Terrance and Affinity spent the rest of the morning planning, discussing how the gold was going to be moved and where they needed to be in order to intercept the truck. Affinity showed him where the private air freight company was stationed in regards to the vacation house on a digital map displayed by their computer. All they had to do was stop it before it got on the plane, or it would be lost and impossibly out of their reach. Terrance showed her the only two roads that connected the locations. He explained that they needed to set the trap on the road that twisted through acres of cane fields.
Later in the afternoon, Terrance drove them to the spot where John B and Affinity would be stationed, explaining what direction the truck would come from and how Cleo and he would make the truck vulnerable enough for them to take. His plan was to pose as construction workers to get the truck to stop, then the gun would get involved. The final part of the plan was for Cleo to round up some type of distraction to put Ward on their desired road and lose any security that might support the transfer.
John B had been quiet all morning. Affinity didn't pay much attention. She was more focused on the plan and, quite frankly, she was still angry with him. It was apparent that the distance she created was hurting him and looking into those sad, brown eyes chipped off a piece of her heart every time. He wasn't going to learn if she instantly forgave him. It was on him to figure out how he needed to adjust. But was it excruciating to have to ignore every urge she had to hug him or take his hand or kiss him?
Undoubtedly.
She needed to get her mind off the situation for a few hours or she was gonna drive herself crazy. Just before Cleo left to go get their distraction, Affinity jogged up to her.
"Can I tag along?" She asked.
Cleo narrowed her eyes. "Don't trust me, girlie?"
"Can never be too careful," Affinity shrugged.
But it was really just that she needed some space. Affinity didn't take much of a liking to Cleo. How could she when their only interactions have involved a knife pressed to Affinity's throat? Except Cleo reminded Affinity of the Pogues and their willingness to do anything and everything to survive and save the people important to them. Maybe there was more than that ruthlessness she carried? The girl did apologize, rather genuinely for that matter of fact, when she and the two men stole her boat. Unfortunately, too many problems have come to be because she trusted too quickly and chose to see the best in people instead. Affinity knew this time that her guard needed to remain up.
"Alright, come on," Cleo said, nodding towards the door.
Cleo opened the door for Affinity and followed behind her. She took a left, starting down the dirt road that stretched near the beach and harbor.
"So, how you go from living in Paradise Island to living in the street dodging coppers?" Cleo asked Affinity.
Affinity chuckled quietly to herself. "Well, I fell pretty damn hard for that stupid boy back at the house."
"Big mistake," Cleo sighed. "Only got yourself to blame for that one."
"Yeah, tell me about it," Affinity scoffed.
"It's better not to care."
That comment made Affinity's heart ache a bit. "Funny...my dad would actually say the exact opposite."
"Well, where's your pops now?"
Affinity realized that she hadn't spoken to anyone but the Pogues about her father's condition. The thought loomed in the back of her mind 24/7, but mustering the courage to speak of it was an entirely different situation. Perhaps this was the first step of coping.
"He's in a coma," she said after many moments of contemplation. She stuffed her hands in her back pockets. "One man shot him, the other man covered it up...and I couldn't do anything."
"But you still left?"
"I know I'm furious at John B right now but I don't regret going with him. He may be reckless but that's exactly why I had to come. I don't know what I would've done with myself if he got hurt or-or...killed."
"What about yourself then? You didn't care about your own life?"
Affinity's words halted, leaving her eyes to fall to the ground as she stared harshly at her shoes moving across the dirt. "No, at that moment I really didn't care. I fucked up and didn't jump at the chance to save my dad and even I am too far gone to save myself. I can still save John B. Then maybe I'll finally find some peace."
Cleo turned her head, sending a look to Affinity. "Yeah but you still walking, girl. You gotta keep yourself walking if you wanna save that stupid boy and to keep walking, you gotta take a second to give a shit about yourself too."
Affinity raised her eyes, looking into Cleo's, which were an abyss of a chocolate brown.
"Thanks," she said quietly. Affinity cleared her throat as she worked to change the subject. "What about you? How'd you hook up with Captain T."
