"can you imagine
no love, pride, deep
fried chicken?"
THE NEXT MORNING, Red woke up still cradled next to JJ in the bed as she had probably fallen asleep before she could return to the pull-out.
Because of her movements and stretching, JJ was woken up by the loud and rather springy bed. JJ groaned, rolling to his other side and mumbling something Red couldn't understand.
Red laid the back of her hand onto JJ's head, which was hot, as expected. She was sure he was going to be hung over, but he looked better than he did the night before.
The girl whisked a hair out of his eyes and gently kissed his forehead before exiting the room where she was met by Pope and Kie.
"Hey." Red greeted, giving Kie a side hug and sitting on the couch.
"How's he doing?" Pope asked, peeking through the small crack Red had left when closing the door.
Red sighed, "Hung over. As expected, but I think better than last night."
"So... are you guys good now?"
"I don't really know," Red told, fiddling with the bracelet tied around her wrist. "He's been through a lot already. I don't think begging for an apology is the way to go right now."
"Good point." Kie smiled, opening John B's fridge, which was now full of spoiled foods, "You know he didn't mean it, right?"
"I know."
A few minutes later, after JJ was awake, the teens were testing supplies that were going to be used to equip the gold later that night. Kie was in a large bucket hanging down from a tree, Pope was across from her, and JJ and Red sitting on the edge of the hot tub with their feet dangling in.
"How's it feeling?" Asked Pope, watching as Kie pulled the rope to see how sturdy it was.
"Feels good," Kie responded.
"Alright, I'm taking you down now." Pope told her, Kie giving him an 'Okay' in response before Pope did exactly that and pulled her down
"John B's pulling a Houdini." JJ blurted, Red gently removed the beer bottle from his hands and poured it on the lawn, not wanting him to drink while hung over.
"Yeah, where is he?" Red questioned, looking around to realize that Bennie wasn't there either. "Had anybody seen Bennie since the Wreck?"
"Nope." Kie responded. "She's probably doing kook things right about now, right? I'm sure she'll be here tonight."
"Yeah, but seriously, where are they?" Asked Pope, sounding worried. "I got my scholarship interview in the morning. We gotta get this done!"
Just then, John B could be seen walking across the yard, wordless.
"There he is!" Red shouted, pleased to see him.
"Sepack of the devil," JJ called for his best friend. "Hey! Dude I set up the entire wench to pull up the gold and everything." JJ lied, looking over at Pope, who actually did that.
"No, he did not, I did that."
"John B-" Kie called, watching as John B stormed inside, not saying a word to any of them.
"Okay? That's it?"
The group began walking towards the door John B had entered.
"Uh... what's that all about," Pope questioned, waiting for JJ and Red to exit the hot tub.
"I was gonna ask you the same question," JJ responded.
Red crossed her arms, "I don't know what's up, but it can't be good. Right?"
As soon as the group entered the house, Pope immediately went over to John B, "You alright, man? What's up?"
"What are you looking for?" Asked Kie, John B looking through cabinets like a mad man.
"John B, what's going on?" Asked Red. John B pulled the couch cusion up and revealing a gun. JJ walking quickly over to him.
"John B, what do you need a gun for?" He asked, approaching his friend closer, but John B pushed him onto the couch. "Talk to us!"
"John B, chill! What are you doing?" Kie yelled, watching as John B grabbed a hold of Pope's shoulders and pushed him down.
"What are you JJ now?" Pope questioned, looking out of breath when Kie and Red checked in on him.
"John B what are you doing?" Red yelled, speeding up her pace as she rushed after John B.
The four teens exited the Chatau to see John B on his bike, reeving the engine.
"John B, what the hell?" Kie yelled after him and coming to a halt in front of everyone.
"Ward knows about the gold!" John B finally spoke up, backing it up with no context whatsoever. "He killed my dad..." His voice cracked as he slowly turned his head to look at his friends.
With that, John B sped off on the bike, followed by teh rest of his friends sprinting after him, "John B!" The four eventually stopped, knowing the couldn't beat his bike.
"Crap!" Pope yelled in frustration.
Soon after that encounter, Red knew she needed to go home before her dad realized she didn't come home the night before. In fact, he probably already knew.
Red lightly shut the front door, greeted by her dad as soon as she walked in.
