Some old Volkwagen*Fast and Furious*

Chapter 11 - Real Car, Part 2

*Hi everyone, I'm SO sorry for the long wait! Here you go, now it's getting hot! Love, Jazzlin xxx*

The opening of the front door woke Nelly - but according to the voice it was merely Vince who had come and not Brian. It was only half past eight, but Nelly got up, remembering Dom's words from last night. Then remembering the rest. He had carried her after all. But why wouldn't he have wanted her to know? Perhaps he didn't want her to think he'd taken liberties with her. Might be he hadn't wanted her to feel like she'd felt when she'd thought he'd carried her. Nelly decided to have a shower before she'd think further about this. When she afterwards entered the kitchen to have coffee and breakfast, Vince and Dom were sitting at the table and talking about some car Vince wanted Dom to repair and then take home. They looked up when Nelly wished them a good morning and helped herself to a cup of coffee. Dom reached out and pulled out the chair next to him for her. Nelly thanked him and sat down just when Dom continued talking to Vince: "Why don't you come with me? I can't drive there, repair that car and then drive two cars back." - Vince didn't really provide an answer; instead he started on the Brian-topic. Obviously, Dom had already told him what had happened and why the cop had been here. Vince had his arms crossed. "I don't trust him. You should have left the country last night, Dom." - Dom shook his head. "That would be the only way to make sure he'd be trying to arrest me. I wanna hear what he's got to say." - Vince lifted his hands. "It's your life, Dom, I just think..." - Mia entered the kitchen and Vince shut up immediately. He'd just gotten back into her grace, no reason to risk that now, he seemed to be thinking. Nelly suppressed a smile.

During all of the breakfast, Mia kept throwing glances outside - after a while she even realised Dom was watching her with a sorrowful expression. She glared at him. "Don't look at me like that, I haven't forgiven him." - ...yet, Nelly added in her thoughts. Dom only frowned and Nelly wondered whether he was thinking the same thing. It wasn't much longer - they had in fact just finished clearing the table - when Brian did come. Dom had the door open before the officer had even time to ring the doorbell. He looked at Dom, slightly taken aback. "Erm... good morning. Good to see you're still around." - "Why, so you can make plans to arrest me?" Dom asked harshly - but Nelly had the distinct feeling he wasn't as angry anymore as he'd been yesterday. Brian glanced over his shoulder before saying quietly: "I'm not going to arrest you if you give me a chance." - Dom raised his eyebrows and stepped aside so Brian could get inside. Vince had been waiting in the kitchen and when Brian saw him sitting there, he sighed. Vince just glared up at him from his sitting position. "Now who have we here, the traitor," he scoffed disdainfully. Brian's eyes briefly flickered to Mia, but she didn't defend him.

Brian sighed again and sat down in one of the chairs, as did Nelly - Dom preferred to remain standing with his arms crossed. "Now, O'Connor: what's your plan of action?" he asked after a while. Brian lifted his shoulders. "Well, I'll tell my boss some lies about how you're just working on your car or something. Now and then - to keep them from suspecting anything - I'll tell them something a little more exciting, like you went somewhere but didn't tell me where or that I'd lost your track or something. That'll keep Cillian hooked." - "Who?" Mia asked, leaning forward. "Cillian. She's my boss." The lack of enthusiasm in Brian's voice seemed to put Mia at ease and she leant back again. Nelly frowned. "Where is it going to lead?" - Brian looked at her, seeming slightly surprised at her saying something. Nelly lifted her shoulders. "Cillian - or what she's called - won't be put off forever. What'll happen then?" - "Well, we'll find the real thief. My boss really hates him - or you at the moment, for she thinks it's you, Dom: those cars were no obvious police cars; they were all owned by the higher police ranks and were meant for their private use - or transporting valuable cargo, of course. They are really expensive and especially bullet-proof and things. I believe one of the stolen cars was Cillian's, so if you hand in the real thief, you'll probably get a considerable lessening of charge. We'd arrange it so you wouldn't have to hand the thief in personally, that way they won't be able to arrest you."

