𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 - JJ Maybank

Chapter 78: Rescue Mission

Gravel crunched under the Twinkie's tires as JJ pulled up to the camp's gate. He straightened up as a man holding a clipboard held out a hand gesturing for him to stop. 

JJ did as he said and put on a big friendly smile. "How are y'all doing?"

The man was pure business. "Can I help you?"

JJ rested his arm on the window frame casually. "Hey there, uh, sir. I..." he gestured towards the open gate, "Camp counsellor Laura, I'm her... I'm her brother. I was actually just gonna drop off one of these packages back here for her, if that's okay."

The man peered into the van.

"It's real quick. I promise, just in and out," JJ continued. "That alright?"

The man nodded. "Yeah. Go ahead."

JJ forced himself to suppress a triumphant grin. "Thank you so much. Y'all have a good day."

He pulled the Twinkie through the gate while waving at the guard. The moment he was past he dropped his over the top smile.

Once the van was safely parked, JJ clambered out. He took in his surroundings. Plenty of girls were wandering around the property. All of them looked miserable.

Spotting an old man stood on one of the porch's, JJ waved. "Hi there, sir, uh, I'm looking for... I'm looking for the office. Uh, is there a main lodge or something?"

The man pointed.

"Right down there?"

He held up a thumbs up so JJ headed in the direction he had been pointing in.

"How's it going, ma'am?" JJ called while entering the office.

"Can I help you son?" the woman asked sceptically while he struggled to get the door shut.

Once the door finally clicked into place he spun around to face the woman. "I have a message for one of your campers here. Uh, her name is Kiara, uh, Carrera. She's here, right?"

While JJ wanted to ask specifically about Grace, he knew he needed to be strategic. Odds were Grace and Kie were together and asking about one would lead him to both. Plus, he would be far more suspicious than he already was if he asked for two campers instead of just one.

"Unfortunately, we're not allowed to do that," the woman answered, "You're not even supposed to be here on campus."

"Okay. It's... it's just that it's a very import- May I sit?"

The woman seemed caught off guard but before she could answer, JJ had already sat himself down. 

"A very important matter, ma'am," he finished.

"Oh, I'm sure it is, sweetie," she didn't sound all that convinced, "but we have a policy. No contact from the outside world for the first six weeks."

JJ glanced to his left to notice a framed picture of a cat on the woman's desk. Crazy cat lady. He could work with that. If he wasn't distracted by the picture he'd have noticed the absurdity of what she just said. 'Outside world' as if this place was actually a prison.

"Ma'am," JJ prepared himself to tell yet another believable but completely made up story, "It's actually a family matter, and, uh... I'm... I'm related to her. I'm her cousin. So, look, I know you got a policy and all, but there's just been something that happened recently that... You know what? I'm getting a little emotional," he really laid on the choked up act, "So I think I should go. I'm sorry."

The woman looked at him with concern as he stood and headed for the door. "I shouldn't even be here, like you said, so I'll leave you alone."

He spun back around quickly. "But before I leave, could you just let her know, um... just that, uh..." he really put on the sad and regretful act, "...Marley didn't make it?"