Who's the Buster? - Fast and Furious Fic (Chapter 11/14)
Masterpost Available Here
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Chapter Eleven
The crowd at the race that night was just as big as the last one and Brian saw a lot of familiar faces. Hector and Suki were there, but also a lot of the people Vince once asked him to mimic, like Jesus and Keith, Heather, Dejoun, Sarah, and Gisele. Unsurprisingly, a lot of people who bought parts from Harry were also in attendance, whether to show off their cars or drive them.
The rest of the team weren't there yet when Brian and Dom arrived, but Rome was and he approached Brian almost immediately while the first race got underway. Following Rome over was a man with buzz cut black hair and a hint of both a mustache and a beard. His skin was lighter than Rome's and he was also several inches shorter, but he carried himself with enough confidence and surety to match Brian's old friend.
"Hey, B," Rome greeted, clasping hands with Brian and giving him a quick slap on the back hug. "This here's Tej Parker. He's the guy I told you 'bout. Tej, this is my boy, Brian."
Tej had a strong grip when they shook hand and held Brian's gaze. Brian liked him more already. "Nice to meetcha."
Brian blinked. He knew that voice. "Wait, did you host a race a few weeks back?" Tej sounded like the guy who ran the race the night Brian mimicked Dom.
"One? Man, I host 'em all!" Tej laughed. "It's a lucrative business."
Brian nodded. "And you give cars to all your friends?" he asked, glancing between Tej and Rome.
Tej gave a half shrug. "Only the ones I can see being partners with," he said with a grin that seemed to hide a secret joke only Tej understood.
"Tej also hooked me up with a place to stay," Rome added, bright white teeth showing. "We got to talkin' 'bout the fact that racing wasn't illegal here. That's how we came to our agreement."
"Agreement?" Brian asked sharply.
"I provide the means, he earns the money," Tej explained. "My car and my garage. His driving skill and speed. It's a perfect combination, baby."
He and Rome bumped fists and Brian felt himself relaxing. Tej really did seem like an upfront and above-the-table guy, with his most illegal act being running the races - which wasn't illegal in Torettown. Brian would keep an eye on him anyway, just to be sure, and maybe have Monica run a profile on him so he knew what to look out for.
Tej lightly hit him in the shoulder, making him shift his shoulder back slightly but not upsetting his balance any. With another of those secret joke grins, he said, "Calm down, bro. I feel like I'm about to get arrested with that sour look on your face."
Brian's entire body went stiff and his eyes shot to Rome, who looked extremely guilty. "Can I talk to Rome for a minute?" he asked Tej in a quiet, almost dangerous tone of voice, without tearing his eyes from Rome.
"Of course, man. Of course," Tej agreed, looking like the cat that got the canary. "I'll see you both later when you're racing. Later, man," he said with a brief touch to Rome's shoulder before disappearing into the crowd to go host the races.
"Bri-"
"I can't believe you!" Brian hissed out, getting up in Rome's personal space. "You were told so that you wouldn't blow my cover and then you turn around and tell some random guy? What, just cause he's renting you a room and lending you a car? Goddamit, Rome!"
Rome frowned. "Hey, it ain't like that," he said. "We can trust this guy, B. I know we can."
Brian ran his hands through his hair roughly so he wouldn't punch Rome in the face. "I've got enough problems right now. I don't need to be worrying that my secret's gonna be all over the streets."
"Brian," Rome stated so forcefully that it made Brian's spiraling thoughts halt. His gaze was just as fierce. "Your secret is safe with Tej."
"How do you know?" Brian asked seriously.
Expression not changing, Rome answered, "Because I trust him."
A lot must have changed in the last eight years, because the Rome that Brian grew up with did not trust so easily. He would've thought that doing time in mutant prison would've hardened Rome against strangers, but with Tej he was all open arms, spilling secrets and becoming partners-
Partners.
Tej's secret joke smile.
Brian grimaced. "Ahh, Rome, really?" he asked, taking a half step out of Rome's personal space so he could wave his arms in front of himself without hitting Rome. "I didn't need that mental picture, bro."
