Chapter 28 -It all comes together
Vince told Nyssa to go hang with Letty for awhile while he talked to Dom. Nyssa agreed and walked over to Letty. They started to talk about the fact that Dom had given permission for her to race next race night.
Vince told Dom he didn't trust Brian at all. Dom shook his head and told Vince that he had to give it up already. They all knew he didn't want Mia to date other guys but now that he had Nyssa he really had to get over it. Vince told Dom it wasn't over that at all, he really didn't trust the guy. He was sure Brian was a cop. Dom told Vince that Brian was not a cop. Vince thought up a test in that second.
"Ok then brotha, you won't mind if we follow his ass tonight just to see what he does with his free time."
"Fine Vince, but I bet he does nothing but work on his car then go home to bed."
"You're on Dom, because I bet he does cop stuff."
They all ate supper then the guys broke it to the girls that they had team plans for the evening and they would be home later. Letty asked why she was not allowed to go if the team was involved. They told her it was guy stuff and she should stay home with Nyssa and Mia. That didn't sit well with Letty. There was no such thing as guy stuff to her. Dom took her aside and told her they needed her to stay home with Nyssa while they did something and that she really didn't want to be involved in what they had to go do. Hell, Dom didn't even really want to be involved but he hoped that by following the guy this once and finding nothing Vince would calm down about it. Dom, Vince and Jesse got in the Jetta and went to 'The Racers Edge'. The red truck that Harry let Brian use was not there.
They left and drove around aimlessly for a few minutes till Vince had an idea.
"We need to go to Hector's club. I have this feeling we'll find Brian there."
Dom said fine, he didn't care where they went at this point and he was getting sick of driving around the city. But he was intrigued by the fact that Brian had not been at the store. He guessed the guy could go out all he wanted but what with working two jobs Dom had figured he would be home sleeping.
Vince had packed his 9mm and his shotgun into the truck of Jesse's car and he left them there for the time being when they got to the club. They went into the yard and asked around. No one had seen the 'snowman' or his red truck. They thanked Hector and marvelled at the fact this was the only club in town where all the action happened in the parking lot. They pretended to leave but really circled around the back and when they saw the red truck they killed the lights and engine.
"Jesse, you stay here and keep an eye out for company, if you get any call us on the two way." Dom gave the instructions. He was shocked to find Brian's truck here, he couldn't think of any good reason for that.
"Right Dom." Jesse slid down low in the seat and started to keep watch.
Vince grabbed his gun, tucking it into the waist of his jeans then grabbed the shotgun. He turned to start up the alley.
"Is all that firepower really necessary Vince? This is just Brian, not an army of Trans." Dom didn't want Vince to act first and think later as he was so prone to doing.
"I am not going after this guy without weapons Dom. He is a cop. Can't you see it? He is trying to find out where the civics that are popping those trucks are stashed."
"Shut up Vince. Don't talk about that around here. I don't think that Brian is smart enough to be a cop, and I think he is more then likely here to steal a car or two. He is probably right back into his old tricks of boosting cars. That's what he did time for in Arizona. He figures he needs the money for his car and for race wars."
"Where the hell is he going to sell Hector's crappy Civic? The thing is so well known that no one would buy it anyway."
"If he puts in on a truck or a ship and sends it to another state it would sell for a pretty good amount I think."
"Fine let's go find the guy and see what we come up with."
"You go look, I'll wait here to keep an eye out for anyone who comes around."
"Fine with me Dominic, I'll see what I can find."
"And Vince?"
"What?"
"No matter what you find don't kill him till you bring him back here to speak to me, got it?"
"Fine." Vince said with an exasperated sigh.
Vince walked around the building just in time to see Brian jump down off the roof. He was not boosting cars down off the roof so why was he in there then? Because he was a fucking cop, that's why, Vince though. Dom was so misjudging this one. What did he see in Spilner that made him want to trust the guy? The team was fine the way it was, they didn't need this guy. And Vince happened to know that Hector had three Honda Civics in that garage. Now why would Brian be interested in three Honda Civics? Vince asked himself rhetorically.
Vince knocked him out with the butt of the shotgun just before he could jump off the ladder on his own. He never even saw it coming. He dragged him by his collar over to where Dom was waiting in the shadows.
