Updated on November 16, 2017
A/N: This is technically in the Chapter 6 AU, but more of a spinoff/third timeline with a few changes. It is my practice of writing a long story with a storyline and is intended to be standalone and hopefully everything is in-context, or soon to be as the story unfolds.
Chapter 28:
The Fast and the Furious 2044 or Things That Happen In Movies
Episode 1: Knots
….
The Present Year of 2044
[Black Clouds]
A HIGH SECURITY PRISON IN AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
Blonde hair swayed to-and-fro as the orange-clad prisoner stalks along the fenced yard. The prisoner stops to look as the black clouds in the distance and smiles as the fellow detainees erupt in a riot...
…
[Dark Eyes]
A GOVERNMENT FACILITY IN WASHINGTON DC
The tall and lithe brunette Adira Harabo-Lue treads through the muddy field on the last leg of the field, scaling a rope and swinging to the end and clocking her time on the tablet the trainer held.
She made her way to the locker room, showered and was drying her hair with a towel as her closet friend at the program joined her.
"Any plans this weekend?" Sara asked, pulling on a sock.
"The plan is to write all weekend, but it's my sibling's birthday so I should expect a call from my parents."
"If you need a break stop by the coffeeshop," the short, black-haired woman said, departing.
Adira finished her post training routine and reported the main office, gently knocking on Agent Monica Fuentes' door.
"Have a seat, both of you," the woman motions to the man behind Adira.
"You two are my best drivers, so I'm going to need you two front and center if you're up for it. The rest of the team will be here tomorrow so think it over."
"Yes Ma'am," the two answer in unison, exiting the room when dismissed.
The two co-workers walked side by side in silence until the young man spoke, still looking ahead while rolling his neck for emphasis, "I think I'm still sore from the last assignment."
"I guess I have that to look forward to."
"You're staying on?" Freddie's smile fading at her hesitant nod, "You think you're going to tell your family?"
"I don't know," Adira sighed, blinking slowly as her dark eyes popped again looking at her occasional partner, "the timing always seems off."
"It's different for everyone, I think. Yes?"
Adira nods.
"I'll see you tomorrow maybe?"
"Yeah."
…
[29]
LOS ANGELES
"So good to see you," Gisele gets up from the restaurant table to greet her oldest daughter Alona with a hug, Han patting her shoulder as they sit down.
"Happy twenty-ninth bro!"
"Happy twenty-ninth and five minutes," the young woman's twin Ethan high-fives.
The next day Gisele and Alona go for mani-pedis with Grandma Lue.
"You have a grandson, no?" One of the manicurists asks Grandma Lue in Korean, "My granddaughter so picky."
"He's off somewhere. I don't know," the old woman nods her head dismissively.
"Aye. In-laws? Children now get everything. I work for everything…"
Grandma Lue doesn't bother confirming or denying the gossip, turning her attention to focus on the drama on the television screen.
The three women explore the rest of Koreatown before dropping Grandma Lue off at her friend's house, leaving Gisele and Alona in the car alone.
"He's alright. Tokyo seems to work for him," Alona tells her mother about her youngest brother Leos, "He just needs time."
"I know," Gisele remarks looking out the passenger window.
The rest of the weekend flowed more smoothly, concluding on dinner before the workday began and the group went their ways, Ethan a few miles to his apartment and Alona on to San Diego.
"I was their age when we met." Han muses, handing another warm mug of tea to his wife after he lost grip on the last one, breaking the ceramic to pieces.
"I still remember it like yesterday," Gisele smiles sitting on the porch next to Han as he wraps his arm over her shoulder, "the green bag of chips, the olive v-neck that I loved, but the ugly-busy-squares things on your button shirt was not good."
"It's what's inside that counts," Han laughs, "You were lucky I was on a brunette faze," Han teases
"Right…" Gisele rolls her eyes jokingly, "and if you were into guys you'd be married to Hans the ski-instructor living in Geneva."
