A few minutes after Brian woke up J was finished with breakfast. Every sat at the table and started piling things on their plates. J was happy. She had her team here and she didn't need to worry about whether she was going to stay or go. She was going to stay. And one day, she might just go home. Home, as in the Toretto house. It was her real home. It was the first place she really felt accepted, and besides Miami, it was the only place she was accepted.
"You know, J, this is a really nice house." Letty said looking around the dining room. J smiled and took a bite of her bacon.
"Thanks. My parents had it built like...when I was 17, but it took about a year. So it wasn't done until after I moved in with you guys. I had forgotten all about it. When I was in Miami I called my parents to let them know I wasn't in LA anymore and they told me if I ever did go back I could have this house. So...here I am." J rolled her eyes and shoved the rest of her bacon in her mouth.
"How many bedrooms?" Letty asked. She drizzled syrup all over her pancakes.
"Uhh...let's see. About 6 or 7, I'm not totally sure. Well, there's my bedroom, Brian's, the one Suki and Tej stayed in, the one Jimmy stayed in, the one Rome stayed in, and the one Monica stayed in. So yeah 6 bedrooms. Then there's 3 bathrooms, a living room, dining room, kitchen, 2-car garage, huge backyard, complete with a pool, and then my office. So yes, this is house is pimpin." J said. Mia's jaw dropped.
"Wow. It doesn't even look that big from the outside!" Mia said. J laughed.
"No kidding." J replied.
After breakfast the team went out in the back to play bullshit. J sat in-between Leon and Vince. Brian went into the kitchen and came out a minute later with a handful of Coronas and a Snapple. He set the Snapple in front of Mia, who was sitting next to him.
"Aww, thank you Brian. I didn't know you guys had Snapple's!" Mia said. J and Brian laughed.
"J made it a point to keep some in the fridge in case you guys ever came over." Brian said. Mia smiled at Brian and then at J.
"Thank you." Mia blushed and J laughed.
"Anytime." J replied.
"Ok guys. Before we start this wonderful game of Bullshit. Rome made a rule a while back that if anybody new plays, we have to warn you that Brian is the leader in bullshitting. He's the crowned champion of backyard Bullshit." J warned everybody. Dom stared at her. She looked serious. Dom shook his head. They all laughed as Brian delt out the cards.
"It's all about facial expressions." Brian said wisely. Everybody had to laugh at the way he said it. He sounded just as serious as J. Fucking crazy, Dom thought. Brian finished dealing the cards and picked his up. J studied her cards. She heard the doorbell ring after they had gone around once. She took a sip of her Corona and sighed.
"Son of a bitch." She cursed. She put her cards face down on the table and stood up. "I'll be right back." She walked through the house and to the front door. She pulled the door open and silently hissed as she saw Silvia standing at her door. She opened the screen door and stepped out.
"What?" She asked. Silvia stared at her.
"You've gotta come now." Silvia said urgently. J stared at her, concerned.
"What? What is it?" J asked; she let her guard down.
"He knows where you live now. He's here. He told me to get you or he'll kill them all." Silvia said. J stared at her, her guard was back up and she was pissed.
"How dare you come to my house and do this." She hissed at her. "You can go fuck yourself Silvia for all I care. Jeff wouldn't dare touch them." J said. Silvia shook her head and then a black Honda 2000 pulled up in her driveway. J stared at it. She laughed to herself. That looks like Tran's car from Race Wars, she said. Jeff and Lance Tran stepped out of the car.
"Oh shit!" She screamed. She turned to run into the house but Lance pulled out a gun and shot her in her right arm. She fell against the screen door as pain shot through her body. "DOM!" J screamed. Lance and Jeff ran to her. She tried to kick and punch them, but she was in so much pain. She resisted them as much as she could as they picked her up and threw her body in the trunk of his car. Jeff, Lance, and Silvia got into the car and sped off.
