Chapter 52 Part. II-Leap of Faith

At the Kingdom...

"Woo! This is going to be the biggest event in our ten years of business, gentlemen," Brandon Slythe said happily to the room of well-dressed kingpins as they sat around a table of money, booze, cocaine, and scantily-clad women. The men hollered with cheers as they sat in front of a jumbo screen that provided feed to dozens of hidden cameras along the race route. There were blind spots that produced a lure of mystery to the game. They would have front-row seats to the day's events, and watch as the Last Man Standing match took place. "Today, one of you will be the proud new owners of a very exclusive set of weapons. Let's hope your teams can pull this off."


The three cars were split up on each end of the airport waiting for the convoys to come into sight. It was ten 'til eight, and the amount of police security and patrols were as high as they expected. They kept in contact in regards to any sightings of the other competitors, and so far, things were running as smoothly as planned. Dom and Letty sat quietly in the Daytona, both anxious to get the thrill started. Dom was always quiet during a heist, he liked to stay frozen in his zone. Letty preferred music, something to get her blood pumping. She reached for the radio and blasted the rock music coming from the speakers. Dom looked over as she bopped her head to the beat.

"You gonna miss riding with me like this?" he asked with a small smile.

"Honestly, yes," she said, "but I can't wait for the day when I'm not being shot at."

Letty reached into her pocket and retrieved her lucky photo and tucked it into the visor above Dom's head.

"It's for good luck."

"Thanks," Dom chuckled before picking up his two-way radio, "Sean, any sign of the others or the convoys?"

"Nope, nothing over here. Tons of cops though. I'm getting a little ansty."

"Hang in there," Dom replied before buzzing Brian, "How about you O'Connor?"

"Got the convoys over here, but that's not all. We got two pretty supped up RX-8s over here," Brian's voice appeared on the two-way, "These are definitely the same guys from the Kingdom."

At that time, Dom spotted another nice Mazda rolling slowly past the entrance and he took a good look at the driver. He didn't recognize the Asian man, but he was convinced these men were after the same thing.

"All right, don't make a move until those convoys take off. We're coming around."

Dom pulled off the side of the road and headed towards the entrance where the blue Mazda was sitting patiently. He pulled up next to the car and rolled his window down enough to peek out of.

"Nice car," he spoke to the driver, but the man only smirked and turned away, "I always wanted one of those. How much to buy it off you?"

"250 million," the driver snarled back with a smile, confirming Dom's suspicions. While Dom kept him distracted, Letty snuck out the car and crept slowly around to the back. She pulled out her pocket knife and carefully crept to the back of the Mazda and stabbed both back tires. With a satisfied grin Letty crawled back to the Daytona and silently slid back in, just as Brian was buzzing through on the two-way.

"On the move, Dom."

"Maybe one day I'll be able to afford that," Dom said with a knowing smile before pulling off.

He pulled the Daytona to the back of the airport in time to see the three military trucks pulling out of the exit. They watched as the trucks turned left, but they didn't follow after.

"Hobbs, they're heading your way. We're gonna get rid of these two tails, so stall 'em," Dom said as navy blue BMW and Sean's gray Mustang pulled up beside him. They waited until the two blue Mazdas came into sight and followed behind the convoys before pulling out.

"Red, take out those windows," Dom ordered through the radio.

Red lifted her handgun with the added silencer and fired with precision at the windshields careful not to hit any occupants. She took down the two windows quickly, and before either driver could respond, Brian and Sean fired two of the tear-gas projectiles into the car. As the tortuous gas began to fill the Mazdas and the cars, Dom and the others lifted the masks over their heads and barreled out of the lot towards the Humvees.

Hobbs, dressed in black slacks, a jacket over his vest, and a ball cap, stood next to a massive Ford F-150 truck and waited for the convoy to approach. When the three trucks closed in on him, he stepped in the center of the road with his ID and badge in the air. The convoys slowed and stopped in front of him. Hobbs put on his best cop and went to the driver's side, "Diplomatic Secret Service, Agent Luke Hobbs. I'm on assignment and I'm looking for a few a perps. I was wondering if you fellas could help me out?"

"You don't look like a special agent," one of the men replied suspiciously.

"That's the point right?" Hobbs smiled. "I just need a few minutes of your time."

"We're on a tight schedule, sorry. You'll have to find someone else," the driver said, looking at Hobbs skeptically.

