Brotherly Love 3/3
Title: Brotherly Love 3/3
Fandoms: TFATF & Takers Crossover
Pairing: Brian/Dom, John/Gordon, Brian/Rome(implied)
Rating: R
Warnings: Spoilers Takers and the entire TFATF franchise, language, sex
Disclaimer: So not mine. Only each others.
Summary: John Rahway needs a favor from his estranged twin, Brian O'Conner.
A/N: So it's a year and a day since the last installment, the same as the minimum sentence for a felony I think. Given what Dom and company get up to I guess that's appropriate. No reason for it to have taken so long except for real life. In before canon changes again and the sixth film births more plot bunnies.
Part One: http://crossover-kink.livejournal.com/937.html?thread=28585#t28585
Part Two: http://chase65.livejournal.com/24675.html
Dom skirts the edges of the low buildings as he makes his way to the car Han is using for surveillance. Tego and Rico brought him a car that he leaves parked a few blocks away. Brian was well into his cups when Dom left. He'd taken just a minute to make eye contact with his partner to let him know that he was going to get the car back. Brian had simply looked at him and then finished off another beer.
It was the best arrangement for the time being. Tego and Rico rarely let anything interrupt their bickering so they could do that at the Toretto-O'Conner place just as easily as anywhere else. They had actually been mid-squabble about God only knew what. Dom could barely make out what it was about. It could have been about anything from the weather to the World Cup. They barely stopped going at each other as Rico handed Dom the car keys. He'd simply nodded in Brian's direction.
“Don't let him hurt himself.” Tego and Rico did actually pause just long enough to acknowledge Brian sitting haphazardly on the stool, before going right back to their boisterous jaw jacking at each other.
Sidling up to the passenger side of Han's car, Dom ducks inside when Han pops open the door.
“Man this is so weird. He's like O'Conner, but not you know? ”
“Yeah, Han I know. I got the hi def floor show in my living room.”
“For a guy wanted in a cop killing he's not exactly keeping a low profile down here. He's been kind of flirting with intent and dropping big bills. I looked into the shit that went down in L.A. There was a shoot out at an airstrip. Cop lost a lot of blood, but managed to give a description before going into a coma. The crew's all dead except a guy named Gordon Cozier who was shot at the scene.”
“Anybody find a body?”
“No, just an SUV with a lot of blood.”
“Is he the only one they’re looking for?”
“And a woman, Cozier's sister. Twins really do do everything the same.” Han smirks at Dom. “You gotta admit it's like a freaky deja vu.””
Dom’s expression goes blank, flat.
“No word on either of them?”
“She’s a junkie so probably dead in a ditch? With all the blood in the SUV maybe he bled out and he and his sister are in the same ditch. O'Conner 2.0 hasn’t called anyone or met up with anyone since I’ve had eyes on.”
“So it's possible they're here with him.”
“The cops have nothing on him?
“Naw, he's got his stuff pretty locked down, brass balls. The job they pulled was in broad daylight, downtown L.A. All those cameras downtown though... They're probably on that footage twenty four seven looking for something.”
And the the dime drops for Dom. “Son of a bitch. How fast do you think you can be ready to travel.”
“Short term or Long term.”
“Long term.”
“Well you know man I came in light, but I kinda got commitments now.”
“It's interesting the times you pick to remember that.”
“That's a low blow Dom. She won't want to leave her family. What's are you thinking?”
“Cops don't stop coming for you when you kill one of their own. They're not sure who they're looking for. But if you could give them someone else they already have a hard on for, someone that fits the description they have, that would fit any photos that pop up...”
“He's Brian's brother.”
“He's a felon who's on the run, flirting with intent and dropping big bills. How many of those people would pick out Brian's mugshot as the guy who gave then a two thousand peso note and told them to keep the change or smiled all toothpaste blond and blue. We stay outta of the main drags for a reason. This asshole gives Brian a face where we don't want him to have a face. Buys him time, buys him a get off a death row free pass.”
“Why do all that? Why not just go?”
“If he's got walking wounded with him. It's slowing him down. You put the heat on Brian it buys time. And what's O'Conner gonna say if he gets jammed up in this? 'There's a guy running around that looks just like me.' Who in the LAPD is gonna want to hear that noise?”
“Whoa, that’s some straight up evil twin shit.”
“Yeah.” Han hands him the nine and the clip Dom had asked him to bring. Originally, he'd asked for it for looks, in case the asshole made an issue about getting the car back. But with what's on the table now, he has no qualms about using it for its intended purpose.
They both watch through the windshield as John smiles and nods at just about everybody on the sidewalk that looks at him. Every damn person. Making himself memorable. Fastfood containers are wedged under his arm. Even if the asshole shares a metabolism with Brian, that’s a lot of perishable food for one person.
Dom checks his clip. “I hear Brazil is nice this time of year. If you don’t hear from me in an hour lock it up.”
“You sure you don’t want backup?”
“This is a family problem. If I can’t get this asshole handled, I need someone strong, smart to get Brian out of the D.R. Tego and Rico cant’ shut up long enough to do it. You also have my permission to do what you need to do. Bind and gag him, sedate him. Whatever.”
“Dom.”
“Brian’s a dirty cop. No one's much in the mood to give him the benefit of the doubt. How much harder do you think they'll come if he’s tagged a cop killer. You think he's gonna get one minute to explain anything. They'll put a bullet in him before he even gets is hands up in the air good. I’m not gonna let that happen. Fifty nine minutes you lock it up.”
Han notes the time on his watch. “I’m on it.” Dom slides out of the passenger seat to follow his de facto brother in law to his next destination.
The salmon colored hotel is definitely a no tell motel, but it doesn’t stop the asshole from keeping up the smile and nod performance. As soon as he passes the last person between him and whichever room he’s going to, Dom watches his whole demeanor shift back into the man who is in the process of destroying the home he and Brian have made here. As he watches the shift, he's struck by a moment of deja vu.
It’s the shift he saw in Brian on the side of the highway beside Vince’s mangled body. Dom still would not mistake this man for Brian under any circumstance, but now he can see that there could be deeper things that make them recognizable as brothers, as twins. Things probably as fucked up as the relationship between them.
