Disclaimer: I don't own The Fast and the Furious series or any of its characters. I just own Eve Trudeau.
For everyone worrying about Han/Eve, just don't. They are going to get back together - BUT ALL WILL NOT BE FORGIVEN IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE BECAUSE THAT'S JUST NOT REALISTIC! Han is going to have to work hard to regain Eve's trust and be let back into her heart. Ugh, that sounded so girly and cliche, I think I vomited a little bit lol Enjoy this chapter guys!
Chapter 26
The plan, in short, had failed. Owen had crashed the tank on the highway and all of them had been captured by Hobbs. Owen, Denlinger and herself were cuffed and taken to holding cells back on the NATO base. Letty, Eve noticed, hadn't been given the same treatment. Letty had been standing with Dom and the rest of the team when she'd been led past in the cuffs. They hovered around her, protecting her from the Feds. She'd been on Owen's team, yes, but she didn't have her memory. It was a piss poor excuse, considering all the shit she'd help do over the past year, but it was an excuse the team was willing to believe. As opposed to Eve, who had her memory intact and voluntarily tried to kill them at every turn. Or so they thought. Eve paced her cell with a grim face and cracked her neck. She was restless. She knew that the morons at NATO wouldn't be able to believe they'd hijacked the seventy ton tank for a three ounce computer chip – hell, Eve couldn't really believe that had been the plan either – but it was what it was. That computer chip was more deadly than a hundred of those tanks and it was their final component. The light above her switched on and the door to her cell swung open. Two guards stood there and grabbed her, leading her down the gloomy hallway and thrust her into a room. Eve sat down at the table and put her cuffed hands on the table with a sigh.
"I want my phone call," Eve stated, not even bothering to look at Hobbs as he walked in.
"You'll get your phone call when I'm damn good and ready to let you have it," he remarked. Slamming her file down on the table, he slid it to her but Eve kept her eyes trained on him.
"I want my phone call," she repeated.
"You're in a lot of trouble, Trudeau," he told her, slowly walking around the table. "You know your rap sheet better than anyone, but add terrorism to that? All the civilian's Shaw just murdered on that stretch of highway? You're an accessory to that, sweetheart." Hobbs let out an almost relieved sigh and smiled at her. "I've been waiting a long time to get you behind bars, Trudeau. I've never looked more forward to filling out paperwork in my life," he informed her with a satisfied smirk. "With all the evidence you got piled against you, you're looking at maybe two life sentences. Served consecutively. You'll never get out, I guarantee it." He placed his hands on the table and leaning closer to her. "You got anything to say for yourself?"
Leaning forward, Eve didn't blink as she repeated, "I. Want. My. Phone call." Hobbs straightened up and shook his head, stalking out of the room. Before the door closed, however, she heard the him tell guard outside to let her have her phone call. Smirking, she waited to be escorted out or given a phone, knowing just who she was going to call.
An hour later, Eve was once again grabbed from her holding cell and led to the main arena. Her old team stared her down as she entered with the armed guards. Rome looked at her in disgust, Tej was just plain confused, sad even, and shaking his head. The looks of disappointment on Brian and Dom's face, however, was almost too much to bear. Han, on the other hand, his face was blank. He was good at that, she knew, masking his true emotions and he was doing a hell of a job of it at the moment. Brian started to walk over to her when a car sped into the base, nearly hitting him. The doors opened and Bilkins stepped out with Stasiak, who was sporting a very broken nose to Eve's delight.
"O'Connor. Toretto," Bilkins greeted with a nod to both men.
"What are you doing here?" Brian asked confusedly. Bilkins held up a folder by way of explanation as Stasiak sauntered over to Eve.
"You been sexually assaulted yet? 'Cause we could circle the base one more time." The pencil pusher grinned sadistically and Eve rolled her eyes.
"Suck my dick, Stasiak," she spat.
"Charming, as always," Bilkins commented with a short laugh, pushing the pair apart. "Get those cuffs off her," he ordered, waving at the guards around her. The NATO men looked at their superior as Hobbs uncrossed his arms and stalked over. Frustrated, Bilkins held up the folder and slapped it against Hobbs' chest. "Cut my agent loose, Hobbs, or I'll see you riding a desk for the rest of your natural born life. Now!" Brian looked back and forth between Eve and Bilkins, stunned.
