Title: Quarterback Scramble
Status: WIP Incomplete
Pairings: Lance Harbor/Mia Toretto, Dominic Toretto/Letty Ortiz
Additional Categories: Alternate Universe, Crossover ( Varsity Blues )
Genre: Action, Angst, Comfort, Drama, Family, Hurt, Romance, Tragedy
Season/Episodes: First Race in Fast 1 then AU after.
Rating: Teen
Warnings: Graphic Language,
Spoilers: N/A
Summary: On the night of the race, things turns out differently but getting arrested might be a blessing in disguise. Will Dom's relationship with his father recover? And exactly who is this officer from West Canaan, Texas?
Series/Sequels: 1st in the 'Holy Mary' Trinity, followed by 'Red Zone'
Last Updated: March 25, 2013
Author's Notes: Brian O'Conner doesn't exist. Therefore we won't see Roman Pearce or the other characters from 2 Fast 2 Furious onwards. Nature of the beast. Once this story has been completed, it will be filed into the Crossover section with Varsity Blues.
Chapter One: Prologue
The red Mazda RX-7 came to stop before the roaring crowd of fans, the swarm immediately down on the driver even before he opened the door. Behind him, the other three racers brought up the rear, none of them having even come close to taking the lead. Dominic Toretto, the proclaimed King of the Streets, stood before the crowd, a smirk on his face.
This was his domain, where he ruled without challenge. During the night, he was the dark horse of the Toretto family, a man banned from the official racing circuits, and an ex-convict with a record. Here on the streets of LA in the dark, he was known a King with no equal, unchallenged by the men who thought they could beat him and the young racers who dreamed to beat him. He opened his arms as he walked to the driver who came in second. "Where was my challenge, Hector?" The crowd jittered, a few of them laughing.
"I thought I had you there, Toretto. You're lucky my NOS tank came undone." The Latino whistled as he beckoned the crew member who had been given the pot to come over and hand over the cash to Toretto. "A win's a win." His voice held the respect that so many drivers had. No one here judged him for what he did when he was younger. Here, no one looked at him with disappointment in their eyes.
Dom nimbly took the cash from the man. "Maybe you should have your mechanic look over the car before Race Wars. Wouldn't want that to happen out there in the desert. I don't think your crew would be able to afford it."
"Well, ese, I got a few tricks up my sleeve."
"Yo, Monica!" The two men looked over to see Edwin attempting to win over his girlfriend. They got an eyeful of the woman smacking him in the face. The crowd oohed and laughed as Edwin followed her. "Come on, baby, don't be like that."
"Nigga, you didn't win." She said, blowing him off, walking away with her girlfriends. "Call me when you actually win a race." The crowd jeered as Edwin threw up his hands up, immediately scanning the female heads for a replacement.
Dom turned around to come face to face with a racer skank, her dress hitching up high on her thighs. "Looks like you need to rest, champion. Maybe I can be some help with that? I can make it worth your while." The skank said, leaning into, giving Dom a look of the goods she was offering. The skin was obviously artificially tanned, no lines whatsoever. Her slim legs glistened with glittery baby lotion, the miniscule flecks picking up the glare from the street lights.
"What you can do is back off, slut." Letty Ortiz said as she slid up to Dom, glaring at the bitch over her glasses, her tongue sliding over her upper teeth, showing off the feral smile. "Wouldn't want something to happen to that pretty face, chica." Her knuckles audibly cracked as she flexed her hands.
The racer slut took in the tomboy clothing Letty was wearing and humphed but walked away, in search of less dangerous prey.
"Why do you always have to do that?" Dom stared at his girlfriend of five years in amusement and a little annoyance.
"Well, you're not doing anything to dissuade them." Letty lifted her glasses back onto her nose, a hand on her hip. "I'm just here to make sure they don't try to lay claim to you."
"You know I won't cheat on you. They're just there for looks. It's not I'm going to take them to bed." Dom slid the wad of cash into his the pocket of his red leather jacket and taking Letty into his arms. He bent down and kissed her, passionately laying claim to her mouth before his disciples. The crowd roared its approval.
The moment was broken a second later.
"Cops, cops! We got cops!" Leon's voice came over the radio, his cry taken up by the younger spectators, the high schoolers who weren't supposed to be there. The older and more experienced spectators did not waste time, immediately bolting to their cars. In a flash, the crowd milling around Dom's Mazda dispersed, humans spilling in all directions toward their waiting rides as the sounds of sirens began to grow in the air.
