Roman was completely dazed.
"Are... are you sure you're not joking?" After a long pause, he finally reacted. "He can really beat Toretto? Maybe Toretto let him win, just like he let you?"
O'Conner's expression darkened. "..."
I know Toretto probably let me win before, but do you really have to bring it up every single time?
"He's right," Toretto said from the side, sounding almost smug. "Morin's skills are better than mine. Roman, good luck. I believe in you."
"Oh, no!" Roman covered his face in despair after hearing it straight from Toretto. "Can someone go back ten minutes and slap me?"
On Morin's side, after hanging up the phone, he smiled and opened his laptop.
What he was about to do was both simple and difficult.
Hacking wasn't a万能 solution, and Morin was completely self-taught.
Even with his learning speed and ability, fully controlling a city's traffic lights wasn't something he could do remotely. He needed internal support-a USB drive plugged directly into the traffic control center's internal computer, connected to the server, loaded with a special Trojan program he had prepared for this exact purpose.
Fortunately, that part was simple.
"Did you bribe them?" Morin waved a subordinate over.
"Yes. And we made a small threat," the subordinate replied. "Just to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."
"Very good." Morin nodded. He unplugged the USB drive from his laptop and handed it over. "Have him plug this in. Give him the money he's owed. He doesn't need to do anything else."
"Yes."
...
"Are you ready?" Morin asked through the earpiece.
"Ready."
"No problem."
"Yep."
After everyone confirmed, Morin nodded.
"I'll handle real-time route adjustments and traffic light control. If anything unexpected happens, improvise."
Another round of confirmations followed.
"Go."
Because Morin was directly involved, Toretto's crew never exposed themselves through supply purchases.
Morin's people had already moved everything to a more secluded location.
So there was no Hobbs-versus-Toretto one-on-one showdown in an abandoned factory to discuss philosophy.
Hobbs was still resting at his base, waiting for satellite data to lock onto Toretto's whereabouts.
Compared to the original outcome-where all his teammates died fighting alongside him-Morin felt this version was much better.
As for the armored car meant to draw fire?
On the road, it immediately drew attention.
There was no helping it. Not only did it look like an armored vehicle, it had a massive weapon mounted on its roof.
Firearms were common in Rio.
Heavy weapons like Gatling guns were not.
A weapon that could fire thousands of rounds per minute-basically a one-man army-was overkill in an urban environment.
The armored car only drove a few blocks before suddenly turning right.
It smashed through a railing and charged straight into the police station compound before anyone could react.
Yes.
Morin had his people rent a large warehouse just a few blocks from the station and use a truck to move everyone there.
For days, Toretto's crew had been preparing inside that warehouse.
True hiding in plain sight.
Rio's police, Reyes's men, and even Hobbs's team had focused their search on favelas and abandoned factories.
That was human nature.
Without a god's-eye view, who would ever imagine a group of fugitives preparing to rob a police station vault containing one hundred million dollars... from a warehouse a few blocks away?
It was like the case where a wanted fugitive worked as an actor in Hengdian for thirteen years, appeared on TV multiple times, became famous, even got nominated for Best Supporting Actor-only to be caught because a detective happened to recognize him.
Hiding in plain sight wasn't about stupidity.
It was about no one daring to think that way.
Cognitive inertia was terrifying.
Inside the station, the police presence was sufficient.
Just not sufficient enough.
The armored car charged forward under a hail of bullets, full throttle, straight toward a wall.
Bang.
The wall collapsed.
The vehicle Morin had modified handled it effortlessly.
After breaking through, they reached the target.
The records room.
The safest area in the entire station.
If Toretto's crew had entered from the front, they would have had to pass countless checkpoints and face fully armed police at every turn.
But the garage?
Their subconscious had ignored it.
Who would rob a garage?
Steal police cars?
Rigid thinking led to blind spots.
They never considered the wall could be broken.
Or rather, they never imagined anyone would be reckless enough to smash through it and grab the prize directly.
Then-
"Click!"
"Click!"
Toretto and O'Conner attached the steel cables to the safe, securing the other ends to their cars.
"Pop pop pop!!!"
A rapid, dense sound rang out.
Like a continuous series of farts.
You could look it up online.
The armored car was driven by one of Morin's subordinates. After crashing through the wall, it reversed, giving Toretto and O'Conner room to secure the cables.
Then the armored car moved again.
The Gatling gun activated.
Police rushing in were immediately suppressed.
That super-dense, fart-like sound was the Gatling gun itself:
"Praise be to the Gatling Bodhisattva. Six pure barrels. 3600 rotations in one breath. Great mercy and compassion to deliver the world."
Shell casings poured out like rain.
The ammo belt fed endlessly into the barrels, as if a massive, real-life money-eating beast was hidden inside the vehicle.
Morin's subordinate didn't hesitate.
Didn't shake.
Didn't get excited.
He was too familiar with this thing from his previous life.
He'd used it so much he was sick of it.
But now, after several years?
Hearing that sound again...
It didn't feel bad at all.
~~~~~
Support me with Powerstones, Reviews and comments Please
Add to your library