Exhale, Outer Banks [ 1 ]

028. CHARLESTON

"Would you shut up?!" Kie snaps.

"I-- I would try, but I-I--"

"Okay, snapping isn't gonna get you anywhere." JJ tells the curly haired girl. "Let's go back to the truck." JJ says. Kie rolls her eyes, quickly going back to the truck.

"What if he-he does get kidnapped? We don't know who these people are. Rich people are fucking nuts. We know that much. And they're like super, super duper rich." Cordelia resumes her panic.

"Okay, Cordi, hey." JJ puts his hands on her shoulders, lightly shaking her. "Pope'll be fine. Okay? If something happens, we'll get him, it'll be perfectly fine. Got it?" Cordelia hesitates, but nods. "Okay." JJ nods once. He pats her cheek before dragging her back to the truck.

~ ~ ~

The three are in the truck, JJ behind the driver's seat and Cordelia in the middle. The siblings are playing rock, paper, scissors, Cordelia's attempt at keeping her mind off of the multiple terrifying possibilities that could happen to Pope.

Kie is talking about the Limbreys and expressing her own concerns, earning a few hums or replies from JJ occasionally, but he mostly focuses on making sure Cordelia doesn't get too nervous that she starts stuttering.

"Look, if Limbrey is legit--" Kie starts, but she stops when she spots Ms. Limbrey leading Pope out of the house, followed by the guy who opened the door. "--then Ward gets arrested, and maybe Sarah gets the gold."

"How would she get the gold? Rose is his wife. Plus, with three kids, it'd probably get split somehow. Unless he has a favorite kid. Which currently, at least, probably isn't Sarah." Cordelia says, holding two fingers out for scissors. She grins as JJ holds his hand flat out and she pretends to cut it.

"Damn it." JJ grumbles.

"Does that look voluntary?" Kie asks, gaining the siblings' attention. They look over to see Pope being led out back, the man forcing him to keep walking.

"That would be a negative." JJ says.

"Oh, my God. They're kidnapping him." Cordelia whines.

"Come on." Kie urges, going to get out.

"Wait, hold on, hold on, hold on." JJ reaches over his sister to pull his friend back.

"What?" Kie asks.

"They're going into the alley." JJ realizes.

"Go around back?" Kie asks.

"Yeah. Yeah. We'll meet them on the other side." JJ says, turning the car on.

"Okay." Kie mutters, not looking away from where the three are walking.

"I told you people are crazy. They're definitely kidnapping him or leading him to his death." Cordelia says, her voice full of panic.

"That doesn't make any of us feel better." Kie says, sparing a moment to glare at the younger girl.

"I'm just saying that they're probably psychos." Cordelia says.

"We get it, Cordi. People are crazy, new fact please." JJ says.

"Hey, be chill. Be chill." Kie tells JJ as he starts to drive.

"Yeah, sure." He mutters.

"Serial killers motives are categorized into four different reasons. One is mission oriented. They kill on a mission to rid the world of prostitutes or curing societal evil. Then visionary and those are ones who think they're being told by either Satan or God to do the killing. Then you have hedonistic and those are killers who just get pleasure from killing. And finally for four, you have control hungry killers. That one's kind of in the title."