Chapter Thirty - Just Come Home
Sapphire walked through the plane that was owned by Cipher where a redheaded man stood waiting once she got to the computer room "Move" She told him yet he remained in his place.
"Say that again" He said with a smirk.
"If I say it again, it'll be to a corpse" Sapphire threatened with no expression on her face.
He chuckled "I'm going to enjoy this"
"Welcome back Saph. Nice job out there, excited about tonight?" Cipher smiled, walking over to her.
"Don't call me that" Sapphire mumbled.
"You're going on this?" The redhead asked causing Cipher to roll her eyes.
"You're with me" Cipher then walked away with the blonde following behind her into her mother's weapon closet. Where every gun was displayed like it was the crown jewels.
"Showing me your shoe collection?" Sapphire asked.
"Yep. A pair for every occasion" She replied and pulled out a small wall with assault rifles before going to sit down.
"You have enough guns in here to outfit a small army, huh?" Sapphire asked, walking around.
"Oh, this is just the tip of the iceberg" Cipher smirked "You know what I like about you, Saph? You're a smart woman, like me and you know your place. You're a genuine outlaw just like Brian. Which is surprising because I heard that he's retired now. Or Dom who nearly got killed by a guy with a motorcycle yet he let him keep his car even though Dom won"
"That confused you?" She asked.
"Hmm. Just like it confuses me how you can go to all those street races with your fiancé and watch as the women just throw themselves at him but you don't bite"
"Well I could be a bitch and start pointless arguments and Dom could've taken that guy's car but it's about something bigger" Sapphire explained, before closing the weapon display "This way, we changed them. Oh, and don't even say Brian's name. He-we're better off without you"
However, Cipher ignored her again and continued to talk "That's not your responsibility"
"But it's who I am and who we always will be" Sapphire stated.
"Is it?" Cipher asked, raising her eyebrow "Let me ask you something, Sapphire. What's the best thing in your life?"
"My family" She answered without a doubt.
"No it's not" Cipher smiled "Not if you're being honest and remember, I'm your mother I know when you lie. And the truth is, it's the ten seconds between start and finish, when you're not thinking about anything. No family, no obligations. Just you and your car, being free" Sapphire stayed quiet "I got to tell you, this whole saving the world, Robin Hood nonsense you've been doing recently? It's bullshit. It's not you. Be who you are. Why live only a quarter mile at a time when you can live your whole life that way?"
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UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
"Two questions" Hobbs said after a prison break with Mr Nobody before getting driven to one of his many hidden places.
"Yeah?" He asked.
"My daughter?"
"With your sister"
"O'conner?"
Mr Nobody smirked "That's interesting you ask. This is my new base, welcome to Nowhere"
"It's a little sterile for you" Hobbs said, opening the door to where the rest of the team were as Mr Nobody chuckled.
"Listen, there's something that I wanna talk to you about. Hey, listen guys. . .woah, woah, woah" The two walked into a room to see the team around a table with handcuffs on and glares on their faces "What's with the handcuffs? What is this?"
"It's called abuse of power" Roman snapped.
"You told me to round them up" The trainee kid spoke up.
"I didn't tell you to handcuff them. .cut em loose. Oh man, this is embarrassing. I'm so sorry guys" Mr Nobody said.
"This is how you treat old friends?" Letty asked, placing her handcuffs on the table after she picked them with a bobby pin from her pocket.
"Friends? We don't even really know who the hell this guy is" Tej argued.
"It doesn't matter who I am, Tej I'm like nobody, okay?"
"Nobody, then who is he?" Tej referred to the trainee kid who was undoing everyone else's handcuffs.
Mr Nobody shook his head "He's nothing. He's like less than me"
"Clearly we're getting nowhere, with nobody. I've been in here for four hours, my ribs are sore. I don't know about y'all but I'm out" Roman said, standing up from the table.
"I wouldn't recommend that" The trainee said, causing everyone to turn their heads.
"What?" Roman frowned, taking his hand away from the door handle.
"Well, thanks to your botched Berlin job. You all made interpol's top ten most wanted list" Mr Nobody told them.
"Top ten? Uh-huh. That's alright" Roman smiled.
