December 16th, 2021
Location: Tony's House
Lucy's POV
It snowed in L.A, making mounds of snow pile up on the roads. School was cancelled for the day and Lucy couldn't be happier, mainly because she was too pissed off to deal with people. She had gotten up to make herself some breakfast, but all she could do was stare at the file sitting in front of her.
"He lied to me."
Lucy said out loud, staring hard at the report of her parent's death. She had reread the entire report a dozen times, and she still couldn't get it wrapped around her head. Tony lied to her.
"I hope you understand why Tony lied to you."
A voice said behind Lucy, making her jump. She turned around to find Jake and Max, Tony's best friend, standing at the front door of her house.
"What are you two doing here?"
"Checking on you. Tony asked us to while he was gone."
"Well, leave. I don't want to be bothered."
Layla snorted as she looked back at the file, rereading it another time before Max walked over to the table and slammed the file shut.
"That's enough."
Max growled as he picked up the file and held it away from her.
"Give that back! I have every right to look at it!"
"You've looked at it long enough."
Jake said as he took the file from Max, sitting down at the table and looking at the file himself.
"Why are you so mad at Tony?"
"He lied to me."
"To protect you from acting like this. Tony isn't as dense as you think he is. He just leads people to believe that."
"He still lied to me-"
"Get over it, Lucy! Tone did what he thought was right. You have no right to judge him."
Max almost yelled, spooking Lucy with the tone of his voice. She didn't argue back. She didn't think it would help get them off her case. But even if she did get them out of the house, they still would be all over her.
Lucy soon started thinking that maybe she could fake accepting everything. That would get everyone off her back until Tony got back and she could get some answers out of him. And hopefully, he'll give her the answers she's looking for.
"Fine, I'll stop looking at the damn file and return it."
"What about Tony?"
Jake asked, still giving Lucy a skeptical look like he didn't believe the words coming out of her mouth.
"What about my brother?"
"Are you going to drop the idea that he 'lied' to you?"
"Yes."
"And why don't we believe you?"
"Because you believe what you want to believe. Now leave."
Max and Jake exchanged glances with each other before getting up from the table and walking out the front door without saying another word. Lucy might not have convinced them that she was done with Tony yet, but she at least got them off her back from the time being until her brother returned from his mission and she could get some answers.
Location: Somewhere in the Artic
Tony's POV
Tony hardly slept all night. He was too cold and had way too much on his mind. At the moment, Layla was sleeping against him as he leaned against the corner of the room. He wasn't sure why he couldn't sleep, but he had a feeling it had to do with being too cold. Or maybe he just had too much on his mind to sleep.
One particular thing that was stuck in Tony's mind was that the map of the base locations had disappeared. Tony had no clue when they lost it, but it must've been when they were traveling to the base they are staying at now.
It was bad, but Tony didn't that he shouldn't waste his energy on something that couldn't be fixed now. But the other thing on his mind was the mission in general. Someone tried to kill them, but who? Was it the guy they were trying to stop? But how would he have known that the Spy Racers were on their way to the Artic.
Tony sighed as he looked around the room at his friends. Cisco was snoring loud as Frostee slept soundly against him, and Echo and Shashi were sleeping together; Shashi's head sitting on top of Echo's.
Several minutes passed before someone finally stirred from their sleep. Shashi groaned as he opened his eyes and lifted his head off Echo's. He looked around for a moment before he noticed that Tony was staring in his direction, awake.
"Hey, Toretto. How long have you been awake?"
"Pretty much all night."
"Why? How come?"
"Couldn't sleep. Too cold."
Tony responded as he felt another chilling wind hit him. Shashi gave him a quick look of sympathy before looking down at Echo.
"Hey, I was thinking. Maybe we should stay here for the day. Replenish our energy and morale. And maybe you can get some sleep as well."
Shashi suggested as he shifted his position. Tony thought about it for a moment, going through the pros and cons of the idea before he finally came to a conclusion.
"Alright. I don't see why not."
"Good."
Silence soon fell between Tony and Shashi, besides Cisco's snoring. They didn't really know what to say to each other. They had been stuck in a rough patch for a long time, but Tony didn't really care. He didn't like Shashi and preferred it to be that way.
"Hey, uh... One more thing, Toretto."
"What?"
"About what I said about you and Layla-"
Shashi stopped short when he noticed Tony's death glare, but moved his focus to Layla who was still sleeping against Tony.
"Despite all of the crap I said, I really do think you and Layla belong together."
"Don't try to put us together. We're partners, not lovers."
"And yet you two act like you're dating."
Tony shot Shashi another warning glare; this time, he was serious about hurting Shashi if he kept going on.
