Nine

Fast Six

Regan had never boarded a plane so fucking quickly. Now, she was behind Dom and Brian, racing their way to Mia. Around a curve, Brian sped up, which quickly put him in the lead. It was where he belonged right now, Regan and Dom falling into place behind him quickly. 

It wasn't long before there was another curve Dom used to pass Brian on. 

Now it was a race. Rae shifted gears, passing Brian herself. Dom and Rae were neck and neck until a certain curve put her ahead. With her in front, the three drove bumper to bumper. The road widened, the three even again before pulling in. 

Canary Islands, Spain was a beautiful place. Rae couldn't think of anywhere better for her nephew to be born. The three got out of their cars, being met with Sisters yelling at them. Elena stopped them. 

"It's okay, it's okay. You're just in time." She told Brian. 

"You're gonna be a great father, Brian." Dom told him. 

"What makes you so sure?" Brian asked. 

"You will be." Rae reassured. 

"'Cause I'll be there to kick your ass if you ain't." Dom replied. 

"Makes two of us." Rae agreed. 

"Get in there." Dom said. Rae pushed at her brother's shoulder. 

"You coming with me?" Brian asked her. 

"Next time." She promised. "This is a big one. Go be with your family." 

Brian smiled before walking away. 

"Brian." Dom called. "Remember, the second you go through those doors, everything changes. Our old life is done." 

Brian nodded before he walked in to meet his baby. 

"When do you have to go back?" Brian asked. 

"Back?" Rae replied. 

"To Tej." He clarified, looking down at the baby in his arms. 

"Whenever the hell I want." She answered, confused. "Why?" 

"Isn't he missing you?" 

"You want me to leave?" Rae asked. 

Brian shook his head. "Hell no. That's why I'm asking. How's the boyfriend?"

"He's fine, Bri." 

"You sure?" 

"Not this again, okay?" Rae begged. "I know you don't like it but, shit, now you know how Dom felt." 

Brian snapped up to look at her, sending a glare her way. 

"You know it's true." She defended. 

"I take it back." He said, getting up to put the baby in his crib. "I do want you to go home." 

Rae smiled, picking up a pillow from the chair beside her to throw at him. Brian laughed, catching the pillow before it hit him. 

"I miss you." He admitted, dropping the smile as he looked back at the crib. Rae's smile faltered, too. She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked at her brother. 

"I miss you, too." She whispered. "Everything changed." 

"Yeah, even before I had a baby." Brian agreed. "You left." 

Rae's mouth fell open and closed. She didn't have a reply. 

"And you can't deny it." 

"I'm sorry." Rae whispered. She felt the tears rushing to her eyes. Brian looked up when he heard her sniffle. 

"Hey." He whispered, grabbing her shoulder to pull her into him. The foot and two inches height difference put her right below his shoulder. 

"Picnic in the front yard?" Mia asked, walking into the room. The siblings separated"O as Brian went to pick up Jack. 

They sat outside, Brian trying to get him to play. 

"I thought you would like this." Bri grabbed the blue toy car, handing it to the baby. He and Mia exchanged a smile. "That's my boy. All right, let's see how this thing flies. Are you watching?" He threw the paper airplane. 

The plane landed as Dom pulled up. "It's Uncle Dom. What do you know? Are you waving? What up?" 

"Hey, Jack." Dom greeted. 

"What's up, Uncle Dom? What's up Uncle Dom?" Brian waved Jack's hand. 

"Are you already pushing imports on him?" Dom asked, noticing the car. 

"Of course." Rae answered.

"You say I'm not- 'Dad's not pushing anything.' He chose that car." Brian replied. 

"Yeah, we know he's an O'Conner, but- I brought you something, Jack. Yeah! He's also a Toretto." Dom said, handing him the car. 

"I don't know. Luckily, he has a couple more years to decide, right?" Mia asked. 

"I think he decided, Mia." Dom replied. 

"I think it's time for his nap." Mia announced, taking the baby from Brian. 

The remaining three moved to the table, beers in hand. 

"It's weird, isn't it?" Bri asked. 

"What's weird?" Dom asked. 

"I mean, we got- we got everything." Bri answered. "Down to the- Down to the beer and the barbecue. Well, it just- I don't know. It just doesn't feel like home. Maybe it's because, uh, you don't realize how much you appreciate something until somebody takes it away. I don't know. The place has probably changed so much, you probably wouldn't even recognize it anymore."

"Yeah." Dom replied. "Everything's changed." Dom seemed off. A quick glance between the siblings confirmed it. 

"So, what's up with you? What's going on?" Bri changed the subject. 

Dom leaned forward, picking up the manila envelope next to him. "Taken a week ago." He said as Brian opened it.  

"Diplomatic security service." Brian said. "Hobbs. You know, I used to do this shit all the time as a cop." 

"This is big, Bri." Rae replied as he handed her the pictures. 

"No, this is exactly what cops do. He's messing with your head." Brian sighed. "Letty's dead, Dom." 

"I need to know for sure." Dom replied. 

"I agree, actually." Rae piped in. "If this is a trick, it's beyond fucked." 

"Then I'm going with you two." Brian said. 

"You said you were gonna leave this life behind." Dom replied. 

"And you still can." Rae added. "We can do this."

"No, we all said that we were leaving the life behind." Brian countered.  

Dom's gaze met Rae's. 