"Well, not you" Mr Nobody clarified and you could see the disappointment in his face.
"What do you mean?"
"You just missed the cut, you're number eleven. So. . ."
"I missed it?" Roman asked in shock.
"Yeah"
"That's impossible. What number did they come in at?" He asked, pointing to everyone.
The trainee pointed to Hobbs "Six" He then pointed to Letty "Eight" To Tej "Nine" And Ramsey "Ten and Sapphire was number Seven and Dom is number five"
"She's a ten? That's impossible, there is no way she's a ten" Roman said, looking at Ramsey.
"Wait, where is Dom?" Hobbs asked, looking around the table.
"Dom and a few of my men have gone to the airport to pick up Brian as we speak and while they do that, let's focus on someone who we're not gonna find out on anybody's list?" Mr Nobody said, standing in front of the table as a picture of a short, blonde haired woman appeared up on the screen and her information beside it "We are awaiting hard confirmation, but. . .I believe that's the cyber terrorist known as Cipher O'conner"
"Wait, no" Ramsey quickly denied "Cipher's an organisation, not a person"
"Hold on, hold on" Roman interrupted, mentioning something that none of them had realised "Did you say, O'conner? As in my homeboy Brian and Saph?"
"Yes Roman" Mr Nobody nodded "Cipher O'conner, their mother and Ramsey, she is a person according to our sources"
It was silent for at least five minutes because no one could comprehend that this was their mother "What does she want?" Tej finally spoke up as his voice shook slightly.
"I don't know" Ramsey began to explain "Cipher is like a digital active god. They, she, can manipulate world systems under shadows. Anything that can be hacked, is hers to play with"
"And here is the kicker" The trainee continued "You will never find her linked to any other. Her digital identity is scrubbed every few seconds worldwide"
Letty started to rub her forehead to soothe her headache as she grew frustrated "So basically, she's the boogeyman?"
"Yeah, she is" Roman mumbled "One of the hottest bogeyman I have ever seen, I mean. . .if y'all know her, tell her to get at your boy"
"What are you, twelve?" The trainee asked walking over to Roman and kicking his shin.
"That was my shin, you mother-"
"Let's just say" Ramsey cut Roman off "People are scared of the hacker group Anonymous. But even Anonymous won't mess with her"
Tej glanced over at Letty before speaking "What the hell does any of this have to do with us?"
"Probably nothing, Tej. But. . .I do find it interesting that apparently for some reason. She's now working with her daughter" Tej's heart dropped when a picture of Sapphire came onto the screen as did Letty's "She's already delivered a fully operational EMP into her hands. Detonate that, they can turn any city in the world into a war zone"
"So, what are you suggesting?" Roman asked.
Mr Nobody just shrugged "Maybe we find Sapphire huh? Well, first let's catch her and then figure out why she's turned"
"So, y'all want us to track down Sapphire O'conner?" Roman pointed to the rest of the team "You do know what you're asking us to do right now? This is Brian's twin, we've got no chance"
"I know, Roman. It's kinda a big job" Mr Nobody said.
"It's impossible"
"Which is why I'm bringing in an extra pair of hands" Mr Nobody said before the door opened and in walked Deckard Shaw.
"Ah. My day just got a whole hell of a lot better" Hobbs said, standing up from his seat as he glared at Deckard "Mr Nobody you want to tell me why you just put me in a room with this tea and crumpets eating criminal sumbitch?"
"You got a big mouth on a small head. Coming from prisoner 6753" Deckard retorted.
"Don't think we've forgotten everything that you've done" Letty glared at him as everyone else stood up.
"We are not teaming up with this guy" Tej said, loudly.
"Let's get one thing clear" Deckard looked at everyone "I ain't on your team. I don't care about you, your crew or your little family. I'm here for Cipher"
"You gonna apply for a job, head asshole?" Hobbs asked.
