A/N: Thanks for the reviews!
Chapter XIII - Because that is how life is
The Fast and the Furious
Euphoria, Furious Six
München, Germany
Dom looked up at the man who had shouted after someone called Dmitrij. If he wasn't completely wrong, he thought that the Dmitrij-name sounded Russian.
The apparent boss was clearly an Englishman and to add - very angry, just like the other man behind him, who partly had saved Dom's life. Maybe it had been better if he hadn't. At least Dom would have gotten a quick death, and now instead he was about to getting tortured.
"You Englishmen are all the same. 'Bloody pussy,'. One of Stevens' last words spoken," Dom stated, which enraged the man even more. "Cool it down, bossman," the macho Toretto continued when he saw how the man's face had reddened.
Konrad approached Dom with Alex's hand clasping his suit in a tryout of keeping him away from Toretto. Konrad leaned in close to Dom, causing him to feel his breath into his face. "What the fuck did you say?"
Dom looked challengingly into Konrad's eyes, even though he was well aware of the fact there was nothing to fight against. He was screwed - big time.
"That you need-," he was cut off by the fist that hit his face so hard he had to look away.
"Enough!" Alex burst out and shoved his brother to Dmitrij that had entered the room, which in turn handed Konrad to Diego and Axel.
"What the hell Alex! You're fucking taking his side!" Konrad barked at Alex who shook his head.
"You just need to calm down," Alex told him calmly. For him, it was easier to control the rage and hatred. The time wasn't yet right to kill the intruder. He was going to suffer for it. He absolutely did not deserve a bullet through his head.
Dmitrij walked up to their prisoner and helped him up, being at the same height and sharing similar strength.
Letty heard the roars from the library and left the conversation she had shared with Lia. It was clearly heard how Konrad freaked out. But just as she was about to approach them, Alexander walked out of the room with a bewildered expression.
"What happened man?" she asked carefully when he passed her. He stopped and turned around, motioning her to walk with him outside.
"An intruder killed Stevens and Jerry," he informed her in a clear empty tone.
"I know," she let out in a breath before sighing as she threw a glance over her shoulder. She witnessed Diego walk out of the library, apparently followed by the rest of the gang plus the intruder. But she only whirled back around and headed outside with Alexander. "Why would someone kill Hamilton?" she asked wondering.
He shook his head in shock, still disbelieving the situation. "Don't know and don't care. But he will eventually tell us, trust me," he assured and slammed the car door closed after plopping down in the driver seat.
Quietly without any more questions, Letty plopped down in the front seat and let the silence occur between them during the ride towards the airport.
"She what?" Mia exclaimed surprised by the information. She had tightened the grip around the wineglass so hard it had broken. Brian had worriedly bandaged her hand but she barely noticed it. Her mouth was wide agape while Gisele had raised eyebrows.
"You sure? I honestly do not know the girl, but my perception was completely different," Gisele commented.
"A child? You're claiming she has a daughter named Elaine!" Mia exclaimed.
"Mia, you're waking up Alessandra," Brian tried to hush her.
Han sat across the two bewildered women and the worrying man as he himself leaned over his laptop, rubbing his jaw musingly while typing.
"Can't find anything in the register. There is no Leticia Overbecks around according to the computer," he looked up from the electronic item.
Mia sighed frustrated and placed the hands on her hips, strolling over to Han who eyed the woman with slight fear. She looked like being ready to hit something – with strength.
"Aren't you… kind of happy?" Brian tried to cheer her up.
Mia snapped her eyes back to him. "Of course I am!" she answered accusingly. "I'm just a little overwhelmed she is living here and has obtained a family. She probably has a husband too. It's clear she has moved on, and it that case – she doesn't want us here Brian," Mia explained with watering eyes.
"No matter what; we need to find her," Brian told her.
"And Dom. What about him? He'll get so hurt he'll kill himself. Letty married to another man and having a new family. We don't even seem to find her!"
Gisele sighed and strolled over to Han, kissing his cheek before closing his laptop. "I have an idea," she announced.