Dom rechecks his clip. He doesn’t know what’s waiting on the other side of the door so his timing has to be perfect. It is. He hits the doppelganger low just as he twists the nob of his hotel room door. The advantage is on Dom’s side as both men tumble through the door a tangle of arms and legs. Dom gets to his feet first and kicks the door closed. He levels his gun in front of him. In spite of the sun drenched day, the room is much darker than Dom expected. With the door shut no light spills from anywhere else into the room.
“John?” Dom whips his gun in the direction of the unfamiliar voice. His hand scrabbles along the wall looking for a light switch. The click of a lamp beats him to the punch. He isn’t surprised to find that the asshole is pointing a gun at him. The other person in the room, the one who spoke, Gordon Cozier Dom presumes, is propped up in the bed supported by several thin pillows. His dark, naked torso is swathed in bandages. There are dark spots at the center of the bandaging, other spots that look newly wet, red. Sweat glistens on the dark forehead.
Dom tightens his grip, but doesn’t adjust his aim. He has another weird moment of deja vu of the last time he saw O’Conner stateside before he’d turned up in the D.R. After the sideswiping by the train, he'd driven to a place off the radar in Silverlake where he could stash O’Conner’s car, get medical attention and lay low for a little while. He'd given the address to Brian when the cop handed him his car keys. When Brian turned up a day later, Dom was propped up on a couch against much better pillows.
“I gotta ride this out. At the very least I can buy some more time for you to get straight.” Brian had said as he stood at the opposite end of the couch staring intently at Dom.
“I’m not gonna stay more than another day. Too risky.” He had answered, unable to take his eyes of Brian who looked like hadn't slept in a two days.
“Right.”
“What kind of heat are you looking at?”
“Right now I’m suspended, with pay. There will be a hearing. I’ll make a token protest then they’ll take my badge.”
“You okay with that?”
Brian had stepped closer to Dom as close as the asshole is now standing to the man in the bed. Close enough to touch. O’Conner’s fingers had caressed Dom’s scalp as he said, “I’m more than a little in love with you Toretto, so yeah I’m okay with that.” A year later he and Brian were living together in the Dominican.
Toretto flicks his eyes between the two men in front of him. So the fucker has a heart after all or at least a liability. That’s something Dom can work with.
“It looks like we have a problem.”
“No problem Toretto. It’s too bad Brian sent you to fight his battle.”
“Family looks out for family. You don’t seem to know anything about that. Maybe if I shoot your friend in the head that will help with your learning curve.”
“Who's the wanker?” Though it's a tired rasp, the contempt roils through the words. English. It's of minor interest. English or American a bullet will end him just the same. “I've got this Gordon.”
“In-law.” Toretto tosses out at the same time.
“Try again,” from the bed. Dom shrugs. “I'd know if John had a sister.”
“Maybe, but what about a twin brother he's trying to get killed.” A familiar expression flickers across the man's face. It's the same one Dom knows was on his own face hours earlier when he realized who was knocking on their front door.
The asshole smirks. “Shut the fuck up grease monkey. Biology doesn't mean shit.”
“Yeah, I guess not when you're looking to cover you own ass. Did you make the call yet?”
“John,” there's warning and a rasp of pain.
“What call?”
“It's biology that might make me shoot you in the gut like your friend instead of double tapping you. You know what call.” Dom figures he hasn't or the asshole would be on his way out of town already, but he doesn't want to take the chance.
“So little brother finally got someone with the balls he doesn't have, a brain too.”
“John, don't treat me like I'm already dead.” That hits the asshole hard. If Dom can buy time, he might not have to shear this branch off Brian's family tree. He'll do what's necessary, but he's open to other options.
“Bri's car it's parked in the front.”
“Of course it is.” Dom's lip curls in disgust.
“That's what you came for. You can go now.”
“It was, until I figured out you're trying to get Brian killed. Now there are other things I want.”
“John,” the rasp a little more pained than it was before.
John's gun doesn't waver as he raises his free hand to the other man's forehead. A frown flits across his face. “Get the fuck out.”
“You know I'm not gonna do that.” There's calculation in the other man's eyes.
“How the fuck did you end up with a lightweight like Brian? Under other circumstances we could have done business.”
“I doubt that.” Gun still trained on Dom, the asshole reaches into one of the bags for a bottle of water. He unscrews the lid with his teeth before handing it to his companion.
“Thanks mate.” Gordon manages a smile. The answering expression from Brian's twin is so intimate that it feels like a flash of what the man must look like after he's gotten laid. Dom definitely has all the leverage he needs in the room, but his code doesn't support the killing of the unarmed, the injured. Of course that's mitigated by the threat to Brian's life. His aim at the injured man's heart doesn't waver. The gun aimed at his own head doesn't waver either. They're still more of less in those stances twenty minutes later when Brian busts into the room, nearly getting shot for his trouble.
The noise at the door makes Dom shift, bringing it a little more into his line of sight, without taking away his aim from the man on the bed. From his position he'll have the drop on whoever comes through. But if the asshole hasn't made the call yet, whoever's coming through the door isn't coming for him. The asshole works through that same realization, Dom watches him adjust slightly so that his gun is a little less on Dom.
Brian comes through the door low which is the main thing that keeps him from getting shot by his twin. The entry gives the asshole enough time to clock that it's Brian and just like that his weapon is trained on Dom again.
“The fuck you doing John?” Brian extends gracefully to fully standing.
“You're the one who sent your trick.”
There's a gun in Brian's hand, but it's angled down the side of his leg. Generally that wouldn't be an issue, Brian is fast and accurate when the occasion requires. Ordinarily, another gun on his side would be great, but Brian was on his way to not sober when Dom left the house. He'd thought he was already there. He allows a quick glance at his partner. There's a flush to his skin and his eyes are bright. Dom wants to chock it up to adrenaline, but he can't help that anger sparks, just a little. He tries not to dwell on how fast Brian had to have driven...
“Who drove?” Dom growls out. Not the right time or place. The words, past his lips before he realizes.