"Found the fucker climbing off the roof of Hector's garage, not a stolen car in sight." Dom gave Vince a look to shut up.
"Brian, this is one of those times when you need to be very clear about what you say to me. Nod if you understand." Dom was starting to believe Brian was up to something but still had a hard time believing he was a cop. Brian didn't move, he was frozen with fear at the sight of Vince with a shotgun trained on him. He didn't trust Vince, he thought he was a big stupid guy who would pull the trigger without a second thought.
"Nod!" Vince yelled and Brian figured he better do it or risk having his head blown off.
"What the hell are you doing down here?" Dom asked after telling Brian to sit up.
"He moans like a cop." Vince was so sure Brian was a cop. "He's a cop!" Vince shouted.
"You a cop?" Dom asked Brian. Brian shook his head no.
Brian gave some story about how he had to know what cars people had because he couldn't afford to lose again. Vince was not buying it. Dom seemed to but not totally.
"So you're telling me you were going to drive around and check everyone's shit out?" Brian nodded. "Let's go for a little drive." They headed for the car and headed for Tran's garage.
They again left Jesse to watch and went in. Again they found Honda Civics only with no motors. Vince called Dom over to look at this.
"What are they planning on racing with? Hopes and dreams?" Dom asked no one in particular. Vince looked around for Brian and found him snooping in the back of the garage. Before he could draw Dom's attention to this the two way rang.
"Jesse."
"Dom you have a wolf pack headed your way fast, it's Tran."
They all hid in the back and found out where the engines were.
"Guess a couple of Nissan SR20 engines will pull a premium right before race wars wont they Ted."
They watched as Tran proceeded to assault the fence named Ted who dared to steal their engines. The Trans were ruthless, and should not be messed with.
Vince had noticed Brian's interest in the stacks of DVD players and he was move convinced then ever that Brian was a cop sent to figure out who was popping the trucks. That spelled trouble for them if Dom insisted on letting him get close to them. The Trans left and the crew drove Brian back to his truck. On the way back to the house Vince and Jesse tried to convince Dom that Brian was a cop but Dom wasn't having it. Vince and Jesse shared a look and Vince could feel that Jesse figured that he was over reacting too. Man how much more evidence did they need that the guy was a cop? He was sniffing around garages, checking out Civics, trying to get close to Dom, who everyone knew, knew everything there was to know about street racing and it's world. Not that the people jacking the trucks had to be racers but the victims and witnesses had seen Letty's crazy driving and knew it was someone who could drive.
When they got home it was 12am and the girls were playing video games in the living room. Vince walked over to them and stood over Nyssa who was laying on the floor. The game ended then and she looked up at him and smiled.
"Hey V, how was your boys night out."
"Fine, you ready for bed?"
"No, it's only 12. I'm not tired yet. I'm hungry to tell you the truth."
"Well let's go for a drive then, I gotta get away from this for awhile."
Nyssa had no idea what he had to get away from since he was supposed to have just had a night out with his boys but she was hungry and he could be convinced to take her to Wendy's while they were out. She stood up and Vince checked her out. Her hair was down and she was wearing a little leather skirt and a white tank top. She looked too good to be true after the frustrating evening he had. He practically pulled her out to the car and then roared off. He wanted to get away before Dom wanted to talk. He couldn't hear anything more about how there was nothing wrong with Spilner.
"So you wanna tell me what is eating you? Or is it a secret?"
"Yes it's a secret but I'm going to tell you anyway, just not in a lot of detail."
"Ok. Whatever will make you turn back to a normal colour and not have an aneurism."
Vince gave her a dirty look and turned in the direction of Wendy's, without even asking he knew she wanted a large frosty with a straw and nachos. That is what she always wanted at this hour of the night.
He started his story. "We decided to follow Brian this evening to see if we could catch him at anything. Well I made Dom do it, he didn't want to, and we caught him down snooping in Hectors garage. Seems Brian was snooping in every garage were Civics are stashed." Vince went on to tell her that she might have heard about the truck robberies on the news and how Vince thought that Brian was hoping to find out that the team was doing it. And that even after all that Dom still didn't believe Vince that Brian was a cop.
"Maybe he's not a cop. Maybe he just wants in on the money from the trucks and he wants to figure out what team's doing it. Maybe he figured Dom would know and he could get the info out of Dom, but when that was taking too long he started to snoop to find out what team he should suck up to next."