"I know dating is a sore spot for you, Toretto. But if you don't hurry, someone is going to come and take her from you."
Tony's internal fear spiked when Shashi mentioned someone taking Layla away from him. But he pushed that fear aside as he glared Shashi down.
"And I'm telling you, back off. My love life is none of your business."
Tony spat, making Shashi bite back whatever he was about to say. Redirecting his focus, Tony looked down at Layla. He had the sudden urge stroke her back, but he kept his impulses to himself as he leaned his head back and sighed, closing his eyes.
About half an hour later, the rest of the crew woke up, minus Layla, and were walking around the base, trying to get themselves situated for the day, or whatever time of day it was.
Tony remained seating with Layla still against him. He didn't want to wake her up given that she had the same amount of stress he had as well. She was just better at not showing it than he was.
When an argument from the others started over who was going to use the bathroom first, Layla started to stir from her sleep. She nudged her head into Tony's side before groaning and pulling the blanket over her head.
"Ugh, can't they be quiet?"
"I know."
Tony remarked as he watched Echo push through everyone and go into the bathroom first, shutting the door in their faces. Layla finally pulled the blanket off her head and opened her eyes. It took her a few seconds to register that she was laying against Tony.
Layla quickly got off Tony, clearing her throat as she pretended that nothing happened. Tony gave her a sleepy smile as he tried to keep his eyes open. Out of all times, now was when his body finally felt like it was ready to sleep?
"Are you good, Toretto?"
Layla asked when she noticed that Tony's head kept drooping and popping back up when he kept himself awake.
"Yeah, I just didn't sleep much last night."
Suddenly, Tony felt Layla's hand against his forehead as she felt the temperature of his head, making sure that he wasn't running a fever. That was the last thing they needed right now.
"Why didn't you get much sleep?"
"I guess I was just too cold and had too much on the brain."
Layla frowned at Tony as she stood up and draped the extra blanket over his own. She then folded her blanket and put it behind him.
"What are you doing?"
Tony asked with a yawn as she sat down next to him on the bench and gently pushed him down. As soon as his head hit the blanket, Tony became incredibly sleepy and did his best to keep himself awake.
"Sleep, Toretto. We'll wake you up if it's an emergency."
Tony barely heard what Layla said as he started to drift off into the dream realm.
Layla's POV
Layla smiled as she watched Tony sleep soundly. She understood that he was cold, but she didn't think that would stop him from sleeping. That was, unless there was another reason he hated the cold, and that reason was keeping him up.
Layla decided that she would talk to Tony about it later, but right now, she needed to try and get the crew under control before they got too loud and bothered Tony. Although, he seemed like he was out enough that he wouldn't wake up to their bickering, but she wasn't going to risk it.
"Alright, everyone quiet down. Tony is trying to sleep."
The crew went silent as they glanced behind Layla at their sleeping friend. They then looked back at Layla with confused looks written all over their faces.
"Did he not sleep last night?"
Frostee asked, giving Layla a concerned look. They all have been worrying about Tony. He was pushing himself to the limit of trying to take care of everyone and everything, making sure that no one was hungry or too cold, and yet he wasn't taking care of himself.
That's something that Layla always hated about Tony. She was worried that one day his overprotectiveness would get him into some serious trouble and get himself injured, or worse. Now, it wasn't about hurting himself, but overworking himself to the point that he was going to get sick if he didn't watch it.
"No, he said that he had too much on his mind and was too cold. I need to talk to him at some point about what he was thinking."
Layla said as she glanced over her shoulder at Tony one more time. Her concern for him was great, but she needed to keep her head on straight if they wanted to make it to the main base alive and healthy.
"Well, this would now be a good time to bring up our discussion."
Shashi started before anyone went into the bathroom again.
"Toretto and I have decided that we are going to stay at this base for the day. Mainly so that everyone can replenish their energy."
"Oh, Tony forgot to tell everyone this, but yesterday, on our way here, the map disappeared. We think that it might've flown off somewhere."
Frostee said, chipping in some important information that no one knew about.
"Well, that's just dandy. Now we have no clue which direction to head in to get to the main base."
"Actually, we kinda do. Tony decided that the base was probably north-east of the plane. We've been walking north, and the next base should be north-east of us. The main base is still several miles from this one though."
Frostee explained, giving out information that everyone could use to their advantage. It was better that they knew the direction of the main base from where they were just in case something happened.
"Well, let's get comfortable and eat something while Toretto catches up on the sleep he lost last night."
Shashi said as he sprinted into the other room, shutting the door on the ones who still needed to us the bathroom. Layla giggled at their stupidity as she turned and grabbed herself something to eat for breakfast and then sat down in a chair next to Tony, making sure that he was sleeping well.