“About that,” Brian turns a sheepish smile on him that makes Dom long for just hours ago when as far as he knew Brian was an only child. Wet coughing starts up from the bed.
“Gordon?”
Both Brian's and Dom's attention whips back to the matter at hand. The Englishman's head has dipped forward and he's listing a little to the side. John's gun is no longer pointing at them. Instead the other man's complete focus has shifted to the his partner. Brian watches, fascinated as John says Gordon again. As he hefts his friend back to a more upright position. The other man coughs and blood splatters the front of John's shirt.
Even though he doesn't recognize this behavior in John, he can see if for what it is. Knows the tone, knows this moment. The barely contained desperation, this culmination of all your decisions coming to rest in the life of someone you love hanging in the balance. There's a kind of beauty in seeing him like this, seeing him human. Seeing him lose. Welcome to the world, Brian thinks as he lowers his gun. John is outnumbered. Outgunned. He catches Dom's eye and jerks his head toward the door.
“Brazil and Miami are in play,” Dom says quietly as the lean on either of John's hotel room door trying not to look suspicious to passerbys.
“What happened?”
“The asshole's using you as bait.”
“I - what?
“Cops are looking for Jeeves in there, his druggie sister, both have rap sheets. The asshole's got a description, no prints, no record. Not much of a paper trail. Until now.”
The news settles into him. Resignation registers in Brian's eyes. “I guess it's nice to know some things never change.” A sound immediately identifiable as a muffled gunshot stops Dom from responding.
Brian re-enters first, gun drawn. John is his problem. There is no way he'd let Dom go through the door first again. As soon as he steps across the threshold, the cop in him immediately reads the scene. It's odd to see the same expression on John's face that he's seen on the surviving at crime scenes. That moment of grief when you realize something precious to you has been lost forever. He confirms what he knows, by stepping quickly to the side of the bed and checking for a pulse. The man on the bed is gone. Whatever John put the bullet in, it wasn't his friend.
“Dom, John wrap him up in the top sheet. Do it now. I'll get Han to pull up the car.”
“Where are you going?” Brian grabs the baseball cap on the nightstand. “To check out.” Dom flashes him a look, and reaches for the corner of the sheet. John grits, “I'll do it,” as he shoves his gun in the waistband of his jeans and yanks the corner of the sheets out of Dom's hand. The asshole remains and asshole, but Dom understands tending to your own dead. The big man turns away from the bed, positions himself at the door to watch for Han. His hand doesn't stray far from the hilt of his gun.
It's weird getting his flirt on with the hotel clerk. O'Conner can turn on the charm with just about everyone, it's always been a thing. But flirting is only something he's ever really done with one person. With Dom, he just can't help it. Undercover he couldn't stop. And even now when he has to do next to nothing to get Dom to touch him, to get down and dirty with him, he still flirts. He does it at the garage, while heisting gas runs, over breakfast. It's their thing. This feels a little like cheating. But it's necessary to mitigate John's shit. So in a way it's a throwback to his childhood, business as usual.
O'Conner uses the charm coupled with the necessary layer of if I had time I'd really like to hook up with you as he drops the name Sean, a kid John fucked over when they were kids and Tokyo, because when they were kids it was the farthest away place they could thing of to escape to. He makes the clerk think that he'd love to take her with him, if the sudden trip weren't all about business. When he pays the bill in cash, he throws in a little something extra for the room damage and to ensure she'll more easily recall those things if questioned.
He gets back to the room in time to see Dom and John placing the body gingerly in the trunk. Han has managed to park at enough of an angle to shield what they're doing from prying eyes. Brian steps in to give it a once over. The D.R. is burned for them, but they don't have to leave any breadcrumbs. He figures he and Dom are good on fingerprints, but he still takes the pillow case that escaped being smeared with blood and wipes down the things mostly likely touched. On the side of the bed where John was standing, glass from the shattered mirror litters the floor. There isn't much blood. Apparently John's friend mostly bled on the bed, so they shouldn't have to worry about hotel clerk having crisis of conscious. O'Conner pops into the bathroom where he finds a couple bloody washcloths. Wrapping those up in the bathroom garbage can liner, he takes them with him.
The ride to the house is quiet and uncomfortable. Dom, anger rolling off him in waves rides shotgun with Han who whistles a song Brian doesn't know. Brian sits next to his brother, who got in the car without objection, who hasn't spoken one word since he appropriated the seat behind Han. They have always been more like strangers, but as Brian takes in his twin's ramrod straight posture and tight expression, he feels a kinship with him that he has never felt.
Han backs the car all the way into their backyard. They don't have any close neighbors so privacy won't be an issue. John is out of the car before it comes to a complete stop. The silence prevails as Han pops the truck.
“Can you get the shovels out of the shed,” Brian asks Dom quietly before he climbs out of the car after his brother. At the trunk, John has already begun to heft the body out. The defensive, possessive posture screams mine so Brian backs off and simply walks to the far corner of the yard. The breathing behind him labors slightly, but keeps coming. He pauses a couple feet away from the palm tree he and Dom have had sex against and under on many occasions. Their first anniversary was celebrated under the tree, naked and rutting in the grass all moans and shouts like it was the first time. It's weird that John's partner will be buried here now, but like the flirting with the hotel clerk, it's necessary. Humane.
Dom stalks up to Brian with barely a glance at John cradling the weight of his partner in his arms, in the bloody sheet. O'Conner communicates as much as he can to Dom with a glance. Thank you. I love you. I'm on this. Dom acknowledges with a tilt of his head, of course not without tossing a murderous glare at the back of John's head as he stalks back to the house. Propping one of the shovels against the tree, Brian plunges the other one into the ground to start a hole. Fortunately it rained a few days before so the ground is soft enough to make it easy work. A clearing of the throat catches Brian's attention as he tosses his first shovelful to the side, prepares to drive the shovel in again. John shakes his head slightly in the negative and Brian stops. With great care, John lowers his partner to the lawn. Brian nods, hands his brother the shovel and walks away. When O'Conner gets to the back door, he glances over his shoulder to find John kneeling in the grass, one hand clutching the shovel and the other fisted in the sheet.
