Brian's breath hitched in shock.
"How are you alive?" His voice slurred greatly.
Earl chuckled darkly.
"What's wrong, Brian? You thought that I was dead? A fire ain't enough to kill me, boy. You know that. I escaped without even a scratch. You thought you disappeared. No trace, until all that drama with the Torettos. You popped up everywhere. I would've come for your pathetic ass two years ago, but I heard you were in Lompoc. I had my buddies on the inside make sure you had a fun time. Right, Paul?" A man stepped up behind him and Brian's face paled significantly.
"Don't worry, Brian. I have great plans for you. There's this biker family, I'm sure you've heard of them. They'll pay me a great sum of money for your dead body. Johnny Tran made sure to let me know that I have free reign to take out his anger on you. After all, he caught a charge because of you." Earl chuckled, and Brian scowled.
"He caught a charge because he was fucking guilty. Just like you will when I get out of here."
Earl tutted. "Oh my dear boy, haven't you heard? The police think you fled the country. Everyone has forsaken you, even your beloved Torettos. And trust me, my son, you won't be getting out of here, lest it be in a body bag."
"I am not your son, fucker. You treated me like shit, you left me for weeks at a time, you beat my fucking ass. You are not my father," Brian spat. Earl scowled, and motioned at Paul. He pulled his massive arm back and slammed it into Brian's jaw. His neck whipped so fast he got whiplash, and his vision spun violently.
"We'll teach you respect, Brian. After all, a man should show respect to his elders. Especially when those elders decide his fate."
~~~
Dom's POV:
Dom threw a M16 at Vince, which he caught and checked the chamber. Leon grabbed Glock, and Mia watched them with a concerned look in her eyes. Jesse practically begged to help, but Dom refused, the memory of his close call with death years ago still fresh in his mind. He couldn't bear to lose him.
"You sure we shouldn't call the police? This isn't safe. You could catch a charge, or worse. This might all be a setup. I doubt that he is actually in trouble," Mia reasoned.
That gave him pause. He sat down his gun and turned to her.
"You really think it might be a setup?" He asked reluctantly. Mia shrugged her shoulders and picked up the knife she was chopping with earlier.
"I don't know, Dom, but I think that before you go rushing in, guns drawn, maybe contact that Tanner person. Apparently he's Brian's superior. Call him and tell him what you saw. What's he gonna do, arrest you? We were already cleared, our names aren't touched. Somehow, he shifted the blame onto the Trans. I'm just saying, Brian has a history of lying to us now. Not that that means he deserves to be kidnapped, but it could be a ploy."
Dom considered that, and sighed.
"Always the voice of reason, Mia. Thank you. It would be wise to think this through before we rush into this." He replied fondly, and picked up his phone, dialing the police station's non-emergency number.
"This is the LAPD, how may I help you?" A female voice came through.
"Hello, may I please speak to Sergeant Tanner?" Dom asked politely.
"May I ask who is speaking?"
"An anonymous tipper with information about a missing person."
"I'm sorry, sir, but Sergeant Tanner doesn't deal with missing persons. Perhaps I can transfer you to someone else?"
"It is about Officer Brian O'Connor, ma'am. May I please speak to Tanner now?' He snapped in frustration.
"Of course sir, I apologize. He is out of office, however I can transfer you to his voice mailbox if you'd like. Just leave your number and he'll get back to you as quickly as possible." She responded kindly.
"Please," he muttered, and was transferred.
"Sergeant Tanner, leave a message."
"This is Dominic Torretto. I witnessed an altercation involving a potential missing person, Officer O'Connor. It took place in the parking lot outside a warehouse, Bondit Warehouse, just off of Fernando Highway. I was driving by in a vehicle when I noticed. Please get back to me." He hung up and turned back to the others, wondering why he was so concerned over a traitor.
~~~
Brian's POV:
Pain. Brutal, unrelentingly vicious pain. That was all his mind could focus on. More than prison, more than jobs as a cop, more than crashing a car into Verone's yacht at 80 miles an hour, more than every beating as a kid, from Earl, from bullies, from Juvie, and even once from Rome.