"Where were you last night, Reding?" He asked, putting his hands on his hips as his daughter faced the floor. "Where the hell were you?"
"At a friends." Red responded shortly, her dad shook his head.
"Don't give me that, Reding." He scolded, "I don't want you hangin' anywhere near that John B boy anymore, You hear?"
Red's head shot up with wide eyes. "What- You can't just do that."
"You think I'm doing this to be mean or somethin'? No. He shot Ward Cameron in cold blood." Shoupe lectured, his voice getting louder. "He stole his jet-ski too. He's a thief and a liar."
"And you believed him?" Red scoffed, crossing her arms across her chest with a huff.
"Yes, I believed him. Ward has no reason to lie."
"You don't know what the hell you're talking about. Ward Cameron killed Big John Routledge 9 months ago!"
"Did John B tell you that?" Shoupe asked, earning a nod from his daughter. "He's a liar. Ward didn't kill nobody."
"I can't believe you bought that. John B did not shoot Ward, and Ward killed John B. I don't know how he did it, or how John B knows, but he may be a pogue, but he's not a liar. He'd never hurt anyone."
"Then who the hell shot Ward, huh? Himself?" Shoupe asked rehortically, letting out a scoff. "Seems like your new friends are theives and liars then."
"What a bold assumption," Red screamed, throwing her hands up in the air. "John B didn't shoot him, and JJ didn't sink Topper's boat for fun. You of all people should know that. I'm so tired of being your perfect little robot that has to check all of your boxes because you want me to be exactly like you. Guess what? I can't do that. I've tried really, really, really hard to be like you. I have put myself out there, Thought about how you might feel, Told people, 'I know he gives off protective vibes, but he's really just shy.'"
"I never asked you to do that."
"You didn't have to!" Red yelled, tears flowing down her tanned face. "Because that's what I do! I don't have to be asked. And the fact that you don't know that says everything." Red walked over to the door, halfway out of it. "You wanna be alone, dad? Be alone."
With that, Red walked away from the house, looking back at the estate which was blurred in her eyes because of the tears.
She didn't know where to go, but she knew where she should. Red figured she'd stay at John B's house, as he was always open to guests until she and her dad sort things out, if they ever would.
By the time Red had arrived at the Chateau, it was almost 5:00 and the sun was beginning to set.
John B wasn't there either, and she wanted to figure out where he was. She probably should have let the pogues know where she was going, but she figured John B didn't want to be swarmed with people if she did in fact find him.
After hours of searching for the boy, Red knew she needed to take a break. And there was only one spot on the island she knew she could do just that.
It was out in the marsh, it was a dock where Red used to go swimming as a kid to get away from everything and everyone.
Except Red wasn't alone when she got there. In fact, exacly what she was looking for prior was sitting right on the dock holding something in his hands.
"There you are," Red called, John B turned his head slowly towards the girl, then turned it back away. "It's just me."
Red approached the boy, examining the object in his hands before sitting down. John B was holding a square basket with a photo of his dad in the middle of it and a candle keeping it up behind it.
"Could you hand me that?" He spoke up, looking over to the blow torch adjacent to Red. She smiled faintly, passing it to him as he lit the candle part of it on fire, holding it in his hands, just looking at it.
Red tilted her head leting out a small 'Hm' sound as she traced the photo with her blue eyes.
"Goodbye, dad." John B muttered softly, laying the basket in the water and letting out a shaky inhale of breath, allowing Red to rub his back comfortingly.
"It's okay." Red hushed, hearing John B let out a sniffle and rested his face in the crook of the girl's neck. "I got you. Just... tell me what happened."
John B perked up, pulling himself together enough to speak, "Everything was going great... but he knows about the gold and he... he attacked me, he tried to kill me with a fishing spear. Then... I went to Mrs. Lana and she told me everything." Although John B's words were shaky, they were still easy for Red to understand as she nodded her head.
"What did she tell you?"
"She said... the night my dad disappeared, she came home early and Ward was talking to Scooter about some deal him and my dad made, and my dad tried to change it... but Ward didn't let him." John B explained as if remembering Lana's words. "He and my dad were out in the open water... and after Dad told him he was only gonna give him 20% of the gold, Ward flipped out and pushed him into one of the cleats... and he banged his head on it. Then Ward threw his body into ocean and sunk the boat so nobody could find it. Ward sent Scooter out on the night of Agatha because he was worried it would all wash away. He made it to shore... and the last thing he did was carve 'Redfield' into that compass."
