Disclaimer: I own no part of the Fast and Furious franchise. I'm just a huge fan!
Chapter Five: No Engine
It was several hours later, after lots of food and many many beers that the group moved indoors. Sara and Mia were in the kitchen doing the dishes while the rest of the group watched a movie in the living room.
Brian came in with more empty beer bottles, "Need a hand with anything else?"
Mia smiled. "No, we're good. You can go join the boys and watch the movie."
Seeing an opportunity for Brian, Sara excused herself. "Hey guys, I'm gonna step out for a minute and get some air." Not waiting for any acknowledgment she stepped out the back door. She could still hear everything being said, but Brian didn't need to know that.
Brian came up next to Mia taking over the drying that Sara was doing. "The cook doesn't clean where I come from."
Mia gave him a smile. "I'd like to go there."
Turning to face Mia he leaned on the counter. "I think we should go out sometime."
"There's a problem with that idea, I don't date my brother's friends."
"That sucks. I'll have to kick his ass then."
"I'd love to see that one. I would pay to see that one, actually." Sara grinned outside the door, she would pay to see that too.
Vince came into the kitchen, way past the point of drunk, stumbling to get more popcorn for the movie. Sensing trouble brewing Sara came back into the house, standing just inside the door.
"Wash my car when you get done."
Mia looked pissed. "What was that?"
"No, Mia. I'm talking to the punk. Wear your favorite dress, cause when you're done...I'm putting you on the street where you belong, cutie."
Laughing at his own joke he turned to the microwave, trying to start the popcorn and failing.
About to step in, Sara was stopped short by Mia who asked Vince what the name of the restaurant he wanted to take her to was.
"You know the Cuban place with all the little candles..."
Vince's eyes lit up. "Cha Cha Cha."
Mia smiled. "Yeah, that's it." Turning to face Brian. "You can take me there. Friday night at 10:00. Is that good for you?"
Brian smiled, "Yeah, it's perfect."
Sara almost felt bad for Vince, but at the moment he looked ready to kill Brian. She was pretty sure she saw smoke coming out his ears like in the cartoons. Stepping in between the two males she was about to tell Vince to leave when Leon yelled from the other room about wanting his popcorn.
Vince turned around and stormed through the living room. "Make your own goddamn popcorn!"
A few seconds later Dom walked into the kitchen. "What the hell was that about."
Knowing how protective Dom was over Mia, Sara walked over to him. "He got pissed the microwave wasn't working." Pushing lightly on his chest, "Come on, lets finish the movie. What are we watching?"
It was a few days later that Sara found herself actually working at Harry's. Why? She didn't know. She was pretty sure Brian had drugged her coffee and that made her more agreeable, or maybe the sleep deprivation was kicking in. Either way, she knew she had been tricked and had spent a majority of the morning sending glares Brian's way.
Today they had the 'pleasure' of working behind the counter, dealing face to face with any customers that came in and there hadn't been a dull moment all day. It seemed that every racer, would be racer, and garage owner was coming in looking for this part or that in preparation for Race Wars.
Looking in the computer at the inventory they had in stock, Sara was helping a customer decide on the best type of shocks for his car. She wanted to knock her head against something hard, the kid wanted a model that wouldn't fit his car and would not listen to anything she was saying.
It was just after three when Hector and his entourage walked in, spreading out throughout the store. Sara rolled her eyes, they were like kids in a candy shop. After being greeted by Harry and making some small talk he walked up towards the counter.
Seeing Sara behind the counter he whistled and said. "Damn Harry. What do we got here? Hired some new help?"
Sara smiled. "Not if you were the last man on earth Hector."
Brian walked up in front of Sara greeting Hector. "What's up?"
"What's up, Brian? How you feeling?" Hector threw his hand out and the two shared a fist bump.
"Pretty good. What do you need?"
Pulling a list out of his pocket he hands it to Brian. "I need you to hook me up. Three of everything. I made a list. Why don't you look that over?"
Turning to the computer Brian asks, "When do you need this stuff by?"
"Tomorrow, today, now."