"Your agent?" Brian looked at Eve, who smiled wanly at him and shrugged somewhat modestly. "Did you know about this?" he asked Stasiak, who nodded at him. "Why the hell didn't you tell me?" Brian couldn't believe that he'd been back in the States, with Stasiak, and the man hadn't bothered to tell him this vital piece of information.
"Classified," he answered with a flippant shrug. Hobbs took the folder and opened it, flipping through and reading the papers. He slapped the folder closed with a heavy sigh and ordered the men to release her. Hobbs stormed out of the room, ordering Riley with him, so they could go get Owen and his team. The moment she was free, Eve rubbed her wrists and walked away from the armed guards with a grin.
"Took you long enough to get here," she jeered at Bilkins. "Didn't you get my message? I told you, "Follow the convoy". Where the hell were you?"
"Don't make me have them throw you back in a cell," he warned, good-naturedly . "Had a lot of factors to deal with, the time difference being one. The other being Penning. He didn't think your information was credible given your stellar lack of updates throughout this op."
"Oh, please, you're breaking my heart," she sneered and rolled her eyes.
Startled and confused, Brian stepped up between the two and questioned, "All this time, you were—?"
"Undercover? Yeah," she answered. "You know how this goes, Bri. No matter how much I wanted to tell you the truth – and, believe me, I did – I couldn't. Besides, you guys were more interested in running me off the road and attempting a beat down than chatting." Rome ducked his head at that, scratching the back of his head and coughing awkwardly. Eve quickly explained to Brian that she had a similar deal to the one he had back when he had been in Miami. She had to go under, help take Owen down and, in return, she'd get a full pardon and amnesty. "You actually think I'd try to hurt you, Bri? You're my brother." She punched his arm affectionately and he pulled her into a tight hug with a relieved sigh.
"Sorry I didn't trust you," he whispered in her ear.
"I'm sure I'll forgive you eventually, Barstow," she teased. "Slick move with the chip, by the way," she complimented, referring to the chip he'd knocked off his car that first night. Brian shrugged modestly, but he was grinning like an idiot.
Pulling away, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they walked over to the crew. Tej bumped his fist with hers and Dom pulled her into a hug, an understanding passing between them. Eve realized that they did that a lot, had silent understandings; the pair simply didn't need words to get their points across with the other. Maybe they were just on the same wavelength. Over Dom's shoulder, she spotted Letty and nodded, shrugged, an unspoken apology; the other woman nodded back, her silent forgiveness. Eve approached Rome who stumbled about an apology and Eve grinned, faking like she was going to punch him in the stomach. The bigger man jumped back and held his hand up in defense, making Eve and Brian laugh, the others chuckling at his fright. Eve held out her hand to Rome, who hesitantly reached out and took her own. When he realized she wasn't going to attack, he grinned and shook her hand. Walking away from the group, Eve wandered over to where Han had been sitting. He was the last on her list of reunions so she sat down beside him, neither of them looking at the other.
"I knew you were pulling you punches," he commented lightly. Eve chuckled under her breath and nodded. "And you didn't try to kill me on the highway."
Looking down at her hands, she replied, "I may hate you, Han, but not enough to kill you. Beat you senseless? Yeah." The two shared a laugh at that and she shook her head. "But not kill you."
"That's good to know." Han looked at her and smiled, hand rubbing up and down her back. Eve ducked her head and rose to her feet, quickly moving away from him. Just because she didn't want to kill him, didn't mean that the past was forgiven.
"Hey, Toretto!" Hobbs called out and the group turned around to see him walking over, pulling a cuffed Owen with him. "You need to hear this," he told him seriously. The group gathered around in a circle around Owen, Denlinger and Adolfson, all still cuffed and surrounded by guards.
"You guys really think you've won," Owen mocked. "This code you live by, it's the very reason why you weren't even in the game." Looking at Dom, he stated, "I told you exactly what I was going to do if you didn't walk away, Toretto. But you didn't listen. I told you, I could reach out and break you whenever I want. And I have." Smiling, he looked at Brian and said, "Maybe you should call Mia." Brian and Dom exchanged a startled look and Brian pulled out his cell phone, dialing his girlfriend's number.
Terrified, Eve questioned, "Owen, what the hell did you do?"
