Inside the tank, Owen Shaw smirked the moment he heard Cole's voice cut through the chaos over comms — calm, steady, unmistakable. Always & Forever. The code between the four Shaws, spoken quietly, meant one thing now: move.
Above, in the sky, Ross and the others heard the same voice crackle through their channel. They shifted immediately. They'd been capable of downing MI6's helicopter much earlier — but they'd held back, buying precious seconds for Cole to complete the mission.
Now that Arthur's objective was secured, their restraint ended.
The Expendables suddenly juked the aircraft sideways, faked a critical hit, and BAILED OUT mid-air. The team abandoned the helicopter in perfect sync; it spiralled, detonating in a controlled blast — a clean illusion that MI6 had landed the kill.
In reality, Ross had simply dropped altitude and peeled off with perfect timing. The four-man team disappeared into the smoke.
With the MI6 bird apparently "destroyed," William Harcourt gained the confidence he'd been waiting for and ordered a full assault on Owen Shaw's tank column.
Luke Hobbs, positioned on the ground, activated the micro-missile system mounted on his armoured vehicle. FWIP-WHUMP — the missile struck the tank's flank, flipping the armoured behemoth in a violent grind of steel.
Hobbs fired the steel tether, anchoring the overturned tank. Dominic and the others braced their vehicles, the combined pull wrenching the tank into a dead halt.
William and his squad fast-roped down, rifles levelled at the wreckage.
This was the moment. Owen Shaw was captured.
The convoy moved fast, escorting both Owen and the recovered chip components toward the military base. Dominic watched the entire situation unravel, tension burning in his jaw. He'd received a secret message from Cole earlier: he needed the chip components liberated.
But now Luke had control of both the prisoner and the intel. Dominic had no clean path — only one dangerous gamble.
"Brian," Dominic said, voice low but determined as he watched William's aircraft gaining distance. "Looks like we need to roll the dice."
Brian understood instantly. "Copy."
Both men accelerated. Engines roared.
They slammed their vehicles into Hobbs's escort SUV.
CRASH!
Luke's skull struck the bulletproof glass hard. The world tilted — blurring at the edges — and a second violent blow toppled his vehicle completely.
Dom and Brian moved with near-perfect timing. They pried open the door, intent on grabbing Owen and the chip components.
But Hobbs wasn't fully out.
Dazed, bleeding, he still managed to raise his sidearm and fire. The round streaked past Brian's head — his vision too blurred to aim straight.
"Dominic—what the hell are you doing?" Luke forced the words past the haze, blinking rapidly, fighting for clarity.
"Sorry, Luke," Dominic said, levelling his weapon. "I've got no choice."
But before he could pull the trigger—
BANG!
A sniper round tore through Dominic's hand.
William Harcourt's helicopter swept back into view. His team surrounded Brian and Dominic in seconds, rifles raised.
William stepped forward, voice ice-cold. "Toretto. You really thought I trusted you? I've had eyes on you the whole time."
He gestured for cuffs. His tone sharpened. "Ever since you pulled that tiger-from-the-mountain stunt earlier, I've been watching. I only let Hobbs escort because I wanted to see if you'd betray us. Looks like you did."
Dominic clenched his jaw but said nothing.
William shook his head at Luke. "I told you, they're internationally wanted criminals. If I hadn't come back fast, you'd be dead."
Luke swallowed hard. He understood Dominic's motives — but understanding wasn't forgiveness.
"Dominic," Luke said firmly as he approached him, "you hijacked a hundred million dollars from Rio, assaulted federal officers, killed people, and now this? You're under arrest."
"Sorry, Luke," Dominic muttered. The fight left him. Without Letty, nothing mattered.
The convoy returned to the base with overwhelming force.
Inside the control centre, Cole Shaw — disguised flawlessly under the alias Agent Wayne, posture and tone altered enough that even MI6 operatives wouldn't blink — inspected the recovered chip components.
Everything was ready. They only needed Owen delivered.
Soon, William, Luke, and the escort team entered.
Agent Wayne turned with a casual smile. "Good work. But why only Owen Shaw? No sign of Cole Shaw?"
Luke exhaled. "No idea. But if he's going to make a move, it'll be during Owen's transfer back to London."
William agreed. They needed redundancy — a contingency if the mission had gone sideways.
Which meant Cole Shaw would absolutely strike during the next escort.
"In that case," Agent Wayne said evenly, hands behind his back, "I'll lead the next transport. I doubt you have a better option."
William hesitated — that meant splitting the credit for the operation. But MI6 cooperation was essential.
"…Fine," William conceded. "We appreciate the support."
Agent Wayne nodded, then feigned curiosity. "And these two?" he asked, gesturing toward Dominic and Brian.
"They're wanted criminals. We'll send them to prison next," William said. "Owen will be escorted by you — and the chip components go to MI6."
Wayne nodded — exactly as expected. Splitting the assets meant no single recovery could wreck the mission. If Owen was freed, MI6 would still retain the components. If MI6 lost the components, Owen remained a prisoner.
Classic intelligence compartmentalization.
"Well then," Agent Wayne concluded, tone firm, "we depart tonight. My team will escort Owen to London. You move the components. If Cole Shaw attempts an extraction, alert the base immediately. They'll launch tracking missiles."
"Understood," William said. "We'll count on your support."
And that — precisely — was where everything began to shift.