✘QUEENIE✘ Maybank

Graveyard

Surprisingly, the next day was perfect weather for the drone. The five hopped onto the boat with the drone and started making their way quickly to the coordinates on the map. Pope was on the deck of Heyward's boat setting up the drone with Kie while John B was shouting directions at JJ.

They were almost right over the spot with JJ driving the boat and Bailee tucked in his arms. She wanted to go out and help, but since she hadn't eaten breakfast and was barely half awake, JJ stayed by her side in case she fainted from lack of food consumption and heat.

"All right, JJ, pin it here." John B said loudly to JJ, who complied with the directions.

"Roger that? X marks the spot." JJ shifts to those changes before John B asks again.

"To going full Kook." John B drops the tether down. Pope sits by the monitor as Kie releases more and more of the tether. Bailee is starting to wake up more, the excitement settling in.

"All right JJ, we're right over it. Ten seconds northwest."

"Got it. Ten seconds northwest." JJ copies the movements and John B stares at the metal detector implanted in it. It showed the red dot of the drone on the screen.

"One hundred feet!" Kie says once she sees the label on the tether sink into the ocean.

Pope stares into the camera, leaning closer. A fish comes onto the screen, making him gasp and step back. Immediately, John B thinks it's the merchant or the gold and quickly goes over to him.

"What? what, what, what?" John B looks into the camera, only to see nothing.

"Just a fish," Pope says nervously, making John B groan.

"Don't do that to me, man." He goes back to his original spot.

"And, to quote The Hobbit, 'Down, down to Goblin Town. Down, down, you go, my lad.'"

It's silent afterward. The boat was filled with anticipation. Kie marks off the four hundredth foot let down with the chalk on the side of the boat in tallies.

JJ smiles, pulling Bailee closer before Kie dampens his mood with three words.

"The tide's turning."

John B looks down at the tablet to see the boat moving away from the location. "Hey, JJ?"

"Yep?" Bailee answers for him.

"Ten seconds easy, all right? South-east." JJ salutes John B's request and follows his statement.

"JJ, twenty seconds, mid-speed, all right? South." John B says hurriedly as the waves come in harsher, knocking the boat off its target again.

"We copy, over," Bailee yells back while JJ steers in the directions. John B nods.

"Keep the tether out of the prop!" JJ yells to Kie, who gives back a frustrating statement. The boat is getting harder to control, making the drone's control even worse. He gets it set when Bailee puts a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "John B, is that set?"

"We're good! We're good."

"Okay, seven hundred feet!" Kie marks it down again with chalk, struggling to hold the tether. Bailee notices and rushes out of JJ's grip to help her control it.

"I've got you, Kie. Keep lowering." Bailee steadies the girl who almost fell with the drone. She holds Kie to the boat so she won't fall off the edge. Kie nods and continues to drop it.

Thunder rumbles and another wave cashes the boat. At this point, they don't know how long they're going to make it on the water.

The lightning starts as John B yells for JJ to hold it steady. Another shake of the boat had Kie and Bailee almost falling overboard, but they hold on.