NOTE: Hey guys, my sincerest apologies for the delay but I've been going through a lot of personal crap, but thankfully it should end this week. I hope that you all stick with me as I've got a real clear idea of where I want this story to go and I believe you'll be pleased. Please review in your spare time. Thank you for your patientce.

- Chapter V -

Drifting for the Dead

When Brian got a text message from an unknown sender saying Sean has spent the last few hours at a parking lot nearby, he couldn't help but share the information immediately with Dom.

"We got him," Brian exclaimed as Dom was shaving in the bathroom. Mia didn't seem happy about it.

"Look, Dom. You don't know who this guy is," Mia noted, trying not to seem desperate in her brother's eyes.

"All the more reason to get to know him," Dom retorted, putting on a clean white t-shirt.

"This isn't the answer," Mia reminded. Dom turned to face her at last, obviously annoyed.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Say you're right. Say this kid really is responsible for what happened to Han. What are you gonna do? Hmm?" Mia demanded. Dom couldn't muster an answer as he looked down, and Brian realized how volatile the situation was about to become.

"Look, just take care of yourself. Alright?" Mia asked gently, hugging her brother. Dom's eyes never left the floor as he left the small motel apartment they rented. Mia and Brian shared an uneasy look with each other.

"Don't let him do anything stupid," Mia warned, and Brian gave a soft nod as he followed suit.

Sean got challenged all the time since he became the new Drift King. And this next opponent didn't sound like anything special up until his friend Twinkie pointed out that he knew his mentor and fellow racer - Han. As he pulled his Nissan Sylvia S15 next to the Plymouth Road Runner, he turned to face his competition. The man behind the wheel was none other than Dom, and although the latter clearly recognized the visitor at the cemetery, Sean had no idea who this stranger was.

"Nice ride," the Drift King complimented Dominic's vehicle.

"I won it from my friend Han a few years ago," Dom remembered.

"I didn't know he was into American muscle," Sean confessed.

"He was when he was rolling with me," Dom clarified. Sean licked his lip, smiling.

"You know this ain't no ten second race," he noted coyly.

"I've got nothin' but time," Dom said, turning on the ignition.

"You ready, kid?" he taunted with a broad smile. Sean revved his engine in response. A woman, which Dom recognized to be Neela, stepped front and center between the two cars. She pointed to one of the girls on the side.

"Ready," she exclaimed. Then she pointed to another on the opposite side.

"Set up."

Neela set her eyes on the two drivers as she raised her hands. Dom and Sean both focused on the stretch ahead, the screams and yelling lessening in volume in their minds.

"Go!" Neela exclaimed, her hands shooting down as the two cars sped past her and she turned around to watch them disappear behind the first corner. Dom shifted gears and pressed the pedal further, pushing his car ahead of Sean who smiled, thinking Dom, not unlike himself in his first race against Takashi, had no idea how to drift properly around the corner and was biting off more than even he could chew. As soon as he saw Dom elegantly make the U-turn in his oversized Plymouth, Sean's respect for him shot up instantly as he followed him close by.

Meanwhile, a group of men in suits exited a black van just outside the parking lot. They opened up their duffel bags and started loading their submachine guns and cocking them. The last figure to step out of the vehicle was Kamata, and he wasn't in a good mood.

"This is for Takashi," he muttered, rage boiling inside him as he led the men inside.

Another corner was ahead, however a bit larger and easier to maneuver in. It was also the perfect place to overtake Dom, so Sean allowed Dom to go faster into the turn as he moved in from the inside. He made it. Dom smirked. This kid was actually good. They were now virtually neck and neck as they turned another corner, this time to the left, and Sean shifted gears. Dom saw his competition smile at him as Sean pulled forward.

RATATATATATATATATATA!

Machine gun fire suddenly ripped Sean's windshield, some bullets hitting their mark, some scarping and some missing their target completely. Dom quickly caught eye of an armed Yakuza nearby and ripped his E-brake, swerving his car one hundred and eighty degrees as his tail end swept the thug aside and hurled him into a pillar. Dom could hear the other racers and attendees scream for help, but he couldn't do anything about it. Being rash in this kind of situation would get him killed, but Dom knew the least he could do was check up on Sean.

Getting out of his car, he ran over to the now heavily damaged Sylvia and opened its front door. Sean was still inside, unconscious and buckled into his seat. Dom released the seat belt and gently set the young man onto the floor beneath, putting his head up and making sure he was still breathing. Dom saw a shadow approach them from behind, and quickly spun around, ready to punch to him out. He barely restrained himself as he realized it was Brian.

"Whoa, whoa! Chill out, it's me!" Brian exclaimed, as he picked up the fallen thug's Uzi and made sure it was loaded.

"Damn. These guys are packing," he noted, taking a look around for any enemies nearby.

"Look we have to get out of here, they're gonna be here any sec-," Brian started to urge, but suddenly felt something bludgeon him across his head. He turned around to see Neela, her face as red as an apple, swinging her purse at him in fury.

"You - I remember you from the cemetery! You tried to rob me, you prick!" she yelled at the ex-cop as Dom held her back.

"Let me go! Let me-," she struggled before Dom managed to take her away from Brian and talk to her.

"Listen, you don't want to do this with your boyfriend bleeding on the floor. Let's get him into my car and get out of here!" he exclaimed but when he turned around to face Brian, he saw he was being held hostage by the Yakuza, and Kamata was there, too. Dom locked eyes with the mob boss as the latter approached him.

"Dom… Don't give him the satisfaction, Dom!" Brian warned, but the perp behind him stomped onto his leg and Brian buckled onto the floor.

"Shut up!" the Yakuza ordered, driving the barrel of his machine gun deeper into the back of the man's head. Brian felt the hotness of it, a clear sign that it was discharged recently at the people in the garage.

"Why are you doing this, Uncle Kamata? Sean won that race fair and square!" Neela protested.

"Sean is the reason my nephew has been abducted by some gaijin in America. He's the reason Takashi is now being held against his will in some dirty basement by some madman," Kamata noted, the intensity of his glare robbing Neela of any retorts.

"And you," he began, turning to Dom who smirked at him.

"Aren't you going to greet your godfather?" Kamata asked with a smile. Brian and Neela were left speechless, glancing at each other and the two men in front of them.