Taking on responsibility chapter 21
"We gotta figure out how to get Ty outta the country to one of those places without looking too damn suspicious." Brian sighed. They were in the park, it was 3 am and all of them were wide awake, running on nervous adrenaline.
"There has to be a way." Brixton said, checking her cell phone over and over. She was worried Suki would be calling to give an update on Ty's connection. Her rings and the phone kept making a clicking noise and it finally got to an over-stimulated Roman, making him grab it from her.
"I guess we should try to take shifts and get some sleep." Brian rubbed his eyes. Just then they heard the roar of an engine. Dominic pulled up in his car, looking tired and grumpy.
"So I give you my place to stay after I pardon you from a death sentence and you'd rather keep your crew out here in a park?" Dominic raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"We just got to figure out some things and this time I don't know if we can figure it out." Brian threw the flower he had been fiddling with on the ground in disgust. He was so frustrated.
"So come back to the house and think. Maybe I can pull something together to help you." Dominic offered, shrugging. "The cops circle this park like white on rice and if they catch you all…" He started, unaware of their immunity.
"I'm gonna check in with Sukes." Tej sighed, his eyes tired and heavy while he dialed her number.
"Thanks for the heads up." Brian walked over to Dominic's car and knelt down beside the window. "So, if I tell you everything, will you not tell the rest of the crew? I know you guys hate me and I don't know if I can trust all of them because I'm sure they want revenge on me and it's fine and well deserved but I can't let my wife pay for that cause it would cost her her life…" Brian's rambling was interrupted by Dominic holding up a hand.
"You can tell me and Letty. All the others are asleep anyway. I think you need to get some sleep before we talk." Dominic frowned. "But that is just my opinion." He shrugged.
"I can't. Every minute we waste, my baby is wasting away." Brian looked away, having a hard time even talking.
"What good are you to her if you get sick and run down?" Dominic asked, staring at Brian. He couldn't help but think karma was a big piece of this puzzle. He had intended to do them wrong and pretty much screwed their life and now his was screwed.
"I know, Dom, I know." Brian got up, having to grab hold of the car to get up, he was so tired. "Let's go back to their house, guys." He said in a defeated voice.
"Any changes?" Brixton asked, chewing her lip nervously.
"None. Sukes is stressing out. One of us has got to go back." Tej sighed.
"We'll discuss this when we get back to the house." Brian said, jumping in Roman's car and starting the engine. He waited patiently for Roman's slow self to get in the passenger side.
"Brian, you sure you trust them enough to tell them? Think about this, man. This is yo wife's life on the line if they rat you out." Roman popped a few pain pills and spoke after he downed his coke.
"All right then, what's your plan?" Brian asked, looking at him intently.
"Well, I don't have one but.." Roman stalled.
"Exactly." Brian nodded, pulling into Dominic's yard. They walked into the kitchen where Dominic and Letty were sitting at the table. "If we trust the three of you, do you put your life on not saying a word to anyone else in this house?" Brian leaned down on the table, looking each of them in the eye. "Because my wife has nothing to do with the revenge you would want on me and she's gonna die if this secret gets out." Brian sighed, trying to look intimidating but was so tired he wasn't able to look like anything other than a desperate husband pleading for help for his beloved wife.
"Yeah, you got our word." Leon nodded, being pretty convincing.
"Letty, can I count on you?" Brian asked, breathing a little bit faster with anticipation.
"Yeah, boy, I got your back. I won't tell V or Mia or Jess." She nodded, watching Brixton pace the floor. Roman had sat in a chair and was slumped against the wall, his pain killers kicking in. Tej put his hands on Brixton's shoulders and pushed her into a chair.
"All right, Arizona, you know I'm in. Give us the details." Dominic leaned back in the chair and put his hands behind his bald head clasped together. Brian took a deep breath and started to talk.
"You guys promise you won't turn your back on him? Ty is the most awesomest person I know. She took me in and adopted me and she's really nice so please, please don't get her killed. I'm begging you." Brixton interrupted just as Brian had opened his mouth to talk. She looked all three of them in the eyes, leaning on the table with her elbows.
