Code Of Family

30.8

HAVANA, CUBA

"We swap in parts from Fords, Plymouths, and Cadillacs," A man says in Spanish as he work on a car. "My grandfather bought it in 1957. When he died, it passed to my father. Then my brother, and now to me."
"That's amazing," Roselyn says in Spanish with a smile.
"Rose?" Dom says causing Roselyn to turn to see her brother and Letty.
"Dom! Letty!" Roselyn says before giving them both a hug. "What are y'all doing in Cuba?"
"Honeymoon," Letty answers her with a smile. "What about you?"
"Vacation," Roselyn says before motioning to the car she had been looking at. "Look at this," Roselyn tells them in Spanish with a smile on her face. "This is an engine from a boat."
"No way!" Letty says with a shocked smile.
"Yeah," The man says before speaking in Spanish. "Whatever it takes to keep it running."
"This is the Cuban spirit," Dom says with a smile still on his face before speaking in Spanish. "Your spirit. Don't ever lose that."
"Roselyn. Dom," A woman calls as she rushes over to them before speaking in Spanish. "It's your cousin. He's in trouble. Come on!"
"You know I can't make a living without my car," Their cousin, Fernando, tells a man.
"Not my problem, bro," The man, named Raldo,  states with a shrug before he sees Dom and Roselyn. "Dominic Toretto and his sister, Roselyn Toretto, I heard about you both. Welcome to my island."
"Why you hookin' up my cousin's car?" Dom asks the man, who is attaching a chain to his cousin's car.
"He needed money, I gave it to him," Raldo answers Dom with a shrug. "He can't pay, I take the car."
"I just need a few more days," Fernando pleads with him.
"'Few more days' wasn't part of the deal," Raldo says with a shake of his head.
"Come on, Fed. You make a deal, you gotta live up to it," Roselyn tells their cousin as she pats him on the shoulder.
"You make a deal, you gonna live up to it," Raldo repeats causing Roselyn to look at him with a glare.
"'Gonna' live up to it?" Dom asks him as he glares at him as well. "Oh, so you're one of those types. You take everyone's ride, and then ship it back to the States?"
"You should show your people some respect," Letty says in Spanish.
"You watch your mouth," Raldo says as he points at Letty, causing her to laugh.
"Now you got a problem," Letty says with a smirk as Dom turns to face the man.
"I'm gonna keep it about the cars," Dom says as he points at the man.
"I'm really scared," Raldo says sarcastically in Spanish.
"You should be," Roselyn tells him with a smirk.
"You want a car, get it the right way," Dom tells him.
"How?" Raldo asks him.
"Race for it," Dom answers him.
"I already own it, bro," Raldo states.
"Not that car," Dom says as he points at his cousin's car before turning to point at his car. "Mine."
"Dom, his car is the fastest car on the island," Fernando says quickly. "Do you know what he has under that hood?"
"If he's a real racer then he knows it doesn't matter what's under a hood," Roselyn tells their cousin while glancing at Raldo in challenge. "The only thing that matters is who's behind the wheel."
"You think so?" Raldo asks her with a raised eyebrow.
"I know so," Dom answers him.
"Then race his car," Raldo challenges him. "And we ain't racing no quarter-mile, here. We race the Cuban mile."
"Done," Dom says accepting the challenge, causing the crowd to cheer.

"I appreciate what you're trying to do," Fernando says as Dom takes the hood off of his car. "But my car is the slowest car on the island." Dom takes the bumper and fenders off of the car.
"Was," Dom tells him with a smirk. "Pull the seats, the doors, the battery. If it ain't the motor, take it off."
"Laughing gas?" Fernando asks as Roselyn and Letty walk up with a blue canister.
"Nah, Fed. This is Cuban NOS," Letty answers him with a smile.
"You guys are crazy," Fernando says before taking a drink of his Coca Cola. "What are you doing?" Dom takes the tab off of the coke can.
"Poor man's turbo," Dom answers him as he puts the tab around a tube. "Pull the vacuum line and hold on." Dom looks at Letty with a smile. "Old trick that Buster used to play, in case of emergencies."
"You know that's way too much boost for that engine," Roselyn tells him with a smirk.
"It's gonna be fast," Dom says as he connects the tube back.
"It's gonna be a bomb," Letty argues with him.
"Only needs to go a mile," Dom tells her, causing her to smile. They go to the starting line before Letty and Roselyn are given bikes so they can go ahead to stop traffic.
"Are you ready for this, my family?" A woman asks in Spanish as she stands between the two cars. "This is Havana!" The crowd cheers. "Be fast. Be safe. But don't be last. Racers ready! Vámonos!" The drivers take off with Dom slightly trailing behind Raldo, who eventually bumps Dom into a pile of trash as they turn. Dom turns his NOS on as he quickly catches back up to Raldo, who tries to bump Dom into oncoming traffic but Dom swerves out of the way. Letty and Roselyn jump the bikes over a hill before stopping in front of cars to block traffic. Dom and Raldo drive past before Letty and Roselyn take off again. Letty and Roselyn stop as the other bikers pass them before taking a side road.
"Where are they going?" Roselyn asks Letty confused.
"I don't know. Let's go!" Letty answers before they follow the other bikers. Dom and Raldo bump into each other before driving down two different streets. Dom and Raldo meet back on the same street. One of the bikers runs his bike out into the street causing Dom to run over the bike which slows him down.
"Okay, Buster. Let's see if this works," Dom says before pulling the wire attached to the tab which pulls the tube loose. The car speeds up really fast causing Dom to catch back up to Raldo. The engine on Dom's car catches fire. The windshield busts from the heat of the fire. Dom quickly turns around, driving in reverse before hitting the NOS again. Dom and Raldo are even as they approach the finish line before something explodes in Dom's engine causing him to take the lead as they cross the finish line.
"Look out!" Dom yells at the crowd as he realizes that he doesn't have any brakes. Dom quickly turns the car before jumping out as the car flies into the water. The crowd, especially the kids rush over to Dom. Letty and Roselyn share a shocked look that Dom had won while Dom picks a kid up smiling at them. Dom smirks at Letty as the crowd cheers for him. Dom puts the kid down before walking over to Raldo.
"A deal's a deal. You won my car. And you earned my respect," Raldo says handing his keys to Dom, who looks over at Letty at the respect part. Letty smiles at Dom as they both remember Brian's first race against Dom.
"Keep your car," Dom says as he pushes the keys back to Raldo. "Your respect is good enough for me." Letty walks over to Dom before they wrap an arm around each other. "Yo, cousin. Sorry about your car." Dom throws his keys to his cousin. "Your's was too slow for a Toretto, anyway."
"Your Impala? Are you serious?" Fernando questions him in shock before turning to the crowd, who cheer for him.
"Rose, let's catch up tomorrow?" Dom suggests as they walk away from everyone.
"I'll meet you for breakfast," Roselyn says with a nod and smile before they go their separate ways.