Hunter wasn't lying. He really had less than ten thousand dollars on him.
Although he had recently stolen two safes from Steve—safes containing nearly a ton of gold—he couldn't open them yet. The cash he had on hand was simply not enough to fix Dom's problems.
Hearing this, Mia suddenly smiled.
"Is three hundred thousand dollars enough?"
Her brother was the most famous street racer on the West Coast, the undisputed king of the underground circuit.
For years, Dom and his crew had been hijacking shipments of expensive electronics from Silicon Valley tech giants on the California highways.
Over that time, they had stolen merchandise worth at least a hundred million dollars.
Dom's personal cut of that illicit fortune was over twenty million dollars.
Most of it had been burned on modifying cars, investing in the garage, and maintaining their luxurious, chaotic lifestyle. But as his only sister, Mia had received a generous allowance from him.
Dom spoiled her far more than any other girl her age.
Mia, unlike most American teenagers, wasn't obsessed with brand-name makeup, jewelry, or designer bags. She had saved almost everything.
Now, her savings totaled over three hundred thousand dollars.
Hunter looked at Mia in surprise. He hadn't expected the girl in his arms to be a little heiress.
He didn't waste time on envy or hesitation. He nodded decisively.
"Hiring a capable, shark-like defense attorney will cost about thirty to fifty thousand dollars."
"If the FBI hasn't cracked your brother or found hard evidence yet, the most they can pin on them is participation in illegal racing and reckless endangerment/illegal modification."
"Bail for each person should be around thirty thousand."
"Three hundred thousand is more than enough."
Hunter had actually looked into this recently, so he knew the market rates.
Seeing his logical breakdown and hearing a concrete rescue plan so quickly, Mia finally let go of the fear that had gripped her for the last two days.
"So, when do we go get the lawyer?"
She looked at him with urgency, desperate to get Dom out.
Hunter looked closely at her face. He saw the bloodshot eyes and the dark circles bruising her fair skin. Mia clearly hadn't slept well in days.
His heart softened.
He pulled her into his arms again and tapped her cheek affectionately. "Leave it to me."
"I'll go with you to get the money now. Then you stay home and rest."
"I'll handle the lawyer."
"If everything goes smoothly, Dom and the others should be out on bail by tomorrow."
Mia was young and trusting. She didn't for a second suspect that Hunter might run off with her life savings.
She hesitated, wanting to go with him, but Hunter insisted. After some persuasion, she agreed to stay back and rest.
They returned to the Toretto house. Mia handed over the bank card containing her entire nest egg.
Hunter took it, smiled, and patted her hand reassuringly. "Rest easy. I'll come back tonight to keep you company."
"It might be late, though."
"I'll find a lawyer this afternoon and try to get him in to see Dom tonight. We need to make sure they get their stories straight before someone cracks under interrogation."
Mia knew time was of the essence. She nodded and reluctantly watched him leave.
Hunter spent the entire afternoon running around the city.
He might be developing a bit of a "scumbag" persona when it came to romance, but he hadn't sunk low enough to scam a woman out of her money.
At most, he was just scamming her heart and body.
He made a call to Lyle, the hacker from Charlie's team, asking for a favor: find the lawyer in Los Angeles with the highest win rate and the fewest morals.
Over the past two weeks, Hunter had become quite chummy with Lyle. He visited frequently, listening to Lyle brag about his college hacking exploits while casually picking his brain for programming tips.
Lyle, being a talkative nerd, was happy to have an audience. Under Hunter's deliberate flattery, he had opened up and even started considering Hunter a friend.
For a computer wizard like Lyle, Hunter's request was child's play. A quick search later, he sent Hunter a name.
Scott Lyman. Irish descent.
He was one of the most notorious "gold medal" lawyers in LA. He was also one of the most successful.
Scott Lyman didn't know the meaning of "fairness" or "justice." He didn't care about the dignity of the law or moral baselines.
In Scott Lyman's eyes, as long as the money was right, he could argue that a corpse was just taking a nap. He had once successfully bailed out a murderer by exploiting a loophole in procedural law.
"Mr. Sun, I will prove to you that your hundred thousand dollars was not wasted."
Hunter had arrived at Scott Lyman's firm and used cash to kick open the door.
Without an appointment, he successfully hired the infamous attorney to represent Dom and his three unlucky crew members.
Incentivized by a hundred thousand dollars in cash, Scott Lyman gave Hunter a masterclass in legal maneuvering.
It took him just a few phone calls to confirm that Dom and his crew were currently being held at the LAPD detention center, not the FBI field office.
That made things much easier.
Lyman drove Hunter to the LAPD station immediately.
Since Hunter wasn't an attorney, he couldn't see Dom. But as their retained counsel, Lyman could walk right in.
Hunter gave him a few very subtle messages to pass on to Dom.
He waited outside the station for a little over an hour.
When Scott Lyman emerged, he was wearing a relaxed smile.
"Sir, as I said, your money was well spent."
"Your commission is complete."
"You can come back tomorrow afternoon to pay the bail and process their release."
"Mr. Toretto's bail is set at fifty thousand dollars. The other three are thirty thousand each."
"And, since our first collaboration has been so pleasant," Lyman added, lowering his voice slightly, "I'll give you a free piece of information."
"Mr. Toretto and his associates are indeed being flagged by the FBI."
"So, once they are bailed out, they will be temporarily barred from leaving Los Angeles. They will also be required to report to the LAPD every 24 hours."
"I think you understand what I mean. Please make the appropriate arrangements."
Hunter looked at the stamped bail application documents waving in Lyman's hand.
Once again, he had a renewed appreciation for the American legal system—and the terrifying magic of the US Dollar.
500 ps = Extra Chapter
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