Chapter 287: The Betrayal of Toretto
Berlin, Germany.
Hobbs never imagined that the terrorist organization would actually transport the electromagnetic weapons to a military installation for safekeeping, and he had no intelligence about this before arriving in Germany.
Now, Hobbs finally understood why Mr. Nobody had said that if anything went wrong with this mission, it would be classified as a rogue operation and receive no official endorsement or rescue from Washington.
"Damn it! I got screwed by that bastard Ron again!" Hobbs slammed the steering wheel furiously. No wonder Ron had voluntarily passed on such a high-profile assignment. Turns out he knew something all along!
Speaking of which, Ron was genuinely innocent here, because he'd never considered taking overseas contracts for hazard pay. If he wanted money, there were plenty of wealthy tax evaders in Los Angeles. He could just flash his IRS credentials and walk around Beverly Hills—why would he need to earn blood money like this?
Clearly, the two men operated on different levels now. Hobbs was still just a federal employee, while Ron, after the Vice President Robert incident, was being treated with respect by major power players—even as an equal.
Nobody wanted to become the next target of someone as ruthless as Ron. He'd destroyed a former Vice President so efficiently. His influence was truly intimidating.
"Why are we still doing this, big guy?" Roman's sarcastic voice crackled over the comm. Despite Hobbs's anger, he still understood priorities.
From the moment he'd landed in Germany, there was no backing out: "Of course we're doing this. Let's move!"
"BOOM!" The pre-positioned explosives blew open the rear gate of the military facility, and Toretto's convoy rolled in. They quickly seized the electromagnetic weapons from the guards, then used their vehicles like battering rams against the first two armored trucks, smashing through the base's weakest wall and breaking out.
"Roman, block the road!" Hobbs, seeing his plan working, quickly ordered Roman, who was covering their rear.
"BOOM!" Another explosion, and the charges at the wall's support structure detonated, causing the entire section to collapse and form a natural barrier that trapped the base personnel inside, unable to pursue the convoy.
"Nice work, guys, now just watch for their patrol... Shit!" Hobbs couldn't help cursing as he spotted the patrol unit ahead.
Fortunately, the patrol was part of his contingency planning, so he wasn't completely caught off guard. He quickly turned at the intersection, leading the convoy onto the alternate route he'd mapped out.
"They're still on our tail!"
"No kidding, we just blew up their base and stole their EMP weapon. This is like getting a prostate exam and being surprised the doctor uses his finger," Hobbs observed the pursuers in his mirrors and decisively ordered: "Let's initiate phase two."
"There's a phase two? Why spring this on us now?" Roman swerved left and right to avoid incoming fire while complaining like a machine gun: "What was phase one then, what have we been doing?"
Toretto didn't have time for Roman's griping. Hobbs called the shots on military operations, but in the convoy, Toretto was in charge: "Tej, you can deploy it now."
"Alright, here comes the wrecking ball!" Tej hit the button next to his gear shift. The cable holding the massive demolition ball above his vehicle suddenly released, and it swung down rapidly ahead of the convoy.
"Split formation! Now!"
Toretto roared, and the convoy immediately divided into two columns, spreading out on either side of the road, clearing the center. A massive steel ball swept across the road between the convoy vehicles, slamming into the pursuing police cars behind them, instantly disabling nearly half the vehicles.
"Holy crap! That's a wrecking ball!" Roman glanced back, still shaken. "Wait, there's still one that got through. What now?"
"Who said we only brought one wrecking ball?" Tej grinned and pressed another button, releasing the ball from the other end. Following its momentum, it swept the road again from back to front.
With that, the pursuit was completely eliminated.
Hobbs finally exhaled in relief. "Outstanding work, everyone! Disperse now and meet at the safe house."
At the next intersection, the convoy split up as planned, with Toretto and Hobbs staying together.
Soon, Toretto's car was running almost parallel to Hobbs's vehicle.
"Great job, brother! I'll buy you a beer when we get back to base." Hobbs, relieved after completing the mission, rolled down his window and started chatting with Toretto.
To his shock, Toretto not only didn't respond, but suddenly swerved toward him.
CRASH!
Toretto's front end clipped the rear wheel of Hobbs's SUV, sending it careening off course toward a rocky embankment ahead. The vehicle spun 180 degrees in mid-air, flipped, and rolled down the side of the road.
"Have you lost your mind, Toretto?" Hobbs said, pinned in his driver's seat, unable to move.
Toretto parked beside him, but instead of offering help, he went straight to the back seat and retrieved the electromagnetic weapon they'd just risked their lives to steal from the military base.
"I'm warning you, if you take that device, you'll be at war with me and the entire free world."
Toretto acted as if he hadn't heard, tossing it into his back seat.
Hobbs struggled several more times, still unable to free himself. He could only issue one final warning to Toretto: "I don't know what game you're playing, but you better think this through, Dom. It's not too late to walk away!"
But Toretto ignored him, turned back to give him one long look, then got in his car and drove off.
"Well, it's too late now," Hobbs could only use his remaining strength to grab his radio and warn his team: "That son of a bitch betrayed us, Toretto took the EMP device..."
"What are you talking about?!" Letty's disbelieving voice crackled over the radio: "Where are you?!"
"It's too late for me, you guys run, I've seen that look in his eyes before, Dominic Toretto just sold you out, if you make it back safely, find Ron, he'll figure something out!"
After delivering his final message, Hobbs was surrounded by local police. An officer pressed a pistol to his head: "Drop the radio! Hands up! Or I will shoot! Get out of that vehicle!"
Hobbs smashed the radio on the ground: "Okay, I'll comply, but first you're gonna have to cut me out of this wreck."
(End of chapter)
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