The sun is just starting to rise which means there isn't much time left before the crew board the boat and get ready to take the first group of people on a journey this morning. We have to catch 3 boats in total to make it to Venezuela. Two bigger boats and one smaller boat. The small boat is going to be the hardest to sneak onto, but at least there's only two of us so we have less of a chance at being caught.
"I know you and Rafe have never seen eye to eye, but I believe we can be a good team."
"Yeah, about that..." JJ sounds hesitant and I look from the ground, to him instead and I see his eyes fixated on something ahead. I turn my gaze in the same direction and come to a complete stop when I see the Pogues standing at the dock, waving at us.
"What are they doing here?" I whisper-yell to JJ, slapping his arm. "I told you that they weren't to be involved in this."
"I couldn't keep this from them. As I said to you, it's either all of us or none of us."
I am surprised to see them here, but I am more surprised to see that Kiara is. I thought that she out of everyone was done with the hunt. She had given up completely.
"Hey guys." JJ says as we reach the group.
"Why the long face, you're not happy to see us?" John B asks, noticing my miserable facial expression and reluctant body language.
"Come on, this will be a fun day of snorkelling." Kiara places her arm around me, trying to cheer me up.
"Snorkelling? That's what you told her?" Pope looks at Sarah who is awkwardly staring down at her feet.
"I did't know what else to say. It was the only thing I could think of to get her here."
"Why did you guys lie to her?" JJ asks and Kiara removes her arm from around me as she realises that the group lied to her and we are most certainly not going snorkelling.
"Well we didn't see you volunteering to tell her." Sarah defends herself towards JJ. She then looks at Kiara. "We are going to Venezuela where my brother is supposedly meeting my Dad. Who just so happens to have our gold and Pope's cross."
While Kie is shouting at the group, pissed off that they first of all lied to her and second of all, are going to find the cross and the gold, I stare at JJ who is avoiding eye contact with me at all costs.
"I can't believe you." I say to him.
"I'm sorry Bambi, I know you're mad at me but this will be for the better. Do you really think Rafe would happily work with us and willingly give us the cross and the gold? I am glad that you told me about it and you know, maybe you should be the one to distract Rafe while we steal our stuff from him once he gets it from Ward?"
"Listen to yourself right now. That's even worse of an idea than what I had. At least I suggested splitting the possessions between us. Maybe Rafe would be willing to give us a small cut. Or at least Pope's cross."
"I'm not going." Kiara says, crossing her arms and taking a step backwards so that she is out of the circle.
"We either all go or none of us go." JJ says to Kiara. "Come on Kie, we will only be gone for a few days. Say you are staying at Sarah's again."
She shakes her head at JJ. "No, I'm not going. I only stayed at Sarah's because I was having a fight with my Mum. We are actually on good terms at the moment. They will send me back to boarding school."
John B lets out a sigh. "JJ is right, it's either none of us or all of us. Do you really not want to go? This is our last shot Kie. Please come or else all of us will stay and forever be wondering what if."
She takes another step backwards. "I'm sorry guys, but I can't go."
"So that's it? You guys aren't going to go? Suit yourself because I am." I reach for my bag, but JJ stops me.
I stand up and look at him with anger. Is he really trying to stop me from going right now? I didn't want them involved in the first place, but now that they are all here, it makes me angry that he is choosing her over me. He is trying to stop me from going because of her.
"Its always about Kiara. You guys had the chance to become millionaires twice and blew it both times. Haven't you heard the saying, third times the charm?" I say, looking at all of them.
For the first time ever, JJ is remaining silent. He would come with me in a heartbeat if it wasn't for Kiara.
"We were a team well before you came into the picture. Then you came back to town and we welcomed you in and you have been the furthest from appreciative. We have all been through so much and I can't handle that anymore. You have no idea what we have been through." Kiara says defensively.
I let out a quiet snicker. "You don't think I haven't been through shit? You were a Kook through and through up until a couple years ago. Your whole childhood was eating off expensive plates, having a roof over your head, an education and two parents who would do anything to give you a good life. Yes, I know that you guys went through a lot these past few years, especially when you got stuck on that island. But do not assume that my life has been easy because it hasn't. You have no idea what I have gone through either."