“What's your play,” are the first words out of Dom's mouth when Brian steps into the kitchen. Leaning against the breakfast bar with a Corona in his hand, the anger still wafts off him. Fortunately, Brian is built to withstand it.
“Everyone should be allowed to bury their dead in peace.”
It's not meant to be a low blow, because it's something Brian believes wholeheartedly. But Brian has no way to prevent the dark flicker in Dom's expression. That flicker is Jesse. The team had already been on the run when Jesse's body was released by the coroner. Brian had been the one to claim Jesse and make sure he didn't end up in Potter's field.
“Yeah,” Dom agrees as he takes a swig from his beer. “The damage he's done -
“No, I know, but he...He's...his family is gone. Yeah, he falls somewhere between total douchebag and total psychopath, but I saw it in the hotel room. Something's finally happened to John that he can't help but feel just like everyone else. He can't bullshit or bad ass his way through this. It's possible he won't survive it.”
“Nothing to lose, makes him more dangerous.”
“I don't think that's going to be an issue. He's contained here. There's plenty of room for another body out back.”
“O'Conner that's not what -”
Even having had more than enough first hand experience with the twin, listening to Brian speak so matter of factly about killing his brother is exactly the shit Dom didn't want on their doorstep. It's unnatural.
Brian smiles, but it doesn't go much beyond just an expression made with teeth and lips. This is what Toretto hoped to avoid in tasking Han to set Brian on his way to Brazil. The chances of the asshole leaving the Dominican alive are very slim, but there's no way Dom can allow Brian to be the triggerman. When Brian steps around him to get a couple of Coronas out of the fridge, Dom doesn't do anything to stop him.
John stares at the beer Brian offers him for a few seconds before he reaches out a dirty hand and takes it. “I'm sorry for your loss. The loss of your family,” Brian murmurs quietly. John takes a swig from his beer, before returning to his task.
This time when O'Conner steps back in through the back door, Dom grabs him by the wrist and pulls him flush against his chest. He'd like a reset. A little more than twenty-four hours ago, Brian was a beautiful and fucked out mess beneath him, Dom would like to get back there. He'd like to see the loose, sleepy eyed satisfaction again. Not this resignation as Brian steps into the kitchen again. Toretto should have shot the asshole as soon as he shoved him into that hotel room. If he had done that, he wouldn't be digging a grave in their backyard and casting a pall over their lives. Dom presses Brian up against the island, shoves his hands between the waistband of his jeans and warm skin. The jeans are old enough, slouchy enough for Dom to comfortably cup Brian with his hand. The way Brian responds signals Dom they are more than on the same page. The other man's body practically caves to his and a low dirty please, rasps out of O'Conner. With nimble, practiced fingers, Brian flips the top button, unzips Dom's chinos getting them more than halfway off his ass when there's the unmistakeable creak of their screen door being opened. There's the additional telltale sudden breeze on his ass, but -
Dom doesn't stop. His hand continues to stroke and he continues the grind against Brian's thigh. And maybe he wants to rub it in a that Brian's gonna get his, always while the asshole will have to take up a pretty fucked up hobby involving the dead if he wants what Brian has. It's petty. In some darker moments, three a.m. Moments Dom imagines what it would be like to lose Brian. What his life would look like. It's not something he can really imagine. Generally, he doesn't let his mind go too far down that path. So he knows how deep this can cut. And he increases the pressure and speed to get Brian off. O'Conner moans his name softly againt his neck and releases. Toretto considers trying to see if he can get Brian to lick his hand clean, but that might be pushing it too far. He does trail his hand beneath Brian's shirt, across Brian's stomach. He's still hard, but the discomfort is worth it. He pulls up his pants and kisses Brian deeply.
“I gotta talk to Han.” He walks out of the kitchen without a backward glance. Brian can't help the smile that spreads across his face. His gaze flicks to his brother who stares back at him stoically, as if he hadn't just walked in on Brian having sex.
“You're traveling light, right? You've got a stash locked up in the house. Leave me the key.”
The imperiousness of the tone is more than a little infuriating considering the 'traveling' is the result of the other man's calculated detonation of Brian's life. Of course, there isn't any time for Brian to let himself be affected by John being John. He's a little hung up on the idea that John is ride or die about anyone, when the man Brian knew was always strictly about cutting his losses. O'Conner tamps down on the kneejerk itch to punch John in the face and chooses to focus on the last part of what his sibling said, not the first.
Brian can see the tactical breach of this house in his mind's eye. If John's efforts to throw him under the bus have been successful they'll find a guy that looks like Officer Brian O'Conner and a freshly dug grave. If they take John alive there are any number of things the other man can say to make them think it's Toretto in the grave. Mostly if he just says nothing when asked. They'll assume until they can get some poor rookie to start digging. That puts a little bit more time on their side. Given their history it's hard to believe that there is any sort of selflessness or making amends in this. It's business. And John's business is the man in the ground.
“I'll leave the key on the counter before we roll out. There's some money -
There's a sharp nod of his brother's head. “I don't need any money.”
He wonders if the brotherly thing to do is put two to the back of John's head instead of letting him be gunned down by strangers. It dawns on Brian that John's life won't last one minute longer than it takes him to unlock Brian's gun safe. There's no time for O'Conner to do any kind of quality intervention. He doesn't even know if he's capable. If the situations were reversed, he'd have dug a hole big enough for two from the jump.
“The muscle queen's got a nice ass. I see why you keep him around.” John slides out of the door again and like Dom he doesn't look back.
The observation startles Brian out of his thoughts. It almost sounds like a blessing. This is the way it should have been he thinks. Him and John shooting the shit over guys, teasing each other about things like that. But if it had been that way he might never have joined the police department, never have met Dom and the others. Losing John was the best thing to have happened to him.
Minutes later when Brian has unlocked the gun safe and takes out his backup glock to stash in his go bag, he considers leaving it unlocked. But maybe his sibling wanted the chance to change his mind. So Brian re-locks the safe and leaves the key on the counter like he said he would.
