Deep Water [OuterBanks]

27: red handed

A lengthy two hours had gone by, and the night sky had unexpectedly opened up, drenching the four Pogue's with rainwater as they crept down a vacant alleyway in between one of the islands many surf shops and a Rexall Drugstore. Droplets of rain slid down Alana's face like tears, and her clothes stuck to her body like a second skin as she peered over the wooden fence at the end of the narrow passage, her youthful eyes peeled for any sign of Ward Cameron.

"Nice camera. Where'd you dig up that relic?" JJ teased as Pope Heyward gazed through instrument's long-focus lens. "Why don't you just use your phone" He asked, eyebrows drawn in with confusion.

Pope simply adjusted his grip on the camera before looking over at the blonde boy. "Well, first of all, I happen to like my antique electronics." He admitted, pulling his hood up over his dark coily hair. "Second of all, this is a telephoto. It allows me to get close image from far away."

"Lord of the dorks." Kiara remarked from alongside Alana—both girls upright on a single wooden milk crate. The two best friends stood nearly neck and neck in height, with only a few centimeters being the divergence; although even at a considerably tall five foot eight, they were still a few inches short of the fence, unlike Pope and JJ who leveled off at an correspondent six feet.

"For definitive proof of witness payoff, we're gonna need quality glass." Pope contended matter-of-factly as he brought the viewfinder back to his right eye. "There he is." He spoke lowly, pointing out Ward who was sprinting down the soaked asphalt while clutching a gym bag.

Alana observed the man as he rushed towards the unfinished building situated at the end of the strip. It was a new project that his development company was currently renovating to re-lease, although so far only the framework had been completed. "I wonder if he knows the black duffel makes him look even more like a double-dealing criminal." She mused out.

"Get down." JJ wrapped his fingers around the girl's arm, tugging her low beneath the fence and out of sight

"And there's Gavin." Pope announced as yet a second figure was careening across the road. "Where are you going, you son of a bitch?" He thought out loud as Gavin reached Ward, the two men disappearing into the fragmentary lot. "No, no, no. I'm loosing him." Pope huffed, but JJ was quick to break away from the fence, vanishing for a short moment before calling out to the three.

"Yo, I found something." He beckoned for both girls and Pope to follow him out of the alleyway. Alana jumped down off of the milk crate, her blonde hair clinging to her back in ropes, and her converse saturated with rainwater. Pope and Kiara subsequently followed suit, in convoy of JJ as he lead them behind the surf shop. "We gotta go up top." He told the three lowly while jogging over to the steel ladder mounted to the wall of the shop. The south-side boy was the first to climb up, followed by Alana.

"Hurry, I don't want to miss anything." Kiara urged, right on her friend's heels as Pope was preparing to climb up behind her.

"I'm hurrying." Alana whispered, stepping over onto the roof, using her palm to wipe away the excess water from her face.