Fireworks 3 and 4

Fireworks Forever: Chapter Seventeen

    "Thank you for coming in for this meeting on such short notice," Drake greeted, standing at the center of one of his lounge rooms. Puffy brown leather couches were scattered about the room, along with expensive recliners and massage chairs. Hookah pipe units stood in each corner of the room. 

    Nearly every member of his crew filled the room, along with Mia and SZA. Although each person in the room was trusted, phones had been confiscated and were in an entirely different part of the house. Once he realized that his - and probably Mia's and SZA's - phones lines were being monitored, he no longer spoke freely when phones were present.

    Drake looked everyone in the eye. "Some of you already know what this meeting about, and some of you are still in the dark because we had to cease free communication over the phone. The record label executives have formed an alliance in a desperate bid to snatch attention from independent artists back to artists who are represented by labels. They are fighting to prevent themselves from becoming obsolete. Their fear of this is not new, as everyone in this room knows. The label execs have asked us for favors before. The difference this time is, they aren't asking. They are demanding that we comply by living out storylines their marketing teams have written up for us." He paused to allow the words to sink in.

    Baka and OB exchanged irritated glances.

    "Another difference this time," Drake added, "is they've threatened the largest names in the industry. In a separate meeting, they threatened Mia in a one-on-one session stating that they were willing to force an even more tragic storyline on all artists if they aren't willing to obey. We see what they're doing to Meek. Meek was one of the first ones to refuse to play along. He deliberately acted against their wishes, and they are spreading propaganda to take him down. They're also listening in on phone calls, which is why phones were confiscated prior to everyone entering the room." He started to pace the wide opening at the center of the room. "I'm very aware of the men we're dealing with, so my first instinct was to comply."

    Half of the room erupted immediately, a few crew members jumping up from their respective couches. 

    Drake allowed them to protest for a minute - on a certain level, he'd needed to hear their fiery, adamant responses. After permitting them to yell for a few minutes, he gestured for them to calm down with both hands. "I know. Mia wanted to take a different approach. She wanted to challenge them or find some kind of way to outsmart them. Central Cee called in from the UK and they're doing the same shit across the pond. He is also leaning against obeying the labels' commands. Most artists probably don't want to go along with it, because the storylines are a lot more extreme than what they've requested in the past. We're talking...cheating on spouses, getting real divorces - since divorce filings are public - all without letting our loved ones know what we're doing or why we're doing it."

    Those words resulted in more of his friends leaping out of their seats and waving their arms in the air. "Fuck nah!" several of them exclaimed.

    Chubbs stood near one of the doors to the room, his arms crossed over his chest. He glanced around the room. The approval of his friends' reactions was written on his face. His gaze shifted to Drake, who was currently playing the role of General of their squad.

    "Lives, careers, and livelihoods have been threatened," Drake went on. "That's another reason why I wanted to play it safe. Engaging in confrontation with these people, with...this secret society of incredibly wealthy, powerful people, that could be it for this. I see and feel your frustration, but we cannot operate from a position of emotion with this. We have to operate from a logical perspective, a strategic point of view. If we engage with these people and we lose? That's it. Our run is over. I'd be lucky if they only chose to ruin my career, because these guys are capable of much worse. Before we take this to the floor and allow people to speak up, I want you to take some time to just think about that. Think about what it would mean for us to lose everything - or, even worse - lose some of the people in this room permanently." With a sigh, he moved to sit beside Mia.