Chapter Nine
Still Hard to Please, Boss
"Hey, Nate, can you bring my stuff up here?... No, my stuff," Kate stressed over the phone. "I forgot to take it before I left... Yeah, and the one for nausea too... No, I haven't... Well, it's not like, 'Hey, Dom, guess what!'" Dom's ears perked up when he heard his name. He noticed Kate talking on her cell phone in the corner of the shop, trying to be quiet. "I'll tell him, don't worry... Yes, before it's obvious. Can you bring it by soon?" her voice dropped down lower as she asked. "Okay, see ya. Bye." She hung up the phone and dropped it into the pocket of her green apron.
"Nate coming by?" he asked.
"Yeah, in a few minutes." When Nate arrived fifteen minutes later, Dom watched him and Kate closely. There was something going on, and he wanted to know. His suspicions were confirmed when they broke from their hug and Nathan slipped something into Kate's hand. She hurried past Dom and into the bathroom.
"Hey, Dom, I need your opinion about a car I'm working on." Nathan was a designer for Dodge who worked at his home and sent his work into the main office. It wasn't unusual for Nathan to ask Dom or another racer for advice about the frame or body of a car.
"Yeah, sure, hold on a sec." Dom went to the bathroom. "Kate, let me in," he said through the door.
"Dom, I'm kinda busy at the moment," the strained words came, followed by retching. It wasn't the first time he had heard Kate puking at the shop. Dom tried the knob, and to his luck, it wasn't locked. Stepping through, he closed the door behind him.
"All right, Kate, you gotta tell me what's wrong? You sick or somethin'?" he asked as soon as she stood up and washed her mouth out.
"Something like that," she mumbled. She went to grab one of the various pills laying on the counter, but Dom picked them up.
"What's all this?"
"Please give them back to me. They aren't anything you have to worry about."
"Like hell they're not," he said in a low, even tone. "I hear you getting sick in here everyday, Nathan tells me you're not sleepin' well, and now I find you in here with pills. Are you on drugs or somethin'? Kate, you're too good for that shit."
"I'm pregnant," she said quietly.
"What?"
"I'm pregnant." Her voice began to steadily rise. "That's why I'm sick, that's why I'm supposed to take those pills, that's why Micheal and I broke up, that's why I won't go out with you. Happy?"
"That's why you and Micheal broke up, what?"
"Yeah, that's why. I get pregnant and he tells me to kill it or get out. Let me tell you something, Dom, my mother was so sick when she was pregnant with me that the doctors told her to have an abortion. They said she might not survive the labor. And they were right. I'm not about to dishonor her sacrifice by getting an abortion because my boyfriend doesn't want it. So I left and came here."
"And you won't go out with me because of it?"
"That's right. I got too much to worry about now. If it was just me, I'd be willing, but I gotta look out for another person now. And it's not like you'd want a girl who was pregnant with another man's baby, anyway." She took the pills from him and walked into the store half, leaving Dom in the bathroom. Grabbing a bottle of water, she quickly downed them. She sat down on a stool near the counter, and rested her head in one hand, fighting off another wave of nausea.
"You okay, Kate?" Mia asked, noticing her distress.
"You're brother's an ass," was her only response.
"Honey, I already knew that," she said, patting Kate's hand. The bell on the door rang, and an older man in a cheap suit walked into the store.
"I'm looking for Brian O'Conner," he said to Mia.
"Yeah, hold on a minute." She walked into the shop and quickly found Brian standing with Dom, Vince, Leon, Letty, Jesse, and Nathan. They were perched over the hood of a car, and Nathan was explaining and drawing on plans for one of his designs. Normally these designs were done on a computer, but Nathan liked a drawn hard copy in addition to the file.
"So, if this was an actual car and it had the right engine and Nos, would you race it?" he asked them.
"You could race it, yeah," Leon said, "but the whole thing's too heavy. It'd be hard to win with it."
"Aluminum is too soft for the frame, but titanium is too expensive. Steel is the only option. The frame's the heavies part, and I don't think we can get the weight down. The body is light as it can be."
"Could you cut the steel with titanium?" Letty asked.
"Maybe. It might work out. What about the body? Any suggestion for the design?"
"I'd say slim the fenders, buff the corners, and add a wing to help with the air flow. If the car's gonna be heavy, it needs all the help it can get," Dom offered as Nathan made changes and wrote notes on the paper.
"What's the engine gonna be?" Jesse asked.