"We won't. Our word is our word. Especially when it has a life on the line. Brian saved me and V's so we owe him double time. We won't tell anyone." Dominic said, wanting to reassure the girl he didn't even know. He could understand how important life and death was and how it was to have nowhere to turn.
"Ok, here goes." Brian nodded. "After all the shit went down here in LA, I went to Miami. I was rollin with Tej here and we got ourselves busted in a race. So there was a federal agent who knew Bilkins from my old force. She basically gave me an ultimatum to go undercover with a partner of choice or go to prison for a few life sentences." Brian took a drink of water Letty had gotten up and poured for him.
"That's where I come in this story." Roman said, his head buried in their fridge, looking for food.
"Lucky, lucky him." Tej said sarcastically. Brixton snickered and took the can of coke Letty was holding out and offering her. She mouthed the words thank you and sat back against Tej.
"And all this time you were here in La you were married to Ty?" Dominic asked, not sure where this wife of his came in at.
"Right. We were kinda separated since I was a cop and then wanted in on the racing circuit and she was working for the government and doing some fashion modeling." Brian nodded, seeming proud to say that last part of his answer.
"She's really pretty." Brixton threw her two senses in.
"Yeah, seems so." Dominic humored her, knowing she was stressed out and tired. He understood how it was when you idolized someone although it had been years since he had been able to idolize his dad.
"So, to make a long story as short as I can, she worked for the government in a department working with the space crews. This is going to get a little wacky so hear me out." Brian sighed, praying with each word that he was doing the right thing. He looked at Roman one more time to see if he could get any reassurance from him. Roman, knowing him well, gave him a nod of encouragement. Brian figured it was likely because he was tired and wanted to go to bed, but he would take whatever he could get.
"Go on." Letty sat up, very much interested where this was going to.
"There was a government space mission that wasn't told to the public." Brian swallowed. Talking about this made him feel like his heart would explode and like he could break down any minute. "He brought back a virus. Tiff and several others were exposed to it. It had a gestation period so no one really knew until long after she had quit that job and started getting sick. Instead of letting the public know about it, they decided to round up the people affected and have them killed so no one with the knowledge could leak it out." Brian said, making Leon whistle at the seriousness. Letty's eyes went big and Dominic just stared at Brian in shock.
"Didn't they spread the virus though?" Leon asked, scratching his head. Brian shook his head.
"No, it was not contagious. Which is why I don't understand why they want them killed." Brian sighed sadly.
"Just wait, it gets deeper." Tej nodded as the DT crew tried to digest the information they had just been given.
"Brix's mom was also one of them, she worked with Ty so Ty has kind of adopted Brixton as hers now. But remember that federal agent I told you about, the one that blackmailed us?" Brian asked, playing with the lid of the coke bottle on the table.
"Yeah." They all three replied, very much into the story and wide awake now.
"Well, Monica is Brixton's sister, and so when she became a federal agent, they put her on the case to help. So now she's looking for T. There are only two survivors left and Ty and she's one of them. She's too damn close to Ty right now. She's been on the run for years and was doing great. When Monica came to us to ask us to help, I told her yeah so I could work on throwing her way the hell off just until Ty
gets these last two treatments. But it takes a year to do two treatments. So I gotta figure out a way to distract her." Brian ran a hand through his hair.
"So, she'll be all right if she has those two treatments?" Letty asked, chewing her lip.
"Yeah, just one more year and she's good to go. Problem is, right now she's in a coma and it's not so easy to move a coma patient place to place when they are so close to where she's at. There's no way to get them off her back long enough to not cause suspicion. So that is why I gotta get a plan going. The last place they think she was is here in Calli. But it is only a matter of time before they start searchin Florida." Brian said, looking down. For the first time, he was starting to look older than his age.
"Damn, that is deep. I'm sorry, Brian." Leon said, not sure of what else to say. Letty looked deep in thought.
"I might have a plan." Letty sat up, breaking the silence.