Another chapter!! I'm getting better!

Special thanks goes to Kate(I love you, you're such encouraging a person!!!)

And, of course, to all of the other reviewers.

I'm seriously thinking about changing the title and the summary. On the one hand, it fits, but on the other hand………… it sounds kinda lame.

Any ideas??

Have fun reading this chapter, kay?

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Unexpected Developments

They had caught him. He couldn't believe or even imagine how this had happened. But here he was, sitting on a cheap chair in front of a cheap table in this small room whose colour sickened him. Or maybe it was the agent next to him, having asked him questions for hours now. Or maybe it was the dry air inside of the room. His wrists had started to itch some time ago from having to wear handcuffs. His back felt sore and he was tired. They had asked him the same questions over and over again. Who he was, where he had been, but he refused to say anything except for: "You got the wrong guy."

That was what sickened him: that they didn't have the wrong guy, that he had been stupid enough to let them catch him………….that he would lose Lilly to them.

Brian sighed heavily.

It was his fault. He should have been more careful, more responisble……….a little faster. The Skyline was wrecked thanks to ESD.

Environment sucks.-The drivers, he smiled at his sister's words before his face became serious and somehow sad again. If they had already been at home and taken her with them? How had she reacted to the news? Was it possible that she might be just a few rooms away from him? Were they interrogating her as well?

He didn't bother answering the Agent's questions anymore, he didn't even listen to him. How long would they separate them this time? At least for several years. He would miss her first car, her first boyfriend, her senior prom, everything that meant something to her, everything that brought her closer to being an adult. They would simply lock him up and……………..

Brian frowned. Why hadn't they locked him up yet? He had been in this small room since he had arrived at the building seven or even eight hours ago. Why were they wasting so much time by asking him questions he wouldn't answer? What were they waiting for? Maybe there was a problem with the computer and they couldn't get his file? No, unfortunately, he was quite sure that they knew who he was and what he had done. So what kept them busy?

If Lil's already awake? I hope she wasn't worried when she got home and I wasn't there, I forgot to leave a note. Shit. I actually wanted to spend the day together with her. Only the two of us. Ocean Drive. That would have been fun. We haven't been doing this for almost six weeks. Afterwards going down to the beach, do some tanning, some surfing, just having a good time like a normal family. But then again, we aren't a normal family. There has to be some way for me to get outta this shit. Could I be put on probation? Probably not. They might even forbid her to visit me. Nah, she would find a solution for this problem. It's unlikely for my baby to give up, she's too smart and too stubborn. Hey, don't I have the right to make a  call? Gonna ask this guy-what was his name?- Markus, no, Marshall……….Markham. Yeah, that's his name. Speaking of the devil, Brian watched the older man enter the room. He walked around the table, threw some papers on it and eventually stood opposite to the blond.

"So, how long you been in South Florida?"

"A while."

"Before that."

Why should I tell you? Don't you know everything you need to know just from reading my record?

"We know you're Brian O'Conner, formerly of the LAPD."

I'm not going into jail.

"You got the wrong guy." It's worth a try. They have to believe me, they just have to.

"Really?" Markham wasn't convinced. He didn't understand why O'Conner kept on lying, they had caught him. Nevertheless, the young man nodded while looking him straight into the eye. A knock on the door made them turn their heads to the side and Brian cursed innerly. It was Bilkins coming in.

Game over, he thought, now, they won't buy "You got the wrong guy" anymore.

"How you doing, O'Conner?"His dark eyes never left the younger man's face, who was focusing on the floor, not responding at all. "How's Lilly?" That gained Brian's attention. He looked up, his eyes showing lots of questions. Hadn't they brought her here, yet? Was she still at home? How much did they know? Did they even know where their apartment was?

"She's fine", he finally answered, his voice completely unemotionell. Markham narrowed his eyes.

"The kid? Shouldn't she be here, by now?"He asked rather Bilkins than the other agent still standing in the corner behind Brian.

"Believe me",the black man cocked his head slightly to the right,"if you knew her, you wouldn't dare waking her up this early. She ain't a morning-person, right O'Conner?"

Brian chuckled. Lilly could be quite a brat, if she wanted to, sometimes it amused her to annoy the hell out of people. "Depends",he replied. So his sister didn't have a clue that they had caught him. Good. If he was given the chance, he would try to explain the situation to her himself…………he owed her that much.

"Let's take a walk",Bilkins said and caught the keys of Brian's handcuffs as Markham tossed them over to him.

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Brian sat in one of the armchairs which were standing in the room, right in front of several flat-screens. It seemed to him as though this was some kind of head office concerning Carter Verone.

Carter Verone, his only chance to get round jail……….to get a clean record………..to keep Lilly.

However, there was a problem: Agent Dunn, the guy with whom he would have to work. Brian could cope with the fact that the job would be dangerous, that he might die, but with Agent Dunn chances were much higher to get killed. The man didn't know a thing about cars or racing. Nobody would ever believe that he was a streetracer. It was ridiculous. I may as well take my chances in Chino.