Nathan's reply of, "Factory standard," was met with groans. "Hey, don't blame me. I'm only a designer. You want something else, you're gonna have to put it in yourself or special order from the dealer."
"Brian, someone's here to see you," Mia broke up their conversation. "He's in the store." As he left, she grabbed Dom's arm and pulled him off to the side. "Whatever you did to that girl, you need to apologize for it." She saw him open his mouth, but cut him off. "Dominic Raphael Toretto, I don't want to hear it. You need to be talking to Kate, not me." She turned and walked back to the store. Dominic followed her and walked into the store just in time to see a stunned Brian shaking hands with a man on his way out of the store. When Brian turned around, he looked a little lost before his eyes fixed upon Dom.
"We need to talk now." He walked straight to Dom's office and waited for Dom to come. Once the door was closed, he began talking in hushed tones. "That was Sergeant Tanner. I worked with him on your case. He says that the cop who pulled us over a few weeks ago positively ID'd us. Now LAPD is reopening a file on you. They went snoopin' around Harry's and found a racer who's willin' to turn over state's to keep from going to jail on grand theft auto. They're waiting for the person to see you do something. They think you'll start up with the jackings or something again. Tanner doesn't know who it is. He said it could be someone you're friends with now or someone you don't even know. They don't want to get you just on racing, they want something big," Brian said in one breath. "Dom, those semi jobs really pissed someone off."
Dom turned around and rubbed his head. Shit, this cannot happen now, he thought. His life was finally coming together again; he didn't need this.
"We've got to go to Mexico," he told himself.
"What?" Dom turned back around.
"We've either gotta find out who's the narc or go to Mexico."
"Dom, we don't have any idea who could be doing this, and we don't have enough money to just pack up and go to Mexico," Brian tried to reason with him. "The only thing we can do is keep you outta trouble." Dom walked to the door and threw it open.
"Kate!" he yelled. A few minutes later she was in the office. He closed the door again. "Tell me about Nolans," he said before she had a chance to take a breath.
"What about him?"
"How's his driving?"
"I told you, he can't beat me or you. I thought that was a proven fact at the race."
"Jess tells me with what he's runnin' under his hood, he could beat us both."
"Whatever's in his car is there because he wants the best, not because he knows how to use it."
"You're sure?"
"Yeah, why?" Kate, still angry from their earlier encounter, was getting a bit peeved.
"You positive he ain't up to somethin'?"
"Like what?"
"At first I thought he was hustlin'. With Race Wars in two months, he could make a lot of money if people thought they were racing a slow car."
"I wouldn't put it past him. But I really don't think he knows the capabilities of his car."
"Why's that?"
"He's a kid with daddy's money. He barely knows what he's doing."
"Has he ever stolen a car?" The question snapped Kate's attention.
"I was there when he bought the Supra. It's not stolen."
"That's not what I asked," Seeing Kate's reaction, Dom knew he was onto something.
"Yeah," she said after a brief hesitation. "Once, when he was twenty-two he got bored and stole someone's Ferrari. He got away with it, and he hasn't done it but that one time."
"Have you ever stolen a car?" he asked a little suspiciously.
"I was with Micheal when he took the Ferrari, but I just drove his car. I didn't even know what he was doing."
"What about Nathan?"
"Nate's got a lot of values that he won't cross for anything. He won't steal a car. Why are you asking me this?" Dom regarded her silently for a few minutes. She was with Nolans when he stole the car, but would that make her guilty of grand theft?
"Brian," he began, "would she get a GTA?"
"No, she's an accessory to it, but she didn't steal the car. Dom nodded, silently agreeing to something, and thought for a few more seconds.
"The cops have got some racer watching me, someone who could go down for grand theft auto. They're trying to get something on me. I need to know if Nolans would ever work for them if they threatened prison."
"It wouldn't matter. His father would get him out of it, that's how he got out of it the first time. Mr. Nolans bought Micheal's freedom before it ever went to trial."
"And you know for a fact that he wouldn't be narcing?"
"Micheal didn't give me up to the cops, and he had plenty of chances to. He's an asshole and generally horrible person, but he wouldn't do this." Dom still wasn't satisfied. He wanted to rule out all his enemies and racers he didn't know before he turned to his friends. Edwin and Leon had both stolen cars when they were kids and gotten away with it. He was sure it wasn't Leon. However, he didn't know Edwin as well as he knew his team. The more he thought about it, the more he became paranoid that Edwin getting out early wasn't happenstance.
