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"What's going on?" Letty asked after answering Leon's call.
"Dom called. Said something about Brooke helping from the inside. He gave her a list of numbers to give to Hobbs."
Letty felt slightly relieved about Brooke. She wanted nothing more than for Brooke to truly be on her side in all of this. The bond she created with the younger girl was one Letty wasn't emotionally ready to lose. But she knew whatever Dom was telling Billie about Brooke, it would end up getting back to Carter, and that was bad for everyone.
"Leon, Dom doesn't know Billie's working with Carter. You cannot let her leave, or even talk to Carter. If she talks to him, Brooke is dead and probably Roman, too."
"You just get Dom off that phone!"
Leon hung up and Letty immediately called Dom. She noticed Billie pulling her phone from her ear at the same time.
"Lett, what's-"
"Dom, Billie's the mole!"
"What? Letty, what're you talking about?"
"The mole isn't Brooke, it's Billie! I don't know how I know, but I just do. Whatever you gave to Billie, she's gonna run to Carter with it. She's planning on disappearing off to Miami today. Without telling anyone. She's running, Dom."
There was a moment of silence on the other end.
"Are you sure?" his voice was low and rigid. He was hurt.
"Leon's with her right now. Baby, she's not who she says she is."
Letty felt for him. She was mature enough to understand that Dom cared for Billie. She filled a void in Dom's life that Letty created, regardless of the nature of their friendship.
"Handle her. Do whatever you have to, but don't let her get to Carter."
Letty was surprised that Dom wasn't more combative, "I gotta run. Be careful, Dom. I love you."
"I love you too, Letty."
After hanging up, it finally dawned on her that it was the first time she had said those words to Dom in years. Though she had been tempted on several occasions, but she never could muster the balls. But now, with their family once again being pulled apart, she felt he needed to hear it, and from her.
"I have to call this in. What's her name?" Agent Suarez asked while pulling out his cell.
"You can't. She's got police scanners in her car, she'll hear everything you report. We have to get to her first."
Letty pulled out from the alley, ready to give chase if Billie tried to run. She was also now prone to Billie seeing her car, which could put Leon in danger. She watched from the distance as Billie leaned in to kiss Leon's cheek. The hug they shared after seemed genuine, and it made Letty even angrier.
Letty watched as Billie pulled away, and it was almost as if she was looking over at her. Then Leon turned back to look at her.
"We've been made," Letty fired up the SRT, but the sudden flow of traffic made it difficult for her to cross the street. Not to mention the massive semis obstructing her view of Leon and Billie.
"Come on!" Letty hollered, slamming on the horn.
As the last semi rolled by, Letty heard what sounded like a gunshot, followed by the terrifying screams of pedestrians. When she was finally able to speed across the street, she saw Billie sliding in her car… and Leon's bleeding body on the ground.
She dashed across the road, screeching to a stop next to Leon. She and Agent Suarez jumped from the car and rushed over to him. Suarez tried to run after the car, at least long enough to get the plate number.
"Leon!" Letty screamed as she dropped to her knees next to him, noticing the blood coming from his shoulder. His face was contorted as he withered around in pain.
"DSS Agent Suarez, badge number 215348. I need a bus at the Sunset Diner on Roosevelt and West Washington St. I have a gunshot victim, male, about 36 years of age, and 180 lbs. The wound is to his left shoulder, looks like the bullet went straight through but he's losing a lot of blood."
Letty panicked as Leon's eyes flickered open and shut. He was teetering on the edge of consciousness. Agent Suarez used his hands to apply pressure to the wound with hopes of stopping the bleeding.
"Stay with me, Le," she mumbled, running her hand over his head. "Where are your keys?"
He meekly pointed to his pocket. Letty fished them out of his jeans and stood to her feet.
"Where are you going?" Suarez asked.
"To get her. Make sure Mia gets her car back in one piece," she said, unlocking the car from the keychain.
"I should be going after her," Suarez said skeptically.
"Yeah, but I can catch her, you can't," Letty said confidently. "And Leon's car is faster. You need to keep Leon alive until help comes. Let them know Billie Ramsey did this. Maybe they can find out who she really is."