"He looked like Robert Redford. You blocked me. I could have swung both ways, our daughter…"
"I don't think if it works like that," Gisele nods, "But I will look out for him in the future."
"Deal," Han nuzzles into her neck and holds her tighter, "You were just shy of twenty-four when we met."
"Mmm," Gisele confirms rubbing Han's right wrist.
"I don't think you would have loved me at twenty-four."
…
Flashback
[Han at 24 years old and Gisele at 19 years old]
.. (1) Streak ..
"The blonde phase has ended," Letty remarks after Han returns from escorting his hookup out the door.
"I had a good streak going but it had to end some time." Han replies, "And to be fair about half of them were dye jobs."
"We're working our way to Lima, you in?" Dom joins the table, kissing Letty's forehead.
"Of course." Han answers, pouring a bowl of cereal.
.. (2) Clingy ..
"How's George?" Gisele's mother asks, sitting down after the last customers left her restaurant in Tel Aviv.
"We broke up," Gisele nonchalantly replies in Hebrew herself.
'Your dad liked him but I don't think he's for you."
"Because he's a military pilot too?" Gisele's alcohol-loosened tongue blurts out, "Maybe I kept dating him because I thought dad didn't like him."
"Gisele…"
"I know, Ma. I was the one who ended it. He was too clingy," Gisele takes a gulp of water, "I'm going to be in Germany next month, maybe the rest of summer."
"Maybe you can look at universities when you're there?"
"If I have time."
.. (3) Focus ..
Gisele made her way to the operations base asking for a medic, the translator Tomas appeared.
"Dr. Hruska, how can I help?" their co-worker asked.
"Get me my bag in the trunk."
"You're a doctor?" Gisele asks.
"A medic, but soon," Tomas responds, "Are you allergic to anything? Gisele?"
"No," Gisele winces as the brunette continues examining her wrist.
"What's your name?"
"What?"
"Your name?" The man repeats calmly.
"Gisele Harabo."
"Where did you grow up?"
"Tel Aviv, Israel," Gisele answers, swallowing a pill.
"How was it? Any pets? Siblings?"
"I have an older brother, he's a lawyer. My mom has cats."
"Focus. Tell me about the cat that you don't seem to like that much."
"It scratched me and I bled. Ah," Gisele says as her wrist bone snaps back into place, "I was four."
"I'm an only child. I grew up with my grandparents in Prague and I think I'm a cat person, but I like dogs too. I go by my middle name, and the 'H' at the beginning of my last name is silent, so I can understand the confusion," Tomas shares as he's taping Gisele's wrist, "Better?"
"Yes."
"Good. We'll have you checked on when we get to town."
.. (4) Friends ..
"This is Philip, my partner in Munich and his friend Marco," Gisele tells her friend Petra.
"Nice to meet you."
"Thanks for having us."
"No trouble," Petra remarks, "You came from Zurich?"
"Philip and I grew up there," Marco smiles.
"I have to find my jacket. Will you get that Gisele? It must be Fred, the neighbor," Petra motions to the door at the ring, and then hushed, "Kate can't make it and mom said I should invite him out."
"Tomas?" Gisele furrows a brow in surprise at the man at the door.
"Gisele?"
"I knew you lived in Prague, but not this close."
"It's good to see you again," Tomas holding onto Gisele's gaze for a long moment.
The group chatted as Petra looked for her jacket, the sandy blonde finally resurfaced from the laundry room and then they were off to the bar.
"No book tonight?" Gisele approaches Tomas at the booth.
"It was for work. Reading helps me concentrate."
"I remember you saying that many times,"
"Do I?" Tomas sheepishly says,
"It worked very well."
"I like mysteries. Mostly."
"Me too. But sometimes I have to plan ahead because I don't like to start and stop so I haven't been able to read a long book in a long time," Gisele
"I see that…"
.. (5) Drivers ..
"Any word on Letty?" Han asks Dom at dinner after hours working on a car.
"She found me the first time, she'll find me again if that's what she wants," Dom says, "The meeting with the drivers is after New Year's."
….
