Season 5, Episode 2: Friend & Foe
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Fast and Furious Franchise. Only my ideas and original characters. Please excuse any minor grammar/punctuation errors.
Monday, September 14, 2015
Los Angeles CA
With Brian still out of commission, The team has been working in overdrive these past few days to not only find their family member, But, also trying to ponder what Cipher's next move would be and when they would transpire. It was easier said than done, especially when said people didn't want to be found. Ramsey has been working to revamp God's eye with an even faster response time of two minutes, compared to its usual 4. Causing the young hacker to lock herself in the basement of The O'Connor Household, living on nothing but granola bars and water. Even though Mia offered to cook her friend a proper meal, Ramsey, politely declined and continued with her work.
During the late morning of September 14th, Ramsey was working on gods' eye per usual with the company of Tej, Dom and Letty, who were reviewing the materials they had thus far.
"So we know Brian abruptly left the family barbecue back in March" Letty says looking over the older blond's bank statements, courtesy of Mia. "But on these statements it shows no activity proceeding that day...but the money remaining is still left untouched."
"Classic runaway tactic" Tej mentions with certainty "He knows that once a purchase is made with his debit card, we'd be able to track it's location. But, my question is, how is he even surviving without money?"
Tej then lets out a shaky breath "Unless...He's…"
"He's still alive, Tej" Dom said calmly "Brian's a fighter. He's more than likely picked some under the table jobs to make ends meet"
Tej gives a simple nod in understanding and plasters a fragile smile.
"That would explain a lot. Yet, where exactly would he hide out? With Ramsey still updating God's eye, we're still flying in blind. He could be anywhere in the world" Letty mentioned
"What if he moved back to a place of importance from his past?, Barstow? Miami? Spain? Brazil? Hell, what if he's hiding in LA and has just been doing a hella good job of staying hidden" Tej prompted
"It'd be too risky" Dom began as his brows drew together "He's probably hiding in a place we'd never expect... Also more than likely, a place far as possible away from Cipher"
"Which would mean he's more than likely still in the states?" Letty questions "That would narrow down our choices. But, we're gonna have to get to him before Cipher possibly does"
"You'd think Cipher would kidnap Brian, again?" Tej asked
Letty shrugs as her expression hardened "Anything is possible. Especially when dealing with a cyber terrorist. She's gone to the extremes before, there's no telling what her next evil master plan can entail"
The three adults stood in silence briefly as they collected their thoughts. They had a good start but many questions still remained unanswered. One of which being that once they find Brian, would he still himself, Or, rather a stranger. Also, would the team be prepared for what Cipher had planned next.
The tranquil atmosphere ended abruptly when the booming voices of Roman and Eric came down the stairs leading to the basement. The two male adults were currently yelling at each other due to some type of argument they've established. Ramsey looks up from her laptop and gives them both a scowling face.
"Do you two mind?! I'm doing important work here!" She snapped
"Well can you tell this dipshit that I'm right" Roman snarled pointing an accusing finger at Eric
Ramsey threw her hands up in confusion. "I'm gonna need some more context"
"I had the brilliant plan of searching each major city in the US till Brian was found"
"But do you realize how time consuming that'd be?!" Eric prompted with a stressed sigh "What if Brian isn't even one of the major cities? We've gotta work smarter, not harder. Which means being patient.
"I've been patient for six months! We can't just keep sitting around and doing nothing! Brian could be in trouble"
"Well, I'm sorry that my updating skills aren't fast enough for you!" Ramsey added in a frustrated manner "Eric is right. We have to be patient. Once gods' eye has completed its update, we can move forward with our search efforts"
"We don't have time for waiting and I don't care how ridiculous my plan sounds, Brian is my best friend and I can't lose him" Roman said in a cracking voice
"I understand that. But you aren't in a stable mindset, Roman. Why can't you just take outside opinions for once?!" Eric asked
"Cause you come into our lives and act as if you're superior cause you work for a government agency as a covert operative?! Big fucking whoop. You don't know me or my family, so don't act like you do or care!"