"Mia?" A split second later, Brian lunged at Owen and punched him. Before he could get another hit in, the guards pushed him away. Eve, Rome and Tej ran up and restrained him, pulling him back as he grunted and struggled to kill the other man. Owen spit out a bit of blood and straightened his posture.
With a light chuckle, he told all of them, "So this is how it's gonna go down. You're gonna cut me loose from these cuffs, you're gonna hand me the chip, I'm gonna walk out of here and you're not gonna follow." The head of the base looked at him and told him he must be joking. "Look at his face." Owen walked over to Dom, standing toe to toe with him. "Ask him if I'm joking."
"One hostage does not outweigh the threat to millions," the base leader insisted. "I'm sorry, but this changes nothing." Hobbs pulled his gun out and aimed it at his head, causing all the guards around to aim their guns at him, including Bilkins and Stasiak.
"It changes everything. You tell your men to stand down." The leader immediately did so and all the guards lowered their guns. Bilkins lowered his as well and, reluctantly, Stasiak followed his example. "Toretto, I need you to know, the moment we let him walk out that door, with that chip, words like "amnesty" and "pardon" walk out with him." Bilkins looked at Eve and nodded, signaling that the same went for her.
Dom looked at him and responded, "Those words went out the day we were born." Owen, Denlinger and Adolfson were quickly released by Riley. While the other men headed for the door, Owen grabbed the chip with a grin. On his way out the door, he paused and looked back at the group.
"Coming, babe?" he called. Brian, Han and the others looked to Eve. Arms crossed, she stared him down with a conflicted frown on her face. Despite his being a terrorist, she really did like him. Owen had his merits, not that the past week was a prime example of that, but he did and he was a lot of fun. Eve ducked her head and sighed. There was no way she could go with him, not if she wanted to give up her family and freedom.
"Of course." Everyone's eyes whipped over to Riley, who was grinning deviously. "I wouldn't miss it for the world." Riley sauntered over to Owen and he wrapped his arm around her waist. Eve clenched her fists at her side, her face morphing from perfectly calm to unassailable rage. There was no way this was happening to her a second time.
"Like I said, you were never in the game." The pair walked out of the base and Owen warned over his shoulder, "I see you on the horizon? I make the call and the girl's dead." The moment the man was out of sight, Eve shouted and punched the car beside her.
"Tej," Brian called out frantically.
"Already on it!" The circuit man had his hands flying across a keyboard. When he finished his handy work, he turned to others and told them, "I just jammed every signal up and down the spectrum." Guns were being passed out, locked and loaded. Rome passed Dom a shot gun and the ex-con called out for everyone to move.
"I'm coming with you," Letty told them as Eve stole Stasiak's hand gun.
"Me, too," she announced.
"Trudeau—"
"Sir," she cut off, staring at Bilkins desperately, "I am doing this."
"Hell hath no fury, baby girl," Rome commented, nodding in approval.
"Don't you forget it," she warned, cocking the gun
"Trust me, I won't. You got a mean swing."
Bilkins informed the others that they had him and Stasiak as backup, Eve taking the latter's gun off his hands; she needed it more anyway. Everyone took off to their issued '05 BMW's. Eve wanted to go with Brian and Dom but they already had Letty with them. Rome and Tej took off with Hobbs, Bilkins and Stasiak stayed behind to keep the base under control, and that left Han alone. As much as she didn't want to go with him, there was no way she was could, in good conscience, let them man go out there on his own. Reluctantly, she ran over and hopped into the passenger side. Han smirked at her while she rolled her eyes, gesturing for him to get a move on. The trio of cars sped out of the base after Owen, wondering just where the hell he was going to go. After all, he was traveling down an airstrip that was eventually going to run out. Not to mention, he was on an Army base and trapped. A huge gust of wind and the sound of a roaring engine overhead drew their attention as both Han and Eve leaned forward to look up and out of the windshield.
"Did you know about this?" Han asked as the jumbo carrier plane flew overhead and landed on the tarmac.
"No. I thought we were supposed to get away in the tank," she answered bitterly and scoffed, shaking her head. Just how much had Owen kept from her? "That's gotta be Vegh and Klaus. They disappeared the day before yesterday. He told me they were taking care of something for him."
"Mia," Han realized and she nodded solemnly.
Eve looked over at him and stated, "If he gets on that plane and takes off, Mia is as good as dead."
