Thanks to white collar black wolf, captainqueer, and jadedquartz for their reviews to chapter 9! And happy Fanfiction Writer's Appreciation Day!
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Chapter Ten
"Why're you going after Braga, Brian?"
Brian blinked. "We talked about it together, Dom," he said, trying to come off as clueless as possible. "I said I would help you get him."
Dom frowned. "Exactly. Together. So why are you doing it alone?"
Brian couldn't look away from Dom. Mia had called her brother gravity, and Brian certainly felt like he was being sucked into those eyes. If he didn't do something soon, Brian would never be able to pull himself out again.
He also couldn't lie with Mia in the room, and she could probably tell he was hiding something anyway. He'd have to hope his words were truthful enough that she'd overlook it.
"I haven't been going after Braga alone," he said, voice strong and true.
He hadn't been after Braga on his own since that night at the warehouse. Right now he was just waiting around for Braga to come to him.
When the room remained quiet and it was obvious that one simple statement wasn't going to cut it, Brain added, "You can ask Harry. I go to work or I'm with you."
"And did Harry know you'd gone out that time you first mimicked someone?" Dom asked.
Well, Brian didn't have a good answer for that. Harry hadn't known. He likely assumed that if Brian wasn't at the shop that he was doing something for his case, but he hadn't known that Brian had spotted his guy or that he was out tracing said guy. And even if he had, Harry wasn't the best liar. Brian didn't actually want the gang to go question him if it could be helped.
Steeling himself, Brain gripped Dom's hand the way Dom had gripped his. "I swear to you, Dom. I swear, I haven't been chasing Braga around without telling you."
Dom stared at him, brown eyes into blue, for several long moments. He already looked like he'd accepted Brian's answer when he turned to his sister for confirmation. Mia gave a half shrug before nodding, letting Dom know Brian was telling the truth.
"So then why is it he keeps sending people to kill you?" Mia asked, crossing her arms.
Brian looked at where Dom's slightly tanner fingers were holding his own. "When I showed up to work exhausted…I'd been after Braga the night before. He must've found out I was snooping."
"Braga's the one you saw buying parts and acting suspicious?" Dom asked. Brian nodded without looking at him.
"I didn't know you guys knew him at the time," he said. "I really was checking him out because I was worried what he was up to."
"And you're close with Torettown's main man, Dom," Jesse added, looking a bit impressed actually.
Leon crossed his arms. "Setting an example," he said. "Even if you're friends with the mayor's family, you can't mess with him. Braga's getting ballsy."
"We should tell Elena," Mia said, already moving to grab the phone. "The TPD can double the watch for him. If he's getting this confident, he'll get sloppy."
With a nod, Dom finally released Brian's hand and stood up. Brian's hand felt frozen cold in the mild air that replaced Dom's fingers.
"We also keep a watch on Brian," Dom said. It was a tone that broached no arguments.
Brian argued anyway. "What? No, Dom, don't-" How was he supposed to meet with Monica or call Tanner if someone was always with him?
"I agree," Rome broke in, crossing his arms over his chest. Brian glared at him. Rome was supposed to help with his case, not get in the way of it. "Havin' an escort when you ain't at your place is safest, B," he said in response.
When he wasn't at the apartment.
Brian nodded before someone could refute the statement. "Fine, fine." He sighed. "You guys can baby me if you want to. Pick me up for work in the morning, follow me on my deliveries, whatever. But not in my apartment, alright? You drop me off in the afternoon and back off."
The others in the room looked ready to protest, but Rome stepped in again.
"I can't imagine none o' you would be too pleased if someone followed you into your own homes, now would you? That loss of privacy? That loss of me time, you-know-what-I-mean time. And this ain't Psycho with a killer and a knife coming through the shower curtain or nothing. Brian can handle himself for a few hours a night while we all recharge our batteries for the next day."
Sometimes, Brian loved Rome and his mouth.
That's how Brian earned himself a buddy system that lasted from 8 AM until 10 PM, except for bathroom breaks. Leon was taking first shift in the morning, with Jesse taking over at lunch and Letty finishing the day off. They'd switch out who was with him between the six of them from day to day.
Brian wondered how long until he wanted to kill either them or himself.
…
…
"Let me see."
Brian took a step back from Monica when her hands reached for his shirt. Her expression turned to stone.
"Do not test me, O'Conner. Let me see."
She could probably take him down in a fight, if Brian hadn't mimicked so many fighting styles that regs were boring to him now. He sighed and let her get in his personal space. Monica grabbed his shirt and pulled it up to bunch under his armpits. Her fingers never touched him, but her eyes were like an x-ray in their intensity. After a minute, she shifted to check his back with the same careful attention to detail.
