Disclaimer: I do not own Fast and Furious or its characters. This fictitious work is for entertainment purposes only.
Penning is vexed and for good reason. Another undercover agent was lost in the field when trying to infiltrate Braga's operation—the biggest heroin trafficker. The yelling man isn't just upset about another undercover's death, but at how each time they send someone, they're always so close to cracking the case, and then it abruptly ends. Restarting from square one, time after time has the veins in his neck ready to pop.
All the finely dressed agents working on the Braga case have their eyes on Penning, except one. His attention is in his own mind, wondering why the hell they don't just give in and put him in the field. He has the experience and knows the ropes better than anyone in the building. He would be the perfect candidate, but he knows they're not completely forgiving of his last stint with letting a fugitive get away. It's the one thing in his past that would always be stitched onto him as he continued a career with the law enforcement.
When Penning's rant finally wraps up the agent is snapped back into his current surrounds. He immediately gets up from his chair and briskly walks after Lead Agent Penning to harangue him about trusting him.
"Sir" is all the young agent is allowed to get out before he's interrupted.
"Brian," Penning sharply cuts in. "We've been over this and nothing has changed my mind. Now let's start finding another recruit."
He huffs and clenches his jaw as he retreats back to his desk. He flops down in his leather chair and stares blankly at his computer screen. Once again he's lost in thought when a red blinking light from the phone on his desk catches his attention. He picks up the phone and punches in his password to hear the new voicemails.
Holding the phone up to his ear with his shoulder, he retrieves a pencil and paper to write down a few leads some of his contacts have come across. It's when he gets to the very last message that causes him to freeze. The grip on the pencil loosens and falls to the ground. He's so shocked that he replays the message three times to make sure it's real and that it's really her. Even after five years her voice still sounds the same. Coming out of his stunned state, he types her number in his cell phone and immediately texts her.
Just listened to your message, meet me tonight at the old racing spot. You know where.
Brain snaps his cell phone shut after it confirms the message was sent. He quickly dials his voicemail to his desk phone again and deletes her message. He's not going to take any chances with anyone in the office finding out. He's not ready to reveal this just yet. When he finishes he sits back in his chair, clutching his cell phone tightly in one hand, and biting his nails with the other as he waits for a response. After all these years he wonders what she could possibly want. It must be something pretty big if she called him of all people. The last time he had seen any of them was when they found out he was a cop.
The vibration of his phone slices through his thoughts, it's her and he quickly presses read.
I'll be there at 9.
He's too nervous about their meeting to do actual work for the rest of the day. He pretends to read files and makes made up searches on his computer that could be 'potential' to the case. Finally, after running out of things to do at the office he says he's going to go meet a few a potential recruits. Instead, he drives around the streets of Los Angeles, silently hoping he catches a glimpse of her somewhere, but no luck.
He arrives at the abandoned space between two warehouses an hour early. His eyes wander around the old familiar place, where he was pulled not only into the racing culture, but the Torettos' lives as well. He laughs to himself as he remembers throwing down the pink slip to his car and Dom humiliating him afterwards. Good times, he thinks.
As nine o' clock closely approaches, Brian exits his car and leans against it—anxiously waiting for Letty's arrival.
Five minutes before nine, he hears the loud roar of an engine and can only assume it's a muscle car. Seconds later, a 70 Plymouth comes into view with Letty behind the wheel. He can't help but wonder when she switched from import to American muscle. She parks alongside him and is chuckling as she exits the car.
"Nice ride, chumpy. You ready to throw the pink slip down for that baby?" she teases.
All he can do is smile and shake his head. "Yeah, I know. FBI won't let me drive my usual import."
"FBI, huh?" she says with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah, they recruited me." he explains before getting right to the point. "So what's going on, Letty? Where's Dom?"
She leans heavily against her Plymouth and sighs. "A lot, and for the first time I have no idea where Dom is."
"Really?" he asks, intrigued and wanting her to continue.
She bits her lip, hesitant about how much information she should tell him. He is FBI after all.
He notices and tries to assure her. "You can tell me, Letty. You can trust me."
"We all know what happened last time we trusted you," she says bitterly as she remembers the old wounds from five years ago.
