CHAPTER FORTY
Denmark Tanny
‿︵‿︵‿︵
(PRESENT)
Good things rolled on through the evening.
The Pogue's sat around the makeshift bonfire. Avery was staring at John B, anticipating whatever he had to say. She was still in her golden dress with JJ's waiter shirt draped over her shoulders to keep her as warm as possible. The blond sat next to her, playing with sticks and poking the fire.
"So, the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant" John B suspensively said, glancing between his friend's.
Avery gasped and stomped her feet, "I told you so!"
"Here we go again with this" Pope rolled his eyes and shook his head, making Avery roll her eyes, and she leaned behind JJ and poked him with the stick she had been fiddling with.
"No. Alright, wait. Hear him out" JJ told the Heyward boy who reluctantly obeyed and turned his attention back to the brunet.
"It's been here the whole time" A small smile played on John B's face. "It's on the island"
Soon, John B was pulling evidence to back up what he was saying and standing up. The boy held a folded piece of paper in his hands, telling them that it was a letter from Denmark Tanny, a slave that survived the wreck but never was mentioned as a crew members. Big John had found the complete manifest, his big discovery.
"So Tanny used the gold from the Merchant to buy his freedom. After that, he brought his farm. Drumroll please," John B lectured them on the new information he had discovered. Avery joined Kiara with making a drumroll, tapping her palms against the log she perched on. "Because that farm is Tannyhill Plantation"
The blond boy tuned his head to the side to steal a glance at Avery. She had dropped the stick and was resting her elbows on her thighs, holding her chin in her hands as she fixated on John B, listening to every word he said. He was interrupted by Pope nudging him, handing him the letter and waving it in Avery's direction. JJ took it from his fingers and handed it over to the girl, who eagerly took it from him.
"Harvest the wheat. In parcel nine, near the water," John B memorised the code message. "Except, there's no wheat. You see, wheat is code for gold. Check this out"
The brunet wondered over to Avery, hovering over her shoulder as he shined his light onto the page. She leaning closer to see it clearer and listened to him. He mumbled, "the gold is in parcel nine, near the water"
"Holy shit" Pope breathed out, earning a pat on the shoulder as John B passed him, returning back to his spot besides Kiara.
"All we need is an original survey map of the property, and we've found the gold" John B grinned and spread out his arms, adding to the dramatic effect.
At the same time, Avery and JJ stood up from their seats and trudged over to the boy. She laughed as JJ attacked John B into a tight, bear hug and lifted him off his feet. Avery cringed at how close they had come towards the fire, reaching out to poke JJ's back.
"Hello! Fire! You're near the fire. You're gonna burn" John B quickly mumbled, patting JJ's back and tried to encourage him to be aware of his feet placement.
The Maybank boy dropped his friend onto his feet and sincerely said, "I'm so proud of you right now"
John B cupped his face and smiled, "Thank you. That's really sweet of you"
"I knew you would do it, Johnny" Avery mumbled. She bumped past JJ to give the boy a hug, wrapping around his waist. John B didnt hesitate to wrap his arms around her.
"Okay, so, guys. What's the plan?" Pope ruined the sentimental moment between the old trio.
"Good question," John B spoke up, letting Avery stay in his embrace for a little longer. He rested his chin on her head, "Sarah Cameron is going to come tonight. She'll bring an original survey map–"
"Wait, hold on" Kiara cut him off, surprised to hear the mention of the Kook. "Sarah? Why- why Sarah?"
"This is all you" Avery whispered and pulled away from his chest, patting his shoulder as she bit back a laugh.
"This is gonna be good" JJ mumbled, taking off his hat to reveal his messy hair. He looked up at the sight of Avery's feet approaching.
While John B awkwardly explained how Sarah got him into the archives in Chapel Hill yesterday, where he got the letter from, Avery was scooped under JJ's arm. She watched with amusement as she noticed how John B was slightly afraid of Kiara.
"He was mackin' on her" JJ teased, making the conversation even more complicated. He grunted softly at the feeling of Avery's elbow jabbing into his side.
"I wasn't macking" John B defended.
"You were totally macking Sarah Cameron" JJ continued.
"I wasn't macking on her, okay? I was using her for access" The brunet was desperate to move on the conversation.
"There was access, all right" JJ deadpanned. For once, his comedic timing was not on time.
"Don't make me ask about you and Avery," John B surprised the two blonde's by his remark. They looked at him with doe eyes. He laughed humourless, "see, we will talk about that later"
Shamefully, Avery actually had come to like the Kook princess. The little encounters with her had been eventful, they often caught each other at the worst time. But the moment they shared on the dance floor, Avery saw something in her she hadn't seen before. And for John B, the poguest of Pogues, to tolerate a Kook, she gathered that Sarah couldn't possibly be that terrible.
However, by the way Kiara was reacting made Avery feel bad for the way she felt. Kiara took her Kook year before she left town and hadn't ever brought it up. Avery just assumed that it wasn't worth mentioning, nothing special happened and it was what it was. Yet, now she wondered if something had happened and was intrigued to know more.
"Look, you guys know me. Do I look like the type of person to fall for Sarah Cameron?" John B laughed, like the thought was ridiculous to him. Realistically it was but feelings changed a lot of things, even when you least expect them too.
"Do you want us to answer that or?" Pope spoke up, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes" Avery blurted out, making JJ choke on a laugh.
"Just– just stop" John B shushed the two, waving his finger at them.
"Look, you don't know her yet. I do! You can't trust her" Kiara's voice was strained, desperately trying to make them understand that what she was saying.
"She doesn't seem that bad. Maybe we should–" The blonde immediately stopped talking as soon as she caught the glare Kiara shot at her.
"Her brother did hit me in the back with a golf club" Pope pointed out and reminded the group about the incident.
"Rafe and Sarah are two different human beings" John B frowned.
"What did she do it you, Kie?" Avery finally asked. The question should have been asked a while ago but she chose to think it was pointless to up until then.
"She's like a– like a spitting cobra. First she— she blinds you, and then—"
"This is a bad analogy" Pope butted in.
"Listen to me!" Kiara raised her voice, "whatever we get, she's gonna try to take"