CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
burning brighter than the sun
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
𝐓he team assembled one by one in the hidden location that Josephine, Dom, and Brian had sent out to their people across the globe. It was an abandoned industrial complex that was once a repair facility in the middle of Rio where there wasn't a lot of civilization. A perfect place and a perfect hideout for secret meet-ups and planning strategies to bring down the most dangerous guy in Rio de Janeiro.
Roman Pearce was the first to arrive. The man who could bullshit his way out of anything. From all the things Josephine heard about him━she knew she'd either get along just fine with the guy or possibly become enemy number one. Their personalities clashed like a ticking time bomb, Brian had thought. Their smart mouths could get them both in trouble and out of trouble.
Although he was pretty sure his girlfriend now had more control over it than his loudmouthed childhood friend hailing all the way from Barstow.
The rest of them piled inside the warehouse, a bunch of familiar faces with different backgrounds and ethnicities coming together as one. It was almost unbelievable when you know their personalities. Most of them were just getting to know each other when Dominic, Brian, and Josephine made themselves known to their newly formed team.
"I see you all have met," Dom spoke as he walked forward.
"O'Conner."
"There he is."
"You know when you called me to come to Rio, I assumed it would be for something more exciting than this," Gisele Yashar said playfully before throwing his arms around Dominic for a hug.
All their friends acknowledged them with smiles on their faces. Her brows lifted, sharing a glance with Brian who grinned at her before going over to greet his friends. He seemed genuinely happy to see familiar faces he hadn't seen for a long time. Josephine shook her head and turned to the rest of them.
"There's our Josie." Han Lue looked the same as she last saw him. Years ago, back in Los Angeles when she found the man prancing around her garage with a pack of chips in his hand and a small box of letters in the other. Dom's letters that he couldn't send. He took it upon himself to give it to her that day.
"Hey, Chip," Josephine grinned, using the nickname she'd given him the first time as she gave him a big hug. Santos and Leo looked delighted to see her, and she gave them both a welcoming embrace. She flashed them a smirk, casually transitioning her words to Spanish. "Welcome back, boys."
Santos chuckled. "Good to be back, jefe."
"Aye-aye." Leo playfully saluted her.
"If it isn't my girl, Josephine Toretto."
The aforementioned girl hastily turned around, finding Gisele Yashar behind her with a big smile that reached her eyes. The last time she'd seen her was in Mexico where she had helped them with Braga's location. Before that, Gisele almost got run over by a car. Good times. Her hazel eyes twinkled, letting the slightly taller girl clad in black leather and combat boots engulf her in another embrace.
"Good to see you, Yashar," Josephine uttered teasingly.
"You too, Toretto," Gisele said with a sly grin. Then her narrowed gaze glinted. "Or is it O'Conner now?"
"Shut up," Josephine laughed, gently smacking her arm as she let the grinning girl acquaint herself with the others. She naturally drifted toward Brian and her brother who was talking with the former's two friends━the other, his childhood friend, and the latter from Miami. "Hey."
"Guys... this is Josephine," Brian said instantly, slipping a hand behind her back as he pulled her beside him. Tej looked over at her, raising his brows acknowledgingly. Roman looked impressed and in a bit of disbelief that his friend managed to sweep someone like her on her feet. "Jo, this is Roman Pearce and Tej Parker."
"So you're The First Lady," The two men said simultaneously which made them shoot a glare at each other.
"I've heard a lot about you," Tej said with a smirk, making her glance between the man and Brian who was trying not to smile.
"Good things I hope." Josephine raised her brows at the circuit man Brian told her about. Then her gaze fell on Roman, a deadpan escaping her lips before she could even help herself. "And you're the one with the big mouth?"
"T-The big mouth?" Roman looked like somebody had just stolen his stash of candy. Her words elicited a bunch of laughter from the guys, even Dominic seemed amused. "Who would say such a thing━?" His head turned to Brian who stifled his laughter. He scowled deeply, shaking his head. "Fuck you, man. Fuck you."
"Hm-hm." Brian merely grinned.
