CHAPTER SIX:

"falling even deeper"

"MY SUPERIORS ARE FLYING IN from D.C., in two days." bilkins said, "i want something to show. we've got a fence with a lube hose in his mouth, automatic weapons, priors on every one of these aisan punks." he continued, "a garage full of DVD players and generally psychotic behavior." he stated as brian walked over to a counter by muse leaning against it.

"tell me why we shouldn't move on tran and figure it out later?" bilkins questioned. "because all we have is behavior." brian replied. "let me get hard evidence, because what we have now is just—" he then got cut off by bilkins as usual, "what we have is probable cause. and truckers arming themselves for some good old-fashioned vigilante mayhem." bilkins continued.

"tell us about hector, brian." tanner spoke up, "latinos with spear guns. give me a break." muse said earning a look from bilkins, "hectors still working on engines, but the tires don't match." brian said ignoring muse. "will somebody give me a cigarette?" brian asked. "get him a cigarette." bilkins told muse. "don't give him one." tanner insisted. "i thought you quit." tanner stated.

"i did. just give me one." brian replied before telling muse different. "get him a cigarette." bilkins then again told muse. "no!" tanner exclaimed. "tell me about toretto." tanner asked brian. "i told you, i think he's too controlled for this." brian paused for a second. "what going suicidal on semi-trucks? no way. maybe vince. but he's too dumb to do it." brian continued.

"i think the kids sister is blurring your vision." muse said about paisley. "what did you say?" brian replied with venom on his tongue. "i don't blame you. i'd get off on her surveillance photos, too." muse snarked.

and that's when brian snapped, he jumped towards him before tanner snatched him up and bilkins pushed muse down. "knock it off!" tanner yelled at brian. "what are you going native on me, brian?" he asked. "have you read torettos file lately?" tanner asked brian.

"yeah. i memorized that file." he told tanner. "read it again. no, better still, take a look at these." tanner said placing pictures down on the counter of the man that dom almost killed. "remember i told you about the guy he nearly beat to death?" tanner questioned. "toretto did this with a three-quarter-inch torque wrench." tanner continued placing picture after picture. "he's a model of self-control." tanner stated.

brian walked away from tanner he sent muse a glare before he approached bilkins, "i need a few more days." he stated calmly.

PAISLEY STOOD WITH LEON, LETTY, and jesse as they checked the engine out. "got a TR7 here, with a ball-bearing upgrade." jesse said observing it, "what it's going to do is, it's going to spoil up really quick." he explained to the three others that were helping put the parts together.

"i got this set up for 24 psi." paisley told him. "got it." jesse stated. on the other hand brian and dom were at the car, dom sat in the hood installing the front. "you got big plans tonight?" dom asked. "yeah. we're going out to dinner." brian replied talking about him and paisley.

"you break her heart, i'll break your neck." dom stated firmly looking from paisley who was laughing at a joke letty pulled, then back to brian, brian sat there staring at dom, he knew he was going to break her heart, and it broke his knowing he would break hers. "that's not gonna happen." he lied.

dom looked back at his sister who was now hitting jesse on the shoulder playfully, then back to brian. he sat there silently for a second before speaking up, "i want to show you something." he said. brian took the rag that dom offered and wiped his hands off.

paisley seen them leaving. "hey, are you guys going back to the house?" she asked, dom nodded. "mind to take me with you i promised mia that i'd help her study after i helped them." she said pointing towards letty, leon and jesse.

"yeah, sure." dom stated.

after they arrived paisley went straight inside and up to mia's room. "hey, i'm back." she said walking in. "thank god!" mia exclaimed making paisley laugh at her before sitting down on her bed. "well first i'm gonna go get something for us to drink, what do you want?" she asked. "a snapple." mia replied. "alright i'll be right back." she replied.

paisley stopped by the garage door as she heard dom tell brian, "me and my dad built her." talking about the car they had in the garage. paisley peaked through the garage door watching. "nine hundred horses of detroit muscle." dom said to brian. "it's a beast."

"you know what she ran palmdale?" dom asked, "no. what?" brian questioned. "nine seconds flat." dom said as they walked to the side of the car. paisley smiled at the two softly. "god." brian said impressed. "my dad was driving." dom stated, making paisleys smile fall into a sad expression. "so much torque, the chassis twisted coming off the line. barely kept her on the track." the mention of their father made paisley emotional.