Dom laughed as Letty got Brian at bullshit. He heard the gunshot and stood up abruptly, pushing the chair over. He dropped his cards and turned to the back door.
"Dom? Dawg, what was that?" Leon asked. Everyone stood up and looked around. They had all heard it and knew what it sounded like, but none of them wanted to think that it was really a gun shot.
"DOM!" Dom heard J screamed. Dom ran to the backdoor and opened it and then ran through the house. He came out of the front door as the car sped off down the street. Dom turned around and stared at his team.
"Dom...That was Tran's car, wasn't it?" Brian asked. Dom shrugged.
"It looked like it. Shit! What the fuck is Tran doing taking her? Fuck!" Dom ran his hands over his head and Letty walked up to him. Leon leaned against the door and stared at the puddle of blood on the door and on the ground. So many thoughts were running through his mind. Why did she have to answer the door? Why did this have to happen to her? Why couldn't Jeff just leave her alone?
"Hello? Yes, this is Brian O'Connor. I need to speak with Sergeant Tanner." Brian said into his cell phone. Everybody's heads snapped up and they glared at him. "Sergeant Tanner? This is Brian O'Connor. I need information on Jeff Clemmons. Yes. Ok." Brian waited a few minutes. "Really? Do you know the license plate number of Lance or Johnny Tran's Honda 2000?" Letty watched Mia. She was glaring at Brian, hate burning in her eyes. Letty knew she loved Brian but there was always the issue of him being a former cop. He had tried to bring down her brother and her friends, there would always be that issue. It would linger in their minds forever, no matter what he did.
"Ok. Hold on." He covered the phone. "I need a pen and paper." He said. Nobody moved. Letty sighed and moved into the house. She came out a second later with pen and paper. She handed it to Brian with a shove and then she walked back over to Dom. She put her arms around his waist, and he wrapped his arms around her.
"Don't worry Dom. She'll be ok. Don't worry." Letty told him.
"Ok. Thanks. I need you to put a lookout for his car. If someone spots him, pull him over and search his trunk. Well get a fucking warrant to then! Yes, I do. He just kidnapped my best friend. Yeah, Jezebeil Marks. No Tanner, you better fucking do something. That's over now; forget about it. She's in trouble. He shot her. Yes, he did. No. I didn't see it. You gotta do something; I'm serious. Ok. Thanks anyways." Brian hung up the phone and looked at them.
"What did he say Brian?" Dom asked. Everybody stared at him.
"Tanner did a check on Jeff. He did two years in a Detroit Prison for kidnapping some girl he went to high school with. That was about 6 or 7 years ago. He came here to LA about four years ago, that's when he met Silvia. During those 4 or 5 months they were together, they robbed a bank and 2 gas stations. After he dropped Silvia off he was arrested and spent 5 months in California State Prison. He got out on good behavior." Brian said. He sighed and rubbed his face. "Tanner put Tran's plates in the system. If they find him they'll have a warrant. They'll arrest him and search his car." Brian turned and walked inside the house. Leon followed him inside.
"What are we supposed to do?" Leon asked him as Brian sat on the couch. Brian looked at him.
"I don't know. We have no idea where they hide out. I don't know what to do." Brian put his head in his hands. Leon sat down on the other couch and stared at the fireplace. Jez was his life, he would kill Tran and Jeff if anything happened to her. Leon remembered a comic book he loved, the Punisher.
"It's not revenge, it's punishment." Leon muttered to himself. "Damn fucking straight." He added. He sighed and rested his head on the back of the couch. Mia and Vince came inside the house. Mia sat next to Brian on the couch next to the fireplace.
"Brian. When you were on the phone, you called her your best friend." Mia started to say. Letty and Dom walked in the house. Brian looked up at Mia.
"Yeah?" Brian said.
"Did you mean it?" Mia asked.
"Of course I meant it. In Miami she was like...she was the only one I could trust. I mean there was Rome, but I guess something was different about her. She didn't trust me for shit, especially after I had to do a fucking customs job. But she stuck around." Brian said.
