Bounty (Leland Chapman Fanfiction - Unedited)

41

"Holy shit," Maggie shouts, smiling and standing up. "Holy shit! I'm done! I'm all done!" She cheered. "I finished my Junior year!" She and Danny high fived as she smiled and laughed.

"I'm proud of you," Danny smiled, hugging her. "I was a little worried, with the amount of sleep you got," he chuckled. "Now, I can help you pack up, Duane Lee and Leland will be at the airport today to pick you up, you can fly out there and finally catch up on your sleep."

"That's the goal," she smiled and looked at Danny. "Are you sure you guys are okay with me leaving for the summer? Again?"

"Of course we are, we'll miss you, but we have plenty of help around the farm. And you've helped us so much throughout the years... you deserve to finally... be happy."

"You guys saved my life..." Maggie said softly. "I owe my life to you."

"Last summer, whenever you called us, or texted us, or sent us a picture of you or the kids or one of the dogs... you should've seen the looks on my parents' faces. Seeing you happy makes them happy. That's all they want for you..."

Maggie smiled, hugging Danny. "Thank you."

"Of course, but we're running late, we gotta get you packed up."

Danny helped her pack the rest of her stuff up from her apartment, where they loaded up his truck and they drove back to the farm. After that, Maggie got her stuff in her room, where she packed her carry on bag, the last one she hadn't packed yet. This is where she said goodbye to Terry, Jake and the twins, and she and Danny drove to the airport. Danny hugged her goodbye, he had an appointment he had to get to, so he couldn't walk her to where she was meeting Leland and Duane Lee. So she walked by herself. She only had a medium duffel bag and a backpack for carry on, as she didn't need much more. The airport was very busy, and she was getting nervous. But she kept her shit together and she continued walking through the airport. She made it through luggage check and to the lounge, where she sat down with her carry on and watched as a man sat down next to her, smiling at her.

"Hey, where you headed?" He asked. He was about her age, maybe a couple years older. He was about Duane Lee's size, with blond hair and sharp green eyes. He had a slight Italian accent, which worried Maggie a little bit. She was a pretty girl - long, wavy and shiny brunette hair and bright, crystal blue eyes. She knows that, but she hates it. Maggie ignored him, holding her phone in her hand, grabbing her bag and standing up. She was rather early to the flight because Leland and Duane Lee were going to take her to get some lunch first, so there was only one other person in the airport - an elderly lady who was on the verge of falling asleep.

Maggie went to walk away, but he grabbed her arm. It wasn't forcefully, but it made her nervous. She knew security was nearby, but that didn't stop her anxiety from peaking up a little bit. "Don't touch me," she said harshly.

"Sorry, I just thought we could talk a little," his Italian accent got stronger as he spoke, and Maggie noticed a gang tattoo on his upper arm, realizing what could be possible. She took a breath, looking back up at him.

"Hey buddy," Duane Lee said as he walked up to them. He looked at Maggie, pulling her into a hug. Maggie froze, confused as she watched Duane Lee talk to the man. "Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter, see you later," the man looked at Maggie and then began walking away.

"You okay?" Duane Lee asked her, grabbing her bag from her.

"Yeah - I, he had a gang tattoo. On his bicep..." she looked at Duane Lee, who slowly was realizing what she was getting at.

"Okay... okay, um," he looked towards the man, who had walked off and was talking to two other men. "Let's go to Leland... he's getting food, and if they follow us we'll call my Dad and have him go with Beth to the airport just to be safe."

"Okay," she said quietly as they began walking.

"Sorry we're late, we got held back on the bounty last night."

"Of course you did," she smiled a little. "It's okay."

"You okay? You look a little..."

"Tired? Yeah. I stayed up the past two nights doing homework and finishing assignments so I could leave today." She sighed.

"Well you're in luck, you have a few days to sleep."

"That's my plan," she smiled a little. "That's also why I'm kind of paranoid because I feel like I could pass out right now." She glanced over her shoulder, seeing one of the men who was talking to the blond, now behind them and following them. He had everything Italian - brown hair, brown eyes, tan skin, big nose and muscular.

"Don't look at him," Duane Lee said, grabbing her hand. They saw Leland walking towards them, holding a bag of food. He saw Duane Lee holding her hand and got a little defensive look in his eyes, before he saw Maggie's face. She was anxious and he knew it. When they caught up to him, they stopped and Maggie hugged Leland, and Duane Lee explained quietly what was going on.

"So if they get on our flight we can just text Dad," Leland said quietly.

"I know, but we don't even know if it is what we think," Duane Lee responded.

"Let's just get to the lounge, ignore them," Leland said. "If they get on our flight we'll text Dad and ask him what he thinks. I know nothing about the Mob, are you sure?" He asked Maggie.

"All I know is what I've learned from my Dad - I think his father, my grandfather who I've never met, is involved with them and I remember seeing a picture of my dad with a bunch of old guys and they all had that same tattoo, and they're all Italian and I've never met them, there's no record of them, and I remember him telling me when I was really little that they're his uncles. But when I told the judge that at one of my court dates there was absolutely no record of him having uncles." She sighed. "It's a big confusing thing. Ever since I found out what the Mafia is I've kind of tied the lack of family members to possibly that. There's no record of my Dad even being born in America, I don't even think there's a record of him being born... and he had a ton of pictures that tie everything together that I remember but I don't know how old I was."

"Wait, so your dad is part of the mob?" Duane Lee asked. "You never told us?"

"She told me about it all," Leland said quietly.

"I don't think he is... because he's an alcoholic I don't think he is. But I think my grandfather is, on his side. And the reason why there's no record of my mom could be because... well, they got rid of her records," Maggie looked at Duane Lee. "I didn't tell everybody because I didn't want you guys freaking out. But I told Leland in case something ever did happen, he'd know. And I also told him back when I didn't want to get you guys involved in my life, because... well, that's why."

"But I told her that doesn't matter," Leland looked at her.

"It doesn't," Duane Lee added. "But just in case, you should probably say something to my Dad."

"I told Beth a little bit of it, and Lyssa, but not a lot," she sighed.

"It doesn't matter, okay? Let's just get to the lounge and worry about these guys," Leland said as he grabbed her hand.