"Nice digs," Han commented as he approached them.
"Yeah, well, it's either this or the Ritz," Josephine shrugged.
Han smirked ever so slightly. Then he looked at Dominic. "So what's this all about, Dom?"
"Yeah, man, why did you drag us halfway around the world?" Tej chimed in.
Dom tilted his head, giving them the answer they wanted. "'Cause we got a job."
"All right, so our target's name is Hernan Reyes," Brian began. All the joy and laughter from earlier faded as the team gathered around a table, listening intently to their information. "And he runs the drug scene down here. He's never been busted because he doesn't leave a paper trail."
"No paper trail means no banks," Gisele stated. "And no banks means cash houses."
"Hm-hm." Josephine nodded at the only other girl in the warehouse. She stood beside Brian and unfolded the parchment on the table, revealing the map of Rio de Janeiro. "Ten of them, to be exact. Spread throughout the city."
"And we're going to hit them all," Dominic finished.
"All of 'em?" Tej blinked, completely unsure about what he said.
"All of 'em."
"It's impossible," Roman said in disbelief, being the first to voice out his doubts about the plan.
"Improbable," Josephine corrected.
"It's crazy!" Roman shook his head, earning a quiet sigh from Josephine. "You bring us to a whole other country so we can rob the dude who runs it? I thought this was business. Sounds personal to me." Some of them glanced at each other almost like they were waiting for somebody to cut him off. "Is that what this is? I got love for y'all, but personal ain't good business."
As Roman walked off, Josephine looked at Brian who seemed amused as he watched his friend, and said in a low voice: "You weren't lying."
"So what we're talking about is a hundred million dollars," Dominic stated, emphasizing the amount, knowing all too well that would bring the man back without delay.
"You say what?" Roman abruptly stopped in his tracks and turned around. His voice stuttered, disbelief painted across his ebony face. Brian gave Josephine an I-told-you-so look. "Hundred... See, sometimes I be overthinking, man, and I... I know we just met, but you just, kind of, got to━"
"That's right, a hundred million dollars, and everything we take, we split even."
"So that's a little over eleven million apiece," Tej mused. The former street racer didn't even need to think twice. "I am down."
"I'm in," Santos said which meant Leo was in, too.
"Eleven million," Roman muttered to himself, pondering over the amount as if he could already feel the texture of the cash in his hands. "Sound like a whole lot of vaginal activity to me."
Gisele shook her head slightly. "You can't pull off ten heists on the same mark. You just can't."
"Yeah, as soon as we hit the first one, they're going to do everything they can to protect the rest," Han told them.
A smirk slowly appeared on the female Toretto's lips, exchanging eye contact with her older brother and her partner by her side. Josephine looked at Han across the table. "Exactly."
Forming a plan was easy. Executing the plan was the tricky part. All of the men went to do the dirty work, leaving Josephine and Gisele at the warehouse to discuss the rest of the plans they had. The women were hunched over a small table in the corner, a bunch of firearms laid out for them to sort. Josephine had just finished putting together a semi-automatic standard pistol when Gisele broke the silence.
"Hey. I got you something." Gisele fisted something out of her pockets, a keypad phone of some sort, and waved it in the air. She gave her a small smile, Josephine realizing what it was. A burner phone. "Thought you'd like to have a word with your sister."
"Gisele." Her voice softened. She received the burner with cold hands, unsure what to make of it yet or maybe she just wasn't sure if she wanted to call up Mia now. "Thank you."
"It's nothing," Gisele shrugged before playfully shooing her away. "Go on. Also, you can keep that gun."
"Thanks." Josephine flashed her a toothy grin, stuffed the pistol on her waistband, and then disappeared into another part of the warehouse.
The familiar number rang three times before it was answered. For a second, Josephine almost forgot how to breathe. She didn't know how long she had been waiting for an opportunity to talk to her sister, but now that she had it━Josephine suddenly forgot all the words she wanted to say. Because the minute she heard Mia's voice, she almost started crying.
