*******************
Mia watched as Vince and Dom hashed it out. She feared that what happened would split their friendship, the bond they both had.

"You son of a bitch! You left me in the fucking hospital! I had cops asking
me all kinds of fucking questions!" Vince yelled as he stood face to face
with Dom, their noses almost touching. "I had no choice, Vince, you know that!" Dom shot back with a growl. "Choice, you had a fucking choice, Dom! You could have fucking listen to us! We told you the job had bad fucking vibes, but you didn't listen, you were on such a fucking power trip that almost got us all fucking killed!" Vince yelled pushing Dom.

Dom's eyes closed slightly, "I suggest you watch what you do now, Vince." He growled. "I'm not watching SHIT!" Vince said as he swung at Dom.

***************

Vince watched as the waves rolled in. It had been almost a year since he
last saw Dom. They had a lot of harsh moments over the years but the fight
they had seemed to ruin everything they shared, and that scared him. Vince
felt alone without Dom, being there for him, ordering him around, his
friendship.

For years he had Dom there whenever he needed him. Dom knew all his secrets, his desires in life, things he wouldn't admit to anyone else. He remembered Mia's face and terror as she watched him and Dom fight. He would never forget that image.

Standing up, he wiped the sand from his butt and headed towards his car.
Stopping in front of it, he sighed. He hadn't raced since everything went
down. Other's were saying he lost his nerve or that he lost the will. He
just didn't have the heart anymore, not without Dom.

***************

Mia watched Dom as he sat there picking at his food. He had lost a lot of
himself over the past year. When he raced, she could swear that he had a
death wish. He lost Letty to that job, then he lost Vince. He seemed to
grow more silent, and angry. She had seen Brian a few times, but didn't tell
Dom that. Even though Brian helped him get away, the way Dom was acting, he would probably kill Brian. Brian had betrayed his trust, the one thing Dom
valued most.

Dom pushed his plate away, and took another drink of his beer. He looked at his sister, she had a worried look on her face. "I'm going to go out for a
while." He said standing up and heading for the door.

"Dom, are you alright?" Mia called out, but was only answered by the slamming of the door.

*****************

"So what do you say, want the job?" Victor asked.
"Yeah, guess so." Vince said plainly as the fat man grinned.
"Good, you start tonight. Make sure nothing happens to this load." Victor
said as he walked away. "Kiss my ass." Vince mumbled shaking his head.

Vince got into the truck, "great the only gig I get and its this shit!" he
mumbled to himself as he hit the steering wheel. Vince had tried to get work
at garages, but no one would hire him, especially the ones who knew what went down between him and Dom. They were afraid that Dom would find out and do something to them. So Vince applied for a trucking job. He didn't like it, but he had now way of paying the bills, and it would get him out of LA for a
while. He wanted to get away, and maybe he would find something out there
beyond the city of Angels, he thought as he started up the truck and headed
out.

********************
Dom looked at Mia, "He what?" he asked almost in an amusing tone.
"He's driving truck." Mia answered smiling. "That's a joke right, Vince would never drive a truck." Dom said laughing. "Its not a joke, Dom! He's really driving truck. At least he's doing something that's legal!" she snapped back.
"And I don't?" he growled. "No!" she yelled and ran upstairs.

Dom shook his head, sure the racing he did wasn't legal, but his shop was.
He went outside and looked up into the night sky. Not speaking to Vince for
almost a year was killing him. But he didn't know if the ties between them
could be brought back. Vince seemed not to trust him anymore. He thought
Vince blamed him for everything, things that could not have been helped, he
thought as he slammed his fist into the palm of his hand.

**************
Vince watched as the city seemed to get farther away. He felt a calming
sensation, a peaceful feeling as he peered through the window to the night
sky. He never pictured himself driving truck, it took him a while to get his
CDL, but to him it was his last chance out. Out of the life that he no
longer had, away from the memories of the family that he could never be with again. In his mind he lost everything, he couldn't remember anymore if he
blamed Dom for that, or if he blamed himself. He tortured himself night
after night, with all the what ifs.