"He's right. We're family." Mia chimed in. "We got a problem, we deal with it together. And I'll feel safer knowing the three of you are out there, watching each other's backs. You guys are stronger together. Always were. Now, go get Letty. Bring her home." 

The three exchanged glances. 

London. 

"Thank God! Finally some equipment I can work with." Rae heard Tej walk in. "This is way better than that trash in Rio." 

"Way better." Giselle agreed.

"Hey, baby." Tej greeted when he saw Rae. She smiled, rushing over to him. He leaned down to meet her lips when she looked up at him. 

"Has anybody heard from Leo or Santos?" Bri asked. 

"Yeah, last time anyone saw them, they were hitting up the casinos in Monte Carlo." Han answered. 

"I thought that was our last job, Brian." Roman said. 

"Things change." Rae replied. 

"And who's paying for all this equipment? Taxpayers?" Roman continued. "So now we work for the Hulk? That's what we doing?' 

"You wouldn't last ten minutes in the same room as the Hulk." Rae replied. 

"Why do I smell baby oil?" Roman asked. 

"You keep running your piehole, you're gonna smell an ass-kicking." Hobbs replied. 

"The Hulk wouldn't have warned you." Rae whispered. 

"All right, Hobbs. You got the best crew in the world standing in front of you. Give them a reason to stay." Dom said. 

Regan leaned against the table, batting her eyelashes at Hobbs. 

"Our target's Owen Shaw. Former major in the S.A.S., spec ops soldier. He ran the U.K.'s mobility division in Kabul and Basra." Hobbs said. 

"Ah, damn. That mobility unit's the truth. We talking vehicle warfare." Tej said, making his way to the table. He stood beside Rae, slipping his arm around her waist to rest his hand against it. "Best in the world. Those guys don't mess around."

"For years, they've been running jobs in Europe, but it's their most recent jobs that graduated them to a whole new level. Three targets, highly specific. The program terminal from an I.C.B.M. missile and a poison pill computer virus from an N.S.A. black lab-" Hobbs continued. 

"Either of you got a little change?" Roman asked Tej and Rae. 

"Seriously?" Tej asked. "You're a millionaire, and you still trying to ask for money?" 

"That's how you stay a millionaire." Roman replied. 

"So, what does this all mean?" Brian asked. 

"Our best guess is that Shaw's crew is building a Nightshade device." Hobbs answered. 

"A what?" Rae asked. 

"A tech bomb." Hobbs's partner answered. "Designed to block an entire military communication grid for 24 hours."

"Blind a soldier for a single second in the middle of a fight, and he dies." Hobbs said. 

"And what happens when you blind a country." Rae breathed. 

"Loss of life is unthinkable." Hobbs finished. "This could be worth billions to the right buyer." 

"Billions? Why don't we just steal that shit?" Tej asked. 

"Rio was hard enough and that was just money." Rae answered. 

"Hey, man." Roman called. "Which one of these things is a dollar?" He asked, holding up a coin. 

Hobbs pulled out his gun, shooting the glass away. 

"I mean, that's one way to do it." Rae mumbled. 

"It's on the house." Hobbs said. "I want you to help me catch Shaw. He's only got one piece left that he needs, and I intend to stop him before he gets it. Now, I know you guys are a family. So I'm offering a chance right now to make that family whole again." He threw the picture of Letty onto the table. 

Brian looked from the picture to his sister. "You wanna make this family whole again?" He asked. "Get us to Letty, we'll get you Shaw. Full pardons all the way around." 

"I can't promise you that." Hobbs replied. 

"Then we can't promise Shaw." Rae countered. "This family wants to go home." 

"That's the deal. Take it or leave it." Dom said. 

"You get me Shaw, and I'll get your pardons." Hobbs agreed. 

"You heard him." Brian said. 

"Loud and clear in this echo-y room." Rae replied. 

"But this is different. We're not dealing with cops. We're not dealing with drug dealers. This is a whole different level." Brian continued. 

"The playing fields are level for once." Rae added. 

"We getting paid, right?" Roman asked. 

"Interpol picked up on one of Shaw's guys in Moscow. I went in, had a little therapy session with him." Hobbs said. "He gave up Shaw's hide out." 

"Then why aren't we down there now?" Gisele asked. 

"Well, we weren't invited." Hobbs answered. 

"Hobbs, they're sending in your punching bag." Tej announced. "He's wired, he's gonna give a positive I.D. on Shaw before they move in." 

"You think this is gonna work?" Rae whispered to Brian. 

"Yeah, why wouldn't it?" 

"You'd check your guy for wires before saying shit, right?" Rae asked. 

Concern laced Brian's face. "They're professionals. It's fine." 

"Sure." Rae replied. 

They waited. 

"I jut got confirmation on Shaw. They're going in." Tej said. "Wait, wait, wait. Hold up. Hold up." 

"I told you." Rae whispered to Brian. 

"Police scanners are saying alarms are going off at Interpol Headquarters." Tej said. 

"Shit. He brought us here so he could take down Interpol." Brian said. 

"Okay, I was wrong but I was really fucking close." Rae told him. '

"Now isn't the time, Regan. This whole thing's a setup." Bri replied. 

"Brian, take the team." Dom said. 

"What about you?" Bri asked. 

"Hobbs and I will wait for Shaw." He replied. "Shaw leads to Letty." 

The team dispersed, all heading to their cars. Rae had hers started before Tej was even in the passenger's seat.