"Don't you think that tight t-shirt is cutting off the circulation to your brain. You should get a bigger size" Deckard replied, taking a step towards him "Cipher came to me first. Wanted me to steal Nightshade for her. When I said no, she went after my brother"
"Oh yes. Brother Owen, who could forget him?" Mr Nobody said as he got in between Hobbs and Deckard. It wasn't long before Owen Shaw's face popped up on the screen "Former hell-raiser and current guest, at a nasty little black site prison"
"Cipher corrupted him and left him for dead" Deckard said as he stared at his brother on the screen before looking back at Hobbs "So if I get a shot to take her down, believe me, flex. I'm taking it"
Letty couldn't help but roll her eyes when she saw the younger guy reach for his gun "You're taking my boot right up your ass"
"Guys, guys, guys" Mr Nobody stopped their argument "The fastest way to find Cipher is through O'conner. Now aside from myself, there's only four men in the world that have ever managed to actually track her down with any success? And guess what? Two out of the four are standing in front of me right now. So, like it or not, you two are gonna work together. You got that?" The two men didn't say anything when Mr Nobody finished "I'm gonna take that as a yes"
The trainee then adjusted his tie and Roman mimicked him while pulling a face "Am I the only one seeing this?" He asked.
"Oh, this ought to be good"
But Roman just ignored him "Use God's Eye" He said it like it was obvious "We put our lives on the line, running around the world trying to figure this thing out. Let's use it to find Saph"
"Roman, that is a great idea"
Roman then looked over at Ramsey "Did you hear that? Great idea" She rolled her eyes as she turned her head the other way, a small smile making its way onto her face "No, no, no! Don't tune it out"
"Mr Nobody" Hobbs looked over at him "Let's fire it up" The team walked out to a larger room where Tej and Ramsey stood in front of a large computer screen to work on God's Eye, all except Deckard who was still in the other room talking to someone on the phone, before they heard a familiar voice.
"I know I said one last ride but all that goes out the window when it involves my sister" It was Brian walking through the doors with Dom and some of Mr Nobody's men behind him "Cmon, you know me Dom"
Dom nodded "I do know you Brian" He sighed before speaking again "Ride or die"
"Ride or die" Brian confirmed.
"Look who made it! My man" Roman said as he brought Brian in for a hug just like everyone else did "Hey Rome"
Everyone greeted Dom as well before he went over to his wife and wrapped his arms around her for some peace. Well some short lived peace anyway because Sapphire still wasn't with them. She wasn't home where she should be.
"Good to have you back man" Tej said, pulling away from their hug as Brian gave him a comforting smile even though he was close to breaking down himself.
"So, how does this work?" Brian asked Tej, pointing to the screen and Tej showed him as he typed in Sapphire O'conner. And they all watched it map out where she was.
"Got her" Tej finally said, a small smile on his face "Saph's in London"
"Wait" Ramsey said "We've got a second match in Hong Kong"
Dom looked up, still holding Letty to his chest, as he saw red dots starting to appear randomly over the digital globe "Beijing and Seoul" Roman spotted.
"And Tokyo" Tej sighed.
Ramsey sighed as the red dots continued to appear "And just about every other major city on the planet"
"Fuck" Brian cursed and went over to the steps to sit down as he put his head in his hands.
"And so" Mr Nobody started to explain "God's Eye was where we started. But Cipher's already created an evasion that masked her location by pinging ransom spots all over the globe. But it was a good thought Roman"
"So she's made my programme obsolete" Ramsey said, a hint of annoyance in her tone of voice.
"And that, Ramsey. Is why you're here" Ramsey just sent Mr Nobody a glare in response.
"See, simple solutions aren't gonna cut it here slick" Mr Nobody Junior said as he walked past Roman.
"Why are you looking at me when you say that?" Roman walked down the steps as he looked at him.
"Wait a second, wait, wait. Simple solutions might just cut it" Tej cut in "In order for God's Eyes to give up all this false pings, means they have to be using a free relay"
"Watch these two" Mr Nobody said to the trainee.
"Which means it has a decaying sync randomiser" Ramsey realised.
"Which we can reverse" Tej looked over at her.
Ramsey nodded "And track it back to the originating source and find Saph's true location"
Mr Nobody smiled as he glanced at Hobbs who was stood next to him with a matching smile "Telling you, they got skills"
"That was my idea" Roman spoke up "That's what I was saying, remember in there?" He pointed to the room they were in not that long ago.