He was heading towards Reno, Nevada, when it happened. He lost control of the truck as they continued their pursuit. He now knew what it felt like to
be one of those truckers that he hijacked. The truck came to a sudden stop,
it stalled. "Shit!" Vince swore as he tried to restart it. The hijackers
came closer and closer to him. "Where the fuck is Dom when I need him!"
Vince yelled out as he prepared himself for the trouble that followed

*************

Dom suddenly got a sick feeling in his gut. Something was wrong, he could
feel it, but what. Dom went into the house and yelled out Mia's name. She
came running down the stairs, "What?" she said out of breath.

Dom just stared at her, then grabbed the phone and began calling everyone he knew and loved, but everyone was fine.

"Dom, what's wrong?" Mia asked touching her brother's arm softly.
"I don't know." he growled in a worried way then walked out of the house. He
didn't know why that feeling came, then as if hit by lightening, "Vince!" he
growled then ran back into the house.

"Mia, who's Vince working for?" he growled grabbing her arm.
"I don't know, someone named Victor." She said looking at him with fear.
"Victor." Dom shook his head. "Damn!" he snapped and headed out the door.

*******************

Vince grimaced as another blow came to his side. He tried to get up but was only kicked back down. "Son of a BITCH!" he roared as he rushed the guy in front of him. Only to be knocked in the head by something, knocking him out cold.

When Vince awoke, he found himself in the middle of nowhere. He was far from the highway. "Fuck." he moaned as he grabbed his side. He stood up and looked around. The hijackers had left him in the middle of the desert.
Vince closed his eyes, he was in a lot of pain. He felt himself losing it
again, before he passed out to the ground, he called out, "DOM I need you
man!"

Part Two

Dom hit the gas, as he approached the gate of Victor's Trucking Service. At
full speed he rammed through the gate. Dom didn't stop until he was only
inches away from the office building. Jumping out of his car, he ran inside.
 

"Where the fuck is he!" Dom growled as he grabbed Victor by the neck.
"Who!" Victor cried out as Dom's grip became tighter.
"Vince! Where is he?" Dom growled again, his eyes held pure rage.
"He's heading to Reno!" Victor manage to say in-between breathes.

Dom released Victor and took off. His Mazda peeled out of the parking lot at lightening speed. He grabbed his cell phone. He called Mia and told her to
have Jesse and Leon meet him. The feeling in his gut only got worse as time passed.

*****************

Vince slowly opened his eyes, by the time he awoke again, the sun had began to rise. He was in a lot of pain, and could barely stand. He slowly raised to his feet, swaying as he did. He looked around and saw tire tracks and decided to follow them, hoping it would lead him out of this hell hole he was in.

He slowly made his way, occasionally falling down. The hot sun beat down on him, making his walk even more difficult. With every passing minute, his
anger and determination grew stronger. He hated feeling this weak and
vulnerable. He wanted to catch the people who hijacked him, and do more than what was done to him.

*********

Jesse and Leon were soon following behind Dom. Dom couldn't think of
anything else but Vince. He knew Vince was in trouble, and no matter what
happened between them, he couldn't let anything happen to him. He still
considered Vince family.

"So where are we going?" Jesse called over the radio.
"Reno." Dom answered plainly, his mind was elsewhere.
"Why Reno, what's going on?" Leon asked as he watched the car in front of
him. Dom was pushing the Mazda, going faster by the minute.
"Vince." was all Dom replied.

Dom could hear questions being shot at him, but it was only a distant mumble to him. His mind played the fight over and over. Vince had such betrayal in his eyes. Dom couldn't stand to see that in his eyes, it ate at him. But his pride and anger managed to take over. He didn't like anyone questioning his actions, or telling him that he was wrong. Not when he already knew, already knew that, that job was wrong. It cost Letty her life and the lose of a great friendship, a brother. Dom beat his fist down on the steering wheel, "I'll find you Vince," he whispered, as if Vince could hear him.