"There is no one else. We're the only ones out here," Hobbs took a long look inside, identifying the three occupants as heavily-armed Berlin soldiers, "Just take a look at a few photos for me."

"We don't have time! Now get the hell out the way!" the soldier yelled angrily before nearly running Hobbs down as he sped off, the other two trucks following behind.

"Toretto, they're off again. Where are you?"

"Coming up on you now," Dom replied.

Hobbs turned to see several cars in the distance speeding in his direction. The three cars zoomed past him and quickly caught up to the convoy.

"All right babe, you're up," Dom said once they were right behind the trucks.

"Let's do this, Papa," Letty gave Dom a quick peck on the lips before grabbing her harpoon gun and leaning out the Daytona window.

"Red, Leon, let's get them on those trucks," Dom said into his radio, keeping a watchful eye on Letty.

While sitting on the window panel, Letty fired the harpoon gun at the back window, nailing the backseat and lodging into the truck. Dom lined the Daytona up with the back of the Humvee and handed over the M16. Letty focused down the sights and fired at the passenger seat, where the projectile dispersed throughout the car. She hurriedly put her mask out and climbed out onto the hood of the car with her heart racing. She missed the adrenaline of riding on top of a speeding vehicle, but she couldn't think about that now. She had to make the jump.

With her heart in her throat, she made the dangerous leap to the back of truck. She smiled for the small victory and quickly climbed the back-ladder to the top. She looked up to see Brian on top of his truck and Sean leaping for his.

Everything was going smoothly, or so she thought as her truck began swerving. Letty carefully moved for the roof hatch and peeked inside. Two of the soldiers were unconscious, but the driver was still fighting the toxic gas. Letty dropped down in the cabin and elbowed the soldier twice, the second shot crushing his nose under her bone. Once his body went limp, she moved with urgency to take control of the wheel. Letty rolled down the window anxious to rid the car of the foul odor.

"I'm in," she reported back to Dom on her radio. Dom sighed with relief at her words.

"Me too," Brian chirped in soon after.

There was muffled banter on the chattered two-way line and Dom became worried about his other teammates. He backed off Letty and moved around to the other lane, where Leon's BMW was riding behind the Mustang, still in sync with the Humvee.

Suddenly, the truck swerved and slammed up against Leon's car. In a move of panic, Leon jerked his wheel right, careening his back panel into the Daytona and spinning out. Dom slammed on the brakes as Leon's car smashed hard against the barrier wall.

"Leon!" he screamed through his window, his chest pounding for his friend, "Keep going! I'm pulling back for Leon."

"We're in, Dom. Bozo here thought he was driving," Sean reported finally through the talkie.

Dom jumped out and quickly ran over to the smoking BMW. He looked inside to see Leon holding the side of his head, his face sketched out in pain. Dom yanked the door open and reached inside for his friend. The smell of gas was strong, but it somehow kept Dom calm as he gently helped Leon from the battered car and to his own. He helped him inside, then ran around to get in before burning rubber away from the scene.

"How you doin' Leon?" he asked while checking him over for injuries.

"I'm alright. Just bumped my head," he said confidently. In seconds, a massive explosion came from behind them, shooting a ball of fire into the air. Dom and Leon looked at each other with grateful smiles.

"Dom, was that Leon!?" Letty chirped, her voice full of panic.

"He's all right, everyone!" Dom said with relief, "All right guys. Let's go for the gold," Dom rooted on his team as they sped toward the military compound.


"Woo! Did you see that explosion! Looks like Team Koenig has taken control of the convoy!"

Slythe announced over the intercom and a round of cheers and gripes filled the basement. Alvaro Koenig sat back with glazed eyes and a cocky grin as he kept his eyes on the jumbo monitor. He only looked away to accept his winnings from Xi Chang, who's team had been temporarily disabled by Koenig's clan.

"It's not over yet, gentlemen. They still have a long way to go."


"Alright Dominic, we're in the clear for now. Four kilometers between you and a pack of Type-R Civics. They're fast," Hobbs reported from his truck parked in the center of the road. "Adams, get ready. On your shot."

Mark Adams, a sniper-expert of Hobbs' team, sat in the back seat with his weapon trained out the weapon, ready for any sign of movement.

"Thanks Hobbs," Dom chimed back.

"I'm not doing this for you," he replied.

Dom smiled and buzzed Red, "You're free to drop back whenever, Audgie."

Red grinned wide at the nickname, "I'm good."

