THUNDER RUMBLED overhead as rain poured. It wasn't long before the four Pogues were completely drenched, waiting for Ward Cameron to appear. They peered over a fence, watching as a truck pulled up on the opposite side of the road. Pope pulled out an old looking camera, holding it up to his face.
"Nice camera." JJ commented. "Where'd you dig up that relic? Why don't you just use your phone?"
"Well, first of all, I like my antique electronics." Pope answered, turning to face the blonde boy. "Second of all, this is a telephoto. It allows me to get a close image from far away." He turned, looking back towards the car through the camera lens.
"Lord of the dorks." Kiara laughed, high-fiving Scarlett.
Scarlett chuckled. "But that's exactly why we love you, Pope." She patted him on the shoulder.
"For definitive proof of witness payoff, we're gonna need quality glass." Pope explained, referring to his camera. "There he is." He whispered, pointing ahead of them. Not far away, they could see Ward running through the rain, a bag of something wrapped in his arms.
"Yo, get down." JJ hissed, pulling Scarlett closer to him as he ducked.
Above them, thunder crashed. Scarlett moved closer to JJ's side. "And there's Gavin." Pope informed them. Through the rain they could make out the figure of Gavin, following quickly after Ward, the two men disappearing into a construction site. "Where are you going, you son of a bitch?" Pope whispered. "No, no, no, no. I'm losing him. Shit. Where's he going?"
JJ looked up, stepping back from the others for a moment. "Hold on." He moved to the end of the alley they were hiding in, whistling at his friends. "Yo! Hey. I found something. Come here." Scarlett walked over to him, the other two following behind her. They followed JJ round a corner, approaching another building. "Gotta go up top." The blonde gestured to the ladder.
Scarlett shook her head. "No. No way. I'm not climbing up there in this weather."
JJ moved to stand in front of her, resting his hands on her shoulders. "It'll be fine. Besides, this is the only way to find out what Ward's up to."
Scarlett shook her head again. "You guys can go up, that's fine with me. But I'm gonna stay down here."
"I'll give you one of my shirts." JJ said, smiling softly at her. "And I'll even cook you something later. If you want me to."
A smile worked it's way onto Scarlett's face. "I'll take your grey sweater, thank you." She leaned up on her toes, placing a kiss on his cheek. "And you don't have to cook me anything, Blondie." Scarlett stepped past him, beginning to climb up the ladder. "But some macaroni cheese would be nice." She joked, glancing down at JJ as he stepped onto the rungs below her.
"Stop flirting and hurry, you guys. We don't wanna miss anything." Kiara called up to them.
Once the four of them had made it to the roof, they rushed to the edge- making sure to stay low and as hidden as possible. Pope lifted the camera back to his face, zooming in as much as he could.
"You rolling, Pope?" JJ asked.
"Are you getting it?" Kiara added.
"Yeah." Pope answered. "Yeah, I see them."
Scarlett rested her elbows on the brick edge of the roof, trying to get a better view. "What's happening over there?" She could barely make out the two men as they entered the roof, the rain blurring her vision.
"Ward just handed Gavin something. I think it's a duffel bag." Pope relayed to the Pogues.
JJ looked across at them, before looking back at the two men. "Guys, I think this is a payoff."
"Things might get nasty." Scarlett added. "Nothing ends well when Ward's involved." She shivered slightly, remembering what Lana Grubbs had told her about the day her mother died. It was right after Ward had gotten involved with the Royal Merchant. She clutched at her chest, grabbing hold of the necklace. She had a bad feeling about the meeting taking place across from them. "Something bad is gonna happen tonight. I just have a gut feeling about it."
"Gavin doesn't look happy about something." Pope told them. "It looks like he's yelling at Ward."
"Hoping he sucker punches him while he's at it." Scarlett mumbled. "Really want to punch that man square in the face."
"Why?" Kiara asked.
"Because Ward's a massive dick, Kie." Scarlett said in 'duh' tone.
Kiara shook her head slightly. "No, we know why you want to punch him. I mean, why would Gavin be yelling at Ward?"
"I don't know, but he sure looks mad." Pope shrugged.
Scarlett squinted her eyes, watching as Gavin and Ward began fighting each other. She grabbed onto JJ's arm as the fighting became more intense. Resisting the urge to yell out encouragement to Gavin, she instead whispered. "Well, that escalated quite quickly."
"What's going on?" Kiara questioned.
"I dunno. They're fighting over something." Pope answered, being the only one with a clear view.
"They're really going at it." JJ commented. He wrapped an arm around Scarlett, pulling her closer to him in hopes of keeping her as warm as he could.