Dom roughly opened the door, easily sliding inside from practice and gunning it. The car slide into the mass of cars leaving the scene, tailgating the end of one of many lines of teenagers scrambling past the black as law enforcement sped onto the dissolving scene. The supped-up cars sped by in colorful streaks between the black and whites, their high performance engines roaring in defiance. For every single cruiser arriving, there were ten cars fleeing the scene.
From the years at the wheel, Dom knew there was a trap ahead, the main street blocked off at the end with spike strips. At the next corner, he slipped away but it was at this moment, his luck was not with him. Another cruiser had turned onto the street ahead, no doubt in search of the pack Dom had just vacated. Dom gunned it, the Mazda speeding even more and believed he would leave this cruiser in the dust as he had all the others.
His smirk dissolved as the cruiser smoothly spun a hundred and eighty degrees, the back wheels quickly catching the black asphalt and catapulting the cruiser forward. But Dom didn't panic as he had cruisers riding his ass so many times the fear had been replaced by confidence. He was sure that he would able to loss the cop within a few blocks. He would be able to pick up the Mazda later once everything cooled down by morning.
He turned sharply onto another street, his mind mapping the possible escape routes back to his safe house. It was too close to the garage where he would be able to stow his Mazda to risk ditching it. The seconds ticked past as the cruiser and the Mazda sped through intersection after intersection, the lights flashing red and blue in the darkness.
Then the darkness surrounding Dom was driven away, a powerful strobe lighting the ground about five feet in every direction, turning night into day. The whap-whap of the helicopter blades was loud in the night, its beam telling the other cops where a racer was. Dom finally knew the moment his luck had run dangerously low when two more cruisers joined the first one, speeding up until they had formed a hungry pack with the lead. One he could lose fast but three was going to prove a challenge.
He was so distracted by the helicopter that he almost missed the officer on the side of the road, something yellow flashing in his hand. The Mazda spun around the spike strip lad on the street, Dom quickly jerking the wheel back to bring the car under control. The cruisers swerved around the spike strip before coalescing back on Dom's ass, their engines roaring with hunger.
At the next turn as the Mazda spun around the corner, the lead cruiser came around and bumped Dom's tail. The Mazda protested, slipping from the attempted pit maneuver before it could be completed. Dom's hands grew slippery, his heart beginning to beat a rhythm in to his ribcage. That had been the first time a cruiser had ever gotten close to even try one much less actually touch bumpers with his own car. A police chase had never lasted this long before with him as the target. He had always managed to break from the pursuit within a couple of blocks, easily slipping away into the night to race again, usually the next night. No matter what Dom did, the lead cruiser was always right there, matching him street for street, maneuver for maneuver.
And the guy was persistent as fuck. The other cruisers would fall behind a bit then catch up once the street leveled out again before falling back once more when Dom tried to lose them. But not once was the cop driving the lead cruiser fazed, always ten feet behind.
A second pit maneuver was performed, almost knocking Dom sideways. Dom used the nitrous to put distance between him and the lead cruiser. Above him, however, the helicopter kept the light on him and the cruisers were back on his tail within two streets.
The thought of ditching the car crept over his mind. He could just abandon the Mazda in a residential area and try to flee on foot through the alley ways but he knew if he did that, the police would set up a secure perimeter around the car and search for him with dogs. The helicopter above him would just radio his position on the ground, its beam chasing him. Then, there was the fact that they would have possession of his ride, something that would be a grave insult to his reputation. To racers like him, the car was a symbol of his status, one that should not be allowed to fall in the hands of the police. Plus it was the car Letty and the others had been waiting with when he had first stepped out from Lompoc. To him, it signaled freedom.
He attempted to duke the lead officer again by entering an alley but the cruisers kept right on him, not caring about the litter striking at the black and white bodies as they drove right through. Dom spun the wheel around another cruiser that had appeared to try and block him but it was no use. He thought he would be free from the chase but the lead cruiser performed a drift maneuver to slow down and angle the cruiser around the blocking black and white.
Who was that guy?
As Dom turned hard right, the lead cruiser came in hard again and this time, followed the action through. The Mazda was pushed sideways, the cruiser driving the smaller car forward even as the wheels tried to catch traction until the cop pinned the Mazda against the wall of a building. Before Dom could do anything, the other cruisers boxed him in, their lights flashing in his eyes. The officers opened their doors, their guns pointed straight at him. Out of their line of sight, Dom withdrew the wad of cash and hide it in the center console.
The officer in the passenger side of the lead cruiser keyed the loud speaker. "Turn off the vehicle and place your hands where we can see him."
