COMPLICATIONS MOVIE VERSION
4
I woke up today in London
As the plane was touching down
Z
London was my Tokyo.
It was the one place on earth I had dreamed of going for as long as I could remember. Back in the projects of San Juan where I grew up, I never thought I would have the money to make the trip. Years later when I was looking for places to settle down after I left Han, London had been at the top of my list, but then Madrid caught my attention. Being there now brought a smile to my face and dulled some of the pain of the past week.
Han had given me hell for my attachment to this place, but from what I understood, he had been the same way with Tokyo. Well, minus the being glued to the car window like an excited child in the taxi; I appreciated him not commenting on that one. I wanted to pretend that he hadn't noticed, but I could tell from the pull on his mouth that it was taking every bit of the control he had in him to not smile.
"This is it." The taxi driver finally broke the silence as he moved off to the side of the road.
A fairly inconspicuous, brand new building stood tall and straight on a busy road. It was a hell of a lot different than anything I'd ever worked in before, and it was definitely a far cry from the dilapidated factory we called home in Rio. I guess working for the good guys had its advantages.
I snuck a look at Han as I slid out of the taxi beside me. His face was a pleasant neutral, but even though his aviators were blocking his eyes, I could tell they were gleaming with excitement. This was Han's perfect job; we would be taking out an impossible opponent with probably the most high tech equipment from an upscale hide out in the middle of a rich part of town. If it wasn't made for him, I don't know what is.
We pulled our bags out of the trunk and walked into the half built lobby together. It smelled like caulk, paint, and dust; it was spotlessly clean and covered in plastic. Han pushed the shiny elevator button that hadn't been worn and smudged by use yet.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him glance over at me, then look me up and down. I looked a lot better than I did when I showed up in Rio; I was wearing dark skinny jeans and a girly mint blouse that actually fit my frame. My leather boots were polished and clean. My hair was neatly curled and pulled back off my makeup covered face. The few tiny pieces of jewelry I had on were all gifts from Han.
When I joined the team in Rio, I was wearing oil stained, ripped jeans, a rumpled shirt that was way too big for my skinny frame, and dusty work boots that had a hole in the toe. I couldn't have been bothered to fix my scraggly hair or do anything to my face, which had made me look years younger than I actually was. The team had welcomed me with open arms, but I could still see the doubt that I was competent written all over their faces.
I had changed a lot in two years; all for the better. I was a lot more confident and mature. Back in Rio, I had the ability to do my job well, but I was too mousy to really speak in front of the team or do anything without Dom's go ahead. It wasn't going to be like that this time.
Han gently brushed my side bangs behind my ear and I knew his razor sharp, eagle eyes had found the one thing that didn't look so great on me right now; the dark circles under my eyes.
"How do you feel?" He asked sweetly.
"I couldn't sleep; I felt sick all night, but I feel better now." I admitted as he let his hand fall. "Lack of sleep's kind of getting to me, though; look, I slammed my fingers in a damn door this morning." I held up my left hand to him, the tips of my pinky and ring finger obviously swollen. My wedding band sat innocently on my middle finger where it would stay until the swelling went down.
Han chuckled lightly as the stainless steel doors slid open and we moved our bags into the elevator. Han didn't even try to fight me as I grabbed my own because he knew I was way too stubborn to let him carry it for me. We'd had that fight at least once during every single trip we'd ever been on, before the car fight even started.
"Only you could manage that one." He deadpanned as he gestured to my fingers.
"I wasn't paying attention and my caffeine hadn't kicked in." I defended weakly.
"Might want to keep it on that finger until they don't have time to give you hell." He teased as he brushed his finger tip around the thin band. I opened my mouth to retort, but then I realized how bad they really would tease me. I was a lot bolder than I used to be, but I still blushed far too easily and they'd have a field day with that.
Han chuckled again. "We'll tell them at the barbeque when it's all over."
"Give them some credit; they'll figure it out before it's over." I told him brightly as the elevator door opened. I tapped the engagement ring that was sitting under my shirt on a long chain.
Brian was standing at a table covered in computer monitors, shiny, new, and ready to go. Several more tables equally stocked with top of the line equipment were spread out across the room. A sparkling, fresh off the factory floor BMW was parked in the corner of the room, just waiting for me to coax it up to our standards.
