"WHAT THE FUCK HAVE you done, Owen?"

The Shaw in question flinched at the vicious aggravation dripping from the tone of the open-ended question. He stopped adjusting the final parts of the Flip Car and sighed, knowing that he had, indeed, fucked up if his family had caught wind of what he was doing.

Heels clicked against the concrete floor of the most recent base to house Owen's crew; the noise sharply echoed at an even pace that was consistent with small strides, before abruptly stopping. Owen sensed a presence directly behind him, so he pulled his thin lips into a tight smile in hopes of masking the slight fear that he possessed, and turned to face his sister-in-law.

Natalie Shaw stood tall in all of her glory - heeled ankle boots zipped onto her feet, along with one of her husband's white dress shirts tucked into a pair of dark grey slacks. She adorned an expensive-looking black trench coat, which defended against the bitter English weather that consumed the bustling city.

Her glare was locked onto the nervous face in front of her, which made Owen squirm. The only reason Natalie was so enraged by his actions was because of who he had chosen to work with - Cipher.

The conniving bitch didn't take Deckard and Natalie's rejection of her job offer lightly, and knew that Owen was just as good of a mercenary as the couple, so she approached the younger sibling next: mainly to get under their skin.

The only thing that rivalled her anger was her fear. Natalie knew what the hacker was capable of, and it scared her shitless that her brother-in-law had been put in her direct line of fire.

"It's just a job, Nat." Owen remarked, answering the question Natalie had asked.

It was then that the woman had to restrain herself from hitting him on the upside of the head; she couldn't believe that Owen could be so naive, so ignorant. An indefinable feeling of rage grew within her, and was seconds away from bubbling up her throat and leaving her mouth in the form of a long string of profanities, screams, and shouts.

"Just a job?" Natalie questioned incredulously, before stopping to take a breath in order to keep her anger at bay, "This job isn't like the others. You weren't hired by a nobody with buckets of money, you were hired by one of the most feared cyberterrorists on the planet. Someone powerful. Someone who can make you disappear like that."

The woman clicked her fingers once, trying to emphasise how dangerous the job was. Owen faltered. He knew that his sister-in-law was right, but couldn't bring himself to admit his mistake - especially since he only had the final component of the Nightshade device left to collect.

Natalie saw the change in Owen's demeanour and sighed.

"Look," She began, deciding to vocalise some of her dread, "your brother and I just don't want anything to happen to you. Cipher's capable of anything, and has no problem tying up any loose ends."

Owen glanced at Natalie's face, and all he could see was fear - her brows were furrowed from worry, and if he looked closely, he could see her biting the inside of her cheek.

She knew that she was showing weakness, but Owen was a part of her family, and he was playing with fire.

Before Natalie could say anything else to dissuade her brother-in-law, he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. It only took a fraction of a second for the woman to return the gesture with the same intensity.

Her head rested on his shoulder, with her arms wrapped around his midsection. Owen's head leant against hers, and his arms encased the top half of Natalie's back.

The woman felt any anger dissipate as the warmth from Owen's embrace flooded her body, leaving her with a feeling of comfort that could only stem from a brother. 

"Just promise me-" Natalie's voice wavered, "Promise me that you'll be careful."

Under other circumstances, Owen would've sarcastically responded with 'I always am', but after seeing how worried his family truly was, he decided to take the serious route.

"I promise, Nats."

AFTER HER TALK WITH Owen, Natalie strolled towards her black 2013 Audi R8 V10 Spyder, which was parked just outside of the Shaw's hideout. Just as she reached the driver's side door, her phone buzzed in the pocket of her slacks.

Natalie was quick to retrieve her phone as she knew exactly who it was - her husband. She brought the phone to her ear and grinned at the sound of the gruff British voice she loved so much.

"Hello, darling. How did the talk go with Owen?" Deckard asked, eager to hear his wife's velvety voice. He hated being away from the love of his life, even if it was only for a few days.

"It went as good as it could've gone. I mean, he's not gonna give up on the job, but he's promised to be more careful." Natalie responded whilst climbing into the driver's seat.

She heard Deckard sigh over the phone, and knowing him, he didn't see this outcome as a satisfactory one.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't be there to help, my love."

"Honey, there's nothing wrong with doing your job. Yes, the timing sucks, but it happens." Natalie shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, even though her husband couldn't see, "Anyway, I think I'm gonna stick around and keep an eye on him; we both know how much of a danger magnet he is."

"He's a bloody pain in the arse, that's what he is." Deckard grumbled, frowning at the idea of his wife being indirectly involved with Cipher.

That frown vanished as soon as he heard Natalie's soft laugh from the other side of the phone - it was a sound he would have listened to forever if he could.

"I mean, you're not wrong..." Her melodic laughter continued, which tugged a wide smile onto Deckard's face. He wished he could stay on the call for longer, but one of his targets was on the move.

"I love you, Nat."

"I love you more, Deck."

"Impossible."

