There are, however, exceptions. Some PIs—more than a few—do indeed fit the mold of the guys in the crime stories. These guys are known in the trade as information brokers, a polite term for people who are willing to break the rules. They know they can get any assignment done a good deal faster and a good deal easier if they take some shortcuts. That these shortcuts happen to be potential felonies that might land them behind bars for a few years doesn't seem to deter the more unscrupulous ones.