Title: In Mexico
Disclaimer: No infringement intended
Pairing: Letty/Leon

A/N: Thank you for your continued patience with this fiction =).

Part 4

If it hadn't been for the fact that Leon was such a smooth-talker (and mentioned they had no insurance), the doctors wouldn't have let them out that same night. He knew how dangerous it could've been for her to discharge herself, but he could see behind her eyes she'd suffered so far past her pain threshold that forcing her to stay in the one place she unashamedly loathed more than Johnny Tran would undoubtedly scar her forever, if not longer.

So he carried her. From the hospital to the car, from the car to the café, through the back of the café, up the back stairs, kicked open the door with his chunky and dirtied boot, elbowed the door open a second time as it threatened to swing back on him, and brought her back to that all too familiar bed.

She was so highly medicated that he was sure she wouldn't be able to tell the difference between being in the hospital or at home in California. Whether he was himself or her long lost partner she had relied upon so much for so long. Dominic.

It didn't take long before she was slurring to him something about being a fucking bastard and how dare he be so ignorant of her feelings. Of course, he was aware that was the drugs speaking, not her, but also, she may have thought she was speaking to Dominic.

He checked the pillows behind her head were plump enough for her head to rest upon and tucked them neatly behind her before easing her almost entirely limp body onto the comforter. He breathed a deep sigh, inwardly trying to rid himself of the past few hours. 'Try and get some rest, ey, mi Letty,' he mumbled incredibly quietly, almost as if he knew any words could rock her out of a half-waked sleep.

He slipped the thin cotton sheet down from underneath her tired legs and up again over them, so that it came to rest ever so tentatively upon her midriff. He pressed his hands into the comforter, to lean towards her face and check her consciousness, but was swiftly interrupted with a high-pitched bleat coming from his cell phone.

He hurried out of the bedroom and into the hallway above the stairs before clicking the green button.

'Ey,' he said, his voice slightly above a whisper. 'How did you…?' he said with a sudden elevated curiosity.

'No time. Can you get to the station in a half hour?' the voice said, seeming perturbed over the phone.

He hesitated. Letty. No way could she be left alone. He really didn't want to so much as contemplate carrying her back downstairs. She shouldn't really have been taken out of hospital, so it was bad enough. But to then have to bring her in the car…?

'Don't worry, I'll figure somethin' out. Buy a cap, or something,' he mumbled to the voice over the phone, aware of their nervous tone.

Leon hung up the phone almost immediately and peered around the doorframe to see Letty now lying on her side. What, now…?

He jogged into the café, holding his jeans up a little as he ambled over to Jose. He was lucky to find him there, although not so lucky he was the only person working behind the counter. It could be a problem.

'Hey, Jose,' he muttered briefly as he clasped his shoulder.

'Hola Leon,' he said, in his usual jovial state.

'I need you to do me a favour if you could,' he started. He lowered his voice. 'Letty's not doing so good and I gotta pop outta-'

'Aye, not a problem – she's upstairs?'

'Yeah. She's sleeping right now but not really thinking straight so if you could check her like every fifteen minutes or so…' he trailed off as Jose nodded whilst folding paper napkins into a triangle. 'Just let her know I'mma be an hour or so, maybe two, depending. I got, some…' he reached into his pocket and pulled out some strong painkillers. 'She'll have to take one in about two hours. Just in case I ain't back by then, it's two,' he said as he passed them to him, 'and she can have food but just something little and plain.'

'Si. Not a problem,' Jose said as he slipped the small medication carton into his back pocket.

'Anything happens, and you need to get in contact with me, you wanna take my number…' he urged and made a motion for a pen and paper.

Jose passed him a napkin and withdrew a pen from behind his ear, and immediately Leon scribbled upon it and left it on the steel counter behind them.

'Right. Gracias, Jose, it's a massive help.' He started to leave and as he did mentioned, 'Let me buy you a beer, later, or something.' Jose winked at him, and following that, he left swiftly, pulling out his keys from his front pocket as he ducked out of the back door.

He couldn't keep his mind off her waking up to find him not there. It was a case of Get to the station, then get back. The words he'd exchanged with her not long before repeatedly echoed through his mind. Even as he disappeared into the real estate office, only for a prolonged moment. The keys to the Villa didn't spend too much time in his hands. They were soon somewhere between the stick shift and the electronic lighter in the mid section of his car. The jingle of them as he rode along the open road jarred him into a pensive state. Was he to now assume responsibility for the Team? Now that Dom had vanished?

All the buzzing and whirring at the station of the engines and air conditioners and generators seemed so animated; everything was busy. Even the golden sun forced impatient rays into the station atmosphere, causing an almost unbearable heat. Beads of sweat danced their way down Leon's forehead, shoulders and chest. He checked his phone as he approached the double doors of the entrance, reminded himself of his fugitive status and attempted to avoid making eye contact with anyone.