"Not a mark on your perfect surfer boy skin," she commented as she let his shirt drop back down.
Brian adjusted it and turned to face her. "I told you, I'm fine. Suki was at the BBQ and she healed me."
Monica's eyes held a fire. "Don't patronize me. This is three times now on this mission that you've been injured and I've only known about it after the fact. I know I'm supposed to wait for your call but obviously your past ops have taught you to work alone and I will never get that call. From now on, I'm going to be near enough to help if trouble starts."
Oh god. Brian resisted the urge to grimace. "Monica-"
Her index finger stopped just in front of his eyes. "No. You don't get a say in this anymore. They severed your spine, O'Conner. They punctured a lung."
Brian's legs tingled so bad he had to go sit on the bed or risk falling down. He'd only lost his legs for a few minutes, but the mere memory of earlier that afternoon made him feel like he was losing them all over again. Hopefully a good night's rest would clear his head.
Or a good race. There was a race tomorrow night. Rome was gonna be in it. Leon and Vince too. Brian would have to jump in at some point. The controlled adrenaline would do him good.
Monica knelt in front of him and caught his eyes. "See? You see this? You can't do this alone, Brian."
She reached up and touched his face gently. It made Brian remember a large hand on his neck, thick fingers in his hair.
"This operation is hurting you, and I'm supposed to help keep you safe. Let me do my job." Monica's words were as gentle as she ever sounded, that edge of toughness lingering around the edges but still comforting. "Don't let me find you unconscious in the dirt or full of bullet holes. Neither me nor my job would survive it."
Brian reached up and pulled her hand from his cheek. He shifted his feet slightly further apart just to prove he could. The realization that he was mentally checking himself made him realize she was right. He was floundering and needed help from someone who knew everything.
"Fine," he agreed, letting her hand drop. "But try to keep out of sight."
He stood up, patting his legs to rid them of the last of the tingling sensation, and then led the way to the door. Starting tomorrow, his life was going to be very difficult. Dom and the crew watching him all the time and Monica hovering about. It hadn't started yet but Brian already felt suffocated. For the first time, he wanted this operation to be over with already.
Opening the door revealed Vince and Dom, Vince's hand raised to knock on the door. The street light outside shone off Dom's bald head but otherwise the world beyond the door was rather dark. The more muscular men shifted from surprise at the door opening to deep rooted frowns at the sight of Monica, and Brian had to rethink his previous thought.
Forget the mission, he wished he'd died that afternoon so he wouldn't have to deal with this.
"Hey," he said after a long silence had passed. "Dom, Vince….This is Monica. She's a friend of mine. Monica, these are my other friends, Dominic and Vince," he introduced, mind working frantically to come up with a good reason why she was in his apartment.
Other than saying he was sleeping with her.
Monica held out her hand and shook both of theirs, then stood tall once more. "It's nice to meet you," she said.
"How do you know the Buster?" Vince asked, that same suspicious tone in his voice that he had used for Brian and Rome. Brian was starting to realize that Vince was suspicious of everyone when they first met.
"Monica!"
All four people gathered at Brian's door jumped at Rome's loud shout of joy. The dark skinned man shouldered his way past Dom and Vince as if they didn't exist and threw his arms around Monica. He held on tight like she was all that mattered and winked at Brian over her shoulder.
What bullshit was he about to pull?
"I've missed you, baby!" Rome cheered as he pulled back. Before she could answer, Rome leaned in and kissed each of her cheeks and then gave her a peck on the lips. "How's my hunny been in my long absence?"
It had barely clicked for Brian that Rome was claiming Monica was his girlfriend when she responded with a return peck.
"Barely surviving," she said like every moment had been a chore. "I swear if you get busted again, I'll get arrested too just so I can get in and kill you myself."
Rome laughed but it sounded worried, which made the corners of Dom's lips lift even though it was obvious he was still not fully buying what they were selling.
Wrapping his arm around Monica's shoulders, Rome assured her, "I swear. No more prison for me. And B," he turned to pull Brian up under his other arm. "Thanks for keeping my girl in the loop and all for me. I really appreciate it, bro."
"We both do," Monica said. "For all he talks, Roman is awful at keeping in touch through the written word," she told Dom and Vince.
Brian did his best to shrug while being held under Rome's arm. "No problem. Your address wasn't the one that kept changing, so it wasn't hard."