Letty slid in Leon's Nissan, buckling up before speeding off. Letty gave chase in the fast Nismo, trying her best to catch the even faster GTR. Billie had a quarter-mile jump on Letty, but she was determined to stay with her, putting her rusty racing skills to the test. Her last real competition was against Dom in London. She also had never faced Billie on the blacktop, but she watched her, and the girl was good. Letty's laser-eye focused remained on the speed demon ahead.
It only took a few seconds for Letty to confirm what she already knew - Billie was no chump behind the wheel. She cut hard turns and corners like a pro, trying to shake Letty off her tail. She didn't hesitate to swerve into oncoming traffic and swing out just in time for Letty to barely dodge other motorists. Letty slammed on the shifter, propelling her between two stopped cars in the correct lane.
"Bitch!" Letty yelled as she easily closed the distance between them. The traffic was slowing for the red light about fifty feet ahead, and she knew Billie was running out of road.
Billie grinned, impressed with Letty's driving skills. She glanced to her right, noticing plenty of room for her car on the sidewalk, and went for it.
"Alright, Mrs. Alpha, let's test the size of your balls," Billie said aloud and yanked her wheel to the right, launching her car onto the walkway. She honked at pedestrians and mowed down street signs, forcing anything in her direct path out of the way. Letty swallowed the lump in her throat and followed suit, taking the chase to the packed sidewalk. Onlookers watched, honked, and cursed as the speeding vehicles raced toward the traffic light, where the east and west lanes were flowing busily. Billie didn't seem to be slowing down, and Letty didn't either. Even if they wanted to chicken out now, there was no where to go. They had to go through the speeding traffic and pray for a miracle.
The cars flowing through the opposite lanes didn't notice the chase going on until the last second, when many were forced to slam on their brakes to avoid a nasty collision. Ironically, it only resulted in several horrific fender-benders. Letty breathed a sigh of relief when they made it to the other side, only to be met with familiar sirens blaring behind her. A look in her rearview confirmed her fears.
"Pull over immediately!" she heard over the intercom.
"Not gonna happen, pal," she murmured, slamming her foot down on the gas one again.
Letty finally closed the gap, tapping her bumper against the back of Billie's GTR. Billie looked over her shoulder to see Letty giving her the finger very clearly.
"Real mature," Billie said. She cut a hard right, drifting her car around the curb. She was roughly ten miles from her destination, but she would never make it with Letty and cops on her tail. She grabbed her cell and made a quick call.
"My sweet Isabella. Where are you, love? It's almost time to go."
"Currently in the middle of a high-speed chase with Toretto's girlfriend and the cops. I've been made."
"Get rid of the cops, but take the girlfriend if you can. She can be of use."
"She isn't the type to be taken, Carter. She won't go down easily."
"Do what needs to be done, but get here. We leave in ten. With or without you."
Billie rolled her eyes, "Well you might want to check out your daughter. Seems as if she's passed on vital information about your Argentinean account to Toretto."
"She did what?!" he screamed back into her ear. She could picture her boyfriend's face - red with his veins pulsating out of his neck and forehead. "Thanks for the heads-up. Get here."
Billie kicked her driving into high-gear, taking alleyways and private roads with hopes of isolating herself and Letty from the cruisers. She pushed her way toward southern Barstow. She had a flight to catch, and if she didn't make it to the hangar in time, Billie knew Carter wouldn't hesitate to leave without her. The two cruisers behind Letty didn't seem to be giving up, so Billie decided to take matters into her own hands. She made sure her safety harness was buckled tight before hitting the blinking NOS buttons on the steering wheel, propelling her car at lightening speed. At a hundred yards, she yanked her E-brake and spun the car around, facing her opposition. She reached into the back and lifted the seat, yanking out her semiautomatic assault rifle.
"Ah, I missed you baby," she kissed her prize weapon happily before cocking the hammer back. She sat out her window, gazed down the sights, and began firing.
"Oh shit!" Letty muttered as rounds let off in her direction, several piercing the hood of the car. When two embedded in the windshield, Letty jerked the car to the left, swerving out of the way of gunfire. She merged her car between two semis and watched over her shoulder as the police cruisers took the brunt of the shots. The first cruiser was riddled with bullets before finally crashing off into the median, while his back-up wised up and slammed on the brakes before he could face the same fate.
