Author's Note: I know my posts aren't on any real schedule anymore. But I'm still plugging away! I actually have a pretty large chapter by my standards here. Here Vince and Brian get closer to finding the others. Enjoy and thanks for reading!
Chapter 14: Discoveries
I have wondered about you
Where will you be when this through
If all goes as planned
Will you redeem my life again?
"M4 Part 2" - Faunts
Upstairs, Letty stripped her clothes off and turned on the shower, her movements mechanical with fatigue. She could feel Dom watching her, but both of them were too tired to do more than step under the hot spray together.
Dom closed one large hand around the bar of soap and, as he lathered, the steamy air filled with the scent of sandalwood. Letty closed her eyes as he smoothed those hands over the skin, leaving behind bubbly trails. She leaned back against him, smiling when she discovered that some parts weren't as tired as others.
0000
After a long fifteen hours in the sky the private jet came in for a landing over the small airport. The sun was shining brightly when it touched down and Vince was itching to be off the giant tin can and on solid ground. When his feet hit the tarmac he let out a barely audible sigh of relief. Apparently Brian heard though because he shot him a look of amusement. Vince's only response was a finger before Campos and his men approached the group of drivers.
"You gentlemen will have the treat of staying in Mister Braga's Villa while we are here, but there is not going to be a lot of time for rest and relaxation. Once I get things in order we'll be heading out, so I suggest you get some sleep as soon as we arrive."
0000
The simple dinner of pasta was eaten quickly, the long stretches of silence interrupted only by small talk; memories of previous times spent together, shop talk about cars, and Dom and Letty's adventures in the Dominican Republic.
After dinner Dom and Leon headed out back with their beers while Letty helped Syd clean up. Leon took a long drink from the bottle, watching Buster streak across the lawn after a squirrel. Dom stepped up beside him, leaning against the railing of the back porch.
"You know Let and I aren't going to leave you guys here to deal with this alone."
Leon hesitated, nodding slowly as he rubbed a hand over the stubble on his jaw. "It's pretty clear that you're still the same stubborn bastard you always were. And Letty isn't any better."
They shared a laugh before lapsing into silence again. After their bottles were drained it was Dom who broke it once again.
"How long do you think it will take them to make their move?"
"Not long. They have descriptions of the girls, and they can easily track Sydney through her involvement with the medical supply place. They'll get all her information by the end of the day, if they don't have it already. The house, the clinic, me. It won't be hard for them to come after us."
"Well then, maybe we better make sure we're ready for them," Dom suggested. "We should get together some information of our own."
"We have internet access here. I'll see what I can dig up on the woman. I can even run the numbers from the driver's cell phone, see what comes up."
"Seems you've learned a few things since we last saw you."
Leon shook his head. "I got started by watching Jesse, picking up on the things he did."
They shared a moment of silence, remembering their fallen friend. Dom clapped a hand on Leon's shoulder. "We should go in, let the girls know what we plan to do."
After calling to the dog Leon followed Dom into the house and let the screen door slap shut behind him.
0000
It was nearing evening when they arrived at Braga's Villa north of Sao Paulo. Vince glanced around at the armed guards patrolling the grounds as he stepped out of the vehicle. A cold lump hovered in his gut as his trepidation increased.
Silently he and the other driver's followed Campos' man Fenix into the building. It had the look of an old fashioned plantation, but was well maintained. The furniture inside was fancy stuff that he wouldn't feel comfortable sitting on for fear of breaking or dirtying. They were to share rooms, and he and Brian were placed in a large suite with striped blue wallpaper and two twin beds flanking a night stand with curved wooden legs. The door was shut behind them and Vince hesitantly lowered himself to sit on one of the beds.
Letting out a long breath he rubbed a hand over his chin and shook his head. "I don't know man... this doesn't feel right. Why would they bring us all the way out here?"
"I don't know. Obviously something's happened here that's put a kink in Braga's plans. So Campos was sent to take care of it. He hired us; he might as well use us for this." Brian crossed towards the window, tucking his hands into his pockets.
"And those guards everywhere. Did you see them?" Vince asked, and then continued on without waiting for a response. "They have automatics. The really illegal sort. We're basically prisoners here."
"Well they didn't say we couldn't look around the place," Brian replied, turning to face his companion. "I don't know about you, but I'm not going to sit up here doing nothing."
"You want to get shot?" Vince asked incredulously.
"No. Look, there are plenty of reasons we'd be looking around. We're hungry, we need some extra towels... Are you coming or not?"
Brian was standing by the door now, looking at him expectantly.
"Towels..." Vince muttered, before following him out.
Once in the hallway they paused to glance around. There were no guards here, and so they cautiously headed towards the stairway they had come up on their way in. Two large winding staircases gracefully swooped down from the landing to the grand foyer. They were spread with thick red carpeting. Relieved that they still did not spot any guards they made their way across towards the opposite wing of the house.
"My guess," Brian said keeping his voice pitched low. "Is that this is where Campos' rooms will be, on the opposite side of the house from where he put us. Maybe we can find something."