Not more than thirty minutes later, Han and Brian were in an empty parking lot. They crossed the aisle while gazing over the lined cars. Eventually he chose one that was partly hidden in the shadows, caused by the street lamps that didn't manage to reach it with light.
He put the screwdriver against the bolts that glued the licence plate to the car. He stole both of the licence plates, from the front and from the back before escaping.
All the while Mia stood outside with Alessandra in her arms. She had a bottle in her hand, giving her the liquid as soon as she began whining. Gisele stood next to her and watched the corner of the road, waiting for the men to arrive with a stolen car.
She eyed the vehicle sceptically that pulled up next to her, thinking it might be another jerk who thought she was a prostitute.
The previous events caused her to fold her arms and scowl at the car, but as soon as Han's face was visible from the window; she smiled widely.
"Come on Mia," she said and opened the backseat door for Mia to jump in with the infant. She herself sat down on the other side before they drove off.
They had circulated around in a random neighbourhood they'd found before Mia nodded at a house she had chosen. Brian parked the car across the street and carefully let Mia out with Gisele and Alessandra, spying on them from the vehicle with Han.
"Why this house?" Gisele asked as they walked towards the front door, already penetrating the private property.
"The toys and bicycles," Mia said, referring to all the lumber that was thrown around in the garden. "Families with kids are always stressing, they think and suspect less," she added in a declaration.
The two stood next to the front door, slightly nervous. Gisele rang bell and waited for someone to open the door. Children and thuds inside were audible.
A little child probably around five opened the door.
"Guten Tag," the little blonde girl said with a smile.
"Mama… haus…?" Gisele tried to make a sensible sentence but the girl only gave her a weird look.
"MAMA!" she shouted and then disappeared.
A middle aged woman appeared and looked at the two apparent strangers with a smile. "Guten Tag," she greeted them, obviously thinking they were vendors.
"Hello. We are from America," Gisele spoke slowly and clearly, not wanting to be misunderstood.
The woman nodded, kind of confused of what their intention was.
"We forgot our friend's phone number and she lives here in Berlin. Do you have a telephone directory?" Mia made up.
The woman sighed as something getting broken was heard from inside the house. She finally nodded though. "Come in," she said and closed the door after Mia and Gisele had entered the hall.
Mia with Alessandra and Gisele followed the woman into a bigger room. The kitchen was filled with five very young children. Three of them chased each other on the floor while one sat in a highchair. The last one seemed to be around ten and it was also a girl. She sat in a chair while talking into a phone, babbling in the foreign language Mia and Gisele didn't understand.
The woman searched among the shelves before she handed Gisele an obese book.
"Thank you," Gisele smiled and opened it. She browsed to the letter 'O' and lately found three positive Leticia Overbecks. "Which one?" she asked Mia who read over Gisele's shoulder.
"Nobody of them has a daughter. Maybe Brian and Han got the wrong information," Mia suggested.
Gisele shook her head. "It does not matter. Children under a certain age aren't always written in these catalogues," she explained.
Mia moved her forefinger to one of the Leticia Overbecks. "That one lives with someone called Alexander Löwenberg. It could be her…," she stated.
Gisele took a picture of the three addresses with her phone before replacing the book onto the shelf.
"Thank you," she thanked the woman and left a hundred Euro bill on the counter before they left the full house.
Berlin, Germany
Alexander's steps echoed in the hallways between the offices. Konrad had sat in the lounge, resting on a couch for hours and nobody except for his brother dared snapping him out of the trance. He had spent the time there really depressed. So even though Alex felt sad for his uncle's destiny, he also knew the business needed to be run by somebody.
He entered the office where three men from team 8 were. It was an office with a glass window shared to the other room where the intruder was sitting; tied against a chair that was stuck and glued to the floor. The voices from the room he was in could be heard by the intruder, but not the opposite. Jerry Hamilton had ordered them to build that particular divided office that way; to not hear when the prisoner begged and screamed for mercy, but always letting the poor soul being able to hear and see how Jerry laughed in the other office and watched the scene play.
