The Wall Street Journal – which has big ears on the ground – said that Yahoo and Google could walk away from their revenue-sharing pact by the middle of next week unless a miracle happens and they come to terms with the Justice Department.

The Deal reported last week that the deal was doomed because of its antitrust implications.

In a very equivocal story late Thursday, the Journal suggested that the DOJ has been demanding a consent decree enforcing the terms of the partnership, which would subject the companies’ compliance to a judge.

Such a notion has been mentioned elsewhere before as leaving Google exposed to legal action by Microsoft.

The Journal thinks that Yahoo and Google have been talking to the DOJ about a revised deal the last couple of weeks, something that was supposed to be anathema to Google.

It also suggests that Google would bolt to avoid a legal spotlight on its market power.

The Justice Department has reportedly been putting an antitrust case together.

If the deal fails Yahoo would be left without its promised revenue fillup, a card that Microsoft could use to re-enter the game. It could also push Yahoo to close whatever combine it’s been negotiating with AOL.