ruthless; jj m.

24

We were across the street from the construction site, looking around for Ward and Gavin as we stood in the rain, hiding behind a fence. Pope had brought a camera to hopefully record anything that went down between the two men. 

"Nice camera. Where'd you dig up that relic? Why don't you just use your phone?" JJ asked Pope. "Well, first of all, I like my antique electronics. Second of all, this is a telephoto. It allows me to get a close image from far away." Pope explained.

I nodded as he finished speaking. "If he used his phone and just zoomed in, it might be blurry and not be considered clean-cut evidence. It wouldn't be strong enough to hold up in court if they can't see what's going on." I further explained. "Exactly," Pope said.

Kie rolled her eyes at us. "Lords of the dorks." Kie said. "Didn't you hear? Smart is the new sexy." I said to her and she lightly laughed. "Hell yeah, it is." JJ said and I smacked his arm. "For definitive proof of witness payoff, we're gonna need quality glass." Pope said as he held up his camera.

We saw Ward and all quickly became silent. He was running into the construction site with a bag, and soon after, Gavin walked into the construction site too. "Where are you going, you son of a bitch?" Pope said as he recorded the men running into the building.

"No, no, no, no. I'm losing him." Pope said as we lost sight of the men. "Shit. Where's he going?" Pope asked. I looked around to see if there was anywhere else to go to get a better view. "Hold on." JJ said and he ran down the alley a little bit.

He called us over and told us he found something. We walked over to him. "We gotta go up top." He said as he pointed at the building next to us. He walked around to the back of the building and began to climb up a ladder to get to the roof.

"Hurry. Don't wanna miss anything." Kie said and she climbed up after him. Then Pope followed, and I was the last up. We were now all on top of the roof, looking into the building under construction across from us. Ward and Gavin were now at eye level, as they were on the top floor.

We ducked down and Pope took out his camera to begin recording again. "You rolling, Pope?" JJ asked. "Are you getting it?" Kie asked. He nodded. "Yeah, I see them." He said. We couldn't necessarily see everything going on, so we were relying on Pope to explain what was going on.

"Ward just handed Gavin something. I think it's a duffel bag." Pope said. "Guys, I think this is a payoff." JJ said. "No doubt." I said to him. "Gavin doesn't look happy about something. It looks like he's yelling at Ward." Pope said.

"Why?" Kie asked. "I don't know, but he sure looks mad." Pope said. "He's mad about the money." I said. Kie looked over at me with confusion. "You think he didn't pay him enough? Why wouldn't he pay him off completely if he knows what Rafe did?" Kie asked me.

"It's a payoff Kie. This guy knows too much and has the murder weapon. Ward won't pay full price until he has the gun Rafe used. It's a smart tactic." I said to her. "Do you like, make business deals in your free time, or something?" Kie asked plainly. "It's a business deal. My uncle does them all the time, and since I'm smart with money, sometimes he needs my help. Cheaper than hiring someone else." I said.

Kie laughed before speaking. "You're like a doctor, lawyer, and an accountant all rolled up into one." Kie said. "Yeah, Kie. It's called being a genius." Pope said, quickly dismissing the topic. I felt flattered. "Oh, why thank you." I said to her and Pope with a smile.

We then all saw the two men begin to fight one another. "Woah, Woah, Woah." JJ said. "What's going on?" Kie asked. "They're scrapping. I don't know, they're fighting over something." Pope said. 

"They're really going at it." JJ said. "Deal went sideways. I have a bad feeling about this." I said. "Ward's kicking the shit out of Gavin." Pope said. "What're they fighting over?" JJ asked. "What do you think? The only thing that could prove who killed the Sheriff." I said. "The gun?" JJ asked.