Tony was snoring, but not noisily. Layla smiled as she pulled up the blankets over Tony, making sure that he was staying warm while everyone kept to themselves for the morning.
Location: Tony's House
Lucy's POV
"Hey, Lucy! Do you want to come over and hang out since we have a snow day?"
Molly asked over the phone as Lucy was working on some homework on the bar.
"Sorry, Molly. But I don't have a ride into the city, and I got some homework I need to get done that was supposed to be due today, but thankfully it snowed, so hah!"
"Lucy, you really shouldn't push off your homework until the last day. Aren't you trying to get into that private school? That isn't going to fly with the teachers there if you keep this up."
"I know, Molly! I've just... got a lot on my mind right now and haven't been keeping up with homework."
"Does that have something to do with your parents and brother?"
Lucy flinched when Molly brought up Tony and her parents. She had hoped that Molly wouldn't have guessed what was wrong, but Lucy was all out of luck.
"It's... just a lot of information. I need to talk to Tony, but he's on that work trip of his, and something is wrong with his phone."
Suddenly that thought just hit Lucy like a rocket. Tony's phone wasn't working. He would've been charging it. In fact, it wasn't that it went to voicemail, her phone said that the number was no longer in service.
Chills went down Lucy's spine as thought about the worst that could've happened to her brother. Tony was no fool. He knew how to take care of himself, but that didn't stop Lucy from worrying that something could've happened.
Guilt washed over Lucy as she thought about how mad she had been for the past few days and now she had no idea where her brother was. The only thing she knew was that he was in the Artic, but Tony never shared with her the details of his mission.
"Lucy! You there?"
Molly's voice yelled over the phone, pulling Lucy from her thoughts.
"Oh, sorry. I got caught up in my thoughts for a moment."
"It's alright. I was just saying that you're right, and you definitely need to have a talk with Tony about your parents."
"Yeah... hey, I got to go. I'll talk to you later."
"Alright... call me if you need anything. Bye, Lucy."
"Bye."
Lucy hung up the phone and then quickly tried calling Tony's phone again.
'We're sorry, but this number is currently out of service.'
Lucy hung up her phone and stared at her lock screen of a picture of her and Tony, Lucy taking a selfie of her while Tony was drinking from a milkshake at a fast-food place. She felt even more guilty as she thought about all the things she had thought about him.
Tony was Lucy's brother, and he was just looking out for his baby sister. Why didn't Lucy realize this before? He was just making sure that the truth didn't hurt her. Just like it's doing now. The truth is hurting her. And making think awful things about her brother that she didn't even realize that his phone was dead.
Tears started falling out of Lucy's eyes when she realized that she might not see Tony again. She needed to get someone to tell her what happened, but who?
Location: Unknown
Mystery Man's POV
"Have you located them yet?"
The mystery man said over the phone in a hidden area away from everyone.
"Not yet boss, but it seems like they've been at this base. It appears that they're still alive.
"Well, find them and take care of them. I don't need those brats ruining my plan. Not that they could anyway."
The man said with a slight laugh. He hushed himself when he heard someone talking as they got closer.
"Will do boss."
The man's goon hung up on the other end of the phone. He smiled to himself as he thought about how his plan was going. The spies from America that came were about to be eliminated, and their bosses were just running around in circles.
Everything was going according to plan.
Location: Somewhere in the Artic
Shashi's POV
Hours had passed since everyone had woken up. Tony was still asleep, Cisco was taking a nap, Frostee was working on trying to get his gaming console working again, Echo was making herself busy with organizing their supplies, and Layla was looking over the mission file they had received from Mrs. Nowhere before the nightmare had started.
Shashi, though, had nothing to do with himself. He had half thought about going outside and looking around the land for ideas of how far the next base might be, but he then decided against it in case something happened out there.
"Hey, how's it going?"
Shashi asked as he walked up to Echo when he noticed that she was just staring at their supplies.
"Alright, I guess. We have enough food to last us for another two or three days, depending on how fast we eat it. We're still fine on water, although half of these bottles are frozen."
Shashi could see that Echo looked disturbed about something as she continued to stare into the boxes.
"What's wrong?"
Echo looked up at Shashi with a troubled look on her face.
"I just... feel like we might not make it out of this. I mean... T is doing the best he can, but there is only so much he can do without pushing himself too far, and I don't want Tony to end up getting sick because of all this. It just seems like we're getting nowhere. Christmas is getting closer, and I'm worried that we might not make it back and our families will be forced to worry about us."
Echo's eyes glossed over as she put her hood over her head. Shashi knew where Echo was coming from. Believe it or not, Shashi does have a sister. A much older sister, but she is still his sister. Although, they don't speak to each other much anymore. Not since Shashi started Sh1ft3r.