**********

Vince staggered, falling face first into the hard hot ground. He rolled onto
his back, his eyes squinted as the sun shine brightly into his eyes. His
mouth was dry, his lips were cracking. He closed his eyes. He called out
Dom's name over and over. Wishing Dom was there, to help him, protect him and make things better. He still held anger for Dom, and his pride was
fighting him on it. He wanted to forgive Dom, but he couldn't, and that he
hated even more.

Vince managed to get back up and continue walking. Each step was painful, each step drained him. He didn't know how far he walked, squinting his eyes he could see the shining black top of the highway. He could hear a faint
sound, a rumble. Vince swayed, his eyes fighting to close. With no more
will to fight, Vince fell to the ground.

****************

Dom was still off in his own world when he heard Leon shout over the radio.

"DOM to the right! To the RIGHT!" Leon shouted as he veered his car off the
road and to a fast stop.

Dom looked in his review mirror and saw Leon running away from his car. Dom began to breath heavy, his heart was racing. He turned the car around fast, and drove towards the direction Leon was running. Dom jumped out of the car and stopped dead in his tracks. It was hard for him to breath, he couldn't catch his breath.

"Come on, we gotta get him to the hospital!" Leon yelled up at Dom. Dom
reached down and helped Leon pick up Vince. Vince suddenly opened his eyes, and pushed at them.

"Hey, calm down, its us!" Leon said as he tried to hold Vince still.
"Get the fuck away from me!" Vince yelled out, as he tried to squirm away
from them. "Settle down, V, we gotta get you to a hospital." Dom growled as he tried to hold Vince down. "No, I want the son of bitches that did this too me! I ain't going to no fucking hospital again!" Vince shouted out.
"Alright, we won't take you to a hospital, just calm down." Dom said as
looked down at Vince, with relief and sadness.

*********

Vince opened his eyes, fear came over him. He sat up quickly, grabbing his
side, as it throbbed in pain. He looked around and suddenly realized where
he was, Dom's house.

"Lay back down, V, your hurt pretty bad." Mia said as she walked into the
room. "I have to find them." he said as he tried to bring his legs over the side of the bed. "No you don't, Dom and the boys are already working on that." Mia said as she placed her hands on his shoulders. "Now lay down." she said as she pushed him back. "I don't need Dom fighting my battles, get the fuck away from me!" he yelled as he pushed her away. Mia fell backwards, falling to the floor. "Damn, Mia, I'm sorry." Vince said as he tried to stand up to help her. "Just lay back down, Vince." Mia said as she got to her feet.

Vince laid in bed, he would sleep off and on. Each time he woke up and tried to move his body felt heavier with each movement. He closed his eyes,
"Fuck." he whispered as he punched the bed.

"That bed didn't do anything to you, why are you hitting it?" he heard a
familiar voice say. Vince shook his head. Dom stood in the doorway, arms
folded as he watched Vince.

***************

Dom couldn't help but feel a protective feeling towards Vince. For the past
two days when he wasn't out trying to find out who hijacked the truck, he was
by Vince's side. Vince never realized that he was there, Dom wouldn't let
that be known.

"What do you want?" Vince finally said opening his eyes.
"Not a damn thing." Dom said as he continued to lean against the door frame.

"Then get the fuck out of the room!" Vince snapped as he glared at Dom.
"What the fuck is your problem V!" Dom growled as he unfolded his arms and took a step in the room. "Your my problem! Now get the fuck out of here!" Vince snapped as he manage to sit up. "That's enough!" Mia shouted as she pushed past Dom and entered the room. "Go! Vince doesn't need this!" Mia yelled at Dom and pointed to the door. Dom growled, glared at her, then walked out. "And you, lay back down! Don't make me tie you to that bed Vince!" she hollered folding her arms and glaring at him.
 