Vince crossed his arms. "So your buddy's girlfriend just happens to be in your apartment, alone with you?"
Rome leveled an unimpressed, daring look at Vince. "You sayin' my Monica ain't bein' true? Or that my homeboy, B, is goin' behind my back? Eh, Vince? Brian strike you as that kind of guy?"
Monica lightly slapped Rome's cheek. "If anything, I'm worried about you not being true."
Rome looked affronted but when he opened his mouth, Brian cut in.
"How about you two talk inside for a bit?" he suggested, pushing them inside and shutting the door. He let out a heavy breath at the wood but resisted the urge to thump his head against it.
"They seem like a handful," Dom noted. Brian couldn't tell if he was amused or simply stating fact.
Brian nodded. "Yeah. Always have been." He turned to face them. "So, what did you need at nine at night? I thought babysitting duty started in the morning."
Vince scowled. "Braga was spotted in the area so we thought we'd pop by and check on you." He narrowed his eyes at the door. "Didn't expect to find a woman with you."
"Also wanted to know if you'd be in the race tomorrow night," Dom contributed, his eyes dancing in a way that challenged Brian, called him out. Are you chicken, Brian? Can't win without mimicking me I bet.
Brian felt himself bristle at the silent insinuations. "I'll be there," he accepted.
Dom grinned. It was only when Dom leaned back that Brian realized they'd been standing so close. "I look forward to it." He clapped a hand on Brian's shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow, Bri."
Somehow, that seemed to promise more than a race. Brian didn't know what else, but it was something warmer, more…domestic. And he wanted it. After all this chaos, Brian wanted Dom's warmth and domesticity badly.
While Dom walked back to Vince's Nissan, Vince explained that they were going to hang around for awhile just in case Braga decided to be stupid. Then he gave a wave, which Brian returned, and went to join Dom in the car on surveillance.
When the apartment door shut behind him once more, Brian found himself face to face with two expectant looks.
"Braga was seen nearby so they're here to watch my back," Brian explained.
Monica frowned and Rome cursed aloud.
"The plan is working then," Monica noted. "Now we just have to hope your friends the Torettos don't scare him off."
Rome frowned. "What plan?"
"The plan to make Braga come kill me himself."
"Wait, you mean to tell me this whole stabbing business was part of the plan?" Rome growled. "I thought you were gonna die, B!"
Brian grabbed Rome by the shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes. "Dying isn't part of the plan, Rome. It's the exact opposite of the plan. What happened today? It was more than we expected."
"Braga controls peoples' minds and makes them come take a shot at Brian. Each time they fail, Braga gets more upset that the cop after him is still alive. So eventually, soon, he'll try to take Brian out himself," Monica explained. "When he reveals himself, Brian and I will arrest him."
"And what if he touches you, hm?" Rome countered. "What if you take him down and he makes contact and suddenly you find yourself pulling the trigger on Brian instead of Braga?"
Brian released Rome and it was enough to draw attention. "Monica is good at her job, Rome. She won't let me down."
Rome didn't look convinced, but Monica seemed pleased with his faith in her.
"The pretty ones always get you in trouble, B. Just remember that," Rome warned, but wouldn't continue the conversation from there and it dropped.
Shaking his head, Brian changed topics. "So about the race tomorrow," he said.
Rome snapped his fingers. "Right. I was coming to tell ya. I don' need to borrow your car tomorrow afterall," he said with a glint in his eye. "I gotta guy who hooked me up with this sweet ride. We're gonna make some minor adjustments to it tomorrow and enter it in the race that night."
"You sure you can trust this guy? It's always the cars that get you in trouble, Rome," he paralleled Rome's earlier statement.
"Don't worry, I got this," Rome assured him with a dismissive wave of his hand. "This guy? Technopath. Totally cool. Not all above board, but as legal as a guy can be when toeing the line, ya feel?"
Monica rolled her eyes. "You leave prison to hang out with law breakers?" she asked. "How is that any way to repay what Brian did for you?"
Rome frowned at her. "I ain't going back to prison. And trust me, this guy ain't like that. I know prison bitches when I see 'em and him? Nah. Too slick for that. Too good at the system. Too good for prison bars, girl. Worst he's earned is an overnighter in holding, I guarantee."
Brian decided not to push it. It was Rome's decision and nothing he said would change the older man's mind.
They decided to end on that lighter topic and promised to see each other tomorrow night. Then Monica pulled Rome's arm over her shoulders and cuddled into him before they left, looking every bit like the couple they claimed to be.
Alone, Brian collapsed on his bed face first.