Thinking about Christmas made Shashi think of his older sister. He wondered how she was doing now-a-days. He honestly missed her and wished that he could see her again. Before he was dragged into this mission, he thought about making a request to his prison guard and asking if she would come see him for Christmas.
"I... understand the feeling."
Shashi finally said, getting a confused look from Echo. He didn't elaborate though as he turned and walked over to Layla, looking her and Tony over.
"Can I help you?"
Layla said in a low voice, not that her eyes off Tony as she leaned against the wall, crossing her legs. Shashi didn't make it obvious as he glanced at Tony. He did look a little pale, which meant that if he didn't start taking care of himself soon, he would get a fever.
"Just checking on you and Toretto."
Shashi said as he redirected his focus to Layla. She didn't bother looking at him as she leaned closer to Tony.
"I know... He's going to get sick if I don't make sure he's taking care of himself."
"Has he always been like this?"
"Been this way even before I met him. I never understood why he decided that he was going to protect everyone, but that's what he does."
"He seems to keep a close eye on you."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Layla asked, turning to glare at Shashi for his question. Great, talking about Tony with Layla was also a sore spot for her as well.
"Do these two idiots not realize their feelings for each other?"
Shashi thought to himself as he tried to come up with something to say to Layla about his question. She kept glaring at him, waiting for a response.
"I'm just saying, Layla. You two are close."
"We're partners, dumbass. We work together, so we need to look out for each other."
Back when Shashi was still apart of Sh1ft3r, he never would've dreamed that Layla would be saying stuff about working together with someone and looking out for each other. She was always a lone wolf back then and didn't seem like she needed anyone. But now it seems that she has realized the importance of having people around that care. Tony really has changed her.
Layla looked back at Tony when he slightly groaned in his sleep, shifting around as he tried to make himself comfortable on the bench he was sleeping on. She gently brushed her fingers over his jaw with a concerned look.
Shashi sighed as he left Layla alone and looked around the room again. There wasn't much to do. It was a waiting game now until they figured out something.
Location: Main Artic Base
Mrs. Nowhere's POV
The storm was still terrible outside, preventing a rescue team from going out and searching for Mrs. Nowhere's missing spies. It was also causing problems with the investigation her and Palindrome were doing at the base of what was causing the sudden rise in temperature in the seas.
With the storm stopping Nowhere and Palindrome from going outside, there was no good way of figuring out what was happening besides looking at data. And Nowhere was really getting tired at looking at data.
While Palindrome kept himself busy with some reports about the sea and the ice melting, Nowhere opened her laptop and started looking up some information on all of the personnel in the base. She didn't know what she was looking for, but she had a bad feeling about something.
But even after Mrs. Nowhere looked through the entire personal database, she couldn't find anything that would prove useful. She groaned as she leaned back on her chair, unsure of what to do now. They were getting nowhere, no pun intended.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, disturbing Mrs. Nowhere and Palindrome from their work.
"Come in."
Mrs. Nowhere grumbled as she turned around in her chair. FBI agent Deisel opened the door and walked into the room.
"How's it going, you two?"
"We've gotten nowhere. What about you?"
Palindrome asked as he crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back on them. Deisel leaned against the wall as he looked back and forth from Palindrome and Nowhere.
"I haven't gotten very far either. With this storm, it's making it impossible to get anywhere. I'm sure you're worried about your agents though."
Guilt overwhelmed Nowhere as she thought about the teens and how they were stuck out in the cold. And there was nothing she could do about it to help them. The story was just too bad.
"They will be fine. Those agents know how to take care of themselves."
Palindrome said what Mrs. Nowhere was trying to believe. Deisel nodded as he turned and started out the door.
"Let's just hope that they make it alive."
Deisel said over his shoulder before walking out the room and closing the door behind him. Mrs. Nowhere didn't like that last comment, but she shook her head anyway and went back to work to figure out how they can stop whoever is making the sea warmer and causing the ice to melt.
Location: Somewhere in the Artic
Tony's POV
Tony groaned as he opened his eyes, rubbing his head from an awful headache. He then noticed that there was some kind of weight on his chest. He tilted his head up to see Layla laying on his chest, her face buried in her arms that were crossed.
Blushing, Tony groaned again as he rubbed his forehead, wondering what he should do. Looking around, he noticed that everyone was taking a nap besides Echo. She must've not heard Tony waking up.
"Hey Echo."
Tony said in a sleep-rasped voice. Echo turned from where she was sitting and looked at Tony.
"Hey, T."
Echo kept her voice low and quiet as she stood up and walked over to where Tony was laying. She sat down and glanced him over.
