The last couple days passed quickly, and soon Lee found herself waking up on Friday morning, barely able to sleep the night before. She sleepily glanced over at the digital clock beside her bed and read the red, squared numbers.
"6:08. God damn..." she whispered to herself, not pleased at all with the hour she was awaking. She sighed. "Maybe I'll go get some breakfast."
She lazily threw on her robe and padded downstairs to the kitchen, flipping on the light. She decided she should eat a light breakfast, so she popped some bread into the toaster and sat down at the table, waiting for it to finish.
As soon as it was done she put it on a small plate from the cupboard and walked out to the living room to watch TV. She flicked the TV on and sat down on the couch, but soon she found herself more interested in the rising sun outside the living room window than whatever was on the television. She stood up and glided over to the sliding glass doors, stepping outside and taking a deep breath. The air was salty and lukewarm - beautiful morning air. She walked over to the slightly raised border of the yard, where the grass ended and the sea began. She rolled up her pajama bottoms and sat down, dipping her feet into the liquid glass of the Atlantic. She watched the distant sky as the sun rose, leaning back on her elbows and inhaling the salty ocean air again. She couldn't remember ever feeling that calm, 'course she couldn't remember much of anything. The corners of her mouth curled into a gentle smile as she shifted her eyes back down to the water, watching a school of fish swimming near the surface swim by.
"Such a beautiful, hateful place," she whispered to herself. She sighed heavily as the thoughts of the day ahead of her came flooding back into her mind. Finally she stood and closed her eyes, still lingering for a few moments more at the ocean's border until she felt the strength to pull herself away and head back into the now sun-lighted house.
Dom watched Lee the whole time from his bedroom window, smiling slightly at the remembrance of a time when the same salty ocean air calmed him as well. Soon afterward he frowned, suddenly realizing how calloused he'd become. "What am I complaining about, this is how I wanted to be. How I needed to be,"he thought to himself. He knew he couldn't be a sissy and still survive in the world he immersed himself in. He always knew love was out of the question, he was here for a purpose and fully intended to serve that purpose to the best of his ability.
"Ha," he whispered to himself, "I sound like some kind of militant."
He turned to the door and walked with heavy footsteps downstairs to the kitchen, where he greeted a hearty home-cooked breakfast. He looked around the kitchen expecting to see Molly, but raised his eyebrows and grinned dramatically when he saw Lee standing at the sink washing last night's leftover dishes.
"Never pictured you as the housewife type," he stated with a hint of humor. Lee grinned and let out a hoarse chuckle.
"What are you doing picturing me at all?"she replied, humorously incriminatory. Dom smiled at her distant playfulness - Dom then decided to change the subject.
"I never knew you knew how to cook."
"Neither did I."
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Lee's nerves had been boiling that whole day, and on top of that she was completely worn out and exhausted. She looked in the bathroom mirror at herself, wet hair and haggard face. There were dark circles appearing under her eyes, but her irises were still as blue as the ocean her home island rested on -- although they were outlined with tiny red vessels. Lee rolled her eyes and dressed in the black outfit Dom had given her.
"God, how cliché," she thought out loud.
"The basic black uniform, usually used in robberies. Hard to spot at night and I personally think it keeps the wearer looking neat and tidy, perfect for a business meeting such as ours."
She could still hear Dom's words ringing in her ears. His words along with the past two weeks of gunfire and muscles ripping that she didn't even know she had until then. She knew she'd better get used to it, she had a feeling it wouldn't be over any time soon.
Lee's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door.
"Hey Lee, you grow roots in there?" Dom's voice called from the other side of the door. Lee let out a cooperative chuckle at his so-called joke and replied.
"No, I'm getting ready. You know us girls," she quipped.
"Yeah well, hurry up." Lee narrowed her eyes at the door as if he could see her though the thick block of mahogany. She could hear him walking away as she slipped the black sweater over her head and plugged her large, block-like hair dryer into the wall beneath the mirror.