"He's not getting away," he promised. Ahead of them, they saw the center car drive up the ramp and into the back of the plane. That was Owen and Riley for certain. To their left, Dom sped ahead of everyone else and knocked the two jeeps being driven by Adolfson and Denlinger out the way. The moment they were moved, he sped up the ramp and out of sight. Dom, Brian and Letty were inside, which was enough for Eve; Mia was going to be okay. Looking around the car, Eve spotted what looked like a miniature harpoon gun laying in the backseat. Further inspection saw truck had prongs on it to attach the cables on the gun. When she picked it up and pulled it onto her lap, Han explained, "Tej's design. Based off that Firuz guy. He reversed the gears, torqued the motor and added a tank of NOS to the back. We all got one." Eve slipped off the metal cap on the back of the gun and whistled at the site of the can of nitrous oxide.
"Sweet deal. Get us under wing," Eve told him and he looked at her like she was crazy as she climbed into the back seat. She rolled down the window, climbed out, and attached the cables like so. The moment she was back inside and in the front seat, Han grabbed her arm.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"If I can get to that flap, maybe I can keep it from taking off." Reluctantly, he nodded and shifted gears, pulling up under the wing like she wanted. Hopefully, the others would get the message and do the same.
"Be careful," he warned her.
"Ride or die, remember?" she stated, strapping on her seat belt as an anchor.
"Ride or die," he returned solemnly.
Eve rolled down the automatic window and eased herself outside. It had been awhile since she did any sharpshooting, she was a little rusty, but she was certain she could do this. Sitting on the door, using her elbow resting on the roof to balance herself out, she raised the NOS gun up at the wing and took aim. Finger on the trigger, she focused hard on her tiny target. Just as she was about to pull, the car jerked and set her off target. But it was too late. The surprise of the another car jolting them from behind caused her to pull the trigger with a curse and sent the cable flying. The cable may not have gone where she wanted it to, but the plane was tethered to their car regardless. Cursing, Eve quickly slid herself back inside the car and looked over her shoulder. Out the rear window, she could make out Adolfson as the one who bumped them in his Range Rover.
A moment later, he pulled away and sped up beside them with a gun aimed through his window. Han jerked the wheel to the right and hit him, causing him to swerve and even sent his gun flying out the window. Between them the cable whipped around as Adolfson slammed into them. Somehow, someway, when he rammed into their car, he became stuck. To make matters worse, the plane started to take off and the back end of both cars were dangling in the air. This was definitely not good. While Han tried to maintain control over the car, Eve looked over and saw Adolfson crawling out of his window. He kicked at Eve, sending her careening into Han, before his reached in and wrapped his arm around her throat. Eve screamed in pain as he forcibly dragged her out of the car through the window. The moment her feet were on the edge of the window and she was balanced, Eve sent her head flying back into Adolfson's. He shouted in pain and tossed her to the side, sending a jolt of fear through her before she remembered that the combined cars protected her from crashing and dying on the tarmac.
Struggling against the wind and the rocking of the cars, Eve got to her feet to face Adolfson and was met with a punch to her face. She yelped in shock, in pain, as he cursed her for being a traitor and hit her again. A scrapping down tore through the air and she held up her arm as he tried to hit her once more. She blocked his punch and hit him right back before grabbing his head with both hands and slamming it into Han's car. Adolfson recovered quickly, however, and kicked her in the stomach. Groaning, Eve braced herself on his car and flipping herself over his head as she kicked him square in the face. Unfortunately for her, she overshot her jump and her grip slipped over the edge of his truck. Just as Eve thought she was going to fall to the tarmac and die, hands sliding over the smooth edge of the car, two hands reached out and grabbed her own. Looking up, Eve cried in relief at the sight of Han.
"I got you," he swore, tightly gripping her hands. Eve smiled at him and nodded but the moment of relief faded as Adolfson came into view. Eyes wide with fear, she looked into Han's and frantically slipped one of her hands free. Reaching behind her, Eve pulled out the gun she stole from Stasiak and took aim. For a moment, Han thought she was going to shoot him, that she was double-crossing them, and his eyes widened. She fired off three shots and Han glanced over to see Adolfson, shot and bloody but still alive. "Do you trust me?" he shouted over the wind.