He couldn't keep this up. Sure, his cover wasn't broken, but Rome wasn't the best liar. If it weren't for his mutation, his lies would be obvious more than seventy-five percent of the time. And Mia was never going to buy it, not with her ability to see the truth of people, their hearts and intentions.
He had to head this off before it crashed and burned in front of his eyes. Brian was going to have to tell them the truth. He'd have to tell them he was a cop.
Dom would understand, right? Or, he wouldn't be too upset, right? They were both after Braga. Brian had only lied about small, present things, not about who he was, what he liked, what he'd done. They could work together to bring Braga to justice. Dom would understand why he'd lied. Wouldn't he?
What would Brian do if he didn't? If he threw Brian out, or attacked him, or never spoke to him again, what would Brian do? He'd known he would lose this pseudo-family when this job was over, because that was the nature of the job. To lose them before it was over because they hated him?
Brian groaned and covered his head with his pillow, wondering if he could smother himself before morning, and if that would help solve any of his problems.
…
…
Leon knocked on the door at 7:59 AM, just as Brian was stepping out of the shower. Brian opened the door with no more than a towel wrapped around his waist, but Leon barely glanced at him before throwing himself down on the couch and propping his feet on the coffee table.
"You've gotta be at work in fifteen, right?" Leon asked.
Brian nodded. "Yeah."
"They won't even know I'm there," Leon assured him, leaning back into a completely relaxed position and seeming to sleep while Brian finished getting ready for work.
Well, Leon hadn't lied. Even Brian forgot he had a tail for ninety percent of the morning. Every once in awhile he'd catch sight of Leon talking to someone, but mostly Leon used his ability to remain practically invisible to the customers at The Racer's Edge.
The most exciting thing to happen that morning was a guy who looked about nineteen knocking over a display of spinner wheels near the bathroom.
At 12:12, Jesse slipped through the doors to The Racer's Edge, apologies for being late already spilling from his lips. Leon slipped his hands into the pockets of Jesse's vest, and then his pants, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.
"No smoking on the job," he said, stuffing them in his own pockets before heading out the door, watcher duty officially over.
Jesse watched him go with a frown on his face that would've made puppies jealous. "Shit."
Brian took his lunch and they went to the McDonald's around the corner. While Jesse was inhaling his second large fry, Brian started feeling twitchy and angry. He cast his attention around the lobby and focused on a woman sitting alone by the window. Mother to three, receptionist, oil paint on her clothes and charcoal under her fingernails, four hours sleep on average, nicotine addiction.
He didn't say anything to Jesse when he left and Jesse barely noticed he was gone.
When he sat back down and slid the cigarettes into Jesse's open vest pocket, the younger male stopped fidgeting and looked at him with wide eyes.
"Going into withdrawal is shit on my concentration, dude," Brian said nonchalantly before gathering his trash up and throwing it away. "Just don't smoke in the store."
He wished he could help Jesse quit smoking altogether, but he didn't have the time at the moment, and neither of them could afford the stress and withdrawal symptoms of going cold turkey right now.
Harry actually liked having Jesse in the store that day because Jesse knew cars and Jesse talked four separate people into buying high end parts for their cars that they hadn't intended to buy when they entered the store.
"If you didn't already work for Toretto and the city, I'd hire you in a heartbeat, son," Harry told him, slapping him on the back.
The laugh Jesse gave was almost nervous. "Right." He looked over at Brian. "I'ma be outside if you need me." He pulled a cigarette out so that there was no doubt as to what he'd be doing outside, then nodded and headed for the door.
"He's jumpy," Brian said in explanation when Harry's attention turned to him in Jesse's absence.
Harry shook his head. "I've known him far longer than you, Brian. Don't think I don't know that already. He's also brilliant. Jesse designed this building for me when he was seventeen."
Brian was no architecture enthusiast, but he suddenly had a lot more respect for the layout of The Racer's Edge than before, and for the twenty-three year old who designed it.
…
…
Brian expected Letty to show up for her shift of Brian Watch at about 5:30, and The Racer's Edge closed at 5:00, so Brian would have time to go home and get ready for the races tonight before she arrived. However, he returned from a delivery at 4:58, Jesse fiddling with the truck radio in the passenger seat, and found Dom waiting in the parking lot instead of a short but formidable Puerto Rican woman.
"Hey, Dom!" Jesse greeted enthusiastically, giving him a brief one-armed hug. "Where's Letty?"
Dom smiled at Jesse before his eyes rested on Brian. "I switched with her," he said. "Figured I'd be going to the races anyhow, so she can enjoy some time with Elena and I'll take Bri to the race tonight after my shift."
