Dom's Request, 600,000 US Dollar Payoff
After sending Mia and Letty away to the kitchen under the guise of preparing food, the heavy atmosphere in the living room shifted immediately. Dom still didn't want to talk indoors, his massive, imposing frame radiating a tense, deeply calculated caution.
"Walk with me."
He stood up smoothly, his deep voice leaving absolutely no room for debate, and motioned firmly to Arthur.
Then, without waiting for a reply, he headed straight for the front door and stepped outside into the sweltering heat of the Los Angeles afternoon.
Arthur was momentarily surprised by the abrupt request, but realization quickly dawned in his highly intelligent mind.
His handsome face darkened slightly as he carefully recalled exactly what Mia had frantically mentioned to him the day before.
Right after their violent arrest on the asphalt, a pair of heavily armed federal officers and local detectives had aggressively searched the family house.
Nothing highly incriminating had been found during that initial raid, but the lingering memory of that federal intrusion now made Arthur incredibly uneasy.
He realized with sudden clarity that Dom deeply feared the FBI had completely tossed the place.
Which logically meant that microscopic audio bugs and hidden surveillance cameras might have been meticulously planted in the corners and light fixtures.
Remembering last night's wild, incredibly loud and uninhibited time with Mia, the sudden, intrusive thought that some federal agent sitting in a dark surveillance van could have seen or heard their intimate moments made his scalp tingle with profound discomfort.
However, the paranoid worry didn't last for more than a few seconds.
Even if the FBI had aggressively wired the sprawling house, they absolutely wouldn't legally or tactically bother with Mia's private bedroom, the bathroom, or the kitchen.
The main study and the primary living room were the most likely, high-value tactical spots for audio surveillance.
Furthermore, with his supernaturally enhanced physique now sitting at more than double an ordinary, healthy adult man's, Arthur was terrifyingly hypersensitive to the subtle feeling of being watched.
His enhanced hearing was so incredibly sharp that he could even pick up the faint, high-pitched electronic hums of active transmitters close by.
Sensing absolutely none of those microscopic frequencies anywhere near the bedrooms, he was completely sure most of the private areas in the house were entirely clean.
They walked together in heavy, calculated silence, their boots treading over the cracked concrete sidewalks until they were well away from the immediate property line.
Then, making sure no one was lingering near the parked cars, Dom finally spoke: "My place was heavily searched a couple of days ago."
"Chances are incredibly high that it is now permanently wired and bugged by the feds."
"Talking in there simply isn't safe anymore."
Arthur nodded in absolute understanding, his dark eyes scanning the quiet neighborhood street. "Just say exactly what you need, Dom."
"Given Mia and me, if I can tactically help you out of this mess, I absolutely will."
He intelligently guessed Dom was either about to aggressively split town for the border or desperately needed to clean up any remaining, highly incriminating evidence before the feds returned.
Under heavy, active FBI surveillance, using an unknown, highly capable outsider like Arthur was the absolute smartest tactical move.
Dom's trademark, stoic poker face suddenly broke into a rare, genuine grin.
"Mia absolutely picked the right guy," Dom stated, his deep voice carrying a tone of heavy respect.
He stopped walking and turned his massive frame to fully face the younger Arthur.
"You've already figured out exactly what's going on, haven't you?"
It came out phrased as a question, but his unwavering tone was absolutely, terrifyingly certain.
Arthur was naturally, completely prepared for this specific, heavy confrontation.
Just like his calm, analytical answer when directly facing Mia's tearful questions yesterday, Arthur gave the exact same, flawless answer.
"The infamous California Highway Bandits should undeniably be you, Dom, and your loyal brothers."
Seeing that Dom didn't offer a single word of denial, he smiled a faint, confident smile and continued laying out his tactical deduction.
"When I was still actively working at the local repair shop, I saw plenty of street rumors and read the detailed news reports about the California Highway Bandits."
"It was also at that exact same repair shop that I personally, closely came into contact with several of the highly modified performance cars belonging directly to you and your core subordinates, Dom."
"Although it could have initially been written off as just a wild guess and a mere coincidence."
"But I did carefully notice back then that your specific cars were basically the exact same, high-performance models repeatedly used by the California Highway Bandits during their violent, high-speed robberies."
"Only the exterior paint jobs were a bit different to aggressively throw off the authorities."
"So, when an active FBI undercover agent deliberately contacted me to ask highly specific, dangerous questions about your operations, Dom..."
"I immediately, flawlessly confirmed that my logical guess was absolutely correct."
"Over the past few chaotic years, a highly organized group has aggressively robbed massive transport trucks over a dozen times on the desolate California highways."
"That elite group of California Highway Bandits who violently plundered over a hundred million in pricey consumer electronics should undeniably be you and your loyal crew, Dom."