[Han at 24/25 years old and Gisele at 19/20 years old]
.. (6) Lima ..
"Han?"
The deathly sounding cough continued as Beatriz made her way to neighbor's bathroom, finding a black-eyed and bleeding Han on the floor.
"Bea?"
"Dom let me in. What happened?"
"A favor went south," Han explains taking a glass of water from Beatriz as she replaces his bloodied towel with a new warm one, "I'm fine. It's statistics? Fifty-fifty odds. I'm lucky we didn't get caught."
.. (7) Bartenders ..
"Subbing?" Han asks Beatriz.
"Switching to night shifts," the dirty blonde ties her hair back.
"You're going to steal away my tips," Han laughs, cleaning a mug.
"The tourists might see you are easier," the woman speaks in her slightly Portuguese accent, "and I thinks it's, uh, spring break soon so the young women will be all over with the tips."
"Thanks for the encouragement."
"No problem."
.. (8) Practice ..
"We can do this another time if you're not up for it." Tomas suggest as he sees Gisele fidgeting on the sofa half an hour into the movie.
"No. I was just…" Gisele takes his hand, "let me show you."
"Ready?" Gisele asks as they pull up to an abandoned outdoor parking area.
"Yes."
"We practiced all morning," Gisele turns, "thought about it throughout lunch…I just need to get it out of my system until next week."
"A lot of the guys at the military base loved cars, but I never got in to it. With public transport and all," Tomas's face pales as Gisele speeds up and drives into the dirt path.
..(9) I don't care ..
"I'm not used to sharing about myself, but I want to with you." Tomas confesses, "I know you're going to be somewhere else and I'll be here and then somewhere else, but I don't care. I'm falling in love with you and I don't want to stop our relationship because I can't stop how I feel."
"I want that too," Gisele seals it with a kiss
.. (10) 25 ..
"What does a twenty-five year old man like you do for a birthday?" Beatriz asks placing the last chair atop a table.
"Reevaluate my life? Some of the kids I grew up with probably graduated grad school early and working and here I am," Han chuckles wryly.
"Working," Beatriz deadpans flexing her tired arms.
"Ouch."
"Let me get you a birthday drink."
"Breaking the law for me? What happened to your new honest life?"
"You're off and I'm not."
"Good point," Han responds, finishing the count of his tips as he leans into the counter, "Can I get a birthday kiss instead?"
"What happened to the guy who just went for it?"
"Well I'm older and wiser, so I thought I'd be more careful," Han leans further into Beatriz, lost in the hazel of her eyes until he brushes his lips with hers, the woman responding in kind.
.. (11) Recruit ..
"You're one of the top of your group all-around. The best in marksmanship I've seen in a long time," a man of forty or so in a polished suit addresses Gisele.
"The Mossad is interested in you when your military career is over. Have you had any plans?" A woman, slightly younger, in a pantsuit informs.
"Perhaps staying on but I wasn't sure."
"Think it over. We'll keep in touch."
.. (12) Shitty ..
"You want a hit?" Letty holds out a joint when Han stumbles upon her on the terrace, the only quiet part of the party.
"No."
"Right. Smoke free," Letty continues as Han sits, "You know all this time I know nothing about you? Maybe I don't ask because I don't want you to ask about me."
"We think alike."
"You must be an only child. The way you look up to Dom." the woman rubs her eyes.
"I am. You too, right?"
Letty nods looking angrily up into the night sky, "My parents were so shitty. Why do I miss them so much sometimes?"
Han didn't know much about shitty parents of his own, but he's knows the pain of missing people so he sits there with Letty hoping that helped.
.. (13) Canceled ..
"…I never canceled something this important," an irate Gisele says to Tomas of their plans to meet her family on the Jewish New Year in Tel Aviv, "My brother is here and I cannot deal with him."
"I really wanted to be there," Tomas pleads as they converse in German, "I'll be there for Hanukah, I promise. I had Petra book my flight with hers."
"You're going to have to explain yourself to my Grandma," Gisele calms, but not trusting herself to keep talking, as she hands her phone off.
