Peter can't get to Lao without blowing the operation, which is where Neal comes in. In order to make contact with Lao, the FBI wants Neal to resurrect one of his old aliases; Nicholas Halden, a multimillionaire with a predilection for high stakes gambling. Lao Shen will be in New York for 72 hours - not much time to make contact and find out what happened to Costa.
While Peter's team sets up in a Chinatown apartment, Neal's ankle tracker is switched out for a high-end watch transmitter that doubles as a listening device. Neal gains entrée into an underground Pai Gow game in Chinatown and succeeds in making contact with Lao. Everything is going as planned - until the NYPD raids the game. If Neal is compromised, the operation will be blown.
With Lao watching, Neal makes a daring escape in order to preserve his cover. On the run, Neal meets up with Meilin, a beautiful member of Lao's retinue who invites Neal up to her hotel room.
Meanwhile, Peter is furious that the NYPD would scuttle their operation, but he's even less happy about having Neal on his own without a plan. However, with the watch transmitter in place and Neal seemingly occupied with a beautiful woman, Peter is content to hang back.
That is, until Meilin smashes Neal's watch. With Peter now out of the loop, Meilin reveals her secret: the seductive beauty is working for Interpol, and she knows all about Neal Caffrey. She was the one who called the NYPD in order to save her own operation. Interpol has been working Lao to get to his boss, and she wasn't going to let the FBI ruin her case.
Naturally, Meilin wants Neal to let Lao walk. Neal refuses to betray Peter, until Meilin plays her trump card. She has information about Kate, which she'll gladly share if Neal cooperates. And with every day bringing Neal and Kate further apart, it's an offer Neal just may consider.