After a moment's hesitation, Dom turned the engine off and raised his hands to where the cops could see that he wasn't armed. He wasn't going to die tonight. "Now with your left hand, open the door and exit the vehicle." Dom reached out with his left hand and opened the door. Dom lifted his six-foot frame, making sure to keep his hands in sight.
"Turn around and walk backwards with your hands on your head to the front of the car." Again Dom complied. "Take two steps to your left and lean against the hood of the vehicle." It was difficult to step off the curb but Dom did as asked.
As Dom waited, he could hear an officer coming up behind him. His right hand was taken and manipulated until it was behind his back, the cold metal of the handcuffs encircling his wrists with a snick. His left arm soon followed.
Once he was secured, Dom was turned around so he could sit against the hood of his Mazda comfortably. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you." The blonde-haired officer stated clearly despite a Texan accent as the other officers holstered their weapons and came up to the pair. One of them motioned to the helicopter above, four fingers spread out. The all clear was given and the helicopter was gone as the beam of light disappeared, the night falling back around them. The officers from the third cruiser talked with the other cops before leaving.
The blonde-haired officer's partner walked up, flashlight in hand. Dom's eyes squinted as the light was shown on his face. "Well, hot damn, rookie. You've caught Dominic Toretto." Dom's jaw tightened. Getting caught by the pigs was bad enough but to have been caught by a rookie was just down right humiliating. He knew for a fact once Tran found it, he would be hanging it over his head once he was released. No doubt V would fight for his brother.
The young officer didn't seem fazed. "I don't care who he is. He will still be gettin' the same courtesy as I give all the people who break the law." The young man stated firmly, beginning to pat Dom down starting from the shoulders. The contents of Dom's pockets were placed onto the hood of the Mazda in plain sight, the officer calling out the items; a few bills, a packet of gum, and other small assorted things that were gathered from everyday life.
"Lewis, I can't believe your rookie." A dark-haired officer laughed, he looked over the contents being spread out. "No drugs at all so he's clean on that count at the moment." He opened the wallet the rookie pulled from Dom's back jean pocket. "This confirms he is Toretto." He handed the open wallet to Lewis.
"Kid's got a point. Wilson, check out the car for anything illegal." Lewis ordered. The dark-haired officer shrugged before opening the door and beginning a search of the Mazda, the beam from his flashlight lighting up the interior of Dom's car.
"Do you know why we were chasin' you?" The rookie asked after standing and telling Lewis he was clear of any weapons. Dom didn't answer. He wasn't going to make it any easier for them.
"Oh, I think he knows what he was doing." Wilson threw the cash Dom had won tonight onto the hood, the bills wrapped in a thick wad. "He knows we know that he was illegally racing tonight. I also found the NOS tank under the passenger seat. Seems to be wired to the engine so this baby isn't stock." The officer kicked the wheels. "We may have not found any drugs but still, I want to have the K9 go over the car just in case. Never know with these punks nowadays."
Lewis hefted the wad. "This looks to be a few grand. Won tonight, Toretto?" Again Dom didn't say anything, choosing to stare into the darkness. "Looks like we're taking you back to the precinct. Lambert, call in the towing truck and have this taken to the impound for holding. Wilson, finishing checking out the car. I want both of you to stay here while we head back to process Toretto. Rookie, run the plates and the ID." The young officer took the wallet, the driver's license, and insurance registration back to the cruiser. "Everyone in the precinct knows you were released from prison a few short years ago. Let's hope that you're not breaking the restrictions of your parole."
Wilson's partner leaned forward, scrutinizing Toretto. "You know, that would be the second and third strike against you, Toretto; one for illegally racing and the third for evading arrest."
The rookie came back a few minutes later, handing the wallet back to his field training officer. "He got off parole a month ago. The Mazda was registered and insured the same day in his name. There are not any other chargers on his sheet at the moment."
"Color me surprised." Lewis murmured. "Still, you're facing some time in jail, 2 months for the racing. Rookie, take him to the cruiser while I finish here. "
The rookie grabbed Dom by the elbow and led him to the cruiser that had his car pinned to the building still. The back side panel was severely dented, the cruiser's bumper defacing the design Jesse and Letty had carefully painted on. The officer opened the door, placing a hand on Dom's head to guide him in without bumping his head.
"Is there anythin' you want to say in your defense?" Dom could tell by the young officer's voice that he was only asking out of courtesy, not really caring. Still, he was showing more respect than the other officers.
"I have nothing to say to you."