… (14) Jinx …
"Let's go somewhere for the weekend," a cheery Han instructs when he enters Beatriz's kitchen.
"You won?" Beatriz remarks evenly.
"End of my losing streak. I was beginning to think I was jinxed."
"I have to work," Beatriz bookmarks the page of her book
"Dinner out? I know I've been preoccupied with the new car."
"Tomorrow night."
"Great. I'll take care of dinner tonight right after I shower," Han gives her a quick kiss.
.. (15) Napkins ..
"How's this one?" Beatriz holds up a sketch of Han.
"A Beatriz Alvarez Cruz original. Something to remind you of me once you're famous,"
Han smirks as he and Beatriz kill time at the empty bar like they almost always did, by drawing on napkins, "Dom and Letty are headed off. I need to find a new place, or roommates."
"Live with me," Beatriz shrugs, starting on an intricate pattern design.
"Yeah?" Han answers, chewing on a stir-stick.
"You're there all the time. You cook and clean. And I love you and everything."
"Yeah," Han nods with a sheepish smile as he puts the finishing touches on his Calvin & Hobbes rendering, "I'd love that too."
"Do you guys do American Thanksgiving? To say goodbye?"
"If I cook and clean?" Han embraces Beatriz from behind the stool and starts kissing her neck to ear, "that's what you like?"
"Yes," Beatriz palms Han's face kissing him deeply, "The sexiest. I'll clean."
"Generous. Sexy. Smart." Han says between kisses.
"You or me?" Beatriz's teases, pulling at Han's hair.
.. (16) Wheelman ..
"I'm not picky on food, but those mash potatoes were amazing," Dom smirks, opening another beer, "here's to you, one of the best wheelman I ever met."
"If this is it then it's been a ride," Han grins.
"Han, mixed ping pong," Letty calls, "Your girl ain't cuttin' it."
"Be right there."
.. (17) Need ..
"What's wrong?" Han asks a teary-eyed Beatriz when he arrives home early one evening.
Beatriz nods, "It's nothing you have to worry about."
"I don't like seeing you cry," Han starts softly, sitting at the edge of the bed.
"Just trust me, Han."
"I'll be in the living room if you need anything," Han offers as Beatriz nods.
.. (18) Love ..
Gisele leaps into Tomas's arms as soon as he drops his duffel bag, their lips melting against one another as he sets her down slowly.
"I love you."
"I love you too," Gisele eyes warm over as they embrace in another kiss.
…
[Han at 25/26 years old and Gisele at 20/21 year old]
.. (19) Bianca ..
Han was sorting the bar pantry when Beatriz pushes him inside further, shutting the door.
"Workplace quick-" Han's words are muffled by his girlfriend's hand, the other signaling him to hush.
Han hears footsteps and then the rough picture of two individuals through the door slits.
"We're looking for a…Cruz?" A leather-motorcycle jacketed woman asks the cook in Spanish.
"Alvarez Cruz. Bianca," The other towering woman clarifies.
"She doesn't work here."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes…" as they stare at each other.
"Go. Go. Go!" Another female voice interrupts, walking towards the three with a brutish man in black followed by the bar manager and then exiting with her crew.
Beatriz continues to hang her head down, leaning into Han's chest as he rubs her back.
.. (20) Yes ..
Gisele and Tomas were getting ready for bed at his place in Prague when he takes her hand and gets down on one knee.
"I feel out of place, but not with you. Being with you has been the best days of my life. I love how we have so much in common, but how much we don't as well. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Gisele, will you marry me?"
"Yes," Gisele nods as Tomas slips the engagement ring on her finger.
.. (21) LA 1 ..
"I could put in a good word if you ever think about transferring," Gisele's American liaison Agent Smith-Trinh in remarks.
Gisele had been a last minute replacement, the operation was narcotics based, but luckily her skills and knowledge in weapons got by, playing the part of a novice liaison.
"I'm still working my way into all this, but I'll think about it."
.. (22) 21 ..