Red blinked rapidly, processing all of this new information. "Wow... That's horrible."
"Are the cops after me?"
Red chuckled, "I wouldn't know."
"Why not?" Asked John B, finally turning to face her again instead of the water.
Red sighed, "I left home about three hours ago. You know... My dad and I got into an argument. I'm planning to stay at the Chateau. If that's okay with you, of course."
"Yeah, sounds good." JB nodded, giving the girl an apologetic smile. "Did he kick you out?"
"Oh- no, no, no. I left by choice." Red layed her hands in her lap, hanging her head down lower. "I was just tired of trying to be perfect all of the time when that's not who I am."
John B nodded in understanding, "That's relatable. Sometimes you need to 'escape the bubble wrap' y'know?"
"Exactly." Red agreed, furrowing her eyebrows at the odd metaphor.
For the rest of that night, the pair remained on the dock, venting and letting out their feelings that were likely built up over years and years until they both ended up falling asleep, using a single life vest as a pillow.
"Hey! Wake up, wake up!" Red shook John B awake until his head rose and his eyes opened. "It's morning."
"What time is it?" He asked, rubbing his eyes with the hand that wasn't in a cast.
"I don't know." Red replied, standing up and wiping the dirt off her clothes, "C'mon, let's get going."
John B nodded his head, grabbing the torch and life vest that they had used as a pillow, and walked out to the Twinkie alongside the blonde.
It was indeed the first time Red had ever sat in the passenger seat of the Twinkie, it felt like more of an honor than it should have been.
As the Twinkie took off, The pair began ranting about random things, and playing eye spy before the van suddenly came to a halt.
John B quickly opened the door and exited.
"What?" Asked Red, following his steps without thinking. John B stood in front of the fence around the Crain house, a small sign reading, 'For Sale'. "Oh that can't be good."
John B then climbed the fence, helping Red get up as well before running through the back yard and coming to a stop infront of the house, Red not far behind where he stood.
Red lightly tapped the boy's shoulder, pointing to a red wagon reading 'Cameron Development' "John B, look!"
"No... no." The boy muttered, clearly out of breath from the run leading to where the pair stood. John B grunted, before running even further into the yard followed by Red, who also crawled down a tunnel that used to lead into the basement, but now it was blocked off with cement. "No!" He yelled, trying to find another way in, but failing. "No!! NO!! No!!" He continued yelling.
"John B! John B!" Red yelled after him, finally getting him to face her. "Look at me. Look at me." Red was now also just as out of breath as he was. "We'll find another way in! We're pogues. It's what we do. Improvise."
"How the hell do you expect to improvise, Red!? It's a dead end!" John B yelled, punching the ground before Red grabbed both of his arms getting him to stop.
"Would you stop doing that? There's no such thing as a dead end." Red told him, reacalling a quote. "If the front door is locked-"
"Go through the back, yeah I know."
"No. I was going to say you break a window."
John B took a breath nodding slowly. "Okay. Let's just get out of here."
Later, the duo plus JJ, Bennie and Kie were hanging out on the dock attached to the Chateau. John B and Red told them about what they saw.
"You're sure he got everything?" Asked Kie, just clarifying that she had the full story, no BS.
"Every bar." John B responded. "The whole enchilada." He reference, ripping off his cast with a grunt. "It's not like I expected as happy ending or anything."
"John B-"
"What, Kie? It's a hairline fracture. Who cares?"
"You should care. Your arms gonna be messed up for life." Kie scolded, sounding genuinely concerned.
"It's fine. See?" JB reassured, wiggling his fingers.
"Well, how can you be so sure that there's no gold down there if you couldn't even get in?" Asked Bennie, hopping down from the fence she had just sat on.
"Because, Bennie, if he saw them all, he'd take them all." John B sighed. "Where've you been the last few days?"
"Quarentined by Topper." Bennie replied shortly. "Let's just say he doesn't want me hanging out with 'dirty pogues' anymore. But honestly, who cares? I don't have to listen to him."
"Guys!" Pope called, running towards the group in a sweat drenched shirt before putting his hands on his knees. "Oh- Oh God I ran all the way over here."