Brian sighs in frustration and runs a hand through his short hair. "Yeah…"
Letty takes in consideration the guilt in his expression and admits, "Look, things have gotten pretty bad. They're searching for Dom like never before and we've had to split up. I can't take this separation anymore."
His brow rises in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Letty shoves her hands in her leather jacket. "I need your help. The only way for me and Dom to be together again is if he's name is cleared."
"You think I can make that happen?" he asks incredulously. "You think I can just log into a computer and wipe his record clean? He's wanted in more than one continent, Letty. You're asking for the impossible."
"I know that dumbass," she snaps. "I'm saying, maybe there's something we can work out with your higher ups."
"They're not going to do it just because I ask, Letty. I have history with Dom too. Remember, I let him go?"
"Maybe we can do some sort of exchange," she offers. "Is there some big case you guys are working on and need help with? I'll do it and in exchange clean Dom's record."
Brian briefly thinks of the Braga case and how Letty would be perfect for it. She already has an incredible street rep and can handle herself in dangerous situations. But then the images of the letters deceased across former undercover recruits' pictures stops him from telling her about it. There's no way he could ask her to do something that risky.
He gives her a sympathetic looks and shrugs his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Letty. There's nothing. I can't help."
Letty can't believe his words. "Are you serious? You owe me!"
"What?"
"You heard me," she shouts. "You fucking owe me. You're the reason why we started running in the first place. It's the least you could do!"
"If it wasn't me, then some other law enforcement was going to come down on you guys," he snaps back. "At least I let him go free."
"Oh yeah, right, free my ass." Letty rages on. "I knew it was a mistake to call you. Thanks for nothing!"
She quickly gets back into the Plymouth and speeds off leaving the smell of burnt rubber in Brian's face. He yells and angrily kicks his stupid FBI patrol car. He follows suit and speeds off in his car to his condo.
Rather than take the elevator he stomps all the way up the stairs to his condo and shoves the key into the lock angrily. He slams the door shut with as much for as possible before going to the fridge for a Corona. He takes a couple of swigs before unbuttoning a few buttons on his shirt and tossing his jacking over a barstool. Tearing apart the Toretto Team still haunted him occasionally, but now more than ever after his meeting with Letty.
He knew how close those two were and couldn't even fathom how much it was tearing her apart. If Dom did get his name cleared, a reunion between him and Letty wouldn't just happen, but between his baby sister as well.
"Mia," he whispers to himself.
Her name and the thought of her still makes a million emotions run rampart through his system. When he thinks about it, it still amazes him how quickly she managed to nestle her way into his heart. When he returned to Los Angeles, he briefly considered seeking her out again. To apologize for the hurt he caused to her and her family. But he thought better of it, and knew it would only make things worse. Open up old wounds, so he left her alone and watched from afar.
After another couple of beers, Brian finally sinks into his bed and replays the night's conversation with Letty as he falls asleep.
The sound of the news on his clock radio causes his eyes to open. 6:00am is what the green digital letters display. He showers, gets dressed, eats a bowl of cereal before heading down to the FBI field office. When he gets off on the appropriate floor he has one destination in mind—Penning's office.
Upon first sight of Brian, Penning holds up a hand to him. "I already told you, O'Conner. You're not going into the field on this Braga case so drop it already."
Brian ignores the man's comments and continues into his office. "This isn't about me. This is about a possible undercover recruit that can one-hundred percent help us bring down Braga."
Penning's interest is ignited. "Really? Where are they, I wanna meet them."
Brian takes a seat in front of his boss. "There's a catch. A certain condition they want, and it involves Dominic Toretto."
Penning's eyebrows quirk in confusion. "What are you getting at O'Conner. Start explaining."
Brian tells him about his contact with Letty, her capabilities, and the conditions she wants for her services. By the time he finishes explaining, Penning doesn't know what to think.
"His girlfriend? Are you shitting me O'Conner?" he asks, still trying to process all the information.
"Give her a chance, sir. Meet her if you want. You won't be disappointed," Brian explains.
With a little more convincing Penning agrees to meet her. As Brian exits his office he pulls out his cell phone and texts.
I might be able to help you after all. It's dangerous Letty, life threatening dangerous, but if this is what you want be here at FBI Los Angeles Field office this afternoon.