Alexander searched in the hallways. Since the little girl had learnt how to crawl and even take a few steps, he hadn't had many moments in calmness. He or Letty, or both actually, were always running around after Ellie. And this particular moment, was one of them.
The ropes cut deeper and deeper into Dom's skin. He still played it cool though, but the pain increased for every minute that passed. Not to talk about the rare times he unfortunately had tried to move into a more comfortable position, but had ended up hissing at how much the ropes tightened around him.
His wrists and ankles were hurting but he would cope with it. But for how long he had no idea.
He had stared through the glass into the office were three men had watched him all morning as to make sure he wasn't trying to escape. There was a door between 'his room' and the hallway, and it had been wide open all night and morning so the housekeeper could clean the floor.
The men who watched him were getting more and more bored after every moment that passed their lives. They had put a newspaper in front of each face with their feet resting on the desk, deep in the stories that was being told in them.
That was when Dom heard the gurgling sound and turned his head to see a tiny toddler crawl over to him with a grin. The brown hair and eyes plus a few teeth, made him wonder how much Alessandra had grown since the last time he had seen her. Although, he was quite transferred back to the little girl when she stared into Dom's eyes as she curiously approached the grown captured man.
Dom eyed the toddler strangely before smiling wryly. "Hi there,"
It was as his deep voice had startled the kid, because her eyes had gone wide in shock. Grasping Dom's leg, she shakily succeeded to stand up and glare at the big man. After a silent moment, she accepted Dom and pattered his leg with her small hands.
Dom couldn't help but to smile at the little creature. The girl moved to his pockets and pulled out the wallet which she immediately put into her mouth.
"Hey!" Dom exclaimed, knowing all of the cards and money inside would get destroyed.
The kid let out a laugh at Dom with the widest smile and continued chewing on the wallet. "Mama," she said and then crouched to bang the wallet into the floor.
Dom rolled his eyes. There was no idea trying to stop the girl. She seemed to be too stubborn to. Or simply that she didn't understand him. Which one, he couldn't figure. He studied the toddler who probably would be the last precious and innocent thing he would face before his life ended.
As on cue, Alexander passed the doorway and backed a few steps to see Dom watch Elaine crawling around clumsily with an item in her hand, squealing once or twice while wearing a grin.
"Elaine!" Alexander stepped inside the room and lifted Elaine from the ground.
Dom still wore the goofy grin and nodded at the child. "Your kid?"
Alexander eyed Dom with disapproval before answering. "Kind of,"
When Dom's grinning face changed into a confused one, Alexander added. "My woman's. Not that this is any of your business,"
Dom smiled again and looked at the kid who dropped the wallet to the ground. His face fell in an instant though when he saw a familiar dude enter the room behind Alexander. Before the shocked Dom had time to give any other reaction than simply being startled, Leon shook his head and placed his forefinger in front of his mouth to give Dom the gesture of keeping his mouth shut.
Alexander hadn't taken a note at the sudden change on Dom's face, so he undisturbedly cradled Elaine who looked interestingly into Dom's direction, obviously very taken of his deep voice.
Leon squirmed on the place and looked uncomfortably around, panicking in a tryout of coming up with a genius plan. So Dom was the intruder who had been the whole activity's topic all morning? And that was no good news. A rumour spread was that Diego Sandro from team 1 was about to kill him tomorrow - after Dom had starved for a while. He urged to come up with a brilliant plan. Brilliant and brilliant. Dom was his friend and all he needed was to get him out without any of them getting themselves killed.
"Yo Alex," Leon uttered, gaining Alexander's attention. "The girlfriend of yours has a shift tonight, huh?"
Not even having a slight suspicion something was wrong, he easily replied. "Yeah, why?"
"No… I just…," Leon waved with his hand as to show it was nothing special.
Alexander had spent the time looking at Elaine but then turned his gaze to Leon who he gave a nod before heading outside. Leon knew what the gesture meant, so he threw one last glance at the boiling Dom, who had no time to utter a word since Leon had closed the door after him on his way out.
The ports opened and the truck drove inside the garage. The usual check with guards was performed as they made sure nothing than the approved was transported inside the edifice.
