"Nora!" I yelled as I walked out of the hotel bathroom. "Nora! We're in a hurry here. Are you done packing yet?" I threw the toiletry bag on top of the clothes in my suitcase and pushed down on it to get the thing to close.
Nora stepped out of the closet, pulling on her jacket. "Please, Sky, You and I both know I was ready first. Stop acting like I'm the one behind." She pulled the wool up her arms and tossed my leather jacket over the beds at me.
A knock on the door joining our room to the one on our left brought us out of the mini morning argument, and Leslie stuck her head through the door. "Austin's got our stuff loaded in the car. You lady's ready? We've got to be on a flight to New York in a few hours. This job isn't just going to do itself."
I snorted. Leslie loved playing house with us, acting like our mother, like she and Austin were the happy married couple and proud parents of two little girls. Admittedly, Nora and I acted like two little girls sometimes with all our teasing and pranking, but we certainly knew to be serious when the time came. In fact, we may not have a set order to things, but if something went wrong, if we needed a plan, or if there was just a time for someone to lead, it was always me.
Generally, the four of us tore across the country racing and pulling jobs wherever we hit, and when we did show up everyone was surprised that I was the one in control.
I'd been through a lot of crap in my life, between my dad's abuse, my brother's arrest, and the crazy messed up story that came to be my teenage years of life I'd suffered enough for all of us to agree I was the one to make all the life altering decisions.
"Let's go," I mumbled, grabbing my bag and following Nora out the door. I felt bad for the rest of the group. My moods had been really unstable lately… Of course, I knew why but I wouldn't tell them that. This wasn't the first time; it probably wouldn't be the last. If they'd put up with me this long they mustn't be leaving any time soon.
I threw my bag on top of Austin's in the open trunk and ignored the keys Leslie's boyfriend tried handing me. "You drive." Trying not to notice the shocked look on his face for letting him drive my baby, I slid in the back seat and laid down to continue a nap.
I used to always do this with Brian. He picked me up from school and sometimes I had to go with him when he jacked a car or took it to a chop shop. I didn't resent him for it like everyone thought. He was doing it to help Mom make ends meet. He got me started on cars, and I'd come really far if I say so myself. I loved him more than life, knew he wouldn't let a thing hurt me.
The hard part was watching them drag him off to Juvie. He'd got caught, and I'd been waiting for him at the end of the street. It was while he was gone that I got serious about racing, serious and good. I paid Mom's rent with it.
When she started disapproving of it, saying I was better than that, I took off. She'd never corrected my brother, and that hurt. I continued to send her money for rent as I travelled around winning races all over. When he got out of Juvie, my brother hunted me down. He tried to get me to go straight with him. I'd refused. I'd grown up, and I started making my own decisions then. We kept in contact the whole time, still do.
Or at least we tried. That's why I was so moody. I closed off when I went long times without talking to him. He told me all about his friends, said we'd get along great. I didn't need for him to tell me to know he was racing. I knew he'd gotten back into my crowd, but I wasn't going to push him to leave his friends and come with us. No matter how much I wanted him around.
"She's thinking about him again." Nora whispered, thinking I was still zoned out. My '67 Impala had bench seats, and the three had opted to give me the back to myself.
I heard Leslie sigh, "Why doesn't she just call him for once?"
Nora snorted, "He's running with racers now. So why isn't he here?"
Slowly I sat up, not wanting to eavesdrop anymore. "Let's stop for coffee before going to the airport." I told them pointing at a Starbucks a few blocks up from us.
"Ok." Austin consented. His eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, and I knew he knew I'd heard them talking.
As Austin pulled into a parking space in front of Starbucks he looked back at me, "I'll go in and get it. Everyone want the usual?"
Leslie and Nora answered him with yeses while I reached into my bag and grabbed my phone that was ringing. It couldn't be him, so I don't know why I hurried. We pulled jobs all around the world, but no matter what he made sure he knew where we were so he didn't wake me up. He always called when it'd be afternoon wherever we were. I was a late sleeper, years of living with me taught all the crew that.
"Who is it?" Austin asked, not hearing the other girl's orders.
I answered without looking. "Hello?"
"Sky? Hey sis, It's Brian. I kind of need your help. And that team of yours, if they're as good as you say."
I raised an eyebrow, "Where?"
"Rio," Brian answered, sounding hopeful.
I checked my watch for the time and nodded to myself, "We'll be there tomorrow afternoon. Text me an address."
I hung up and reached over the seat to open the driver's door so Austin could get out. "Hurry and get that coffee. We've got a change of plans…"
Austin jumped out and ran inside, not bothering to get anyone's orders again, even though he didn't get them the first time.
"What's the change of plan?" Leslie knew the drill. She flipped over to sit in the back so she could sit by Austin while I took over driving.
"We're headed to Rio." I said without further explanation.
Nora raised an eyebrow and prodded for more, "Because…?"
"Because Brian needs help."
And that settled that. We'd helped Austin's brother out of a jam before, Nora's sister too. Family came first, even if we'd made our own little family.
Brian's POV
Mia and I followed Dom out on the balcony as he looked out over Rio.
"First we're gonna need a chameleon; someone who can blend in. Anywhere." I nodded, I didn't have a connection to one of those, but by the look in his eyes, Dom already had it covered.
"A fast talker. Someone who can bullshit their way out of anything."
I chuckled. Now that, was something I could handle. "I got that."
"We'll need someone who's good with circuits." Mia pointed out, and Dom nodded before adding on to it.
"And with those circuits Reyes is gonna have walls, we're gonna need guys to punch through those walls." I had the circuits. But nothing came to mind about the walls… Unless.
"What else?" Mia asked.
"Utilities and weapons, somebody who ain't afraid to throw down." I knew someone like that… This was looking more and more like I was going to have to make that call.
"Most importantly, we're gonna need two precision drivers. Guys that don't crack under pressure. Guys who never lose."
I smiled, "Well you know we got that."
"And lastly, we'll need someone who knows this stuff inside out. Someone who can back up every position. Someone with experience working big jobs who knows what it's gonna take. Someone who knows all the loopholes in our plan and in theirs."
I sighed and shook my head. I was going to have to make the call. "A perfectionist?" I added to the end, trying to find a part of her he didn't just describe.
"Exactly." Obviously, that wasn't going to happen.
"Well…" I pulled out my phone and looked down at it. "I think I've got most of that covered…"
Mia took my hand, "What's wrong Brian?" She asked me.
I shook my head. "Just give me a minute… I didn't think I'd be making this call for a job like this."
Mia nodded, backing up to give me space and dragging Dom back with her.
"Hello?" I'd pressed speed dial three. It only had to ring once. I had no time to think.
"Sky? Hey sis."
Hi, please please please leave a review and such, I'd love to know what you think and if I should continue or not... I'm not sure if it's any good. And plus, this is my first fiction on this site.
