O'Conner

Family or Duty?

Nathan decided to check in with his boss. To his surprise he wasn't the only one checking in.
"My superiors are flying in from D.C., in two days. I want something to show. We've got a fence with a lube hose in his mouth automatic weapons, priors on every one of these Asian punks a garage full of DVD players and generally psychotic behavior," Bilkins explains as he looks at everyone.
"Tell me why we shouldn't move on Tran now and figure it out later?" Nathan asks, wanting keep the attention away from Dom. Bilkins nods in agreement.
"Because all we have is behavior. Let me get hard evidence, because what we have now is just..." Brian says as he slightly glares at his brother.
"What we have is probable cause. And truckers arming themselves for some good old-fashioned vigilante mayhem," Bilkins argues causing Nathan to shake his head.
"Tell us about Hector, Brian," Tanner says to change the target.
"Latinos with spear guns. Give me a break," Muse says causing Nathan to roll his eyes.
"Hector's still working on the engines, but the tires don't match," Brian explains as Nathan shakes his head with a sigh since they were only going in circles.
"Will somebody just give me a cigarette?" Brian asks causing Nathan to raise his eyebrows at him.
"Get him a cigarette," Bilkins says.
"Don't give him one. I thought you quit," Nathan argues being a protective big brother.
"I did. Just give me one," Brian says as he glares at his brother again.
"Get him a cigarette," Bilkins says again.
"No!" Tanner finalizes. "Tell me about Toretto."
"I told you, he's too controlled for this. Going suicidal on semi-trucks? No way," Nathan explains trying to get the attention off of Dom.
"Maybe Vince," Brian says causing Nathan to roll his eyes yet again. "But he's too dumb to do it."
"I think Mia and Letty are blurring your visions," Muse says with a smirk.
"What did you say?" Nathan asks getting ready to defend Mia and Brian plus him and Letty.
"I don't blame you both. I'd get off on their surveillance photos, too," Muse tells them before Brian lunges at Muse. Tanner pulls Brian back while Nathan punches Muse in the face sending him to the ground before Bilkins grabs him.
"Knock it off!" Bilkins says as Nathan struggles to get out of his arms.
"What? Are you going native on me, O'Conner's?" Tanner questions Brian and Nathan. "Have you both read Toretto's file lately?"
"Yeah. I memorized that file," Brian answers as Nathan nods in agreement.
"Read it again. No, better still, take a look at these," Tanner says before showing them some pictures. "Remember I told you about the guy he nearly beat to death? Toretto did this with a three-quarter-inch torque wrench. He's a model of self-control."
"Whatever. I say move on Tran," Nathan says with a shrug before heading for the door.
"I need a few more days," Brian tells Tanner before turning to Bilkins. "I need a few more days." Brian quickly follows after Nathan, who is waiting for him outside.
"We need to talk, but not here," Nathan tells him with a slight glare.
"I'll meet you at Harry's," Brian says before they both leave at different times. Brian is the first to make it to Harry's. He is in his room that is in the shop when Harry brings Nathan back there.
"So how long have you been undercover?" Brian asks his brother as he walks into the room.
"Two months before you showed up," Nathan answers him before letting out a sigh. "The Toretto's are not what the cops make them out to be. I hope you can see that or someday see that."
"So you have flipped? Does Dom know?" Brian asks Nathan as he looks at his brother confused.
"Dom doesn't know nor will he probably ever know," Nathan tells him with a stern look. "I'm plan on keeping them safe. If you feel for Mia the way you are acting then I know you will do the same in the end."
"Why are you protecting them?" Brian asks as he tries to understand his brother.
"They gave me a family, Brian," Nathan says as he shakes his head with a small smile. "And I will do anything for Letty. I will take down anyone who gets in my way of doing that."