Leon beamed at Dom before snatching the radio, "Don't get too happy. We ain't doing this again".

After a mile of clear roads, they came up on a roadblock of their own. Three yellow Dodge Chargers on bulky rims blocked the road.

"What now, Dom?" Brian asked from the front of the pack.

"You're an ex-cop, Buster! Improvise!" Sean yelled from the truck behind him.

"Alright, smart-ass. Follow me," Brian smirked and punched the gas, hurtling his Humvee towards the cars. Brian was able to see the drivers standing front of their cars, weapons drawn in his direction. The black men - all dressed in suits - began firing upon them. Brian allowed him truck to take the brunt of the abuse as he kept up his pace toward the blockade.

"O'Connor, you're not about to..." Sean asked nervously when he realized that they weren't slowing down.

"Yeah, you told me to improvise!" Brian replied, "Keep up, you young punks!" Brian grinned and gripped the wheel hard as he floored it. The men decided to move just in time to watch their cars being crushed by the convoy they were supposed to take down. Sean turned in time to ram the car on the left, while Letty took down the Charger on the right.

"Woohoo!" Brian cheered happily as the adrenaline rushed through him. He was happy to clear the obstacle without further injury.

Hobbs stared through the binoculars at a slew of cars speeding in the horizon erratically. He was anxious to try a weapon given to him by Customs agents, a EDD gun, or electronic disruption device that would shut down all computer systems in the car. He instructed Adams to start the party.

"Hey Boss. You buy the drinks tonight if I nail this first target," Adams propositioned as he stared down the scope of his rifle.

"Front left tire," Hobbs called and watched as Adams fired at the car, sending the back end of the vehicle into air. It came down hard on the hood and the other cars scattered away.

"Front right tire."

The next car lost control and began rolling across the other side of the road in a devastating tumble. There were two cars left, and they were only a kilometer away. The driver of the blue Civic stuck his weapon out the window and started firing, but Hobbs wasn't afraid. He grabbed his weapon and stepped out of the car, raising his gun high above his shoulder. He pulled the trigger, sending the electronic hook hurtling through the air at neck-breaking speeds. The hook hit it's target and lodged in the hood, shutting down the power to the vehicle. Hobbs replaced the hook and prepared for the last car, which was now less than a half-mile away.

"Today, Boss," Adams said nervously as the shots coming from the Civic were starting to hit the Ford truck. Hobbs finally fired just as a bullet tore through his thigh, dropping him to the ground in pain. He looked up in time to see the Hispanic driver of the Civic heading his way, and he didn't look happy.

"Motherfu-" the man started while drawing his weapon, and Adams took him down instantly with a shot to the chest. He hurried out the car and helped his leader to his feet and into the car.


"Looks like two teams have been disabled from competition - Team Livignio out of Colombia, and Team Jackson out of the US. You men are more than welcome to stick around and place some high bets."


"Stay fucking cool," Sean warned Erik as they waited to be granted access onto the compound. Dressed as soldiers with three unconscious men in the back, and Erik acting like an unpredictable teenager made Sean more nervous than he was before. He took a deep breath and waited for the two guards to open the doors that let them on the property.

"Guten Morgen Leute," Erik said with a polite smile as they rolled through the gates without second-looks. ("Good morning, boys.")

"Wir verfügen über eine Explosion weniger als drei Kilometer vom Hotel entfernt, der die Angriffe aus gestern. Wir werden uns auf die Verriegelung nach unten in zwei Minuten. Mann ihre Stationen," ("We have an explosion less than three kilometers away, may be more of that attack from yesterday. We're going on lock down in two-minutes. Man your stations.")

"They saw your explosion back there, Dom," Letty said, "but this shit is actually working. We're in," Letty said with a chuckle as she rolled through the gates without so much as turning a head.

"Don't get cocky, yet," Dom warned from his car that was parked with Red's Mustang near a wooded area. "If you're not out in thirty-seconds, I'm coming in. Sean, you're looking for a small building with a sign nearby that reads 'armory' in German. Won't be easy. It's hidden pretty-"

"Found it," Erik said before Dom could finish his sentence. "Over there, with the two armed guards at the door."

"Going in, Dom," Sean said and headed near the back of the compound. The three trucks blended well into the chaos, as men and women rushed to get to safety. Sean pulled up to the building, which wasn't small by any means. It was large and manned by a nearby tower. To Sean's surprise, Brian exited his vehicle dressed in uniformed, including a name-tag that read 'Lt. Breuer'.