Vince gave her a look that clearly said he knew how many holes that story had. She looked back and told him maybe he was right and Brian was a cop. Even if he was then what? She wanted to know what they could do. Vince told her he didn't know but they had to do something. It occurred to Vince that Nyssa seemed to get how important this was and he knew in that second she had known it was his team jacking the trucks. She never let on she knew to anyone. Well so far as he knew.
"So when did you figure it out?"
"Figure what out V?"
"That it was us."
"I don't know what you're talking about baby." She ruffled his hair even more then it already was.
"Yes you do, you've known for awhile it is our team popping the trucks but you never let on or anything. When did you figure it out?"
She took a big drink of frosty, which he loved, because you were supposed to eat them but she drank hers, and thought about her answer for a second. "You really want to know Vince, or would it be better to pretend I don't know and you don't know that I do, don't know. Man that was a confusing statement. But I think you understand what I mean."
"Ya, I get what you are trying to get at but I still wanna know."
"I figured it out the morning after the one you did with me living with you. It all fit too perfectly. I mean you couldn't sleep and did something strenuous enough to open up your cut the night a truck got hijacked and I heard about it on the news on the way to school. Letty must be the one that does the crazy shit like driving under the trailers eh?"
"You got that right. Don't let on you know ok?"
"Sure, I would have been just as happy not to know. I would rather think you are just out driving cause you can't sleep then out risking your life hijacking trucks." "Why didn't you say anything sooner? And does it bother you?"
"I didn't say anything cause it was none of my business, and yes it bothers me just because it is so fucking dangerous it blows my mind and I don't want to think about what could happen to you. What is your role in the whole thing?"
"You probably don't want to know."
"Now you have to tell me Vince, it will be worse not to know."
"I'm the one that climbs onto the truck."
"Oh Jesus, why did I ask? Man, I never want to talk about it again, you're crazy. Let's stop here for awhile." She said beside a beach with no one around. He asked her why. She told him because people would believe the story they were out having sex in the car more so if they looked the part. Vince had no problems with that. It was an hour later they arrived home looking dishevelled and no one asked anything as they headed down to bed but they all shared one of those looks.
Vince told Nyssa to go hang with Letty for awhile while he talked to Dom. Nyssa agreed and walked over to Letty. They started to talk about the fact that Dom had given permission for her to race next race night.
Vince told Dom he didn't trust Brian at all. Dom shook his head and told Vince that he had to give it up already. They all knew he didn't want Mia to date other guys but now that he had Nyssa he really had to get over it. Vince told Dom it wasn't over that at all, he really didn't trust the guy. He was sure Brian was a cop. Dom told Vince that Brian was not a cop. Vince thought up a test in that second.
"Ok then brotha, you won't mind if we follow his ass tonight just to see what he does with his free time."
"Fine Vince, but I bet he does nothing but work on his car then go home to bed."
"You're on Dom, because I bet he does cop stuff."
They all ate supper then the guys broke it to the girls that they had team plans for the evening and they would be home later. Letty asked why she was not allowed to go if the team was involved. They told her it was guy stuff and she should stay home with Nyssa and Mia. That didn't sit well with Letty. There was no such thing as guy stuff to her. Dom took her aside and told her they needed her to stay home with Nyssa while they did something and that she really didn't want to be involved in what they had to go do. Hell, Dom didn't even really want to be involved but he hoped that by following the guy this once and finding nothing Vince would calm down about it. Dom, Vince and Jesse got in the Jetta and went to 'The Racers Edge'. The red truck that Harry let Brian use was not there.
They left and drove around aimlessly for a few minutes till Vince had an idea.
"We need to go to Hector's club. I have this feeling we'll find Brian there."
Dom said fine, he didn't care where they went at this point and he was getting sick of driving around the city. But he was intrigued by the fact that Brian had not been at the store. He guessed the guy could go out all he wanted but what with working two jobs Dom had figured he would be home sleeping.
Vince had packed his 9mm and his shotgun into the truck of Jesse's car and he left them there for the time being when they got to the club. They went into the yard and asked around. No one had seen the 'snowman' or his red truck. They thanked Hector and marvelled at the fact this was the only club in town where all the action happened in the parking lot. They pretended to leave but really circled around the back and when they saw the red truck they killed the lights and engine.