"How are you feeling?"
"Eh, alright."
Tony really didn't feel too good because of his headache, but as the saying goes, 'fake it till you make it'.
"I see that you can't move."
Echo said with a slight laugh and smirk as she glanced at Layla sleeping on Tony's chest.
"She's fine. I don't really care. But why are you awake when everyone else is asleep?"
"I just couldn't sleep. Too many things going on to sleep."
"I see."
An awkward silence sneaked in between Tony and Echo, making them both uncomfortable. Finally, Echo sighed and looked behind at Shashi while he slept.
"I'd like to apologize."
"About what?"
"Getting into an argument with you over Shashi. It wasn't right of me to bring in Layla and your problems with Shashi like that."
Tony didn't give Echo a response as he thought about the argument they had on the plane. She crossed the line when she brought Layla into the argument, but he still didn't have a right to yell at her either.
"It's alright. I shouldn't have been yelling at you either."
There was a slight moment of silence between the two again before Echo took another deep breath.
"If you don't mind me asking, T. What happened between you and Shashi to make you hate him so much?"
Tony looked away as he thought of the exact reason why he hated Shashi so much. He called Tony out on his jealousy, and it really pissed Tony off. He knew that he needed to let it go, but the thought of Layla even still having a 'special spot' for Shashi made Tony furious.
"I... He... called me out on something related to Layla back during our Pacific mission."
Echo looked rather shocked that Tony told her, but she didn't have a response to give him. Tony sighed as he leaned his head back on the blanket and closed his eyes.
"Don't you dare tell anyone else."
Tony warned as he rubbed his forehead again from a shot ache in his head.
"Promise."
Tony heard Echo say along with footsteps leading off to somewhere else. He wondered what he was going to do now, but he heard a soft mumble come from Layla.
"Tony... be careful... I don't... want to... lose..."
Soft words escaped Layla's lips, making Tony wonder what she was dreaming about, but it seemed to disturb her. He gently started shaking her until Layla groaned and gripped Tony's shirt.
"What?"
Layla muttered, not wanting to wake up just yet. Tony wanted to let her sleep, but he didn't want her to return to whatever nightmare she had either.
"You out of that nightmare?"
Tony softly asked, gently stroking Layla's back in an attempt to keep her from falling back into that nightmare.
"Tony?"
Layla cracked an eye open to glance at Tony. He gave her a small smile as he sighed. Layla smiled back at him for a moment before noticing something. She quickly sat up when she realized that she was sleeping on his chest.
Layla looked away as her cheeks started to turn pink. Tony laughed lightly as he sat up, popping his back. He groaned at the relief from the tension built up in his back from sleeping funny the past few days.
"Was that your back?"
Layla asked as she looked back at Tony, her cheeks still a bright shade of pink. Tony almost blushed himself from how cute Layla looked with pink tinting her cheeks.
"Yeah, I guess my back doesn't like the way we've been sleeping the past few days."
Tony responded, moving his neck around to get it to pop as well. He noticed that Layla was staring at him, and he didn't really know why, although he wasn't planning on asking, nor telling her.
Sighing, Tony finally moved around and sat up straight on the bench, looking around the dark room at his friends. Half the team was now awake, which meant they were probably going to have to start making something to eat soon.
"Hey, T! Come here."
Echo said, standing by a window close to the door as she looked out of it. Tony looked at Layla for a quick second before standing up and walking over to Echo.
"What is it?"
"What do you make of that?"
Tony leaned on the other side of the wall from Echo and looked out of the window. He squinted when he saw something moving in the blizzard. It looked like a person. For a moment, Tony was glad that there was someone out there, but then his hopes sank when he saw a gun strapped on the person's back.
"Shit! Everyone, get up! We got company. The bad kind!"
Tony started grabbing their stuff and shoving it into small spaces to hide. Shashi, Cisco, and Frostee quickly woke up, unsure of what was going on, but following Tony's lead as they helped him hide their supplies.
"Where are we going to hide, Tony?"
Echo asked as she shoved the remainder of their stuff into a cabinet.
"Find somewhere!"
Tony said, hushing himself when he heard the sounds of snowmobiles outside. Layla was still looking for a spot while Frostee got into a small space underneath the computers. Echo and Shashi stuck themselves into a cabinet while Cisco went into a small utility closet, dropping something big in front of the door before he shut it.
Grabbing Layla's hand, Tony opened a locker and shoved her along with himself inside. It was incredibly cramped with two people inside. Tony was backed against the back of the locker and Layla was standing in front of the door.
Tony was starting to fear for the worst when he heard the door to the building open and a few footsteps walk in. He put his hand over Layla's mouth, trying to keep her along with himself as quiet as possible.