"Ward's kicking the shit out of Gavin." Pope told them.
"What are they fighting over?" JJ asked.
Pope shrugged. "I don't know. I'm trying to see."
"It's Ward, they could be fighting over literally anything." Scarlett pointed out.
Pope's eyes widened and Scarlett felt her body freeze at his next words. "Holy shit. Ward's got a gun."
"I bet that's the murder weapon." Kiara said.
"The one Rafe used." Scarlett mumbled, unable to move from fear. Seeing the gun sent images of the tarmac through her mind, a wave of phantom pain shooting through her side. Most nights she would have nightmares, reliving the moment Rafe shot her over and over again.
Gasps shot through the group as gunshots went off. Up ahead, barely visible through the rain, was Ward shooting Gavin. Scarlett flinched at the noise, burying herself closer to JJ. JJ wrapped his arm tighter around her, holding her to his side. Each of the teens sunk closer to the floor of the roof, their backs pressed up against the brick. "No, no, no, no, no." Scarlett mumbled, lifting a shaky hand to her mouth. JJ pulled her into his chest, stroking her hair.
"Oh my God." Pope whispered in shock. "Oh my God."
"What the hell?" JJ questioned, trying to process what he had just witnessed.
"No, no, no, no. That did not just happen." Kiara cried. "What is going on."
JJ looked up as Pope leaned over the brick. He raised his camera, filming whatever it was Ward Cameron was going to do next. "Tell me you just got that." JJ whispered to him.
"Enough to put this asshole away for life."
There was another gunshot before a loud splash was heard. The gun had fallen into the water-filled street below.
"This is freaking crazy." Pope commented. The other three sat back up, resting their hands on the brick. Tears, mixed with the rain, ran down Scarlett's face. In just under a month, she had witnessed two murders as well as narrowly avoiding her own. She wasn't sure if she could take anymore of it. They watched Ward stand up, moving to the edge of the construction site as he looked down into the street. "Oh no. Get down. Get down." Pope instructed, the four teens quickly ducking behind the ledge.
"I think we should go right now." JJ whispered, taking ahold of Scarlett's hand.
"I very much agree." Scarlett added, her voice wavering.
"Pope, you have enough, right?" JJ asked the boy.
Pope nodded. "Yeah." There was a moment of silence before the boy spoke again. "Hold on. He's coming out." They leaned forward, watching as Ward crouched in the water. "There he goes. I think he's looking for the gun."
"Anything else going on?" Scarlett asked. "What's happening now?"
"I think the gun just went down the drain." Pope replied. "He's looking for it." He paused, zooming in with the camera. "Hey. He's looking for the gun."
Slowly, Kiara leaned forward. "What are you doing, Kie?" JJ asked, concerned as the brunette climbed up onto the ledge.
"Kie-" Scarlett started, grabbing onto the girl's shirt.
"What is wrong with you?" Kiara yelled out, ignoring her friends. "Murderer!"
"Get down." JJ hissed, reaching up and covering her face with his hand. He pulled her off the ledge with the help of Pope. Scarlett stood up from the floor, frowning as she wiped mud off herself.
"Are you crazy?" Pope questioned.
"What the fuck was that?" Scarlett asked, ducking behind the ledge. "We're gonna get caught."
Kiara shook her head. "I don't care if he hears me. He's a murderer."
"We know he is. But if we get caught, how are we supposed to clear John B's name?" Scarlett asked her. "C'mon. Let's go." She moved over to the ladder, beginning to climb down.
"Red's right. He's gonna murder us, Kie." JJ agreed.
"Guys. He sees us." Pope lowered the camera. "We gotta go." Quickly, the others began to climb down. Kiara's foot slipped, stepping on JJ's hand. This caused JJ the slip, knocking both himself and Pope from the ladder. As Pope fell, he crashed into Scarlett, the two of them flying into the ground. Unfortunately, Pope let go of the camera and it smashed into the floor- falling apart.
"Sorry. So sorry." Kiara called to them, hopping off the ladder.
Scarlett groaned as Pope rolled off her. "Sorry Lottie." Pope apologised, his eyes landing on the broken camera. "You hurt?"
The blonde girl shook her head, pulling herself into a sitting position. "Nothing I can't handle."
Pope crawled over to the camera, picking it up. "No, no, no, no, no." He muttered.
"You're kidding me. You fumbled it?" JJ moaned, reaching out a hand for Scarlett. The girl took it, pulling herself out of the mud.
Pope whirled on him. "You kicked me in the face."
"She stepped on my hand." JJ yelled, gesturing to Kiara.
"I was trying to hurry." Kiara defended herself.