Kiara shrugs her shoulders and reaches into her bag to grab her water bottle. There's no way that she is going to sit back and remain silent. Kiara always argues back.
"That's it? You don't have anything else that you want to say?" I laugh dryly, still waiting for her to continue the argument that is far from over. I am so sick of everybody treading on eggshells because of Kiara. She needs to be put in her place.
"I'm not stopping anyone from going. But these guys clearly know that I am the smart one here and that is why they are choosing to stay too."
I shake my head in disagreement. "They were all willing to go. Everyone came along on the trip to the lighthouse."
"Which was a total failure."
"Fine then." I pick up my backpack from the floor and look ahead at the end of the dock where the boat is moored. "I'll go by myself." I glance over at JJ who doesn't dare to stop me this time.
At last, Pope speaks up because he has been quiet this entire conversation.
"I know that all Pogues stick together, but that cross belonged to my ancestors. If there is a way that I can get that back, then you bet I will take every chance that I get." Pope follows me down the dock and we both help each other onto the boat. We find the compartment where the life vests are kept and hide out in here. It's hot and confined in here, but hopefully we won't be in here for too long. Once the boat takes off, we can get out of here.
Shortly after, the top of the life vest storage compartment is removed and I look up to see JJ. He climbs in with Pope and I.
"We managed to convince Kie. The others are hiding out too."
I ignore him because I am not happy with him at the moment. This was just supposed to be him and I. I am glad that Pope is here though. He is the only one who seems to have the same mindset as me.
"I'm sorry for asking everyone. You can be angry at me for as long as you need to but just know, we need to all communicate and trust each other if this plan is going to work."
"I don't trust you at all. And I certainly don't trust Kiara to keep her mouth shut. She is going to fuck this up for all of us."
"Don't say that Bambi. You need to stop being so nasty to Kiara. What you said, that's not cool."
"Oh and what about the things she said to me? I bet you didn't tell her to lay off. Of course not because you don't want to upset your stupid little crush."
"Guys, shut up. I can hear someone."
"Alright, let's get this thing hosed down and fuelled up." A deep, raspy voice says. It's go time. We all need to stay still and silent because if we are caught, we can say goodbye to the gold and the cross for good.
*
After making it to Venezuela, we began plotting all of the places where Rafe and Ward could be. We decided to split up so that we could cover more ground as we don't have much time before the meet-up happens.
It's been a couple of hours now and Pope and I stopped by another wharf that looks the exact same as the last one we were at.
"I feel like we are looking in the wrong places. They could be out on a boat for all we know. Maybe we should take that and go for a paddle." Pope points to a kayak that is attached to one of the nearby boats.
"And paddle at such a slow speed, they'll shoot us down instantly for stealing it. This isn't OBX Pope. We can't just steal things without knowing potential consequences."
He nods his head. "Yeah, you're right. You're right."
Suddenly, Pope's phone goes off and he holds it between the two of us so that I can see the screen as well.
"It's from Sarah."
"Open it."
Pope types in his passcode, revealing the text from Sarah. She has sent a photo of Rafe at the hotel she suspected he would be at. The picture is of Rafe getting into a black car. Pope calls Sarah and she picks up instantly while speaking in a hushed tone.
"John B placed his phone on the back of the car. He shared his location with you all. We're tracking it now. Scarlett, can you see the tracking details?"
I pull out my phone and see the notification that John B had started sharing his location with me 5 minutes ago.
"Yes, I've got it. That's not too far from where Pope and I are now." I then look to my right to see two bikes chained to a pole. "Pope and I will be there in a few minutes."
"A few minutes? I can run, but I'm not that fast. It took us 15 minutes to walk from the last wharf to this one."
I nod my head to the side, hinting towards the two bikes. Pope shakes his head repeatedly.
"Did you not just listen to your own words? This isn't the OBX. We can't steal things without knowing the consequences."
"Well good thing I am good at picking locks." I pull my bobby pin out of my hair. "We will text you when we've found Rafe." I say confidently to Sarah before reaching over and pressing the end call button on Pope's phone.