Jesse nodded. "That makes sense. So are you here to cut me early?" he asked, checking his watch and reading just after five p.m.
"Yeah. I'll see you tonight."
"See ya, Jess," Brian threw in. Jesse waved at him with his own goodbye before heading for his car to get ready for his own racing tonight.
After checking out with Harry, Brian led the way back to his studio apartment behind the shop. Dom repeated what Leon did that morning and took a seat on the couch, though he didn't put his feet on the table. Brian moved to the dresser to change out of his work uniform.
He pulled his black shirt off and threw it in the hamper next to the dresser, then opened the drawer to grab a new one. He shifted a few of the shirts around, debating between two shirts of different shades of blue, and a faint shine caught his attention. There, hidden underneath his shirts but peeking out, was his MCF badge.
If Brian had a home he returned to after each mission, he would probably have a collection of badges, one from every department he'd been part of. It would be a nice little collection ranging up and down California, into Arizona and Nevada, in county, state, and national organizations. As it was, he simply returned each badge when he left that department's employment and did his best to forget them.
The MCF badge was similar to any other badge – shiny chrome with the words Mutant Control Force written around a faux gold cameo of an eagle with wide spread wings. The corner of the badge taunted Brian where it stuck out from under one of his t-shirts. It would be easy to pick it up, right now, and tell Dom who and what he really was.
"I've seen that woman before."
Brian was amazed that he didn't jump at the sound of Dom's voice.
"Monica?" he asked, deciding on the darker blue shirt and dropping the lighter one back in the drawer, fully covering the badge.
Dom stood from the couch as he nodded. "She's been to see you before. Always in the evening after you get hurt."
Brian turned to look at Dom, his heart rate picking up. "Have you been watching me?"
He got a shrug in response. Then Dom began walking over to him. "I had Mia look into her, found out she was a reg, in town visiting relatives. I wondered how you met, how often, if she knew you'd been hurt."
Dom was now close enough to touch. His bulkier frame blocked some of the light, casting a shadow on Brian and giving himself a vague silhouette. Brian swallowed, suddenly very aware that he was still not wearing a shirt but not moving to pull one on.
"I thought you were sleeping with her," Dom admitted, his voice dipped low.
A slight lean forward and they'd be touching now. Brian could feel the heat coming off Dom's skin and clothes. This close, he could tell that he was the taller of the two of them. This close, Brian could read the anxiety in Dom's brown eyes like words in a large print book.
Brian's lips quirked up at the edges. "Monica and I have never even held hands," he assured Dom. "We're not even proper friends. I haven't slept with her."
"That's good," Dom murmured.
Brian's breath stuttered when Dom reached a hand up to cup his neck, just like he had in the truck but somehow more intimate. His fingers tangled in the hairs at the base of Brian's skull and Brian tingled with anticipation.
He shouldn't do this. Dom was part of a mission. Dom didn't know he was a cop. But Dom knew what Brian had done in service to the police and didn't judge him for it. Dom treated him like family even though they'd only known each other a few weeks. Dom encouraged his mimicking, and cared for him when he was hurt. Dom was also everything Brian wanted, from his firm muscles and vaguely tanned skin to his family values and dedication to protecting others. When this operation was over, Brian was going to lose all of this. Hell, Brian might lose it all before catching Braga, when he told them he was a cop. If Dom was going to be furious at him and cast him aside anyway, couldn't Brian allow himself a moment of happiness first?
Without giving himself time to talk sense to himself, Brian dropped his shirt and grabbed Dom's face gently but strongly in both hands before he leaned forward to press his lips to Dom's in a rough kiss. In response, Dom pushed Brian back with just enough force to knock the dresser drawer closed, locking away Brian's secrets for one more night.
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Preview of Chapter 11
Mia flipped around and slapped him, hard, across the face. There were tears in her eyes and Brian felt his heart drop to his stomach. He had to tell them. He couldn't keep hiding.
"You know what they do to mutants outside of Torettown? Do you know what happens to mutants in prisons?"
Rome gagged. "Did we not just talk about personal time?"
Following Rome over was a man with buzz cut black hair and a hint of both a mustache and a beard. "This here's Tej Parker."
Brian interrupted. "I don't want to know what you get up to. Personal time, Rome, remember?"
Tej poked him in the side of the head, just above his ear. "Don't whine. It's not attractive."
Brian would take what he could with Dom, covet it, horde it, because he knew this was all coming to an end and soon.