khaleesian

story_lottery

Racing had become something entirely different for Brian O’Conner since he’d become a fugitive. There was a new and unforeseen freedom in driving; just getting on the streets sent a thrill up his spine, the thought that this might just be his final chance to experience the buzz. It was that feeling of maybe-it’s-the-last-time that finally made him just the right amount of reckless (in the right situations) to become a driver who could rival Dominic Toretto should they ever meet each other on the road again.

But it wasn’t just about the thrill, Brian thought with a smirk as he watched Suki’s hands fall down to her sides and stomped down on the gas pedal hard enough to leave the black Honda Civic in the proverbial dust behind him. It was about winning and really, he got that now. Racing down the street along the cheering, half-naked girls and guys with too-big egos, he finally got it. It had become his life and Brian adapted quickly. Today’s race would be over far too soon, he realized with a swift glance back. Tej had told him that there would be some good drivers tonight, but his first opponent was definitely not one of them.

He effortlessly rounded the green barrels, one hand always on the gearshift. This was almost too easy. When his gaze swept across the audience again, he nearly slammed on the brakes as he spotted the tall, bald man in the background, eerily illuminated by the blinking billboard above his head. He stood out due to his size alone, easily looking over the heads of a group of dancing blondes and tracking Brian’s car, no, Brian himself with an intense stare. It couldn’t have been more than fractions of a second that he actually saw the man, but there was no room for doubt in Brian’s mind.

Dom was here.

Still, the second passed with screeching wheels and when Brian looked back, he couldn’t see the all-too-familiar figure anymore. Biting down on his lower lip, he changed gears and sped up towards the finish line. The race was all but forgotten, a priority even higher than winning made his only goal to get this over with, get out of the car and go, go and find Dom. His wheels had barely stopped spinning when he tore the door open and dove out, ignoring the congratulatory yells and hands that stretched out to touch, to celebrate his victory.

He tore through the crowd, eyes firmly on the spot where he had seen Dom just then, must have seen him; there was no way he could mistake anyone else for Dom. Brian was fast and agile, always had been and the adrenaline was still pumping in his veins, but it seemed like a small eternity passed before he finally reached the huge neon sign he’d laid eyes on just a minute ago. Close to panic he whirled around, letting his eyes fly over the crowd, sure that he could find Dom if he was still here. His gaze flickered over pink cowboy hats and obnoxiously coloured caps, over Suki’s girls getting into a fight with a couple of idiotic wannabe gangsters and the seemingly-customary lesbians sloppily making out not far beyond them. It was the usual motley circus, the sometimes-family full of strangers he had come to accept over the past months and usually felt a part of, but right now all he saw were obstacles in his way, keeping him from the one family he had ever really wanted to belong to.

Eventually he sighed and turned back, returning to his car with slow strides and an almost painful forced smile on his face for those who patted him on the shoulder and yelled ‘Good race, man’ in his ear. He couldn’t even imagine mistaking someone else for Dom, but it seemed stupid now that he thought about it. Dom wouldn’t come here to look for him; especially not to only leave before they could see each other eye to eye and… Brian paused as Tej handed him a wad of bills, not bothering even to count. What would Dom do if he ever saw Brian again? Beat him half to death like he had Kenny Linder for breaking up his family? Give him back the keys to his Supra and tell them they were even now, maybe? Mournfully, Brian shook his head as if that would help clear out the absurd thoughts. He’d betrayed Dominic Toretto, you didn’t get even after something like that. You just didn’t.

With more force than was strictly necessary he swung the Nissan Skyline’s door open, only to stop dead in his tracks as he saw the items on his passenger seat. He hadn’t left anything there, had long since gotten used to carrying the most important things on him at all times, always ready for a quick getaway. But he would have recognized these things as someone else’s anyway, he thought as he lowered himself into the car and closed the door as an afterthought, shutting everyone else out.

He would have recognized that cross everywhere, distinctive as its owner. Picking up the silver chain and dangling it in front of his face he stared at it for a long time before he finally remembered that something else was lying beside it. It was a coin, a five peso coin, he realized dimly and moved it aside to see the last of the left behind message. A sticker with bold yellow letters divided by what looked like a red thunderbolt. It read ‘Baja/1000’ and Brian felt like someone had switched on a light inside his mind, illuminating a dark corner he hadn’t dared look into since he watched Dom leaving and heard the sirens coming. When he flipped the sticker around, there was a hastily scrawled name and Brian unconsciously smiled, ridiculously happy that it was the name of a garage.

For a few moments, he just sat there, cross and sticker in his hands. The roaring of the people outside became a quiet background noise, the brightly coloured cars nothing but decorations on the street. This was a message, a message he hadn’t even dared to dream of, much less expected to even be in the realm of possibilities. But here it was, right in front of him, as unmistakable to him as if Dom had left him a note with instructions.

Come. You’re forgiven.