"Go with Letty," he whispered to Sean, and headed for the doors with Erik.

"Where do you think you're going, soldiers?" one of the guards asked.

"We had orders to gear up. We were attacked on the way in by civilians. We need supplies," Brian spoke while avoiding eye-contact. He studied the cameras pointed at the entrance and prayed that they weren't spotted.

"Orders by who?" the other asked suspiciously.

Before either could answer, Erik withdrew a weapon and fired on both soldiers, dropping them both with shots to the head. He reached for their access cards and slid it through the scanner, opening both doors with ease.

"Are you fucking crazy?" Brian scolded as they slipped through the doors. Brian noticed that the black Glock dangling from Erik's fingers wasn't the gun Dom had originally given him.

"Dom's crazy for giving me a gun with blanks. I'm not an idiot, O'Connor," Erik said back.

Brian tried to keep his cool as he lifted his radio to his face, "Where now, Dom?"

Dom looked down at the schematics of the compound that was displayed on the screen of his two-way. The diagram was one of their daily clues, that at one point made no sense.

"It's in down corridor four. Look for a basement."

Brian and Erik moved through the building as quickly as possible to find their gold. Brian took the lead with his weapon drawn as they shuffled down a flight of stairs to the bottom level of the building. Once there, they were stopped again by a door that wouldn't respond to the access cards. Brian stepped back and fired on the card access lock. The door popped open and Brian stood face to face with the largest weapon depository he had seen. Handguns, shotguns, rifles, and launchers lined the walls of the room, and even more explosive weaponry hidden in boxes on the floor.

"Give me a hand with this," Erik said while struggling with another locked door. He disengaged the lock with another bullet and kicked the door open, revealing two glass shelves that encased five silver and black carrying cases. Brian took out the glass, setting off an alarm that blared through the building.

"You're running out of time O'Connor," Dom reminded and Brian's sense of urgency increased. He grabbed a nearby duffel bag, placed the two biggest cases inside. He handed over the smallest two to Erik and grabbed the last case before hustling out of the hidden room. Brian grabbed a high-powered handgun from the wall and the two jogged the stairs quickly. The cases weren't light by any means, and Brian knew he would had to gather all his strength to make it without his legs giving out.

"You! Stop now!" a soldier blocking the exit said with his weapon trained on Brian and Erik. "Drop the cases, or I will shoot."

"OK man," Brian sighed defeated and moved to lower the cases, but instead launched one of the heavier cases at the solider. While staggered from the blow, Brian swept his feet out from under him and dropped him to the floor with a thud. Brian delivered one final blow to his throat that stopped his movements completely. "Come on Erik!"

"Where the hell are they?" Letty asked for the hundredth time as she circled around the armory at top speeds while trying to dodge bullets from nearby soldiers.

"I don't know. Stop at the door. I'll go in for them," Sean said while firing his gun out the window for defense. When the Humvee came to a stop, Sean hopped out and ran inside to see Brian struggling with the heavy bag on his back.

"Come on!" Letty yelled as two soldiers approached the front of her Humvee with guns pointed at her. Once the boys were inside, they dumped out the convoy soldiers as they became shooting targets. Brian popped out of the hatch and fired his weapon, dropping both men. Letty sped around the maze of the compound and floored it through the entrance doors.

"We got 'em, Dominic," Brian said with relief as he stared lustrously at the cases. His skin crawled with chills as his heart nearly pounded out of his chest as he sat merely inches away from the precious cargo they had all been risking their lives for.

"Good work, guys," Dom said with a grateful smile, "We'll catch up to you on the road."

Hobbs gave a thankful sigh of relief when he saw the charcoal Mustang, Dom's Daytona, and one battered military Humvee headed through the cornfield in his direction. He stood with a wince from the back of his truck and limped on his good leg over to the cars.

"What the hell happened to you?" Red asked as she noticed the bloody bandage around his thigh and ran to his aid.

"He thought he was in the damn Wild West," Adams said while stepping around the truck.

"Just a flesh wound, I'll be fine. Did you get the cases?" he asked while being held up by Adams and Red.

Dom and Brian came over with the five carrying cases, and placed them gently on the grass below.

"We made a mess, though," Brian teased with a smile.

"Yeah I saw. You haven't been made yet, but police and military are scrambling to find you. The whole city will be on lock down in less than an hour. We need to get moving. I'm gonna get eyes in the air, help guide us to Munich without hitting any police blocks," Hobbs said while he and Dom loaded the cases into the bed of the truck.