"Right."
"White boys work fast, don't they?" Hector had started fidgeting and that was what caused Sara's attention. Why was he nervous? Since they had started rolling with Dom's crew, they'd gotten to know Hector pretty good. He was not a fidgety person.
Brian seeing what was coming up on the computer turned back to Hector. "You said you need three of each?"
"Yeah, three of everything."
"Hey Sara, take a look and see what we have in stock. Everything else we can overnight."
Taking the list Sara was confused. Brian could look up the inventory just as easily as she could so what the hell? Typing a product number in she soon realized why he wanted her to do it. All the parts on the list were for Honda Civics. The same kind of car used in the hijackings. Well son of a bitch.
Later that night, Brian and Sara decided to check out where the parts were being delivered to. This could be their big break, no more undercover, no more lying, and no more looking into Dom and the rest of the crew. After some checking around they figured out that Hector and his crew usually hung out at the El Gato Negro a diner/bar right across the street from the warehouse they had delivered parts to earlier that day.
Sneaking around back, they climbed up a gate attached to a window and jumped onto a flat roof. Running to the end of the building Sara looked around the corner to make sure that everyone was occupied before nodding to Brian. Taking her cue he breaks a window to unlock it from the inside and slips in, helping Sara through. Heading down an old wooden staircase the start searching the vehicles. There were a lot of classics in the garage, but three were covered in tarps. Pulling the tarps back their hearts sank realizing that they weren't the black Honda's they had hoped to find.
"Dammit. Well this is a bust. I'm gonna head back up Bri and make sure the coast is still clear."
"Got it. I'm just going to check one more thing."
Not seeing any under lighting and the wrong type of tires on the car Brian turns and catches up to Sara. After climbing back out of the window and heading down the same gate Sara was just about to the truck when she heard a commotion behind her and Brian groan. Grabbing her gun she turned around in time to see someone drag Brian around a corner. Fearing the worst she held herself against the edge of the building and walked as quickly as she could without making noise. Peering around the corner she saw two guys standing in front of a very dazed looking Brian. Shit, had Tran figured out they were there? Had a couple of Hectors buddies heard the commotion in the garage? Taking a deep breath she geared herself to step out and confront the men. It was by sheer luck she heard one man talk before she rounded the corner. She recognized Vince's voice, which could only mean the other man was Dom, which could have meant trouble if she'd turned the corner yelling 'POLICE!'. She slowly made her way closer, staying in the shadows.
Standing over Brian, Vince said. "He moans like a cop."
Dom had a pissed off look on his face. He didn't want to believe Vince, but the evidence was pointing in his direction. "Brian, this is one of those times you need to be clear about what you say. Nod if you understand me."
Brian's focus was more on the shotgun being pointed at his head than listening to what Dom was saying.
Not happy with not getting an answer Vince yelled. "Nod!"
Brian looked at Dom who told him to sit up. "Tell me what the hell you're doing down here."
Getting to his knees Brian shook his head, grabbing the back of it. "Shit. What I'm doing? Dom. I owe you a 10-second car." Making a wide gesture behind him he continued. "And what this is about, this is about Race Wars. I just went in there, and Hector is gonna be running...three Honda Civics with Spoon engines." Taking a breath he continued, taking notice that Vince had yet to put the shotgun down. "And on top of that, he just came into Harry's...and he ordered three T66 turbos, with NOS and a Motec system exhaust."
Dom looked incredulous. "So, what are you saying? You're gonna check everybody's shit out, one garage after another?"
"Yeah. Because, Dom, you know I can't lose again."
Sara had to give credit to Brian. Making it look like he was just desperate to prove himself was a good angle to push. Dom looked relieved but Vince didn't look so convinced. Stepping back up to Brian he began ranting.
"He's a cop." Putting the shotgun up again. "He's a cop!"
To indulge him, Dom asks Brian. "You a cop?"
Shaking his head it Brian looked back at Vince, who's finger was creeping towards the trigger. Sara took that as her que. Stepping out of the shadows, gun aimed at Vince she said, "I'd really appreciate it if you didn't have a gun pointed at my brothers head."
