Episode 3

**Los Angeles Connection (Case 1.3)** is the third episode of the Great Pretender series. It is also the third episode in the first case.

## Summary

After walking out, Edamura rented and watched Razzie Rising, a movie directed by Cassano. The next morning, he was prepared to return to Japan, but at the airport, he was captured by Salazar, a former gang boss now in Cassano's employ. With Edamame forced to stay until the deal is complete, he decided to pretend that he created Sakura Magic, offering to sell Cassano a fake formula for the drug for a much higher price. After Laurent and Abby arrive, Cassano asks for proof of Edamame's credentials, which they fake by having Kudo's company act as doctors at the pharmaceutical research center where Laurent claimed that Edamame worked. That night, Cassano discusses an alternative location for the deal knowing that LAPD detective Anderson has been hot on his trail. On the way there, a car chase between Cassano's car, driven by Salazar, and Anderson ensues, but they manage to shake Anderson off. Cassano reveals that he is bribing Anderson, and the chase was staged to keep the LAPD from becoming suspicious. Everybody arrives at the trade location, an abandoned cider brewery now used to prepare drugs. Cassano orders Edamura to make Sakura Magic himself, and when Edamura claims that conditions are not ideal for making the drug, Cassano offers to renovate it. Cassano sends Edamura to stay at Salazar's house until the new lab is complete, separating him from Laurent and Abby. FBI agent Paula Dickins arrives and assumes command of Anderson's unit in order to both Cassano's drug network and Laurent's gang.

## Plot

Makoto manages to win Eddie over by first spending the night watching his movies at a motel, then intentionally getting caught by Eddie’s men. Once he’s before Eddie himself, he flatters him by declaring his love for his movies; which he considers art rather than RedLetterMedia fodder—and likens it to his drugs, which are like precious children to him.

Eddie will pay $10 million not only for an exclusive license for Sakura Magic, but all of Makoto’s lab notes on the formula, enabling any chemist to make it themselves. Still, Eddie wisely withholds the exchange of cash until his lawyers have been to Makoto’s lab in Japan. Thankfully Makoto’s pals are there just in time to greet them and corroborate Makoto’s story.

However, it’s still too risky to hand over millions in cash at Eddie’s house, which is under LAPD surveillance. This is due to Eddie being hounded by Chief Inspector Anderson for over a decade. They try to give Anderson the slip with a false limo, but Anderson sends a decoy tail after it and chases Eddie’s shitty Malibu instead. A pretty nifty car chase ensues, though it’s marred somewhat by the clunky CGI car models.

Anderson turns out to be on Eddie’s payroll and simply had to make it look good for both his team and the higher-ups. Eddie then shows Makoto, Laurent, and Abby to one of his top drug labs, presents Makoto with everything he needs, and asks him to whip up a batch of Sakura Magic right then and there.

Makoto never designed for his researcher story to endure under this level of scrutiny, and he’s able to save his skin for the time being by dismissing the lab as too filthy to work in. In response to this, Eddie vows to completely renovate the lab to Makoto’s exact specs. Each time he squirrels out of trouble the lie he uses ends up burrowing himself deeper into this increasingly lethal situation.

Pretty soon he’ll be out of moves, but that may not end up mattering. That’s because Anderson’s case has been suddenly taken over by infamous mob-buster FBI SA Paula Dickins. However, she’s not even after Cassano, but Laurent Tierry & Co., purveyors of international fraud.

## Characters

* Abigail Jones
* Anderson
* Paula Dickins
* Eddie Cassano
* Laurent Thierry
* Makoto Edamura
* Sapata
* Kudo
* Shi-won Kim
* Salazar

## Trivia

* CineFile, the video rental store Edamura used to check out Die Hot movies, is a real-life video rental store of the same name.