forum Unusual Partners // Buddy Cop One-On-One // Open

Started May 18, 2019 by @WriteOutofTime

tune

Alex nudged her with a shoulder. "Maybe it's a nickname. I'm sure he isn't actually crazy." He headed back to the car and jingled the keys over at her.

"I wonder what he did to earn the nickname," she said flatly, marching over to the car. "Southern hospitality at its finest."

Alex snorted a laugh and got in, turning the key and starting to drive. "At least the food's good."

"True, the food is good," she agreed with a sigh. "So, how are we going to find this Crazy Joey? The only directions we have are yonder by the river. I don't know where yonder by the river is."

"By a river?" Alex craned his head to glance out the window for a river. "I figure we find the nearest town and find another helpful local."

"Hopefully they'll be more like our nosy hostess from the restaurant, and less like the rude hick from back there," Nyir grumbled. "I'll take chatty over unreasonable any day."

"Really? I prefer the unreasonable. They're awfully amusing." Alex turned the car onto a side street that lead into a tiny town, run down with weeds growing on the sidewalk and peeling paint on the one gas station. He parked next to it, raising an eyebrow at it. "Pretty sketchy."

"We are definitely going to get mugged here," Nyir said with a smile, admiring the state of disarray. She spotted a few people hanging out in front of the gas station, leaning against an old pick up truck and smoking.

"Naaah. We're the law enforcement. And I'm keeping this place in mind for retirement." He got out of the car and started to head towards the doors.

Nyir mumbled, "It'd suit you." She glanced at the men on the truck as she got out of the car. "What do you think? Should we ask them about Crazy Joe, or find someone inside the gas station to ask?"

"Ask inside. Hopefully if we buy something, they'll be less hostile." He lead the way in and straight to the small freezer area, stocked with all iced tea. A lot of iced tea.

There was a bored looking teen standing at the counter. She glared at them as they walked in. "What do y'all want?"

He gave her an apologetic smile, grabbing a cold tea and walking up to the counter. "We're just here for some information and a drink. Have you heard of Crazy Joey?" He set down the can and dug around in his pocket to grab his wallet.

"Crazy Joe's my grandpa," she said. Then she laughed. "Naw I'm just playin. He's the weirdo on the corner. Right across from the old baptist church downtown."

Alex nodded, shooting an 'I told you so' glance at Nyir. "Thanks." He gave her a bright smile, payed for his tea, and turned for the door.

Nyir rolled her eyes good naturedly. "It's not the best directions though. This is Mississippi. There's a baptist church on almost every corner."

"Good point. We'll just have to check all of them!" He said in mock excitement, walking with a skip in his step towards the car.

"Guess that'll be the last thing we can do tonight," Nyir said, following him back to the car. She glanced up at the darkening sky. "Hopefully we'll find him before it gets too late."

"We can stay up. It's not like they'd get hostile or anything if we wake them." He laughed despite himself and got in.

As she climbed into the car, Nyir looked on her GPS for the nearest baptist church. As she suspected, there were about six in the immediate vicinity, the closest being just a few minute away. "This is going to take a while."

"You want to split up? Did we bring the walky talkys?" He glanced into the backseat, scanning it for any helpful gadgets.

"Yeah, let's split up," Nyir agreed, rummaging through her bag and withdrawing the walkies. "We can park somewhere around here and walk around."

"So you had them… Sounds good. Watch out for bigfoot." He said seriously, grabbing one walky and getting out of the car.

"Big foot," Nyir repeated with a grin as she got out. She headed to the nearest neighborhood, wandering down the street in search of the first church.