Later that day Nathan, Jesse, Dom, Letty, Leon, Mia, and Brian are at the garage working on the car.
"Got a TR7 here, with a ball-bearing upgrade. What it's going to do is, it's going to spool up really quick," Jesse explains as he, Leon, and Letty work on the engine.
"I got this set up for 24 psi," Letty tells Jesse as she looks at him.
"Got it," Jesse says with a nod.
"You both got big plans tonight?" Dom asks Brian and Nathan as they work on the car.
"Yeah. We're going out to dinner," Brian answers as he glances at Mia.
"Yeah," Nathan says with a smile as he makes eye contact with Letty, who also smiles.
"You break their hearts, I'll break your neck," Dom tells them causing Nathan to nod in understanding.
"That's not gonna happen," Brian says with a nod.
"I want to show you both something," Dom says as he wipes his hands off before handing the rag to Brian. Nathan nods before following Dom and Brian. Dom takes them back to the Toretto household and leads them to the garage. He opens the garage to reveal a 1970 Dodge Charger.
"Wow," Brian says with a smile.
"Me and my dad built her. Nine hundred horses of Detroit muscle," Dom explains with a proud smile.
"It's a beast," Nathan says as he looks at the car in awe.
"You know what she ran in Palmdale?" Dom asks them with a smirk.
"No. What?" Brian answers as Nathan raises an interested brow.
"Nine seconds flat," Dom answers them.
"God," Nathan says in amazement.
"My dad was driving. So much torque, the chassis twisted coming off the line. Barely kept her on the track," Dom explains with a smile.
"So, what's your best time?" Brian asks him.
"I've never driven her," Dom answers him with a frown.
"Why not?" Nathan asks confused.
"It scares the shit out of me," Dom answers him before turning and pointing at a picture on the wall. "That's my dad. He was coming up in the pro stock-car circuit. Last race of the season. A guy named Kenny Linder came up from inside, in the final turn. He clipped his bumper and put him into the wall at 120. I watched my dad burn to death. I remember hearing him scream. But the people that were there said he had died before the tanks blew. They said it was me who was screaming." Dom walks around the car. "I saw Linder about a week later. I had a wrench, and I hit him. And I didn't intend to keep hitting him, but when I finished, I couldn't lift my arm." Brian sits down as he takes in all the information. "He's a janitor at a high school. He has to take the bus to work every day. And they banned me from the tracks for life." Dom looks at Brian and Nathan. "I live my life a quarter-mile at a time. Nothing else matters. Not the mortgage, not the store, not my team and all their bullshit. For those 10 seconds or less, I'm free."

"So, how is it, anyways, that the gang came to be?" Nathan asks Letty as they finish eating.
"What?" Letty asks him confused.
"The gang?" Nathan asks shyly.
"The gang? No, we don't call ourselves a gang," Letty says with a laugh.
"What do they call themselves?" Nathan asks truly intrigued.
"We're a team. We call ourselves a team," Letty says with a laugh.
"All right. How did the team come to be?" Nathan asks with a genuine smile.
"Well, that's a whole lot of history," Letty answers him as she thinks back on it.
"I've got time," Nathan tells with a smile causing her to nod.
"Okay. Vince grew up with Dom. Actually, he didn't ever actually grow up, as you can tell. But they were friends as kids. And I just lived down the street. I always was into cars, though like now. Ever since I was, like, 10 years old. So, naturally, you know, I was always hanging around Dom and Vince," Letty explains while Nathan continues to smile at her. "Though you can't tell now, Mia was super into Vince until she turned 16..."
"And then she actually had Vince's attention," Nathan finishes for her.
"Yeah. It's funny how that works, isn't it?" Letty says with a smile.
"How does Jesse fit into the whole thing?" Nathan asks honestly confused on how he fit in.
"Jesse. Well, Jesse and Leon just sort of showed up one night and never, ever left," Letty answers him with a shrug. "It's just the way Dom is, you know. Dom's like... He's like gravity. Everything just gets pulled to him. Even you."
"No," Nathan says while shaking his head. "No. The only thing that pulled me in was you. Being friends with Dom is just a bonus."
"That's good," Letty says with a smile as they stare at each other. "That's good. It's nice to come first every once in a while. Yeah. Want to go for a drive?" Nathan agrees before Letty races through town causing Nathan to smile at her excitedly. Letty takes them to the beach Nathan prepares himself to tell her the truth. Letty grabs Nathan's hand as they walk down the beach. Nathan lets out a sigh knowing that she is going to hate him after this.
"What's wrong?" Letty asks as they walk over to her car.
"Letty, I like you. I really really like you," Nathan says as he leans on the hood of Letty's car while Letty smiles at him. "But I haven't been completely honest with you." Letty's smile fades as Nathan looks at the ground. "God, I know you're going to hate me once I tell you this and you're never going to want to see me again."
"I'm not going anywhere," Letty says as she squeezes his hand in comfort.
"Letty, I'm a cop," Nathan says as he looks up at Letty as she lets go of his hand while her face hardens into a glare. "I was put undercover to figure out, who in the racing world is hijacking trucks with freight worth millions of dollars. They told me that my number one suspect was Dom. So, that's why I showed up at the garage when I did."
"You've been lying to me this whole time?" Letty asks as she glares at him causing him to quickly shake his head.
"For the first couple of weeks, yes," Nathan answers her as Letty stands up and walks a few steps away from Nathan. "But that was before I got to know you and the team. You all have opened my eyes to the important things in life and showed me what family really is. It's no longer about if the team are the ones hijacking the trucks or not. It's about keeping you and the team safe because you all make me feel at home and like I have a family. I am going to do everything in my power to keep you out of jail. I've done the one thing a cop should never do and that is fall for one of their targets." Letty looks at him shocked at his revaluation. "And I don't regret it at all because you, Leticia Ortiz, make me so incredibly happy." Letty quickly walks over to him before pulling him to her and kissing him. Nathan pulls away shocked before kissing her back.
"I'm glad you told me the truth," Letty says as she rests her forehead on his.
"Me too," Nathan says with a smile before they kiss again.