Winding Roads Eventually Bring You Home
Disclaimer: Hahahahahaha! No, I own nothing.
Summary: This is a TFATF/Takers Crossover. Yes, I'm serious. And there is a smidgen of plot from Brick Mansions twisted into this too, but you don't need to watch the movie to understand what's going on. (I'm just using it as part of an undercover background.)
Rating: M? …I think.
A/N: CHECK OUT THE PROLOGUE FOR STORY INFO! (There is now an overview of the facts you need to know about this story in the beginning of the Prologue. If you are confused about anything I haven't mentioned, send me a PM, or ask in a review. I'll get back to you!)
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Chapter 2
"We need to leave in two hours", Brian said as he finished packing his clothes, money, and his hand gun in his duffel bag at the end of the bed.
"Okay."
He went to the bathroom and grabbed both of their toiletry kits from the bottom drawer that they left pre-packed just in case.
Mia took hers and shoved it in the side of her bag. "Thanks."
"So, how angry are you right now?" Brian asked as he and Mia finished packing their bags while Jack slept in his crib.
Mia straightened and shook her head with a sigh. "I'm not angry. I'm just trying to figure it out. You had a whole life before you met us that you never brought up. Everything we talked about while Dom was in prison… You left out some major details", she said pointedly.
"It's easier to focus on the present and the future when you ignore the past… especially when the past sucks. There was a reason I was such a good candidate for going undercover for most of my assignments. I didn't have anyone I wanted to come back to. It was easy, after a while to get lost in the person I was pretending to be."
"Brian-"
"Look, you should know that I called Lino", he said seriously.
"The guy from your last undercover?" Mia frowned. "Why?"
"He's pretty well connected with the underground", Brian said quietly. "He was out when I called. I left a message with Lola. She took it better than I thought… I figured she'd hang up on me", he chuckled. "I want to see if he has any guys in New York we can use. We're going to have to go in under the radar as much as possible. "We'll have to get some things together when we get there. It'll be easier with a starting point."
"You'll be careful. Both of you", Mia said pointedly. "Do what you have to do, Brian, but I want everyone to come back together."
"I'm just planning for the worst case scenario", he said wryly. "It'll be okay. We'll bring Letty home", Brian reassured quietly.
"Why didn't she find us sooner?" Mia asked.
"I don't know, Mia. I'm sure we'll find out. But I'd bet it was a dangerous combination of her own stubbornness, and thinking it probably wasn't safe."
Mia made a quiet noise of amusement. "Yeah, that probably sums it up. You two became friends right under my nose didn't you?" she asked softly. "How did that even happen?"
He gave her a quick grin. "It's a long plane ride to Rio. I owe you and Dom a few answers."
She sighed and went to give him a hug, clinging with the intent to stay there for several minutes, feeling relief when his arms wrapped around her in return that he wasn't hiding from her. It had taken too much work to get to the point they were at now; she wasn't letting them slide downhill. She was a Toretto, and she knew how to dig her heels into the ground. "Brian, it's going to be okay."
He sighed when they finally let each other go, and zipped his bag closed. "I hope so. I'll help you pack up Jack's things in a minute..." He trailed off pulling out his phone and scrolling through the contacts.
"Who are you calling now?"
Brian frowned. "Giselle."
"You don't think she-"
He shook his head definitively. "No." He didn't explain further as the other line picked up, and he stepped onto the balcony. "Giselle... Do you have a few minutes?"
"Is everything alright?"
"We're good here", he assured. "But we just got some news that knocked us on our asses."
"Now I'm worried anyway", she said wryly.
Brian huffed a laugh. "Letty's alive", he said after a minute.
"You're serious? How is that possible?"
"Dom and I are going to New York. And I called Rome to come meet us because she's been working with my brother's crew." He let out a wry laugh at the relief he felt that he didn't have to explain further. Giselle had known since after she had given Dom and him the information to find Braga. When they'd all met again in Rio, she had pulled Brian to the side and mentioned she'd done a little research and found out about his estranged brother, but she'd kept the information to herself.
"So she is as crazy as you and Dom?" Giselle let out a quiet laugh. "That makes sense, I guess."
"We're all a little crazy around here, Giselle", he said plainly, smirking even though she couldn't see.
"There's a difference between being an adrenaline junkie, and having a death wish."
"That's not what this is."
Giselle made a thoughtful noise. "I thought for sure you'd both end up dead, going after Braga. But you stood behind Dom and didn't blink when I told him he was going on a suicide mission. That loyalty was something I hadn't seen in a very long time. And then, what happened in Rio- I don't think anyone else could have managed that."
"No one else is that crazy?" he teased.
"That's not what I mean."
"We had a lot of backup", he reminded wryly. "We would have been screwed otherwise."
"That is true", she said finally. "Remember that loyalty goes both ways."
Brian sighed. "Rome is meeting us in New York because he knows the crew. Tej is on standby is something goes wrong with us or Mia. We're taking her to stay with Rosa while we're gone. We don't want to drag everybody back in the country. We're all wanted. Hopefully nothing will go wrong."