Jo doesn't cry. It wasn't like her to burst into a sobbing session just because she couldn't see her sister in person. No, not at all. Maybe it was the pregnancy making her like this. Josephine nodded inwardly. Yeah, definitely that. She convinced herself all while making herself amused at the incredulity of her own actions.
"Hello?" Mia repeated, confusion clear in her tone. "Who is this?"
"Mia..." Josephine cleared her throat, gathering up the courage to speak. "It's me."
"Oh my God," Her sister gasped. She didn't even need to introduce herself. Because Mia knew her big sister. The way she sounds, the way she just is. "Josie!"
There was clattering on the other side. It sounded like Mia just got up and hit the table with her toes. Josephine furrowed her brows, a bit worried. "Are you okay?"
"Okay? Are you crazy, Josephine Mae?" Mia exclaimed, sounding both agitated and relieved. Josephine couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. "I have been trying to get a hold of you and Dom, even Brian for so long! Am I okay? Oh God. I can't believe you, Jo. How are you calling me? Are you okay? Is Dom all right? Brian?"
"Mia," Josephine cuts her off. "Take a breather."
She heard her take a deep sigh on the phone. Then Mia continued, her tone slowly becoming sad. "Do not tell me to take a breather, Josephine. Where are you? Is everything fine...? I missed you, Jo. I missed my family."
"We're fine. Everybody's fine," Josephine reassured her and that seemed to calm her sister down a little. This time, she was the one who had to take a deep breath. "There's also another thing... I'm kind of pregnant."
"Kind of?" Mia screeched in disbelief that Josephine had to pull the burner phone away from her ear for a second. "Since when? Who's the father? Do they know?"
"Like a few weeks ago," Josephine shrugged. Then her eyes narrowed at her sister's questions. Mia wished her sister could see the shit-eating grin she had right now as she sat on the couch at their home. "What do you mean who's the father? Of course, Brian's the father, you idiot. And yes, they know."
"I'm kidding. Shit, dude, I didn't think you'd be the first to get knocked up," Mia said humorously, eliciting a sarcastic laugh from the older sister. "And you didn't think to call me first when you figured it out?"
"We were kind of busy running away from the federal government and dealing with gangs and all for that, sis," Josephine said sardonically. Then her real emotions resurfaced. Talking on the phone with Mia just wasn't enough. She wanted to see her little sister so bad. "I really missed you, Mia."
Mia let out a somber sigh. "You have no idea."
Their call went on for a couple of minutes, the time too fragile to waste and the sisters knew that. Josephine filled her in about what she had missed━reuniting with Vince in Rio, meeting the man's wife and son, the train robbery, Hernan Reyes, and then what was happening now. You could say Mia Toretto was livid. Hell, she almost started packing her things and booking a plane ticket if Josephine didn't assure her that they got everything handled.
By the time the guys arrived, Josephine and Mia still hadn't stopped talking if the former didn't have to end the call. With a reluctant goodbye, Josephine pocketed the burner phone and went to greet the rest of the men who had just come back from making a scene at one of Reyes' cash houses.
"Gisele said you talked to Mia? Is she all right?" Dom asked first thing when she neared him. He seemed genuinely concerned, his care for their youngest sibling coming out of the surface of his rough exterior.
"She's fine and she threatened me to give you the phone next time," Josephine grumbled slightly, taking out the device and slapping it on his outstretched palm. Dom smiled faintly, closing his hand around the burner phone. "So how'd it go?"
Brian appeared next to her, planting a chase kiss on her temple as he slipped an arm around her waist. Jo wasn't sure if he was aware of it, but he often tends to touch her stomach these days. "I don't know about you but if somebody burned a shit ton of my money, I'd start keeping them close."
Josephine beamed. "Atta boys."
The next step of their plan was figuring out where Reyes' would stuff the rest of his money, and that meant keeping a close eye on them. Dominic had them separated into each cash house spread out across Rio, each to their own. They remained an inconspicuous disguise, some of them blending with the civilians while most of them hid behind the windshield of their cars. They didn't bring anything too lavish, or too bright that would stand out.
