I am so so so so sorry about not updating for like a month. I just got held up at school. Luckily, however, I opened up some current reviews, and they inspired me to finish chapter 17 and post it for everyone to read. Thanks so much to all of the people still reading my story, despite crappy updating times! Love you all, and I definitely wouldn't have gone so far without you!!!

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I turned around twice, feeling as if my eyes were lying to me about the scene I was witnessing. It was about an hour after everyone had been packed up in both ambulances and police cars. The rest of the team had gone home, leaving me alone to sit quietly on the curbside. Except for Vince. He hung around, at first pacing up and down the street, until he finally got tired and sat about a foot away from me.

"Never thought this could happen," he stated, as much to me as to the sky above him.

"I know." There wasn't much to talk about tonight.

"Who do you think did it?" he continued, looking at me for the first time that night.

"No clue. Could've been an upset Tran, could've been anybody."

Vince huffed and threw his head into his hands, rubbing his forehead. "This shit is crazy. You remember when we were younger, how it was all about the speed? Now it's just team rivalries and fighting."

I nodded, "It's not even about the race. Not about the beast and the animal who drives it. That's why I didn't want to go tonight. I can't see my game become something that it was never supposed to become. It can't happen while I'm still alive."

Vince and I sat for another five minutes, mulling over whatever was going on in our heads, until I broke the quiet California air again. "Do they really think I set all of this up?"

"You're the king of the streets, Dom. Why would a want to king destroy his own empire?"

"Thanks V, at least I know that my team's behind me. Hector though…thought he knew me better than that."

"Whatever. Come on, bro, better get back before the girls start to worry," said Vince, holding his hand out to help me up.

Clearing my head, I stood and started to slowly wander to my car.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"So what happens now?" asked Melanie when Dom and Vince came back.

"There's nothing we can do against some psycho who decides to shoot up 67th. Don't even know who did it," replied Dominic as he plopped down wearily on his favorite chair. He sighed as Melanie got up and started to rub his shoulders to ease the tension out of his muscles. "One thing after another for us, huh?"

The rest of the team sat around the living room and shook their heads as if to clear all of the past hour's images. Brian spoke up, "We can't just sit around here, though, Dominic. We need to find out what happened…"

"And then what are we going to do?" snarled Vince. "Straighten them out? What? We can't pull this shit anymore Brian. Most of us have responsibilities." He averted his eyes around the room, focusing on the couples sprawled lazily on the chairs and floor.

"He's right, Brian," added Dom, "we can't just go and exact revenge on someone we don't even know. The last thing we should do is to get involved. I don't want another Tran on our case."

They all nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with Dom. No one wanted to come home to an empty house where a note lay on a table explaining that two members of the team were in critical condition at the hospital again.

Silence swallowed up the room again, each person reflecting on what had just been, and what was to come out of it. No one heard the footsteps scattering the gravel as someone crunched their way up to the front door. Finally, they all looked up, shaken out of their thoughts by a single, ominous knock on the door.

"Who'd be here at midnight?" questioned Jesse to no one in particular. Leon stood to answer the knocking, which was slowly beginning to escalate to an incessant rat-tat-tat on the wooden door.

"Where's Toretto?" seethed a voice from the other room. It sounded strangely -sinisterly- familiar. Leon backed into the living room with his palms spread towards the intruder. "Chill, dawg," he said, trying to calm down the angry man who now stood briskly in front of Dom. Melanie's hand instinctively tightened on said man's shoulders.

"What do you want, Chris?" asked Dominic, standing up and above Chris's 6'1" figure.

Chris's green eyes glinted in the light of the room as he sneered at the bigger man. "How could you do that, Dominic? Killing all of those people…some 'king of the streets' you are." He snarled and spit at Dom's feet, only to be grabbed and shaken by Vince.

"What the hell are you talking about? I had no idea that this shit was going to happen," hissed Dominic, rage creeping into his voice and adding an intimidating edge.

"Yeah, right. Dominic, this…this incident could cost the rest of street racing. After the shock of what happened dies down, cops are going to be watching us like hawks. Even worse than what they used to do. 5-0 on every street corner from here to San Francisco!" Chris's eyes hardened into a cool emerald as he lowered his voice even more. "No more Race Wars, no more legend… none of that! Listen, I've gone around to some of the other teams- Hector, Edwin, Luis…everyone! We're all meeting at the abandoned warehouse that's past the docks… the old Meat Packing Corp. We need to figure out what we're going to do… we need to find a new place were we can keep up the races and stay discreet. It's going to be a major conference of teams all around LA- you, of all people, can't miss it. We're holding it this Monday at 3 AM. Don't be late. There will be guards at the door. Give them the password: Underworld Speedway Entry. Don't say anything about this to anyone, not even the people who I said were coming. Just be at the abandoned Meat Packing place at 3 AM on Monday morning." Chris leaned back and watched for Dom's reaction.

Dominic looked around the room, searching the eyes of each of his teammates. It was a mix of emotions from each one. How could this stranger be trusted, despite his current connections to the team? How could they avoid a meeting so crucial to the street-racing world? Gradually, each expression cleared until Dominic had his answer. He returned his attention to the young man standing brazenly in front of him.

"We'll be there."