Vince sat back on the bench, leaning against the cool locker. He had exactly one minute left on his break. It didn't seem fair, like the clock moved fast just for him. But only when he was on break, when he was working it crawled along.

It hadn't taken him long to figure out that honest work sucked. Big time. But it was better than prison, and he wasn't going to do anything to get sent back there if he could help it.

At least, not for something as stupid as stealing DVD players.

Balling up the wrapper for his sandwich, he tossed it in the wire trashcan in the corner, smirking to himself as it went in. Sighing, he stood up and stretched, hearing a few joints pop before he headed back out front.

The second he walked through the doors, he was hit by a wave of noise - the place was packed, and he was lucky to get a break at all. Shaking his head, he took his place behind the bar, getting ready for the orders to be screamed at him.

Just another night.

"Wipe that stuff of your face!" Brian pointed at Jack's bloody lip while he cruised down the road.
"And thanks for ruining my rep in the racing scene, idiot." he smacked him upside the head while he kept his eyes on the road.
"Why the hell do you have such a temper? Didn't you just spend a night in a cell because of that?" He took a moment to glare at his brother while he kept driving.
Brian was upset with Jack's stupidity. He could just feel the rage. One of these days his brother would end up face down in the gutter.

"You have a rep?" Jack did as he was told and wiped his face again. His lip just wouldn't stop bleeding.
"That ass was asking for it" He glared back at his brother. His night was already ruined and Brian was only making it worse. "Just leave it would you?"
He stared out infront of him before he realised something. He didn't recognize anything they just passed and with a confused look he eyed his brother. "Where are we going anyway?"

With a slight smirk on his face Brian replied. "I figured you need to cool off a bit before you hit the sack."
The Skyline pulled into a parking spot in front of a row of pubs and restaurants.
"Your pick."
When he set foot onto the sidewalk he added. "I have to admit though. You didn't mean to do it but you've just established our contact with our target. So at least that was well done."
When Jack didn't pick a pub Brian simply pushed open the door of the one closest to his parking space. It was a dingy little place called "Crash and Burn." Brian figured the name matched the evening.

Vince grumbled under his breath as he took an order from a couple of rich college boys who were slumming it, his movements short and jerky. He was alright with the work, but he lost his temper more than a time or two with jerk-ass customers.

Lucky for him, the bar was known for being a little rough 'round the edges, and the boss didn't care as long no one was permanently injured, and no one pressed charges. He slammed the beers down on the stained bar, not even turning back at their sharp protests. He'd learned that sometimes it was better to keep his mouth shut altogether.

He already knew he'd lost the tip. It wasn't the first time by far.

He was just wiping down in a brief moment of silence when something caught his eye, a familiar face by the door.

But it couldn't be...right?

"Yeah by owing her money" Jack mumbled. He couldn't get the race or the debt out of his mind. How was he going to pay her back?
He was kind of grateful his brother took him here instead of home. The only sensible thing Jack could think of at the moment, was to get completely wasted and not worry about anything until morning. Or maybe late afternoon or even evening, since he'd probably be too hungover for at least the first half of the day.
The bar his brother picked seemed to be perfect for the occasion. Nothing too fancy or with too many rules, just the way Jack liked it.
With a smile he slapped his brother on the shoulder while he motioned towards the bar. "I take it drinks are on you bro, since I'm now officially broker than broke!"

"Yeah, I guess so."
Brian nodded, gave him a friendly slap and walked towards a small table in the back.
While he was slumping down on the dark wooden bench with some names scratched into it he added. "Or I could just let you wash the dishes here."

When Jack sat down he could tell that he was uneasy.
"Any ideas how to get her money back? I'm sorry but I don't have 2000 sitting in the bank right now."
He thought about that for a minute.
"If we can't come up with anything else I'll try to win it in a race. I would have told the guy double or nothing...before you planted your knuckles on his nose."
Absentmindedly Brian looked around for a waitress. He was thirsty.