"I know legal drinking over there is younger, but you're in America and you're turning twenty-one, it's practically a law!" Gisele's neighbor Heather exclaims after their morning run.
"And it's Spring Break. That's what you call fate," Gina chimes in "You have to stay until Cinco de Mayo."
"I'm in," Gisele nods, chewing her gum.
.. (23) Low ..
The lights were low and the noise was loud, but Han spotted Beatrix at the racer party instantly, surrounded by a few men.
"I thought you were out with your girlfriends."
"I thought you were laying low for a month, maybe two," Beatriz retorts, then pleadingly, "We don't do this now."
.. (24) Traditional ..
"Let me see the ring on you!" Tomas' grandma tells Gisele at the family gathering to celebrate the engagement, "So beautiful on you. Did you set a date yet?"
"No rushing them," Tomas's adoptive grandpa assures.
"Love doesn't know time," Gisele's grandma agrees.
"You don't live together. Very traditional."
"I have to be in Paris and then back Tel Aviv for the next few months, so we said it was more practical."
"I signed for another tour before she turned my world around," Tomas beams as Gisele leans into his tall frame. "And she understands how important that is to me."
.. (25) Adapting ..
"You're back."
Han sits opposite Beatriz on a lawn chair, "Let's leave. Maybe live outside Peru?"
"We need to be over."
"I know we've been fighting and sometimes not talking…"
"That's why you were gone."
"Maybe part of it," looks lovingly at Beatriz.
"I want you to be this guy. I know you are good deep down. But I think 'why I cannot tell you all my fears and everything? And you don't open up to me at times. That is not what I want."
"That takes time and a little change, adapting," Han reasons.
"All we do is talk and think…I don't want you to change no matter how small. I was with someone before who wanted to change me, and I won't ever ask someone of that."
"Bea…"
"We may be the same age working and living at the same place, but we are too different. You're always comfortable. You don't know what it is to feel an empty stomach. And I'm so glad you didn't. But you don't get why I have to work all the time or what I had to give up to be here. I have to deal with my sister getting in trouble. I can't do it with you too. I put all your things in the living room to pack."
And Han doesn't object as his eyes creep down to a view of his feet.
.. (26) LA 2 ..
"…this is Agent Gisele Harabo, we need backup," Gisele spoke into her wire as she applied pressure to the gunshot wound as the young man writhed in pain.
"Hold on," Gisele whispered, hoping she sounded calmer than she felt, "there's also a female in her mid-twenties with possible gunshot wounds, canvas the area."
.. (27) That's it? ..
"That's it?!" Gisele questions.
"The trail's run cold," Agent Roberts explains closing a binder, "they gave us an extra week as it is."
"You sent her in by herself. To die?!"
"This is a business to them…"
"Looks like one to you too!"
"I get it, the first death is hard, but it's part of the job."
.. (28) Fight ..
"Is that what happens when you're in it so long?" Gisele sits at Agent Smith-Trinh's office, "Going through the motions without emotion? Just business?"
"What got you here? And I'm not talking about the Mossad or Interpol. What path did you take to get here? And Why?" The middle-aged woman tucks stray strawberry blonde strands behind her ear.
"I made mistakes. Joined the military for some sense of redemption. I don't know," Gisele nods, staring down at her feet.
"Guilt?"
"Yes."
"You said you wanted to be a lawyer when you were younger. Why?"
"My mom and brother did it. They helped people and I wanted to do the same."
"And you shouldn't forget that. Because Agent Roberts is right about this job, but don't forget that you fought, you questioned."
.. (29) Petra ..
"I wasn't going to let a driver pick you up," Petra embraces Gisele at the airport, "And you're staying with me this weekend."
"You're the best."
…
[Han at 26/27 years old and Gisele at 21/22 years old]
.. (30) Three ..
"You're the big winner?" A petite young woman flashes her eyelashes, sitting by the beach bonfire and placing her hand on Han's thigh, "I like new blood."
"I'll make your blood boil like that hair of yours," Han whispers huskily as their lips tease out a kiss.