He turned when he heard the doors open. A bright, toothpaste commercial smile flashed with his bright blue eyes when he saw us come in. When we reached him, I was wrapped in a quick hug and a kiss was pressed into my cheek. Han got the usual one armed bro hug before he yelled his greeting to Dom.
I pleasantly shot back the proper small talk to Brian as I looked Dom over. The big man was standing in front of the floor to ceiling windows with his arms crossed like a statue. He smiled back at Han, but it never reached his eyes. This was the worst I'd ever seen him look. His dark circles were worse than mine. His bulging muscles were obviously knotted with tension, something that I had never seen in Dom before. He had always been quiet and calculating, but this quiet made me a little nervous.
I dropped my bag on a table top as I wandered further inside the hide out to get a better look at where we were working. I was staring at a semi-circle of monitors with the team we were taking out displayed in full view when Dom caught sight of me. He spun almost all the way around to look at me before he exchanged a pointed look with Han over my head that I didn't quite understand. Han shrugged amicably in response.
"It's good to see you again, Dom." I said as I moved closer to him. He left his place at the window to meet me in the middle and pull me in a hug.
"How was Moscow?" Dom asked as he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.
"It went off without a hitch and our man that got shot is now the happiest he's ever been." I reported as I hugged him back. It was like wrapping my arms around a tree.
"Glad to hear it." He muttered before he turned back to face the window overlooking the city.
"Nice place." Han called from the other side of the floor as opened up the chips he'd been saving in his bag.
"Knew you'd like it." Dom called back.
While Han wandered over to the monitors with Brian, I moved over to the cars. They were totally factory tuned, but I could work my magic on them in no time. I was running my hands over the cool steel, plotting out my next move, when the elevator doors slid open again. The click of boot heels announced newest arrival.
Oh shit. I froze leaning over the engine. I had been so busy mourning Hanna that I had forgotten one very important thing: Gisele.
Gisele was the only other female team member aside from Mia. She was all long legs, leather, guns, recklessness and motorcycles; in short, everything that turned Han on before the accident in Tokyo. If he hadn't have settled down a little after that, I truly believe they would have been perfect for each other.
But he did settle down. The almost fatal incident had changed his way of thinking about everything. I just don't think he realized how much until he was travelling around Europe with her after Rio. He left her after he found me again in Madrid. She seemed to take it well, but it was always awkward.
"Hey, Gisele." I heard Brian greet her.
There was a shuffle of movement that meant he was wrapping her in a hug. My heart started pounding as I heard her return the greeting before she asked about Mia and the baby. I risked a look back and saw Dom watching me out of the corner of his eye. She strolled into my field of view a few seconds later. She looked the same as the last time I had seen her; tall, booted, and wearing tight pants with an expensive sleeveless top.
Was it bad to not know how I felt about her being here? I hadn't thought about her once since we got the call. I knew I didn't have to worry about Han around her. He had worked very hard to get me back and had cared enough about me to marry me; he deserved my trust around her. The only question was did she deserve any sort of trust?
I knew exactly what Hanna would say about her when I told her.
My vision swam as I heard Han and Gisele awkwardly say hello before I heard something being moved on one of the metal tables. I also heard the scuff of boots getting closer.
"I'm okay." I turned around and gave Han a fake smile that I knew he saw through immediately. I just decided I might as well drop it. "Tonight's Skype night."
"I remembered." His lips pressed together in thin line; a sign that had always meant he was upset and trying to keep it out of the rest of his face.
"How are you holding up, Han?" I asked him honestly as I reached for a wrench.
"I was looking forward to her having time off." He answered after a moment of thought. That was Han speak for 'I miss her'. "When this is over, do you want to go see her? Get some closure?"
"I'd like that. I need it more than I ever thought I would." I told him honestly. He nodded before he pressed a light kiss to my forehead.
"As soon as he gets our paperwork done, I'll get the flight set up." He flashed me a white smile as he moved off to a column so he could prop and eat his snack.
Before I even had time to reply, the elevator opened one more time.
A few seconds later, Tej yelled "Thank God! Finally some equipment I can work with! Way better than that trash in Rio."
I gave up my work and propped against the side of the car as Rome turned the corner and fist bumped Han. I accidentally made eye contact with Gisele, but we dropped it quickly.