Part Three

"This isn't your problem!" Vince shouted out as he headed out the front door. A few days had pasted since Vince last encountered Dom in the room.  Though he was still weak, his anger gave him strength. "You have a death wish don't you!" Leon said.  Leon followed him out of the house, followed closely by Jesse.  "Back off Leon!" Vince said as Leon stood in his way. "Your not going anywhere, man, look at you!  You can barely walk!" Leon
shouted into Vince's face. "Get.....out....of.....my....way!" Vince growled glaring hard at him.

"That's enough, you aren't going anywhere!" Dom growled as he came out of the house.  He manage to stay out of Vince's way over the past couple of days, he watched Leon and Vince from the window, and new it was time to act, when he saw Vince slowly turn his hand into a fist. "I AM TIRED OF YOU THINKING YOU OWN ME!" Vince shouted in pure anger as he turned around coming face to face with Dom once more. Dom took a deep breath in, "Brother, you don't want to go there!" he growled  the veins in his neck began popping out. "Do you think I'm afraid of your ugly fucking face!  Think again!" Vince said as he swung at Dom.  Dom backed up, almost looking like a tiger ready to pounce on its prey.

Jesse began swaying and playing with his hands.  Leon stood behind Vince and Mia came running up to them and stood in-between Dom and Vince.  "Don't do this!" She yelled looking from one to the other. "Get out of the way Mia!" Vince yelled at her.   "Don't talk her like that!" Leon said from behind him.  Vince swung around  fast, catching Leon off guard and hit him hard, his fist making full contact with his cheek.  Leon stumbled backwards, almost falling to the ground.

Dom growled and put his arms tightly around Vince's upper body.  Vince
struggled to get free from his grip.  "LET ME GO!" Vince yelled, then as hard as he could he swung his head backwards, coming full contact with Dom's head. Dom released his grip just enough for Vince to slip out of it.  Vince swung around, and took another shot at Dom, his fist coming full force into Dom's chin.

Dom let out a loud growl, then headed straight for Vince.  Tackling him to
the ground.  Dom swung, one hit after another.  Leon and Jesse ran up to
them, trying as hard as they could to pull Dom off the top of Vince.  As soon
as Leon and Jesse manage to lift Dom a little ways off of Vince, Vince took
the opportunity and swung at Dom, hitting him in the face.  Crawling
backwards until his feet were free, he kicked Dom as hard as he could in the stomach.

The force of the kick cause Dom, Jesse and Leon to fall backwards.  Dom
jumped up and headed straight for Vince.  Leon grabbed Dom's arm only to have Dom swing at him, hitting him right in the face.  "Shit!" Leon cried out as blood dripped from his nose.

Just as Dom reached down and grabbed Vince by the neck, Brian pulled up. Jumping out of his car he ran and tackled Dom off of Vince.  "What the fuck
are you doing!" Brian yelled out as he tried to pin Dom down.
"Get the fuck off of me!" Dom growled as he pushed Brian backwards.
"DOM, he's hurt enough, he doesn't need you pounding on him! Look at him! He can barely move!" Brian yelled out as Dom took another run at Vince.

Vince laid still on the ground, blood coming from his nose and mouth.  He had a deep cut on his forehead.  He was breathing heavy, he raised his head slightly and looked up at Dom.  Dom came to a complete stop, breathing hard, he stared down at Vince.  Dom ran his hands over his bald head, sweat beating down off of him.  "Fuck." he growled closing his eyes.

Mia ran over to Vince.  "V, shit!" she cried out as she saw all the blood.
"ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!" she yelled looking at Dom.

Dom backed away, everyone was looking at him.  "This ain't my fault, he
brought it on himself." Dom growled as he walked off and headed for his car. "That's right Dom, runaway from this!  Run like a little fucking BOY!" Mia
cried out, tears falling from her eyes.  Dom got into his car and sped away.