Scarlett waved her hands at her friends, stepping in the middle of their argument. "Guys. We can discuss this later. But we've gotta go. Ward's gonna murder us. Or have you forgotten?" She took hold of JJ's hand, pulling the boy towards the fence. Scarlett climbed over it first, jumping down the other side as her friends followed. Without waiting to see if Ward was behind them, they began racing through the rain back to Kiara's car. Quickly, they climbed out of the rain, shutting the doors behind them.
"Could someone fill me in on what the frick just happened?" JJ spoke, his voice raising at the end of his question.
Scarlett clutched her her chest, silently hoping her breathing would calm down. She closed her eyes, trying to push back the memories of the tarmac. Pope groaned angrily, obviously upset about his camera.
"Holy crap." JJ breathed. "Wait, wait. What were they fighting over?"
Pope had his head down, his eyes scanning the wreck of what was now his camera. "Uh... it was... it was a gun, the one Rafe used." He explained between shaky breaths. "He must have kept it."
JJ raised his hands towards the roof of the car. "Of course! Of course! The murder weapon!"
In the driver's seat, Kiara pulled her phone from her pocket. She dialled in a number, though none of them saw who it was she was calling. "Pick up! Pick up!" She muttered, sounding on the verge of tears.
"Who are you calling?" JJ asked her, leaning forward.
"Who do you think?" Kiara retorted.
"The cops?" Pope questioned, his eyes wide as he turned to look at her.
"Who else am I supposed to call?"
Scarlett moved towards the middle of the backseat. "I for one agree with Kie. We need to call the cops. We saw a murder take place. We're assholes if we don't say anything."
"Why would you call the police?" JJ yelled.
"Shut up!" Kiara yelled before speaking through the phone's receiver. "Hello? Hi, somebody's been shot at the... at the Grand Street construction site!"
Scarlett leaned forward, tilting her head closer to the phone. "Hurry, please! I don't know how long he's got left. He might be dead already. You need to hurry!" The phone hung up and Scarlett slumped back in her seat.
"We gotta go. We're sitting ducks." JJ said.
"We can't stay here." Pope agreed.
Stressed, Kiara ran a hand over her face. "What do you want me to do?"
"Just drive!" Pope told her.
⭐⭐⭐
The Pogues were at the scene of the murder they had witnessed, trying to get Shoupe to listen to them. But, as usual, the man wasn't believing them. It was clear Ward Cameron was going to get away with another crime, and the thought of that made Scarlett furious.
"Look, it was right here, and this is where that maniac claimed his next victim." Kiara explained, waving her arms around. "Right there." She pointed to the spot on the floor where they had seen Gavin get shot.
"Uh-huh." Shoupe nodded, clearly not believing them. "His next victim?"
"Yes!" Scarlett cried.
"Right. How long ago did you say it happened?"
"Forty-five minutes ago, Shoupe." JJ told him. The blonde boy moved to stand closer to Scarlett. Sensing her anger, he took her hand in his and gently squeezed it.
"Okay." Shoupe wrote something in his notebook. Scarlett doubted it was anything useful since the man didn't think they were telling the truth. "And so, Ward Cameron just popped one off and shot him."
"Yes." Kiara breathed.
"Execution style?" Shoupe asked jokingly. "And then cleaned it all up in forty-five minutes?"
"Yes!" Scarlett yelled. "You gonna believe us this time, Shoupe? You gonna take any fucking action? Or, what? Are you going to accuse another innocent person, send them to jail?"
"We filmed the entire thing." Kiara added.
Shoupe looked up from his notebook. "You filmed it?" There was a look of disbelief on his face.
"Yes, but we can't show it to you because I stepped on JJ's hand, and then he kicked Pope, and then Pope fell on Lottie and dropped the camera, and it broke."
Pope nodded. "This is a telephoto, and we needed t get a long-distance image, and... and... and I fell, and it broke, so the video is basically unusable." He stammered. "But... but we were there, and we're wit-"
Shoupe cut him off. "So the dog ate your homework?"
"We're telling the truth!" Scarlett yelled. "Why would we lie about a murder?"
"Look, I don't know what you kids expect me to do with this." Shoupe looked around at each of the teens. "You drag me out here in the middle of the night for a whole lot of nothing."
"No, it's not nothing." Kiara argued.
Shoupe ignored her. "Except for some crazy stories about how Ward Cameron's out on a random killing spree."
Scarlett could feel anger bubbling up inside her. There was no way Ward Cameron was about get away with another murder. "It's not random!" She yelled, stepping forward. "He killed him because Gavin knew the truth about Peterkin's death!"