Even Josephine managed to drive a Ducati 1098 which Gisele nicked for her from somewhere. She didn't ask where she got it from, too glad with the ride she had to even care. She revved the motorcycle, stopping at a crossroad intersection. Through her helmet, she caught sight of Dominic in his 1970 Charger and Brian in the old Skyline just after the stoplight turned green. They drove past each other with discreet glances, a certain blond smirking faintly when he saw her on the motorcycle.
Just to their luck, Josephine realized where Reyes' men were storing the cash before Tej even spoke on the radio. He was somewhere up high, at the circular tower of the Santos Dumont Building, making sure that each vehicle with Reyes' money had been accounted for. Josephine almost cursed out loud as she stopped her motorcycle a few feet away from a police station, her eyes narrowing as she watched the men load out the bags of cash and inside the precinct.
"Fucking cops," Josephine muttered with disdain, noticing that the police officers were helping Reyes' men.
"I know you all said they were consolidating the money somewhere, but..." Tej's voice cracked through the radio she clipped on her jeans. "Y'all ain't going to believe this."
Josephine was the first to arrive at the nearest building to the police station, followed by Gisele Yashar on her own motorcycle. The rest of the team appeared not long after, and they regrouped on the top floor of the parking building, looming over the edge corner of the roof. She scowled a little, stuffing her hands inside her pockets as she glared at the police station. It was going to be a lot trickier than they thought.
"Well, this job just got a lot harder," Brian deadpanned, squinting his eyes from the sunlight as he stood next to Josephine.
"If he's moving it into a police station, he's got some serious brass in his pocket," Roman retorted with his arms crossed.
"Looks like this is going to be a shorter trip than I thought..." Santos trailed off in Spanish.
Leo agreed. "Hell, yeah, we can't do this."
"Can't?" Han quipped, catching Gisele's watchful eyes as she became intrigued with the street racer. "You mean, shouldn't."
"I think this doesn't change a thing," Dom said, earning a bunch of silent reactions from the team, most of them unhappy while half remained unsure. He folded his arms to his chest. "I say we stick to the plan."
"You say what?" Roman exclaimed, making Brian look back at him with a faint smirk as if he already knew what was going to happen or what his childhood friend was going to say. "This just went from Mission: Impossible to Mission: In-freaking-sanity."
Nobody said anything and the grin on Brian's face just grew as he glanced at Dom who kept his calm posture. Roman was the only one who didn't seem to notice their exchange. Josephine merely ignored them.
"Whatever, man." Roman turned his back on them. "I ain't scared, I'm just letting y'all know, going in that building is crazy." Then he was marching off again.
"I got this," Brian muttered as he ran after his friend.
Josephine wasn't sure how Brian had the patience for Roman's push-and-pull method but it seemed like he knew how to deal with them just fine. Then again, between the two of them, Brian obviously had more patience which paid off for his bad temper around people he didn't like. As for Josephine, well, patience was a virtue and she did not have that. However, she remains cool under pressure, so I suppose that makes it even.
As night fell over Rio, Josephine came back to the warehouse after her task of acquiring the detailed map of the police station at the public office. Everybody had gathered around the table again, and Roman, whom Brian managed to convince back into the mission, sat between Tej and Han. The uncertainties of the job hung over the air, but nobody seemed to want to back out at the last minute.
They trusted Dom and that seemed to be enough for the rugged group of street racers and different individuals with certain backgrounds.
"The beauty of public offices?" Josephine quipped, dropping the station's floor plan on the table for everybody to see. "Public records."
Brian pointed at the map. "This is where he's keeping the money. The vault in the evidence room."
"Um, uh, yeah. Can I get everyone's attention, right here, for a second?" Tej cleared his throat. They all looked at him. "We're talking about breaking into a police station. Is anyone listening to those words? Anybody? Popo? Five-O. One-time."
"Pigs?" Josephine suggested, exchanging amused looks with Dom and Brian.
"Uh-uh." Tej nodded. "People we don't like."
"You know, police stations are designed to keep people in, not out," Han remarked.
"That's why it's a stealth mission," Brian told him. "We will be in and out before they even know we were there."
