Solar Power // [outer banks / jj maybank]

6 - "Huh, who would've thought?"

"I hate to say, "I told you so,"but I told you so." Big John continues. "And you doubted your old man. I suspect at this moment, you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either." He says and there's some clattering on the tape. "You were probably right to call me out. Wasn't exactly Father of the Decade." He sighs and tears well in my eyes. "What can I say, kid? I could smell the barn. And hopefully, we're listenin' to this in our brand new sugar-shack down in Costa Rica, livin' off passive investments and pulling on permits." There's another sigh and a few tears fall. "If not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, well, that's what the map is for. There she is, the wreck of the Merchant. If somethin' happens to me, finish what I started. Go for the gold, kid. I love you, Bird, even if I didn't always act like it. I'll see you on the other side." Big John finishes with another crackle of static and I start crying, putting my head down on the table. If I'm this upset, I can't even imagine how upset John B is. I hear him start to cry a few steps away from the table.

"Holy shit, he did it! Big John-- He found the Merchant--" JJ says, sounding happy but I look up at him and his smile falls.

"Can you...can you, please?" Kie asks, and I almost laugh, because JJ is just oblivious and high.

"Shit. Sorry." JJ responds and him, Kie and Pope leave the dining room, letting John B and I cry.

"Come on. Let's go calm down." I bring him into his room and we lay down on his bed, him on his back and me cuddling into him. This is always how we comfort each other. "I'm sorry, JB."

"I knew it. It just fucking sucks to hear." He says, his voice weak and a drop hits my forehead as he leans down, and I adjust, looking up at him. "He's gone." He says and another sob wracks through him. We cry for a while, my fingers comb through most of the knots in his hair, and he falls asleep for a few minutes before I wake him up.

"Come on. Let's go hope JJ made a bonfire and have a beer." I rub his arm.

"I wanna fish." He sighs, sitting up.

"There's my JB." I smile, and we head outside where JJ's gathering sticks. "He wants to fish."

"Always down to fish." JJ smiles.

We head down to the fishing shack at the end of JB's dock and I sit on the railing, leaning agains a pole. Kie's strumming her ukulele, Pope's looking out at the water, JB's got a line out and JJ's lowering a crap trap into the water.

"How much was it again?" JJ asks.

"Four hundred mil." John B responds.

"All right, let's talk the split." He says and I roll my eyes. "Now, before we say "evenly,"may I remind you that I am the only one that can properly trained to defend us from those groupers who were after us. Protection? Not cheap, okay?"

"You haven't trained. You've done zero training." Pope shuts that down.

"Yeah, and wave that gun around any more and I drop it in the water."

"YouTube, bro!" He ignores what I said. "That's at least a five percent bump right there."

"You haven't-" Pope says but JJ cuts him off.

"Any objections? Didn't think so."

"Yeah." Pope says again.

"I don't hear any, so..." JJ says, speaking over Pope and I smile at him. "What are you gonna do with your 80 mil, Pope?"

"Pay for college in advance. And also, textbooks. Those are expensive."

"What about you, Kie?" He turns the question to her.