He could see all the people's faces as his car went sailing past-their faces lit with horror and fear, their mouths open, screaming. The anticipation of what was to come was burning in his brain. Then the impact. The crashing, the flipping, the sliding to a stop and then fear. It was hot, too hot. He could smell skin burning-his skin. He wasn't going to make it. It was all for nothing...
Han jolted upright, gasping for air. He clutched at his head, trying to make the images stop. He heard sirens in the distance, making him swivel around and recall his surroundings. He was at a motel in Miami. He was safe. His heart was pounding viciously. He slipped out of bed and went to stand near the window, looking outside. The sun was barely rising. Han knew it was a close call that he was even alive. How he managed to crawl out his window, he had no idea. He remembered seeing Deckard on his phone before disappearing into the screaming crowd. He hadn't stopped running until he reached the safe place, and Deckard joined him after a while to give him his new identity and his life back. Now, Han almost wished he had just died in that fire. It would save his daughter the heartache. He was furious with Suki for not allowing him to even talk to her. She had no right. Han didn't know what to do. He didn't even know who to turn to as he was supposed to be dead. Deckard had made that very clear to him.
"You will not ever seek out your family," Deckard had warned. Han stood there, gripping his wounded arm. "You are dead, you hear me? You can't ever tell them you're alive. The Japanese Mob, they're very powerful. Here, take these. Go. I've got it from here." Han had snatched the car keys and fled.
It had bothered him for a while that everyone believed he was dead. He had even watched his own funeral, and that disturbed him. Deckard had done a fantastic job of acting like his killer. Han wished he hadn't promised not to reveal himself to them. Deckard didn't know he had a sister or a child, so technically he felt he hadn't broken his promise completely. But Tej...Tej now knows he's alive. Han was worried about this. If Tej knows, everyone will know. He had to cut him off before that happened. Han packed up his stuff and left. He needed to find the one person he knew he could trust the most: Dom.
Brian & Mia
"What's wrong?" Mia asked. She awoke to Brian sitting up in bed with his arms folded over his knees, staring at nothing.
"You know how I said I don't remember shit about my Dad?" he said.
"Yea?"
"I remembered something."
"Oh, Brian," Mia said, sitting up to join him. "What did you remember?" Brian rubbed his face with one hand, delaying his answer.
"It was raining," he started. "Mum was hysterical. She was yelling, screaming at him. He was leaving us. I'm sitting on the hallway stairs, watching. I think I'm maybe two or three years old. He gives me one last look before getting into his car, and then he's gone."
"Wow, Brian. That's a vivid memory," Mia said, touching his arm.
"It just hit me out of nowhere. I remember his face when he looked at me. It was regret," Brian said, turning to look at her. "He didn't want to leave."
"That must have been so hard..."
"It was. Mum dived into drinking and drugs. I was taken into custody by Child Services. I remember bouncing from one home to the next until one day, Mum comes back for me. I'm twelve, and she's cleaned up her act. So she said. We went to Barstow to live. She started going downhill again, and so did I. That's how I met Roman-in Juvie. She wasn't the best role model. I never did drugs though. Couldn't understand the need for that. Drank a lot instead."
"You've come a long way since then," Mia noted. "You should be proud of that."
"I am. I turned out so much better than she did. I don't even know where Mum is now. We parted ways when I cleaned up and became a cop. I feel like I disappointed her somehow," Brian mused.
"Well, you're not a disappointment to me. I love you," Mia said, hugging him. He smiled at her, kissing her forehead.
"I love you too."
"You remember what your Dad looked like?"
"Vaguely. This was years ago though, so he's probably changed a lot. I don't think I'll ever find him," Brian sighed. "Maybe that's for the best. What kind of father abandons his family?"
"I don't know," Mia replied. "I don't know."
Dom & Letty
"Okay, I'm hitting the road," Dom said, giving Brian one last hug and kiss goodbye. Letty was standing there, watching. "No goodbye?"
"I'm still not okay with you leaving us," Letty said.
"I won't be long. Deck thinks he knows where Han is. It's just a couple of days. I promise," Dom added. "We've got Brian to think about now. We can't just take off into the sunset together anymore."
"I know, but it still feels weird," Letty replied.
"Two days. Three maximum," Dom said, kissing her.
"All right," Letty said after. He handed Brian to her. She watched him grab his bag and go out the front door with one last look at the two of them. She didn't like it. Didn't like it at all.
Deckard
"So how are you gonna get out of this one?" Owen asked. He knew about the Japanese Mob putting a hit out on Han, and he knew it was Deckard's job to do it.
"If it was just me killing him, that'd be easier," Deckard said. "But they want him brought to them, so it poses a much more difficult scenario than I had in mind. I'm not sure how they figured out he wasn't dead in the first place."
"They're smart," Owen suggested.
"Hardly," Deckard scoffed. "Someone saw. I need to find out who."
"Good luck with that," Owen said. Deckard just gave him a look.
"So what are you gonna do?" he asked Owen.
"Just hang around here with Ma I guess til you get back. Unless you want my company," Owen added.
