The night after Jesse fled Race Wars, the desert sky was pitch-black, cut only by the orange glow of generators and flickering floodlights. Dom stood at the edge of the tarmac, arms crossed, his Charger looming behind him like a waiting beast. The rest of the crew was silent, tension thick in the air.
Leonardo watched from a short distance, sipping from a thermos of dark roast. Koko sat beside him on a folding chair, her boots resting on a crate of spare parts, sunglasses still on despite the hour.
She scrolled through her tablet. "We've secured logistics routes through Central America and Eastern Europe. Aegis Tactical is already manufacturing in three countries under separate identities. I left Alfred in charge of the Singapore facility—he's giddy about it."
Leonardo nodded; eyes still locked on Dom. "Keep it quiet. No leaks, no disruptions. Not yet."
Koko laughed, low and amused. "Relax, Leo. I don't play with broken toys."
His attention shifted as Dom approached Vince, Leon, and Letty, voice low but commanding. Something big was happening. Leonardo didn't have to guess. He remembered the truck heist. The one that went sideways.
He followed them silently to the back lot, where the three-car convoy was being prepped.
The sun hadn't yet risen when Dom's crew rolled out toward the highway. Leonardo tailed them from a safe distance in his matte-black Supra, eyes alert. He had debated interfering. He'd hoped maybe they wouldn't go through with it.
But the timeline held firm.
The truck was armed.
What should've been a clean operation exploded into chaos within seconds. The rig was escorted, the driver prepared. As Vince leapt onto the cab and attempted to fire his grapple line, the trucker slammed the brakes. The cable snapped back and tangled around Vince's arm.
He screamed, dangling as the truck swerved violently.
"Vince!" Letty shouted.
Dom veered alongside the truck, desperate to reach him. Leon tried to flank the other side but was forced off the road by a shot.
Leonardo gunned the Supra forward.
He raced alongside Dom, windows down. "I can stabilize the rig! Get me close!"
Dom nodded. Leonardo maneuvered expertly, taking heat off the Charger. He cut in front of the truck and braked hard, forcing the trucker to slow.
Dom launched himself from the Charger and clambered onto the rig, crawling up the side to reach Vince. Blood covered Vince's sleeve. His face was pale.
"Hang on!"
With Leonardo drawing the truck's fire and Dom working the cable loose, they finally freed Vince, pulling him into Dom's car just as the rig jackknifed into a ditch.
They sped off the road, tires smoking, adrenaline surging.
Brian arrived moments later, having tracked their position from a distance. He saw the blood, the panic, and knew.
"We need a medevac!" he yelled, pulling out his phone.
Dom's eyes widened. "What are you doing, man?!"
Brian hesitated only for a second. "I'm a cop. I can get help here faster than anyone else."
The silence that followed was heavier than the sound of sirens.
Dom said nothing.
Leonardo stood a few feet away, watching it all unfold. In his mind, he traced the lines of inevitability.
Canon held. Vince would live.
But the trust was fractured.
Hours later, as the dust settled, they returned to the Toretto household.
The tension was suffocating. No one spoke. Jesse was still missing. Dom barely looked at Brian.
Leonardo leaned against the fence; arms folded.
That's when Jesse arrived.
Leonardo stepped into the front yard just as Jesse burst through the door, shaking, pale.
"I'm sorry, Dom," Jesse said. "I panicked. I didn't know what to do."
Dom stepped forward, but before anyone could speak—
Gunfire.
Johnny Tran and Lance arrived on bikes, opening fire as they sped past.
Bullets tore into Jesse's side.
He collapsed on the steps, blood soaking through his shirt.
Leonardo froze for half a second, then sprinted forward with Brian.
Brian dropped to his knees. "Call an ambulance!"
Leonardo knelt beside Jesse, pressing on the wounds. But he already knew. Jesse's eyes were dimming. His breathing was shallow.
Dom held his hand.
Jesse looked up at them, then exhaled one last time.
He was gone.
Dom stood up slowly, rage building in his eyes.
Leonardo looked away.
He knew this moment. He remembered it.
And this time, he still couldn't change it.
Dom roared off in his Charger, chasing Tran.
Brian followed in his Supra.
Leonardo stayed behind only long enough to call Koko and ensure local security would keep bystanders away. Then he grabbed his keys and joined the pursuit.
By the time he caught up, the streets were chaos.
Brian had killed Tran.
Dom was wounded, mentally and emotionally.
And then came the final race.
The quarter-mile to the train tracks.
Leonardo arrived seconds after the near-miss, just in time to see Brian hand Dom the keys.
"I owe you a ten-second car."
Dom nodded, got in the Supra, and drove off.
Brian stood alone.
Leonardo walked up beside him.
Neither spoke for a while.
Finally, Brian said, "He's gone."
Leonardo nodded. "For now."
They stood in silence, knowing this was the end of one chapter—and the start of something far bigger.