Rome gave a toothy grin. "You the one that thought it. I didn't say nothing." He heaved a large but light sigh. "It's the start of a beautiful new life, B."
"Stop, stop!" Brian interrupted. "I don't want to know what you get up to. Personal time, Rome, remember?"
When Rome just continued to give him a shit eating grin, Brian just had to punch him to make it go away. Rome stumbled back a step and put a hand over his chest where he'd been struck, but he was laughing so Brian knew it hadn't actually hurt him.
Reminder: have Monica keep an extra close watch on Tej Parker.
There was heat behind him and Brian's serious thoughts evaporated for the moment as a content feeling overwhelmed him.
"Hey, Dom," he greeted before turning around. Rome stopped chortling and stood up straighter in Dom's presence.
"Hey yourself," Dom responded. "You wandered off. Need I remind you that the last time you were in a crowd, you nearly died?"
Once again, the feeling of losing his legs made his lower body tingle and his back ache. Brian shook his head and shifted his stance to keep himself out of those thoughts and memories. He was racing tonight. The adrenaline would help, as would the feel of a car humming under his body and the movements of his feet needed to move the car the way he wanted to.
"Yeah, but this time I've got you and Rome around," Brian said, a wavering tease in his voice. And somewhere in the crowd was Monica as well in case Braga himself made an appearance.
Dom touched Brian's lower back and the tingles in his legs vanished. He could feel Dom's fingers spread out over his shirt and it was the last reminder his brain needed that he still had his legs, that his spine was fine. It also made Brian remember earlier that evening, before they got ready for the races: shirts and sheets, light shining on sweat, wide hands in his hair, down his chest, trailing his back, heat everywhere.
"Augh, Brian!" Rome gagged. "Did we not just talk about personal time? I didn't need that image either!" He even covered his face with his hands like the two were doing something inappropriate at that exact moment.
Not taking his eyes off Dom, Brian grinned and said, "You thought it. I didn't say nothing." Dom smiled back.
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After the races were done, Dom stayed the night. It was the best sleep Brian could remember having in the past eight years.
In the morning, while Dom made use of the shower, Brian slid his badge into his back pocket. He had to tell them. He couldn't keep hiding.
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"You gotta learn to hold off on the NOS. And you switched gears like a novice."
Rome gaped at Tej for a moment, bits of pulled pork and bread visible in his mouth from the large bite he'd just taken of his sandwich. Brian kicked him under the diner table. "Manners, Rome."
Swallowing, Rome pouted. "I raced fine last night."
Tej lifted an eyebrow. "Tell that to my Spyder GTS. She was weeping after that race. Took me an hour to make her feel better."
"Hey, I won, didn't I?"
"True," Dom broke in from his seat to Brian's right, empty plate in front of him, "but I think even our Buster could beat you."
Now Rome looked insulted. He dropped his sandwich back to his plate. "What? What? That ain't right, man. I taught him to race, alright? I taught him everything he knows about cars."
Brian chuckled and shook his head as he popped a fry into his mouth. "Maybe when we were sixteen, Rome, but I've changed a lot since then."
Rome flicked condensation from his glass at Brian, which just made him giggle again, joined by Tej and earning a smile from Dom.
"Ain't changed that much," Rome muttered petulantly. "Better driver than me. Now that's some bullshit."
Tej poked him in the side of the head, just above his ear. "Don't whine. It's not attractive."
"Oh I'll show you attractive," Rome replied as if gearing up for a fight, turning in his seat to face the shorter man while Tej just smirked at him.
"Fun as that would be, we're in public."
Everyone at the diner table turned to see the new arrival. Mia Toretto stood with her hands on her hips, staring down at them.
"Hey, Mia. Time to switch already?" Brian asked. It felt like the morning had flown by.
She nodded. "Yeah. Dom," she looked to her brother. "Thank you so much for the call saying you weren't coming home last night," she said sarcastically. "Also, Cesare wanted to talk to you when you got a chance. He said he'd be at the office until three."