"Let's get him inside." Brian said as he walked over to Vince.
"Get the fuck away from me!" Vince cried out, pushing at Brian.
"Man, your hurt, let us take you back upstairs." Brian said calmly.
"NO! I don't want anything to do with you fucking people!  Jesse, take me
home." Vince said as he tried to stand, but only to fall.  "Damn!" he cried
out as pain shot through him.   "V, please let us take care of you!" Mia said softly touching his shoulder. "NO!  I thought you all were my family, but your not!  And if Dom ever comes  near me again, I'll............I'll...........KILL HIM!" he spat out with a hard glare at her.

Part Four

Vince woke up, sweat pouring from his body.  He sat up in bed and looked
around.  He could see nothing but Mia's face, her shocked and scared face.
The words "I'll kill him" rang through his ears.  It had been almost two
months since Vince last saw them.  He hadn't had a good night's sleep since this all began, since the first fight.

Vince stretched his legs over and sat at the edge of the bed.  He ran his
hand through his sweat drenched hair.  It hurt him to know that because of
Dom, that Mia was getting hurt in the process.  The anger he felt wasn't for
everyone else, just for Dom.  But everytime his anger flared up for Dom,
everyone else was there.  He couldn't help it, the words, his actions, they
always came out before he could think of them.

**************************

Mia watched as Dom and Brian talked, more liked argued.  She couldn't hear what was being said, but she knew what it was about.  Brian would always tell Dom that he needed to fix what was going on between him and Vince.  But Dom would always get angry and tell Brian it wasn't any of his business, to stay out of it.

"Dom, you and Vince have been friends to long, to let this come between you!" Brian shouted out as Dom began to walk away. "You don't know NOTHING about me and Vince, so don't talk like you do!" Dom  growled spinning around quickly to face Brian. "I know you consider him to be your brother! That you love him!  And that you  would die for him!" Brian growled back at him. "I would, but this is Vince's decision not mine." Dom said sadly and walked off.

*******************************

Vince grimaced as someone knocked on his door.  He waited, if it was Victor and his men, he didn't want them to know he was there.  A few more knocks then finally nothing, he thought whoever it was, was gone, he was wrong.  "He V, ya in there man?" he heard a familiar voice call out, but he didn't reply. "Come on, man I want to talk to you," the voice called out again.

Vince through the door open, "What?" he growled.
"Can I come in?" Brian asked, smiling up at him.  Vince didn't say anything,
and Brian pushed his way passed Vince.  "We need to talk," he added as he entered. "About what, cop?" Vince asked glaring at him.
"Come on, Vince, I saved your ass, at least you could do is listen to what I
have to say." Brian said staring at him. Vince rolled his eyes, "What do you want?" he asked stepping into the trailer.

"Talk to Dom, fix this mess." Brian began, but Vince quickly interrupted.
"Dom started this, not me." Vince said glaring at him.
"Your both to fucking stubborn! What is it with you two, you've been friends,
brothers, for too long to let this come between you." Brian snapped.
"You don't know nothing! Get the fuck out!" Vince growled swinging the door
open. "Why does everyone keep saying that! I know enough, I've seen enough to know how you two are!" Brian said as he began walking out the door.  "If you don't try and fix this, V, your never going to and you'll lose Dom." he added and walked off.

****************

Dom stared at the wreckage that was once his father's car.  Dom shook his
head, that day haunted him.  When he saw Vince hanging on to that truck, and thought he was going to lose him, he felt like he was losing his father all
over again, that feeling ate at him.  He didn't lose Vince on that truck but
he did lose Vince.

Dom pounded his fist onto the hood of the car.  He knew how to fix cars, but
he didn't know how to fix this.

Part 5

Vince grimaced as he received another blow to his stomach.
"I told you boy, don't mess with me!" Victor grinned as his men continuously
beat on Vince. "I told you, I don't know what happened!" Vince shouted out in pain as he was hit again.