"No way, man",Brian shook his head, already having an idea,"the only way I'll do this is if I get to pick the driver."

Bilkins sighed. "All right, O'Conner. Who you got in mind?"

"This dude I grew up with in Barstow",a tiny smiled began to tuck at the corners of Brian's mouth.

"Who's that?"Bilkins couldn't remember the blond man ever mentioning any childhood-friends.

A full grin plastered on his face, Brian answered: "Roman Pearce. But before we leave, I'd like to make a call."

"Okay."

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For the thousandth time this night, Lilly walked from the kitchen into her room and sat down in her armchair. She sighed, tapping nervously with her fingers on her knees, regarding the drawing she had tried to distract herself with. When she had come home from the movies, she had found an empty apartment and thought that her brother might have gone out to race without leaving a note. But now, it was early morning, dawn was already coming and Brian still wasn't at home.

So maybe he met a woman with "potential", Lilly had thought. Still, she hadn't been able to sleep or to relax ever since she had walked into the apartment. Something was just not right. She felt it.

'Little sis-antenna'.

What could possibly be wrong with Brian? The worst things which could have happened were either an accident or the cops, but her brother was too good a driver to let any of these be true.

"This is ridiculous",she had told herself while turning around in her bed,"Brian's fine. He'll come home during the day. Now, relax and go to sleep." Instead of relaxing and going to sleep, Lilly had found herself not even half an hour later in the kitchen to drink some water. She had leaned against the table and seen that it had already been 1.30 a.m. due to the clock hanging right above the door.

That had been almost five hours ago and since then, she hadn't shut her eyes for more than 20 seconds in a row……….except for blinking, of course.

She had done close to everything to get her inner restlessness and anxiety under control: cleaning up, drawing, making a list of crayons she was out of, cleaning out old magazines………..nothing had worked and she would feel like an idiot, if she called somebody at this time of the day. She had put the phone on the small table next to the armchair, though. Just in case.

What's wrong with me? Why am I acting like this? Brian is okay, he has to be okay. Maybe the paper's already here, the politicians will certainly make me sleepy.

So Lilly got up – again - and trotted into the kitchen. Looking out of the window, she saw the dark water of the Atlantic Ocean that was completely calm, except for a few small waves every now and then. The beach was still empty and cars were rare in the early hours of the morning. Lilly switched on the radio and listened to the speaker talking about the weather. Hot with a light breeze coming from the east. Perfect, just perfect.

Ocean Drive. That would have been great today, but without Brian……….well, another day.

Lilly couldn't see, if the paper had already been brought, but she didn't really care. It wouldn't distract her anyway. So, she took a bottle of water from the fridge and walked back into her room.

1001, she thought while bending down to pick up her "work-bag" which she had laid on the floor after having come home. Putting the bottle on the table, she sat down in her armchair – again - and opened the bag. Searching through it, she found her agenda and opened it as well.

Timetable, examination dates, personal notes, holidays, results, addresses, birthdays………oh, great, next week, I'll be on my period. Life sucks!

She placed the small book next to the bottle on the table, before continuing her search for anything that might distract her a little. Suddenly, she held a small packet in her right hand. A packet of cigarettes. Looking inside, she saw that it was still half-full.

Lilly wasn't addicted or anything, sometimes, she just smoked to calm herself down a little. She had started to do this a couple of years ago, when Brian and she had been separated. Although her foster parents had been very nice people, Lilly had always felt torn without actually knowing why. At that time, it had been cool for children her age to smoke. She hadn't cared what others had been thinking about her, nevertheless, she had tried it and she had come into a habit: only smoke when you're really close to hysterics. That was the rule she had made for herself and it had been working rather well since then. Except for smoking, there was only one other thing that could calm her down: dancing. Her foster mother had introduced the whole concept of dancing to Lilly due to her giving dancing courses at the local dance school. They had started with ballet. The girl had learned that dancing demanded her full attention, not even her drawings did that. A drawing depended on the artist's mood, dancing didn't. It depended on the mood of the artist who had created the music. So, to distract herself at troubled times without getting cancer, Lilly went to a local dance school. In Miami, it was "The Club", they offered all kinds of courses and she had already tried everything. Salsa, Tango, Modern, Ballet, Hip Hop, even Belly Dancing……….. everything. Maybe she would go there this afternoon. These guys even opened on Sundays.

Brian knew nothing about it. Neither about her smoking, nor about her dancing. Or perhaps he did and didn't say anything, but that would be rather unusual. Lilly didn't want her brother to worry about her, she couldn't always run to him whenever she had a problem. It was one of the many "growing up-things".

She put the packet back into the bag, now wasn't the right time for a cigarette.

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Brian rolled his eyes. He sat in front of a table with a telephone on it, across from him was Bilkins, also sitting on a chair, while Markham and Agent Dunn were preparing a recorder.

"You can't be serious",he looked at Bilkins, who shrugged.

"Either like this or you don't get to call her at all."

"Alright, alright",Brian shook his head in disbelief,"but you're completely silent."