"Alright, let's try this" Mr Nobody said to Tej and Ramsey.
"Just find my sister, Tej" Brian begged as Tej looked over at his best friend and gave him a nod before giving his full focus back to the screen.
"It's working" Ramsey said in disbelief.
"Time you wanna take your manual and start organising first response" Hobbs told the trainee and he started speaking into his radio.
"He's still green" Nobody told Hobbs.
"Yeah, like fresh baby shit" Hobbs replied, causing Nobody and Dom to chuckle.
"Let's get a hold of a, better asshole" Roman mimicked the trainee as he pretended to speak into a radio "No one respects you, over"
"Get away from me"
"Alright, they're not in China or Russia" Tej said as some of the red dots started to disappear.
"Europe's clear" Ramsey frowned "But this one's not going away"
"This is interesting" Mr Nobody said, taking a step forward.
The younger guy turned around to look at his boss "Why?"
"Because that's here" And that's when explosions went off sending Brian flying from the stairs and onto the ground, his head hitting the floor. His vision blurry as glass rained down on him. Everyone else sprawled out around him.
"Did you all enjoy that?" A woman's voice echoed through everyone's ears and Brian recognised it but couldn't pinpoint who it was. Turning on his back as he blinked a couple times only to see his mother walking in with Sapphire beside her "Next generation concussion grenade. It scrambles your senses. Don't worry, it'll wear off in an hour. Probably"
"Hello, Deckard. Nice to see you again" Cipher spoke as she put her foot on the metal that was on top of him with a gun pointing at his face "Look at this, body's not even cold Saph. Your family's already replacing you. You chose the losing team. I guess your brother is smarter than you"
Deckard groaned as she applied more pressure before her eyes moved over to where Brian was, now sat up and leant against a table. His eye sight still slightly blurry and he could feel blood dripping down from his forehead.
"Good to see you again, son" The last word was like venom to Brian as he tried to keep his eyes open to focus on Cipher "Sorry we don't have more time. This isn't the catchup I originally wanted but when you embedded God's Eye into the mainframe, smart move by the way, that then made me come all the way down here to get it. Which caused all of this" She continued while grabbing the God's Eye before looking at Sapphire "Let's go"
And Sapphire did just that but not before shooting the glass wall behind Dom and Letty as shards of glass rained down on the couple.
"Babe!" Tej shouted and Sapphire so wanted to just run into his arms but she knew that was a risk she couldn't take.
"Saph!" It was Letty who shouted this time as she sat up slightly.
"Sapphire!" Brian yelled and that made her stop in her tracks and turn around to face her family. But she still avoided Tej's gaze, she couldn't look him in the eyes. She'd betrayed him, she'd betrayed everyone she loves and it was killing her. So if she looked up at Tej in that moment, she knew she'd break.
"You gonna turn your back on family just like that?" Letty asked.
"On me? On your fiancé?" Brian's voice cracked but Sapphire still looked at them with a blank face "Shit Saph, this isn't you. The real you and we both know that" As Brian continued talking, he could see her face soften a little and that was enough for him to know that his sister was still in there.
"Let's go" Cipher insisted as she pointed her gun at Tej and Sapphire looked at them one more time before turning around and leaving the building, just like that.
It was awhile after and everyone was getting treated for their injuries and the place was getting cleaned back up. Tej was sat on the same steps Brian was while the rest of the team were back in the other room.
Tej was staring into space while replaying what had just happened in his head over and over. He couldn't comprehend any of it.
"Hey, you okay man?" Brian asked Tej, sitting down next to him with a comforting hand to his shoulder.
"That wasn't Sapphire" He said adamantly and slowly turned his head to Brian "I don't know what she's got on her but that wasn't my fiancé"
"I know" Brian whispered, his breath shaky as a few tears fell down his cheeks "Cipher was always the manipulative type. Ever since we were little kids"
Roman looked at the two sadly as he heard their conversation before looking at everyone else "So what are we gonna do?"
Dom sighed as he wrapped his arm around Letty's waist "I always say you never turn your back on family so let's bring Sapphire back home where she belongs"
Hobbs nodded in agreement "Let's catch this son of a bitch"