A look of genuine, profound surprise finally appeared on Dom's usually stoic, hardened face.
He wasn't nearly as reckless or entirely muscle-brained as he often looked; otherwise, he absolutely couldn't have successfully been a core member of the California Highway Bandits for so long.
Leading his tight-knit crew of brothers to completely dominate the California highways for years, flawlessly robbing over a dozen heavily guarded shipments of high-priced electronic products worth over a staggering hundred million US dollars took immense tactical brilliance.
But it wasn't until several highly lucrative years later that the federal FBI finally managed to directly target him.
This undeniably shows that Dom actually did a pretty incredible, highly disciplined job with operational confidentiality and crew loyalty.
And Arthur, a completely unassuming young man who had been entirely ignored by absolutely everyone on the streets before, including Dom himself.
He could actually flawlessly analyze so many massive, highly classified things based on just a tiny bit of seemingly insignificant, environmental information.
Combined directly with Arthur proactively sending a highly accurate, urgent warning to Dom through Mia earlier.
And this time, after desperately receiving Mia's tearful request, he took the absolute, unhesitating initiative to aggressively hire the best lawyer and help bail him out of a federal trap.
With all these massive, highly impressive things combined, Dom increasingly felt that this young man was an absolute, once-in-a-generation talent.
At the very least, his cold, calculating intellect was far superior to his loyal subordinates, who unfortunately possessed vastly more brawn than brains.
Perhaps, it wouldn't be a bad thing at all if he permanently became my brother-in-law, Dom thought silently to himself.
After this profound, welcoming thought popped up in his mind, Dom's intense gaze toward Arthur became increasingly gentle and accepting.
He saw Arthur calmly looking back at him after flawlessly finishing his analytical piece.
On that hardened poker face accustomed to being completely stoic, he managed to squeeze out a rare, deeply appreciative smile...
"So, that's exactly why you actively warned us through Mia afterwards, right?"
"Yeah!"
Arthur nodded firmly but didn't say much more to clutter the silence.
He could clearly see that Dom desperately seemed to need his capable help with something massive.
So he was patiently, quietly waiting for Dom to finally show his hand!
And Dom absolutely didn't make him wait too long.
The two of them walked about a full city block away from Dom's residence, the heat radiating off the cracked pavement.
Seeing absolutely no pedestrians or suspicious parked vehicles around, Dom, who was walking slightly in front, suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.
Then he turned around and looked directly at Arthur beside him.
He seemed to be deeply thinking and heavily weighing his dangerous words, but finally asked: "Arthur, can I completely trust you?"
After locking intense, unwavering eyes with the big man for a long, quiet while, Arthur's handsome expression also became deadly serious.
"Of course!"
He nodded without a single moment of hesitation. "With Mia in the picture there, I will do my absolute best to help you."
When directly mentioning Mia, Arthur's deep pronunciation became slightly heavier, carrying a profound, undeniable promise of protection.
Dom was certainly no fool and naturally caught the heavy, protective meaning hidden perfectly in his words.
However, he had already fully accepted this highly capable young man as his prospective brother-in-law in his heart.
Therefore, he just smiled warmly and reached out with his massive hand to pat Arthur's muscular arm gently.
Soon after, Dom's chiseled face became incredibly serious and strictly business again.
"Then, can I desperately ask you to help me with something highly critical?"
"Letty and the others, and myself, are probably absolutely all being actively watched by federal FBI surveillance teams right now."
"I have a massive batch of stolen goods, the highly expensive electronics from the absolute last robbery that I simply haven't had the safe time to fence yet."
"I want to ask you to actively help transport them completely out of town."
"I've already securely contacted the wealthy customer over there; the goods are currently sitting completely loaded in a heavy shipping container down at the industrial docks."
"Find a clean way to get a heavy transport truck and physically pull the massive container completely out of town."
"After flawlessly delivering the goods to the designated, secure location, call the encrypted number I give you, and the other party will immediately pick them up."
"You absolutely aren't being watched by the FBI yet, so you're definitely vastly safer to move on the asphalt than us right now."
"How about it, Arthur? Help me out this one last time."
"Of course, I absolutely won't let you take a massive federal risk for nothing."
"The total street value of this specific batch should be around a staggering four million US dollars. Once the goods successfully arrive..."
"You can immediately get a fifteen percent cut, which is a clean six hundred thousand US dollars in pure cash."
Arthur's originally hesitant, calculating heart immediately agreed without a single moment of hesitation the absolute moment he heard the massive financial reward.
He currently had nearly a metric ton of pure gold locked away in his private space that he absolutely couldn't touch yet. He desperately, urgently needed liquid cash.
"Alright," Arthur stated with absolute, unwavering confidence. "I agree."