End
Fandoms: TFATF & Takers Crossover
Pairing: Brian/Dom, John/Gordon, Brian/Rome(implied)
Rating: R
Warnings: Spoilers Takers and the entire TFATF franchise, language, sex
Disclaimer: So not mine. Only each others.
Summary: John Rahway needs a favor from his estranged twin, Brian O'Conner.
A/N: So it's a year and a day since the last installment, the same as the minimum sentence for a felony I think. Given what Dom and company get up to I guess that's appropriate. No reason for it to have taken so long except for real life. In before canon changes again and the sixth film births more plot bunnies.
Part One: http://crossover-kink.livejournal.com/937.html?thread=28585#t28585
Part Two: http://chase65.livejournal.com/24675.html
Dom skirts the edges of the low buildings as he makes his way to the car Han is using for surveillance. Tego and Rico brought him a car that he leaves parked a few blocks away. Brian was well into his cups when Dom left. He'd taken just a minute to make eye contact with his partner to let him know that he was going to get the car back. Brian had simply looked at him and then finished off another beer.
It was the best arrangement for the time being. Tego and Rico rarely let anything interrupt their bickering so they could do that at the Toretto-O'Conner place just as easily as anywhere else. They had actually been mid-squabble about God only knew what. Dom could barely make out what it was about. It could have been about anything from the weather to the World Cup. They barely stopped going at each other as Rico handed Dom the car keys. He'd simply nodded in Brian's direction.
“Don't let him hurt himself.” Tego and Rico did actually pause just long enough to acknowledge Brian sitting haphazardly on the stool, before going right back to their boisterous jaw jacking at each other.
Sidling up to the passenger side of Han's car, Dom ducks inside when Han pops open the door.
“Man this is so weird. He's like O'Conner, but not you know? ”
“Yeah, Han I know. I got the hi def floor show in my living room.”
“For a guy wanted in a cop killing he's not exactly keeping a low profile down here. He's been kind of flirting with intent and dropping big bills. I looked into the shit that went down in L.A. There was a shoot out at an airstrip. Cop lost a lot of blood, but managed to give a description before going into a coma. The crew's all dead except a guy named Gordon Cozier who was shot at the scene.”
“Anybody find a body?”
“No, just an SUV with a lot of blood.”
“Is he the only one they’re looking for?”
“And a woman, Cozier's sister. Twins really do do everything the same.” Han smirks at Dom. “You gotta admit it's like a freaky deja vu.””
Dom’s expression goes blank, flat.
“No word on either of them?”
“She’s a junkie so probably dead in a ditch? With all the blood in the SUV maybe he bled out and he and his sister are in the same ditch. O'Conner 2.0 hasn’t called anyone or met up with anyone since I’ve had eyes on.”
“So it's possible they're here with him.”
“The cops have nothing on him?
“Naw, he's got his stuff pretty locked down, brass balls. The job they pulled was in broad daylight, downtown L.A. All those cameras downtown though... They're probably on that footage twenty four seven looking for something.”
And the the dime drops for Dom. “Son of a bitch. How fast do you think you can be ready to travel.”
“Short term or Long term.”
“Long term.”
“Well you know man I came in light, but I kinda got commitments now.”
“It's interesting the times you pick to remember that.”
“That's a low blow Dom. She won't want to leave her family. What's are you thinking?”
“Cops don't stop coming for you when you kill one of their own. They're not sure who they're looking for. But if you could give them someone else they already have a hard on for, someone that fits the description they have, that would fit any photos that pop up...”
“He's Brian's brother.”
“He's a felon who's on the run, flirting with intent and dropping big bills. How many of those people would pick out Brian's mugshot as the guy who gave then a two thousand peso note and told them to keep the change or smiled all toothpaste blond and blue. We stay outta of the main drags for a reason. This asshole gives Brian a face where we don't want him to have a face. Buys him time, buys him a get off a death row free pass.”
“Why do all that? Why not just go?”
“If he's got walking wounded with him. It's slowing him down. You put the heat on Brian it buys time. And what's O'Conner gonna say if he gets jammed up in this? 'There's a guy running around that looks just like me.' Who in the LAPD is gonna want to hear that noise?”
“Whoa, that’s some straight up evil twin shit.”
“Yeah.” Han hands him the nine and the clip Dom had asked him to bring. Originally, he'd asked for it for looks, in case the asshole made an issue about getting the car back. But with what's on the table now, he has no qualms about using it for its intended purpose.
They both watch through the windshield as John smiles and nods at just about everybody on the sidewalk that looks at him. Every damn person. Making himself memorable. Fastfood containers are wedged under his arm. Even if the asshole shares a metabolism with Brian, that’s a lot of perishable food for one person.
Dom checks his clip. “I hear Brazil is nice this time of year. If you don’t hear from me in an hour lock it up.”
“You sure you don’t want backup?”
“This is a family problem. If I can’t get this asshole handled, I need someone strong, smart to get Brian out of the D.R. Tego and Rico cant’ shut up long enough to do it. You also have my permission to do what you need to do. Bind and gag him, sedate him. Whatever.”
“Dom.”
“Brian’s a dirty cop. No one's much in the mood to give him the benefit of the doubt. How much harder do you think they'll come if he’s tagged a cop killer. You think he's gonna get one minute to explain anything. They'll put a bullet in him before he even gets is hands up in the air good. I’m not gonna let that happen. Fifty nine minutes you lock it up.”
Han notes the time on his watch. “I’m on it.” Dom slides out of the passenger seat to follow his de facto brother in law to his next destination.
The salmon colored hotel is definitely a no tell motel, but it doesn’t stop the asshole from keeping up the smile and nod performance. As soon as he passes the last person between him and whichever room he’s going to, Dom watches his whole demeanor shift back into the man who is in the process of destroying the home he and Brian have made here. As he watches the shift, he's struck by a moment of deja vu.
It’s the shift he saw in Brian on the side of the highway beside Vince’s mangled body. Dom still would not mistake this man for Brian under any circumstance, but now he can see that there could be deeper things that make them recognizable as brothers, as twins. Things probably as fucked up as the relationship between them.