Cesare Toretto. Mayor of Torettown and cousin to Mia and Dominic. He was a slight man with a strong voice and amazing charisma, or so Brian had read. He'd never met the man before but Dom had gone to see him a few times in the past several weeks. Cesare deferred to Dom on a lot of issues when running the city, so everyone tended to respect and obey Dom more than his cousin. Surprisingly, Cesare, at least publicly, seemed to prefer things that way.
"What's he want?" Dom asked.
Mia shrugged. "The usual. Policy. Procedure. Precedence," she said flippantly. "He seemed anxious though."
"He's always anxious." Dom sighed and tapped on Brian's side lightly but repeatedly until Brian slid out of the booth to let him out. He looked down at his sister with a withering look. "Sure know how to make a great day average, huh?"
She smiled up at him sweetly. "You know I strive for excellence. Now go."
Dom looked down at Brian, looking up at him with a content half-smile on his face. He let out a small huff of breath through his nose, muscles in his arms tensing briefly, before turning and leaving the diner. Brian watched him until he was out of the door before moving his attention to Mia.
"You're paying his bill, you know," he quipped.
She crossed her arms. "You were the big winner last night, Buster, why don't you pay for it? After winning three races, you definitely have the cash to spare."
"And I'm out," Tej said, throwing a few bills on the table to cover his meal. He pushed on Rome's arm to make him move out of the way.
"I'm with ya," Rome agreed, also throwing down money before standing and moving around Mia for the door. "Later, B," he called back to Brian as he and Tej disappeared outside.
Mia slid into the booth across from Brian and began picking at the food the boys had left behind - which mainly included their sides.
Brian watched her for a few moments before placing his arms on the table. "You seem agitated."
"Do I?" Mia asked. "My brother took Letty's turn at watching you last night and then didn't take part in the races and didn't come home and didn't call. I had no idea where he was. He didn't answer his phone when I called and no one knew where either of you were so I had to wait until it was my turn to watch you to find out if you were both dead in a ditch somewhere."
With a wince, Brian said, "Sorry."
Mia watched him for a few moments, chewing a fry slowly. Brian got the impression he was being scanned by a computer deciding if he was a safe program or a virus in need of deletion.
"I was wondering when Dom would make a move," she said at last. "But I guess you both sort of moved at the same time."
Brian felt his face heat up but he didn't do her the disservice of lying. It would be obvious to someone without her gifts, so there really was no point. Instead, he nodded silently.
She ate another fry and then drank from Brian's soda without asking. "You both seem really happy," she said with a vague smile before her expression fell flat. "But you're anxious. You're worried about something. Something that you know might make Dom hate you."
Damn. She was really reading him now, wasn't she? He refused to shift in his seat. He'd been in the mob, for goodness sake. He could handle this.
Mia sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose for a moment. "Listen, Brian. I know you care about my brother, okay? He cares about you too. But I've told you before that secrets don't stay secret in this family for long. So whatever it is you're hiding from him, from us, you need to come clean about it." She gave him an encouraging smile. "I can tell it's eating at you. It's been eating at you since that first family dinner, and it's only getting worse. So…tell me. Let me help you out."
The MCF badge was digging into him in his back pocket. It, combined with Mia's open expression and words, had Brian sighing and clasping his fingers together on the table. He shut his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath to settle himself. He'd decided he was going to blow his cover. He'd decided. It was for the best.
"I'm a cop."
When he opened his eyes, he saw that Mia's open expression had turned to one of confusion. "What? I don't-"
"I became a cop when I was nineteen, right out of high school, back in my hometown of Barstow. I was a street cop for two years before the higher ups pulled me for undercover ops because my mutation made it easy for me to blend in with any crowd. Not that they knew it was a mutation's fault. I've been rented out to every department and county that needed an in through California, Arizona, and Nevada for the last five and half years, never staying in one place for more than a few months."
He kept his eyes on Mia's the entire time he spoke, his voice even and straightforward. Her eyebrows came together and her lips pulled down and it was obvious that she was trying to find a hint he was lying. She was straining to hear something or see something or sense something that would explain why he was saying these things other than it being the truth.
Reaching into his back pocket, Brian pulled out his badge and set it calmly on the table. "Braga keeps trying to kill me because right now, my mission is to capture him, and one of the other agents blew my cover with him."