He felt each crack in his ribs, his nose, his arms and shoulders, and others he couldn't even identify. Yet the newest batch of drugs he'd been given kept him awake and alert. Kept him screaming when the pain was too much, which was most of the time.
Which is why he felt every bump in the road as he was transported in the trunk, felt the too bright sun hit his swollen eyes as he was yanked out. Wondered vaguely how they managed
to find his Nissan Skyline, and why he was being put in the seat.
His right hand was handcuffed to the steering wheel, broken wrist and all. Didn't even struggle as Earl duct taped his foot to the gas, holding the brakes down with his hand. His legs were useless, he couldn't feel them anymore. He registered he was on the street that passed Dom's house, the one that ended in a dead end, a huge Hickory tree awaiting.
He suddenly understood. It was to look like a suicide, or a drunk driving incident. Earl pulled his face up to his.
"You were a failure anyway, Brian. At least you died doing what you loved." And with that Earl took his hand off the brakes and slammed the door. The car took off.
~~~
Dom's POV:
There was a knock at the door, quick and relentless. Dom impatiently answered and there stood a frantic man.
"Hello?" Dom asked, confused.
"Are you Dominic Toretto?" He asked. He looked distraught and anxious.
"Why do you want to know?" Dom asked suspiciously.
"Listen, I'm Roman Pierce. I've been Brian's friend for years, well, at least until we had a falling out, but we made up earlier this month. He told me about you. He felt so fucking guilty about what he did, but he wouldn't talk to you. I tried to talk him into it, but he refused. I apologize for showing up like this, but I heard that Brian was back in town, figured he ditched the cops and showed up here? Saw he was missing."
Dom shook his head, somewhat amused.
"No, we haven't heard from him in years. Why, is something wrong?"
Roman sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
"Well, If he contacts you, tell him that Earl is back. He isn't really dead, and is probably after him."
Dom immediately turned worried, just as a car started revving extremely loudly a few houses down. Roman turned to the sound and then back to Dom.
"Who is Earl? Brian never mentioned him. That's his middle name, but that is all I know. Why? Is he in danger?"
"Earl is his father. His fucked in the head, alcoholic father. Okay, who the fuck is revving?" Roman turned to the sound and Dom stepped out with him.
"Is that-" They watched as Brian's skyline zoomed past at over 70 mph.
"It's a dead end, what is he doing?" Dom muttered, just as the sickening crash sounded. A huge boom that shook the whole block.
"No!" Roman yelled, sprinting towards the wreck. Vince and Leon popped out of the house,
and witnessed Dom running towards it as well. They followed.
"Brian!" Roman yelled, and reached the car. Somehow, it wasn't completely crushed. It seemed the passenger side had taken most of the damage, but Brian was still slumped forward, his head bleeding on the steering wheel. The airbags had failed, it seemed.
"What the hell happened?" Vince yelled over the sound of the horn.
"Help me get him out," Dom responded, and they managed to leverage open the door. Roman tried to pull him out, and Dom noticed the handcuff around his wrist, and tape on his foot.
"Someone set this up," Jesse whispered in horror. Dom didn't even hear him and Mia come up.
"Leon, check his pulse. Vince, run and grab a pair of metal shears. Jesse, run back to the house and pull out the table. Put a sheet on it. Mia, go with him and get the medical shit ready. Roman, when I cut the handcuffs, I need you to pull him out with me."
Everyone dispersed to follow his directions, and Vince sprinted quickly, back in only a few seconds.
"He's got one, but its very slow. He's breathing though." Leon said as Dom cut the cuffs. Roman pulled him out, and pulled him into a fireman's carry over his shoulder.
"Leon, Vince, can you deal with the car? Get it back to the garage. We'll deal with the buster here."
They quickly returned to the house to deal with his injuries. Of course, that was when he woke up.