┍━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━┑
chapter forty eight
THE CROSS AND THE KEY
┕━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━┙
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
"Let me know if I'm hurting you." Athena spoke as she placed a plaster on Heyward's face.
"You're doing fine." The man groaned.
"Okay." Athena nodded, stepping back and sitting next to Sarah.
"Thank you, darlin'." Heyward winced as Pope stepped towards him.
"Pop, what happened?" Pope asked his father.
"Oh, I should've known better." Heyward shook his head. "He came in just as I was about to lock up. Caught me by surprise. Once he had me down, he put his knee in my chest, and he asked me about that that that key from that that drawing you showed me."
Heyward looked around the group. "And in case you're wondering, I ain't tell him nothing." The man turned towards Pope. "Now did you track it down?"
"I found it in Mee-maw's old apartment above the pharmacy just like you said." Pope held up the key.
"Shit, boy, you should've gave this to me.I wouldn't have had to take a beating. What's the big deal? It ain't worth anything. Why they want it so bad?" Heyward asked.
"I don't know." Pope shrugged. "First, I get this letter telling me that I need to go to Charleston. And then I meet a rich lady who wants me to give her a key that I didn't even know was in my family."
"None of it makes any sense." Kie shook her head.
"I told you she was a creep who knew your ancestors." Athena scoffed. "None of y'all believed me."
"And she's back." JJ muttered, Athena turning and shooting him a wink.
"Well, don't y'all just sit here whining about it. Figure it out!" Heyward ordered them all.
"No. I'm just gonna give the key to that lady. It's not worth--"
"No, no, no. Did I raise you to back down from a fight, boy?" Heyward interrupted him.
"No, sir." Pope sighed.
"Well, all right. Now, I I didn't think about it before. I admit that. But now Now? I'm interested. Well, did they say why they wanted it?" Heyward asked his son.
"Something about an old cross. I think it might be some kind of lost treasure." Pope explained.
"You know who you should talk to? Your great-grandmother, Mee-maw." Heyward stated.
The group sat in the Twinkie, driving to where Pope's Mee-Maw was staying.
"Guys, the thing that Limbrey said, I don't think she meant to let it slip." Pope spoke up. "She said the key leads to the Cross of Santo Domingo."
"Wait can I see that?" Pope handed JJ the key, Athena letting out a sigh as she let against Kie's leg.
"I need a nap." She mumbled.
"Are we supposed to know what that is?" Sarah asked.
"I'm guessing it's some sort of historical artefact of great importance." Pope made a face.
"Well, according to the interwebs, it was a gift from New Spain to the Spanish king." Kie read from Wikipedia.
"New spain? Is there an old Spain?" JJ asked from the passenger seat.
"Shit, talk about over-gifting. Look at that thing. Looks like a person standing next to it." Kie turned her phone, showing everyone the drawing of the cross.
"So it's a giant-ass cross." JJ shrugged.
"It was widely considered at the time to be the most extravagant tribute ever from the provinces." Kie reads. "It was lost off the coast of Bermuda in 1829."
"Did you just say Bermuda?" JJ asked the girl.
"Oh no. Not the triangle." John B sighed.
"It always leads back to the triangle dude. Like every single time something's weird, it's Bermuda." JJ ranted.
The group then arrived at their destination, Pope stating he was to go alone. The group drove off into town, parking near a convenience store. Kie and Sarah went inside while Athena sprawled across the back of the Twinkie, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.
When Pope returned, Sarah woke Athena up as the boy jumped in the van, exhaling as he sat down.
"So how's it go?" John B asked him as the group stared at him.
"Shit just got way more personal." Was all Pope stated.
"I still can't believe you're related to Denmark Tanny." JJ's eyes widened as him and John B approached Pope, the group now sat around drinking beer.
"Are we in the presence of a royal?" John B asked sarcastically.
"A king?" JJ questioned before putting on a british accent. "We shall crown him. All hail the Lord of Tannyhill. We are not wroth!"
Everyone pretended to bow to Pope as he swatted JJ away, "Everybody, relax. Can we relax, please?"
"Relocate the Cat's ass, question mark?" Sarah asked.
"I'm with that." JJ nodded.