"Father left. Granny died. Was kicked out on the street," Cleo stated shortly, coldly. "I had to find a way to take care of myself. So I was sleeping on a local dinghy when the mooring broke. I wake up, and I hear someone yelling, 'you know how to tie a bowline?'. It was Captain Terrance. I go on deck and I've been with him ever since." She shrugged. "It's not the best of times but I gotta do what I gotta do, right?"
Affinity felt sorry for her. Cleo's story wasn't much different from anything that she had witnessed moving to the Cut. Sacrifice for survival, and sometimes that meant the sacrificing of your humanity, your empathy. Affinity now understood why Cleo did the things she did. It was just always a much harder pill to swallow when she was on the receiving end of the actions that someone commits for the stake of their livelihood.
Cleo broke the silence, pointing the tip of her knife at Stubbs being used as a human jungle gym by the children of the island. "Stubby's security," she said. "Not the brightest bulb, but you ain't gotta watch your back with him. Terrance on the other hand..." Her sentence trailed off. "He's a ram goat. Anything that's in his way, ram it over. Always stay two steps ahead of him and never really trust him."
Affinity nodded in understanding.
"Wait here."
Cleo left Affinity and walked over to the group of kids, asking them, "Who wanna make some money?"
They all cheered as they cried, "Me!" all at once. The smallest smile tugged at Affinity's lips.
"But wait...I need a favor first."
<<<>>>
"Alright, love birds, let's do this," Cleo smirked, waving her stop sign, which was designated to be apart of their distraction.
Affinity helped load the truck. Cleo had given her a jacket to pull over her tank top and a hat that could shield her face from the potential of any recognition. John B looked uneasy all morning. His eyes were weary, shifting back and forth between Affinity and the discussion of the plan between Cleo and Terrance. Affinity couldn't quite tell what was wrong. Usually, he was up for any of this, and she thought he'd be beaming knowing that they were going to get the gold.
But John B wasn't beaming. He could feel the guilt creeping all over him. His mistakes had pushed her to this behavior. John B knew Affinity better than that. Better than him. He knew that she would be more cautious and wouldn't necessarily jump right into a plan that could result in anybody getting hurt. She didn't think that recklessly, and he had a hard time seeing it happen before him. Watching this, the boy quickly realized just how much and how fast he needed to change, or else not only would he lose her, but she would lose herself too.
Affinity got into the bed of the truck and sat upon one of the crates that were stowed there. As Cleo began to drive, her hair caught the wind while it's cool, morning air rippled over her cheeks.
"Are you sure about this?" John B finally asked her.
Those were the first words he'd spoken since the night they interrogated Jen.
Affinity's face was emotionless. He really was losing her. "I could tell you what I think but it's not like it would stop you from doing whatever the fuck you want anyway."
That stung.
He sighed and leaned back against the railing behind him.
They rode on for a few more miles before Cleo stopped the truck to drop them off at their station, where they'd take the truck from Ward. Now, all that they had to do was wait.
"Hey, Fin, can we-"
"Nope."
John B gave up immediately. "Mmkay."
Affinity preferred silence right now, not meaningless apologies. It was a relief when she felt the phone buzz in her pocket. It was Stubbs calling with a check in.
"They got a truck and two defenders."
"But just Ward in the truck and the gold, right?"
"It's two in the truck."
John B looked at her. "Two?"
The anger rising in her boiling blood was rapid. "Rafe."
She could hear the trucks start up over the phone. "Two defenders, front and back."
"Armed?"
"To the teeth."
Terrance's voice sounded from the other phone line. "Pistols?"
"AKs."
"Shit's about to be hot."
John B began to load the gun that Terrance had given them as Affinity received a text from one of the kids on the island, confirming that the trucks moved past the first checkpoint. Soon enough, if everything went smoothly, the islanders would have Ward and Rafe going down the road leading them right to the trap with zero protection. Another text came through reading: No escort.
Affinity grinned. "Part one and done."
Now, the truck would be approaching Cleo and Terrance. Affinity took the cloth mask Cleo had given her out of her pocket, pulled it around her neck, and up over her nose. John B did the same. Her ears perked up at the sound of tires rumbling over the dirt and metal clanging against itself. She raised her eyes, seeing that the truck was only half a mile away.
Time for part two.