With a sigh Jack lowered his head "What do you want me to say? I'm sorry, alright?" For the past hour or so it seemed Brian couldn't help but bring the fight up whenever he got the chance. Jack had figured out by now it was a stupid move and he shouldn't have done it. But he had and no matter how much he or his brother wanted it, he couldn't turn back time.
He rubbed a hand through his hair when he raised his head again to look at his brother "You don't have to stick your neck out for me. Maybe I can work something out with her if I can't come up with the money." After all it was Amira's own choice to lend the money to a complete stranger. She had gotten herself into this just as much as Jack had.
"Let's just do what we came here for." With a smirk he added "Show me how much you can drink!"

Brian opened his mouth to tell him his dissapproval of 'working something out' with Amira but then thought better of it. Who was he to babysit Jack all the time. The guy had a head and needed to learn how to use it other that getting it smashed in out of nonsense.
So he nodded and lowered his head just like Jack to look him in the eye. With a serious tone he replied. "More than you, missy!" His gaze wandered towards the bar to see whether this place actually had a waitress.
"Hang on, I'll go to the bar."

The bartender stood with his back towards him pouring some drink when Brian cheerfully ordered. "Two beers, please. And make it fast-we're thirsty!"

Vince knew it was him, there was no doubt when he heard the guy asking for a beer. He'd know that voice anywhere.

Without turning to him, he moved to get the beers from the mini fridge. "Five bucks, Spliner. Or is it O'Connor right now?" he said, his voice deadly calm as he turned and placed the beers in front of the blonde cop.

"What's wrong, brother? You look like you've seen a ghost or something," he smirked, nothing pleasant in his voice.

He'd long ago come to terms with the fact it was his own fault he ended up in prision, but that didn't mean he wasn't still pissed at the undercover cop for his little part.

The only thing that stopped him from taking a swing right then and there was the fact that the buster had saved his life. He still wasn't sure how to deal with that little fact.

When Brian recognized the man in front of him the smirked was wiped right of his face. Instead his jaw almost dropped.
"Vince." he mumbled.
The man in front of him looked a little older, still rough around the edges with a beard and tattoes. Something in his face had changed though.
When Brian got his composure back he reached for the beer and blinked but didn't take his eyes off the guy. "You're out."
That was probably not a good start for a conversation.

"Yeah, have been for a couple years," he replied with a shrug. "Trying to keep clean."

He paused for a moment, thoughtful. Brian had aged, but he looked...okay. Like life was going good for him. He hadn't heard buch about him since his trial, not that he'd really asked.

"I heard what you did for Dom. Took a lot of balls. Did the cops still want you after that?" he asked, wondering who he was working for these days.

Looking over at the kid the cop had arrived with, he took in the blood with a raised eyebrow. He took a clean towel from the bar and filled it with ice, setting it in front of O'Connor. "For the kid," he explained. "Just make sure he doesn't start any fights here."

Brian expected a fist in the face or a boot in his gutts but not a casual conversation or a friendly gesture. He was more than surprised. So he smiled at Vince.
"Thanks. That's my brother. He won't be any trouble. I promise."
Then he told the man a little bit about the past five years. "I had to run myself but they coaxed me into working for them again. For a while I just worked with cars but for the past 6 months I've been working for the FBI." Bria wanted to make sure Vince knew where he stood right off the bet.
After an awkward pause Brian tapped his fingers on the bar and nodded. "It's good to see you." That one didn't come across his lips easily even though it was true.

Vince nodded at Brian's explaination. Figured he'd still be a cop, the guy was just too damned heroic for anything else.

"Wish I could say the same," he replied. "But as long as you ain't trying to arrest me again," he shruged. "Whatever. Didn't know you had a brother."

Not that he knew much about Brian anyway. Hell, what little he did know was probably part of his cover.

"Shoulda figured you'd land on your feet, while the rest of us have to pay our dues," he smirked, letting the cop know it was a joke.

"Hey, uh..." he paused, rubbing the back of his neck. "Do you know what happened to the others?" he asked, figuring the cop...or fed, rather, might know something about the rest of the Team.