Eric folds his arms in defense. "I never once said I was superior. Now you're just pulling shit out of your ass"
The two male adults engage in another heated argument throwing insult after insult at one another while seeing who can yell the loudest.
"Alright that's enough!" Letty intervened "Until you two learn can to be civil with one another, We're kicking you off the search"
"What?! But Letty…" Roman whined
Dom then wraps a supporting hand around his wife. "You heard her. We've had to hear you both bicker at each other for almost a week now! Enough is enough. Do you both understand?"
"Yes," Roman and Eric muttered as they both made their way out the basement.
"I need a beer" Dom declared
Tej chuckles as he checks his watch. "It's only 11:30"
"I know. I didn't start early enough" He replied
~The Fast & Furious Family Chronicles~
Indianapolis, Indiana
Meanwhile in Indiana, Brian was frantically packing his belongings. Also known as a single duffel bag with a few articles of clothing. This was a response to receiving a severed finger in the care package left by the landlord shark as a threat. Didn't take Brian long to realize how much danger he put himself in for leaving LA Behind. It was now time to fix his mistakes.
Unfortunately, Just as Brian was about to leave the apartment for good, He was greeted with the one person he had hoped to avoid...plus an extra group of goons.
"Leaving so soon without saying goodbye?" The landlord shark questioned in a mellow manner "I thought we had a better relationship than that, O'Connor"
Brian gulps nervously and without hesitation tries to ram his way through the goons. He was easily grabbed and brought back into the apartment.
"Let me go, you bastards!" He screams
The landlord sharks shakes his head in disbelief
"They never learn"
Then proceeds to slam the apartment door behind him.
~The Fast & Furious Family Chronicles~
Starbucks
Los Angeles CA
3:30pm
Darryl's POV
Following the mishaps that was my first day of Junior year, I was put on house arrest by Mia for a week. With, only being allowed to go and from school . Yes, I realize that's the equivalent of being grounded, But, saying house arrest seemed better suited for getting my frustration across. Mia did understand where I was coming from regarding Watson's tyrant ways, But still punished me for acting out in class. Today though she's letting me go to Starbucks with my friends to work on a group project for English. Thank goodness! I was in desperate need of grande triple shot white chocolate mocha with caramel. I'm addicted...I know this. But, there's far more worse things I could be doing.
I could barely contain my excitement after hearing the final dismissal bell after sixth period economics. My body jumped out of my seat and zoomed out of the classroom to pack my bag and meet with my friends at the school's entrance.
Once we were inside the coffee shop, ordered and received our drinks, Jared, Caleb, Marcus and I claimed the corner booth and spread out our needed materials which consisted of a laptop, class notes and our textbook. We had to pick a short story from the first chapter and create a plot structure PowerPoint presentation regarding it.
As time progressed and our project became closer to completion, Caleb turned to me with a random question.
"So, Darryl?" He began
"Yes?" I answered not taking my eyes away from typing on the computer
"I have a question I've been meaning to ask you"
"Alright. What would that be?"
"How come you've never officially asked Alyssa out?"
I immediately stopped typing and turned to Caleb with anxious eyes. My heart begins to beat faster than I'd like, causing me to feel it right in my throat.
"What?"
"You and Alyssa have been friends for quite some time now, right? You've even lived together in a Miami mansion for a bit. To me, it seems as though your guys' interactions with each other point to signs of liking each other more than friends."
I place a firm hand on my friends' shoulder while flashing a lighthearted expression.
"Caleb, Alyssa and I are just friends. We both know guys and girls can just be close friends? Don't we hang out with Tori, Bella and Cindy?"
Jared intervenes with slight hesitation "Yeah, but they're different. You don't go on death defying missions with them like you do with Alyssa. Which by the way still hurts since you don't ever invite us on missions"
I roll my eyes at Jared's statement as certain events flooded my memory.
"On the contrary, I can think of a few. Remember when we burned my kitchen trying to make popcorn during a boys night in 8th grade? Or how about the time Marcus and I were being chased around the school by Shaw freshman year as he threw grenades at us? Or my personal favorite...Getting chased by a damn bear while on our camping class trip during sophomore year. If those don't scream action, I don't know what does"
"Ah yes. The camping trip we didn't want to go in the first place" Marcus said as he remembers the day in vivid detail. "Regardless, What's the harm of asking Alyssa out on one date?"