She pulled her long, straight, brown hair from inside its restrictive ponytail and brushed it forward with her fingers to cover the majority of her face (her fringe already doing half the work for her), and Leon knew instantly that it was her. He knew that glistening mane anywhere, coupled with the delicacy of her hands and her graceful glide from one foot to the other. It wasn't until a second before she passed him, her head down and eyes to the floor that he uttered her name. 'Mia…?'

She stopped dead in her tracks, and peered nervously over her shoulder. Her already glazed eyes lit up and it took her a fraction of a second to burst into tears.

Leon passed a hand around her neck, pushing her hair ever so delicately, out of her face, his hand giving full indication of his sympathy towards her, and this entire situation. His hand slipped down into hers, and with the other, he took hold of a tiny duffel bag, a cruel representation of everything of worth that was left in her life.

They were driving for what felt like an eternity, but was a mere fifteen minutes. They drove in absolute silence, still not having greeted one another with words. The rolling pulse of the powerful car was the only sound to break their brutal silence. The car. The machine that got them into this in the first place. In between changing gear, Leon clicked his electronic car lighter into its contraption and automatically Mia's fingers gravitated to the carton of Marlboro Lights in the same compartment as those keys. She flipped open the box with her thumb; a natural reaction, and clipped a cigarette between her thumb and forefinger. In four swift motions, she flipped it filter side up, pulled out the circular electronic lighter, pressed the white stick to it and slipped it into Leon's mouth.

She'd done it so many times, she didn't realise it was anything unusual. Unusual, though, was the carton that remained open in her lap, the thumb of her right hand flicking open and closed the lid with an itching nervousness. She lifted the packet quickly and inhaled. 'Mind?' she asked chastely.

Leon glanced sideways at her. 'You don't usually smoke…?'

She shrugged as she slipped the orangey filter tip between her lips and muttered through the left side of her mouth, 'Well what we're doin' right now? Ain't nothing usual about that either.' She brought the heated electronic lighter once more to the end of the cigarette and drew long and hard in as it began to burn ferociously at the touch of the metal contraption. She exhaled, inwardly grateful at that point that Leon was still alive. And more importantly, with a half-full carton of cigarettes.

Leon flicked ash out of his window and exhaled. 'You got through unnoticed?' he asked curiously.

Mia scoffed, letting the cigarette linger between her fingers. She gazed lazily upon it and muttered just above her breath, 'Yeah. I guess the Feds don't notice scum passing the right way through the border.'

In a comforting way, those words jogged Leon, and he couldn't help but release a breathy chuckle from behind his lips. He made a gesture with his head towards the small duffel bag on the backseat. 'Not planning on stayin' long, huh?'

Mia flicked ash away from her cigarette and rested her hand on the open window frame. 'There's money in there. A LOT of it.'

Leon exhaled a cloud of grey/blue, contemplating as he did his response, having cast his mind instantaneously to the rolls of cash Letty repeatedly pulled from her own duffel bag. 'Is it Dom's?' he glanced at her, half expecting her to say yes, half expecting a crippling response like Letty's. He had thought up until that moment of Letty revealing all that cash that he knew down to a 'T' what she was capable of. But it was his own ignorant assumption of her that hindered him in realising these women both essentially grew up around Dominic, meaning every single day, they sought and maintained a wisdom that was a fraction deeper than his own.

Mia flicked the long line of grey ash off the almost burnt out cigarette out of the window. 'A bit of it is, I guess. But I did what I had to do,' she muttered as she kept her eyes on the road. She drew long off the end of her cigarette and they shared a brief glance. 'Dom always left me in control of the Books and finances. He told me just before Tran passed by not to leave any trace of the business behind, so…' her voice fizzled out. Her eyes wandered around the passing landscape and on the landscape ahead of them. It coaxed her into questioning their whereabouts. 'I don't recognise this place – we're going to Jose's, right?'

Leon shook his head. 'We rented a Villa further along the coast.' He kept his statement as blunt as possible, knowing that Mia would attempt to ask him questions regardless of what he'd told her.

'How did you…?' she started to ask, though was quickly interrupted by that all too familiar grumbling voice.

'I did what I had to do.' He checked her midnight eyes for validity; that she might have believed a word of what he'd said. She gave him barely anything to work off, the cigarette having an obvious calming effect on her. Lucky thing. 'S'alright up there. It's still on the coast but it's tucked away. I figured I could find a job, you and Let can…do whatever…but either way, it's perfect for layin' low.'

Mia raised her eyebrows, the rush of overwhelming emotion she'd experienced in the past few weeks a sore but very accurate reminder of how much she'd gotten used to doing what needs to be done.

As her tiny bag hit the white wooden floor, it echoed a sharp sound through the simple, but well-furnished bedroom. The double bed fit comfortably against the back wall, where the large bay window was positioned in almost perfect unison above it. The plainest of sheets lay upon the bed; off-white spread, off-white pillows, brilliant white metal bedstead. Apart from the wardrobe and two dainty side tables (both pinewood), not much else furnished the room, except for a pair of incredibly simple white drapes. Thank goodness the walls were painted a fresh apple colour, otherwise she'd have felt as though she just checked into an insane asylum.