"Why would you do that? It's like 98 out here!" Red lectured, tossing him a rag that he used to wipe off his sweat.
"How was the interview, Pope?" Asked JJ.
"Don't ask." Pope grunted, still catching his breath from the run. " JB. Look, I'm sorry, dude. About everything."
"It's fine." John B mumbled in response, not turning his head to face Pope.
"But I don't have a lot of time- and... and I have information that is tactically relevant." Pope faced the rest of the group, looking around at all of them as he told his story. "So before I had my interview, My dad said that he was going down to the private airstrip to cut palms, for Cameron's big plane. Because it was too heavy, it needed a longer landing strip to take off." He began acting out the entire thing. "So- I'm there sitting in my interview, thinking to myself, 'Hm, why would Cameron need a longer airstrip to take off?' What could be so heavy to weigh it down?"
John B perked up at Pope's words, understanding his point. In fact, everyone seemed to face Pope immediately.
Bennie furrowed her eyebrows, knowing the answer. "Gold."
"That's right." John B nodded.
Pope basically freaked out with his hands, moving them in all sorts of directions rapidly, "Exactly! Guys, this is our chance."
"Wait, it leaves tonight!" Bennie held her hands infront of her as if stopping the conversation. "Wheezie said Ward was taking Sarah to their vacation house in the Bahamas. So we gotta go, like STAT."
"Guys, we can't give up now!" Kie smiled, hopping down from her spot on the fence.
"What's the plan, big man?" Asked JJ, wrapping an arm around Red, who played with the ring around his finger.
"We're gonna steal it back," JB responded, making it sound easy.
Pope laughed, most of the group but Bennie and John B running down the dock, smiling ear to ear.
Minutes later, in the twinkie, the group gathered there all filled with newfound hope as JJ enthusiastically sorted out the plan unrealistically.
"We go in there, guns a-blazing! Make Ward Cameron beg for mercy, abscond with as much gold as possible, and vamonos, get the hell out of there."
"You're so smart, JJ. Really someone I look up to-" Bennie started sarcastically before JJ pushed her face back into her side of the van.
"Send that down the intercostal." John B added, chuckling at his sister's brutal honesty.
"Wait for the weather." Red added, snapping her fingers then pointing to Pope.
"Exit to Cuba." He finished.
"Cuba?" JJ scoffed with a smirk. "Nah, man. Xcalak, Jewel of the Yucatan. Lobsters to thick, mangoes, and no word for money." JJ cocked the gun.
"Let's do this." JB smiled, turning back to the road.
As soon as the group arrived infront of a fence, they immediately hopper out of the car, running to jump it.
"What's the plan?" Questioned Kie, stopping in front of it. "Broad Strokes."
"I don't think we got that far." John B explained, the group stopping at the fence and looking through at the plane, Pope had a scope for it.
"They're loading up the gold."
John B gently took the scope out of Pope's hands. "There's Ward." John B slowly pulled the scope down from his face.
"What?" Questioned Kie. "What?!"
"It's Sarah." JB muttered, Bennie throwing her hands in the air.
"Yeah! I said that. Does anyone ever listen to me?"
"Wait a minute." John B pulled the scope up again. "He's hurting her."
"What?!" Red asked, her voice sounding concerned.
"What?"
"They're fighting." John B added.
"Wait so she- what?" JJ asked, not paying attention at all.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Pope asked, approaching the Twinkie John B had just entered.
"Where are you going, John B?" Asked Bennie, quickly jumping into the passenger seat, John B failed to get her out before he crashed through the fence, swerving onto the runway.
The four ran to where the gat had broken, calling his name. Before they could process what John B had done to get the plane to stop, sirens could be heard approaching them.
"Guys I can't get arrested," Pope complained.
"I'm on probation." JJ grabbed Red's hand.
"Getting arrested by my own father wasn't exactly my plan for the perfect summer," Red mumbled, half-kidding.
"Look, we're no good if we're all in jail." Kie expelled, JJ picked up the gun he had dropped before running off with the others.
Before the police, likely involving Shoupe could arrive, the four managed to run to a broken down tool house not far from where the landing strip was.
Not long after arriving, it was then a blood-curling bullet could be heard even from where the teens stood.
Red's head shot up from her lap, where she waited anxiously for a noise, not expecting to be one quite so powerful and scary. "Did you hear that?" She asked, looking around at her friends who wore matching facial expressions as the terrified girl.
