THIRTY-SIX... the eternal optimist

                                        

                                              
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
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Being banished to the car is just about the worst thing possible for a boy with the shortest attention span known to man, a chronic worrier who manages to think of every possible way that things can go wrong, and of course, just for balance- the eternal optimist. 
It's not hard to guess who's who in this situation. JJ can hardly sit still from the driver's seat of the truck; his leg bounces up and down uncontrollably and he can't look at one thing out the window for too long. Collins next to him has gnawed off the majority of her left thumb nail, and takes what's probably the 50th glance at the front door of the house Pope has disappeared into, just in case he actually walks out this time. And Kie, well, she's managing to do just fine throughout the whole waiting game. She's concerned of course for Pope's wellbeing, but she's also focused on getting what they came for out of this whole meeting. It's the only thing that soothes her to think about how everything will be worth it in the end. She's trying to take a positive outlook on their whole situation. 
"Look, if Limbrey's legit, then Ward gets arrested and maybe Sarah gets the gold." She pointed out hopefully. Then not only will they get John B and Sarah back, but they'll have gotten the gold back, too. Everything works out the way that it's supposed to. 
"Or, this Limbrey chick is bluffing and doesn't have squat on how to prove John B is innocent and we came here for nothing." Collins hypothesized on her own, earning herself an eye roll from Kie. 
"What about Limbrey?" JJ questioned, the conversation lost to him. 
"Who even was that guy anyway? Talk about shady. He looks like he keeps locks of hair in a diary for every person he meets." Collins scowled and instinctively felt her hair for missing patches as if he had even come close to stealing some away. 
"Okay, you need to stop reading those murder mystery books, this is getting ridiculous." JJ nagged at her, swatting her hand away from her head to put an end to her absurdity. 
"Look! They're leaving the house." Kie tapped the other two as if they weren't already looking in the same direction, and they all watched as three figures emerged outside. Two of them were familiar, Pope and shady mystery man; alongside them however, must've been the person who'd called them there in the first place. 
Ms. Limbrey wasn't at all like Collins had imagined. The lady she was watching looked old and frail. She was hardly keeping up in stride with the crutches she had on both sides of her. Collins would've thought that she would be more intimidating, or at least in better health. And still, there was something scary about her. Perhaps it was the fact that although she looked weak, she still came from a family of power and must've been raised to know how to wield it. What's most frightening isn't someone who can do their own bidding, it's someone who knows how to get others to do their bidding for them, and clearly that's what her little henchman was for. 
"Does that look voluntary?" Collins questioned, taking notice in the way that Pope looked back at them, a frightful and unsure expression on his face before he was being pushed forward to keep moving. 
"That's a negative." JJ concluded, and just before any of them could jump out of the car, he stopped them. "They're going into the alley. We'll meet them on the other side."
He changed gears and they started rolling down to the end of the street to catch up to their friend before they reached the other side of the alley. Not having their eyes on him was a bit alarming, but they just needed to make sure that they found him again before Limbrey got the idea that they weren't looking out for him anymore. Staring intently out of the window, Collins craned her neck to look past Kie and search the area for any sign of Pope.