Eve looked at him, hesitant, but nodded. "Yes!" Han kissed her knuckles before swinging her hard and letting her go. Eve flew through the air for a matter of seconds before she landed on his car. She reached out and caught the cable before she slid off the edge and, with a lot of groaning and screaming, she pulled herself back up to stand between the two cars. She looked up and saw Han laying a supreme beat down to Adolfson. She'd never seen him so aggressive before, not in all the years she'd known him. The car jerked suddenly and Eve fell down, dropping the gun and one of her legs sliding down into the window she'd been pulled from. Grappling with the roof, she pulled herself back up and her eyes widened. "Behind you!" she warned.
Their plan was working; they had the flaps under their control and they were pulling the plane down. Han looked behind him, paling at the sight of the turbine engine so close to him. He hit the other man once more before grabbing him around his waist and hoisted him up, sending him head first into the turbine. Not only were the turbine's closer, but the cable's hold on Adolfson's car were loosened. Eve screamed as the turbine exploded and ducked inside the car, grabbing a hold of the wheel as it jerked around, all four wheels solidly back on the ground. Outside, Han quickly jumped away and landed on the roof of his car, sliding back into the drivers seat with ease. Once he had a hand on the wheel, he slammed the open door shut and shifted the gears. Hearts pounding, the panting pair looked at one another and let out a sigh of relief. Eve reached over to Han's gear hand and placed her own over it, grip tight. Han didn't let go of the stick, but he did let his thumb slip up and caress her pinky.
A loud crash sounded and Eve looked over her shoulder, spying the right side of the plane crashing to the tarmac behind them. The turbine was ablaze as it skidded along the ground before it exploded. A moment later, the left wing went down and caught fire. Soon enough, the entire plane itself went crashing to the ground and was ablaze. A car suddenly propelled out of the nose of the plane and crashed to the ground, flipping multiple times before it disappeared from sight. Han stopped the car a few miles away from the fiery wreck with the two other cars and both of them scrambled out, staring at the inferno behind them. Eve looked over and saw Brian with Mia – she silently thanked whatever higher power there was that she was safe – and saw Letty with Rome, Tej and Hobbs. But no Dom. Eve looked back the wreck and realized just who had been in that car and buried her face in her hands.
Han wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, turning both of them away from the wreck. She cried as the realization hit her that Dom was dead. He wasn't supposed to die! He was Dominic fucking Toretto! A moment passed and Han let her go, telling her to look. Eve whipped around and saw Letty running towards the wreck. At first, Eve thought she was insane and made to go after her, but then she saw what she was running towards. Dom, he'd made it. He was alive. Eve laughed and clapped her hands over her mouth, happy tears running down her face. That man must have nine lives, she thought bemusedly. Han wrapped an arm around her waist and held her against his side. Eve glanced up at him before looking back at Letty and Dom, the pair embracing one another.
"You know, this doesn't change anything." Han looked at Eve as she stared at the fiery wreck, as if in a trance, until she suddenly turned her gaze to him. "You're still a bastard and I never want to see you again."
Han smirked and replied, "But you still love me." She didn't answer. She knew, and he probably knew as well, that anything she said in retaliation would be a lie. Hell, even the part about never wanting to see him was a lie. She'd missed him, although it killed her to admit it.
"Eve," Mia breathed. Eve spun around and smiled as the other woman pulled her into a hug.
"Are you okay?" she questioned, pulling back to check her over. "I didn't know, Mia. I swear, I didn't know. I never would've let him hurt you!"
"I know, I know," she assured her and hugged her once more. Eve relaxed against her, hugging her tight. "I'm just happy your safe."
"Ditto," she replied. Brian grinned at her and pulled her close, the three of them in a group hug.
"So, this is worth billions, huh?" The trio pulled away and looked over at Dom. His arms were wrapped around Letty as he passed the briefcase with the chip over to Hobbs. Eve smiled, stunned, and shook her head in disbelief. How the hell did he manage that?
"Yes, it is." Hobbs took the case with a smile. "Name your price, Dom." The career criminal looked down at Letty before looking over at his baby sister and the ex-feds.
"1327," he answered easily. Mia grinned and kissed Brian as Eve shook her head and laughed, giving Dom a thumb's up. Rome and Tej may not have understood the significance of the number, maybe Han didn't either, but she did. It looked like they were finally going home.