The two men turned and were shocked to see Sara standing there, gun raised, and looking so menacing.
"I mean it Vince. I'll put a bullet in you head if your finger so much as twitches."
Vince looking to Dom, lowered the gun when he saw Dom nod.
"What are you doing here?" Dom was confused.
Lowering her own gun now that the threat had diminished she responds. "What? You think I'd let Brian come out here alone? Someone has to watch his back."
Nodding his head, Dom walks up to Sara taking a quick glance at Vince and Brian. Staring straight at her he says, "Let's go for a little ride." Putting his hand on her lower back to direct her to their car, Sara tenses slightly at the contact. She can feel the heat from his hand and it was sending tingles down her back.
It was a tense and silent drive. Sara was wondering where Dom was taking them, but she didn't have to wonder long. Within 20 minutes they were pulling into Chinatown. Pulling up in front of a warehouse gate, Dom puts the car into park. The four of them get out but before Sara could take more than a couple steps, Dom tossed her the keys.
Before she could voice her confusion he said. "I need you stand watch."
Nodding her head she came around and got in the drivers seat. As she was starting the car Dom leaned down into the window. "Call if any trouble comes our way." Nodding her head again she waited until the trio had jumped to gate before pulling away to find a good hiding spot.
Meanwhile the guys made their way to the roof. They had skylights up there that were easy enough to open and they slipped inside.
Searching around, it was Vince that found the cars they were looking for. Calling Dom over he pointed out that there were no engines in the car.
It didn't make sense to Dom, Race Wars were just around the corner. "What are they planning on racing with, hopes and dreams?"
While Vince and Dom discussed how the Tran gang were going to be ready by race time, Brian noticed something in the back of the warehouse. Deciding to take a closer look, he found piles and piles of electronics. VCR's, DVD player, televisions. The same things that had been stolen on the trucks.
The sound of a ringing phone turned his attention back to Dom. "What?"
Sara, who had been parked behind a bush outside ducked as far down as she could when she heard the engines. "Dom. We got a wolf pack. It's Johnny Tran, and he's coming your way really fast."
Dom cursed, "All right, we got company. Spilner!"
They'd barely made it to a hiding spot when the lights turned on and several vehicles pulled in. Preparing for a fight, all three cocked their guns.
Apparently their mechanic they had was not living up to Johnny's expectations. They held him down pumping oil into his mouth until he told them where the engines for the cars were. Dom signaled to the other two to disengage and just wait it out. It was clear that Tran had no idea that they were there. After about 10 minutes the gang left to go get the engines from Hector's. The warehouse went dark again and all three sighed in relief. Dom pulled out his phone.
"Meet us out front."
They made it back to the Toretto house without being seen by anyone in Johnny's crew. Thank god for small miracles. As soon as she parked Vince and Brian got out but Dom stayed seated. For the whole ride back he'd kept looking at her, like he was going to say something but thought better of it. Figuring he still wanted to say something, she stayed too.
After a couple of minutes she sighed. "What's on your mind Dom?"
"I was thinking."
"'Bout what?"
"A lot of things. Race wars, family, trouble with Tran... But what I'm thinking about most is that I want to take you out tomorrow night."
Authors Area:
All in all a short(ish) chapter but I thought that it was an excellent place to leave off. So there you have it. Dom asked Sara out. Let me just have a girly moment...EEEEEEEEEEEE! Okay, I'm good.
I have so many ideas going through my head about this story and any/all following stories. I've found myself watching the movies and going, 'Hey, Sara could be doing that' or 'I'm going to substitute Sara into that part' or 'Sara would have said something like this in response.' This story has become an addiction for me and I hope that you all feel the same way.
One thing that I'm struggling with however, is the ending of this story. I want Sara to be exposed as a cop, but how to not make Dom flip out over it? If you guys have any suggestions please, PLEASE give them to me. I already know I'm going to rewrite the ending about a dozen times, so seriously, let loose the ideas.
Until Next Chapter,
Ramzgurl