IT WAS ONLY A few hours later that Owen managed to get himself into trouble, again, and Natalie had to find out from someone that wasn't her aggravating brother-in-law, again.

Not only had he blown up the base that he had worked in for less than a day, Owen's team had also broken into Interpol and stolen files. She knew he was doing what he had to do, but that didn't mean that Natalie had to be comfortable with it.

Thankfully, Owen had given Natalie the address of his new base of operations after their talk earlier that day, knowing that she would want to check in after their plans were put into motion.

Another motivation for the visit was a vague text that Owen had sent just a few minutes before the woman had left the London safe house that her and Deckard owned:

'I have a surprise for you. - O.'

Safe to say Natalie was confused.

Her presence in the warehouse was announced by the same pair of ankle boots clicking on concrete, alerting the crew who were loitering around the main tech area.

Some tried to reach for their guns, but Owen was quick to step in: "If any of you lay a finger on her, you'll be guaranteed the slowest, most painful death you can imagine."

It was as if their weapons had burned them; nobody could tear their hands away with any greater speed.

Natalie's limbs felt as if they were made with lead - shock overtook her body, and if someone were to look closely, they would see her complexion pale, despite the confidence on her face never wavering.

This wasn't triggered by Owen's threat, because oh, how she was used to them whilst being surrounded by the Shaws and Kings - no, it was triggered by the ghost who stood confused in front of her.

It wasn't possible.

She remembered every detail of the day that she got the call - the day that everything had changed, and it wasn't for the better.

Natalie stirred the mug of tea gently, mixing in the milk and two sugars that she had poured in. She hummed a quiet tune as she made the drink - a melody that her father used to hum as he worked on the various cars at the family's shop.

Abruptly, her phone began to buzz on the countertop. The small screen lit up with the name 'MIA', which prompted the woman to pick up the cellphone and click 'answer'.

"Hey, Mia." Natalie spoke, her smile bright as she held the phone to her ear.

"Natalie..." Mia choked out, having just been told the news herself. Fresh tears poured down her cheeks, and Natalie could hear the pain in her sister's voice. The Shaw woman stood straighter; the smile completely erased from her face.

"It's Letty." Mia sniffed, "She-."

" 'She' what, Mia?" Natalie questioned, her newly-found fear burning her insides like acid would, "What's wrong with Letty?"

"She's been murdered."

The teaspoon that she was holding clattered onto the countertop, leaving her hand free to grip the edge of the counter. Her lungs were empty; her head was pounding with the sound of her own rapid heartbeat. Her surroundings became hazy as Natalie tried to grasp onto anything that wasn't her current reality.

"No, you're lying! She can't be dead, she can't..." Natalie was cut off by her own violent sobs, which quickly transitioned to screams of denial. Her body turned so that her back was leaning on the counter, before sliding down onto the cold tiling of the kitchen floor.

A piece of Natalie Shaw's soul had been stolen by Leticia Ortiz, and no amount of begging or pleading would bring it, or her, back.

The distraught woman flinched at the feeling of warm hands cupping her face as familiar brown eyes frantically searched for what was wrong. Natalie didn't have the strength to do anything except collapse into her husband's chest and continue to break down.

Deckard sat on the floor, cradling his wife in his arms, completely helpless against the devastation that dug its piercing claws into every inch of Natalie's being.

He had never seen Natalie look so... broken, and it scared him more than anything.

Seeing as the woman's gaze was set on her, Letty Ortiz took it upon herself to step forward and ask the burning question that was in the front of her mind.

"Who are you?"

Who are you? It felt like Natalie's heart had fractured into pieces, and all because of one tiny question. Her best friend, the girl that was there for her even after Dominic exiled her, didn't know who Natalie was.

It was one thing believing her best friend was dead, but it was another to have her alive, yet only a shell of who she used to be.

The woman didn't know how Letty had seemingly lost her memory, and she couldn't bring herself to care - all that mattered was that she couldn't recall anything from her life before she 'died'.

Natalie wanted to scream and beg her to remember, even if there was a chance that her memories could never return . Letty's death nearly killed Natalie, but her return to life may be the thing that finally pushed the Shaw to an early grave.

Pushing her feelings aside, Natalie found it within herself to answer Letty's question, albeit with a slightly dishonest answer.

"My name's Quinn," the woman swallowed the lump that was building in her throat before continuing, "and I'll be overseeing the rest of this job."

Just as Natalie finished her sentence, she locked eyes with Owen and mustered up the most murderous glare that she could manage. He visibly gulped under her gaze before tearing his eyes away, and beckoning the crew to gather around the makeshift table.

Natalie decided to go by her middle name, Quinn, just in case it somehow got back to Cipher that she went against her original judgement and got involved in the job.

It was also agreed between Deckard and Natalie that they would try and keep their return to London on the down-low, so that run-ins with law enforcement and enemies could be kept to a minimum.

Nobody dared to question why they would need somebody to "oversee the job". Not only were they under the authority of Owen Shaw, but Natalie Shaw radiated power, and commanded submission with just her presence.