Cleo lifted her stop sign into the air and the truck came to a stop. Ward and Rafe's devilish features could now be seen through the front window. It looked like they tried to reason with Cleo and Terrance, but Terrance silenced their pleas with the raising of his gun. What a perfect sight it was. Ward and his psychotic son getting what they deserved. And that was the hardest Affinity had smiled since...
Well since John B stopped the boat before running away into the storm.
Stop. Focus.
This was for her dad.
Terrance, holding Ward at gunpoint, and Cleo, holding the tip of her knife on the back of Rafe's neck, commanded them to move the signs and the barrels that had previously been blocking the admittance to the road. Ward and Rafe followed their orders, hands up in the air whenever they weren't carrying something.
"Get on your knees!" Terrance shouted. "Hands up."
"Who are you?" Ward demanded.
"Kiss the ground."
"Who are you?!"
"I am the Royal Commission for the redistribution of wealth." He jammed his gun to the back of Ward's head. "Kiss the ground."
Ward finally did.
"Go! Go! Hurry!" Terrance called out to them.
Affinity pulled her hat down, for good measure, and set out into a quick jog towards the truck. Just before they were able to get inside, they heard Ward begin to yell after them.
"No! No, that's John B!"
"Get down!"
"John B! No!" Ward was crawling to his feet. "How the fuck can you be alive?! It's not yours! That gold is mine, Routledge!"
John B placed one hand on the gun and held the other out as a way to motion Ward to stop. Affinity froze, standing behind John B. The man kept coming.
"Put him down, Terrance!" Affinity screamed.
Terrance scrambled for his own gun while John B pulled his out of his waistband. Ward got away from Terrance, and at the same time, Rafe was able to break away from Cleo long enough to lift the gun he held and point it at John B.
"I'll finish you both this time!" The manic boy shouted.
Rafe's finger pulled back on the trigger with the barrel pointed directly at John B. That dreadful noise sounded, but this time, Affinity had the ability to act. Before her body even knew what she was doing, the girl stepped in front of John B and shoved him back. Seconds later, an immense, sharp pain shot through the right side of her abdomen. She gasped and her hands instantly flung over where the bullet had just penetrated her. What came next baffled her. She expected the most excruciating pain to rush through her entire body but instead, the pain began to disappear. Her hands went cold. Her legs...numb. So this was what shock felt like?
But the blood didn't spare one moment for it gushed out of the newly created hole and started to pour down her jean shorts and bare legs. Her breathing wheezed in and out as her head turned slowly so that her dim, teary eyes found John B'a face, which was written with sickening disbelief. Affinity felt her knees buckle and her entire body weight came crashing down to the road. John B scrambled to break her fall, catching her torso in his arms before she could hit the ground.
"Holy shit," he breathed. "Oh my God, oh my God."
Affinity's breathing had become rapid. Suddenly the sky before her was blinding and it became necessary for her to shield her face. Her brain was pounding against the walls of her skull as her heart beat faster and faster with every passing second.
John B took his bandana off his neck. "Okay, Fin, I know this is gonna hurt but-"
He pressed the fabric down on her wound firmly. The pain returned in a tidal wave, crashing upon her nerves. Affinity let out a cry through gritted teeth.
"Okay, okay, I need you to press down. Can you do that?"
She pursed her lips together tightly and nodded. A gasp escaped her lips as she did so, but she continued.
"Terrance!" John B yelled. "Affinity's been shot!"
"Cleo, get 'em on the ground and go help her!"
With Ward and Rafe both lying on the ground before Terrance's aimed gun, without the two men having their own offense this time, Cleo was able to rush over to the couple.
"I'm texting you an address to a doctor!" Cleo said as she helped John B lift Affinity to her feet. "You take our truck and we'll get the gold to where it needs to be. You tell him that Terrance sent you."
"And this is a hospital?" John B asked frantically.
"You kidding? You wanna get caught?"
"I really don't give a shit, Cleo. I care about her more than anything right now," John B continued through strain as they got Affinity to the truck.
She was able to walk, but more like a hobble. Each step sent a stampede of pain through her gut. She clung onto John B tightly until she was able to plant herself in the seat of the truck.