When the shots stopped coming, Letty ducked back out to watch Billie's GTR spinning around to speed off again. And again, Letty gave chase.
The Camaro kicked up dirt and gravel as it raced down the dirt road to the plane hangar. Brian's palms sweated against the wheel and his heart pounded in his chest. For the first time in his life, he would admit that he was scared. Not for his own safety - he had thrown himself on and off a speeding semi before - he didn't fear death. What he did fear was losing his best friend, and more so, his mother. He couldn't say goodbye to her on bad terms, no matter the reason they were estranged. He wanted her to meet his son - her first grandchild - and her daughter-in-law.
The plane hangar finally came into view. His instincts taught him to assess the area, look for anything out of the ordinary, and find the next best way out. The runway strip was located on the opposite side of the building, which had to lead to an access road nearby. A glare from atop the building caught his attention.
"Holy shit," he mumbled to himself as he spotted the sniper shooter with his weapon trained on the Camaro. "This should be fun."
He grabbed his radio and buzzed Dom.
"Dom, he's got a sniper on the roof. He has me pulling up the back, so I'm assuming he's got a slew of men waiting on the other side. You gotta warn Hobbs."
"I will. Heads up - Brooke isn't the mole... it's Billie," Brian felt his heart drop at Dom's words. He adored Billie as part of their family, hell, she stood behind his wife at their wedding. The news came as a shock to Brian, so he knew it was hurting Dom.
He could tell by Dom's silence that he wasn't taking it well. "Dom, I'm-"
"Brian, we think Billie's helping us from inside," he interrupted, "She called with access numbers to a bank account. You gotta make sure she makes it out alive."
"What about what she did to Oz?"
"We'll figure it out later. Just make sure she doesn't get hurt "
"Got it," Brian replied. "Alright, I'm going in."
As he pulled up to the hangar, he watched a tall man step out of the door, seemingly waiting for him.
"Where's Carter?" Brian asked as he walked over.
He didn't reply. Instead he opened the door and held it open, casually waving him in. As he entered the building, the man caught him by surprise while patting him down for weapons. He found the pistol hidden behind Brian's back and yanked it from his waistband.
"Well, well, well. Long-time-no-see, OConner," Carter's slimy voice called from across the room. Chills covered his skin as Carter's icey blue eyes stared daggers at him.
Brian kept on a brave face, "I'm here. What do you want?"
Carter closed the gap between them but kept a fair distance to avoid attacking Brian. What he had planned for the former cop would come in due time.
"We're gonna take a little trip," Carter said, turning for the sliding doors.
"Where to?" Brian asked as he followed. He gazed around the empty hangar. He picked up the stench of a rotting animal coming from somewhere inside the building, but Brian had a feeling it wasn't an animal.
"Argentina," Carter smiled as the two hangar doors slid open. Four black sedans were parked around the jet, each with armed men standing near.
Brian stood horrified at the sight of Roman's limp and bloody body hanging from the back wing of a massive jet. Tears sprang to his eyes in an instant and he lunged towards his friend to help, but the man held him back.
"You sonabitch! I'm gonna fucking kill you!" he spat at Verone.
"Look at him!" Carter grabbed Brian's face and forced his eyes on Roman. At first glance, he didn't appear to be alive, but upon closer inspection, Brian could see his chest slowly moving up and down. He was hanging on... barely. "Look at him! You did this! You are the reason he's hanging from the back of that plane right now!" Carter yelled, pointing to Roman's lifeless body. "You pulled him into this, and now you get to watch him die."
Carter pointed his Desert Eagle at Roman.
"No," Brian pleaded, "No. No!"
As Carter pulled back the hammer, a woman's voice pulled his attention away.
"Enough, Carter," Brooke said, coming into view with her hand intertwined with Kelly's. "That's not the plan. Remember? Follow the plan."
Brian locked eyes with his estranged mother for the first time in almost twenty years. The emotions from the day finally pushed Brian over the edge, reducing him to tears. Though crying, terrified, and her clothes covered in blood, she looked to be unharmed.
"I'm so sorry," he said to her through sobs.
Kelly sniffled a few times, finally bringing an identical smile to her face, "Shh, baby boy. Everything's gonna be okay."