Dom rechecks his clip. He doesn’t know what’s waiting on the other side of the door so his timing has to be perfect. It is. He hits the doppelganger low just as he twists the nob of his hotel room door. The advantage is on Dom’s side as both men tumble through the door a tangle of arms and legs. Dom gets to his feet first and kicks the door closed. He levels his gun in front of him. In spite of the sun drenched day, the room is much darker than Dom expected. With the door shut no light spills from anywhere else into the room.
“John?” Dom whips his gun in the direction of the unfamiliar voice. His hand scrabbles along the wall looking for a light switch. The click of a lamp beats him to the punch. He isn’t surprised to find that the asshole is pointing a gun at him. The other person in the room, the one who spoke, Gordon Cozier Dom presumes, is propped up in the bed supported by several thin pillows. His dark, naked torso is swathed in bandages. There are dark spots at the center of the bandaging, other spots that look newly wet, red. Sweat glistens on the dark forehead.
Dom tightens his grip, but doesn’t adjust his aim. He has another weird moment of deja vu of the last time he saw O’Conner stateside before he’d turned up in the D.R. After the sideswiping by the train, he'd driven to a place off the radar in Silverlake where he could stash O’Conner’s car, get medical attention and lay low for a little while. He'd given the address to Brian when the cop handed him his car keys. When Brian turned up a day later, Dom was propped up on a couch against much better pillows.
“I gotta ride this out. At the very least I can buy some more time for you to get straight.” Brian had said as he stood at the opposite end of the couch staring intently at Dom.
“I’m not gonna stay more than another day. Too risky.” He had answered, unable to take his eyes of Brian who looked like hadn't slept in a two days.
“Right.”
“What kind of heat are you looking at?”
“Right now I’m suspended, with pay. There will be a hearing. I’ll make a token protest then they’ll take my badge.”
“You okay with that?”
Brian had stepped closer to Dom as close as the asshole is now standing to the man in the bed. Close enough to touch. O’Conner’s fingers had caressed Dom’s scalp as he said, “I’m more than a little in love with you Toretto, so yeah I’m okay with that.” A year later he and Brian were living together in the Dominican.
Toretto flicks his eyes between the two men in front of him. So the fucker has a heart after all or at least a liability. That’s something Dom can work with.
“It looks like we have a problem.”
“No problem Toretto. It’s too bad Brian sent you to fight his battle.”
“Family looks out for family. You don’t seem to know anything about that. Maybe if I shoot your friend in the head that will help with your learning curve.”
“Who's the wanker?” Though it's a tired rasp, the contempt roils through the words. English. It's of minor interest. English or American a bullet will end him just the same. “I've got this Gordon.”
“In-law.” Toretto tosses out at the same time.
“Try again,” from the bed. Dom shrugs. “I'd know if John had a sister.”
“Maybe, but what about a twin brother he's trying to get killed.” A familiar expression flickers across the man's face. It's the same one Dom knows was on his own face hours earlier when he realized who was knocking on their front door.
The asshole smirks. “Shut the fuck up grease monkey. Biology doesn't mean shit.”
“Yeah, I guess not when you're looking to cover you own ass. Did you make the call yet?”
“John,” there's warning and a rasp of pain.
“What call?”
“It's biology that might make me shoot you in the gut like your friend instead of double tapping you. You know what call.” Dom figures he hasn't or the asshole would be on his way out of town already, but he doesn't want to take the chance.
“So little brother finally got someone with the balls he doesn't have, a brain too.”
“John, don't treat me like I'm already dead.” That hits the asshole hard. If Dom can buy time, he might not have to shear this branch off Brian's family tree. He'll do what's necessary, but he's open to other options.
“Bri's car it's parked in the front.”
“Of course it is.” Dom's lip curls in disgust.
“That's what you came for. You can go now.”
“It was, until I figured out you're trying to get Brian killed. Now there are other things I want.”
“John,” the rasp a little more pained than it was before.
John's gun doesn't waver as he raises his free hand to the other man's forehead. A frown flits across his face. “Get the fuck out.”
“You know I'm not gonna do that.” There's calculation in the other man's eyes.
“How the fuck did you end up with a lightweight like Brian? Under other circumstances we could have done business.”
“I doubt that.” Gun still trained on Dom, the asshole reaches into one of the bags for a bottle of water. He unscrews the lid with his teeth before handing it to his companion.
“Thanks mate.” Gordon manages a smile. The answering expression from Brian's twin is so intimate that it feels like a flash of what the man must look like after he's gotten laid. Dom definitely has all the leverage he needs in the room, but his code doesn't support the killing of the unarmed, the injured. Of course that's mitigated by the threat to Brian's life. His aim at the injured man's heart doesn't waver. The gun aimed at his own head doesn't waver either. They're still more of less in those stances twenty minutes later when Brian busts into the room, nearly getting shot for his trouble.
The noise at the door makes Dom shift, bringing it a little more into his line of sight, without taking away his aim from the man on the bed. From his position he'll have the drop on whoever comes through. But if the asshole hasn't made the call yet, whoever's coming through the door isn't coming for him. The asshole works through that same realization, Dom watches him adjust slightly so that his gun is a little less on Dom.
Brian comes through the door low which is the main thing that keeps him from getting shot by his twin. The entry gives the asshole enough time to clock that it's Brian and just like that his weapon is trained on Dom again.
“The fuck you doing John?” Brian extends gracefully to fully standing.
“You're the one who sent your trick.”
There's a gun in Brian's hand, but it's angled down the side of his leg. Generally that wouldn't be an issue, Brian is fast and accurate when the occasion requires. Ordinarily, another gun on his side would be great, but Brian was on his way to not sober when Dom left the house. He'd thought he was already there. He allows a quick glance at his partner. There's a flush to his skin and his eyes are bright. Dom wants to chock it up to adrenaline, but he can't help that anger sparks, just a little. He tries not to dwell on how fast Brian had to have driven...
“Who drove?” Dom growls out. Not the right time or place. The words, past his lips before he realizes.
