Chapter 107: KIKI
"Alright, she's good as new." Ron closed the hood and wiped the grease off his hands with a shop rag.
Because of the Letty situation, he'd earned Dom's complete trust, and in return, he'd gained a new skill from Dom: Master Mechanic (expertise in everything automotive, from repairs to custom modifications).
With this newfound ability, Ron immediately got to work, fine-tuning his Camaro.
Unexpectedly, Gisele, unlike in the original timeline, didn't flirt with Dom. Instead, she came over to help Ron and, after he finished, hopped up on the hood.
Gisele smirked. "Okay, now I know your taste in cars. Tell me what kind of woman you're into."
Back in Texas, Paige slammed down her listening device in frustration. "Does he think I don't exist?"
Paige pulled a thick notebook from her pink desk drawer and solemnly added another name to the page, marking it with a bold red pen: "New Home-wrecker."
That new name was Gisele.
"Uh..." Ron's player instincts kicked in as he gazed into Gisele's eyes. "Smart, sharp, fearless, capable of putting any guy who crosses her in his place. Most importantly, those legs are works of art you could stare at forever."
As he spoke, Ron placed his hand on Gisele's thigh, and she made no move to stop him. This encouraged Ron, and he began exploring further.
Unfortunately, just as Ron was getting past the appetizers and ready for the main course, his phone rang at the worst possible moment. Ron glanced at the caller ID.
"Damn the FBI!" Ron cursed, and under Gisele's teasing gaze, he pulled his shirt back on and answered. "Jack, my situation isn't nearly good enough to warrant a call this late. What's going on?"
"Ron, I've got a problem," FBI Agent Jack's voice came through the speaker.
"Well, thanks for the good news. I think I'll sleep well tonight. Good night." Ron said impatiently, preparing to hang up.
But after just those few words, Gisele provocatively pressed the long leg he'd just complimented against him, making his irritation spike.
"Wait!" Jack's voice sounded genuinely pained. "Do you remember KIKI?"
At that name, a look of deep nostalgia crossed Ron's face. He no longer had any interest in fooling around with Gisele and walked away with his phone. "I remember—the first mentor who brought me into this business, my original handler. I heard he retired. How's he doing?"
KIKI was the one who had recruited Ron into intelligence work when he was about to graduate college and felt completely lost. In many ways, he was Ron's second father figure.
The first, of course, was old George.
"He's dead," Jack's voice delivered the brutal news about Ron's mentor.
"What!" Ron asked in disbelief. "He was only 55! How could he die so young? What happened? Did you send him undercover again?"
"He requested it himself," Jack explained. "He wanted one last mission before retirement, but this time he didn't make it out. Our people found his body under a bridge in Orange County yesterday."
"The coroner's report showed he was injected with massive amounts of methamphetamines to keep him conscious during torture: five ribs crushed with a blunt instrument, both legs skinned from the knees down, his nose sliced off with a blade, jaw shattered with a hammer, both eyes gouged out, eight fingers severed, and his skull drilled with a power tool... If we hadn't run DNA, I wouldn't have recognized what was left as KIKI."
"Stop!" Ron unconsciously clenched his fists. "I just want to know who did this!"
Jack spat out a name: "Braga, the Mexican drug lord who's been making headlines lately. He's trying to break into the LA market. I've sent several undercover agents—all of them ended up dead.
I heard your people have been infiltrating his operation recently. I figured we could collaborate on this."
Since it had been so long, Ron couldn't remember much of the Fast & Furious 4 plot beyond Gal Gadot's incredible legs.
So, under Gisele's arrangement, Dom had once again joined Braga's crew as an undercover driver, just like in the original timeline. Agent O'Connor was also in the mix, so it wasn't surprising to Jack that Ron was working the case too.
Ron never would have imagined that a simple drug dealer like Braga could unknowingly provoke the wrath of all three major US intelligence agencies. It was almost impressive.
But his time was up, Ron decided.
"Collaborate? Forget it." Ron flatly rejected Jack's proposal. "Your operation leaks like a sieve. Have you ever wondered how your undercover agents keep getting burned? I honestly don't know how you still have the balls to sit in that chair."
Because of his mentor's murder, Ron was furious and couldn't help but take it out on Jack.
"I know. That's why I've already written my resignation letter. Soon as Braga's caught, I'm out."
"That's your problem. Thanks for the heads-up. I need to find him before you do," Ron shook his head. "And I only have one job: send Braga straight to hell. But first, I'm going to make him pay for every second of agony KIKI suffered."
Without waiting for Jack's response, Ron hung up and turned to Gisele. "Sorry to kill the mood. Maybe we can pick this up another time. I've got urgent business right now. Do you know where Dom and the others were taken tonight?"
"You asked me that yesterday," Gisele said, reluctantly putting her shirt back on. "I don't know either. He's extremely paranoid. Even though I've been embedded with them for months, I've never seen his actual face. It's always been his lieutenants giving orders."
This triggered a memory for Ron, and a realization hit him.
He vaguely recalled the plot now. The movie's final boss, Braga, had appeared in front of everyone disguised as one of his own agents, pulling off the ultimate sleight of hand right under everyone's noses.
The final showdown had taken place at the edge of some kind of quarry.
Wait! A quarry!
Thinking of this, Ron punched the wall in frustration. If he had remembered sooner, maybe KIKI would still be alive.
"Call Hank and Arthur—we're moving out now. I think I know where they are!"
(End of Chapter)
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