They continued down the hall for a ways, until they saw a small sliver of light coming from a cracked doorway up ahead. They slowed, moving forward as quietly as possible until they were able to make out the murmur of voices.
There was a woman's voice, unfamiliar and slightly accented. Brian moved closer, straining to catch the words.
"... and they were definitely working with a man, he rigged the truck to explode..."
There were the familiar tones of the man they knew as Campos, "Well you managed to find the women in the system and it won't be hard to take them out. A doctor and her mechanic husband?" He scoffed. "The other woman has a record," he paused.
Vince frowned, narrowing his eyes as he pressed closer to try and peer through the crack in the door. He could see Campos' back, slightly turned away, shuffling papers in his hands, and a glimpse of what looked like a mug shot of a dark haired woman. Familiar, but then Campos moved again, blurring his view.
"These people aren't nationals, they won't have contacts here," the woman's voice again, but neither of them could catch a glimpse of her. She sounded young.
"Or family," Campos replied. "Which is why it will be easy to make them disappear. I'm disappointed in you Gisele. I don't like having to come out here and clean up your mess, use my drivers for a job that should have been done." He slapped the papers down on a desk, and the top one fluttered free, landing face up on the floor. Vince zeroed in on it, his stomach doing a flip flop. The dark eyes, the scowl. It was Letty.
There were the sounds of Campos' footsteps moving towards them and Brian motioned for Vince to follow him. Slowly they backed away as the man's voice grew louder.
"We'll find these people, get the information from them by whatever means necessary, and then deal with them. If you're lucky we'll get the product back, and I won't have to deal with you too."
He stalked into the hallway just as Brian and Vince ducked into the nearest room. Sharing a look of panic they held their breath until his footsteps passed them by and faded away.
Vince found his voice again, rubbing a hand over his face. "This is crazy... did you see that? One of the people they're after... it's Letty."
0000
Around Dom the house was silent and dark, the other inhabitants fast asleep. Beside him Letty lay curled against his body, her even breaths teasing against his ear. His body was sapped of energy but his mind was wide awake as he stared up at the ceiling.
After dinner Leon had hunkered down in front of the computer and run traces on the numbers from the cell phone. Most of them turned up petty criminals; drug users, small time sellers, thieves, and the like. It was the number for the driver's contact that had most interested them. Gisele Harabo, Brazilian national, age 28, a clean record, but also listed suspect for working with a man named Braga. Letty had recognized the name, having heard about him on the news the last time she went to LA to see Mia. That was five years ago now, but apparently the man was still running drugs, and still keeping out of the FBI's reach.
Knowing this woman was possibly involved with Braga meant that this was probably linked to an international criminal, which could mean more trouble for them. And if Braga was involved he would likely solve his problem by eliminating it, which meant that Leon and Sydney's lives were in danger. Dom wasn't going to leave Brazil until he was sure that was no longer the case.
0000
Once back in their room Vince locked the door and pulled out his cell phone.
"What are you doing?" Brian asked, crossing towards him.
"I'm going to call Mia. Maybe she knows what Letty is doing here."
Brian slapped the phone out of his hands quickly. "Don't use that! I'm sure that they're keeping tabs on our communications. That Eddie guy has your number, remember?"
"Yeah," Vince said, frowning. "So what do we do?"
"I have a second cell with me. It's secure." He passed it to Vince, who took it with thanks and began to dial the number again.
Three rings and he heard Mia's voice on the other end of the line. "Hello?"
"Mia? It's Vince, look I don't have long."
"Vince? Where are you? What's going on?"
"Look I can't really explain much but we're in Brazil." He kept his voice low, unsure if anyone would be passing by or if the rooms were bugged or otherwise monitored.
"Brazil?" Her breath caught. "Why so far away? Why would this man hire drivers from LA for a job thousands of miles away??"
"I think it was just a complication. But listen, Mi... Is there any reason why Letty would be here?"
"Letty?" There was a long pause. "I don't... Oh! Wait a second." There was the sound of some rustling through papers before her voice returned, slightly breathless. "Okay, here it is. I got a letter from Leon a few years ago. He lives in Brazil."
Vince was shocked. "Leon...?"
Brian looked at him in surprise, mouthing a "what?" at him but Vince waved him off.
"Yeah," Mia half-laughed into the phone. "He went there after everything went down. Laying low for a while I guess when he met some girl. He's married now. But I gave Letty a letter from him when she came here after Mexico. She probably remembered and decided to go see him."
Questions swirling in his head Vince rubbed at his jaw. "Okay, okay... Mi I need the address. I think they're in trouble."
"In trouble? Why what happened?"
"I don't have time to explain. If I find them I'll call you but I need the address."
There was a hesitation and then more rustling of papers before she rattled off the address.
"Thanks Mia. I promise I'll call again as soon as I can." With that he disconnected, looking down at the address he'd scribbled on the back of a receipt.
Brian was looking at him expectantly. "Well? What did you learn?"
"Leon is living here in Brazil, near Rio de Janeiro. Letty's probably down here visiting him." He handed Brian the address. "What I don't know is why Campos wants to take her out."
"I think that's a question only Letty can answer."
"Yeah, but we have to get to her and Leon and warn them."