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FOUR the game plan
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"Could have warned us sooner."
"We would have, except Pope was on the math team."
"You were on the math team?"
"Not surprising."
After the near-arresting experience― and JJ's little... problem― the three returned back to HMS Pogue and went back into the water, heading to John B's.
"The cops took everything like it was a crime scene," John B told Kie and Pope.
"Which it sort of was..." Brook pointed out, earning a look from him.
"Did you guys find anything?" Pope asked as he drove the boat.
"Did we find anything? No, I don't think so. Oh, yeah, we did." JJheld up a stack of cash and the gun that he stole from the safe. Brook put her head in her hands, just trying to process the amount of recklessness that JJ was emitting at that moment. It was something that she had become accustomed to over the several years of knowing him, but it just seemed to get worse over time.
"What the hell," Pope stood and started freaking out.
"Dud, chill. Come on."
"Why would you take that from a crime scene?"
"It's better than the cops having it, bro."
"How, JJ?" Brook asked him, looking up. "How?"
"I'm gonna lose my merit scholarship," Pope concluded.
"Hey, hey, hey. Sh, sh, sh. Sh, sh." JJ shushed his panicking friend. "At least you have us, right?"
"I'm living the nightmare."
...
"If it makes you feel any better, Pope, JJ had a boner."
"Brook!"
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When they returned to the land closer towards their home and found out that Scooter Grubs was dead― and that it was his Grady-White, they ended up returning to the Chateau to figure things out.
John B leaned against the wall of his screen porch, flipping a bottle of beer. JJ boredly sat in a chair at the other end and played with his blunt lighter. Brook and Kie sat on the couch with each other, Brook's back facing Kie as she put a tiny braid in her hair― adding one to the many that she had already done over the past few years.
"Okay," Pope ran in panting and coming from who knows where. "So, um, we didn't see anything. We don't know anything. We need to have total and complete amnesia." He sat down on the couch, making Brook move her stretched out legs on top of his lap.
"Actually, Pope's right for once," JJ stood up and agreed with the brainiac. "See, I agree with you sometimes. Deny, deny, deny."
"Guys, we can't keep that money," Kie said.
"Okay, not all of us can afford unlimited data plans, Kiara."
"We have to pass that off to Lana Grubbs. Otherwise, it's bad karma."
"Bad karma to be implicated in a felony, too," Pope pointed out. "We gotta go dark."
"If that means we get to keep the money, then I agree," JJ sided with Pope.
"Me too," Brook spoke up, gaining all the attention. "Not because of the money, but because we shouldn't risk anything." It was silent for a few seconds, until John B finally decided to voice his opinion.
"I don't agree," John B patted JJ who stood next to him.
"What, why?"
"Just, think about it. This is Scooter Grubs we're talking about, right? Same dude that's buying individual cigarettes at the Porthole. Shit, one time I saw this dude begging for change in the Save-A-Lot parking lot because he needed gas. We're talking about a dirtbag marina rat who's never had more than forty bucks in his pocket, and all of a sudden, he's got a Grady-White? Just sayin'."
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The Pogues found themselves out on John B's dock― Pope fishing with John B and Kie sitting on the railings next to him and JJ with his arms wrapped around Brook while helping her cast out his line. JJ had been trying to get her into fishing for years, but every time she comes out of it liking it less and less.
"All right, so think about it, Pope. How does a marina rat get a Grady-White?" John B asked the boy as he reeled in his line.
"Prosititution," Pope instantly answered.
"Square groupers, bro. Okay, flying under the radar, no aerial surveillance. They don't do that stuff during a hurricane. What does that mean? JJ?" John B turned and pointed to his friends that he knew― knew that answer.
"They were straight smugglin'."
"Smugglin'. And I guarantee there's a serious amount of contraband in that wreck."
"Hell yeah," JJ said. He suddenly flinched backwards when Brook jumped because of the line tightening. "Fish on."
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After reeling in a very annoying fish and yelling at JJ that she will not kiss the fish, Brook and her friends were in John B's bedroom continuing the conversation.
"For the record, if that is a smuggling ship with illegal contraband on the inside of it... it probably belongs to someone else."
"Minor details."
"They could come looking for it. Taking it would be catastrophically stupid."
Pope looked just about done with JJ when the blonde leaned over and took the stash of money out of his grasp. "Right. Well, stupid things have good outcomes all the time."
Even though he was just clearly talking about the money, Brook shook her head and pursed her lips. "Not true."
"All we need to do right now is figure out a way to get into the cargo hold of that wreck. Until then, we just lay low. Just act normal."