"Nah. I've got this one. Keep her on the straight and narrow for me will you?"
"I'll try."
"All I can ask for. Okay. I've got to meet Hobbs now. I'll see you later," Deckard said. He bumped his brother's fist for good luck like they did as kids. Some things never change.
Brian
"Hey, Bri it's me, Tej. Oh my God. I have news. BIG news. I'm not gonna say it over the phone. I'm coming your way. You're not gonna believe it..."
Brian finished listening to Tej's message. He wondered what could possibly be such big news. He was out driving his car aimlessly. He needed to think about his memory. It was driving him crazy. Although the features of his father were blurred and hard to tell, there was a sense of familiarity about them, like he had seen this person later in life without realizing it. Had his father come to check on him throughout the years? Had he seen him standing outside of the school fence? Had he been in the crowd at one of his races? It was insane-all of it. He shook his head hard. He found himself stopped outside the same gypsy place where he had been given the message from his father. He sat in his car, pondering what to do. The whole thing was nuts. The sudden knocking at his window made him yelp with fright. He turned to see the woman standing there smiling at him. He lowered his window.
"Lost?" she asked. He got the double meaning.
"Sort of," he replied. "When did you see my father?"
"Oh, it was a while ago," she said vaguely.
"Come on. How is this supposed to help me?" Brian asked angrily.
"All those who wander are not lost," she quoted.
"Oh my God," he snapped. "Stop spewing drivel and help me!"
"I just did. You're not listening," she pointed out.
"So he's a wanderer?" Brian asked. She shrugged, scrunching her face up.
"Perhaps."
"Damn it! Just tell me, where did you see him?" Brian demanded.
"Here," she replied simply. Brian froze. His father had been here? At this dump?
"When...?"
"Ahhh that's for another day," she said, walking away.
"What?! No! I'm here now!" he shouted after her. She disappeared around the side of the building. Brian banged his fist against the steering wheel. None of this was fair. None of this made any sense at all. He wasn't coming back here. No way. He was done with this shit. As he drove away, something kept niggling at him. His father had been here. So, did that mean his father knew he was here too?
Late Evening-Letty
Letty sighed as she slipped out of Brian's room, having checked on him. She looked around the empty house, feeling lonely. She was thinking about what she wanted to do next when someone knocked on her door. It was after eleven. She felt a little scared. Looking out the peephole, she grew excited.
"Hi," Han said when she opened it.
"Han!" she cried, throwing her arms around him. He caught his balance.
"You don't seem as surprised," Han said when she pulled back.
"Deckard told us everything. Dom is out looking for you right now! I have to call him..." Letty said, rushing inside.
"Wait, wait!" Han called, following her. She stopped. "I need some advice before you call the brigade."
"About what?"
"About my kid," he said.
"Your kid?! You have a kid?!" Letty yelped. Brian cried suddenly. Han gave her a questioning look.
"You have a kid too?" he asked.
"He's not mine," Letty said. "Well, he is, sort of. Dom and Elena..."
"Ohh say no more," Han said. "Elena is okay with you guys having him?"
"Elena is dead," Letty said flatly. "Cipher murdered her."
"Cipher?"
"You've missed out on a lot," Letty explained, going to get Brian. Han sat down at the table. When Letty came back, Han marveled at Brian.
"He looks just like Dom," Han laughed. Brian cooed at him. "May I?" Letty handed him over, and Han held Brian gently as he bounced him on his knee.
"You're next. You have a kid?" Letty asked again.
"I missed this with her," Han said absently, still playing with Brian. "We had to keep her safe back when we went looking for you."
"Wait...what?" Letty asked. "You mean...back when I was with the Shaw team?"
"Yea. Giselle and I hadn't told the others. We didn't want her exposed to this life, so I sent her to live with my family," Han explained. "Only now, my family has died in an accident, and my sister won't let me see Lei."
"Lei is your daughter?" Letty confirmed.
"Yes. I don't know what to do. Technically, I'm dead. I just wanted to see her..." Han trailed off.
"The mob is after you, man," Letty said. "That's why Deckard told us the truth. They want him to bring you in."
"Shit," Han said. "What's he gonna do?"
"They're out looking for you to warn you. Want me to call now?" Letty asked. Han nodded. He examined Brian further as Letty went to make the call. He felt sorry for Elena. He wished he had known her better.
"They're coming back," Letty said. "They'll be a few hours."
"You're okay with me staying here?" Han asked.
"Of course. I remember who you are," Letty teased. "I got all my memories back."
"That's great!" Han grinned. Brian reached for Letty again. "Sorry I woke him up."
"It's okay. Looks like he's going out again anyway," Letty said as Brian's eyes kept shutting.
"You mentioned Cipher?" Han prompted.
"Oh, right. That bitch," Letty said. She filled him in on everything that had happened. Han was feeling worried now.
"So she's still out there?" he asked.
"Yea. Not sure where," Letty nodded. Despite her best efforts to hide it, she was scared too.
"Fabulous," Han muttered. Brian was asleep by now, so Letty put him back to bed. She noticed Han looked exhausted when she came back.