"Well, we will need to get eyes in there. At least to find the make and model of that vault."
"So the vault and then, so... It's crazy," Roman mumbled, completely bewildered by everything they had said in the past couple of minutes. He took a deep sigh, mindlessly gesturing to the floor plan. "Who's supposed to do all this?"
Josephine and Brian looked at each other. Then at Dom. Then everybody looked at none other than a clueless Roman Pearce. Noticing the silence, the man looked up with a confused look on his face. He briefly glanced at Josephine to see her with a mischievous smile on her lips. Roman looked like he might as well run off again for the hundredth time.
"What do you mean?" Roman sputtered, darting his eyes between all of them rather nervously. "Why me?"
"'Cause you got the biggest mouth," Brian said flatly.
"That's for damn sure," Tej breathed.
As Roman processed the team's decision, the members exchanged knowing glances, silently acknowledging that each of them contributed in their own way. Unfortunately for Rome, having the ability to talk his way out of anything was what they needed for this specific part of the job.
Roman, accompanied by Brian and Tej, helped the man get inside the precinct while they stayed behind in a van in the parking lot. That was the easy part. They'd dressed him up to look like a federal agent━the typical button-up slacks, a badge and all. Roman was left to do all the acting, the flair, as he'd told them (which the guys laughed at). He also convinced them that the classic aviator sunglasses would complete the whole look.
With Brian's old FBI badge in his hand and the former agent's alias, Roman Pearce was left to do what he does best, and that was to talk the shit out of anyone.
Apparently, it was a seven-by-twelve vault with thick reinforced steel, an electronic lock, and a biometric palm scanner. Top-of-the-line security as expected. The minute Josephine got ahold of that information from Tej, she disappeared into her mind and worked out how to infiltrate it with the man's help. Brian, who watched them delve into their heads, was reminded of the same scene a few years ago in the garage of the Toretto home back in Los Angeles.
A rueful smile played on his lips, realizing Josephine must've found something similar about his close friend to Jesse. The way her hazel eyes lit up as Tej added fuel to her ideas, how she talked with her hands and laughed like she always did with Jesse, Brian felt both happy and sad. Maybe he should've let them meet earlier. Humorous thoughts crossed his mind. Honestly, though, he would've liked to see that smile on her often.
They made a few adjustments to the plan before they assigned their background workers, Santos and Leo, to set explosives underneath the bathroom of the police station and then had them pose as repairmen to infiltrate. The crew gathered around the computers back in the warehouse, waiting for the two guys to hack into the CCTV so that they could see the inner workings of the station to give more insight into their plan.
It didn't take a while, maybe a few minutes at most, before the screens lit up with the police precinct's cameras on theirs.
"We're in." Josephine shifted from her seat in front of the computer, Brian beside her. Instantly, her nose wrinkled when she realized what type of cameras the cops had in the building.
"Yeah, hey, we're looking at four cameras," Brian stated, urging the others to hover over their shoulders.
"Yo, that's some high-end shit, too," Han commented.
"Marker optics," Josephine said incredulously. "Hundred-degree field-of-view, and ten seconds oscillation."
Brian sighed loudly. "Yeah, that's a narrow window, man."
"Can't we just tap in and replace the image?" Gisele asked rhetorically.
"Nah, it's hooked into a digital sync," Tej shook his head. "They'd know we were in the system. The best we can do is peek."
"We gon' need some real fast cars to get through this," Roman muttered, making Josephine raise her brows in acknowledgment.
"Not just fast," Han pointed out. "You got a hard right and a hairpin. We're going to need something agile."
"You guys mock up a track," Dom told them. Then he looked at Brian. "O'Conner. Let's go get some cars."
His face lit up with a grin. "Nice."
As they stood up to leave, the older Toretto stopped and turned. "Jo, you coming?"
"Is that even a question?" Josephine scoffed incredulously, rolling her eyes as she stood from where sat. She cocked an eyebrow, glancing at Brian's reaction to see that he still had the same grin, which made her shake her head. "Come on, boys. It's about time."