Author's Notes: I know you guys want to see Vince meet up with the others and I promise it will happen but it's going to take a little longer. He's in LA and they're in Brazil after all! But it should happen in a few more chapters. Next chapter you get some action though! So stick around and thanks for reading!

Chapter 10: Unwelcome Memories

And I've got to be sure
Cause it's been so long
And I cannot take the pain again
If it all goes wrong

"Falling for you" - Jem

Vince pulled up to the starting line at the garage exit with the three other cars. He turned to his right and looked over at Brian, who stared back with a determination in his blue eyes. Vince's hands tightened on the black leather of the steering wheel and he released a long breath, his gaze flickering over the GPS now mounted on his dashboard. He'd been through scarier situations, like hanging from the side of a speeding truck. His arm tingled with the memory. Sometimes he still had problems with the nerves and he'd lost some feeling in it, but he was alive at least.

His right hand rested over the rounded handle of the gear shift as the GPS glowed to life, beginning the count-down. His body was tense, like a bow string wound too tight, and for a moment it seemed like time had stopped and that the world was moving impossibly slow. Then all at once he heard the mechanical female voice saying "ONE" and everything snapped into action. The cars were off like a shot, streaming out into the crowded LA streets where on a night like this one everything was made of lights. Following the instructions on the GPS Vince tuned out the others, narrowing his world down to the road and any obstacles in his way. The Nissan squealed around a corner and swerved past an on-coming SUV.

He could hear nothing but the sound of his engine, and the soft sweet sigh of noise the car made when he shifted. It was a beautiful sound. He'd nearly forgotten.

The GPS directed him to another turn and he dodged between cars that swerved and laid on their horns. He could hear the squealing of wheels somewhere behind him, and the crushing noise of a car collision. Ignoring it he made another turn and started down the straightaway as directed.

He could feel the blood rushing through his veins and the hum of the car's engine coursing through him. This was freedom.

0000

The sky was still dark when a couple of guards came to lead Letty and Syd out of the shed they'd been held in. Gun's prodding at their backs they shuffled wearily across the dirt ground towards a small convoy of all-terrain vehicles, the guards muttering to one another and snapping the occasional "Move it!", which seemed to be the only thing they could say in English.

The girls exchanged looks as their hands were bound with rough rope, tied tightly enough that even after a few moments their hands felt numb and their wrists raw. They were shoved into the back seat together; the door slammed shut behind them and locked. They watched as more guards came out of the house, flanking the woman from earlier. She looked like something off of the cover of a magazine rather than a drug dealer, clothed in skinny black jeans, high high heels and a satiny top of violet that did little to hide the fact she wasn't prone to wearing a bra. She said something to some of the men and then got into the passenger side of one of the other jeeps. Three of the guards accompanied her and eight more loaded up into the remaining vehicles.

Letty and Syd remained silent as their two guards got into the front of their car and the one in the passenger seat turned around and snapped "Don't try anything funny."

The car with the woman in it took point, driving out of the gates as they opened and they followed, the cars with only guards in it bringing up the rear.

The sun wouldn't be up for hours yet but it as easy to tell it would be a muggy day from the way the moisture hung in the air like a shroud. Syd shifted in her seat, trying to ignore the scratchy tightness of the rope at her wrists. Her eyes flicked over the men in the front seat and she could see the scarred handle of a hunting knife where it was fitting into its leather sheath at one's hip. Both men carried some sort of modified automatic, originally military issue probably and highly illegal, not that it being against the law would stop any of these sorts from doing something.

She and Letty sat in silence for the time being. Sydney had lived in Brazil for several years now but was not familiar with this area. If they wanted to make a break for it, they were better off putting their plan into motion closer to the city. So for now they sat, watched and waited.

0000

Braga should have been in a good mood. The party was well underway, and he had just landed himself two new drivers for the next big shipment to cross the border. But a check in with the Villa in Brazil had soured his mood. Gisele... he had always worried it was a mistake to put a woman in charge of his dealings there, but she was good with tech and spoke the language. Of course, her looks may have had a thing or two to do with it.

But he had always known she could be a bit too... soft, too trusting. The drivers she used were always the same, and knew far more about the operation there than they should have. It was something they had constantly argued about, but she had no stomach for killing.

He sighed and sat back in his comfortable chair in the painstakingly furnished upstairs room. Below him he could hear the music pounding. His companion, an older gentleman in an expensive suit, poured another shot of gold-colored liquor for them both and leaned close.

"What do you intend to do about it?"

"Well, I suppose I'll have to go down there and straighten it out myself if she doesn't recover that shipment today and get rid of those meddling civilians."

"I don't see why there's no security at the pick-up location in the first place," the older man muttered and earned a look from his younger companion which had him falling silent with a look of embarrassment

"No, no you're right. I always thought it would make the place look too suspicious, but I'm going to tell her to arrange for a new location, with plenty of security." He downed the last of his drink, letting it burn pleasantly down his throat, then stood. "Well, I better get back to the party before people start to wonder, or worse, snoop around."

0000

It was well after three am when Mia heard the back door swing open, and the soft murmur of male voices. She stirred in her bed, sitting up and blinking bleary eyes. There was a brief moment of nostalgia when she thought back to the days when Dom had still been home. When Jesse was still alive and Leon, Letty and Vince were always over. Some days it seemed they practically lived there, one strange hodgepodge of a family.

Throwing aside the blankets she slid out of bed. It was summer, but the AC left the air in her bedroom chilled so she tugged on a robe over her blue flannel PJ pants and black tank top. Belting it she wandered into the hallway. Down the stairs she could see that it was still dark in the living room, but there was the faint glow of light spilling from the direction of the kitchen.

She slipped quietly down the stairs, avoiding the creaky step three up from the bottom and made her way towards the rectangle of light that was the kitchen doorway. Pausing there, she pressed herself into the shadows of the room and looked in.

Vince was there, pulling some beers out of the fridge. It was the figure seated at the table though, that drew her attention. Her breath clogged in her throat and she felt dizzy. Brian. She hadn't seen him in five years, and now all the sudden here he was, sitting in her kitchen, having a beer with Vince of all people. They had hated one another.

Uncomfortable, Mia sunk further into the darkness of the room, backing away from the doorway. She couldn't face him. She didn't want to. Fleeing, she took the steps two at a time and locked her bedroom door behind her. Curled on her bed she pressed her face into the soft yellow cotton case of her pillow and closed her eyes tightly. Her heart was beating wildly. But why? Fear was the first thought that slipped into her mind. She didn't know how she felt about Brian anymore. He'd turned her world upside-down. He'd come into her life that summer and lied to her every step of the way before helping to take her family away from her. She should hate him. She certainly didn't love him anymore.

How could Vince bring him here, she wondered when she began to feel calmer. He'd always hated Brian. Because of her, she knew. Brian had put him in prison. Though, it was true he had also saved his life by doing so. Sighing, Mia closed her eyes and drew the covers up around her. Her shift at the ER started at seven am. If she was lucky she could get a couple more hours of sleep. Pushing thoughts of the men downstairs from her mind, she let herself drift away into darkness.