Dom didn't look convinced - as a matter of fact Nelly thought he looked quite irritated again. "And what's a lessening of charge going to be to me, O'Connor? - They're gonna want me in jail anyway, I won't be able to stay in LA." - Brian lifted his shoulders. "Well, it would be a step into the direction 'free of charge', if nothing else. And..." he daringly met Dom's eye, "...we could always take the cargo and tell them we found the cars empty. If I tell the police the cargo wasn't there, they'll believe me. They have to or they'd be officially doubting my integrity. You could leave the country with that money. Of course the lessening of charge would expire then, the trouble of trying to find you again would overstrain the gratefulness. And you would have to take me with you." - Dom chuckled. "And why is that?" - Brian shrugged. "Because I wouldn't have an excuse to tell my boss, in that case. You leaving and me not noticing - that's not possible. That I helped you and we took the money will be clear after that. And I told you yesterday already: I'm not sacrificing both of the only options I have." Brian put his hands in his pockets. "So if you're saying you'd never take me with you anyway - before you've even decided if this is the path you'd want to choose - we can stop talking right now and I'd better leave: because an officer isn't bargaining with criminals."

Vince pointed at Brian, but was looking at Dom. "This," he said with emphasis, "is rubbish. All this is going to do is getting you in jail!" - Dom's expression was extremely grim and Nelly started to fear he wouldn't trust Brian after all - and that would mean he'd have left the country by tomorrow morning. Besides, Nelly did indeed think Brian was trying to redeem the family's trust. Dom's eyes were fixed on Brian. "So you're saying I'm supposed to go out there and do cops' work because they're too lazy to do it themselves and rather just pin it on me?" he asked, a threat in his voice. Brian nodded carefully. "At the moment, I don't see another way. If you agree to do this, it will enable me to stay with the police a bit longer and tell you what they're up to. Of course we could also flee the country tomorrow, but then we won't have the advantage of me being double-agent. And we won't have the cargo." - Vince scoffed. "I wonder why I do always hear 'we'?" - Brian jumped from his chair. "Has the information not yet made it through your thick skull into your brain?! - If there's no 'we', we can quit talking right now and I'll get enforcements to lock up each one of you!" - Vince shot up from his seat, too, struck out - Nelly was halfway out of her chair to pull Brian, who was closer to her, away when she realised Vince's fist had been stopped mid-air. Dom was standing between the wranglers; his fingers were wrapped around Vince's wrist: he had caught the blow so easily as if there had only been a boy's strength behind it. "I'm supposed to repair and fetch that car you told me about, right?" - Vince merely nodded, glaring at Dom. - "You can't do it yourself, you told me, so I suppose you gotta be somewhere?" - Vince glanced at the clock and then nodded again, curtly and sullenly. Dom let go of Vince's wrist: his hand fell down to his side. - "Then I'd suggest you'd better go. Don't wanna be late." - Vince narrowed his eyes at Brian before taking his leather jacket and leaving the house, banging the doors behind him.

Dom turned to Brian and said sharply: "Don't you be smug about this, it don't mean you've won. I don't know yet if I want to be doing police work for you. You said we had plenty of time, so you can wait until tomorrow. Leave now." - Mia stood up and whispered something to Dom that - to Nelly - sounded very much like she didn't want Brian to leave yet - she wanted to talk to him. Dom frowned. "Alone?" - Mia nodded and threw an angry glance at Brian. "We've got to talk some things over. About lying to me and stuff." - Dom looked at the clock. "I'll have to go soon and repair that car for Vince and then somehow take two cars back with me. - I don't want you being alone with him." - Mia leaned closer to Dom and whispered: "I'll be alright, he won't hurt me. Please, Dom. Nelly will be here." - Dom sighed. "Alright then. But she won't." Before Mia or Nelly could say something, Dom spoke up: "O'Connor - you as much as touch her and you're a dead man, is that clear? - I don't mind if I have to go back to jail, if you hurt her, I will find you and I will kill you." - Nelly felt a shudder running down her spine and was quite glad it wasn't her Dom was threatening - he sounded dead serious. Brian just lifted his hands and nodded, then he looked at Mia curiously. Dom took his car keys, looked at Nelly and jerked his head towards the door. "Let's go get that car. You don't mind driving it back, do you?" - Nelly was so surprised she only managed get up from her chair as quickly as possible without looking too eager to go. Dom had so many friends - why would he choose her of all people to come with him?! She didn't even mind he hadn't properly asked her if she wanted to come at all. His attitude was a bit cocky for sure, but for some reason Nelly didn't mind at all. Dom guided her outside by putting his hand at the small of her back and then opened the door of his black and orange car for her. He grinned. "Told you I'd take you for a ride in a real car one day, didn't I?"