"That's what I thought. Move over. I don't want to hit your elbow." For a second, Dom was tempted to sit there but he didn't want to seem like a petulant child. He moved over just enough for the officer to close the door without hitting him. From his spot, he could tell the other officers were commenting about the rookie catching him. The older officer clapped a hand on the younger one's shoulder, showing his sign of approval. The show had Dom remembering his own father. Swallowing against the emotions rising in his throat, Dom turned away and stared at the interior. The cop car looked the same as it did over seven years ago when he had been taken away from his life after beating the shit out of Linder. The computer in the front dashboard was updating itself with the arrests happening all over the place. He squinted at the dispatcher and police updates, trying to decipher what they meant. From what little he could see, none of his friends had been caught.
It was a few minutes before the two officers were coming back, the younger one taking the driver's side. "What, you can't drive?" Dom asked sarcastically as the cruiser pulled from the wrecked Mazda. The flashing lights were turned off as the cruiser slowly made its way back to the precinct.
"I don't like to drive as much as you Toretto." Officer Lewis replied, good-naturedly. He grabbed the radio, informing the dispatcher they were leaving the scene and heading back to the precinct with a suspect in tow. He inquired about the status of the tow truck and was informed that one and a K-9 unit were on their way to the scene in ten minutes. Dom learned that one of Hector's cousins had also been captured but unlike Dom, he had been carrying cocaine. Being a minor, he was looking at time in juvenile detention.
After what seemed like forever, the cruiser pulled into the precinct, entering the police parking structure. A couple of minutes later, Dom was slowly getting out of the cruiser. Lewis led the way into the police station, grinning as the other officers finally saw who they were marching with.
"You guys caught Toretto?" One of the colleagues called out, sounding somewhat shocked.
"Yup, the rookie here was able to keep up with him." Lewis replied, not stopping. Dom was led to a small cubicle and placed into an uncomfortable plastic cheer. Lewis dropped the bag of evidence onto the table, pulling out a couple of forms from the shelves above the desk. "Since this your first major arrest, rookie, I'm going to help you on your report. Wouldn't want to lose this case due to some administrative error. Worst part about the job, I say."
"Lewis, the sergeant wants to talk with you." Another officer said, peeking his head around the cubicle walls and jerking his chin toward the suspect in their custody. His green eyes fell on Dom, looking him over. "He sure doesn't look like a king of the streets."
"That's because he isn't one." The rookie answered as Lewis moved out from the cubicle. "He's just a man who thinks the streets are a racin' circuit." If Dom didn't know better, he could have sworn that he heard a deep hatred in the rookie's tone but when he looked up, the rookie's face was neutral, showing nothing.
"Stay here and make sure he doesn't move."
"Sure thing, boss." The rookie said before turning back to the paper work Lewis had pulled out. He uncapped a pen and began filling the forms.
Dom watched the blonde-haired officer, judging him. For someone to have actually caught him, he wasn't the type that Dom would have thought would beat him out there. In his mind, Dom thought the officer that would bring him down was going to be someone like him; built, strong, and powerful. This cop was anything but that. He was slightly taller than Dom but probably 20 pounds lighter. Oh, he could tell the cop was capable of fighting back as evident by his movement but he was more built for speed, not strength. The blonde hair was short, the ends bleached by too much sunlight and the roots dark. He also seemed a little young.
"Can I at least have the name of the officer who caught me?" The question rumbled from Dom's throat before he could even stop it. While the other officers had called each other by their last names, they had only referred to the younger cop as rookie.
The head came up, the officer's striking blue eyes catching his own. The two men studied each other; one immobile and the other judging. The officer shrugged, deciding the racer would eventually find out sooner or later.
"The name's Harbor, Lance Harbor."
Definition: An impromptu maneuver or run in American football by a quarterback while under pressure by the opposing team's defense to avoid being tackled behind the line of scrimmage which would result in a quarterback sack and loss of yardage.
Spyridon: I know a few of you were expecting the third chapter of 'Unforgiving' but I was actually able to finish this chapter to the point I liked it. I have never been arrested so I wouldn't know the exact police procedures on that. As you can see, some of the cops are going to be jerks now that Dom has finally been captured. Based on the hint in the summary and Dom's thoughts, you can tell that there is a major change in the family. It'll be clarified in the next chapter. Hopefully, I can have CH3 of 'Unforgiving' out soon was I edit the scenes and the dialogue so they don't seem too much out of character. Was on the plot scene brain storm and wasn't caring much for how they sounded. Once that's done, I'll post it here on and on LJ.
As usual, look to my LJ for writing updates.