Still Hard to Please, Boss
"Hey, Nate, can you bring my stuff up here?... No, my stuff," Kate stressed over the phone. "I forgot to take it before I left... Yeah, and the one for nausea too... No, I haven't... Well, it's not like, 'Hey, Dom, guess what!'" Dom's ears perked up when he heard his name. He noticed Kate talking on her cell phone in the corner of the shop, trying to be quiet. "I'll tell him, don't worry... Yes, before it's obvious. Can you bring it by soon?" her voice dropped down lower as she asked. "Okay, see ya. Bye." She hung up the phone and dropped it into the pocket of her green apron.
"Nate coming by?" he asked.
"Yeah, in a few minutes." When Nate arrived fifteen minutes later, Dom watched him and Kate closely. There was something going on, and he wanted to know. His suspicions were confirmed when they broke from their hug and Nathan slipped something into Kate's hand. She hurried past Dom and into the bathroom.
"Hey, Dom, I need your opinion about a car I'm working on." Nathan was a designer for Dodge who worked at his home and sent his work into the main office. It wasn't unusual for Nathan to ask Dom or another racer for advice about the frame or body of a car.
"Yeah, sure, hold on a sec." Dom went to the bathroom. "Kate, let me in," he said through the door.
"Dom, I'm kinda busy at the moment," the strained words came, followed by retching. It wasn't the first time he had heard Kate puking at the shop. Dom tried the knob, and to his luck, it wasn't locked. Stepping through, he closed the door behind him.
"All right, Kate, you gotta tell me what's wrong? You sick or somethin'?" he asked as soon as she stood up and washed her mouth out.
"Something like that," she mumbled. She went to grab one of the various pills laying on the counter, but Dom picked them up.
"What's all this?"
"Please give them back to me. They aren't anything you have to worry about."
"Like hell they're not," he said in a low, even tone. "I hear you getting sick in here everyday, Nathan tells me you're not sleepin' well, and now I find you in here with pills. Are you on drugs or somethin'? Kate, you're too good for that shit."
"I'm pregnant," she said quietly.
"What?"
"I'm pregnant." Her voice began to steadily rise. "That's why I'm sick, that's why I'm supposed to take those pills, that's why Micheal and I broke up, that's why I won't go out with you. Happy?"
"That's why you and Micheal broke up, what?"
"Yeah, that's why. I get pregnant and he tells me to kill it or get out. Let me tell you something, Dom, my mother was so sick when she was pregnant with me that the doctors told her to have an abortion. They said she might not survive the labor. And they were right. I'm not about to dishonor her sacrifice by getting an abortion because my boyfriend doesn't want it. So I left and came here."
"And you won't go out with me because of it?"
"That's right. I got too much to worry about now. If it was just me, I'd be willing, but I gotta look out for another person now. And it's not like you'd want a girl who was pregnant with another man's baby, anyway." She took the pills from him and walked into the store half, leaving Dom in the bathroom. Grabbing a bottle of water, she quickly downed them. She sat down on a stool near the counter, and rested her head in one hand, fighting off another wave of nausea.
"You okay, Kate?" Mia asked, noticing her distress.
"You're brother's an ass," was her only response.
"Honey, I already knew that," she said, patting Kate's hand. The bell on the door rang, and an older man in a cheap suit walked into the store.
"I'm looking for Brian O'Conner," he said to Mia.
"Yeah, hold on a minute." She walked into the shop and quickly found Brian standing with Dom, Vince, Leon, Letty, Jesse, and Nathan. They were perched over the hood of a car, and Nathan was explaining and drawing on plans for one of his designs. Normally these designs were done on a computer, but Nathan liked a drawn hard copy in addition to the file.
"So, if this was an actual car and it had the right engine and Nos, would you race it?" he asked them.
"You could race it, yeah," Leon said, "but the whole thing's too heavy. It'd be hard to win with it."
"Aluminum is too soft for the frame, but titanium is too expensive. Steel is the only option. The frame's the heavies part, and I don't think we can get the weight down. The body is light as it can be."
"Could you cut the steel with titanium?" Letty asked.
"Maybe. It might work out. What about the body? Any suggestion for the design?"
"I'd say slim the fenders, buff the corners, and add a wing to help with the air flow. If the car's gonna be heavy, it needs all the help it can get," Dom offered as Nathan made changes and wrote notes on the paper.
"What's the engine gonna be?" Jesse asked.