The woman squeezes tighter against Han as she rubs his thighs, "I came with my friend. We can't leave her alone."
"I'm not one to ruin friendships. I share," Han trails his fingertips on her hips.
"You've done this before? Some guys are all talk," she motions for her friend over.
"Shhh." Han nibbles on the ear.
.. (31) Elope ..
"We should just elope," Tomas leafs through another bridal magazine.
"Two spontaneous things in a row? It can't be you Tomas!" Gisele elbows the man in jest.
"Las Vegas is right there and I do love Elvis."
"We are not having a Vegas Valentine's wedding," Gisele jots a few notes.
"So where? And to live? I could get used to L.A."
"And I really do love Prague."
"We don't need decide right now," Gisele reasons, setting her things down to straddle and kiss Tomas, "I just want to be here with you now, for as long as we have."
Tomas's smile breaks then, "I couldn't save her, this patient, and her son was looking right at me."
"Sometimes you can't and it's okay," Gisele cradles the man's head as he sniffling, then letting the tears flow, "you did everything you could."
.. (32) Color ..
"You're from California?" The man who hired Han to paint a mural asks.
"Around Los Angeles, but away from the city."
"Ah," the man helps Han lay tarp on the ground, "the weather is like here, no?"
"Close," Han answers politely, "Have you decided on the color?"
.. (33) Missed ..
"I saw your note, I guess I just missed you at the apartment," Tomas sighs into the phone, "If I don't see you in two days, it means I had to go back to Krakow. I love you. Bye."
.. (34) Snitch ..
"We're sorry for your lost," Gisele's partner hands her his clipboard once they were in the hospital room, "We're from the narcotics division on behalf of the FBI. If there's anything you can tell us of Mary Heathers-"
"You're a fuckin' snitch? Spy?" Gina seethes when she realizes her neighbor Gisele is with the authorities, "I don't want to hear it. Let's get this over with, then I can start doing something about it."
"We want this cleared up as much as you do. If there's any foul play we'll find it," Gisele tries to sound professional, her brain thinking remorse was more condescending at the moment.
"Heather's dad died a few months ago and she spent all her money on the funeral. She had no other family to help. Just me. She couldn't afford to take a break from school either. If she was involved it was because she didn't have another choice. The system is fucked up! Student loans, unpaid internships…" Gina's voice rises with anger.
.. (35) Corners ..
"Look who it is, Corners Chick is back," a goateed man says recognizing Gisele.
"Ten thousand?" Gisele hands over the cash.
"This is K-Town. We don't close the streets, sure you can manage?"
Gisele shrugs, playing disinterest, rolling up her window as she prepares for the race.
And then they were off and Gisele felt something she hasn't in a long, sheer excitement as she speeds through the streets, maneuvering in and out of traffic with nothing else on her mind but the rush in her veins.
.. (36) Wanderer ..
"Does Beatriz still live here?" Han asks in his best Spanish to the boy of seven or so who answers the door.
"Si."
"Hi."
"Hi"
"Moving?" Han looks at the boxes in the living room on the way to the kitchen table.
"My nephew's staying with me and now he's going to live with my aunt."
"Still at the bar?"
"I finally finished night school. So not for long."
"That's good," Han nods.
"You?"
"Travel. Odd jobs."
"I didn't think I'd ever see you again."
"Aimless wanderer," Han says under his breath.
Beatriz nods, "Maybe you come back when you shouldn't…"
.. (37) Work ..
"We always said work was important but this is too much," Tomas swallows, "and children."
"We can talk about this when you visit," Gisele exasperates, "Goodbye." .
.. (38) Kids ..
"…We talked about adoption," Gisele reiterates, placing her feet on the coffee table in her apartment in Tel Aviv.
"I don't want to tell you how to feel, but I feel that I can't make you give that up!" Tomas responds rapidly.
"We'll have a family," Gisele says, "Are you just waiting for me to change my mind?"
