After his last race and talking to Manako for a bit, Cole decided to give it one more try to find Brian. He had to talk to him before he left. He hastily walked through several rows and after a few minutes finally spotted Brian's tall figure. He looked like he just had a bad conversation with Mira, but both of them were silent so he thought now would be the time to pull him aside.

"We gotta talk, bro." He appeared to Brian's left, hoping Brian wouldn't be too pissed at him for all this.

It took Brian a good while to get over the 'news'. The silence that fell between him and Mira was more than a little awkward. Even his hug and kiss couldn't change that.

So Cole's interruption was quite welcome. Brian rub a hand over his face, told Mira he'd be back and followed Cole through a row of cars until the found a quieter spot with less people where they could talk.
"It's about that quy in the suit, isn't it?" Brian asked Cole a little concerned.
"Did he offer you a really well paid job by any chance?"

"I'm afraid so." Cole shook his head. "Oh he offered me a hell of a job alright. I'll be racing for the mob under their wagers. I get 25% of the winnings and a car of my choice." He took a step back and looked around them quickly making sure no one was in earshot. He tried to come up with a light way to break this to Brian. "Trouble is, it's not just me they want. They're looking for a whole crew of drivers it seems, and they want you too."

"Me? i don't even own a car anymore." How could they want him without seeing him drive...did his reputation reach that far? Brian felt a twisted hint of pride in that.

"The answer is easy, Cole. You say. No, thank you and keep the whole 100 percent of your winnings to yourself. Plus you own a great car...or two."
Brian could see the look in Coles eyes and didn't like it one bit. "You're not seriously considering this, bro? That's the mob! They'll drop you in the ocean with weight on your feet if you loose too often."

"They didn't give me a choice, man. They basically said 'join us or die.'" Cole sighed heavily. "I'm already in, so there's no backing out now, if there ever was. I don't know why they're pursuing you as well. I guess they saw me with you and put two and two together." Brian did have a good point, he had no car. Maybe that could be the excuse to get him out of it?

"Anyway, they want you, Mira, and I to attend dinner with them tomorrow night at some fancy italian restaurant."

Brian was totally baffled how easily they had convince Cole to join them. "C'mon, they don't even know you. They won't kill some random stranger."

But when Cole mentioned that whoever these people were wanted him and MIRA to join them Brian snapped. The latest news were still fresh in his memory and had him wired anyway. "Are you fucking kidding me? Mira isn't going anywhere near those gangsters. Neither am I. You can tell them to go fuck themselves."

"I wouldn't put it past them. You said it yourself, this is the MOB." Cole shot back. "For me, this could turn out to be a decent gig. I get paid a ton to do what I love, the key will be getting the hell out before things go south."

Brian's reaction was totally expected, Cole would've reacted the same way. He got a little closer to Brian and kept his voice down. "And that is exactly why you two need to go into hiding or get out of here. At least for the time being. Look, Mira's dad is the one cop you don't want to mess with, you guys get him to watch your back and your problems are over." Cole then took a step back since both their bubbles were being violated. "Meanwhile, I'll get rich off this and we can all settle down somewhere safe for you two to raise that baby. Then when things go bad, we bring in Mira's dad and those guys are done." Cole liked that plan, even if it was somewhat dangerous.

"That's your plan?" Brian raised his brows. Especially about Mira's dad. "If Hobbs is going to do anything it's handing me over to those guys to turn me into fish bait. You have no idea!" Brian laughed a humorless laughter.

Then he raised his hand. "Keep your hands off this deal if you'd like to see your next birthday." Brian clapped him on the shoulder.
"Oh, and if you talk to them again, feel free to mention that I'm a cop."

With that he turned and walked back to Mira...if only he still was a cop.

"Hobbs wouldn't do it because of you, he'd do it because of Mira. Besides, I thought you were cleared up with him by now?" Cole shrugged, he still liked the idea regardless of its outlandishness.

Cole couldn't argue with Brian, everything he said was right. But he wasn't the one who actually had to talk to them. "For your sake, I will make sure I DON'T mention that." He watched Brian walk back. Was he right? Would they actually leave him alone if he declined?

The whole drive home to his brothers place Brian mulled over Cole's words. How could the kid be so stupid and even consider this offer. Didn't he know that messing with these kind of people would either land him in jail or some dumpster. Brian was truly worried about him, especially because he had just proven his loyalty by helping him escape and practically throwing his onw life away.