Brian frowned at Vince's words. It was true that the team had been criminals and had to pay their dues but Brian didn't want to be the one bringing them in. Even though what they did was against the law he liked them too much-especially Mia and respected Dom.

He lowered his head a little. "I'm really sorry for what happened. I just did my job. But I couldn't put the cuffs on you guys!"

He looked back at Jack and signaled him to come over.

With sorrow in his voice he added. "Yeah, I know what happened to the others." He took a deep breath. "Dom and Letty were stealing gas down in..who knows where... the Diminican Republic, I think. The cops were moving in on them. So Letty came back here and tried to clean Dom's slate so he could come home but..." he swallowed hard. "got killed." Right now he couldn't look Vince in the eye. He was too damn sad and felt slightly guilty about it.
"Dom tried to pay the asshole, who did that to Letty back and..he did."
A slight smile crossed his lips."But he didn't want to run anymore. He's waiting for his trial in the county jail right now. I made a deal with the Feds-he should get off."

While Jack entertained himself with some coasters, he wondered what was taking his brother so long. How hard could it be to get a couple of cold drinks on this table?
He glanced toward the bar where his brother was standing only to notice that Brian wanted him to come his way. Jack had no idea what the problem was and the only way he could find out, was to drag his butt over there. If that was what it took to finally get his beer..
With an annoyed look on his face, he made his way over to the bar and his brother. "You can't even carry those two beers yourself, princess?"
His eyes flickered between his brother and the bartender. For some reason there seemed to be some tension between the two.

Jack's voice made Brian ease up a bit. Telling Vince about the fate of his friends had made him tense and slightly upset especially Letty. Brian tried not to think about her or tried to tell himself that she didn't die in vain but he knew it didn't take away the sorrow.

He took a deep breath and put his hand on Jack's shoulder.
"Vince, this here is my little brother Jack. He races as well. Unfortunately not very well as you can see." He smirked. Why was is so much fun to give him shit?
"Jack, that's Vince. He's an ..." He searched Vinces face."..old friend."
Then he pointed at the beer. "And there's your brew,bro!"

Vince grinned when he heard about Dom and Letty, they'd always wanted to head south, have some fun. But he froze as Brian told him about Letty. She couldn't be dead, not Letty. She was the toughest chick he knew, nothing kept her down...but...

She'd always been 'Vince's Girl', but she'd been one of the Team, one of the his few real friends. He could live with the idea that they were off enjoy life, but that she was dead, and Dom was locked up - it wasn't fair. They should be allowed to win at some point.

He nodded as Brian introduced his brother, noting the resemblence between the two.

"Oh yeah, we go way back," Vince chuckled darkly. "Speaking of, what about Mia? I always figured she'd kick your ass for what you did," he grinned.

"What about you, junior?" he looked at the disheveled kid in front of him. "I take it you didn't follow big brother into law enforcement?"

Brian could tell by the look on Vinces face that he was shocked to hear about Letty. He tried not to show it but his eyes showed the pain. Brian couldn't help but avert his eyes.
he took a long gulp from the bottle and didn't set it back down until half of it was gone.
Without looking at Vince he said. "Mia...hm. I hurt her. She let me feel it."
He didn't want to say anything else considering Vinces feelings for the girl.
Instead he waited for Jacks answer and drank the rest of the beer before he sat down the empty bottle on the dark wood of the bar.

Jack was slightly amused by Vinces question. "What makes you say that? Don't I look the part?" Ofcourse he already knew the answer to that. Out of the both of them, Brian was by far the most responsible one. Though by the way he was gulping down his beer at the moment, you'd almost start to think otherwise.
While he grabbed his own beer, Jacks eyes shifted back and forth between Vince and his brother. The silence that had fallen between them was getting rather akward. So in order to break that silence he asked "So you two go way back huh?" He managed to drink some of his beer without flinching before he added "You must have been best pals then"
The reaction he got from both of them made him smile "Yeah that's what I thought. I don't like him either. Real pain in the ass." He said slapping his brother on his shoulder.