“About that,” Brian turns a sheepish smile on him that makes Dom long for just hours ago when as far as he knew Brian was an only child. Wet coughing starts up from the bed.
“Gordon?”
Both Brian's and Dom's attention whips back to the matter at hand. The Englishman's head has dipped forward and he's listing a little to the side. John's gun is no longer pointing at them. Instead the other man's complete focus has shifted to the his partner. Brian watches, fascinated as John says Gordon again. As he hefts his friend back to a more upright position. The other man coughs and blood splatters the front of John's shirt.
Even though he doesn't recognize this behavior in John, he can see if for what it is. Knows the tone, knows this moment. The barely contained desperation, this culmination of all your decisions coming to rest in the life of someone you love hanging in the balance. There's a kind of beauty in seeing him like this, seeing him human. Seeing him lose. Welcome to the world, Brian thinks as he lowers his gun. John is outnumbered. Outgunned. He catches Dom's eye and jerks his head toward the door.
“Brazil and Miami are in play,” Dom says quietly as the lean on either of John's hotel room door trying not to look suspicious to passerbys.
“What happened?”
“The asshole's using you as bait.”
“I - what?
“Cops are looking for Jeeves in there, his druggie sister, both have rap sheets. The asshole's got a description, no prints, no record. Not much of a paper trail. Until now.”
The news settles into him. Resignation registers in Brian's eyes. “I guess it's nice to know some things never change.” A sound immediately identifiable as a muffled gunshot stops Dom from responding.
Brian re-enters first, gun drawn. John is his problem. There is no way he'd let Dom go through the door first again. As soon as he steps across the threshold, the cop in him immediately reads the scene. It's odd to see the same expression on John's face that he's seen on the surviving at crime scenes. That moment of grief when you realize something precious to you has been lost forever. He confirms what he knows, by stepping quickly to the side of the bed and checking for a pulse. The man on the bed is gone. Whatever John put the bullet in, it wasn't his friend.
“Dom, John wrap him up in the top sheet. Do it now. I'll get Han to pull up the car.”
“Where are you going?” Brian grabs the baseball cap on the nightstand. “To check out.” Dom flashes him a look, and reaches for the corner of the sheet. John grits, “I'll do it,” as he shoves his gun in the waistband of his jeans and yanks the corner of the sheets out of Dom's hand. The asshole remains and asshole, but Dom understands tending to your own dead. The big man turns away from the bed, positions himself at the door to watch for Han. His hand doesn't stray far from the hilt of his gun.
It's weird getting his flirt on with the hotel clerk. O'Conner can turn on the charm with just about everyone, it's always been a thing. But flirting is only something he's ever really done with one person. With Dom, he just can't help it. Undercover he couldn't stop. And even now when he has to do next to nothing to get Dom to touch him, to get down and dirty with him, he still flirts. He does it at the garage, while heisting gas runs, over breakfast. It's their thing. This feels a little like cheating. But it's necessary to mitigate John's shit. So in a way it's a throwback to his childhood, business as usual.
O'Conner uses the charm coupled with the necessary layer of if I had time I'd really like to hook up with you as he drops the name Sean, a kid John fucked over when they were kids and Tokyo, because when they were kids it was the farthest away place they could thing of to escape to. He makes the clerk think that he'd love to take her with him, if the sudden trip weren't all about business. When he pays the bill in cash, he throws in a little something extra for the room damage and to ensure she'll more easily recall those things if questioned.
He gets back to the room in time to see Dom and John placing the body gingerly in the trunk. Han has managed to park at enough of an angle to shield what they're doing from prying eyes. Brian steps in to give it a once over. The D.R. is burned for them, but they don't have to leave any breadcrumbs. He figures he and Dom are good on fingerprints, but he still takes the pillow case that escaped being smeared with blood and wipes down the things mostly likely touched. On the side of the bed where John was standing, glass from the shattered mirror litters the floor. There isn't much blood. Apparently John's friend mostly bled on the bed, so they shouldn't have to worry about hotel clerk having crisis of conscious. O'Conner pops into the bathroom where he finds a couple bloody washcloths. Wrapping those up in the bathroom garbage can liner, he takes them with him.
The ride to the house is quiet and uncomfortable. Dom, anger rolling off him in waves rides shotgun with Han who whistles a song Brian doesn't know. Brian sits next to his brother, who got in the car without objection, who hasn't spoken one word since he appropriated the seat behind Han. They have always been more like strangers, but as Brian takes in his twin's ramrod straight posture and tight expression, he feels a kinship with him that he has never felt.
Han backs the car all the way into their backyard. They don't have any close neighbors so privacy won't be an issue. John is out of the car before it comes to a complete stop. The silence prevails as Han pops the truck.
“Can you get the shovels out of the shed,” Brian asks Dom quietly before he climbs out of the car after his brother. At the trunk, John has already begun to heft the body out. The defensive, possessive posture screams mine so Brian backs off and simply walks to the far corner of the yard. The breathing behind him labors slightly, but keeps coming. He pauses a couple feet away from the palm tree he and Dom have had sex against and under on many occasions. Their first anniversary was celebrated under the tree, naked and rutting in the grass all moans and shouts like it was the first time. It's weird that John's partner will be buried here now, but like the flirting with the hotel clerk, it's necessary. Humane.
Dom stalks up to Brian with barely a glance at John cradling the weight of his partner in his arms, in the bloody sheet. O'Conner communicates as much as he can to Dom with a glance. Thank you. I love you. I'm on this. Dom acknowledges with a tilt of his head, of course not without tossing a murderous glare at the back of John's head as he stalks back to the house. Propping one of the shovels against the tree, Brian plunges the other one into the ground to start a hole. Fortunately it rained a few days before so the ground is soft enough to make it easy work. A clearing of the throat catches Brian's attention as he tosses his first shovelful to the side, prepares to drive the shovel in again. John shakes his head slightly in the negative and Brian stops. With great care, John lowers his partner to the lawn. Brian nods, hands his brother the shovel and walks away. When O'Conner gets to the back door, he glances over his shoulder to find John kneeling in the grass, one hand clutching the shovel and the other fisted in the sheet.