Seeing her smile at him would've been enough to send Brian to his knees, bawling like a baby, but he kept upright. She stared lovingly through piercing blue eyes. His mother always said more with her eyes than she did with her lips. That's how Brian knew to fix his posture, wipe his face, and put on a tough exterior.
"Let her go," Brian said sternly, never taking his eyes off of his mom.
"Actually, she's free to go," Carter said. Brian turned to him surprised, "My darling Brooke here made a deal - your mother's freedom for one of my many bank accounts she's currently holding hostage."
Brian and Brooke locked eyes. He was used to seeing a bright smile, but this time, her face was hard and cold. He wondered why she was still helping them, especially after he'd been so vocal about not trusting her.
"Thank you," Brian said genuinely.
"I'm not doing this for you," she said harshly, "She doesn't deserve to be here."
"Get her out of here, so we can go," Carter said.
Kelly cupped her son's face gently as she passed him, feeling the scruff from his beard under her fingers, "Last time I saw you, you couldn't get a single hair to grow on that baby face. Now look at you."
A chuckle passed his lips while remembering his battles with facial hair as a teen. Her touch sent immediate regret and guilt through his body; how could he stay away for so long? Brian watched as Brooke led his mother back through the hangar to the door on the other side.
"Timothy, prep the plane," Carter ordered. The man next to Brian nodded and jogged towards the front of the plane.
Brian took in the beefy hired men. He counted twelve men, that meant a dozen guns. He needed to be smart about his next move. Carter's cell rang. He sighed and waved over one of the men.
"Watch him. He even breathes suspiciously, put a bullet in him," Carter ordered while flipping the phone open to answer. Burner phone… smart, he thought. Untraceable.
Brian focused his eyes on Roman, but tried his best to listen in on Carter's conversation.
"My sweet Isabella. Where are you, love? It's almost time to go."
Roman's attempt at lifting his head brought Brian's attention back to him.
"Rome," he took a step forward, resulting in a .45 being shoved in his face.
"Do not move," the man burrowed.
Roman's good eye flickered open.
"Brian?" he grovelled.
"It's me, Rome. I'm here, buddy. How you doin'?" Brian yelled, hoping to bring his friend further into consciousness.
"How's Dad?"
"Dad's alright, bro," Brian fought back tears again. "Just hang in there, Rome. I'm gonna get you down. I'm getting us home."
"Sometime this week?" Roman used the last of his strength to banter with his friend.
Brian chuckled, "Shut up."
"She did what?!" Carter's yelled angrily, turning everyone's heads. He turned around, his face beet red and eyes flaming. "Thanks for the heads-up. Get here," he ordered before shutting his phone. In a fit of rage, Carter slammed his phone into the concrete below, shattering the ancient device. He marched over to the man in front of Brian, "Take care of Brooke. She has betrayed me for the last time. She does not make it to Argentina!"
Brian watched helplessly as the man headed through the hangar, no emotion on his face whatsoever. As if what he was ordered to do was just another simple task. When the engines to the plane rattled on, Brian panicked.
"What kind of man would kill his child?" Brian hissed.
"The kind of man that doesn't take kindly to lies and betrayal, especially from family. I warned her," Carter replied angrily.
Timothy finally reappeared from the plane.
"She's ready to go, but we'll have to stop to refuel. She wont make it to South America if we don't," he said to Carter.
"Fine," he replied, "Go check on Patterson. Make sure he puts her with the other bodies."
If he wanted to make sure Brooke made it out alive, he would need to act now. As Timothy passed, Brian swiftly smashed his foot into the side of his knee, a satisfying crunch coming from the appendage. He snatched the pistol from his waistband and spun them around, holding Timothy in a headlock with the barrel to his temple.
The armed men reacted, each drawing their weapon and pointing at it Brian. Carter held up his hand, signaling for them to wait.
"Well, well. Should've expected you to play hero," Carter taunted with a smile. "Now if you let him go, I promise that your death with be quick."
"Call Patterson off," Brian ordered at Verone. When he only smirked, Brian decided to show him he was serious. He fired off three shots in succession, dropping three of the men behind Carter. "I'm not playing around! Call him off!"
As Carter opened his mouth to stop the hit, a gunshot rang off the metal walls.
Then another.
