Cassie P.O.V
A quick plane ride got us to England. It was another military base & they gave us time to freshen up. I quickly changed into autumn clothes. I missed the cold weather a lot. Bri & Dom complained about it. I teased them mercilessly for whinging. They gave some comebacks but I knew I'd get my comeuppance soon. The last touch was my grey trench coat & I was ready to leave.
(https://www.belletag.com/media/2018/11/woman-wearing-dress-and-thigh-high-boots-26.jpg)
We got into a sleek government Mercedes & drove for London. The boys were gawking at the city sights. Despite the circumstances, this was as close to a vacation as they were gonna get. They used me as their travel guide which didn't bother me. But, we didn't travel far into the city. We went a couple blocks from the eye, heading close to the Borough tube station. We stopped at a plain high-rise office building & were led in.
When the lift opened to the top floor, it looked like a spy headquarters. We were the only ones here & waited for the rest of the team. Dom did a quick walk around but settled for looking out the window. I tried to go talk to him but Brian caught my arm. He gave me that look & I backed off. Dom was dealing with a whirlwind of emotions right now. He was ready to snap from the guilt. I had to let him cool off & come when he was ready to talk. I had to treat him like he did with me in Rio.
We didn't have to wait long for the others to come in. Han & Giselle were first. Bri & I greeted them as we bear hugged each other. I forgot how much I missed them. They noticed Dom sulking & left him be. Han watched the 3 of us ogle the guns like kids in a sweet shop.
"Thank God! Finally, some equipment I can work with. Way better than that trash in Rio." Tej celebrated while Rome greeted Han
"Way better." Giselle agreed as she slid a grenade launcher
"So, anybody heard from Leo or Santos?" Brian asked
"Last time anyone saw them, they were hitting up the casinos in Monte Carlo." Han replied
"I thought that was our last job Brian? Who's paying for all this equipment? Taxpayers. So now we work for the Incredible Hulk? That's what we're doing?" Rome joked as Hobbs & his assistant turned the corner. We were stifling our laughs as we let him rant.
"Why do I smell baby oil?" He asked as they got behind him
"Keep running your pie hole, you're gonna smell an ass whooping." Hobbs warned as Rome got sized up
"All right Hobbs, you got the best crew in the world standing right in front of you. Give them a reason to stay." Dom said to kick off the meeting
"Our target is Owen Shaw. Former major in the SAS spec ops, soldier." Hobbs revealed as he threw Owen's picture on the table. We all fell in for a closer look at the files. But, I hid the dreadful pit in my stomach at the news.
"Ran the UK's mobility division in Kabul & Basra." He finished
"Damn. That mobility unit's the truth. We talking vehicular warfare. Best in the world. Those guys don't mess around." Tej warned which surprised me. But, I began to worry if Hobbs had found my military history too while looking at Owen.
"For years, they've been running jobs in Europe. But, it's their most recent jobs that've graduated them to a whole new level. 3 targets, highly specific." He continued as Rome asked around for snacks
"The program terminal from an ICBM missle & the poison kill drivers from an NSA black lab." Hobbs explained but got distracted by Rome
"You're a millionare & you still asking for money." Tej whispered as he reluctantly handed him change
"That's how you stay a millionaire." He replied back before going to the vending machines
"So what does this all mean?" Brian asked as he & I finished reading the files
"Our best guess is that Shaw's crew is building a nightshade device." He answered
"Which is?" Giselle asked
"Techbomb that can blind a whole military communication grid for 24 hours." I answered which made everyone side-eye me
"Jesus, I had a life before becoming a thief & you guys." I shrugged
"Blind a soldier for a single second in the middle of a fight & he dies. You blind a country for 24 hours. Loss of life is unthinkable. This can be worth billions to the right buyer." Hobbs added, giving context to the severity of their thefts
"Billions? Why don't we just steal that shit." Tej pondered
"Hey man! Which one of these is a dollar?" Rome asked, earning a eye roll from Tej & I
"Bloody hell, it's the..." I tried to explain but Hobb's shot the vending machine instead
"It's on the house." He said. Rome began picking up bags off the floor.
