Episode 20

**Wizard of Far East (Case 4.6)** is the 20th episode of the Great Pretender series.

## Summary

A seemingly fool-proof plan involving conning the Shanghai mafia is botched due to unforseen circumstances and Dorothy dies. Desiring revenge, Laurent rebuilds Team Confidence, which sets in motion the main story of series.

## Plot

Team Confidence review the plan for the con job and the goal limit of the amount they plan to con.

A meeting involving, Laurent, Seiji, Kim, Liu, and his partner Chen. The meeting was centered on the Ethiopian princess Dorothy. Negotiations nearly break down, however, Liu agrees to buy Dorothy for the set price of 10 million dollars.

Seiji, Kim, Chen, and a cohort "kidnap" Dorothy after she leaves her college and then delivers her to Liu in his office. Afterward, Seiji and Kim ride on a boat believing that their con job was nearly a success. All that was left was to let Laurent bust Dorothy free and it'd be another successful mission. While Seiji plans on returning to Japan, Kim plans on retiring in Seoul Korea.

That night, Laurent visits Dorothy in her imprisonment and gives her a bottle of water. They then discuss the escape plan involving Seiji and Kim using a boat to help her escape the next morning. Dorothy claims she'll wait for them if Laurent brings her some soup dumplings.

The following day, when Laurent purchases some soup dumplings for Dorothy, he learns from the local paper that the real Ethiopian royalty was going to visit Shanghai. This would expose the con job, revealing that Dorothy really wasn't an Ethiopian princess. In light of this, Laurent dashes to where Dorothy is where when Laurent arrives sees that she's being carried out by Chen. Dorothy is then taken to Liu's private yacht out at sea with Liu, Chen, and some cohorts of his. While Lauren tries to dissuade Liu from killing Dorothy; Liu has Laurent translate that if she reveals where the money and broker are she'll be spared. However, Dorothy gives a fake story that that the money is now in Shanghai station being used as toilet paper. The broker is now a Korean food-vender selling kimchi. Liu demanding Laurent what she's saying, Dorothy curses Liu in his native tongue and before he could hit her, Seiji contacts Chen to formally apologize about the mix up. Furthermore, he reveals the location of the money and the broker. Liu's men then track Kim down in Seoul where she fakes her own death. Liu's men then find the money underneath her bed. Once all of that is settled Liu as one of his men shot and kill Dorothy while her body falls into the ocean leaving only her ring behind.

The aftermath to this incident is that Seiji was arrested in connection to slave trades and he contacts Kim to have her look after Laurent. Sometime after Dorothy's death, Laurent still distraught over her death envisions himself kill Liu during a game of Majhong. Instead, however, he takes a leave of absence to visit his mother in the hospital, but really returns to the hideout and stays there for a long duration.

One day, Kim visits the place to tell him that Seiji was worried about him and wanted Laurent to be checked on. Overcoming his depression, Laurent writes a letter to Seiji to devise a new plan that'd please Dorothy.

Years pass by and Laurent recruits Cynthia in London. After being released from prison, Seiji visits his wife inthe hospital narrowly avoiding Edamura as he visits his mom. The next person Laurent recruits is Abigail and elsewhere, Seiji prostates himself to Liu to hire him. Meanwhile in Japan, Edamura and Kudo encounter a "unsuspecting target" Laurent.

## Characters

* Makoto Edamura
* Laurent Thierry
* Dorothy
* Seiji Ozaki
* Shi-won Kim
* Akemi Suzaku (Mentioned)
* Kudo
* Cynthia Moore
* Abigail Jones
* Liu Xiao
* Chen Yao