Mia shook her head back and forth slowly, her eyes locked on the badge. Mutant Control Force. The government agency Torettown was founded to protect mutants against.
She stood up abruptly and headed for the door. Brian threw a wad of cash, probably way too much but he didn't care, on the table, grabbed his badge, and hurried after her. She had already turned down the side of the diner, away from the front doors.
"Mia."
"Go away."
"Mia," he tried again, just as they reached the front of her car.
Mia flipped around and slapped him, hard, across the face. It was enough to make him stumble to the side and hold his face. There were tears in her eyes and Brian felt his heart drop to his stomach.
"You bastard," she said lowly, obviously trying not to make too big a scene. Luckily there were no witnesses to them at the moment and no windows into the diner from here. "You know what they do to mutants outside of Torettown? Do you know what happens to mutants in prisons?"
"Yeah," Brian said. "Yeah I do."
She shook her head. "Then why? Why would you work for them? Why would you do that?" It was obvious she wanted to yell, to shout and rail at him, to hurt him, but she held back.
Brian frowned. "I'm using my power to help people. Joining the police was my way of helping mutants, not hurting them," he told her. "Most of the guys I catch are regs. And the mutants? They're hardened criminals, Mia. They've done awful things. I would never send someone to prison unless it was for the same reasons Dom would."
Mia raised her hand again but stopped before slapping him, for which he was grateful. His chin ached. He'd probably bruise.
"You've been lying to us, this whole time," she said as she lowered her hand. "Did you know that cop who tried to shoot Dom?"
Brian gaped at her. "What? Mia, no!" He took her by the shoulders and it was obvious that she was fighting not to throw him off. "Mia. Mia, I would never do that. I swear. I would never do anything that could harm any one of you. Not even Vince," he tried for levity but it fell flat. "Use your power on me, Mia. Read me. Tell me if I'm lying, even a little bit. I'm on your side. You can trust me, Mia."
Her eyes searched his and a single tear fell from each eye, but no more. She nodded. "I know," she admitted in a near whisper. "You've got a clean heart, and you really care about my brother. If I couldn't trust anything else, I'd still trust that."
Releasing Mia, Brian let out a rush of breath. "I'm still not sure about that 'clean heart' thing, but thank you. Really. Cop or not, Mia, I'm still the same guy."
She let out a weak laugh. "You're a terrible liar," she said. "A cover story wouldn't have gotten past me."
He nodded. "Lie aside, I need you to do me a favor, Mia." He swallowed. "I need you to not tell Dom. Don't tell anyone, but especially not Dom."
Mia sighed. "You want to tell him yourself," she noted like he was being difficult but she understood. "Fine. I don't want to be there when the shit hits the fan anyway."
Brian grimaced. "You think it'll be that bad?" he asked, running a hand through his hair.
The younger Toretto smirked. "He's gonna go ballistic. But you might live."
Leaning against Mia's car, Brian covered his face with his hands briefly. "So I should enjoy whatever it is we have while I can, huh?"
He'd made that decision last night as well. Brian would take what he could with Dom, covet it, horde it, because he knew this was all coming to an end and soon. Still, hearing it from Mia made it all the more real. Made it feel that much more evanescent and desperate and stupid.
Mia lifted an eyebrow at him. "You run with the MCF, Brian. You've had to do that since the beginning."
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Preview for Chapter 12
Rome stepped out of the driver's seat, followed shortly by Tej from the passenger's seat and Monica from the back.
"Apparently I became a mother duck," Brian joked with a wave at his entourage.
"There's all kinds of family, Brian," Monica commented easily.
His eyes were on the bruise forming on Brian's cheek. It wasn't hugely large or dark, but it was still noticeable.
Brian lightly touched his cheek. "A minor disagreement between me and my ideals," he answered.
Was he going to break Dom's heart?
His frown didn't deepen so much as turn sad. "Listen, Dom. I need to tell you something."
"Hello, Officer," a Spanish accented voice whispered.
Brian had only taken two steps when something wrapped around his neck from behind and the world went fuzzy at the edges.