50 Shades of Drake 5 and 6

More Life: Chapter Fifty-One

   "Agents have been dispatched to the Richards' home in Scottsdale, Arizona, Sandi Graham's home in Canada, and to various family members Mr. Graham has in the Memphis area. Friends of Destiny Richards have been invited to stay at any of Aubrey Graham's residences, including the Los Angeles location. Friends of Mr. Graham have also been invited to stay at any of Aubrey Graham's residences, so far with three friends and their families accepting the offer. T-minus three weeks until Harry Palmer's trial starts. Wheels going up on the jet in five, with an estimated eight hour flight to Phoenix, Arizona. Refuel point will take place at Houston International Airport, prior to landing in Phoenix. Subjects Aubrey Graham, Destiny Richards, and Carlos Villegas are all on board. Agents Garner and Barnes are also on board. Four agents were dispatched to escort Agent Macally so he can receive medical treatment. Further update will be provided once wheels touch ground in Houston, Texas."

    "New agents are being brought in, since security has been breached. Protocols being taken to prevent another breach. Multiple agents have been tasked with monitoring the friends and family of Graham and Richards. Friends and family are scheduled to be protected before, during and shortly after the trial, with offers of witness protection if so requested. Home base has advised pickup on the tarmac at Phoenix International, but subject prefers to have press present at their arrival, so word begins to spread that Richards is alive. This preference was forwarded to home base, and they have deemed that there could be benefits resulting from these optics. It is possible that word of Richards's return could draw Palmer's henchmen out into the open. Home base has approved calling in the press to film Graham's and Richards's arrival to Phoenix International. Team standing by for updates regarding Macally's prognosis and condition, if any. Awaiting word of whether Macally is suffering internal bleeding as a result of continued kicking of his midsection."

    With their recorded updates made, the agents proceeded speaking to each other in low tones. The minute Darius had announced Aubrey, Destiny, and Carlos were returning home, everyone jumped to action. Clothes had to be packed. Personal belongings and surveillance equipment had to be packed, some loaded onto the jet and some sent to the local FBI field office. Darius placed back-to-back calls to his D.C. office, trying to make sure everyone necessary was on board, and to make sure updates provided to that office were thorough. He remained tied up in phone calls from the time of that announcement until now, as the flight crew was preparing for takeoff. The phone stayed attached to the man's ear. They were packing up and transporting an entire operation that required for more agents to be brought in and stationed at the homes of everyone Aubrey and Destiny cared about. Announcing their return didn't just mean their lives were in danger. Everyone they knew and loved was in danger. The truth of the matter was, those people were already in danger - keeping distance from the States was an easy way to pretend that they were keeping those they loved safe and out of harm's way. 

    Destiny tried to calm her nerves, but they were frazzled. She distracted herself from the federal agents' updates and leaned her head on Aubrey's shoulder instead. In less than twelve hours, she'd get to see her parents. Hug them. Hear them. It was a day she'd begun to doubt would ever come. Her gaze dropped to her stomach. She sadly ran a hand over it, trying to hold her emotions at bay. 

    Aubrey slid an arm across her shoulders, ever so observant. Somehow, he knew that she needed comfort and provided it without hesitation. 

    "I love you," she whispered.

    He smiled and nuzzled his face against hers. "I love you more," he whispered back.

    "I'm scared."

    "I would be too, if I were capable of feeling fear," he joked, puffing up his chest with a false bravado.

    She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

    "I am too," he said, sounding a lot more serious. "We're almost to the finish line, though. We are right there. We just have to...hang in there."

    "I'm not sure if I'll be able to leave my parents," she said, meeting his gaze head-on. "I've been away from them so long. I'm going to want to stay."

    "Staying might put them in more danger," Darius warned from his seat behind theirs.

    Letting out a heavy sigh, she closed her eyes. "Can't anything be simple?" she wondered aloud. "Can't we catch some kind of break, any break?"

    "You did, when I saved your asses," Carlos spoke up from his seat across the aisle from them. He'd been quiet up to that point.

    Destiny smiled at him. "You're right. Thank you again."

    "I got to see Aubrey beat another man black and blue while he was butt-ass naked," Carlos said with a yawn. "That's all the thanks I needed, honestly."

    "I'm never going to hear the end of that," Aubrey grumbled.

    "Because you're not just packing," Carlos responded. "You're the entire UPS hub. Shit."

    "You've seen it before," Aubrey pointed out.

    "On soft," Carlos added. "Haven't seen it in its full glory until today. God bless Sandi and God bless Dennis for creating you."

    "Please shut up," Aubrey pleaded, leaning his head back against the headrest.

    "Whatever you say, Daddy," Carlos said, making a zipping gesture across his lips.

    Destiny laughed and kissed Aubrey's cheek. "You know by now that Carlos is going to be Carlos, right?"

    "Carlos can be Carlos without talking about my dick," Aubrey muttered.

    "Can I, though?" Carlos mused, and he didn't look like he was joking.

    Destiny showered more kisses across Aubrey's face. "Hey. We're together. All that matters."

    "Right," he allowed, turning his head so he could kiss her back. Then, he tightened his arm around her.

    "All I'm saying is, if you couldn't rap or act worth a damn, you could've had a career in porn," Carlos commented.

    "For the love of God, shut him up," one of the FBI agents demanded.

    The entire jet erupted in laughter and eventually, even Aubrey had to join in.