"Only 'cause she knew Mia would kick her ass if she let yo punk ass outta her sight." Rome said. Brian turned around and saw Rome, Tej, Suki, and Jimmy standing around the front door.
"What are you guys doing here? I thought you left." Brian said. He stood up and walked over to Rome. Brian and Rome slapped hands.
"We were just kidding around man. You know Philisha's got the garage under her control down there. Ain't no reason for us to be running off until ya'll get this shit under control. Now would somebody explain to me what is going on." Tej said after he and Brian slapped hands. Brian gave Suki a hug and then slapped hands with Jimmy
"Yeah. Where's mah home girl?" Suki asked, looking around. Leon looked up at her and caught her eye. He shook his head and looked back at the ground. "Nu uh. One of you shit heads betta tell me what the fuck is going on and where mah girl is. I will seriously get Asian on yo asses if ya don't." Suki threatened. Brian stared at her and then chuckled.
"Sit down and we'll tell ya'll what's going on." Brian said. Suki glared at him and then sighed and sat down on the couch. Brian stood next to the stairs and leaned on the banister.
"Jeff and Lance Tran took Jez." Brian said simply. Suki jumped out of her seat.
"Nu fucking uh! You betta be fucking lying Brian!" Suki screamed.
"He's not. They rang the doorbell and I guess she tried to get away because they shot her. We don't know where they shot her, we just know they shot her." Dom said. Suki glared at him.
"I don't believe this. Mah girl's out there with two fucking maniacs and ya'll are just sitting here? Oh god. I don't believe this shit." Tej put his hand on Suki's arm.
"Suki, settle down baby. I'm sure they're doing all they can." Tej gently tried pulled Suki back down to the couch. She pulled away from him.
"No! That is mah girl. I want to know you guys have been fucking doing something. This is fucking serious. You guys just don't know. I know that J's mouth is gonna get her killed. Or seriously fucked. Oh god." Suki felt tears spring up in her eyes. She shook her head and sat down. "This is so fucked." Suki muttered as she leaned against Tej. He wrapped his arm around her.
"We are doing all we can. You can better fucking believe that. And you can fucking believe that we love J more than you could ever imagine." Vince said. Suki looked at him and smirked.
"Then why did she leave?" Suki asked.
"Jesus Suki! Just fucking stop." Brian yelled. Suki looked at him. "You're not helping anything."
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." Suki muttered, looking at Tej. Brian laughed.
"Isn't that from Moulin Rouge?" Brian asked. Suki nodded.
"It's J's favorite movie. I ain't got any fucking clue why, but hey, whatever floats her boats." Suki rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
"It's her favorite movie because it's a story about love, overcoming all obstacles. She always falls victim to those sort of movie." Leon said from his spot on the couch. Suki stared at him.
"So...back to my question. Brian, why did you say she's your best friend? From what you said it sounds like she hates you." Mia said, looking over at Brian. He looked at her.
"She did. For a while. She got along better with Rome and when they started dating he convinced her to listen to what I had to say and she eventually forgave me. And then, after 2 months of trying, I convinced her to come back. And now look where it's gotten us." Brian rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.
"Jezzie baby, wake up." Jeff said, lightly slapping her face. J woke up and tried to scoot away from him, but ended up running into the wall that was behind her. She looked around. She was in a small concrete room. The floor and walls were cold and dirty.
"Go away." She sneered, her voice bouncing off the walls. She sounded sick. He laughed and sat back on his heels.
"No baby, I don't think I will." He laughed again and she kicked him, the toe of her foot connected with his knee, making him fall over.
"Go to hell you fucking bastard and don't even think about calling me baby ever again or I will personally make sure you can't make babies." She growled at him and he stood up.
"What a bitch." Jeff said, wiping the dirt off his pants. Lance came in the room followed by Silvia. J glared at all three. Her eyes fell on Silvia and she felt stupid for feeling sorry for her. Silvia was smiling and didn't seem to have been made to do anything.