"Way better." She muttered as she played with a lethal looking gun.
"Look who came all the way back from Mother Russia! How you doing, baby girl?" He yelled as his bright teeth shone from his grin.
"I couldn't miss a chance to see you." I shot back. He laughed before turning around to look at the equipment filling the room.
The sound of the elevator open signaled the arrival of the last member of our team. I tensed a little bit as the sound of boots hitting concrete around the corner could be heard from the massive agent. I was surprised when I heard two voices speaking softly.
"Anyone heard from Leo or Santos?" Brian cut right to the chase before we got started.
"Yeah, last time anyone's seen them they were hitting up the casinos in Monte Carlo." Han answered.
"It didn't go well. I floated them some money, but I don't think it lasted very long."
"Hey, I thought that was our last job, Brian. And who's paying for all this equipment? The taxpayers? So now we working for the Hulk." Rome rapid fired off questions before he flexed his arms inward in a bad impression of a body builder. I'd seen Twinkie do the same thing when he was explaining to me why Bruce Banner was the best Marvel character ever created. The twitch at Han's mouth said he remembered too.
Brian smiled slightly as the boots got louder, meaning the Hulk definitely heard that. Rome was none the wiser.
"Is that what we doing?" He continued. "Why do I smell baby oil?" He trailed off.
"You keep running your pie hole, you're going to smell an ass kicking." Hobbs finally turned the corner and came into my view. The only thing different about him was the buff, similarly dressed female agent trailing behind him. She got in Rome's face before she followed Hobbs to a big table in the middle. Rome looked a little disturbed by her closeness.
"Alright," Dom brought everyone to order with a single word. He finally left the window and walked towards the table. "You've got the best team in the world right in front of you. Give them a reason to stay."
Hobbs glanced around at the people in the room. He focused on me for a long second with raised eyebrows, but he didn't comment.
"Alright, our target's name is Owen Shaw. Former Major in the SAS, Spec Ops soldier. He ran the UK division in Kabul and Basra." He dropped his file on the table.
"Damn, we talking vehicular warfare. Best in the world. " Tej joined Hobbs at the table, and everyone else slowly started moving that way.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Rome edging over to ask Han a question. In response, Han turned his chip bag upside down and gave him a pointed look when nothing fell out.
"For years they've been running jobs in Europe. Their most recent jobs have graduated them to a whole new level. Three targets, highly specific." Hobbs began.
"Have the other jobs been on the level of Berlin, or is that just the biggest?" I asked slowly. His eyebrows shot up.
"That's the biggest, but the others have been close. We tried to keep it out of the press as much as possible. They hit Moscow and it caused almost as much damage as the gang war last December." My lips curled up in a smirk. I might have lost Hanna, but I knew that if anyone could take him out it was us. There weren't going to be any more memorials. "Do you know anything else about Shaw?"
"I lost my sister in Berlin. That's all I know about Shaw, but I can check with people on our side. They may know something you don't or know somebody that does." My smirk faded out with the mention of Hanna's name and my mouth was pressed back into a hard line. Hobbs nodded.
Hobbs attempted to continue, but Rome started begging change off of Tej.
"Damn, you're a millionaire and you're still trying to ask for money?" Tej snapped at him as he dropped the change from his pockets into Rome's waiting palm.
"That's how you stay a millionaire." Rome deadpanned as he headed towards the snack machine in the corner. Han looked more than a little annoyed at the interruption that took place right in front of him.
"So what does this all mean?" Brian brought the conversation back around to something more serious.
"Our best guess is that Shaw's crew is building a Nightshade device." Hobbs answered.
"Which is?" Gisele snapped when no one said anything.
"A tech bomb, which has the ability to block an entire military communication grid for twenty-four hours."
"Blind a soldier for a single second in a fight, and he dies. Blind a country for twenty-four hours; the loss of life is unthinkable. This could be worth billions to the right buyer."
"Really? Why didn't we just steal that shit?" Tej muttered.
"Hey, man! Which one of these is a dollar?" Rome interrupted from the vending machine, waving a Euro.
Settling it once and for all with an eye roll, Hobbs pulled out his gun.
"It's on the house." He snarked as the glass in the vending machine shattered. I jumped when the gun went off.