"Cause I don't feel that way about her" I said once more
"Unless you're scared of rejection?" Caleb prompted "Which is understandable. Look, we just want what's best for you. I know it's been hard dealing with the stress of finding Brian and this could ease your mind. You never know, she could say yes and it's painfully obvious that there's some type of spark"
I abruptly got up from my seat.
"I need another coffee" I announced in a gruff voice.
Even though my anxiety was telling me to not consume more caffeine, I needed an excuse to get away from the table. What the hell was with the third degree?! We're supposed to be working on our English project. But maybe Caleb is right...Was I scared of rejection? But most importantly...Did I see Alyssa as more than a friend?
~The Fast and Furious Family Chronicles~
Los Angeles County Fair
Meanwhile on another side of town, Roman and Eric had been wandering the streets for a few hours. Both males had hardly spoken a single word since their eviction from The O'Connor House earlier today. Even though they could have just simply gone home and not be bothered with the other, Dom and Letty, would easily figure out that their petty squabble wasn't resolved. Resulting in another delay of getting back to Brian's search efforts.
As the hours progressed, Roman decided to finally break the silence with a snarky comment.
"This is all your fault, Little Nobody. You realize that, right?"
Eric scoffs in defense to Roman's statement
"I fail to see the correlation. All I did was offer advice and you took defense, as usual!"
"That's cause you think you've got me all figured out, isn't that right?" Roman questioned "You help us find Brian and everyone will be praising you"
Eric lets out a stressful sigh "You think I'm helping just for praise?! I genuinely want to help! Yet, you belittle me and spew out bullshit as if you have me figured out. Yes, I realize that I can be a Stickler for rules and a killjoy at times. But, there's more to me than you realize, Roman"
Roman's brows drew together at the man in question. "Oh yeah? What exactly does that mean?"
The corner of Eric's mouth quirked up instantly.
"You'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, we've gotta find something to do that will get us to bond"
"Like a carnival?" Roman pointed out in the far distance.
Eric looks in the same direction and does notice the fascinating height of a ferris wheel and other attractions in the surrounding area.
"That works too. Bet I can last on the tilt-a-whirl longer than you" Roman states in a confident manner
"We'll just see about that. But let's make this interesting. The loser has to buy the winner dinner and anything else they want at the carnival. Deal?"
Eric extends his hand to meet Roman's in a handshake.
"Deal. Prepare to be schooled!"
~The Fast & Furious Family Chronicles~
Later that day…
After 15 rounds at the tilt-a-whirl, Eric was deemed victorious, much to Roman's disliking. However, as the afternoon progressed, the two males were so occupied with having fun at the carnival, they didn't realize that their conversations were filled with joy instead of spite.
As nighttime arrives in Los Angeles, The two males find themselves occupying a bench outside a nearby concession stand, while enjoying an order of deep fried Oreo's and Onion Rings.
"I've gotta say, Little Nobody, This afternoon has been rather enjoyable" Roman mentions as he stuffs an oreo in his mouth"
"It has" Eric adds in a content manner "We've haven fought in like four hours...that's a record"
"Unless, you don't count with happen at the water gun balloon game"
Eric gives out a lighthearted laugh. "Hey, I won that far and square. You sprayed me with water cause you knew you'd lose"
"Perhaps. But, I let you keep the prize"
Roman points to the stuffed animal plushie of Bugs Bunny, Sitting adjacent to Eric.
"How generous" Eric states sarcastically
"Besides, It was just water. I'm sure your shirt is dry now"
"Somewhat. Just hope I don't catch a cold"
Roman's expression changes from playful to concerned and instantly removes his jacket and hands it to Eric.
"Put this on"
Eric eyeballs the jacket in question and hesitates before grabbing it.
"Are you sure? Won't that be weird?"
"Dude, it's fine. It's rather chilly tonight and you'll be no good to the team with a cold" Roman says with certainty
"Thanks, man"
"You're welcome. But now, I've gotta know...What did you mean earlier about there being more to you than I realize? You seemed to be thinking of a certain time when you said that"
Eric lets out a stressed sigh as he reaches for an onion ring. As he munches on the fried circular structure, he begins a story.