"Manageable", Bilkins answered. Markham snorted and mumbled something that sounded like "should better be grateful".

Brian picked up the receiver, dialing a number. Holding the receiver close to his ear, he eyed the three men around him warningly.

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The phone rang. The phone rang!

Lilly almost jumped in her armchair before answering the phone standing next to her. With a slightly trembling hand, she reached out and picked up the receiver.

"Yeah?" Her voice sounded somehow shaky while she was praying that it was Brian.

"Hey, baby",Brian smiled. His sister sounded so sleepy,"did I wake you up?"

"Bro? No, no, you didn't. I haven't slept all that well",she tucked a few blond strands behind her ear,"where are you bro? Are you alright? Did anything happen to you?"

Bilkins grinned. That was the kid he remembered.

"I'm fine, please don't worry, I'm okay",Brian swallowed. Now the not so pleasant news.

"Why do I get the feeling that there's a but?"Lilly knew that her brother wasn't telling her everything, otherwise her restlessness would have been gone by now.

"Because there is one",the man bit his lower lip,"I've got a job and it's possible that I won't be coming home today and maybe even tomorrow." Bilkins frowned and received a glare from Brian that asked him, if he liked to explain the situation to Lilly.

"A job? What kind of job?" The girl's stomach contracted. She had a very bad feeling.

"I told you not to worry",Brian chuckled……..as did Bilkins. For a moment, there was silence on the other side of the line. The blond man cursed innerly, glaring at his former friend.

"This can't be………..",Lilly shook her head slightly no, not believing what she had just heard: Bilkins. The deep sound of Bilkin's voice. How could this be? She knew how this could be: they had caught her brother. He was at a police station right now, she was his only call…………..she didn't know how to react: should she cry, yell, curse? What was she supposed to do? They would separate them again, Brian would be sent to jail. This wasn't happening. She had to be dreaming this nightmare.

"Baby? Lilly, please. Are you okay? There's no need to worry. Like I said, they offered me a job, everything's going to be alright, I promise. Lilly?"Brian's heart beat faster, Markham and Dunn regarded Bilkins who shrugged while eyeing the young man opposite to him, looking somehow scared. He knew how much O'Conner cared for his sister.

"Wha……what kind of……….of job do you have to do?"The girl was completely taken aback, her mind racing like the Skyline itself.

"I have to help them with someone's arrest. Are you okay?"

"Do you expect me to be okay?"A heavy sigh on Brian's side of the line. "Right, bro, I'm not okay. Who's this someone? How high are chances that you survive this job? What's gonna happen if you can't arrest someone? Let me talk to Bilkins, please, I know he's there",Lilly didn't expect her brother to tell her everything she demanded to know, so she took the opportunity to ask the black man who would be more talk-active.

"Lilly, you…"

"Now, bro!"

"You heard her, O'Conner", Bilkins said smiling, already reaching out to take the receiver from Brian biting his lower lip.

"Hello, Lilly, how you doing?"He asked politely.

"Oh thanks, I'm fine", she answered sarcastically, rolling her eyes,"details, Bilkins, quick. I'm not in the mood for games right now. And don't care for any kinds of signs Brian might give you, I'm old enough to hear the truth."

"I missed you to, girl",the man grinned as Brian folded his arms in front of his chest, looking determined and furious at once. "So, we need that brother of yours to help us with Carter Verone's arrest. Laundering, drugs - you know that kind of stuff, don't you? The idea is that Brian's supposed to be a streetracer working for him. That's pretty much it."

"What will happen, if you can't arrest this Verone?"

"If we can arrest him, you're brother's record will be cleared. If we can't…….."

"He's going to visit the zoo",Lilly breathed out deeply. She still hoped that she was merely dreaming. "How about the Skyline? Everybody knows it's Brian's car. If  Verone's clever, he will check out on it. You thought of this yet?" After all, she didn't want her brother to die the minute he met this Verone.

"Course, we did",Bilkins said reassuringly and gave the receiver back to Brian who was reaching out with his arm,"bye, kid."

"I'm not a kid!"Lilly hated the term kid. She was 16!

"No, you're my baby",Brian told her,"and I don't want you to worry. This will work out, I promise. Today, you're going to have some fun with your friends. You won't stay at home. And tomorrow, you're going to school and afterwards to Tej, I'll be coming there, okay?"

"Whatever you do: just be careful."

"I have to go now. I love you, baby."

"Love you, too."

Brian hung up and looked at Bilkins. "Ready to go?"

"Ready to go."

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Lilly hung up and bit her thumb. She didn't wake up. So this wasn't a dream. Shit. Now, she was close to hysterics. Grabbing her bag, she took out the packet of cigarettes and opened the window of her room. Outside, there was a small platform because of the fire escape. She sat down on the stairs, the light of the rising sun throwing her shadow against the wall. Lilly lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. Breathing out the smoke, she looked over the street under her, not caring that she didn't wore anything except for a T-shirt and panties.

"I don't trust this",she whispered before taking another drag.

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Thanks for reading!

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