I needed one more driver and I could only think of one man that I could trust. Odds are though he's gonna beat the shit outta me before I can open my mouth to speak or hear me out then beat the shit outta me for even asking him. What I do know for sure is that I need Dominic Toretto for this job and no one else.
Dom hadn't stayed in one place long enough for anyone to track him. I started searching for him a couple weeks after I gave him those keys, but he only stayed in one place for a few days and then he bolted. His picture was all over the news; the border was too hot right now for him to travel so he kept moving. Soon after I had to run too, they weren't going to listen to a cop who switched sides. All was good for me after a while, got set in Miami and under the radar. Until that day; who would have thought fuckin Customs would pull me in. Gave me a bullshit deal but I would make it work, had too. After Rome, he had become my family, they had become my family. I had to try to make it right.
"Just tell me why we need this chump man, you and me can get this done and over with and be chillin in the cut in a few days. I mean ain't this the same dude you was gonna narc on? If I was him I would beat your ass for lying and beat it again for asking me to do this shit." We're about to pull in front of a garage and Rome hasn't stopped complaining since we stepped off the plane, nor has he stopped eating. I swear his stomach is always empty. Don't know how I talked Bilkens into letting us do this without supervision but he did. I knew Dom would catch a whiff of a badge from a mile away, and then it would take longer to track him. He had stayed put in this little place for quite some time, about the same as I had in Miami. They knew where we were, just playing with us like puppets. Honestly though, I thought he would have jetted across the border as soon as the heat died down. Preparing myself for the shit I was about to step into I turned back to my passenger.
"Shut up Rome! I already got enough shit to deal with man. He gets the same deal as all of us. Do this and our records are cleared, no cops, no warrants, no tracking, free men. I've been running for almost 4 months man, I'm done. I'm just trying to help him out."
The look he sent me was the same one I was feeling in the gut of my stomach when I said it. Who the hell am I kidding, Dom said he would die before he went back to prison; I believe him. It wouldn't matter to him if they cleared his record or not, he wouldn't come back, he wouldn't trust the police to keep their word. He would stay away to protect his family, to keep them safe. If running was the way to do that, then he would never return. Turning off the car I took a deep breath and moved to open the door. Rome's voice stopped me though.
"Bruh, no matter what, all the shit, you know I got your back; always have always will. But if he goes to knock your ass out, I ain't moving. You deserve this ass whooping." He smiled saying the last part and got out of the car. Didn't help me any though.
Following him out of the car I take in the air up here. How the hell Dominic Toretto made it to Montana and stayed undetected was beyond me. I was sure some redneck would have found him suspicious and turned him in by now. He was working in a neighborhood garage and keeping out of trouble. What little snooping the FBI did without getting found out came up with little. He kept out of trouble bought a little house out and away from most people in the town, shopped in the little market they had and helped the owner of the garage out by working for little. Nobody bothered him and he stayed away from most people. What tipped people off about him? A couple of high school punks were messing around and wound up on his property scaring the life out of a few girls, trying to rape them is more like it. Story goes he was their knight in shining armor, guys damn near pissed themselves, but he town people respected him that much more. They started inviting him out and around, trying to set him up on dates, and keeping the police away. They knew he was no saint, but they protected him.
Right away I knew we were spotted as strangers. A couple of old ladies sitting on their porch started whispering and I heard a sharp whistle in the air. They were really eyeing Roman; he's too big to miss. Seconds later an old scrawny white guy walked around to the front of the garage, wiping off a wrench. I guess he was supposed to be intimidating, but when he saw Rome he knew the wrench didn't mean shit. "
How ya doin' boys? Something I can help ya with?" Rome sucked his teeth a little and in knew we had to get moving, he didn't like to think before he spoke.
"Sir we're just looking for a friend of ours heard he was living in this neck of the woods. Wondering if you could help us, name is Toretto." Rome looked at me like I had two heads, but I shrugged him off. You can't roll into a strange place trying to bust heads, especially if you don't know if somebody close by is holding onto a double barrel shot gun. Not taking chances because he's a hot head. Plus being an undercover cop you gotta learn to blend in with the surroundings, or at least try.
"Sorry son, haven't heard of no such name around here. Maybe he's a little ways further down, maybe the next town over. We're pretty keen to strangers round here."
