Chapter 21: Can't Take Me Down
"We can't afford to be innocent
Stand up and face the enemy.
It's a do or die situation - we will be invincible.
And with the power of conviction there is no sacrifice. "
Invincible – Pat Benatar
Letty glanced into her rearview mirror to see the classic green Ford still in pursuit. She let him stay close enough to think he had a chance, but not close enough to be running her off the roar. In the passenger seat Giselle turned to look over her shoulder again and again. Letty could tell from the tension in her body that she was scared. This Fenix guy had to be bad news. That was why he was getting a little surprise.
"He's getting closer!" Giselle shouted, aiming her pistol out the window to fire off a couple of shots. One buzzed harmlessly past the car while another bit into the windshield. He gunned it, crashing into the back of Letty's car and she twisted her wheel to move with the force of the hit, slamming the clutch as she shifted up and sped ahead once again.
"Are you playing with him?" Giselle asked her.
"Don't want him to give up, girl. Got to let him be a little confident. Just two little girls in a car. He's thinking he's got us. Thinking it's gonna be real easy."
"And is he wrong?"
"You don't know the half of it."
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Braga cursed under his breath as the car faded into the background. He knew that the driver was dead or dying. He didn't mourn the loss of the man, only felt irritated by the loss of backup. He narrowed his eyes as the grey Chevelle fell in alongside him, turning his head to meet the dark gaze of the other man. The eyes were equally hard, a cold sort of anger that might have frightened other men.
Braga did not scare easily.
He had loaded his specialty bullets in his hand gun earlier just for this sort of scenario. It would be stupid to come after him without tricking out your car, and that meant bullet-proofing as much of the vehicle as you could. In Brazil it was common practice to do so. On the crowded roads car jackings were incredibly common, and people didn't want to be worried about being threatened with a gun through their window.
But there were ways around that, if you were more than willing to break a few laws. A man like Braga broke laws for breakfast. Finding someone to sell him the rounds had been a little hard, since the US had cracked down on manufacturing them. But other places hadn't, and he was more than willing to pay for imports.
He met the other man's gaze again, driving alongside him as he raised the gun, aiming right for his head. He smiled, and pulled the trigger.
0000
Letty glanced out the corner of her eye as they drove past a sign and hit the button for her phone.
"It's me. We're passing the exit before you now."
"Got you," Vince's voice came through the speakers in return. "We're ready here."
"This is all about timing, V. No pressure," Letty said with a laugh.
"Yeah, thanks a lot baby girl. No pressure."
Giselle watched out the rear window as Fenix came closer. She could see the man loading up a shotgun and shifted uneasily in her seat.
The first blast fired hit the rear of the car, shattering the brake light on the left hand side. Bits of red flew into the air, and Letty grimaced as she swerved on the road, not wanting to give him an easy target. Giselle unbuckled herself and climbed into the back seat, checking the ammo in her pistol. Taking a deep breath through her nose she lifted her head, watching Fenix level the shotgun out his window. She bit down on her lower lip and inched down her window slightly. Sticking the pistol through the gap she tried to aim with the constant swerving of the vehicle. She and Fenix fired at the same time. The shotgun blasts bit into the side of the car just below her window, and Giselle winced back, knowing that even the bullet-proofed siding would not hold up against another shot there.
Her own shot had missed its mark, but had grazed Fenix's arm. He hissed in pain, yanking his hand and the gun back inside and tossing it into the passenger seat as he steered the car after Letty's red Plymouth.
"We have a plan?" Giselle asked from the back seat, sprawled on her back as she stared at the single bullet remaining in the pistol's chamber.
Letty smiled, a dangerous flash of white teeth as she glanced at the Gran Torino in her rearview mirror.
"Sit back and watch, girl."
Slowing, she let the Ford catch up, then swerved at the last minute as another car came careening at high speeds off the exit towards them. It spun around in front of the Ford which was moving at too high a speed to avoid it. The ramps in the back deployed as the Gran Torino hit the car and suddenly it was airborn, sailing way up into the sky and Giselle stared wordlessly as Letty's foot eased off the gas. The Gran Torino spun, and Giselle swore she'd never seen anything more unbelievable in her life. She thought it would never come down.
And then it was nose-first in the pavement, flipping and spinning and twisted metal and a screeching noise filled the air and the crunching of the frame. Gas and fluids were leaking from the vehicle as it rolled to a stop, and the engine was smoking. Fire licked at the metal frame and the green siding and Letty and Giselle sat there and watched it burn as Vince and Brian drove up.
"He's dead," Giselle murmured as she watched the wreckage for any sign of movement. "He's really dead."
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Dom swerved his car so the front bumper rammed against the side of Braga's vehicle, and the shot buzzed harmlessly past the roof as it went wide. Braga cursed and tried to aim again but he was forced to drop the pistol when Dom slammed into him again, unable to control the vehicle with only one hand.
Dom pulled ahead, his gaze cutting sideways towards Braga's car. He maneuvered the Chevelle, foot pressing down on the clutch as he shifted and overtook Braga by a car length. He watched the other man try to catch up, swerving towards him.
Dom hit the brakes, yanking his wheel. He spun, slamming his car hard into Braga's. The other man pummeled against him and bounced back, his car sliding sideways and then rolling once… twice, before his car came to a stop. Dom yanked open his door.
"Stay in the car, Mia," he ordered, stalking towards the flipped vehicle.
Braga was scrambling, his hand searching for his gun. Where had it fallen? Cuts and bruises married his face but his injuries were superficial. His hand closed around the butt of the pistol just as a large hand reached through the shattered window and yanked him out. Broken glass cut into his arms and shoulders and Braga struggled as he was slammed up against the side of the car. He raised the gun but Dom batted it out of his hand. It skittered across the blacktop a few feet away. Dom raised his hand, curling it into a fist before he punched Braga in the face, hard. Blood wet his lips and the smaller man spat it out, lunging up to slam his face into Dom's.
They grappled for control a little bit, but Dom was larger than Braga, who was not really used to doing his own dirty work. Lifting him up by the collar Dom slammed him into the car again and again, his fists pummeling into him until he was limp and bloodied. He vaguely became aware of Mia screaming his name, his raw knuckles and the blood splatters against his shirt. He dropped the drug lord to the ground and lifted his head.
He could see Mia stepping out of the car as Letty drove up followed by Vince. The two cars came to a stop and the tall woman who stepped out of Letty's passenger side had his hands curling into fists again. It had been Leon's idea to get her help. Apparently it had worked out, but he still couldn't say he trusted her. She stared at the man lying crumpled at his feet, then stalked towards them and aimed a gun at Braga's unconscious form.
"Hey, he's not going to be any more trouble," Brian was saying. "We can have the feds take him in."
She shook her head. "Let him live and he'll just keep hurting people."
She fired the gun.
No one could say they were sorry.
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"Leon! Lee, you there?" Dom's voice was coming through the speaker and Syd leaned over to kick the bound man struggling in the back seat before she pressed the button to reply.
"He's just changing the tire, Dom. We're fine. We'll be there soon… though uh… we have a little problem."