"I never said you did!" Victor laughed taking Vince's face in his hands. "I
don't like people snooping where their not wanted!" he added. Vince looked up at him.

"You son of a bitch!" Vince growled as he tried to break free.
"Come now, this will be over soon enough." Victor laughed evilly.
Vince's eyes widened as he saw one of the men bring out a knife. "This ain't
gonna hurt much!" the man laughed. Vince saw the knife coming closer to him, everything seemed to move in slow motion. Just then the man fell down to his knees, then to the ground. Then Vince heard gun shots, the two guys holding him released him and took off running.

"Hey V, you alright?" Brian asked as he grabbed Vince's arm.
"Glad to see you, bro." Vince said as Brian helped him up. "how did you know where I was?" he asked looking at him."Been following you, since you won't let anyone help, I thought I'd help." Brian grinned."Well don't you think you could have come a little sooner, before the beating." Vince growled in pain."Sorry, V, but thought you could handle them, being the tough guy you are!" Brian winked at him."Yeah well sometimes us tough guys, need a little help, especially when we're getting our asses kicked!" Vince grinned.

****************

"So you gonna except my help now?" Brian asked as drove down the road.
"Guess I don't have any choice now, those guys want to kill me." Vince
growled, he didn't like anyone helping especially the one person he hated
from the first day he saw him. But he had to give Brian some credit, he
wouldn't back done.

Vince and Brian decided to head over to Victor's and look around. They both knew that Victor had something to do with the hijacking, but what they
couldn't understand is why Victor would hijack his own truck. They watched as Victor and his men walked around Victor's office. They appeared to be
arguing.

"Why would Victor steal his own truck, I don't get it." Vince said as he
watched Victor's actions. "Insurance, that's why most people do it." Brian said glancing over at Vince.
 

"Doesn't make sense though, I know he had something to do with it, but I
don't think it was for that reason." Vince said looking over at him.
"There couldn't be any other reason, Victor doesn't have a partner, so he
couldn't have done it to get back at a partner. The business is owned just
by Victor." Brian said as he watched Victor. "I'm tellin' ya, bro, it ain't insurance." Vince said shaking his head.

*****************************************

"Hey Dom, ya with me man?" Leon asked snapping his finger in front of Dom's face."Yeah," Dom answered in almost a whisper. "Yeah well you don't seem to be, bro. What's going on inside that bald head of yours?" Leon asked taking his hand and rubbing it across Dom's head. "Just thinking." he replied letting out a long sigh."Hey V will be alright, he's got Brian looking after him, remember." Leon said with a slight giggle.
"That's what I'm worried about." Dom grinned.

**********************

Brian was getting worried, Vince seemed to be on a vendetta trip. He
wondered if Vince was placing anger in the wrong places. Vince's emotions
weren't exactly intact, he seemed to be angry at the whole world these
days. His thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing.

"Hello?" Brian answered as he looked over at Vince who was watching him now."Did you find him?" Dom asked. "Hey baby, that sounds good, what will you be wearing?" Brian asked grinning, Vince just rolled his eyes.

"What the fuck are you talking about, did you find V?" Dom asked with a
growl. "Yes, I'll try and make it, hey wear that pretty floral dress you bought the other day." he said trying hard to not laugh. "Is he with you?" Dom asked trying hard not to loose his temper. "Yep, can't wait." Brian asked grinning.
"Is he alright, did you find anything out?" Dom asked. "Yes, you know I love you and can't wait to get my arms around you." Brian whispered softly into the phone. Deep inside he was trying to fight off the urge to laugh.
"Ok honey, but I don't think you'll like how I reply to your gentle touches!" Dom growled into the phone with a small giggle.
 

"Sounds like fun! Love you, and see you later, baby!" Brian said then ended
the call.

 
TBC