Witness Protection ✔

Ready for takeoff

Nathalia POV

The airport they arrived at was unlike any she'd ever seen. It was small, that much was certain, but it also didn't quite look like an airport. More like a large cabin. It also wasn't nearly as busy as other airports but the number of people present still made her nervous.

Looking up at Cassius she could tell he was on edge as well by the way his eyes continuously scanned their surroundings. She briefly wondered how he was going to get all his guns past security but didn't get to finish that thought.

She had trouble keeping her tears in, they were over. They hadn't officially broken up but it was implied the minute they left the house they couldn't be together anymore. She envied the people who felt numb after a breakup, she'd pick the numbness over this pain any time.

She jumped at the sight of some guy suddenly stepping in front of her, startling her. She resisted the urge to cling to Cassius but noticed he hadn't reacted at all.

"Nico," he acknowledged with a small nod.

She realized this was probably the extra bodyguard they'd assigned her and took a moment to size him up. He wasn't nearly as tall or muscular as Cassius, but she knew looks could be deceiving. His light brown hair almost reached his eyes and he had a youthful sort of energy surrounding him. He couldn't have been much older than she was.

She wondered if Nico was his real name but knew she couldn't ask him about it, since she shouldn't even know Cassius's name in the first place.

"Darius," the guy nodded back, "you have no idea how long I've been waiting to work with you ever since I got promoted," he said excitedly. So code names it was.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Katherine. I'm Nico," he said as he struck out his hand. At least he was a whole lot more polite than Chris. She took his hand with a small smile and couldn't help but feel like Nico would be an easy person to be around.

"Nice you meet you, Nico," she replied politely. He opened his mouth to say something but Cassius interrupted him before he could, "You have the tickets?"

She didn't like that he was rude right off the bat but she also remembered what he'd been like when they just met. Maybe he just really didn't like strangers?

"Yes, sir. Right here," Nico replied as he took the tickets out of his pocket and handed them over to Cassius. No private jet this time then, she supposed.

When they boarded the plane she remembered the first time she was on one all those months ago. It was very small with only a few seats, nothing compared to this commercial airliner. She remembered how she couldn't pick a seat because she didn't want to sit too close to Cassius and held in a laugh. Those days seemed so far away now.

The plane was empty because the passengers hadn't boarded yet and she almost felt like a celebrity. Especially since they got to skip TSA and got escorted to the plane by airport security. This also meant Cassius and Nico got to keep their guns.

Much to her disappointment Cassius walked past first class, but it made sense they needed to blend in a little. When they arrived at their seats at the very back of the plane Cassius gestured for her to sit down first, and then sat next to her. This meant Nico got the aisle seat since the rows consisted of 3 seats each.

Relief flowed through her when she realized she didn't have to awkwardly sit in between the both of them. Plus, she got her own window.

It was difficult, not talking to Cassius. Especially since Nico seemed to take advantage of his inability to leave the conversation by talking his ear off. At the beginning of the flight, Cassius had replied with shorts 'mm's and nods but now, a few hours later, he was just full-on ignoring the other guy.