When she finally arrived downstairs, Dom and two other men were checking briefcases, probably to make sure everything was there and accounted for. Dom looked toward Lee with anxious brown eyes.
"You ready?" he asked, his voice laced with a thicker-than-usual brooklyn-esque accent. She nodded and followed Dom and the two other men as they walked out the back door.
"Why the back?" Lee asked.
"What would you think if you saw four figures dressed in black walking out of their house in the dead of night - with briefcases?" Lee stared at him and smiled faintly, embarrassed that she hadn't thought of it herself.
"Oh."
Dom entered a silver sentinel parked near the back door. The two other men got in the backseat, leaving Lee to sit up front with Dom.
"This is Joe and Donny," Dom began, introducing Lee to the men. "Fellas', this is Lee. I told you about her, this is her first time." The men nodded and smiled, surprising Lee as they were friendlier than she'd expected. Joe reached his hand up to the front seat to shake Lee's.
"It's not always as bad as it seems," he said softly, leaning up to speak specifically to Lee. Lee nodded, trying not to let her raging nerves be completely obvious.
"I know," she stated and grinned with a slight arrogance. Joe smiled heartily and sat back in his seat, knowing just how the beautiful black-haired girl was feeling.
Soon after the greetings, Dom fired up the engine and they began to drive off, heading toward the bridge on the other side of the island. They drove straight across the bridge, then turned a couple of times until they came to a small building, stopping the car. Lee looked up at the building through the passenger window, then glanced over to Dom and the other two men giving each other knowing glances.
"Tooled up," she read to herself. "Cute."
After about five minutes of sitting there in silence for no apparent reason, Dom started the car again and turned into a small lot behind the white building next to 'Tooled Up.' There they were greeted by another man, also dressed in black, and Marty, dressed in his usual casual attire - a dark leather jacket and a light blue shirt.
Dom and Joe got out of the car and walked up to the red and white sports car, greeting Marty and the other man. Marty took out a map and pointing out certain areas and running his finger along the paper. They looked as if they were going over some top-secret plan.
Lee shifted her eyes from the foursome to glance back at Donny, who she found, much to her chagrin, was watching her intently. She smiled nervously at him, his rough expression not budging. Realizing she wasn't going to get any friendly conversation out of him, she turned back to the four men who were now splitting up again, Marty and the other man in the red and white sports car and Joe and Dom heading back to the sentinel. As Dom ducked back into the car, he looked at Lee.
"You're gonna stay in the car unless we need you, alright?" Lee nodded, almost relieved that she probably wouldn't have to actually be in on this "business."
"But remember, guilt by association is as good as doin' it yaself," spoke a voice from the back seat. Lee glanced back to see Donny pointing a finger in her face and an equally sharp scowl peering at her from behind it. Lee just looked at him, contemplating making a snide remark, but deciding against it as Dom spoke up.
"That's enough, Don. She's not a rat." Lee looked at Dom with thankful eyes, but Dom's attention was fixed on the red and white sports car.
Soon after, they drove off, Marty and the other man following close behind. They turned a quick corner before a large black van came out of the shadows of a back alley near the El Nuevo Siglo Supermarket, traveling a good distance behind Dom, and putting an even greater distance between Dom and Marty. Dom turned the car again until he came to the interstate, turning right and driving until he came to the foot of the bridge again.
They drove straight across the bridge and onto Starfish island. Lee looked into the rearview mirror and watched as Marty turned down the first road they came to on the island. A couple minutes later, as they neared the middle road, Marty pulled out in front of them and the van following behind them turned down the middle road. Lee didn't see him again for the rest of the ride there.
Finally they reached the bridge to the other island, crossing it as smoothly as they had the first. Upon arrival Marty and the man in the red and white sports car in front of them turned right on the first road, driving out of sight while Dom drove straight, coming up over a hill before turning right and traveling straight down the somewhat windy road. After driving for what Lee devised to be about 20 minutes, they turned to their right, down another road, turned left, and turned right again down a bending road. Finally they began to approach a familiar white building. Lee immediately recognized it, even from a distance.