Lawson was taking a sip of his drink when he heard that and nearly choked.
Sean Archer was too focused on negotiating the price with Svafa to notice, but the blonde beauty caught Lawson's reaction. She immediately started scrutinizing him.
But as she looked closer, the blonde beauty realized this man was seriously handsome—the kind of handsome that broke through Eastern and Western aesthetic barriers.
Lawson frowned slightly. The FBI suddenly showing up to buy intel on David Abbott? He didn't think that was a coincidence.
Most likely, something David Abbott did during the heist tipped the feds off.
This complicated things. David Abbott had seen Lawson in person, even if he was in disguise.
Looks like he needed to make some preparations in advance!
"Fifty grand, and the intel is yours."
"How about twenty?"
At Sean Archer's level, he had an operational budget.
But even with a budget, Sean couldn't just blow it all. Saving money where he could was beneficial to him.
Unfortunately, Svafa was locked in at $50,000 and refused to budge. Sean had no choice but to accept.
"Fine. Fifty grand it is. When can I get the intel?"
"Come back in three days."
"Does it really take that long?"
"Business has been busy lately, so it'll take three days. If you want it faster, you can pay a premium!"
This made Lawson's expression turn weird. By all accounts, David Abbott was nobody important. It should take two days max to get his file. Yet Svafa was asking for three.
Lawson felt like Svafa was just taking Sean Archer for a ride.
But Sean didn't bite. Fifty grand was already a lot; he wasn't going to blow even more of his budget.
"Three days it is. I'll be back here at this time. Jane, let's go!"
The blonde woman nodded, took one last look at Lawson, and left the bar with Sean Archer.
Just then, three more guys walked into the bar, crossing paths with the two FBI agents on their way out.
The guy leading the pack was Dom, the guy who had given Lawson a job before.
"Hey, Dominic!"
"Lawson? You're here too? What a coincidence! Let's get a drink!"
"Sure thing!"
Lawson left the bar counter and joined Dom and his crew in a booth. Soon, several bottles of whiskey were set on the table.
"Introductions. This is Vince, hell of a driver too! This is Jesse, genius with modding cars! And this is Lawson, got skills behind the wheel and under the hood!"
Lawson shook hands with Jesse, but when it came to Vince, the guy didn't reach out.
This surprised Lawson.
"You Korean too?"
Vince asked a question that left Lawson a bit speechless.
"No"
That answer made Vince smile, and he finally reached out to shake Lawson's hand.
Dom chimed in to explain.
"Lately, our crew, the Toretto crew, has been having friction with Johnny Tran's crew. Johnny's crew is mostly Korean, so Vince is a little jumpy around Asians right now."
So that was it.
Even though there was a reason, Lawson still felt the need to give Vince a heads-up.
"Vince, in the future, don't ask person if they're Korean, and definitely don't ask if they're Japanese!"
"Why's that?"
"Even though our three East Asian countries share similar demographics, there's a lot of historical bad blood between us. It's kind of like the history between England, France, and Germany."
Put that way, Vince immediately understood.
Dom took the opportunity to make a regional joke.
"Yeah, if you speak French on the streets of London, or English on the streets of Paris, you might get your ass kicked. Lawson, if I do that , will I get beat up?"
"Not exactly. As long as you visit as a friend, we'll welcome you with flowers and good wine. But if you come as a robber, the only thing waiting for you is bullets!"
"Well said! Now let's drink to friendship!"
Dom raised his glass, clinking it with Lawson, Vince, and Jesse. The four men downed their whiskey in one shot.
"Lawson, what have you been up to lately?"
"Nothing much. Just wandering around every day, no gigs. Dom, you got any work?"
"Ha! I wish I had work to give you. But there is a massive event happening in the LA underground soon. Maybe you should enter."
"What kind of event?"
"The young master of the Bonanno family is organizing a street race. Entry fee is $10,000. Top three finishers get paid out. First place takes home $100,000!"
A hundred grand? That was a serious payout.
With a prize that big, the competition was bound to be fierce.
Hearing the name "Bonanno family" made Lawson's heart skip a beat, but he deliberately played dumb.
"What does the Bonanno family do? Name sounds familiar."
Dom looked at Lawson in surprise.
"You seriously don't know?"
"Am I supposed to?"
"Lawson, the Bonanno family is one of the pillars of the LA underworld. They run more than half the white organized crime business!"
Lawson's eyes flickered. This might be a better 'in' than Phil and Dennis.
"Mafia?"
"Yeah. But the Mafia is in decline these days. As long as we don't mess with them, they won't mess with us."
Like mentioned before, the Mafia was far from its glory days of the 50s and 60s. After the 70s, it had been a steady downhill slide.
But as the top-tier Mafia families faded, it gave the mid-tier families a chance to rise.
And as long as the authorities didn't completely crack down, new factions would always emerge to fill the void in the underground order. So there were still Mafia factions operating.
However, compared to the era when the Mafia controlled everything, today's underworld was much more diverse.
Black, Mexican, Russian, Korean, and Japanese gangs all had a piece of the pie.
"Interesting! Dom, sign me up!"
"Hell yeah! Now we can really see who's the best driver in LA!"
Unsurprisingly, Dom had already entered. He was a racing fanatic; he'd never miss a chance like this.
"By the way, Dom, when's the race?"
"Sometime around late May. Gotta wait for the organizers to set the exact date. They have to factor in weather and police patrols."
Makes sense. A massive underground street race like this required serious planning.
Otherwise, the LAPD would bust the whole thing before the race even started.
"Then I better start getting ready!"