"Let me show you the spare room," she said. Han followed. Once he was settled, she checked her phone again. Dom was closer to home now. She felt relieved. All the talk about Cipher made her very aware that she was alone. She would feel a lot better when Dom was back.
Suki
She had just put Lei to bed when she heard the noise. Suki grabbed her bat from behind the door and crept to look outside. There was a strange man picking at her lock. This made her panic. She ran back upstairs and woke up Lei.
"What's going on?" Lei mumbled, still half asleep.
"We gotta go," Suki said. "Come on."
"Wait! I need Woofy!" Lei cried. She scrambled out of Suki's grasp and raced back to get it.
"No!" Suki shouted. She turned to see the man now in her face. His fist slammed into her hard, making her fall backwards, winded. Her bat went scattering across the floor. He moved towards Lei, who screamed and kicked his kneecap. The man stumbled, grunting, and Lei raced down the stairs and out the door. Suki crawled away the best she could, but the man still managed to catch up to her. He yanked her up and threw her into the wall hard. She slid down it, gasping for air. All she could think about was Lei and where she went. She was only six years old. Suki moved away before he could hit her again, and she fell down the stairs. When she rolled to a stop at the bottom, she knew things did not look good for her. The man stopped above her, and she wondered if this was the end. Instead, he pulled out a marker and wrote on the wall. Then he stepped over her and out into the night. Suki couldn't move for the pain. She managed to turn her head slightly to see what was written on the wall. It didn't make much sense to her, but she figured it would to her brother.
"Takashi was here."
Lei
Lei ran and ran and ran. She was scared. Her aunt was hurt. There was a bad man chasing her. She didn't know where to go. She had run to the park where her aunt let her play sometimes. She hunkered down in the tube slide, thinking she'd be safe there. Once it was light out, she'd go for help. She hugged Woofy dog to her chest, trying not to cry, to be brave like her mother had told her to be before she left her. She missed her mother. She missed her father too. No one talked about them anymore, but Lei knew they were still out there. They had to be. She hung on to that hope every single day. She sat in that slide awake all night, afraid that if she fell asleep, she'd be kidnapped. She hoped her aunt was okay. She wondered if she should have stayed with her. Instinct had told her to run, so she had. She felt bad for abandoning her aunt like that, but she knew she couldn't fight a grown man. Without realizing it, she eventually fell asleep.
Brian-Next Day
"What is so important that you had to come here from Miami so fast?" Brian asked. Tej was standing in his foyer, panting and out of breath.
"Han...not dead...alive...Suki..."
"Hang on," Brian cut him off. "I know Han's not dead." Tej's head snapped up. "But what does it have to do with Suki?"
"You know?!" Tej cried. "Damn. Here I thought I was the only one!"
"Deckard told us the whole thing had been a staged death," Brian explained. "Back to Suki, please."
"She's his sister," Tej gasped.
"What?" Brian was taken aback. Suki was Han's sister? Thinking about it, he could kind of see the resemblance.
"Yea, and Han has a kid," Tej said. "Suki been watching her for last five years with her parents until they died."
"Han has a kid?" Brian asked. "Slow down."
"Lei. She's adorable. Six years old. Suki and Han's parents just died in an accident, so it's all Suki now. Lei doesn't know Han was there..."
"There? As in at her house?" Brian asked.
"Yea. I came in and he was all 'what the f***' you know? Suki kicked me out for knowing him and not telling her. How the hell was I supposed to know without any pictures?" Tej was rambling now.
"Where is he now?" Brian demanded.
"No idea. He took off, man. He was upset," Tej replied.
"Shit," Brian said, reaching for his phone. "Dom? Yea. Tej just told me...wait, what?" Tej watched Brian's face. "Okay. Thanks."
"What's going on?" Tej asked.
"Han is at Letty's house," Brian said, reaching for his keys. "You stay here. He won't be happy to see you from what you've told me."
"I'm cool with that," Tej said.
"You're leaving?" Mia asked.
"Yea. Han's at Letty's place. Dom's on his way back. Tej here is gonna hang out with you guys until I get back," Brian explained.
"I'm coming with you. Han was my friend too," Mia said.
"Great. So I'm here by myself?" Tej asked.
"Nope. You're gonna babysit," Mia said, smiling. The kids did enjoy their "uncle" Tej when he came to visit.
"All right! Where my kids at?" Tej called.
"Uncle Tej!" Jack and Emily called, running into his arms from the living room.
"Do you have any candy?" Emily asked hopefully. Mia gave Tej a warning look.
"I do not. Sorry, sweetcakes," Tej said.
"Awwww," they both whined.
"See you later," Brian said as he and Mia left.
"I got some candy," Tej whispered to them. "But you can't tell your mama I gave it to you." They took the pieces from him gleefully and high fived him. Tej loved these kids. He settled in to play with them until Brian and Mia came back.
Oh I have such big plans for this story. I keep getting more and more ideas. I was totally listening to the song "DK's Revenge" while writing that scene with Takashi! I'm glad most of you are enjoying this story.