He was lying and we both could see it; he wouldn't look us in the eyes for very long, he'd look and then glance away and he kept wiping the wrench as he spoke. There was movement in the garage and the old man jumped just a little almost unnoticeable. Rome took a step forward and I held him back with my hand.
"What the fuck dude, we aint' got time to be messing around. I wanna get this shit over with, not waiting for him to come out of hiding like a little pussy." I can't take this man anywhere.
"Go wait in the car Rome; this is hard enough without you acting like a fucking maniac. If he isn't here we keep looking. Don't got time to bail your ass out of jail cause you can't calm the fuck down! Now get in the fucking car!" I knew I would here hell about this later but I can't deal with him and Dom at the same time, not til we get shit straight.
With a glare he stalked his ass to the car, but didn't get in. He sat on the hood and stared at me, even glaring at the old ladies for a second.
"Sorry about that sir, but if he does show up can you let him know that I've got a proposition for him, names O'Connor."
I heard another sound from the garage and this time the source of it came out in the open. Still huge as always, maybe even bigger Dominic Toretto stalked out of the garage slowly. His body showed no signs of the trauma he endured in the crash a few months back. The old man looked a little jumpy but took a stance and stood in front of Dom. He touched the old man's shoulder and shook his head a little at him and motioned to the ladies across the street. With a look at Dom and a glance between me and Rome he took a sigh and walked towards the old women. No words were spoken between us as he ushered the women inside the house. Finally our eyes connect and I can see shimmering anger, thinly veiled. His muscles are tensed a little though and I can tell he's geared up but not sure if he was gonna take a swing.
I hear a shuffle in the back and know Rome is standing. In all of the times we have fought I knew that Rome didn't intend to really hurt me. Yeah someone would leave with a bruise, bump, black eye, something but we weren't trying to kill each other. But Dom, he looked ready to kill. Rom was taller, but Dom held more muscle, maybe more force. He did time in max prison, not that misdemeanor shit Rome dealt with. He defended himself against murderers, serial killers, rapists. He knew how to fight and honestly even though I could hold my own with Rome, Dom could and would easily hurt me. Rome said I deserved an ass whooping, not death.
"No Rome. Leave it." My eyes never left Dom's but I knew he had already sized up Rome. If it came to it, Rome wouldn't hesitate to help me, no matter what he said.
"Need your car fixed Spilner?" His rumble was low, calm, deadly. This voice was the one he would use when his anger was at a boiling point. Mia would tell me about it, when someone overstepped their bounds, if his father was brought up. He had learned to control his anger over the years, but sometimes he just snapped which was what had landed him in Lompoc the first time.
"It's O'Connor and I no. Actually I got a proposition for you, one you'll wanna hear." He laughed at me, if you could call it that. It was deep in his chest, more like a rumble. "There is nothing you could say to me that I would wanna here. You weaseled your way into my family, my life like the fucking pig that you are. You broke my sisters heart, you were gonna send me back to jail. So how the hell could you have anything that I could possibly want O'Connor." He all but sneered my last name. I knew this wasn't going to be easy, didn't think he'd have that much hate for me though. I mean after all I gave up my freedom for his, but just like Rome did, he though I had sold him out and that was an unforgivable feat. Before I could act he was on me.
All of his hurt, anger, pain, every emotion he had bottled up in the past four months was coming at me in the form of his powerful fists. The first punched connected to my jaw and I fell. By the time he was coming in for the second I had blocked it and rolled so he couldn't land another. We had a wrestling match for a minute before he broke free of the lock I had on one of his arms and got me in the ribs. All the air rushed out of me for a second and I was winded. Still holding onto the other arm I rolled until I could catch my breath. His attacks were aimed at my back now and it was pissing me off. Releasing him I rolled away into a crouch and went for his legs. I think we went at it for another five to ten minutes before we both got tired. I was defending myself more than I was throwing punches. We were circling each other and a crowd had come out by now to see their knight and the stranger collide. Rome to his word had sat on the car and watched and held everyone who tried to intervene away.
"I know you're getting tired Dom and I know you're still pissed. But we got some shit to do and a short time frame to do it in. So just here me out man; it'll clear our names and expunge all our records, just give it a chance." I was wheezing a little by now, I think he cracked a rib. "I gave you those keys for a reason and I'm gonna honor that. If you don't want to do it for that, then do it for Mia." As soon as the words left my mouth he rushed me with much more force than before and we both fell. I felt my head crack the concrete and then everything went black.