So instead of going to sleep he waited for Cole to return home so he could talk some sense into him.

After a really long night, Cole drove speedy all the way to Jack's to prevent being followed, then parked the GTR behind the house to disguise it. He seriously was about ready pass out from the exhaustion of the night.

He stumbled into Jack's and found Brian sitting there waiting for him. "What's up bro?"

Cole looked pretty tire but Brian was till going to have another talk with him before Cole managed to get himself in more trouble than was good for him.

"You're up." Brian answered and went to the fridge to grab two beer, a clear signal that this talk would be a little longer than 5 minutes.

"There, have a cold one. So, have you thought about what I told you? Trust me, I came across a few bodies curtesy of the local mob during my time as cop in LA. I don't want you to be added to that list."

'Ah crap.' Cole thought as Brian clearly held the 'We're gonna have a little talk,' expression. He took a long drink of his beer and thanked Brian. "Man I needed that."

Cole sat on the chair opposite the couch and looked at Brian. "I've been thinking about it all night, or rather, dealing with it all night." He sighed. "I know you're going to hit me on the head for this, but I've already made a deal with them. I get 25% of the winnings and a Corvette ZR1 that I'm expecting to receive at the dinner tomorrow night. It's a hell of a deal really."

He took another swig and continued on. "I know what you're thinking, that its unrealistic to think that things will run smoothly or that I don't know what I'm getting into. And you're right, but all they want is their money. All I have to do is win, if I prove to be a valuable asset to them, not only are they going to keep me around but they'll also accommodate me. From where we're standing right now, we could definitely use the money."

Brian could noty beleibe his ears when he heard that Cole had already agreed to the crooked deal. Immediately he flew off the handle about so much stupidity.
"What the hell, Cole. Couldn't you even wait a day to get you neck in the sling?"
He stared at the younger man fully aware that he had just signed his death certificate.
@all you have to do is win...man, I know you're good but your not unbeatable, what if you loose? Plus you only get to keep 25%? You could have kept 100% without them plus you have a great car. What do you need a Corvette for?"

That question out of Brian's mouth seemed ridiculous when he'd do just about anything to own one himself.

"I know you're not going to believe this, but they really didn't give me a choice. They said it was this or death, and if they were just faking it, they did a damn good job of selling it." Cole thought over Brian's words, it probably would've been smart to have thought about it for a day or two, but too late to cry over spilled milk.

Brian had a good point, what if he lost? What if the drivers he ended up against were beyond the best he had seen at the normal races? "That's just a risk I'd have to take." He said slowly. "I'd imagine if I win most of them they'd put up with an occasional loss. Even they would know that racing is unpredictable." He said with more hope than belief. "Bro, some of these races could have millions of dollars on them, 25% of a million is a new house. Do you know how nice it would be if money all of a sudden wasn't an issue? If I do this and am successful, the three of you won't be leaving on the street, and if the courts find us still guilty, we'll be able to just buy our freedom."

Of course the fast and easy money would be very tempting. Especially since being and good and honest working citizen had gotten Brian nowhere but with one foor in jail. He had no money, no car, no home but two babies on the way. Cole's offer sure sounded good but the risks were simply too high.
"I absolutely understand why you took it but damn, Cole. Just use your mind. If the threaten to kill you before you're even in...."
He shook his head but neglected his beer. Instead he said. "You should have told me first...and maybe mentioned that you have a lot of friends who are cops...they might have left you alone."

He placed a hand on his friends shoulder. "Just do me a favour and try to back out...If you can't, then let us protect you."

Cole was caught a little off guard when Brian changed his tone and said he understood, but he was appreciative someone finally saw it threw his eyes. "All the mob cares about is money, if I can provide chunks of that to them, they'll love me...In theory."
Cole stood up, put his beer down, and made a clear point. "Brian, telling them I know cops would be one of the worst things I could do. Then they'd definitely just get rid of me for fear of law enforcement finding out that the mob is now doing street racing. Not to mention the people they believe may be the cops." He looked towards the wall, rubbed his eyes, then back at Brian. "I don't need your protection, Brian. I've been on my own ever since my parents died when I was 15, I can handle myself. I want you and Mira as far away from this deal as possible. If it does go bad, I couldn't live with myself if I knew a friend paid the price for my decision. You need to be a father, and Mira needs to be a mother, and I need to make sure you don't end up raising kids on the street." Cole let out a big sigh and fell back on the couch, taking another large sip from his beer.