"Call us if you need us", Giselle said seriously.
"Thanks. We'll call everyone when we can, but if you can send an update so they know we're getting on a plane soon, I'll let you know when we're safe."
"Be careful."
"Same."
They hung up and Brian went back inside to Mia and Jack.
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And hour later, when Brian's phone rang again – this time it was Lino calling back – Mia took the time to make her own call to Roman.
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Twenty hours.
It took twenty hours to fly from the Goa International airport where Brian had paid for a Boeing Business Jet to fly them to Rio.
The jet was decently large, but twenty hours was still a long time to be in a flying rectangle.
Mia had spread out a blanket on the floor of the sitting area with some toys for Jack to keep him busy, and she sat on the couch behind him.
Brian took a seat next to her, arm stretching across the back of the couch.
Dom took a seat in the recliner on the other side of the sitting room, and Brian grinned wryly. "I guess I should fill you guys in."
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Brian's idea of 'filling them in' did not fully match Dominic's definition, although he spent more time talking about his past than he ever had before.
Dom couldn't say that he didn't appreciate it, but there was a pretty big chasm of information they were both still avoiding. It was time to stop.
They near the sixth hour in their flight to Brazil when Mia decided to take a nap with Jack. Brian was pretending to be absorbed in a novel, but was more likely just flipping through the pages every couple minutes.
Dominic was lazily looking at a magazine, considering how to approach the subject that had been taboo for so long.
Letty's supposed murder had been a raw topic for both of them, and neither had wanted to go near it.
But the situation being what it is now... they couldn't avoid it any longer.
"Remember when you pointed a gun at me while I was hanging that shithead out the window?" Dom said dryly.
Brian looked up slowly. "You want to talk about how you almost killed David Park right now?" he asked a bit disbelievingly. "Good times", he muttered sarcastically.
"You remember telling me that Letty was your friend too?" Dom continued, ignoring him.
Brian's jaw went sideways for a second before he stated evenly, "I said that."
"You meant it didn't you?"
"I did."
"You and Letty became friends while she was undercover trying to get my record cleared?" Dom asked, wanting clarification.
"What part of that is hard to believe?" Brian asked a bit abruptly. Then he sighed. "Look... her UC wasn't exactly like ours, okay? It was more complicated and long-term. She wasn't trying to get a driving spot right away. She was staying in the scene. Whatever else you want to know- you need to ask her. Because I don't have answers. I wish I did."
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Rosa had used some of the money Dom had left her to move them out of the favellas and into a two-bedroom house with a loft that had been converted into another bedroom at the edge of the city. The fenced in yard gave a sense of greater safety when she wanted to spend time outdoors with her son. She was also working part-time as a substitute teacher at the elementary school in their district, and could use the daycare for Nico during her working hours.
Brian and Dominic didn't stay in Rio for long. They were only there about eight hours before going back to the airport – just long enough for everyone to get some sleep, get the plane refueled, and do another safety inspection.
Brian couldn't hide his grin watching Jack play with Nico. He didn't get to play with other kids often. Mia was notably calmer having another woman around to chat with and distract her from the current situation. And Rosa was honestly happy to have company that she considered to be family.
"If you need anything, or something goes wrong, call Tej", Brian said quietly as Dominic said goodbye to Rosa and Nico before they left. "I told him to watch for your call."
"Let me know when you get there so I know you're alright", Mia said seriously. "Bring Letty home."
"You know we will."
Dominic came over and gave Mia a hug, and kissed Jack's head since Brian wasn't letting the kid go just yet. "Don't worry, Mia. We'll be back soon."
"Be safe", she said quietly. "All of you."
Brian handed Jack back to Mia, kissing them both again. "Okay, let's get out of here."
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"So this is New York", Dominic said with a frown as they walked down the sidewalk to hail a cab from the airport.
"Yeah, it's kind of like L.A."
Dom shot him the ultimate dirty look. "No."
Brian grinned, and then let out a piercing whistle. A cab pulled in front of them and stopped like magic. He opened the back door and stepped into the cab. "Come on."
"Where we headed?" the cab driver asked impatiently.
"Four Points hotel on Charlton Street", Brian answered quickly as Dominic pulled the door shut.
Dom cursed under his breath as the car veered haphazardly into traffic. "Is this where you learned to drive?" he glared at Brian.
Brian smirked. "That would explain a few things, but no." He pulled out his phone and saw a text from Lino about his New York contact before texting Rome that they were on their way to the hotel. He glanced at the cab driver and kept his voice low when he spoke. "My friend hooked us up with one of his guys here. We'll meet him tonight."
"It's nice having connections, isn't it?" Dom said wryly.
"You would know."
When the finally pulled up to the curb, Dom shot him a wary side glance. "I don't think you and I have the same definition of under the radar."
Brian smirked at the overly expensive hotel. "Just follow my lead."
When he checked in at the front desk, his credit card got a double take, and the concierge sent a bottle of red wine to their suite. "Welcome back to New York, Mr. Travers. Let us know if you need anything."
Brian grinned. "Thank you."
