Brian grabbed sandwich at Toretto's Cafe like usual, only to find spot surprisingly crowded today.
Besides his target, Dom, there were two young white guys and handsome Asian kid.
Seeing Brian, Lawson's expression turned weird. He remembered this guy—Donnie's undercover partner.
Looked like this guy was targeting Dom.
Wait, last time he dropped Mia off, he felt someone spying on them. Was it this kid?
Lawson recognized Brian, but Brian didn't recognize him.
After all, Lawson wore Joker mask during Rogue Cop job.
Unless Lawson busted out his Joker voice, Brian had zero chance of IDing him.
Dom noticed Brian too. He remembered guy buying food at his shop almost every single day.
Honestly, there was reason Toretto's Cafe had terrible business. Food and coffee here had zero competitive edge.
Polite way to say it: Lacking competitive edge.
Honest way: Tastes like shit!
Dom made it that way on purpose. Toretto's Cafe was his home and his mod-shop rendezvous point. He didn't want massive crowds hanging around.
Yet Brian bought sandwiches here days in row. Guy either had busted taste buds or ulterior motives.
So, Dom shot look at Vince and Jesse. Three of them boxed Brian in.
"Kid, what exactly do you do?"
Sudden ambush caught Brian off guard. Next thing he knew, he was sandwiched between massive dudes, completely locked down.
"I'm apprentice at local auto shop. Is there problem?"
"Auto shop apprentice? I know every shop around here. Which one?"
"Jerry's Auto Shop!"
Dom eyed Brian suspiciously. Clearly didn't buy it, but couldn't exactly do anything crazy in broad daylight.
"Kid, don't try playing games!"
Seeing his target getting suspicious, Brian needed out. Right then, Mia finished her phone call and walked over. Brian instantly stared at her with utterly infatuated look.
Dom followed Brian's gaze to Mia. Suddenly, it all made sense.
"You little punk, you're here for my sister!"
That explained it!
Mia wasn't one-in-a-million stunner like Blake or Svafa, but she was definitely hottest girl in neighborhood. Plenty of guys wanted to get with her.
Even Vince, part of Dom's crew, secretly crushed on Mia. Too bad Mia had zero interest in guy she grew up with.
Sometimes knowing someone too well kills it. Romance needs mystery. Childhood friends usually just end up permanently friend-zoned.
Dom told Vince to let Brian go. Vince still threw punch, teaching guy lesson for eyeing his goddess.
Seeing Dom and guys roughing someone up, Mia frowned.
"Dom, don't do this inside cafe! Someone calls cops, we're dealing with massive headache!"
Dom quickly threw arm around Brian's neck, playing it off for his sister.
"Hey Mia, this is just how guys make friends in LA nowadays! Right, kid?"
"Yeah, yeah, totally!"
What else could Brian say? He just nodded and agreed.
Mia rolled her eyes. She wasn't idiot; obviously Brian was being threatened.
"Whatever! Dom, I'm taking Lawson to look at apartments. Don't do anything crazy!"
Lawson waved at Dom.
"See ya later!"
Brian watched Lawson walk away, looking surprised. Guy's walk felt strangely familiar, but he couldn't place voice.
Smack! Dom slapped back of Brian's head, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"You're free to go, kid! Don't let me catch you creeping around here again!"
"What about my coffee and sandwich?"
Vince raised eyebrow, flashing malicious grin.
"You sure you want us making your coffee and sandwich?"
That sent shiver down Brian's spine. God knows what Vince would put in his food.
Even if they skipped spitting in it, just dumping bottle of hot sauce in there would wreck him!
"Never mind, I'm good!"
Saying that, Brian scrambled out of Toretto's Cafe.
Watching blonde kid bolt, Vince turned to his boss.
"Dom, you think that kid is problem?"
"Just checking him out to be safe. But I figure he's just another guy drooling over Mia."
Dom crossed arms, looking highly confident. Guy had this blind arrogance sometimes. That exact overconfidence occasionally landed him in deep shit.
Jesse patted Dom's shoulder.
"Boss, we need to get to work. Otherwise, car won't be ready for race at end of month!"
"True! Wonder if Lawson finished modding his ride. Guy has serious skills under hood! Let's lock up cafe and head to garage."
Meanwhile, Mia drove Lawson to Caltech area in northeast LA.
Caltech is one of top scientific research universities in world. Massive chunk of surrounding land consists of facilities and housing built specifically to support campus.
Bachelor pad Mia was taking him to see was one of them.
Even though American college dorms are generally comfortable, students sometimes need off-campus housing due to full dorms, marriage, or health reasons.
So college towns are always surrounded by various apartments catering to those needs.
Mia met up with landlady and took Lawson inside to check place out.
"Sir, this is most premium apartment around Caltech. Perfect for international student like you. Most tenants here are visiting scholars just like you!"
Landlady obviously misunderstood Lawson's identity. But given his age, he definitely looked like Asian international student.
Misunderstanding actually saved him lot of trouble. Premium apartment landlords definitely didn't want shady tenants with zero background.
So Lawson neither confirmed nor denied it.
He looked around apartment. Classic loft style. Massive, open vertical space, split into two levels.
Place utilized ton of clear glass, bringing in massive amount of natural light.
First floor had living room, kitchen, bathroom, and even storage room.
Second floor was open-concept bedroom, featuring wraparound indoor balcony.
Design was seriously top-tier. Lawson was highly satisfied.
"What do you think, sir? Rent is only $1,500 month. But you have to sign minimum six-month lease, plus put down $20,000 deposit!"
"Ma'am, rent isn't issue. But I can't sign lease."