50 Shades of Drake 5 and 6

More Life: Chapter Thirty

    "You seem a little quieter today than usual." 

    "Just feeling a little under the weather."

    "Did you need us to make a run to the pharmacy? Grab you anything?"

    "I only take medication if it's absolutely necessary. I'm just trying to wait the sickness out."

    "Sick? Ugh." One of the FBI agents held back a few steps before continuing.

    Destiny (just barely) refrained from rolling her eyes. 

    They wanted to know if she was sure she even wanted to go to the library today. Maybe she should spend the day at home relaxing instead of being out in public when she was feeling under the weather.

    I'd like nothing more than to stay at home with Aubrey, she thought wistfully. Maybe I should take them up on that. I would take them up on that, if I was sure they didn't have cameras placed all around the house. While I have them out, maybe I can put out feelers for just how they kept surveillance over me when they're in their own houses. Instead of taking them up on the offer of staying home, she insisted she was already beginning to feel better. Her statement was along the lines of the fresh air helping to rejuvenate her, or some shit. "What I have doesn't feel like a cold or flu or anything. I'm starting to think it's just the stress getting to me."

    "Stress can definitely make us feel sick," the nicer of the two FBI agents stated. "I hear where you're coming from on that."

    The FBI agent who'd fallen a few steps behind them muttered some form of vague agreement.

    "It's like...I'm worried about so many things at once," she went on. "Just thinking about Palmer gunning for me-"

    "You don't have to worry about that," Nice FBI assured her. "We have your back."

    "I know," she said softly, wrapping her arms around herself as they walked. "Last night I was really stressing. To calm myself down I had to tell myself that you guys had my place bugged up the wazoo with mics and cameras."

    The FBI agents chuckled and shook their heads. Neither one of them added anything more than that. They lapsed into complete silence.

    Her steps slowed and she turned to look at both of them. "Was I right?"

    "We considered wiring up your place with cameras," Nice FBI admitted, "but instead of going that route, we went with motion detectors and mics surrounding the exterior of the house and mics scattered throughout the house."

    Her breath caught in her throat and she fought to keep the expression on her face neutral. "Mics are good," she struggled to get out. Have they already heard Aubrey and I talking in that house?

    "The only rooms in that house left untouched as far as bugging goes are the bedroom and bathroom," Nice FBI added. "We didn't want to violate any privacy as far as those rooms are concerned. But we're always watching from our own houses, doing random security checks around the property as discreetly as possible."

    Overwhelmed with relief, she made a show of clutching her chest. "Oh my God. That does help make me feel better."

    "If you'd like us to take additional steps, such as inspecting the house before you enter, we can do that," Mean FBI told her. "Even though we have our current protocol, that can always be updated - especially if it would help to ease any worries you might have."

    "I feel better knowing that their are mics and motion detectors," she said quickly. "If I need you guys to do anything else, I'll definitely let you know." Not wanting to give them time to add anything else to the conversation, she turned and continued walking. Once they reached the library, she warned them that she might cut library time short today, since she wasn't feeling her best. They seemed unbothered by that announcement.

    Every book she pulled from the shelves and cracked open was a part of a show that she was putting on for the two agents and everyone else in viewing range. There was no way her mind was going to allow her to focus on the tiny words on those book pages. All she could think about was Aubrey, hiding out back at the house. What if his curiosity got the best of him and he started wandering around? What if he tripped up one of the motion detectors or randomly started singing or rapping right next to one of the mics? She could barely think straight enough to keep her eyes focused on the pages in front of her. 

    The agents seemed content enough to pace around the library, occasionally speaking to each other before continuing on their sweeps. Not for the first tie, she wondered what the locals thought about them. One woman constantly flanked by two security types. It wasn't the most discreet detail. 

    Her eyes occasionally flicked over to the library wall clock. After about three hours had passed, she clapped the book closed and returned all of the books to their shelves.

    Without needing to be told, the agents followed her outside of the library. This time, they made sure to keep several paces behind her. 

~~~~~~

    Aubrey had underestimated the amount of boredom he could feel when disconnected from the rest of the world. In his every day life, he always had his phone in hand or nearby. Whenever thrust into a situation where he had to wait, he was emailing his company executives or searching his social media feed to see what happened to relevant on any given day. Without a phone or computer in sight, he was left to his own whims. 

    The DVD selection Destiny had requested wasn't bad, actually. He just wasn't in the right mind frame to watch movies. Whenever he started a movie, his mind would drift off. He'd start to worry about Destiny. Was she doing alright? Had the FBI agents already found out that he was staying here? Were they whisking her away from him at this very moment? All of those fears kept him from exploring the rest of the house. Those fears led to him forgetting to breathe occasionally. He had the urge to pace, but the rustic construction of this place resulted in footsteps being very audible in this place. Nothing felt completely safe. 

    So, what did he do? He napped. It was the easiest way for him to remain still and quiet without going absolutely crazy, the only way to stop worrying that the FBI was taking Destiny out of his life again. 

~~~~~~

    "Hold it."

    The car slowed to a halt. 

    "There. Right there. Do you see what I see?"

    "I see...a woman."

    "Look behind her."

    "Two guys."

    "They're not just two guys. They're following her, and they keep looking over their shoulders. Open your eyes. And her. Look at her closely. Doesn't she look familiar to you?"

    A moment of silence. And then a soft, "Fuck."

    "We've found our target, but our target has a shadow. We need to follow her to see where she's staying."

    "Understood."