"He's better than any other doctor, boy. He'll take care of you! We're gonna meet at the wharf in eight hours. No more. It is hot as hell out there." She nodded to Ward and Rafe. "We'll take care of them."
Tears started to fall down her cheeks as a reflex of the pain while Affinity nodded slowly.
"Cleo," her voice shook. "Thank you."
"You're gonna need some money." Cleo gave John B the lump of gold they'd taken from them. "Take care of my girl." She reached to grab Affinity's hand. "You're a fighter, girl. Hold on! Hold on!" Cleo smacked the hood of the vehicle. "Go! Go! Go! Go!"
John B's foot slammed into the accelerator as he sped down the road. His heart was racing and, now, so was time.
Affinity's head was spinning. Her body wanted to worry about what was happening to itself but it also kept wandering back to how everything was going wrong. What if Cleo and Terrance took the gold? What were they going to do? Then, her body quickly became too weak to even think about that. She had no concept of time anymore. Where were they? How long had they been driving? If she closed her eyes, would they open again?
John B noticed her dozing off. "No, no, no, no." He cupped his hand around her face and her eyes shot open. "Hey, you gotta stay awake for me."
What came out of her mouth was almost like a sob. "But I'm so tired."
"Just hang on a little longer."
The swerving of the truck made her sick with agony. She couldn't bear this much longer. They had to get there or else she knew she wouldn't make it any further.
But it was almost a heavenly feeling when she was tossed forward as the brakes came to a squealing stop. John B was at her door in seconds to help her out. She slung one arm around his next as he guided her towards where the people pointed when he asked where the doctor was. Affinity's limp grew heavier and heavier and at that rate, her right leg would be completely worthless in the next few moments. All of her weight was clinging to John B's shoulders as he worked to free his hand and press the buzzer. He clicked it a dozen times before a voice answered.
"What do you want?
"I'm looking for Dr. Nygard!"
"Dr. Nygard isn't here."
"Do you know where I can find him?"
"Who are you?"
"I'm a friend of Terrance's. Okay, look, my girl's been shot."
"Aw, hell." The man groaned. "There's a camera above to your left. Look at it and let me see your faces."
Affinity weakly rose her head.
"Alright, go through the bar. There's some stairs on the right."
"Okay, thank you. Thank you." John B stumbled inside and started to call for the doctor. "Doc, where are you?!"
"Here! Right here!"
John B rounded the corner to the stairs and started to hoist the girl's dead weight up them, struggling a little more every time her dragging feet caught one of the stairs. Affinity did his best to drive her heel through the wood to assist John B. It was a pity attempt, but it was something. The doctor came into her line of sight. He was an elderly man dressed in white with round glasses.
"It's not her head is it?" The doctor asked.
"No," John B panted. "It's not a head."
"Good. I don't do heads."
This guy wasn't really making out to be very promising.
The doctor showed John B inside and where to lay her down. He lifted both her legs, raising her high enough to lay her down horizontally on the wooden table. That was the first sense of relief she'd experienced in these dreadful last minutes. But sometimes comfort can be the enemy, for suddenly her muscles eased a little too much than they should've. She couldn't feel her toes in her bloody shoes even though she knew she was moving them.
Her hearing was next to go. Silence with quiet murmurs mixed in took place in the commotion of the doctor examining her wound while John B did everything he could to help. She couldn't tell what was going on anymore but it some point, she must've been hooked up to the machine that monitored her heartbeat and pulse. The beeping it produced was the only thing she could hear, but just barely. She didn't know how much time had passed or what the doctor had done, but what she clearly understood was impossible staying awake was becoming to be.
Through her whimpering cries and gasps for air, she tried to speak to him. "I can't hang on any longer." Her hands reached up to touch his face, which began to sway, growing lighter then darker. "I can't."
Every sound was now inaudible, including whatever John B was trying to say to her. He grew lighter again.
Darker.
And darker.
Until her whole world went completely black.
•••
a/n: dun dun dunnnn. . . our poor baby🥺 they literally can't catch a break. this chapter took me so much longer than expected but i'm hoping to get a couple more up here in this week.
is it bad that i'm really enjoying writing all this angst?? whoops
love y'all!
- ky <3