immediately and for good. This is best for them and essential for Gus. But safest for Gus would be to have them killed -- they don't seem reliable, they are dependent on Nacho and the amount of money looked to be between 5k and 10k -- not a lot. If they run out of money, they could well decide to haunt the old place, like stray dogs or cats who have been abandoned by their owners. Or just be found somewhere in the city, maybe the Salamancas have people with their photos at the bus station or airport.

Perhaps Mike made his, "They are not in the game" speech to Gus -- do we know anything more about why the two floozies were allowed to live, maybe from an interview with one of the actors or writers?

Answer 1

There's no reason to kill the girls. Mike knows that Nacho is way too smart, experienced, and disciplined to share valuable secrets with his junkie girlfriends. The Salamancas would know this too.

Remember how shocked Mike was to learn that Saul had shared some information with Kim? Mike couldn't believe that Saul would be do something that stupid, even though Saul was a newcomer to the game. Nacho would never do something that stupid.

The reason Mike wants the girls to leave town is because he knows Nacho is never coming back, and the disappearance will go smoother if the girls are out of the picture.

Answer 2

Who among the Salamancas would have photos of Amber and Jo? Who left among the Salamancas would even know of them? Tuco, maybe but he's in prison, the cartel probably can't get a message to and from him fast enough to have people in place at any airports. Hector isn't in a position to describe them in a manner that wouldn't take hours, if not days to relay. Lalo is, as far as the cartel is concerned, dead. And the cartel don't have direct contact with anyone else north of the border from the Salamanca organisation.

The risk and expense of letting the women go is minimal, probably less than the risk and expense of "disposing" of them by more traditional gangster means. But the look on their faces was genuine and Mike could be fairly certain they'd do what they were told for fear of what might happen if they did not.

$10k may not be much in the context of the show, where we see Gus deliver shrink-wrapped bundles of cash to Eladio, or where Heisenberg has amassed enough cash that a guy of Huell's size can use it as a bed with enough room left over for Kuby, but it's going to be enough for those two women to get away from Albuquerque and tide them over until they get a new source of income.

Although it's not shown, it's possible a brief word was exchanged between Mike (or possibly Tyrus) and Nacho about Amber and Jo, and how much they knew. Judging from what we'd little we've seen of his home life, it's likely Nacho told them nothing of use.

This choice of action definitely fits what we know of Mike; not killing unless he feels there are no other choices left, and using his ability to read people, learned from years on the police force, to know what someone is going to do.

This choice also fits what we know of Gus; willing to take small risks to appease Mike's sensibilities, and trusting Mike's read on people.