“What's your play,” are the first words out of Dom's mouth when Brian steps into the kitchen. Leaning against the breakfast bar with a Corona in his hand, the anger still wafts off him. Fortunately, Brian is built to withstand it.
“Everyone should be allowed to bury their dead in peace.”
It's not meant to be a low blow, because it's something Brian believes wholeheartedly. But Brian has no way to prevent the dark flicker in Dom's expression. That flicker is Jesse. The team had already been on the run when Jesse's body was released by the coroner. Brian had been the one to claim Jesse and make sure he didn't end up in Potter's field.
“Yeah,” Dom agrees as he takes a swig from his beer. “The damage he's done -
“No, I know, but he...He's...his family is gone. Yeah, he falls somewhere between total douchebag and total psychopath, but I saw it in the hotel room. Something's finally happened to John that he can't help but feel just like everyone else. He can't bullshit or bad ass his way through this. It's possible he won't survive it.”
“Nothing to lose, makes him more dangerous.”
“I don't think that's going to be an issue. He's contained here. There's plenty of room for another body out back.”
“O'Conner that's not what -”
Even having had more than enough first hand experience with the twin, listening to Brian speak so matter of factly about killing his brother is exactly the shit Dom didn't want on their doorstep. It's unnatural.
Brian smiles, but it doesn't go much beyond just an expression made with teeth and lips. This is what Toretto hoped to avoid in tasking Han to set Brian on his way to Brazil. The chances of the asshole leaving the Dominican alive are very slim, but there's no way Dom can allow Brian to be the triggerman. When Brian steps around him to get a couple of Coronas out of the fridge, Dom doesn't do anything to stop him.
John stares at the beer Brian offers him for a few seconds before he reaches out a dirty hand and takes it. “I'm sorry for your loss. The loss of your family,” Brian murmurs quietly. John takes a swig from his beer, before returning to his task.
This time when O'Conner steps back in through the back door, Dom grabs him by the wrist and pulls him flush against his chest. He'd like a reset. A little more than twenty-four hours ago, Brian was a beautiful and fucked out mess beneath him, Dom would like to get back there. He'd like to see the loose, sleepy eyed satisfaction again. Not this resignation as Brian steps into the kitchen again. Toretto should have shot the asshole as soon as he shoved him into that hotel room. If he had done that, he wouldn't be digging a grave in their backyard and casting a pall over their lives. Dom presses Brian up against the island, shoves his hands between the waistband of his jeans and warm skin. The jeans are old enough, slouchy enough for Dom to comfortably cup Brian with his hand. The way Brian responds signals Dom they are more than on the same page. The other man's body practically caves to his and a low dirty please, rasps out of O'Conner. With nimble, practiced fingers, Brian flips the top button, unzips Dom's chinos getting them more than halfway off his ass when there's the unmistakeable creak of their screen door being opened. There's the additional telltale sudden breeze on his ass, but -
Dom doesn't stop. His hand continues to stroke and he continues the grind against Brian's thigh. And maybe he wants to rub it in a that Brian's gonna get his, always while the asshole will have to take up a pretty fucked up hobby involving the dead if he wants what Brian has. It's petty. In some darker moments, three a.m. Moments Dom imagines what it would be like to lose Brian. What his life would look like. It's not something he can really imagine. Generally, he doesn't let his mind go too far down that path. So he knows how deep this can cut. And he increases the pressure and speed to get Brian off. O'Conner moans his name softly againt his neck and releases. Toretto considers trying to see if he can get Brian to lick his hand clean, but that might be pushing it too far. He does trail his hand beneath Brian's shirt, across Brian's stomach. He's still hard, but the discomfort is worth it. He pulls up his pants and kisses Brian deeply.
“I gotta talk to Han.” He walks out of the kitchen without a backward glance. Brian can't help the smile that spreads across his face. His gaze flicks to his brother who stares back at him stoically, as if he hadn't just walked in on Brian having sex.
“You're traveling light, right? You've got a stash locked up in the house. Leave me the key.”
The imperiousness of the tone is more than a little infuriating considering the 'traveling' is the result of the other man's calculated detonation of Brian's life. Of course, there isn't any time for Brian to let himself be affected by John being John. He's a little hung up on the idea that John is ride or die about anyone, when the man Brian knew was always strictly about cutting his losses. O'Conner tamps down on the kneejerk itch to punch John in the face and chooses to focus on the last part of what his sibling said, not the first.
Brian can see the tactical breach of this house in his mind's eye. If John's efforts to throw him under the bus have been successful they'll find a guy that looks like Officer Brian O'Conner and a freshly dug grave. If they take John alive there are any number of things the other man can say to make them think it's Toretto in the grave. Mostly if he just says nothing when asked. They'll assume until they can get some poor rookie to start digging. That puts a little bit more time on their side. Given their history it's hard to believe that there is any sort of selflessness or making amends in this. It's business. And John's business is the man in the ground.
“I'll leave the key on the counter before we roll out. There's some money -
There's a sharp nod of his brother's head. “I don't need any money.”
He wonders if the brotherly thing to do is put two to the back of John's head instead of letting him be gunned down by strangers. It dawns on Brian that John's life won't last one minute longer than it takes him to unlock Brian's gun safe. There's no time for O'Conner to do any kind of quality intervention. He doesn't even know if he's capable. If the situations were reversed, he'd have dug a hole big enough for two from the jump.
“The muscle queen's got a nice ass. I see why you keep him around.” John slides out of the door again and like Dom he doesn't look back.
The observation startles Brian out of his thoughts. It almost sounds like a blessing. This is the way it should have been he thinks. Him and John shooting the shit over guys, teasing each other about things like that. But if it had been that way he might never have joined the police department, never have met Dom and the others. Losing John was the best thing to have happened to him.
Minutes later when Brian has unlocked the gun safe and takes out his backup glock to stash in his go bag, he considers leaving it unlocked. But maybe his sibling wanted the chance to change his mind. So Brian re-locks the safe and leaves the key on the counter like he said he would.
End