Around 9 o'clock everyone started heading over for the race. It was going to be a tricky maneuver for Dom to convince Letty to ride with someone else to the race. This was crucial because he needed Letty to not expect to ride home with him. He assumed she would most likely notice if they took a detour to Santa Monica. And who you rode with was a safety net they had created because the cops busted so many of the street races. Whoever you ride to the race with is who you leave with when the cops pile in. He figured he would need some outside interference.

"Hey Vince," Dom called, approaching him.

"What's up?" Vince said, ending the conversation that he was having with some random girl Dom had never seen before.

"I need you to do me a favor," Dom said lowering his voice.

"This can't be good," Vince remarked

"I need you to take Letty to the race. She's letting me take her car. But, I can't have her riding with me," Dom whispered softly.

"Why not? What's going on?" Vince asked very confused.

"I don't really want to get into it right now. Can you do that for me brother?" Dom said. He really hoped that if all went well he would never have to explain his actions to anyone…here's hoping!

"Well, you know as well as I do that there is really no 'making' Letty do anything. But, I promise that I will try," Vince agreed. Vince may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed but he was a loyal friend. He always had been.

"That's all I can ask. I'll owe you one, brother," Dom said shaking his head. He thought about how he had just gotten out of prison and already agreed to commit two illegal activities and owed someone a favor. He wasn't wasting anytime!

He thought about how it would have been so much easier to just watch Lethal Weapon and go to sleep. But, you only live once. May as well make the most of it.

After the rest of the unknown people had decided to start making their way for the race, the rest of the team started getting antsy to leave. Dom knew that his team enjoyed showing up late. This allowed them to make a bigger entrance- always key. Luckily he had told Hector he wanted to race. So he knew that the race wouldn't start until he arrived. This gave him quite a bit of power in dictating the terms and starting time. But, he also knew that Tran may not wait around forever. They probably needed to get going.

"You about ready to roll?" Vince asked the room.

"Where are you going?" Mia asked, completely clueless about all the plans that had taken place.

"The race," Vince said in a very matter-of-fact manner.

"That's not a good idea," she said, directly staring at Dom.

"Don't worry, Mia. It'll be fun," Dom said smiling.

"Dom," Mia said approaching him. "You shouldn't go do this. You can't risk anything right now. They'll put you back in for 3 more years if you get caught doing ANYTHING!" She was essentially yelling at this point.

"Mia, pull it together. Nothing's going to happen. You don't have to go, though, if you don't want to," Dom said, somewhat encouraging her lack of attendance. He loved having his sister along. He loved her very much. But, tonight, he didn't really want her to witness his behavior.

Mia just sighed and shook her head. "You're never going to change. You are always going to do exactly what the hell Dominic Toretto wants to do and not care what anyone else has to say."

"Mia," he called out as she huffed and clamored up the stairs. Dom was always somewhat confused when girls did this. Did this mean that he was supposed to go talk to her? He also knew that girls needed time to do whatever it was that girls did when they got pissed off – besides yell at him. He couldn't leave it like this. Mia was his sister. He followed her up the stairs.

"You guys go ahead and go. I'll be there in a few," Dom said. This ended up being the perfect opportunity for Vince to pull Letty into his car. Odd how things work out sometimes.

He found Mia in her room just sitting on her bed. She was crying. Damn.

"Mia," he said remorsefully. He never wanted to hurt his sister. She had been through way too much. He didn't want to be just another disappointment or let down in her life. She looked up at him. "Please, don't get upset."

"I just got you back, Dominic. You're my brother. Why wouldn't you do everything you could not to let that happen again?" she asked, tears running down her cheek.

"Nothing is going to happen. I haven't had fun in two years. Two years! That is a long time. I need to feel normal again," he explained.

"I love the rush too," she said. "But some things aren't worth the risk."

"I didn't get busted at a street race, Mia. And, trust me. I've learned my lesson. Ask the state of California. I've been rehabilitated," he attempted to joke with her. He knew that she wasn't going to laugh. But, it was worth a shot. It was too early in the game for people to be mad at him. He had plenty of time for that later.

"I don't think that you should go," she said. He knew that she didn't know what he had been through these past two years. He didn't want her to know. He had been away from everything and everyone he loved most in the world. And now all he wanted to do was get his life back.

But, now, he didn't know what to say. He didn't want to walk out on her. At the same time, he really needed to get going. Finally, he said, "Mia, I love you. Trust me when I say that I will be home tonight."

She just looked away from him and laid down on her bed. He decided that the time had come. It was fish or cut bait. He needed to fish. He turned and walked out of her room. He looked back at her and wanted to kill himself for doing this to her. She had been so excited on the drive home. He had royally fucked that up. He had to use every muscle in his body to force himself to walk down the stairs. Letty had left her keys for him by the door. He grabbed them and walked outside. It felt great. It was warm. It was dark. And, he was not surrounded by inmates! He couldn't let anything bad happen tonight.