Dom sat stewing in his seat, his emotions flip-flopping from unadulterated anger, to pain, and finally confusion. He found the news about Billie to be a hard pill to swallow. Only an hour ago, he would've considered her family, someone he'd go to war to protect and keep safe. But now… now that he knew the truth, he couldn't think of doing anything but wrapping his hands around her throat and squeezing the life out of her body.
Though his mind was fogged by Billie's betrayal, three words played on a loop in his head. Words that came from Letty's lips. She told him that she loved him, sincerely. It was the first time he'd heard it since before her accident, since he left her in that shack four years ago.
He didn't hesitate to say it back. He did love her, since she was sixteen years old. It was a love he hadn't been able to shake, even after she left him. It was a love that kept him from giving all of himself to Elena, and Billie.
"You alright, Dom?" Oz asked, the tables now turned.
"I'm fine. You think I'd be used to people coming into my life only to try and ruin it. I just never thought-"
"None of us did," Oz interjected. He could see the pain on Dom's face masked by anger. He gave him a supportive pat on the knee, "Don't sweat it, brother. People who aren't meant to stay in your life always find their way out. And in the end, it's for the better."
"Toretto, we have a bird approaching the north side of the hangar. Approximately ten minutes out," Hobbs buzzed in.
"Alright, we're moving out," Dom said, turning onto the dirt path that Brian took toward the hangar.
His adrenaline coupled with his inner turmoil had Dominic so focused on pushing his car harder and faster, that he didn't realize that he was closing in on 100 miles per hour. They were approaching the hangar at neck-breaking speeds, and Oz was starting to get a little worried. Up ahead, they could see Brooke helping someone into the back of Oz's truck.
"Dom, you gonna slow down?" Oz asked while nervously grabbing for the door handle.
After hearing the rumblings of a car heading her way, Brooke turned to see the familiar black monster roaring at an incredibly high speed in her direction. While turned to watch the car that didn't seem to be slowing down, she saw a reflection in the window of a man standing behind her. As he raised his gun to the back of her head, she mouthed for Kelly to lay down. Just as the Charger came skidding to a stop too close for comfort, Brooke ducked in time to avoid a lethal gunshot. The window shattering above her was followed by Kelly's frightened scream. Brooke crawled to the back of the truck as the hit-man fired again, but the excruciating burning sensation in her leg told her he didn't miss this time.
The watched Brooke crawl out of harm's way, and Oz leaned out the window and unloaded his clip into the man's chest. Dom gave the Charger one last hard spin before smashing the side of his car against the building, startling the sniper into a very hard fall onto the ground below.
Oz ran over to Brooke while Dom hovered over the sniper who survived the long fall. Both of his legs were broken but that didn't stop him from trying to crawl over to his rifle. Dom kicked him onto his back and stood on the man's chest with all of his weight, pointing his shotgun into the side of his cheek.
"How many men are in there?" he bellowed.
"A lot, all ready to blow your head off," he snarled.
Dom's hand shook, the gun rattling in the man's face. All of his frustrations from the day tempted him to pull the trigger, but he refrained. Instead, he smashed the butt of the shotgun into the sniper's face, knocking him out cold.
He jogged over to Brooke, who was bleeding profusely from her leg. All seemed to be forgiven between she and Oz, as he cradled her in his arms. Dom wasn't so forgiving. He pointed his shotgun at her while Oz's objections fell on deaf ears.
"Dom what're you doing? I thought she was on our side?"
"I don't know," he growled at her, "Are you?"
"I knew Oz wouldn't let you and Brian give me up. Not without putting up a fight and getting himself killed in the process. I had to go alone, make it convincing. I also knew that I could have you guys transfer all of his money to a separate account before he realized it was gone. I just needed access to the software - which is only available on the company computers."
"You couldn't do all that without trying to knock his head off?" Dom barked.
"I'm sorry!" she yelled, tears springing to her eyes. "I needed you to think that I was working with my father. I couldn't risk you guys knowing my plan and blowing my cover," she ran her fingers over Oz's cheek, "My father would've seen right through those big, beautiful eyes of yours, and we both would've been dead."
The deafening whirling sound coming from the sky caught everyone's attention.
"Right on time," Dom said as the DSS chopper closed in on the building. "Oz, get them out of here. We'll catch up," Dom hollered before rushing inside the hangar.