"It's always in the back of my mind, no matter how much you love me," Tomas starts, "You're young…"
"That's never been an issue with us," Gisele scoffs, "Six years. That's what one, three years in maturity to a man?"
"We don't talk about our issues. We put it aside because we're happy to see each other again after being apart."
Gisele doesn't deny this claim.
.. (39) Piece ..
"I haven't thought about planning the wedding since you were in L.A." Gisele confesses in the middle of the night.
"I should want to be where you are and not let the circumstances around us dictate," Tomas's sorrow evident.
"You should be a bigger part of my life," Gisele chokes back, "not just a small piece …"
"We're breaking up aren't we?"
"I think so…yes."
.. (40) Toxic ..
"What you said earlier, maybe it's fine. Healthy. To cut people off who are toxic?" Han uses his lighter to burn the chip between his fingers before devouring.
"Experience?" Letty wonders, passing the joint back to Han.
"…I think I'm the toxic one," Han yawns, "…this weed sucks."
"It does."
.. (41) LA X ..
"You're stepping down?" Gisele asks Agent Smith-Trinh at the holiday office party, "Because of the Heathers case?"
"Politics," the seasoned woman replies, "I caught my son drinking this summer and he looks at me and says, "Mom, I'm 21,'and tomorrow night will be the first time I get to watch my son's dance recital without waiting for my cell phone to ring. And that is what I'll focus on."
"What about fighting? No excuses?"
"If I wake up and feel like fighting back, you know I will. But not today."
….
[Han at 29 years old and Gisele at 23 years old]
.. (42) Old times ..
"Like old times," Dom Toretto grins as Han pulls up to the abandoned automobile plant after they burned a portion of Reyes' money to send the man a message.
"Letty's really gone?" Han half asks, half states, "She would have got a kick out of this."
"Yeah."
.. (43) Codes ..
"…Gisele. You and her?" Han leans in to examine the hood of the car.
"No," Dom shakes his head, already suspecting Gisele's interest in Han from the other day when she volunteered to go along scouting Reyes' handprint.
"I thought maybe I'd ask her for out. If you're sure nothing will go on with you two," Han drums his fingers on the car frame, then finishes self-deprecatingly, yet coolly, "If we get out of this thing alive."
Dom responds instantly with a grin, "If she wants to be with you that's all that matters."
"If she asks about me asking," Han hesitates after a few minutes of working in silence.
"I got your back, Han," patting his old friend on the back and then continues to work, thinking, hoping that Gisele would see that Han was being considerate and that they weren't treating her like an object to be traded.
.. (44) Three date rule ..
"How long do you wait to sleep with someone?" Tej questions as he shuffles the deck of cards, Roman, Gisele, Leo and Santos at the table, "Three dates?"
"Three weeks?" Roman responds, adding ketchup to his burger, "or do you have three dates in a week?"
"If you are friends first it can go either way. You sleep too early or it doesn't matter because it's fate," Santos offers.
"Romántico aquí," Leo teases as the pair continues to barb amid the conversation.
"If the dates not going well, sometimes that's the only option. You hook up and get on with your lives. There's nothing wrong with two consenting adults going at it the first night," Tej adds, "What do you think Gisele. A woman's perspective? You hit and quit?"
"All those options should be valid without judgment," Gisele concentrates on her cards, then rolls her eyes, "but the reality is that people will judge and I won't let that bother me. Even I have called men and women 'easy' without thinking."
"So did he slap it? Or is that a third date thing?"
….
Present Day
[Jailbreak]
THE TORETTO HOUSE
"Shit. Thanks for letting us know," Letty says
"They're piecing it all together. I'll keep you updated. Bye," Gisele sighs.
"Bye."
Dom returns from his late morning walk and his expression informs Letty immediately exchanging worried head nods as Letty pulls up a stream of the local station, replaying from the start of the broadcast as the news reporter speaks,
"The international criminal hacker known as Cipher escaped a high security prison late last night. Authorities in the surrounding areas are told to be on the lookout and are cooperating with international agencies to track down the fugitive. She was jailed twenty years ago…"