"No way Scarlett."
"Fine then, suit yourself." I glance around one last time to see if anyone is around. When the coast is clear, I walk forwards and pretend to trip right before I get to the bikes. "Oh no!" I gasp as I land on the floor, making it dramatic in the slight chance that anyone nearby is watching on. When I am leaning against the bike for support as I 'stretch my leg out' with my other hand, I am picking the lock with my bobby pin. I unlock one of the bikes before moving onto the next one. That one unlocks with just one swift movement of the pin.
"Quick, jump on." I say to Pope as I jump onto the first bike and begin pedalling off. Pope gets on after me and when I look behind, I see Pope a few metres behind. There are two people who are running after us after coming out of the bait shop at the wharf.
When we are clear from the two people, I pull out my phone and watch the location of John B's phone. It is getting further away so Pope and I need to hurry. Rafe's car soon comes to a halt and this gives Pope and I time to catch up. We then see the car at a set of lights ahead and I put my phone away as keeping track of the car with my eyes is more beneficial now.
A few blocks later, the car pulls over to the side of the road and Rafe gets out of the car. He holds his phone to his ear and despite having black sunglasses over his eyes, Rafe looks very serious. By his tensed posture and jittery hand movements, I can tell that he is stressed.
I leave the bike around the corner before carefully walking through the bushes nearby and getting as close as I can to where Rafe is standing. Pope is following closely behind me, neither of us saying a word. Pope pulls out his phone and I assume he is texting Sarah the updates.
After Rafe's phone call, he looks around before putting his phone into his pocket and walking over to the dock. Rafe gets onto the closest boat to shore and when he gets on board, I notice a familiar face appear.
Ward.
The two disappear to the lower deck, completely out of sight. I get out from behind the bushes and Pope pulls me back.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"I need to get on the boat. Listen in to see if I can hear anything or maybe Ward has the gold or the cross on there."
"Ward is a smart man who managed to fake his own death and fool everyone. Do you really think that he would bring millions of dollars worth of possessions with him in a simple meeting with Rafe? He will have them locked up in a place where not even Rafe can access."
I let out a sigh before going back into the bushes with Pope.
"You're right. Sorry, I got too excited."
"You are good at this Scarlett, but you're still new to this. We have done this plenty of times before. Sometimes you just have to be patient and find another way to seek the truth."
I nod my head, knowing that Pope is right. Pope and I wait in the bushes and after about half an hour, Rafe gets off the boat and back to the car.
"We need to follow him back."
"We have his location, remember. We will wait until the car stops and we will follow him from there. We already know that the meeting happened. Surely Rafe wouldn't act so quickly. He is smart. We need to give it some time. See where he goes next."
"Should I call him? He will think I'm in OBX. Maybe I'll be able to get some information out of him."
Pope shrugs his shoulders. "You can try, but I don't know. How close are you two?" He pauses for a moment before speaking again. "Actually, I don't want to know the answer to that."
"I already have JJ on my back as it is. I don't need to judgement from you too Pope."
"I'm sorry Scarlett. It's just because we care."
*
Rafe ended up getting dropped back to his hotel and Sarah and John B saw him walk into the lobby before disappearing. John B managed to get his phone back before the car left. They waited for about an hour to see if Rafe left again, but he didn't.
When I called him, he didn't answer which felt like a kick in the guts but I don't know why I was expecting him to answer my call. I thought he cared about me but maybe I was reading into it too much. We aren't a couple after all.
It's close to midnight and everyone is asleep in the old, abandoned shed that is not too far away from Rafe's hotel. I can't sleep, I have too much on my mind. I walk out of the shed and go for a wander along the pier. It's nice here. Quiet and away from the hustle that happens directly in town.
I continue walking, enjoying the cool breeze on my skin and thinking about what we are going to do tomorrow. Will Rafe meet up with Ward again? We need to be up early or at least taking shifts to keep lookout outside of his hotel.
While I am deep in thought and walking in the darkness, I don't even notice someone approaching me from behind. Next thing you know, someone covers my mouth with their hands and holds onto me tightly from behind.
I can't scream, I can't run and I can't see who it is.