"Jesse, you stay here and keep an eye out for company, if you get any call us on the two way." Dom gave the instructions. He was shocked to find Brian's truck here, he couldn't think of any good reason for that.
"Right Dom." Jesse slid down low in the seat and started to keep watch.
Vince grabbed his gun, tucking it into the waist of his jeans then grabbed the shotgun. He turned to start up the alley.
"Is all that firepower really necessary Vince? This is just Brian, not an army of Trans." Dom didn't want Vince to act first and think later as he was so prone to doing.
"I am not going after this guy without weapons Dom. He is a cop. Can't you see it? He is trying to find out where the civics that are popping those trucks are stashed."
"Shut up Vince. Don't talk about that around here. I don't think that Brian is smart enough to be a cop, and I think he is more then likely here to steal a car or two. He is probably right back into his old tricks of boosting cars. That's what he did time for in Arizona. He figures he needs the money for his car and for race wars."
"Where the hell is he going to sell Hector's crappy Civic? The thing is so well known that no one would buy it anyway."
"If he puts in on a truck or a ship and sends it to another state it would sell for a pretty good amount I think."
"Fine let's go find the guy and see what we come up with."
"You go look, I'll wait here to keep an eye out for anyone who comes around."
"Fine with me Dominic, I'll see what I can find."
"And Vince?"
"What?"
"No matter what you find don't kill him till you bring him back here to speak to me, got it?"
"Fine." Vince said with an exasperated sigh.
Vince walked around the building just in time to see Brian jump down off the roof. He was not boosting cars down off the roof so why was he in there then? Because he was a fucking cop, that's why, Vince though. Dom was so misjudging this one. What did he see in Spilner that made him want to trust the guy? The team was fine the way it was, they didn't need this guy. And Vince happened to know that Hector had three Honda Civics in that garage. Now why would Brian be interested in three Honda Civics? Vince asked himself rhetorically.
Vince knocked him out with the butt of the shotgun just before he could jump off the ladder on his own. He never even saw it coming. He dragged him by his collar over to where Dom was waiting in the shadows.
"Found the fucker climbing off the roof of Hector's garage, not a stolen car in sight." Dom gave Vince a look to shut up.
"Brian, this is one of those times when you need to be very clear about what you say to me. Nod if you understand." Dom was starting to believe Brian was up to something but still had a hard time believing he was a cop. Brian didn't move, he was frozen with fear at the sight of Vince with a shotgun trained on him. He didn't trust Vince, he thought he was a big stupid guy who would pull the trigger without a second thought.
"Nod!" Vince yelled and Brian figured he better do it or risk having his head blown off.
"What the hell are you doing down here?" Dom asked after telling Brian to sit up.
"He moans like a cop." Vince was so sure Brian was a cop. "He's a cop!" Vince shouted.
"You a cop?" Dom asked Brian. Brian shook his head no.
Brian gave some story about how he had to know what cars people had because he couldn't afford to lose again. Vince was not buying it. Dom seemed to but not totally.
"So you're telling me you were going to drive around and check everyone's shit out?" Brian nodded. "Let's go for a little drive." They headed for the car and headed for Tran's garage.
They again left Jesse to watch and went in. Again they found Honda Civics only with no motors. Vince called Dom over to look at this.
"What are they planning on racing with? Hopes and dreams?" Dom asked no one in particular. Vince looked around for Brian and found him snooping in the back of the garage. Before he could draw Dom's attention to this the two way rang.
"Jesse."
"Dom you have a wolf pack headed your way fast, it's Tran."
They all hid in the back and found out where the engines were.
"Guess a couple of Nissan SR20 engines will pull a premium right before race wars wont they Ted."
They watched as Tran proceeded to assault the fence named Ted who dared to steal their engines. The Trans were ruthless, and should not be messed with.
Vince had noticed Brian's interest in the stacks of DVD players and he was move convinced then ever that Brian was a cop sent to figure out who was popping the trucks. That spelled trouble for them if Dom insisted on letting him get close to them. The Trans left and the crew drove Brian back to his truck. On the way back to the house Vince and Jesse tried to convince Dom that Brian was a cop but Dom wasn't having it. Vince and Jesse shared a look and Vince could feel that Jesse figured that he was over reacting too. Man how much more evidence did they need that the guy was a cop? He was sniffing around garages, checking out Civics, trying to get close to Dom, who everyone knew, knew everything there was to know about street racing and it's world. Not that the people jacking the trucks had to be racers but the victims and witnesses had seen Letty's crazy driving and knew it was someone who could drive.