"so, what's your best time?" brian asked, "i've never driven her." dom answered. brian chuckled slightly out of disbelief, "why not?" he asked. dom looked away from the car his expression dropping himself. "it scares the shit out of me." he said honestly.

he turned around pointing at a picture, "that's my dad. he was coming up in the pro stock-car circuit. last race of the season. a guy named kenny linder came up from inside, in the final turn." dom started. paisley started having tears weld in her eyes, thinking back to the scariest day of their life. "he clipped his bumper and put him into the wall at 120." dom paused, "pai and i watched our dad burn to death.." dom said,

the memories of the car flipping, the memories of the screams that came out of her brother and hers mouths as they seen their dads death infront of them. paisley falling to her knees, the tears streaming down her face, while screaming for her dad.

"i remembered hearing him scream." dom continued, but he paused once again. "but the people that were there said he died before the tanks blew." he paused once again turning to brian, "they said it was me and paisley who was screaming." brian who was intrigued walked over to a pillar and leaned against it.

"i saw linder about a week later. i had a wrench, and i hit him. and i didn't intend to keep hitting him, but when i finished, i couldn't lift my arm." dom said. "he's a janitor at a high school. he has to take a bus to work every day. and they banned me from the tracks for life." dom continued. "i live my life a quarter-mile at a time. nothing else matters. not the mortgage, not the store, not my team and all their bullshit. for those 10 seconds or less," dom paused, "i'm free." paisley smiled at those last few words wiping the tears that slipped down her cheek away.

                    PAISLEY WAS IN HER ROOM GETTING ready for her date with brian. she threw on a blue soft velvet cropped shirt, a black high waisted skirt, her stomach showing like 3 inches, a pair of blue converse on her feet, her hair was laying on her back her natural waves framing her face, a star necklace along with the dog tag and cross on her neck, and a couple of bracelets and about three rings in total.

she was slightly late. as she pulled up to the restaurant she grabbed her mascara and put a little bit more on. she took a deep breath before stepping out of her car, she walked through the doors of the restaurant and seen brian. she smiled at him as his eyes glistened over her, she was always beautiful to him, but she just kept getting even more beautiful every second.

"i was starting to think you were standing me up." he said as she approached him. "i usually like to, but for some reason i decided to come." she said jokingly causing both of them to laugh slightly, she sat down in the chair. "so, how is it, anyways, that the gang came to be?" brian asked. "the what?" she chuckled. "the gang." he said again. "the gang? no, we don't call ourselves a gang." she said with a smile on her face.

"so, what do you call yourselves?" he asked. "we're a team. we call ourselves a team, or a family." she stated, "alright. well, how did the team family thing come to be?" he asked a smile on his face interested. "well, that's a whole lot of history." she said furrowing her eyebrows, before looking at brian, his eyes even more blue in the lighting. "i've got time." he stated smiling at her.

paisley laughed at him silently, "okay. vince grew up with my brother. actually, he didn't ever actually grow up, as you can tell. but they were friends as kids. and letty, she was my best friend and she lived down the street which that was always a plus. always into cars, though. ever since she was, like, 10 years old. so, naturally, you know, my brother always had her attention. and then she turned 16–" she explained but brian cut in, "and then she had doms attention." he said making paisley chuckle, "yeah. it's funny how that works, isn't it?"

"yeah." brian replied, paisleys smile grew. they sat in silence for a minute, "how does jesse fit into the whole thing?" he then questioned breaking the silence, "jesse. well let's see, jesse and leon sort of showed up one night and never, ever left." she explained with a slight laugh. "it's just the way my brother is, you know. doms like," she paused. trying to find the right word "he's like gravity. everything just gets pulled to him." she said then paused looking at brian. "even you." she stated.

brian sat his cup down, "no." he stated simply, "no. the only thing that pulled me in was you. being friends with your brother is just a bonus." he said making paisley smile at him a laugh following after, "that's good." she paused looking back up to brian, "that's good. it's nice to come first every once in a while." she said sadly but a smile still on her face. brian's smile was still there but it fell slightly, "want to go for a drive?" paisley asked changing the subject.

and so they did, paisley drifted around a curb, speeding extremely fast. brian held on for dear life, she laughed at him as he looked at her she then drifted into a busy lane, people honked their horns at them. brian looked at her impressed which made another laugh fall from her lips. he should've known she would be like this considering she was doms sister.