Nothing Like Us // Brian O'Conner [1]

eight

The following day, the L.A.P.D. got geared up and ready to arrest Johnny Tran and the rest of his crew under the suspicion that they were the ones hijacking the semi-truck's and stealing the DVD players. While Brian and the other officers were arresting Johnny, Dom and his team were preparing for Race Wars, which was happening tomorrow.

Brian had spent the last hour doing police work in the house that was being used for the entirety of the investigation of the stolen DVD players. Brian, Bilkins, and Tanner were all awaiting to hear back about the evidence found at Johnny Tran's house. Bilkins was on the phone in the other room.

"Yes sir. Yeah, I know.. But- Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yes sir. I got it," Bilkins said into the phone, sighing before hanging it up. "Those DVD players were purchased legally. All we've got on Tran and company is a couple of low-rent weapons charges and some outstanding speeding tickets," Bilkins told Brian and Sergeant Tanner.

"So they're out," Sergeant Tanner spoke. No one was pleased by this news.

"Yeah. Father bailed them out. Is this the kind of intelligence I can expect from you, O'Conner?" Bilkins asked sarcastically. Brian cocked his head to the side and looked at Bilkins, annoyed by his words.

"You're gonna put this on me?" Brian asked, raising his eyebrows slightly. This wasn't his fault.

"I can put this on whoever I want to, kid. Perks of the job," Bilkins replied. This only made Brian grow more annoyed.

"No," Brian said, standing up, "There's no way you're gonna put this on me-" Bilkins cut Brian off.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute! Let me tell you. I don't care if you have to put a gun to someone's head and blow your cover to smithereens. You got thirty-six hours to crack this bastard or you might want to think about another career," Bilkins told Brian, a stern look on his face. Brian clenched his jaw and stormed out of the house. Sergeant Tanner followed after him. Brian stood in front of the pool, his hands in his pockets, deep in thought.

"It's Toretto, Brian. It always has been Toretto. Tran and Hector are.. They're just fumes," The Sergeant said, slowly walking towards Brian. He stopped walking when they were about a foot away from each other. "Well, I know you've been lying to me. My question is this. Have you been lying to yourself because you can't see past Alex?" At the mention of her name, Brian turned to look at Tanner.

"He won't go back to prison," Brian replied quietly, ignoring the question. He knew what needed to be done but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Well that's a choice he's going to have to make," Tanner said, pausing for a moment. "There's all kinds of family, Brian. And that's a choice you're going to have to make."

And with that, Tanner left Brian alone with his thoughts, wondering what the hell was going to happen within those next 36 hours.

The 'Team' had finally finished the ten second car, the Toyota Supra, that Brian had brought Dom in exchange for losing that first street race. Brian and Dom were taking it out for a spin and decided to stop and grab some lunch. Dom noticed Brian seemed off. He wasn't as cheerful as usual.

"So what's wrong, Brian?" Dom asked, observing the blonde that sat in front of him.

"Nothin' man, I'm fine," Brian lied, avoiding eye contact. Dom took off his sunglasses and shot Brian a look.

"C'mon man. Obviously something's off," Dom said, wanting to make sure his friend was alright. Part of him wanted to make sure that it wasn't anything to do with Alex.

"Look, I have my good days and I have my bad days, just like anybody else," Brian replied, picking at his food. Not only had he gotten a short amount of sleep last night, but he couldn't help but feel stressed out about work. He still didn't know what he was going to do. He knew what he should do, but for some reason, it felt wrong to him.

"Brian, don't lose that cool of yours. That's your meal ticket," Dom said to the blonde.

"My meal ticket? What, I can't pay for my own shrimp?" Brian asked in a slightly annoyed voice.

"I got the shrimp," Dom answered, taking a sip of his drink.

"Nah, see that's one thing about me, Dom, you don't understand. I don't need handouts, I don't take handouts. I earn my way, every step. Just gotta make a little something extra on the side, like you," Brian said, hoping to start a conversation about the jobs he had suspicion that Dom was pulling.

"What do you mean like me?" Dom asked, knitting his eyebrows together. This caught Dom's attention. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"That's what I mean," Brian said, picking up a piece of shrimp and eating it.

"What does that mean 'like me'?" Dom asked again in a more serious tone.

"Don't try- I'm not stupid, alright? I know that there's no way in hell you paid for all that shit you got under that hood," Brian paused, lowering his voice. "I know there's no way in hell you paid for all that shit that's under the hood of those cars by doing tune-ups and selling groceries. Now whatever it is you're in on, I want in on it too." They sat there, staring at each other. Dom thought long and hard for a brief moment, then took a card out of his breast pocket and slid on on the table towards Brian.

"Well, what is this?" Brian asked, picking up the card and looking at it.

"Read it," Dom replied, beginning to eat some shrimp.

"What is this for?" Brian asked, inspecting the card.

"It's directions.. to Race Wars," Dom told him, a small smirk on his face. Anyone who had any type of interest in cars wanted to be at the Race Wars. Luckily, the Toretto team always got the opportunity to attend and race in as many races as they pleased. "We'll see how you do, then we'll talk."