𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃─𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

forty.

─☼☼☼─

"𝙎𝙊, 𝙄'𝙑𝙀 𝘽𝙀𝙀𝙉 thinking." Kiara drawled from where she sat in the back seat. "If Limbrey's legit, then Ward gets arrested. And then maybe Sarah gets the gold?"

Neither Charlotte nor JJ were fulling listening to what she was saying, as both their attentions were focused on the fact that the man from before, Pope, and a woman who could assumed to be Ms. Limbrey were making their way out of the house. 

"Does that look voluntary?" Kie wondered, her attention now also on their friend. 

Charlotte shook her head. "No. It doesn't."

Kiara reached for the door handle, but JJ quickly reached back to stop her. "Hold on."

"What?"

"They're going toward the back alley." Charlotte announced, tapping on the dashboard. "JJ, drive."

He started the engine, shifting the truck into drive before peeling away from the curb. "We'll meet 'em around back."

"Be chill. Be chill" Kie instructed, not taking her eyes off of Pope as they drove away. "We don't wanna spook them."

As JJ turned the corner, they lost sight of Pope, Charlotte's heart beginning to pound in her chest. She hated not knowing exactly what was happening. Her and Kiara were practically pressed up against the window, looking for any sign of him. "Where did they go?" Kie wondered, the worry starting to drip into her voice. 

"What if they went underground?" JJ offered, receiving confused looks from the two sisters which prompted him to continue. "'Cause in C.H.U.D. when they took people down into the sewers, it would turn humans into humanoids 'cause of the radiation, and then all of a sudden they would turn against them 'cause─"

Charlotte cut him off. "JJ, enough about C.H.U.D., okay? Just focus for a minute."

Glancing over at her, JJ furrowed his brows. "What's your beef with C.H.U.D., Charls?"

Ignoring him, Charlotte pointed to an empty lot off of the street. "Pull over here." She instructed, "We'll get out and see if we can hear them at all."

Nodding, JJ pulled over, killing the engine as all three of them hopped out. No one said a word for a moment, listening for any sign of Pope and the two strangers. 

A few seconds passed before the noise hit Charlotte's ears. It was quiet...but it was there. "Do you guys hear that?" She whispered, still straining to hear more. 

Kiara paused for a brief moment before nodding. "It sounds like a struggle." She deduced, eyes widening slightly. 

Charlotte's brain kicked into gear, her body following close after. "Here!" She called, taking off toward the source of the noise. It was just beyond a stone wall that the scuffle could be heard. Luckily, a gate lead right to where they needed to go. 

JJ rounded the corner first, followed closely by Kiara and Charlotte. As they burst into the alley, the first thing that could be noticed was the fact that Pope and that man from before were on the ground, struggling against each other. The next thing she noticed was the taser that was currently being kicked by JJ.