The whole team split, running as fast as they could back up the street they had come down. Laura checked her revolver, realising she only had one bullet left in the chamber. If she got caught she'd probably never see the light of day again… She followed Dom up a side street and realised she couldn't see any of the others. She slowed a little and looked behind her only to see an empty street.
"Laura what are you doing! Hurry up!" Dom called out to her from further up the street.
She caught up and he jogged a little slower, realising they had obviously lost the guys who were chasing them.
"Dom, where'd the rest of them go? I thought we were supposed to stay together! They could be in trouble!"
"I don't fuckin' know Laura!"
They stopped and hid in a doorway, looking up and down the road. It was empty, not even a car in sight. Laura felt a mixture of absolute fear and anxiety for the others. What if they had been caught? Vince, Jesse and Letty… they could be getting tortured right now.
"Dom we need to find them…"
"I know that!"
He looked up and down the street and suddenly pushed her inside the building they had been standing outside. Luckily it had been open...it was an old warehouse of some kind.
"Dom…What the fuck…"
"Shhh…listen!"
Laura fell silent as she heard some bikes race by.
"Did they see us?" Laura was shaking.
"I don't think so…"
Laura went further into the warehouse and sat on a pile of boxes. She had to calm herself…if she didn't she'd end up having a panic attack and she wouldn't be able to deal with the situation at hand. Dom sat beside her and stroked her back,
"Look, don't panic, it'll be ok. I'm waiting on word from Hector…as soon as he's got Mia and Brian somewhere safe he'll contact me and we'll go meet him."
"Yeah but what about Letty…Vince... Jesse?"
"I don't know Laura! They should have stayed with us…"
"Dom, maybe we should have stayed with them…did you ever think of it that way? We abandoned them!"
He looked at her for a minute and then shook his head,
"No Laura. They know to follow me… They always follow me…"
"For fuck sake Dom…your head is stuck way too far up your ass! You might be who they all look up to but you're not they're damn boss!"
He stared at her again, surprised at her outburst. Laura stood up, feeling uncomfortable at the expression on his face. Why did he always look at her that way when she got angry…it was like he got off on it!
"Laura…do you realise you are the only person who has the balls to talk to me like that…? The others will get angry but they'd never say that shit to me. Well…maybe Vince would..."
"Well…I'm just not scared of you. I respect you…and I owe a lot to you…but I'm not scared of you."
He nodded his head while grinning and got up to stand beside her.
"I admire that…"
Laura felt her throat seize up. What exactly was running through his mind right now? The only words that were running through her head were 'don't do this Dom…don't mess things up…' He began to stroke her arm and wouldn't take his eyes off hers.
"Dom…"
"Shut up."
He pushed her hard against one of the pillars in the warehouse.
"No Dom! Don't…what about Letty…Brian!"
"You seem to be attracted to most of the guys in our fuckin' team…why not me? And since when have you had morals? You dumped Leon for Brian! You didn't seem to give a fuck about his feelings!"
He leaned against her, his weight almost suffocating her. She could feel his breath on her face,
"DOM DON'T!"
She pushed hard and caught him off guard. He stumbled back a little and stared at her, anger suddenly flaring up in his eyes. His glare was icy and she suddenly felt scared being here with him, alone.
Just then the walkie-talkie beeped. Dom looked at it, almost as if he wasn't sure what to do. Then he remembered what was going on around them and turned the volume up.
"Yo homes…are you there. Speak up man!" Hector was now yelling.
"Sorry man. What's up? Where are you?"
"I got Mia and Brian to my place along the coast…out near Santa Monica. No one else apart from us knows about it and I don't think anyone followed us out here so it's safe. Get yourself out here and don't bring any unwanted guests with you."
"Right man…thanks. We kinda got split in the process of runnin' from some of Tran's men. I don't know where Letty, Vince and Jesse are… I'm gunna have to find them first before we come meet you. I'll let you know when we're on our way. Ok?"
"Sure homes…be careful man."
Dom put the walkie-talkie in his back pocket and sighed while rubbing his head.
"Let's go find them…" he said while walking to the warehouse doors and peeking outside. Once the coast was clear he motioned for her to follow him. She hesitated and then decided arguing about what had just happened would have to wait… the others could be in real trouble.
They walked out into the street. It was late now and it was dark, only the streetlights illuminating the place. There wasn't a car, bike or pedestrian in sight. Dom looked both ways and she knew what he was thinking…Where do I start? She took the initiative and went right… remembering that had been the direction she had last seen her friends headed in. Dom quietly followed her as she walked back down the side street they had come up earlier. She zig zagged in and out of streets and alleyways. Every time she heard an engine she would hide in the shadows. She couldn't believe she would have to hide all the time now. Maybe even for the rest of her life… it was then that she decided their little stunt had been a bad idea. It had got them into too much trouble. While she searched for her friends and almost drowned herself with her thoughts she forgot Dom was with her. She also forgot about time and before she even realised how far they had walked Dom nudged her,
"We've been looking for nearly an hour Laura. There's no chance we'll find them… maybe they went back to the garage or the house…or the store."
She nodded just as she saw a cab round the corner. She startled Dom by waving her arms and running towards the oncoming car. Luckily the driver seemed happy to take them wherever it was they needed to go. Dom told the driver to go to the garage first.
Twenty minutes later they pulled up outside it only to find the place quiet and in darkness.
"No one's here Dom. Let's go check the store and the house…"
Dom nodded, "At least they haven't burned the place to the ground…"
They went back to the cab and went to the store only to find the same situation. As they made there way to the house Laura felt doubtful. Would they really have come back home? They would have known it was dangerous, surely.
Laura got out of the cab and as she was about to rush round to the back of the house Dom grabbed her arm.
"Be careful. Tran's men could be skulking about the place…"
She snatched her arm away from him, "I know that!"
She walked round to the back door and went inside. The place was dark, cold and empty. She searched around a little, her hand permanently on her gun. They were just about to leave when she noticed a piece of paper hidden neatly under the bbq in the back garden. She went over and picked it up. It was a note from Letty!
"Oh thank God!" Laura said smiling.
She read it out loud,
We're Ok. Jesse got shot in the arm but we've stopped the bleeding. We got a cab to the place along the coast…you know the one I mean Dom. Hurry up and get here…we have no clue where to go next.
LettyDom sighed with relief. Laura didn't have a clue where Letty was talking about but she guessed that was the idea. If any of Trans men where to find the note then they wouldn't have a clue either.
Dom ran back to the cab, Laura following close behind.
"Joe's Bar…on the coast road." Dom said to the driver.
"No problem man…I know it well." the driver replied.
Laura sat back in her seat. At last they had found them. Hopefully they would still be there… after all; they could have left that note hours ago!