He unlocked Letty's car and got in. He put the keys in the ignition and cranked the engine. He heard it roar. It was music to his ears. He knew that Mia would be watching him from the window. He didn't dare look up. It would have done him in. He pushed the clutch and started driving. He had really missed driving.

Dom made it to the race in no time. Apparently, he was right, driving came back to him very easily. He enjoyed some of the 'special features' that Vince had obviously been referring to. He hadn't known Letty to enjoy NOS so much. But, he was a fan. He wondered what type of intake manifold they put in. So far, though, he was pretty confident with how Letty's car would perform in the race.

By the time he pulled up, the street was packed. There were cars lined up both sides of the road. The had people blocking and scanning for the cops on every outlet. Dom smiled at how advanced everything had become. He liked the new racing scene. But, you could not beat the traditional run- point A to point B without all the frills.

"Finally, Toretto, glad you could join us," Hector said, strolling up to Dom.

"Me too," Dom said. He spotted Letty but before he could say anything some girl he had never met was practically molesting him.

"Hello?" Dom said confused by this new person.

"I knew you needed watching," Letty said, walking up behind him. "Alright, fun's over bitch. Back the hell up off."

The girl quickly backed away. Dom put one arm around Letty as he searched the crowd for Tran. He spotted him. Tran was staring him down but keeping his distance. Dom let got of Letty.

"Hang on just a sec," he said starting to walk away. "But, you stay where I can see you." He shot her a quick smile back and walked up to Tran. As he approached him the two skulked off into the darkness.

"You got the money?" Dom said, attempting to keep the interaction as low key as possible.

Tran, in a very suave move, passed Dom the cash along with a piece of paper. He didn't say a word or even look down.

"What's this?" Dom said looking at the paper. He also looked close, inspecting the money to see if it looked like the right amount. He couldn't really tell. It just looked like a bundle of bills.

"Directions. Don't disappoint. Call me when you get back. I'm not sticking around," Tran said and disappeared in an instant. That suited Dom just fine.

He quickly made his way back through the crowd to Hector and Letty. He placed his arm appropriately back around Letty. She gave him a suspicious glance but didn't say anything. Dom felt practically giddy at this point.
"Alright, amigo, let's do this," Dom said. He tried to remove the top five hundred dollar bills from the bundle of money as nonchalantly as possible. With a gigantic roll of cash in a crowd of people, this is no easy feat. Somehow, though, he managed to pull it off without drawing any undue attention.

"Dominic Toretto," Edwin said walking up from beside his car. "He reemerges."

"They couldn't hold me," Dom joked, giving Edwin a quick handshake. Edwin always amused Dom.

"You racin' tonight?" he asked.

"I am. Are you?" Dom asked him.

"You better believe," Edwin replied showing his cash.
"Who's holding?" Dom asked Hector.

"I'll hold. I'm not racing against you, Dom. Not your first night out. I couldn't take the embarrassment. Bet you've built up a lotta speed in two years," he said laughing.
"Something like that," Dom said, handing Hector what was left of the cash.

He gave Letty a kiss. But, this was not his typical before-race kiss. This was long, passionate.

"Yeah, you can tell our boy's been locked up," Edwin joked.

Dom pulled away from her slowly and kept his eyes on her the entire time he was getting in the car. He revved the engine, she sounded good. Letty moved to the sidelines. Edwin and two other random guys hopped in their cars and pulled up to the spray-painted starting line. Hector got an "all clear" sign from one of his lookouts and waved the start. Like clockwork, the cars sped forward. Dom felt it. That all familiar feeling he had when he raced. He felt like he was flying. He thought of nothing but the car and his opponents. He listened closely to the engine to catch the best time to shift. He noticed his peripherals to see who was gaining on him. At this point, no one was gaining on him. He felt the air beat against him as he hit 80, 85, 90, 95, 100…

He noticed Edwin catching up at the rear. Edwin had terrible timing. They were not nearly to the end line and he'd already pushed his NOS. Dom shook his head and centered his attention back on the engine. He could see the line. It was approaching. As Edwin started to make headway, Dom pushed the button. The sudden kick knocked his body back. He loved it. He held tight to the wheel…120, 125, 130…The people standing on the sidelines were a blur. The world, all the problems in it, were a blur. His head was fuzy. He looked ahead, only ahead. He didn't think about his past. He didn't think about anything more than a few seconds ahead…140, 145, 150…He had won! Thank God!

Dom cruised and started downshifting. Eventually, he made it back to the crowd. He made it back to Letty. She was there, just like she said she would be.

TBC

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AJ