"I want you to help me catch Shaw." He went straight back to point while Rome shook the glass off his candy. "He only has one piece left before he gets what he needs and I intend to stop him before he gets it. And I know you guys are a family; I'm offering you a chance right now to make that family whole again."
He dropped a thin file with a picture paper clipped to the front right in front of Dom. There was a woman, dark haired and tanned skinned, wearing a wife beater and leather jacket in black and white. She was looking down, but I could tell she was beautiful just from her profile. Dom's face changed when he saw her; it was still unreadable, but it had softened considerably.
I could tell how much he loved her just from that look. She had been gone for years, but it looked like nothing had changed for him at all. I couldn't imagine what losing her had been like for him. I knew their story from Han, including her death during a drug run.
Han had gotten the call when we were just getting ready for bed. I dozed off after he left to answer his phone and when I woke up, he still wasn't back. I found him sitting on our couch, glassy eyed and drunk, with a bottle of whisky resting on his knee. If that was what he went through, I couldn't imagine Dom and Mia's heartbreak.
I also couldn't imagine why she didn't come back. Something was off about that.
"You want to make this family whole again? Get us to Letty; we'll get you Shaw. I want full pardons all around." Brian took control for Dom.
"I can't promise you that." Hobbs admitted.
"Yes you can." Brian insisted.
"There's the deal; take it or leave it." Dom backed him up with a cocky smirk, already knowing he had won the argument.
"You get me Shaw, I'll get your pardons." He finally caved. His eye cut over to me for a split second. "Do you even need a pardon?"
"I got into some trouble about a year ago." I answered honestly.
"Doing what? Skimming money off the top from selling Girl Scout cookies?" He pressed.
"Stealing and lighting things on fire. I mostly kept it contained to Moscow. And Tokyo. And that one time in Hong Kong." I shrugged at him as he exhaled sharply and turned his attention back to Brian. Han and I shared a quick look that somehow no one noticed.
"This time things are different. We're not dealing with cops. We're not dealing with drug dealers. This is a whole different level." He stopped at let it sink it to the team.
"We getting paid, right?" Rome broke the silence and everybody sighed.
Z
"Either come in, or go out; I can't take the leaning on the door frame." I glanced at Han from my spot at the sink where I brushing out my hair.
He moved slowly, shutting the door behind him, until he was standing beside me in the bathroom mirror. I looked up at him as he ran his fingertips through my hair before he trailed them down my neck and across my shoulder.
"What's wrong? Afraid Rome will wear you out at the bar?" I whispered. I shifted my weight until I was facing him completely. I expected him to let his hand drop and to start getting ready to leave, but instead he moved his fingers to my jaw before he pressed a light, gentle kiss to my lips.
"I think I can handle him." He replied smoothly.
"Yo Han, we're ready to go! Tej found a pack of cards so this time I can really kick your ass." Rome yelled from the hallway outside our room, causing Han to snort.
"Well, we now know how thin the walls are." I joked as he called Han's name one more time. It was a heck of a lot louder than it should have been. "What's bothering you?"
"I wanted to see how you really were." Han stated as he pulled back.
"I survive grief by staying busy. This is the best thing for me." I forced a smile as I picked up my hair brush.
"I think it's a little more than that." He deadpanned as he leaned back on the counter, blocking my view of the mirror. I sighed.
"Being back is weird. I feel like I bailed out on them at one of the worst times possible." I finally admitted what had been bothering me for a while. Han chuckled.
"They respect you for walking away from ten million dollars without thinking about yourself to go to a family member that needed you. If you would have stayed for the job, I'm not sure Dom would trust you being back." He told me over Rome's obnoxious yelling and banging on the door.
"I—" I knew I need to reply so he could leave, but my mind went blank.
"Don't ever let anyone tell you that you didn't deserve to be trusted." He turned to leave, kissing me on the cheek as he opened the door. "You belong in this family just as much as anyone else."
And with that, he was gone. Rome's obnoxiously loud mouth faded out down the hall.
I smiled faintly as I dropped my brush back on the sink.
For the first time, I really felt like a member of Team Toretto.
I felt like I belonged with them. I still missed Hanna with everything I had, but finally feeling apart of this team helped a little bit. They reminded me so much of my dad, my brother, and Hanna. They were just like the blood family that had I had been without for way too long.