"I want you to help me catch Shaw. He's only got one piece left that he needs & I intend to stop him before he gets it." He said
"Now, I know you guys are a family. So, I'm offering you a chance right now to make that family whole again." He offered as he threw down Letty's file. Everyone else was caught off guard but kept their power faces on.
"You want to make this family whole again? Get us to Letty. We'll get you Shaw. Full pardons all the way around." Brian negotiated
"I can't promise you that." Hobbs bluffed
"Oh, yes you can." I smiled as Dom came to back us up
"That's the deal. Take it or leave it." Dom doubled down as we all stared him down
"You get me Shaw. I'll get your pardons." He agreed
"You heard him but this is different. We're not dealing with cops. We're not dealing with drug dealers. This is a whole different level." Brian warned
"We getting paid right?" Rome whispered
"Don't push it." I mumbled as I lightly jabbed him
"Depending on how this goes. You might earn a bounty." Hobbs chuckled
"How long do we have to get ready?" I asked
"4 hours. We're going to ambush his hideout. Your rides are in the garage if you need to tune them." He explained
We headed down to get our cars ready. They were black BMW sedans for everyone. We quickly popped the hoods & got to work. As we worked, we were cracking jokes. The tension of tonight was going away as it felt like a normal day. Everyone finished at different times & went off to different parts of the building. I took my time & finished in 2 hours. I spent the next hour & half on weapons. I wanted to practice with a mix of guns as I had gotten used to pistols. The muscle memory came back & I felt better about my fighting odds.
With nothing else to do, my mind was racing over Owen. I took a quick shower & changed into more athletic clothes in case this turned into a foot race. But, I was wearing his leather jacket that he left in Spain. I had 10 minutes until we left & decided to hang out on the roof. I pulled up Deckard's number & started typing: Need to talk about Owie. But, I quickly erased it & returned to the home screen.
"You're tense. Tenser than I've ever seen you." Dom noted as he waited by the door
"I um have a lot on my mind." I sighed
"That boy from Rio?" He guessed as he stood alongside me
"How did you know?" I groaned
"From what you shared, it didn't seem like a stretch. Are you going to be good tonight? You can hang back. I'll make up an excuse." He offered
"No, I'm not going to be good with any of this. But, I need to face it. I can't run from everything." I argued
"I don't want this to be a choice between us or him. But, if it does, I'd rather you stick with us." He shared
"Thanks but it's not a choice. If he cares, he'll walk away. Hopefully it won't come to ultimatums. But, if it does, I know who I stand with." I decided
Dom pulled me into a hug. He knew I didn't want to talk about the showdown tonight much more. I used our remaining time to give him the full story. It felt great to unload my past. I started from our time in the SAS demolition unit up to Morocco. He was a little upset that I snuck out to see him while we hid in the Canary Islands.
I had to do a lot of apologising for that. But, he still gave me the big brother talk about bad boys. I had it coming & didn't try to get out of that lecture. Luckily, Brian came to get us & stopped his talk short. As we headed back in, I gave Dom a quick squeeze. I wanted to show him that his lesson stuck. He gave me a small smile. I was on the track for possible forgiveness for dating a criminal.
We returned to the pit where we got fitted with earbuds. We checked the input & output again before leaving. Everyone grabbed their pistols as tonight would probably get hairy. Giselle, Brian & I had modified ours to fit our styles better. Mine had a hairpin trigger so I walked extra carefully.
Hobbs took the lead car. Like Rio, he had a monster armoured truck. But, this one was leaner & had a nice flatbed. Dom followed behind him with Brian, Me, Giselle, Han, Tej & Rome following. I focused on driving but kept gripping & ungripping the wheel. My nerves were shot as we were getting closer to him. God, I really hoped that he wouldn't do anything stupid. But, if he took a job like this, I think God decided to curse me with shite luck.