"We're not making this up!" JJ added.
Pope nodded, gesturing towards his friend. "Lottie's right. Gavin was his pilot! Okay, he was paying him hush money because- like Lottie said- he was on the tarmac that day."
"Gavin was blackmailing Ward because he had the gun that Rafe used to kill Peterkin and shoot Lottie." Kiara added.
JJ nodded. "And then he called him here and tried to pay him off. But it wasn't enough and then so he shot him."
"Exactly." Pope nodded.
"With the murder weapon." JJ added, waving his arms around.
Shoupe stared at them for a moment, processing their story. "How do you know that?" He eventually asked the teens.
"Pope did this thing with his phone." Kiara told him. "He, like, put it in his car and-"
"I heard their whole conversation." The boy told the Sheriff.
"You wiretapped him?"
"Is that illegal?" Scarlett asked, looking between her friends and Shoupe. "You gonna arrest us for that instead of doing your job?" She asked sarcastically.
Shoupe shook his head at them. "Stop. Just stop. I've had enough." He gave them one last look before walking away down the stairs.
"What? Are you gonna look the other way again?" JJ yelled after him.
"You ever heard about the boy who cried wolf?" Shoupe retorted.
Scarlett groaned, trying to supress her anger. "This is nothing like that!" She screamed.
"Why would we make this up?" Kiara cried, following after the officer.
JJ curled his hands into fists. "Why can't you believe us for once?" He yelled.
Scarlett shook her head, rushing after Kiara. "How much is Ward paying you? Huh? Because something shady is happening between you two. He always gets away with everything!"
"Why would we lie?" Kiara cried, hurrying down the stairs and back onto the street. "I know it sounds crazy. I know that!"
Shoupe ignored her, addressing the other officers who had been called to the site. "All right, there's nothing up there. False alarm. Let's all go home."
"No, no, please don't go home." Kiara begged. "No. Why would we make this up?"
Scarlett jumped off the last step, shaking her head as she watched Shoupe walk away. "Can't you do your job for once?!" She yelled. "We saw Ward kill someone. Why would we lie about that?"
"Just listen to us!" Kiara added.
"I know you're upset." Shoupe said, turning to face the group of teens. "And I know you think your friend was innocent."
Scarlett cut him off. "He was innocent, Shoupe. You just won't believe us."
"But you weren't there." Shoupe added.
"I was!" Scarlett yelled, stepping forward. "I was there! I saw everything. I saw Rafe shoot Peterkin. The same gun that killed another man tonight. But you won't listen! You never do!" Arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her backwards. JJ had stepped forward and grabbed her, scared she was gonna do something rash and worsen the situation. Shoupe was already annoyed with them as it was.
Shoupe shook his head at her. "The only actual, and reliable witnesses who are above ground say the exact opposite. All right?" Scarlett rolled her eyes. Another reason the police wouldn't believe her statement was because Ward had testified that she had been intoxicated- meaning whatever she said wasn't reliable evidence. "And both of them have a hell of a lot more credibility than any of you right now." He turned to Kiara. "I saw your little art project on Ward's wall. Do not do that again." Shoupe warned.
"Oh, come on." Kiara sighed.
"Gonna make things a lot harder for the both of us." Shoupe added. He opened the car door, calling over his shoulder to the teens as he climbed into the front seat. "Go home."
"At least... at least look for him!" Kiara pleaded as the police began to drive away. "Someone died tonight!"
"Get on home to your parents now." Shoupe called through the window.
"I told you this would happen." JJ groaned as the group began to walk away. His hands had fallen from Scarlett's waist, moving to her shoulder.
"It's fucking bullshit, is was it is." The blonde girl muttered. "A stupid, fucked up system where you only get listened to if you're a rich, white male with power over everyone."
"Like, you're the one that had to drop the camera." JJ continued, pointing to Pope.
Scarlett shook her head. "JJ, not now. Please." She whispered.
"It was your fault!" Kiara argued to the blonde boy.
"Oh, that was my fault?" His arm dropped from Scarlett's shoulder as he turned to face Kiara.
"Yeah, it was your fault!" She retorted.
"Why do you always take his side?" JJ yelled, pointing to Pope. "Why do you never take mine?"
Scarlett turned to stare at him. "I take your side, JJ."
"Shut up!" Kiara yelled.
Pope whirled around, facing the arguing teenagers. "Hey! Hey!" He yelled, catching their attention. "We're not out of this yet. We can still go get the gun." He turned around ad they followed his gaze to the sewer drain.
⭐⭐⭐
⁎⁎⁎
Edited: 03/09/2021