The darkness had fallen over the town not long ago and Leon had decided to drive into the mountain before Letty. He needed this to go as smoothly as possible. He hadn't told her about who the infamous intruder had been. He had only sighed and shaken his head when he had headed home. What had Dom been thinking? Just killing off none other than Jerry Hamilton like that? And how had he just come to the conclusion of travelling all the way to Germany and do that? It didn't make any sense.
Leon jumped out of the truck and sneaked to the corner of the garage. He climbed discretely up the ladder as the guards checked the truck with a slight angered driver that couldn't understand why they thought he was smuggling something he wasn't allowed to.
Leon put the picture of the garage in front of the camera, knowing when he escaped the place, nobody would notice since the image in the picture wouldn't in that case show any movements.
He jumped down before anybody would suspect him after being away from the group for too long. He strolled over to the ports that led inside and put his hand on the screen which recognized his fingerprints.
He walked straight towards the elevator and took it to the basement where Dom was captured. It wouldn't be hard getting rid of the guard for him. They were from team 9 and were incessantly stupid. The hallways he passed down on some of the lowest floors did not have offices with glass windows. The reason was the escaping scenario. Nobody down in the basement was about to have an easy way out as a prisoner. A prisoner like Dom could easily jump through the glass-walls if he needed to.
Leon walked over to the surveillance room before deciding to head to Dom. The men from team 9 worked in the CCTV room for the moment and would watch his movements carefully. They'd certainly notice if Leon would release the man who had killed their major boss.
A bit insecurely, Leon entered the surveillance room and received their observance. It was four men and a woman, which he knew by the name Jennifer since they had hooked up in the beginning. It had only been during an office party in the edifice when they celebrated one of the first heists they had executed for Stevens. It had gone well and everybody was in party mood. Letty though hadn't attended since she hadn't arrived to Berlin yet. As soon as Leon had heard her name, he recalled how he had felt as a heart attack was about to strike. He hadn't wanted her here. Naturally, he longed for his friend, but he had known exactly what would happen to her as well after her arrival. Nobody really enjoyed the time there. They just tried to make the best out of the scary situation. People that had tried to leave, had been found either missing or dead in the most horrendous ways.
So after they had reunited, Letty had told him everything about what had happened in the Dominican Republic and how she had believed that Dom eventually would come home. But as time rolled on, she had figured he wouldn't and signed up for O'Conner's boss to cooperate with them. They had hired her in exchange to clear Dom's name, which had been all she wanted. She needed to tell him about her pregnancy before she told Mia. She had needed the boyfriend she had had for so many years but he never returned. She was hurt, vulnerable and sad. And then the accident crashed everything. So the deal with Diego had tempted her. Starting a new life in Europe, safe country for Elaine, even though she would operate in dangerous missions. Her scar though on the shoulder, always reminded her of the life in America and she did miss it, deep down; Leon could tell.
"I'm going to take over the shift from now. You can leave and watch the garage instead," he told them.
"We have orders to watch the prisoner," the man called Aaron said, determined to stay.
"Well, Letty and I will take over the shift," Leon declared firmly, knowing they would react when he spoke Löwenberg's girlfriend's name.
And that was exactly what they did. Sanding up, gathering their stuff and leaving the room. He watched them leave with a satisfied expression and sat down to examine one of the TV screens. The one Dom was in. He still sat in the chair. Tied with closed eyes, probably sleeping.
"Hey man. Whatcha doin' here?" Letty was leaning against the doorframe. "I thought we had our shift in room 178,"
Leon motioned her to sit. "Not exactly. There is something I need to tell you,"
Letty quirked her eyebrow at his serious tone and walked over to his chair, not paying attention to the screens behind her.
Leon opened his mouth to say something but closed it. He stood up and eyed Letty thoughtfully. "Follow me,"
She stood up and hurried after him, now really alerted. "Leon! What's going on?" she demanded and ran up to his level.
"There is something I need to show you," he breathed and walked up the office where Dom was captured. He opened the door and sighed. "Ladies first,"
A/N: Any opinion? :)