Exception // JJ Maybank

05 ; xxx

"Okay, so we definitely know Shoupe is under his thumb, then," Danny said and paced in front of his coffee table.

The three came through his door some thirty minutes ago freezing, soaked to the bone with rain, and with no more evidence than they had before. They told Danny about how they trailed Gavin to the Grand Street Construction Site to meet with Ward. The two fought, and then Ward killed Gavin.

The gun fell into the storm drain, they broke Pope's camera, and Shoupe didn't believe them, big shocker there.

And so they were back to square one.

"Someone died tonight," Kie said, tucked in the corner of the couch with a blanket wrapped snuggly around her frame. "It doesn't matter if they don't believe us, but they're not even looking into a death."

"Look," Pope said. "This isn't over. We can still find the gun."

"How?" Danny asked. He stopped pacing and sat on the coffee table. He looked between Kie on the couch and Pope on the reclining chair.

"It's in the storm drain. We can get it. We know where it is."

Danny's lip rose involuntarily out of disgust. He was committed to the cause, but he wasn't so keen on getting sewer water in his bullet wound. "I mean. . . I guess."

"We have to hurry, then," Kie said. "That drain goes to the ocean. It could be gone."

"We'll go first thing tomorrow."

"All right," Kie said and then shivered for the second time in the past ten minutes. "Danny, please," she said exasperatingly.

Danny chuckled to himself but stood anyway. He slowly made his way to the bathroom but spoke over his shoulder, "You heard him ask for bubbles. You knew he'd be in there for the long haul."

"It's been twenty minutes already!"

Danny shook his head in amusement. He already knew how all of this would pan out but went through the motions to humor Kie. He knocked on the door and had to suppress his smile as JJ yelled, "Fuck off!"

The last time JJ discovered his love for the jacuzzi, he refused to get out for bed after already spending two hours in it. He convinced Danny to camp out in the bathroom and make sure he didn't drown. He woke almost every hour to reset the water jets when they turned off, and every time, Danny asked if he was ready to get out. The answer was always 'no' without fail.

Danny made a grand motion of lifting his arm and letting it drop against his leg to silently convey, 'whatcha gonna do?'

"He's a bathroom hog. I knew we shouldn't have let him go first," she complained further.

"Can we go upstairs?" Pope asked.

Danny puffed his cheeks with air and slowly blew it out. His father was lurking somewhere up there. He didn't want his friends running into him. He glanced at his watch and debated.

It was half past one, so there was a good chance he was already asleep. "Fine," Danny said after consideration. "Use the bathroom across the room from where we made that fort the one time."

It was on the same floor as his father's but on the opposite end of the hall. He knew Alex and his mom could still be in the fitting room, and he didn't want Kie or Pope bothering the pair, so he'd rather take the chance on the second floor. "And be quiet. I mean it."

Pope and Kie nodded and quickly made their way up the stairs. Danny watched Kie's blanket cape trail behind her.

Danny pulled a spare towel from his cupboard and entered the bathroom.