"Okay, listen up." Owen began, "That was a very different breed from Hobbs' usual wannabe warriors." He said, referring to the chase that they had just been involved in. "We need to learn who these people are, what they're made of. Vegh?"

The blonde woman, who Natalie now knew was Vegh, grabbed a stack of files from behind her and placed them on the central table. One by one, she tossed the files into the middle for the crew to grab.

"O'Connor, Parker, Pearce, Toretto, and the rest of the team."

If looks could kill, nobody would want to be Owen Shaw at that very moment. If he thought that the glare Natalie gave him earlier was the worst it could get, he was so very wrong.

At the sound of her former last name, Natalie clenched her jaw, trying to contain her newly renewed rage, but it was obvious to anyone looking that she was trying to keep her face clear of any emotion.

Her heart was beating so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. She couldn't be in London if he was here.

"These guys are common criminals." Ivory remarked.

For some reason, Ivory's response ticked Owen the wrong way.

"Tonight these common criminals were seconds away from taking us down. Show them the respect they deserve, or it weakens us." He demanded.

He deserves no respect, Natalie couldn't help but think. Even after thirteen years, the woman still wasn't over how her brother treated her, especially when all he preached about was the importance of family. Fucking hypocrite.

Jah was studying a photo of Dominic and Letty, and when he realised that it was Letty in the picture, he looked to Owen.

"You need to see this." He said, and passed him the glossy photograph.

The leader of the crew stared at it for a moment, before tossing it on the table in front of Letty.

"Ring any bells?"

Letty looked at those around the table sceptically, wondering what everyone was talking about, and took a few steps toward where the picture laid.

Natalie watched her movements and facial expressions closely for any signs that her not-so-dead best friend remembered anything from her life before the accident.

The Ortiz woman picked up the photograph, and answered Shaw's question.

"Yeah," She spoke with confidence, despite being confused as to why she was in that photo, "that's the guy I shot."

If that confession had happened under any different circumstances, Natalie would've high-fived the woman for causing such an injury to her brother.

"You look happy." Owen stated, referring to the photo. He was trying to see if she recalled the Toretto in any other way.

"I don't remember him." Insisted Letty. She was sick of people accusing her of remembering - she wished she could remember, more than anything. But she can't.

"That's bullshit." Klaus, the guy who could pass as a jacked-up giant, jumped in. "We got a problem, guys: we've got a picture with her-" he gestured to Letty, "with the guy who almost took you out." He finished, directing the last part towards Owen.

Natalie was ready to step in, but Letty beat her to the punch.

"Klaus, aren't you 'team muscle'?" The Ortiz woman taunted, "Don't make me go over there and make you 'team pussy'."

It took all of Natalie's willpower to not burst out into laughter. A small chuckle slipped through her lips involuntarily, but she quickly covered it with a cough, and then cleared her throat.

The amusement danced in her eyes, hoping for more remarks from the sassy brunette standing next to her. She was still the same Leticia Ortiz, even if she was missing her past.

"She doesn't remember him, so back the fuck off." Natalie spoke, eerily calm, but despite her lack of emotion, the message was clear - if you fuck with Letty, you fuck with 'Quinn', and that was not something anyone wanted to do.

Klaus cautiously backed away from the table, and therefore away from both Natalie and Letty. Just as he had stopped shuffling backwards, Owen addressed the crew.

"Names and records aren't enough. I want personal information. Get into their lives, into their minds. Find their weaknesses, and we will exploit them."

Natalie couldn't bring herself to confront Owen about both Letty and Dominic at that moment, so after her brother-in-law's little speech, she turned to head back to her car and leave.

After only a few steps, she felt a familiar hand wrap around her bicep, stopping her in her tracks. From the touch alone, Natalie felt her seething anger return, and it increased by tenfold after the person began to speak.

"Can we-" Owen began, desperation seeping into his hushed tone.

"No."

"Nat-" He tried again, only to be rightfully cut off, again.

"It's Quinn, you fucking asshole."

Owen sighed, realising it was no use trying to apologise now, and let go of his sister-in-law's arm. Natalie glared at him for a moment, before continuing her journey to her car.

She came to a stop just a couple of steps away from where she stood a few moments ago, before turning around to face Owen again. Her eyes watered as she looked him dead in the eye and asked "How long?"

How long has he known that Letty was alive? How long did he keep her from me? The woman thought. How long?

Nothing could have prepared Natalie for the answer Owen gave her.

"Almost four years."

A single tear grazed her face as she scoffed and shook her head. Oh, how she wished she could disappear there and then. Natalie stormed from the warehouse before another tear could fall from her glossed eyes.

HAYLEY SPEAKS...
and that's a wrap on the second chapter!

i'm a sucker for drama, so yes, there's
already tension between owen and nat...

y'all aren't ready for the ass-kicking
owen's gonna get from nat at some point
in the next few chapters.

let me know what you think,
and don't forget to vote by clicking
the little star at the bottom of the screen.

until next time, lovelies :))