Layla's POV
Layla's heart was pounding loudly in her ears. She glanced through one of the openings in the locker to see that the intruders had guns. Big guns. She didn't move, fearing that if she did, she would give away hers and Tony's position.
Tony's heart was pounding into Layla's back, increasing her fear and panic. She then noticed Tony slowly bringing out something from his pocket. He flipped open a switchblade, gripping the blade when the intruders got closer.
Layla felt cold sweat go down her face as Tony tensed up behind her. She didn't want him to fight. Not with the mild concussion and frostbite on his hands. And it wasn't who he was. He was not a killer. Layla gently put her hand on top of Tony's, holding his hand to assist him. She wanted him to know that he was not alone in this fight if there was going to be one.
"It doesn't seem like they're here either."
One man said that was directly standing in front of Tony and Layla's location.
"They've got to be. There's a sled in front of this building."
Another man said, his voice sounding like it was coming from the location of the door. Layla prayed and cussed and thought up whatever she could to hope that they weren't going to check in any of the locations the spies were hiding.
"You don't think they're hiding, do you?"
"What other explanation is there?"
Layla had counted four men with guns standing in the building. She didn't think there was a fifth one, but she wasn't going to bet on it either.
"Well, check around. We need to give the boss an update on whether we've located these brats or not. Start with that locker or cabinets."
"I'm sorry, be careful."
Tony whispered into Layla's ear before shoving her behind him as he kicked the locker door open and jumped the man standing in front of the locker.
"Come and get me, bastards!"
Tony shouted as he stabbed the man in the shoulder. Without his knowledge, Layla slipped out of the locker and went out the door while everyone was distracted. She mounted a snowmobile and started it. Tony soon then sprinted out of the building with the men hot on his tail, flying onto the bike as Layla took off.
Two of the men were shooting at Tony and Layla while the other two were getting on their bikes to chase them across the barren snow lands. The blizzard hit them hard as they traveled across the land, going as fast as the snow bike would let them.
"Why the hell did you come with me?"
Tony shouted over the roaring motor and storm as he ducked from more bullets flying at them from the riding shooters behind them.
"Because I'm not letting you be the bait alone."
Layla shouted as she tried to lose their assailants, but she didn't have any luck when there was nothing to hide behind or in.
"Augh!"
Layla cried when she felt a sharp pain in her calf. She looked down to see blood starting to come out of her leg.
"I've been hit, Toretto. I'll get us out of here."
Tony reached into his jeans to bring out a gun. Layla prepared herself for the sound as Tony twisted around and aimed at the riders. He shot the gun, trying to hit one of them. As they rode, Layla measured out each bullet Tony shot, counting down how many bullets had a left.
When Layla figured Tony was getting down to his last ten bullets in the mag, there was an explosion behind them as Tony hit the engine of one of the snow bikes. But they still had someone left on their trail, and as they rode, Layla noticed they were starting to run out of snow to drive on as they started to approach an ice cliff.
Tony started looking around frantically for something to do. Layla felt tears falling out of her eyes as they rode the max speed of the snow bike, which was 120 mph. Shots were being fired behind them again, flying past Layla as he started to gain ground.
Layla gripped the handlebars as she thought about how they were going to go out. Death by a shooter on a snowmobile. That doesn't sound so bad, but it's not really the death she had in mind, nor did she wanted to die in the first place.
Tony put his gun in the waistband of his jeans and placed his hands on top of Layla. She looked at him, confused for a moment until she saw a look of regret written on his face.
"I'm sorry. Stay safe."
Tony said in her ear before pushing off the bike into the white snow. The assailant continued to chase Tony, not paying attention to Layla laying in the snow, staring off at the riders in disbelief.
What did Tony just do?
"Tony!"
Echo's POV
"Run!"
Echo shouted as everyone sprinted out of the building, two pairs going separate ways as they tried to get away. The last two invaders split up and chased after the pairs.
Shashi and Echo trekked through the snow as they ran for their lives with a man behind them. With them running, their assailant must've not been able to use his rifle to shoot at them, and that was good.
"Echo, we can't keep running forever in this weather!"
Shashi shouted as he and Echo looked around for somewhere to go.
"Then let's get him!"
Shashi smirked and nodded as they turned and went separate ways. The man looked confused for a moment before Shashi and Echo veered towards him. He tried to get his gun out, but Shashi beat him to it as he grabbed the rifle off the man's back and sprinted in Echo's direction as she tackled the man to the ground.
Echo started the punch the man in the face until she was sure he was out cold. Shashi walked over to Echo, tossing the gun to the side, and kicking snow over it. Echo stood up and looked around at their surroundings. Even though it didn't feel like they ran that fear, the base they were at was nowhere in sight.
