Quarter Mile at a Time
Chapter Four
Gaby groaned as her body hit the floor. Pained radiated over her head in waves.
"What the hell?" she mumbled as she pulled herself up to where she was sitting.
Letty entered her line of sight with her signature smirk plastered across her face. "You little bitch," she spat, kicking her stomach. Gaby gave a couple coughs before taking a gasping breath.
"Letty," a stern voice called out grabbing both of the female's attention instantly.
"Dom, she just…"
"That's enough," he said, his eyes flashing.
Gaby rolled her neck around her shoulders a couple of times before peering up at the two people in front of her. Dom stood off into the shadows wearing a black tee and his arms were crossed in front of him. Okay, Dracula…she thought, and tried desperately to suppress the small smirk that was threatening her lips.
Professional, she reminded herself, sternly. This could blow everything.
She let all emotion slip from her face as Dom began to talk. In the back of her mind, Bilkin's words ran rampant. "You want that detective badge fast, kid. And you want to know something? The F.B.I. can help, if you come through for us."
"Gaby, this is one of those times that you need to be very clear about what you say. Nod if you understand me."
"I'm not, mute," she wanted to reply, but wisely chose not to.
"Nod, bitch," Letty spat.
Gaby shot her a sideways glare before nodding slowly.
"Stand up. Tell me what the hell you're doing down here," he said slowly.
She climbed to her feet, but made sure to keep Letty in her line of sight. "What I'm doing here? What this is about, this is about Race Wars. I just went in there and Hector is gonna be runnin' 3 Honda Civics with spoon engines and on top of that, he just came into Harry's and he ordered three T-66 turbos, with NOS, and MoTeC systems exhaust."
She gave a nonchalant shrug before continuing. "I just figured I'd get a leg up on the competition, that's all."
"So, what are you saying? You're gonna go around and check everybody's shit out, one garage after another?" Dom asked.
Gaby nodded. "Why the hell not?"
"She's a cop," Letty hissed when she saw that Dom was buying into the story. "Dom, she's a fucking cop!"
"You a cop?" Dom asked staring her down.
Gaby let out a little chuckle. "That's funny."
"Let's go for a little ride," he said, stepping toward them and out of the shadows.
They piled into Jesse's car and he began driving. When the setting around them became familiar Gaby knew exactly where they were going: Tran's. Jesse parked the car outside Tran's garage and Dom signaled for all of them to get out.
"Stand watch Jess," Dom ordered as he took the two-way radio and clipped it onto his pants.
Gaby scaled the fence following after Dom, knowing Letty was right behind her. They ascend up the side of the building and she watched as Dom opened one of the skylights and climbed down. Gaby went down next and took Dom's hand as he helped her down off the car. She watched as Letty came down next, ignoring Dom's offered hand and jumped down by herself.
Clicking on their flashlights, they spread out and searched the garage. A pile of DVD's caught Gaby's attention and she headed over to them.
"Yo Dom," Letty called out and he came over. "There's no engines."
"What are they planning on racing with? Hopes and dreams?" he mused as he flashed the light into the empty space.
"I don't know, but I know they're sneaky as shit, and they've got enough money to buy anything." A beeping noise came from the two-way.
"What Jess?" Dom asked as he held the two-way in front of his mouth.
"Dom, we got a wolf pack. It's Johnny Tran and he's coming your way really fast!"
"All right, we got company. Gaby!" Dom and Letty hid behind the cars as the garage doors began to open. Gaby ran over and got behind the cars just as the first biker entered. Dom pushed her down and she saw the gun he had in his other hand. Looking over, she could see Letty pull out her own.
Soon Tran's entire group was in and a black Honda S2000 stopped in the center. Gaby watched as Johnny stepped out and everyone else followed suit. Lance pushed over a man, pointing a gun at his head; the man stumbled before regaining his footing and stood in front of Johnny.
"Let me ask you a question Ted," Johnny said as he turned from the cars. "Do you see anything wrong here?"
Ted looked down at the car. "No," he answered in a casual voice. Johnny grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pushed his face down into where the engines should be.
"We got no engines, do we?"
"No."
"Do we?"
"No!" Johnny let go of Ted and he stared him down.
"A couple of Nissan S.R. Twenty motors will pull a premium two week before Race Wars, huh?"
"Yeah, probably," Ted answered.
"You're a smart fence Ted. Maybe too smart," Johnny said as he removed his leather jacket and walked past Ted. "What are you feeling Lance? Forty weight? Fifty weight?" he asked as he hanged up his jacket and eyed the oil tanks.
"Forty weight sounds nice," Lance replied as he kept the gun trained on Ted. Johnny violently pulled Ted down onto the floor and kneeled onto his chest. Reaching his hand back, he took the oil nozzle from Lance and shoved it into Ted's mouth. Lance began to pump and the oil began to pour. Johnny fought to keep the nozzle in Ted's mouth as Gaby watched in horror.
"Where are they Ted? Where are they?" Johnny questioned as the oil continued to pour out.
"Enough!" Ted gurgled out.
"Where are they?"
"They're in the warehouse. They're in the warehouse man!" Ted said as Johnny let up and Lanced stopped pumping. Ted coughed and spit out the oil as Johnny looked down disgustedly at his hands. Taking the rag from Lance, Johnny cleaned himself off and leaned against his car. Gaby looked over at Dom to see him gesturing for Letty to stay put.
"Ted? Kiss my shoes?" Johnny asked, his face serious. Ted looked up and Lanced motioned for him to move with his gun. Ted slowly crawled over and Johnny kicked him in the chest. Ted flew back and Johnny threw down the rag at him.
"Let's go get our engines," Johnny called out and they left. Once the garage door had closed again, Gaby let out a sigh of relief.