When they got home it was 12am and the girls were playing video games in the living room. Vince walked over to them and stood over Nyssa who was laying on the floor. The game ended then and she looked up at him and smiled.
"Hey V, how was your boys night out."
"Fine, you ready for bed?"
"No, it's only 12. I'm not tired yet. I'm hungry to tell you the truth."
"Well let's go for a drive then, I gotta get away from this for awhile."
Nyssa had no idea what he had to get away from since he was supposed to have just had a night out with his boys but she was hungry and he could be convinced to take her to Wendy's while they were out. She stood up and Vince checked her out. Her hair was down and she was wearing a little leather skirt and a white tank top. She looked too good to be true after the frustrating evening he had. He practically pulled her out to the car and then roared off. He wanted to get away before Dom wanted to talk. He couldn't hear anything more about how there was nothing wrong with Spilner.
"So you wanna tell me what is eating you? Or is it a secret?"
"Yes it's a secret but I'm going to tell you anyway, just not in a lot of detail."
"Ok. Whatever will make you turn back to a normal colour and not have an aneurism."
Vince gave her a dirty look and turned in the direction of Wendy's, without even asking he knew she wanted a large frosty with a straw and nachos. That is what she always wanted at this hour of the night.
He started his story. "We decided to follow Brian this evening to see if we could catch him at anything. Well I made Dom do it, he didn't want to, and we caught him down snooping in Hectors garage. Seems Brian was snooping in every garage were Civics are stashed." Vince went on to tell her that she might have heard about the truck robberies on the news and how Vince thought that Brian was hoping to find out that the team was doing it. And that even after all that Dom still didn't believe Vince that Brian was a cop.
"Maybe he's not a cop. Maybe he just wants in on the money from the trucks and he wants to figure out what team's doing it. Maybe he figured Dom would know and he could get the info out of Dom, but when that was taking too long he started to snoop to find out what team he should suck up to next."
Vince gave her a look that clearly said he knew how many holes that story had. She looked back and told him maybe he was right and Brian was a cop. Even if he was then what? She wanted to know what they could do. Vince told her he didn't know but they had to do something. It occurred to Vince that Nyssa seemed to get how important this was and he knew in that second she had known it was his team jacking the trucks. She never let on she knew to anyone. Well so far as he knew.
"So when did you figure it out?"
"Figure what out V?"
"That it was us."
"I don't know what you're talking about baby." She ruffled his hair even more then it already was.
"Yes you do, you've known for awhile it is our team popping the trucks but you never let on or anything. When did you figure it out?"
She took a big drink of frosty, which he loved, because you were supposed to eat them but she drank hers, and thought about her answer for a second. "You really want to know Vince, or would it be better to pretend I don't know and you don't know that I do, don't know. Man that was a confusing statement. But I think you understand what I mean."
"Ya, I get what you are trying to get at but I still wanna know."
"I figured it out the morning after the one you did with me living with you. It all fit too perfectly. I mean you couldn't sleep and did something strenuous enough to open up your cut the night a truck got hijacked and I heard about it on the news on the way to school. Letty must be the one that does the crazy shit like driving under the trailers eh?"
"You got that right. Don't let on you know ok?"
"Sure, I would have been just as happy not to know. I would rather think you are just out driving cause you can't sleep then out risking your life hijacking trucks." "Why didn't you say anything sooner? And does it bother you?"
"I didn't say anything cause it was none of my business, and yes it bothers me just because it is so fucking dangerous it blows my mind and I don't want to think about what could happen to you. What is your role in the whole thing?"
"You probably don't want to know."
"Now you have to tell me Vince, it will be worse not to know."
"I'm the one that climbs onto the truck."
"Oh Jesus, why did I ask? Man, I never want to talk about it again, you're crazy. Let's stop here for awhile." She said beside a beach with no one around. He asked her why. She told him because people would believe the story they were out having sex in the car more so if they looked the part. Vince had no problems with that. It was an hour later they arrived home looking dishevelled and no one asked anything as they headed down to bed but they all shared one of those looks.