"Oh shit."
Echo mumbled as she looked around at the pure white surroundings, unsure of what to do, how to get back, or how to find the others.
Cisco's POV
Cisco and Frostee had been running for a while, both breathing hard while the man behind them didn't seem phased at all by the run. Plus, the snow was making it harder for them to gain any ground whatsoever.
"What are we going to do?"
Frostee panted as he tried to get his small body past the snow in front of them. It wasn't really that deep, but the snow was thick, the wind was hard, and they couldn't see where they were going.
"I don't know! We either need to lose this dude or take him down. I would prefer losing him though!"
Cisco said as he pushed his way through the wind, trying his best to cover some ground. The man was starting to catch up to them as they started to tire out and needed to stop.
"If we're going to do that, we can't let him catch us!"
Frostee said when he glanced back at their chaser. He had ditched the gun, but he still looked like he had other weapons on him. Plus, the man was bigger than Cisco, meaning that he could easily snap Frostee like a twig if he wanted to.
"We're going have to do something to get this guy off us!"
Cisco shouted, also looking back to see how close the man was getting to them. Frostee started going through ideas of what to do. He had a decent idea of what direction they were going, which was North.
The duo was heading towards the main base, which was a good thing. It meant that they had a better chance of locating Mrs. Nowhere and rescuing the others, wherever they ran to. But there was still one problem. The guy who was still chasing them down.
"I've got an idea!"
Frostee said as he turned and brought something out of his pocket. The man got close as Frostee popped open the flask and launched into his face.
"Augh, my eyes!"
The man screeched as Frostee bolted for it, pushing Cisco as they ran, hoping that they were going to get far enough that he couldn't see where they were.
Frostee and Cisco ran for a good few minutes before they finally stopped to catch their breathes. Looking around, Frostee finally realized that they were in the middle of nowhere.
"Oh no."
"Oh no what?"
"We're lost, Cisco!"
Frostee yelled as his voice echoed and carried in the snowy wind.
Tony's POV
Tony raced across the snow barrens, snow pelleting his face. He regretted what he did to Layla, but what he was about to do something that required him to be the only one on the snow bike. The shooter was still firing behind him, bullets flying past Tony.
With a plan in mind, Tony led the shooter to the ice cliff in front of them that they were rapidly closing in on. He thought about shooting back, but Tony reminded himself that he had about eight bullets left in his gun and that he shouldn't waste them.
The ice cliff was about a half-mile away. Basically, Tony's plan was that he was going to get off the snow mobile right before it crashed into the ice cliff, and hopefully the explosion will be big enough to cause a chain reaction with the shooter's ride.
Did Tony think this plan out completely? Not really. Honestly, there was just a small part of him that wanted to crash the snow bike, but he was also trying to get the shooter off his tail.
When Tony figured he was about 30-yards from the cliff, he jumped off the bike. But as he jumped, the bike flew right into the cliff, causing an explosion that boosted Tony's jump, sending him flying several feet away into the snow.
There was a loud ringing in Tony's ears as he looked up from the snow to see flames and smoke filling the area in front of him. He did hear the other bike explode, but did he get the shooter?
"You brat!"
Tony looked up to his side to see the shooter with a knife in hand about to strike Tony as he laid in the white snow, still trying to recover from the explosion.
Location: Highway to L.A
Lucy's POV
Lucy caught a ride to L.A, looking up the address she needed to be dropped off at so she could get some answers about where her older brother was and if he was even still alive. She still felt guilty about all the horrible things she thought and said about Tony, but at the moment, she could care less about what she thought and said and was focused on finding him.
"Did you get the address, ma'am? We're almost in the city."
"Yes sir. 606 Junction Street."
"Right, I'll have you there in a jiffy."
Lucy had stopped listening to the driver as she scrolled through photos of her and Tony on her phone. She missed him, and Christmas was coming up. Nine days away, in fact. All Lucy wanted was for Tony to be there with her, but it seemed like that his mission might last through Christmas. Plus, she had to find out where he was in the first place.
When the driver got Lucy to Tony's garage, she tipped him and then hurried inside to find the two that Tony said were going to stay behind. Tony didn't usually tell Lucy where to find help, but given the time of year, he had told her that if she couldn't get anyone when she needed help, to go to his garage and find the two men that stayed behind from the mission.
Walking into the garage, Lucy looked around, trying to find someone. The entire building looked empty and was void of life. She remembered that this garage was where Tony had stayed a lot after their parents died.
That was a time that was hard for Toretto siblings. Lucy had to grow up without any parents, and Tony was forced to become an adult way too early. Tony stayed at the garage a lot when he had work in the city and he had late nights.