"You little bitch. Just remember my promise bunny cakes. And remember that nasty little bitches like yourself always get their comeuppance." J said. Silvia rolled her eyes.
"I take it your a fan of The Mummy, hmm?" Silvia asked. Now it was J's turn to roll her eyes.
"I take it your a blonde idiot who doesn't realize what you've gotten yourself into, hmm?" J asked, batting her eyelashes.
"Enough you two." Lance said. Lance looked at J. "What a beauty. Too bad you're spoiled." Lance said. Lance never seemed to change his facial expression. He always had the same twisted look on his face, no matter what his mood. You could be giving him head and no matter what you would think you failed.
"Oh yes, such a goddamn shame. Can you let me go now?" J asked. Lance smirked and shook his head.
"No, I think not. We'll just keep you around longer." Lance lowered himself to the ground, "You are beautiful. Leon and Dom are lucky to have you. Too bad they won't ever see you again." Lance stuck his hand out to stroke her face and she spit on it. He backhanded her across her face with his other and wiped the spit on her pants.
"Get your hands off of me you snake." J said as she turned to look at him.
"No, I think I'll touch you all I want." He reached out to touch her again and she grabbed him with her hand that didn't hurt.
"Touch me again, Tran, and I will make sure you're castrated and that you don't get any aesthesia. Got me?" She spat as she pushed his hand away. Lance smiled at her. "We wouldn't want you without yo balls, now would we? Then we wouldn't have a big bad Tran to deal with." J pouted and then smirked.
"Such big words for such a small girl." Lance stood up.
"I'm bigger than you think bitch. If it was hand to hand and I wasn't shot, I'd kick your ass fair and square and you know it." Lance spit on her and then kicked her face. J slumped over to her side with her head on the ground.
"Such bad language for such a young and innocent girl." Lance sneered.
"Her, innocent? You're out of your mind Lance. She's never been innocent." Jeff said as he and Lance walked out of the room. I was innocent until you took it away from me, J thought. I'll never be that person again. No matter how hard I try. I can never be fine again. A tear dropped from J's eye.
"You shouldn't resist them or talk shit J." Silvia said, kneeling down. J's eyes drifted up to her.
"Would it matter? I'm dead any way. Might as well make it come faster." J said sadly. She had a feeling that since they have her now, she won't make it out alive. "No more running." She muttered. Silvia stared at J's body. She seemed to be giving up. Silvia couldn't understand it. For all the years that she knew Jez, she had never given up on anything. But I suppose this is different, Silvia mused. She is right; they are going to kill her. Why fight it? Silvia shook her head.
"Do you want to sit up?" Silvia asked. J opened her eyes and stared at the concrete floor.
"Yeah. Can you help me?" J asked. Silvia nodded and carefully helped J sit up. J leaned back against the wall and stared at Silvia.
"I'm surprised you can talk." Silvia said, looking at the nasty gash and bruise forming on J's cheek. J nodded.
"It hurts." She said quietly. J was so messed up. Her right arm, where she was shot, was screaming in pain and now her face was hurting. She could feel the blood slowly dripping down her cheek and lip and her arm. "If I get out of this alive I'm gonna stay away from characters like them." J said. She frowned in pain and shut her eyes. She tried to block the pain away, but it was screaming in her head.
"So, you'll leave Dom and Leon and Vince?" Silvia asked. J's eyes snapped open and she glared.
"No. Because they, unlike Tran and Jeff, love me. They don't have sick and twisted fantasies about me. They're not crazy." J snapped. Silvia held up her hands in defeat.
"Sorry. Just asking. Look J. I'll see if I can get you some medicine," She stood up and stared down at her. "But don't count on it." Silvia turned and left the room, leaving J to be in pain alone.
"If I get out of here alive, I'll never leave Leon again." J told herself out loud. She closed her eyes and drifted into an uneasy sleep.