Lawson left Letty's apartment before 11:00 PM and drove toward Johnny Tran's Korean restaurant.
Intel 3 stated the restaurant used an illegal meat supplier, with deliveries occurring at midnight.
This timing lined up perfectly with the time set for the exchange between Dominic and Johnny Tran.
Lawson felt this situation could be highly exploitable, so he headed to the location to verify.
Halfway there, Lawson's phone suddenly rang. It was Neal. Lawson realized it was time for his weekly check-in.
"Hey, Auntie wants you home for dinner."
"Sorry, Peter isn't here."
Using the established code, Lawson's brain kicked into high gear. He realized the FBI could also be utilized as a massive asset here.
However, compared to the LAPD, the FBI was significantly harder to manipulate, so he had to play his cards perfectly.
"Lawson, did you successfully infiltrate the Bonanno family?"
"No. My plan failed."
Hearing that, Neal instantly sounded anxious. Originally, he had zero expectations for Lawson as an informant.
But Lawson's previous intel was like buying a two-dollar scratch-off and hitting the jackpot, completely hooking Neal in.
That massive drop in expectations made Lawson's failure entirely unacceptable to Neal.
"Wait, you don't know? The two made men involved in the Pacific Standard Bank job got bagged by your guys. With them locked up, how the hell am I supposed to infiltrate the Bonannos?"
"Fuck! How did that happen!"
Neal genuinely didn't know. Sean Arthur held the same rank as Neal, so Sean had absolutely zero obligation to report his case updates to him.
"I'll ask around the bureau tomorrow! Lawson, don't panic. Keep working this angle. There has to be another way inside the Bonanno family!"
It was blatantly obvious Neal was completely hooked on the Bonanno case. He was like a greedy fish—all he saw was the bait, completely blind to the hook hidden inside.
Reading the situation, Lawson perfectly timed dropping his second piece of bait to reel Neal in tighter.
"Right, Neal. Heard a rumor today. Tied to the Bonannos, but I can't verify if it's legit."
"Let's hear it!"
"Heard the Bonanno family capos are having a sit-down dinner at some restaurant tomorrow night. No idea if it's true."
Lawson deliberately withheld the exact intel. Having overly specific information at his current level would look highly suspicious.
"The Bonanno capos having a sit-down? Is something massive about to go down? Where did you get this?"
The intel instantly made Neal intensely excited.
"Overheard some Italians talking at the bar next to me. But the music was way too loud, so I didn't catch the exact location. Only caught the words 'Korean' and 'BBQ'."
"Korean and BBQ? A Korean BBQ joint? I think I know exactly where that is!"
In the year 2000, Korean BBQ hadn't exploded in popularity yet. There were barely any Korean BBQ spots in all of LA, so Neal locked onto the target almost instantly.
"Neal, this intel should be worth solid cash, right? When do I get paid? I'm so broke I can barely afford to eat!"
"You're still buying drinks! How the hell can't you afford to eat? Fine, once I verify the intel tomorrow, I'll process your payment!"
"How much we talking?"
"Five grand, max!"
Only five grand?
Lawson scoffed internally. He knew five grand was a solid payout, but compared to his previous scores, it was absolute pocket change.
It barely covered the cost of purchasing intel for a 2-star job on the Payday app.
But Lawson still had to play the part of a desperate informant.
"Awesome! Waiting on your good news, Neal!"
Neal quickly hung up. Lawson continued driving the Dodge Viper toward the Korean restaurant.
Johnny Tran's restaurant was located on the outskirts of Koreatown in downtown LA. When Lawson arrived, he noticed the place was still open.
It was pretty rare for restaurants in America to stay open this late. Usually, only fast-food joints like KFC or McDonald's ran 24/7.
After all, American streets at night were highly dangerous. Staying open late practically invited guys with natural nighttime camouflage to come "borrow" money—the kind of borrowing that never got repaid.
Most shops closed early not because they lacked customers, but simply because staying open at night was a massive safety hazard.
Just as Lawson parked and was about to step out, he spotted a Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 parked nearby. That was Brian's ride.
Looked like Brian was already on-site. Lawson knew he absolutely could not blow his cover.
After a quick calculation, Lawson drove the Dodge Viper away from the restaurant, parked in a secluded spot, threw on his clown mask, and got out on foot.
Running close-range recon on the restaurant, Lawson noted security cameras covering both the front and back entrances. Johnny Tran was clearly highly cautious.
Checking his watch, it was 11:30 PM. The illegal meat delivery was scheduled in half an hour.
Lawson circled around to the back alley, carefully avoiding the camera's blind spots to plant two Spy Pens. He then found a dark corner and waited silently.
At midnight, the Korean restaurant officially closed. Lawson saw Brian walk out the front door. The guy had likely posed as a customer to gather intel, though who knew if he actually found anything useful.
At 12:05 AM, a completely unmarked refrigerated truck—no logos, just a phone number painted on the side—pulled up to the back door.
Lawson pulled out his phone, opened the app, and accessed the live feed from the Spy Pens.
The Spy Pen camera quality was incredibly sharp, vastly outperforming standard surveillance tech of the era. Lawson had a crystal-clear view of Johnny Tran's face.
"Mike, you're five minutes late!"
"Couldn't help it. Truck had minor issues on the way. Good thing it wasn't too late."
"Did you get the meat I asked for?"
"Of course! Premium Wagyu beef! Tran, why the sudden need for high-end cuts?"
"Hosting VIPs. Gotta serve the best!"
"VIPs? What kind of VIPs eat at this joint?"
"None of your fucking business! Get the meat in the freezer! I'm closing up!"
The driver immediately started unloading the meat.
Lawson thought for a second. His play was to sneak onto the refrigerated truck, track it back to the illegal processing plant, and then steal the truck.
But just as Lawson prepared to move, he spotted a sneaky blonde guy creeping into the camera frame.
Wasn't that Brian?
Turned out the guy never left. He was hiding nearby running recon, exactly like Lawson.
Judging by his movements, Brian was trying to pull the exact same play—tail the truck to the plant and steal it.
The kid had massive balls. If Tran caught him, Brian would likely get executed on the spot.
"All done! Tran, ready to settle up?"