ISCLAIMER : Anything that's in the franchise, belong to the respective owner, they're not mine. Places and names that are real in reality, I'm just borrowing them. This is a non-profit fiction. Don't sue me.
Okay, so while I was working on my other Fic, 'I got You', and writing Trinh part of the story, intrigue me, I love her character and I decided to extend it a little.
This story was set the night before Dom's final trial, before Brian and Mia crashed the jail bus. Brian is having a conflict within himself.. and Trinh was there.
Enjoy...
It was almost eleven pm; the third floor of the FBI LA field office was almost empty. Only two desks still have agents working. Brian entered the room; he was tired physically and mentally. He sat on his desk.
"Oh.. Hi, Brian.." Agent Sophie Trinh just walked out of the elevator carrying a stack of folder in her hands. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you in three days" she asked cheerfully.
He was silent; he wasn't expecting her to be here. Actually, he wasn't expecting anyone to be here at this hour. He deliberately went there late at night so he wouldn't see anyone, especially Penning or Stasiak. But there's Sophie Trinh, the newbie nerd. A young female agent so naive and passionate about her job, sometimes he envied her for it.
"Are you alright? You looked like .. Umm.. Crap" she asked; concern about her co-worker. His hair was a mess, he got bags under his eyes, and he looked pale, possibly from lack of sleep.
Brian looked at her and gave a weak smile, "yeah, I'm fine Trinh.. You're not going home yet?"
"I was about to go home, but then Stasiak called, said he need the forensic report right away.." She turned to look at the said agent's desk "where is he?" she dropped the folders on her desk.
Brian shrugged his shoulders, "He's not here when I arrived"
"Ugh! That.." she didn't continue her attempt to curse "I officially hate him" She shook her head.
.
.
Trinh watched as Brian ran his fingers through his hair.
"Nervous about the trial tomorrow?" She asked, trying to engage a conversation with him.
Brian exhaled a heavy breath, "Yeah, it's gonna be tough. He got a strict judge. Even his lawyer was pessimistic about it"
They were silent again. Trinh knew something is off with Brian but she didn't know how to make him talk about it, they've been friends for almost a year, they have lunch together occasionally, talked about a case, but that's just it, it was always work related. Never a personal matter. So when she found something is bothering him, she didn't know how to handle it. She watched him gathered his things from his desk, there was not much stuff he kept there, few tangled ties and a brand new white shirt still in its wrapper.
She fiddled with her pen and tapped it on her desk. Thinking. She finally decided to try to make him at least at tiny bit happier, seeing him this devastated was.. Painful. She grabbed her bag and coat and approached Brian.
"Come on, Brian."
"What?" he looked at his petite co-worker quizzically.
"I doubted that you ate anything this evening, I wanted to try a new 24 hour Chinese restaurant on Seventh Street, and you're driving me there"
Brian was briefly shocked, Trinh never ordered him around, but she was right, he was too busy finishing up the Dodge Charger; he forgot to have dinner.
"Aren't you supposed to go home?"
"All I got is an empty apartment and a goldfish named Murray, Bri... I think Murray can wait" She smiled.
He smiled back, accepting her offer and fished his car key from his pocket.
.
.
"Ummm.. This is delicious, you have to try this, Bri" Trinh said as she picked another piece of chicken kung pao from her plate. She shoved her plate to give Brian an easier access.
Brian scoop one and ate it.
He smiled, "not bad.."
"Not bad? Are you kidding?! This is heavenly.." she ate another.
Brian just smiled watching her mouth and cheek moved as she chewed the chicken. She has the cutest lips he had ever seen, and her chipmunk cheek was a nice complement to that lips.
"Trinh, can I asked you something?" he blurted out.
"Sure, what is it?" she glanced at him; her hands still busy picking the chicken.
"Why do you want to be an Agent?"
She froze for a moment, staring to Brian's eyes. Where would this lead to?
She looked away and cleared her throat, "You may think I'm weird.. But you know the series, X-Files?"
Brian tilted his head, remembering the series about two FBI Agents solving mysterious case.
"I used to watched it, I love that show.. and when graduation come.. I decided I wanted to be like Agent Dana Scully.." she said shyly, she expected him to laugh hysterically at her silly reason, but he was silent. It made her uncomfortable.
"I envy you.. I wish mine was that simple" He said as he bowed his head.
She stayed silent, letting him continue.
"I have a bad history as a teenager, I would steal cars, sold them to chop shop.. Went to juvie for two years. Then I met a guy, he was a police officer, he was great, taught me about good and bad, right and wrong, I look up to him, he was the closest thing I have to a father figure. That's when I decided to become a law enforcement. But now.." He groaned.
"Now I know what I did was right, but why do I felt like shit? I know the law system would tell me I'm doing the right thing, but it felt wrong, I felt like I'm a disappointment, a failure, like I betrayed something.."
Trinh was silent, she wasn't expecting this.
"I don't know Trinh.. I don't know what's right and wrong anymore.. I don't know which side to choose.. I don't know if what I choose is the right decision"
Trinh sighed, "I don't know too, Brian.. The law is a system, they have bugs, sometimes we need to patch it, it's not easy.. And life is not all black and white as the system wanted it to. Human conscience sometimes tricked us too.." she stared to Brian's eyes. He smiled.
"Trinh, you're such a nerd sometimes.." He laughed.
"Shut up, Bri" her face flushed, she drank her water, trying to hide her flushed face.
She continued "sometimes it's hard, in the face of the law, we're just a tool. Doing what we're told to do, but we have feelings, we have conscience.. When they clashed.. We're left with doubts.." she stopped "I don't know, Bri.. I'm just a newbie.. And I'm rambling.. Embarrassing myself.. Again.. I'm sorry.." she bowed her head, avoiding his intense gaze.
Brian chuckled; he loved how Trinh sometimes could get speechless under his gaze.
.
.
Brian drove her to her apartment and walked her to the apartment front door.
"Thank you, Trinh.. For everything.." he said with a sadden voice.
"You said it like we're not gonna see each other anymore.." she teased.
He shrugged and smiled "Take care"
He turned and walked back to his car. Trinh opened her mouth to said something, to call him, to stop him.. but she hesitant. She choose to let him go.
"You too, Brian" she whispered as she watched his car disappeared around the corner.
.
.
That was the last time agent Sophie Trinh saw Brian O'Conner, before knowing he was involved in busting Toretto out of jail bus, the day after their midnight dinner.
She turned off the TV, his face was all over the media for robbing a Billionaire in Rio. Her once a partner in crime fighting, now is a criminal himself. She sighed, wondering if they had different conversations, if she answers differently, would he choose differently? Would what she said, make a difference?
She missed him. She missed his laugh, his jokes, his witty remarks. She missed saying the three words she came to loved.. "Shut up, Bri"
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I made this with very little research :D so forgive me for any mistakes..
I just need to get this out of my mind before it drives me insane.. haha
Hope you enjoyed it.