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Luke Hobbs was working late.
In the last few months, he'd had more than his fair share of late nights. He'd spent the last few months going after less prominent criminals while training his new team to work together.
Eventually he would find Dominic Toretto. And when he did, he needed his team to be a finely oiled machine. Hobbs wasn't going to let what happened in Rio be a permanent stain on his record.
Cops can make some of the best criminals. He knew this. But he'd still underestimated Dominic Toretto and Brian O'Conner – the dynamic duo from hell. It had cost him.
He hated that they'd managed to pull one over on him, but he respected it.
It was a nearly impossible feat.
The trail had gone all but cold by now. And all his spare time was wrapped up in paperwork, and doing everything possible to track down a lead.
He was the only one left in the office now. Most of the lights were dimmed after hours, and he was using his desk lamp.
The sound of familiar heels clacking on the tiled floor alerted him that he hadn't been as alone as he thought.
He didn't look up until she tossed a folder on his desk.
Monica Fuentes.
When she'd transferred to their DSS office, she'd immediately made her presence known. She had made a notable footprint during her time undercover, and was a solid agent.
Her transfer hadn't been a coincidence. It had come directly after the mess in Rio. She'd had her own experience with Brian O'Conner and his friend Roman Pierce. And the first thing she'd done after she'd passed her evaluation, lie detector test, and been given proper security clearance was come see him.
She had a slightly different perspective on the situation, and a no-nonsense attitude that meshed with his own. They'd gone over all of O'Conner's old cases, and done what they could to fill in quite a few holes.
It had painted quite a picture, but Hobbs still had questions.
And digging for answers was more difficult than anticipated.
Hobbs looked up from the file he'd been going over.
Her eyebrows were raised, and she had one hand planted on the edge of his desk as she leaned forward slightly, the other resting at her hip, gripping another file.
"You need to look at that", she said, glancing down at the manila folder.
Hobbs picked up the folder, and glanced at the first printed page.
"FRS picked up a hit in New York. And then we ran into something unexpected."
"Toretto?"
"Nope."
"Ain't interested", he shook his head and shut the folder.
"Yes, you are", she said seriously. "Keep looking."
Luke Hobbs wasn't one to get bossed around buy a woman in a tight skirt, but he knew Fuentes well enough to know she wouldn't be bringing him something unless it was important. He conceded and picked the file up again, this time going beyond the first page.
The first thing he saw was the familiar face of Brian O'Conner. He frowned at the fingerprints and the name at the bottom.
"So he's using another identity? How long has he been in the U.S?"
"That's not O'Conner", she said, shaking her head.
"Excuse me?"
"His name is John Rahway", she answered, sounding a bit peeved. "You wouldn't believe the hoops I had to jump through to get his file. I had to get a judge to unseal his Juvie record. He stays off the record fairly well after he turns eighteen though."
"So, who the hell is he?"
"If I'd never met Brian, I'd say he was no one. But…" She set the second folder on the desk facing him, and opened it.
The first things he saw were two mug shots. The clothes were different, and so were the names. The date was the same for both, and the faces were mirror images.
"Meet John Rahway and Brian O'Conner", Monica said on a sigh. "They're twins. You know those hoops I mentioned jumping through?"
Hobbs grunted, staring at the paperwork silently.
"For as badly as the FBI seems to want Brian's head on a platter, they went to an awful lot of trouble to keep the fact that he has a brother under wraps."
"We'll look into it", Hobbs said absently. "It's a starting point."
"Actually, this isn't the most interesting thing I've seen today", she admitted, sounding chagrined. "We might have another lead."
"Don't keep me waiting."
She leaned to pull out the first folder and turned a few pages before stopping.
It was hard as hell to surprise Hobbs, but he looked visibly startled. His eyes narrowed quickly and he looked up at her. "Explain to me why I'm looking at a current picture of Toretto's dead girlfriend."
"Turn the page", she said quietly.
The next page had a photograph of John Rahway standing near the Holland Tunnel with Letty Ortiz.
"How did we get this?"
"When the hit came up for Rahway – we thought he was O'Conner – I asked tech to backtrack though the camera footage. He's been in New York awhile. So has Letty. Once she was identified, we started tracking her too."
"Toretto and O'Conner?" Luke growled. "Have they popped up?"
"Unfortunately, no."
"What about Ortiz?" Hobbs questioned. "There's a gravestone with her name on it in Los Angeles. Everyone thinks she's dead."
Monica shrugged. "Do you believe in ghosts?"
"No", he mused wryly, standing up. "But I do believe it's time to pay our respects to New York City."
"I'm coming with you."
"Get packed up then." He glanced down at her heels. "And don't forget your ass-kicking shoes. I'll pick you up in an hour."
She smirked as she left the office. It would be nice to get back into the field for a bit.
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A/N: And that's chapter two! Review and let me know what you think. This was kind of a filler chapter, which made it difficult to get into, but this is the beginning of the Rabbit Hole. Send a shout-out if you get lost! (I'm sure I'll catch any typos after it's posted and I check it online. Lol. )