"Us?" Dom questioned with a smile.

Hobbs looked over at Audrina, who was now nursing Leon's head wound as they sat on the hood of the Mustang together.

"I walk away when she walks away," Hobbs said while shutting the bed.

Dom turned to see Letty laying across the hood of his car, her hands resting across her eyes as she came down from her adrenaline rush.

"I know what you mean," Dom muttered before moving over to the Daytona. He stood back and admired the midriff that peeked out from under her cargo jackets. His eyes went to the scar on her hip and he thought back to the night she got it - their last night together in the Dominican Republic. It was only a few hours after their final tanker heist, and she needed a way to release that last bit of energy. Dom insisted that she stay at the party and socialize, but that just wasn't Letty. She needed to be near the water.

So she snuck away while Dom was distracted and took a dip in the beautiful waters of the Caribbean. When he finally noticed her absence from the party, he went to their exclusive spot to find her sandals and clothes, but no Letty. An impulse forced him into the water, where it didn't take long for him to find his love struggling near the reef, blood surrounding her. In an attempt to free her, he sliced himself, giving them both scars to remember the frightening night.

Though he knew Letty had much larger, invisible scars from that night as well.

Dom couldn't stop his hands from reaching out to touch her hip, the move nearly startling Letty off the car.

"Shit, Dom!" she jumped, holding her chest as out of fright, "Don't do that."

When she sat up, Dom got a look at the scar under her collarbone from a bullet she shouldn't have ever had to take. A lot of her scars were a consequence of his stupidity, and he was determined to make up for it.

"You did good out there," he said softly with his finger under her chin.

"Let's just hope it pays off."

"It will. I love you," he said while staring into her eyes lovingly.

Letty smiled, "I love you, you big lug. Let's finish this."


"How are they doing Jerry?" Mia asked while pacing behind him with Brooklyn in her arms. They were in a small loft on the outskirts of Munich, and Jerry was keeping track of their progress on his laptop. "Brian hasn't called me in hours, I'm worried sick."

"Relax, Mia girl. They're alright," Jerry replied, "I lost the tracker on the BMW, but I still have the Daytona and Mustang. I'm guessing they picked up the Vanquish and Toyota on the way because they're all moving in sync in our direction."

"Why the hell won't he pick up?" she spat angrily while trying Brian's cell again.

"Mia, they're probably busy," Twinkie said as he entered the den with Julian at his side, both boys enjoying a cupcake. "Here, let me take this pretty girl off your hands and you go get some coffee."

Mia sighed but agreed, handing over her daughter to Tyler. Twink watched the panic-strickened woman leave the room before flopping down next to Jerry.

"I hope they get back soon. Mia's making me depressed with all her crying and worrying," said Twinkie, "How far out are they?"

"They're moving fast, they've already killed over two hundred miles in a little over two hours. Coming up on Nuremberg."

"What about Erik? He still talking?"

"Yes, and he's not happy," Jerry said, pulling up Erik's private emails, "He's sent two emails since the start this morning, but they're in German. If you don't mind to do the honors..."

"I'd love to," Twink turned to the screen to translate the emails, "Luke Hernandez is being moved to another facility, location unknown. The other just says 'Operation Nightshade' will be in affect as soon as we get the final component," Twink thought hard about the email, and what it could mean. The words were familiar, but he couldn't place them, though he knew someone who could.

"What the hell is that? Jerry asked him.

"Looks like you're on baby duty. I'm gonna make some calls," Twink handed over the children to Jerry and hurried out the room. He hustled to a spare bedroom and pulled out his cell phone.

"Where the hell have you been Tyler? Your mom said you split town with that white boy. You couldn't call your own cousin and let him know?" Twink held the phone away while his older cousin screamed his head off.

"I'm sorry, Tej, Shit has been hectic lately," Twink replied with a smile, "You ran with Toretto's crew, you should know that."

"Man, don't I. That boy can never stay out of trouble. That's why I'm glad he left me out of whatever shit-storm you're in. Business is too good here."

"Help me out, then. Nightshade. Where have I heard that?"

Tej became silent on the other end, "What the hell are you guys into, Twink?"

"You tell me."

"Nightshade is a code name for several federal computer components. Put these components together and you create a device capable of blacking out an entire city, maybe even a country. Put it in the wrong hands, and you have the perfect cloak for a disaster."