VIPER ♱ b. o'conner

interlude part two

May 10, 2009 - Los Angeles, California

A folder dropped onto Lala's work desk with a soft thud. She looked at it then looked up to meet the eyes of Jakob Toretto. "How did you get in here? The front door is locked." Her eyes scanned the otherwise empty garage.

"Not anymore." He stood with his arms crossed, staring down at her. She hadn't seen the man in person in years. She heard from Mia how he lost in a race against Dominic and had to leave the city. 

"What can I help you with, Jakob?" She rose a brow while looking over the computer in front of her. 

"This is your in, courtesy of Mr. Nobody." He stated briefly then set his hand on top of it. "We have another Agent on the inside, she will remain unaware of your status until the job is done. It makes it easier to do your jobs."

"Thanks." She poured the contents of the envelope onto the desk in curiosity. A license, car keys,  and burner phone fell out along with a short debriefing of the task at hand. The second she picked up the license and looked back up to Jakob, he was no longer there. Part of her thought she imagined the bigger yet younger version of Dominic. 

Lala ran her thumb over the name on the license. She requested it be Veronica since it was much easier for her to remember that name from Miami instead of giving her yet another. Letty had reached out to her to let her know she made the team and that she'd keep her updated. She spent her nights in the garage fixing up the car that Dom had rolled back in 2004. Most nights Lala found herself right by her side helping. 

Her being involved in this caused a slight rift between her and Brian, rightfully so. She didn't tell him what she was doing specifically just that she was working a few races for extra cash. Just like Brian, and Letty, didn't tell Lala that Letty was working with Brian and the FBI to bring Braga down in exchange for Dom's freedom. The trio was lying to each other and themselves, which was bound to end badly. 

Lala made her way back home with only one thought on her mind, setting up a plan for Brian and Leticia just incase anything went sideways. She made her way into the bedroom where Brian was sitting on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. Leticia was long asleep, thankfully. 

"Hey, snugs." She whispered, closing the door behind her. "You're still awake?" 

Brian lifted his head with a tired and worn down look spread on his face. "Yeah. Racing again?" 

"No, late end at the garage." She shrugged and went over to the dresser, pulling out a change of clothes. "How was work?" 

"It was fine, big case is picking up quickly. Hopefully is over soon so I should be home more often." He rubbed his hands together slowly. "My lawyer has the papers written up." 

Lala froze in place before clearing her throat and nodding, continuing to change her clothes. "We'll set a date to sign and finalize everything if it comes down to that." 

"Is this really what you want? For us to separate?" He questioned her in a quiet tone, his voice cracking under the emotional pressure. "I mean...come on, Lita."

"It won't be forever, but us separating and taking a break from each other, it'll make us stronger in the end." She leaned against the dresser and watched him. "I love you, baby. We just need some time apart. When I get back, if I feel like we still need the space then we'll go from there."

Brian clears his throat this time. "Okay, only if we absolutely need to." 

"I'm only visiting Suki for a few weeks so I should be back the first week of April." She lied casually to him, reinstating her false story to cover for the fact that her and her big sister were going to be infiltrating Braga.