"Come on, let's get outta here before they spot Jess," Dom said and Gaby readily agreed.
Gaby leaned against the counter of the confiscated house as she listened to Bilkins ramble.
"My superiors are flying in from D.C. day after tomorrow. I want something to show. Now, we have top echelon fence with a lube hose in his mouth, automatic weapons, a jacket full of priors on every one of these Asian punks, a garage full of DVD players and generally psychotic behavior. Now tell me why we shouldn't move on Johnny Tran right now and see where we are when the dust settles."
"Because all we have is behavior. Just let me get some hard evidence, because what we have now is just circumstantial," Gaby explained.
"What we have is probable cause," Bilkins said cutting her off. "And truckers arming themselves for some good old-fashioned vigilante mayhem."
"Tell us about Hector, Gaby," Tanner said as he flipped through the files on the counter.
"Oh, Latinos with spear guns. Give me a break," Muse mumbled. Gaby launched her self at him, knocking him to the ground. Tanner pulled back on her as Bilkins stepped inbetween her and Muse.
"Take your racist bullshit and shove it!" Gaby yelled as Tanner held her back.
"Muse, take a break," Bilkins said and Muse threw Gaby a glare before hitting the wall and walking off.
"Now tell me about Hector," Tanner said as he released her.
"Hectors still working on the engines for the cars, but the tires don't match," she answered as she forced herself to relax.
"Tell me about Toretto."
"Well, I told you, I think he's too controlled for this. I mean what? Going suicidal on semi-trucks? No way."
"Have you read Toretto's file lately?" Tanner asked.
"Yeah, I memorized that file."
"Yeah, well read it again. No, better still, take a look at these." Gaby looked over to see Tanner open a file and pull out some photos. "Remember I told you about the guy he nearly beat to death? Toretto did this with a three-quarter inch torque wrench. He's a model of self-control." Gaby stared transfixed at the photos and then looked up at Tanner.
"I just need more time," she said patting Tanner on the arm and then waltzed up to Bilkins. "I need more time," she repeated herself before storming out.
Dom slowly slid the grille down as Gaby worked on the side wires. Behind her Vince, Leon, and Jesse were working on the engine.
"So big plans tonight?" Dom asked with a smirk.
"Yeah, we're going to dinner."
"How are you? It looked like Letty hit you pretty hard," he asked as his voice dropped an octave.
"Got a bruise but I'll survive," she answered good-naturedly.
"You hurt him and next time I won't make her stop," Dom said ominously. It didn't matter if it was a guy or girl, or that Vince could take care of himself; it was his family and he was going to do anything to take care of them.
"Not gonna happen," Gaby replied confidently. Dom scrutinized her for a minute before grabbing the rag beside her.
"I wanna show you something," he said as he stood up.
Gaby followed him out of the garage, feeling Vince and Letty's eyes on her back. She got into Dom car without question and rode silently until he pulled up to his house. Getting out of the car, she waited and watched as he unlocked and slid opened the shed door. An awestruck expression floated onto her face as she saw the Charger. Dom looked over with pride and they stepped into the shed.
"Wow."
"Me and my Dad built her. Nine hundred horses of Detroit muscle. It's a beast. Know what she ran in Palmdale?" Dom asked as he walked towards the side of the car.
"No, what did she run?"
"Nine seconds flat," Dom answered and Gaby felt her jaw hang open. "My Dad was driving. So much torque, the chassis twisted coming off the line. Barely kept her on the track." Gaby continued to look down at the motor.
"So what's your best time?" she asked.
"I've never driven her."
Gaby gave a small chuckle. "Why not?"
"It scares the shit out of me," he answered and Gaby immediately felt herself become somber. She studied Dom as he stood there looking down at the car. He was letting her in by telling her about this. She was probably seeing something he didn't let many people see.
"That's my dad," Dom said after a moment, pointing up a fading picture. "He was coming up in the pro stock car circuit. Last race of the season," he continued as he walked towards the back of the car and paused. "Ah, a guy named Kenny Linder came up from inside, in the final turn. He clipped his bumper and put him into the wall at 120. Um, I watched my Dad burn to death. I remembered hearing him scream. But the people that were there said that he had died before the tanks blew," he hesitated again and looked over at her. His face was solemn and Gaby could almost feel the raw pain behind his words. "They said it was me who was screaming."
"I saw Linder about a week later," he picked up again. "I had a wrench and I hit him. And I didn't intend to keep hitting him, but by the time I was done, I couldn't lift my arm." Dom stopped, his arm reaching out to hold onto a pillar and he looked over at her. "He's a janitor at a high school. Has to take the bus to work everyday. And they banned me from the tracks for life."
Dom took a deep breath before walking forward and stopping in front of her. "I live my life a quarter mile at a time. Nothing else matters. Not the mortgage, not the store, not my team and all their bullshit." He locked his gaze with hers. "For those ten seconds or less, I'm free," he finished and Gaby stood still watching him. His words hit home and she knew exactly how he felt. Racing was his life; it was the one thing that kept him close to his dad and gave him a moment of escape. He had been burden with everything after his dad's death and this gave him his one moment of peace. She gave him an understanding nod and headed out the shed.
Gaby readjusted the strap to her dress. She felt awkward in it, never being one to wear dresses. The black material wisped at her knees and the high heels giving her a bit of added height. Locking the back door, she got into the business truck and set out for Dom's house.
The living room light was on and all the cars were in the driveway. Gaby parked the truck and stepped onto the street. Her shoes clicked on the road as she walked up to the front door. No one had taken notice of her arrival yet.
Well, here goes nothing, she thought and knocked on the door.
Okay, so that's the end of this chapter. Scorching has been grounded from the internet for a month but we'll still be trying to get chapters up, might be a bit slower but we'll get them up. So please stick around and make sure you guys let us know what you thought!