Climbing crates was kinda cool, but also kinda sucked.
For one thing, they were uncomfortable. They were hard, and rough- there were times where Dakota found herself wondering aloud the last time she had gotten a tetanus shot, much to Zack's enjoyment. Not to mention, the heat these things put off- turns out, metal+sunlight=heat, who would've thought?
Still, it was kinda neat to clamber up and over various crates with her new friends, doing some rookie-tier urban exploration via stacked crates. And Dakota was definitely starting to get the hang of things- she actually lept over a huge... Well, okay, more like, foot and a half- gap between crates and took off in a full sprint across the next three, giggling while Piper shouted "Not so fast!" and Zack groaned. He didn't seem to be having the time of his life, after all, but Dakota was having too much fun to care. She skidded to a halt at the end of the line, waiting for the other two to catch up. "Right or left, fearless Texan leader?" Piper asked sarcastically, her large chest bobbing alongside her labored breathing. Before Dakota could answer, Piper said "Too late!" And ran off towards the right, just as Zack caught up.
"It's 'bout time, slowpoke!" Dakota said jokingly, hoping Zack was strong-willed. Turns out, he was. He just didn't seem to enjoy physical activity as much as Piper, the tomboy, did.
"Yeah, less 'slowpoke' and more 'I'd rather be doing something that doesn't involve sprinting around on shitty metal crates in my free time', but, y'know, whatever." He still managed a grin, though, and Dakota suspected he was having fun nonetheless. They both whipped their heads to the right, however, when an urgent sounding noise from Piper caught their attention. Dakota turned and saw a very agitated hand-wave from Piper, along with a few "Psst!" type noises. Shrugging, Dakota began walking atop a crate towards their friend, with Zack at her heels.
"What's got you all worked up, Pi-" Dakota began, but Piper made the universal "quiet" motion- bringing one pointer finger to her mouth, while the other pointed down into a clearing. Dakota's stomach turned slightly when she looked down and realized how high up they were- they were easily 35 feet up! But she felt even more uncomfortable by what she saw.
A group of men and woman- mostly men- dressed in cliche black and white suits were gathered. Looking around from their ridiculously high vantage point, she could see that- at least in the general vicinity- the clearing within the containers was pretty isolated from the rest of the bay. The water glimmered idly just past the edge of the containers.
"What do you think this is?" Piper whispered, sounding much more excited than nervous. Piper sure could find fun in any situation, it seemed. Zack seemed very put off by the entire thing, and was in the process of climbing back down the containers.
"I have vertigo, I'll just, uh... See you girls later, I guess." He said awkwardly, and took off. Piper didn't seem to notice, she was staring intently at the group gathered below.
Dakota felt very uncomfortable. She had seen enough movies- not to mention had a father in business- to know that you don't hold meetings in empty areas that aren't million-dollar high-rise buildings unless you're hiding something BIG. However, she didn't feel like turning away, either.
"What do you think they're doing?" She muttered, but Piper was still transfixed on the meeting below, so Dakota just watched. From what she could tell, there were two groups, with one leader each. The two older men were talking- one had a briefcase, which he briefly opened, then shut with a nod from the other man. They seemed to speak a little longer- Dakota noticed with growing alarm that almost every man, sans the two talking, were clearly wielding weapons. "We should really leave, Piper..." She said, feeling much more alarmed than before.
"No!" Piper practically hissed- then she apologized, her eyes not leaving the men below. "Sorry, I just... This is so cool! And who are these guys?" Then, the briefcase changed hands. Guns were lowered- men began leaving, all except the two older, presumed leaders. There was a few more moments of quiet conversation- then a car drove up, and the two men got inside- but they left the briefcase behind, right in the middle of the clearing.
"Holy SHIT!" Piper shouted, once the car had left. "We need that briefcase!"
Dakota stared at her, incredulously. "Are you kidding, Piper? I'm from Texas and I've never seen that many guns before! No way!"
But Piper wasn't having it. "Look, that could be full of money, drugs, both, neither- who cares? People like that... And I mean, we're just kids! What are they gonna do, kill us?" Dakota sighed. "Besides, that one guy... He looked awfully familiar..."
Piper was already clambering down the nearest container, her mind already made up. Dakota sighed, then followed. Might as well see this through... Although maybe Piper would still listen to reason.
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