She almost instantly caught herself contemplating how she would be expected to fit in around all of this. The new villa, all paid for, in a new country, suggested a new start. So would that mean she'd have to start a fresh herself? She'd barely gotten her head around leaving LA; it had been a mere handful of hours just gone. The merciless memory of passing through the border replayed on her mind over and over, coupled with the idea of Leon, Letty and Dominic doing the same not too long before. It was all an overwhelming joke, and she had no idea where her brother was. She decided it should be the next question to ask Leon where he was, then quickly remembered a conversation she'd had with Letty a long time ago, after five beers (each) and never-ending tears. The thought of that worried her.

Leon tapped on the door lightly, then pressing it open with his folded knuckles. 'I'mma take off,' her told her plainly. 'Letty's at Jose's, I gotta watch her tonight; will you be aight?' he asked her promptly.

Mia kept in mind the one pressing question at the forefront of her mind, deciding to save it until the last minute if she could. 'Uh…' she peered down at the bag on the floor and slowly pushed her fringe out of her face as she picked her eyes back up to meet Leon, hoping he'd silently realise that no, she wasn't really going to be aight. She concluded that avoiding his question altogether would make do, for now. '…What's wrong with Let?'

Leon's stomach instantly tightened. Was it right for him to tell Mia that she had just discovered she was carrying? 'The…accident. She was injured pretty bad and it turns out she had a few, ur… complications.' Well telling part of the truth was the best he could do, given the circumstances. He knew worrying Mia beyond necessary measures was a bad idea.

'Why isn't she at a hospital?' she heard herself say the words as she replayed them back in her head and instantly knew the answer to her own question. She sighed and shifted her weight from one foot to another, making a gesture then dropping an arm to her side as she released a breath. 'Of course. This is Let we're talking about.'

Leon hummed low in his throat, a semi-verbal agreement being sufficient acknowledgement to her statement. His own slight shake of the head told a quick tale of ain't no use goin' down that road again. We know what happened last time. 'Well. She did go. But…' he cocked his head to one side. 'I think it's more dangerous her bein' there than back at Jose's.' He made a point of not saying home. 'Anyway,' he said through an exhalation. 'I got her some meds and she came through the surgery alright, so I guess-'

'Surgery?' Mia said, knowing that Leon would understand the subtext to her question.

Leon sighed, exhausted. 'Yeah. Told you it was bad.' He paused for a second. 'I gotta get to her. I'll check in with you in the morning. There's a cell phone on the counter – only use that one. There's also a grocery store at the end of the street when you go right out of the complex. Sorry I couldn't get you any food, but it might still be open?' he rambled, knowing Mia would understand it was counter-productive, but necessary. It was least of all, small talk. He clasped the doorframe behind him and offered her a slight smile. 'If Let's feelin' a bit better tomorrow I'll try and get us moved up here, or maybe the day after, so you won't be holdin' down the fort alone for too long, ey chica.' He checked her eyes for a sense of forced agreement, and she barely responded with a nod. He ushered her in for a hug, and felt her hold her breath against it, so tense. What else could he expect?

Within seconds of him turning from her, she listened to him close the front door, start his engine and drive away.

She ambled out of her lifeless bedroom to the open-plan lounge/diner. There it was. The only form of communication she was given. Although it was good work, she decided. He'd made such an effort. She wondered for a moment if it was Dom's work, or Leon's, but quickly decided that Dom never was very good at domestic responsibility. That'd been Mia's job ever since she could remember. She slid the phone off the counter and eased it into the palm of her upturned hand. After fiddling with it for a minute or so she learnt how to see her address book and what button to press to exit a menu. Once in the address book, she proceeded to scroll through the list of contacts. They were modest at best. Jose. Leon. Letty. That was…it. And all she could think about once she'd examined the list was that Dom, and his cell phone number were both nowhere to be found.

Surely it should've been top of the list (alphabetically)? Something wasn't right with that.

It suddenly dawned on her that she hadn't seen anything around at all that could've been a trace of Dominic. She couldn't sense him, she couldn't smell him.

She took it upon herself to briefly scan the villa for any trace of him whatsoever. Another bedroom. The only other one. Clearly untouched, everything in it was as pristine as her own assigned bedroom. She peered into the bathroom, holding the sprung door with her hand. Untouched.

Her feet padded inquisitively around the short corner on the walk back to the lounge. Nothing. No sign that he'd set foot in there, no indication as to where he could be, no mention of him, nothing. No cell phone number. Nothing. Mia suddenly felt the most nervous she ever had in her short life. Leon didn't mention anything about him, and that scared her. She knew exactly what her brother was like. And that scared her. She'd lived with him for two and a half decades, almost.

Just letting that thought envelope her mind was the factor that set her nerves into overdrive. She knew exactly what her brother was like. That really, really scared her.

TBC