"How soon can we move in?" John B added.
"Cause I don't have a place to stay." JJ stated.
"Me either. Bunk beds?" Kie suggested.
"Bunk beds. Cheers to that." JJ agreed.
"I'm bunking with Kie." Athena smiled, laughing at the face JJ made.
"I just keep thinking about the letter, the one that Limbrey sent." Pope spoke up. "It had the wheat symbol on it. That must mean it has something to do with the Royal Merchant."
"Yeah. Something seems fishy." JJ nodded.
"But if we find that cross, we can split it like we were gonna split the gold." Pope told the group.
"Yeah. I'm with that." JJ smiled.
"And live happily ever after?" A voice asked, the group spinning around to see Limbrey and Renfield approaching them.
"You assaulted my father." Pope stated, walking towards the woman.
"Oh, I didn't assault anybody." Limbrey told him.
"He can identify the psycho a mile away." Kie piped up.
"Why would my a... a... assault your father? That's absurd." Limbrey laughed. "Listen, we can keep on negotiating but the fact is that I want the key."
Pope stepped forward angrily again, Renfield and JJ holding him back.
"Hey!" Kie exclaimed.
"Easy." Limbrey told him. "And I wont stop until I have it. I don't have a choice, which means neither do you."
"It's Limbrey, right? Is that right?" John B spoke up, everyone turning to him, the boy spinning the key in his hand.
"Yes."
"Is this what you're looking for?" Athena furrowed her eyebrows, turning to see Pope pull the key from his back pocket.
"Yes, it is." Limbrey nodded.
"Looking at the tide right now, I'd say it's about 20 feet deep out there. So, if I just threw it in the channel, the probability of you finding it again is slim to none. You wanna give it a shot? Ready?" John B stepped forward, pretending to throw the key as Limbrey rushed forwards.
"No! Hey!" The woman exclaimed. "Please don't do that."
"Get him to back the hell up." John B nodded to Renfield.
"Of course. Back up." Limbrey ordered the man, walking over to Pope. "As I have told you from the beginning, I am willing to be reasonable."
"Okay." Pope nodded.
"Okay?" Limbrey asked, confused.
"I'll give you the key, but I want the tape." Pope explained.
"Of course. Of course." The woman nodded.
"Pope. Hey, hey, hey, hey." John B rushed over to the boy. "You don't have to do this, okay?"
"No, it's okay." Pope reassured him.
"No, dude, this is your family." John B tried to reason with him.
"Hey, it's fine. It's okay. It's about your dad. That's way more important." Pope held out a hand, John B giving him the key. Pope then asked for the tape, Renfield holding it out. Pope grabbed the tape, the same time Limbrey took the key.
"You know, I wish that you'd come to this decision earlier. We could have avoided all this unpleasantness." Limbrey then turned and walked away.
"Nice to meet you." John B called after her.
"How long do you think we have until she realizes she has your father's old key?" JJ asked John B, who was next to him.
"Ten minutes." John B guessed.
"Whose idea was the fake key?" Pope asked, turning around to face the group.
"Shockingly, not mine." Kie told him.
"Hmm, I don't know. Should we tell him?" John B asked, putting an arm around JJ, who smiled
"Wow." Kie smiled.
"I'm impressed." Pope told them, going over to the boys.
"Well done JJ. One of your plans finally worked." Athena congratulated the blond, who smiled at her.
"Maybe you are good for something." Kie laughed.
"Did hell freeze over?" Pope questioned rhetorically.
"Even a blind pig can find an acorn at times." JJ spoke. "I actually don't know what that means, but I saw it on reddit."
"We gotta take the tape to Shoupe." John B announced, putting his beer down behind him.
"Yes, sir. Ward Cameron, we're coming for you." JJ stated as the three boys jumped up walking towards the Twinkie, Kie closely behind. "Shotgun!"
"It's Ward's turn now!" Pope exclaimed.
Athena took a deep breath, looking around before grabbing Sarah's hand. The twins shared a look, turning around and following the four.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗟 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗦
this chapter was so boring oh my god! the next chapter however :(
the next three chapters are athena's saddest chapters and that hurts but oh well
when do y'all want the next update?