"Well...just like you Roman, I have a childhood best friend. Sorry, I had a childhood best friend...named Jake. We were inseparable but as we grew older, our goals for life shifted drastically. I wanted to graduate and go off to college. My friend however, got mixed into the wrong crowd and soon got dragged into the dangerous world of drug dealing. One day, Jake and I got into this heated argument over his lifestyle and how I was genuinely concerned for his well being. Jake storms off calling me a horrible friend and leaked details about a deal that would be going down in our town's park after dark. I made the rash decision of calling the cops to save his life. Instead, I put Jake in danger. Right after making the call, I received a message from him saying he took into consideration our conversation from school earlier in the day and was going to call off the deal. However, it was already too late. The police arrested Jake before he could reach the park and was sentenced to 8 years in prison. Every time I went to go see him to apologize, he'd just tell the guards that he wasn't interested in visitors."
Eric's voice cracks as tears swell up in his eyes. "If I had just been a little more patient...I could have saved Jake from getting arrested. That's why I keep saying that we need to be patient with our search efforts for Brian. I don't want you making the same mistake I did.
Then the tears broke free and Eric began to sob uncontrollably at the bench. Roman reaches for one of his hands to try and get the other male to look at him.
"Eric, look at me, please" Roman says softly
Eric does so and his eyes are already extremely puffy and red.
"You did what any best friend would do in your shoes. Besides, there's no telling if something would have happened to Jake once he reached the park. Maybe it was destined regarding what happened. He's safe from getting hurt. When is his 8 year sentence up?"
"This upcoming summer, why?"
"Cause I wanna help you reunited with Jake"
"You do?"
"Of course. You've been so willing to help me with my best friend, I'd like to return the favor. I spent so many years blaming Brian for my arrest in 2000, I never took the time to realize my friend never had spiteful intentions and I'm sure we can convince Jake the same once he's released
"I hope so. Thank you Roman for letting me decompress. It was much needed"
"Anytime Little Nobody, Anytime"
~The Fast & Furious Family Chronicles~
Indianapolis Indiana
Brian's POV
After being ambushed, I now find myself tied to a chair in the middle of my apartment. My oh so loving landlord shark had his goons restrain me while he went out for...torture weapons. Leaving me under supervision. But enough is enough. I will not be subjected to torture for a single second.
"Excuse me kind sir" I prompted to the goon
He turns around to face me with a scolding face.
"What?!" He snarls
"Can you please untie so I can use the bathroom?"
"Do you really think I'm that dense?" He deadpans
"Yes"
"No. But do you really wanna tick off the boss? Not sure he'd be thrilled with having piss all over his carpeted floors. So I'd think it be in everyone's best interest to let me me use the bathroom"
"I don't give two shits about what you think is in everyone's best interest"
I raise my brows at the man while determination written all over my face.
"Oh? Well then you leave me no choice…" I trailed off
"Wait!" He pleaded anxiously "Fine. I'll untie you"
"Smart man" I said
Right as the rope was loose enough for me to maneuver, I elbow the goon, causing him to fall backwards on the floor. He clenches his nose as blood begins to drip onto his hand
"And yes, you are that dense. Just needed to gain your trust for that split second to make my escape."
I then quickly grab my duffel bag and dart out the door. As I made my way down the stairs, He begins to fire his pistol in my direction. Bullets go flying past me but I don't stop running. Once outside the building, there's a city bus pulling into the neighbor spot, causing an idea to cloud my mind. I sprint down the street as more gunshots could be heard in the distance.
"STOP THAT MAN!" The goon yells
The bystanders outside didn't register the unfolding situation till I was already past them. I hop onto the bus and prompt the driver to floor it because a crazed gunman was heading for us. Without hesitation the driver presses down on the gas and goes flying down the street. I notice the goon trying to take a shot but as he realized that the bus was out of range, he throws his hands up in frustration and screams profusely while I plaster a cocky grin.
Adios, Indiana!
End of Episode