Nathan's reply of, "Factory standard," was met with groans. "Hey, don't blame me. I'm only a designer. You want something else, you're gonna have to put it in yourself or special order from the dealer."
"Brian, someone's here to see you," Mia broke up their conversation. "He's in the store." As he left, she grabbed Dom's arm and pulled him off to the side. "Whatever you did to that girl, you need to apologize for it." She saw him open his mouth, but cut him off. "Dominic Raphael Toretto, I don't want to hear it. You need to be talking to Kate, not me." She turned and walked back to the store. Dominic followed her and walked into the store just in time to see a stunned Brian shaking hands with a man on his way out of the store. When Brian turned around, he looked a little lost before his eyes fixed upon Dom.
"We need to talk now." He walked straight to Dom's office and waited for Dom to come. Once the door was closed, he began talking in hushed tones. "That was Sergeant Tanner. I worked with him on your case. He says that the cop who pulled us over a few weeks ago positively ID'd us. Now LAPD is reopening a file on you. They went snoopin' around Harry's and found a racer who's willin' to turn over state's to keep from going to jail on grand theft auto. They're waiting for the person to see you do something. They think you'll start up with the jackings or something again. Tanner doesn't know who it is. He said it could be someone you're friends with now or someone you don't even know. They don't want to get you just on racing, they want something big," Brian said in one breath. "Dom, those semi jobs really pissed someone off."
Dom turned around and rubbed his head. Shit, this cannot happen now, he thought. His life was finally coming together again; he didn't need this.
"We've got to go to Mexico," he told himself.
"What?" Dom turned back around.
"We've either gotta find out who's the narc or go to Mexico."
"Dom, we don't have any idea who could be doing this, and we don't have enough money to just pack up and go to Mexico," Brian tried to reason with him. "The only thing we can do is keep you outta trouble." Dom walked to the door and threw it open.
"Kate!" he yelled. A few minutes later she was in the office. He closed the door again. "Tell me about Nolans," he said before she had a chance to take a breath.
"What about him?"
"How's his driving?"
"I told you, he can't beat me or you. I thought that was a proven fact at the race."
"Jess tells me with what he's runnin' under his hood, he could beat us both."
"Whatever's in his car is there because he wants the best, not because he knows how to use it."
"You're sure?"
"Yeah, why?" Kate, still angry from their earlier encounter, was getting a bit peeved.
"You positive he ain't up to somethin'?"
"Like what?"
"At first I thought he was hustlin'. With Race Wars in two months, he could make a lot of money if people thought they were racing a slow car."
"I wouldn't put it past him. But I really don't think he knows the capabilities of his car."
"Why's that?"
"He's a kid with daddy's money. He barely knows what he's doing."
"Has he ever stolen a car?" The question snapped Kate's attention.
"I was there when he bought the Supra. It's not stolen."
"That's not what I asked," Seeing Kate's reaction, Dom knew he was onto something.
"Yeah," she said after a brief hesitation. "Once, when he was twenty-two he got bored and stole someone's Ferrari. He got away with it, and he hasn't done it but that one time."
"Have you ever stolen a car?" he asked a little suspiciously.
"I was with Micheal when he took the Ferrari, but I just drove his car. I didn't even know what he was doing."
"What about Nathan?"
"Nate's got a lot of values that he won't cross for anything. He won't steal a car. Why are you asking me this?" Dom regarded her silently for a few minutes. She was with Nolans when he stole the car, but would that make her guilty of grand theft?
"Brian," he began, "would she get a GTA?"
"No, she's an accessory to it, but she didn't steal the car. Dom nodded, silently agreeing to something, and thought for a few more seconds.
"The cops have got some racer watching me, someone who could go down for grand theft auto. They're trying to get something on me. I need to know if Nolans would ever work for them if they threatened prison."
"It wouldn't matter. His father would get him out of it, that's how he got out of it the first time. Mr. Nolans bought Micheal's freedom before it ever went to trial."
"And you know for a fact that he wouldn't be narcing?"
"Micheal didn't give me up to the cops, and he had plenty of chances to. He's an asshole and generally horrible person, but he wouldn't do this." Dom still wasn't satisfied. He wanted to rule out all his enemies and racers he didn't know before he turned to his friends. Edwin and Leon had both stolen cars when they were kids and gotten away with it. He was sure it wasn't Leon. However, he didn't know Edwin as well as he knew his team. The more he thought about it, the more he became paranoid that Edwin getting out early wasn't happenstance.