Lucy didn't see her brother a lot during those times. Realistically, she only got to see him on the weekends when he would pick her up from Jake's and they would go home together. She knew he tried his best to provide for her, but they didn't have much money. The life insurance from their parents was mainly focused on paying bills, so Tony had to work a lot of jobs to pay for Lucy,
"Hello?"
Lucy called out, hoping that the trip into the city wasn't a waste of her time. If anything, Lucy could try getting on the big computer and see if she could gain access to the files stored on there. When there still wasn't a response in the garage, Lucy took a seat in the rolling chair and turned on the computer. Hopefully, she could get into it and get the files she needed.
When the computer fully booted on, Lucy was met with a password entry. From the looks of it, the computer was technically Tony's, but he used it for other purposes. As she tried to remember all his passwords, Lucy started entering password after password, hoping that one of them would be the right one.
Lucy tried the final password she knew that Tony had, she was still met with 'access denied'.
"This is bullshit!"
Lucy shouted as she kicked the computer. She didn't know what to do and she wanted to find her brother.
"Who are you?"
A deep voice behind Lucy asked. She turned around to find two men in suits with sunglasses on.
"Can you get this stupid computer unlocked? I want to know where the hell my brother is besides 'the Artic'."
The two men looked at each other before kneeling down in front of Lucy, putting their hands on top of hers.
"Look, we don't know how to tell you this but... There's been a complication with the mission."
"What do you mean' complication'? Is Tony alright?"
"Wait, you're Tony's little sister?"
The other men with the higher pitched voiced asked as a surprised look passed through both their faces.
"Yes, now where is Tony?"
"Well, the complication is that someone shot the jet carrying Tony and his crew down."
Lucy stared at the men in shock as they continued.
"The good thing is that the plane landed on the Artic land, but our boss has no clue where they are."
"You mean to tell me that my 19-year-old brother is out in the middle of nowhere in the Artic?! With no backup besides his crew?"
Lucy shouted as tears started to fall from her eyes.
"We're trying everything we can-"
"No, you're not! My brother is missing, and no one is doing anything about it!"
Lucy got up and sprinted out of the garage before the men could say anything else to Lucy about the location of her brother. She caught a taxi and paid him to take her home. Lucy's hunch was correct. Tony was missing, and she didn't know if she would ever get to see her older brother again.
Location: Somewhere in the Artic
Tony's POV
"Shit!"
Tony dodged the knife aimed right at him as he got himself on his feet again. He figured that his assailant must've caught on to his plan and jumped before his bike exploded too. The assailant didn't have his gun either, which meant that he ran out of ammo, or he lost the rifle in the explosion.
The man swung his knife at Tony with precision, aiming for major organs or vital spots to hit. The good thing was that Tony did study anatomy some, only because he needed to know where the vital spots were on a human body.
Using his knowledge, Tony blocked each attack for a vital spot. They kept exchanging blows at each other before the assailant punched Tony in the face and stabbed him. Tony managed to misdirect the knife, but it still hit his chest.
The man twisted the knife hard in Tony before Tony kicked the man away, gasping from the pain as he coughed a little blood. The man smirked as he brought out a small handgun and aimed it at Tony.
Tony knew what the man was about to do, and quickly grabbed his arm. Struggling, Tony and the man fought for the gun until it was in the middle of the two. Suddenly, the gun went off. The man stared at Tony for a moment before dropping to the ground dead.
Breathing hard, Tony gripped his injury as he turned and started towards somewhere. He just didn't know where that somewhere was.
Layla's POV
"Toretto!"
Layla limped through the snow as she kept calling Tony's name. She knew that it was useless but considering that she had just seen an explosion at the ice cliff, she could only think of the worst. Her leg hurt like hell, and she wished that she could just sit down and deal with it, but she was determined to find out whether or not Tony was okay.
"Toretto!"
Layla called again, groaning from the pain in her leg. Despite being injured though, she managed to cover a big distance, almost being one mile, as she started to close in on the wreckage of the snow bikes.
Biting back her tears, Layla dragged her leg up to the wreckage, looking around for any bodies, when she saw none, relief filled Layla as she thought that Tony was okay. She looked around some more, only to find the body of one of the men that came after them.
It looked like the man was shot, but by who? Was it Tony?
Even though it looked like a struggle happened in the area, there was still no sign of Tony. Layla frantically looked around for any sign of where he went, but there was nothing except a small patch of blood here and there. Panic filled her mind again when she realized that she was out in the middle of nowhere in the Artic with no shelter.
"Toretto! Where are you?!"
Layla shouted, her voice getting drowned out by the sound of the howling, ice wind.