"Yeah, I heard it." JJ responded, equipping the gun from his pocket as if prepared to use it if and when he needed it.
"JJ put the gun down!" Kie begged, holding her head in her hands as the blonde slowly placed the pistol back in his pocket. "You don't think that was John B, do you?"
"The cops are the only ones with guns. John B didn't have one, so it couldn't have been him." Pope reasoned, pacing throughout the shed. "It could have been the cops. They could have shot him."
Red layed her hand on her forehead, which rested in her hand. "Pope, just stop worrying. Cops use gunshots all the time as a warning to back up. It's probably just a warning shot."
Pope nodded, taking in a deep breath. "You're right. A warning shot."
It wasn't until a plane could be heard taking off that the group approached the edge of the shed, where they had a perfect view of a plane that looked too much like Ward's taking off.
"There goes the gold." JJ breathed out angrily. Red wasn't able to contain him before he kicked the chair adjacent to him, Pope walked out muttering cuss words leaving Red and Kie standing there.
"Pope!" Kie shouted, trying to ground him before he went any further.
Pope yelled more cuss words, crabbing a bat and beating some of the furniture including glass which made a horrible sound when shattering and falling to the ground topped by Pope's yelling.
JJ slightly flinched backward, grabbing onto Red's shoulders gently at his friends' unusual yet understandable behavior.
Kie looked over at the two, a worried expression all over her face which the pair mirrored. "Pope!"
Pope didn't listen. He continued letting his anger out on the furniture beyond the girl's yelling. He didn't care. He had just lost what he ricked his scholarship for, and that was tough.
Pope finally cooled off and sat down on the bench that hadn't become a victim of Pope and his metal bat and letting out a soft sob as Kie's tone changed from anger to empathy.
"Pope..." Red muttered, slowly walking over to him, gently messing with the hym of his shirt to calm him down a bit.
"Yeah, dude..." JJ began walking over to the group. "I was wondering when this was gonna happen."
"What's that?" Red asked, JJ approaching Pope and offering him his vape.
"Here you go, chief. A little weed never hurt anyone."
"JJ..." Kie warned relaxing her shoulders.
"Relax, Kie." JJ turned his blonde head back to Pope who now had tears running down his face.
"You know he doesn't smoke-"
Pope grabbed the pen out of JJ's hands. "Well, maybe not until today." JJ shook his head, completely understanding the boy's behavior.
JJ took a breath, sitting down on the other side of Pope.
"Pope..." Red muttered, watching as the boy examined the object in his hand as if debating on actually doing it. "That's not gonna solve anything. It's just gonna give you more problems."
Pope looked up at Kie, "I lost my scholarship. I walked out in the middle of the interview. Every-... It's gone... It's not gonna happen."
"You did that for us?" Kie asked softly, holding back tears.
"No. Not for us." Pope stood up, facing Kie. "For nothing."
JJ grabbed his shoulders, patting his chest. "I'm here for you, Pope. Welcome to my world, okay?"
"JJ-"
"What, Kie?" JJ raised his voice, Red walking over to Pope to lightly rub his back as a form of calming him down. "He's right. It doesn't matter anymore."
Kie gave JJ a look before facing her direction to Pope, who hit the pen. "You don't have to do that."
"What do you care?" Asked Pope.
Just then, the group turned around to see John B, looking a bit shaken up but ran over to him anyway, relieved to see that he was okay.
JJ rushed over to him, grabbing his wrist, his hand was covered in the stained blood. "Is this your's?"
"John B, whose blood is that?" Asked Red, quickly examining his chest and back to see if he had been shot.
"Hey, you okay, man?"
"John B, are you okay?"
Sirens were heard approaching, so the group quickly crouched down behind piles of stuff in a line.
Hours after John B had explained everything to the pouges, after he explained that Rafe shot Peterkin and almost Bennie because he thought Peterkin was gonna shot his dad, Red was sent into a haze.
Everything had become so much, but nevertheless, she came back home, she needed to explain everything to her dad, but when she got there, Shoupe wasn't there, and neither was his car.
John B had told her that he would try to explain everything to the cops later, but for now, Red was going to get her things from home and bring them back to the Chateau, because even though the Pogues weren't there, it was where she would be staying anyway when this mess was sorted out.
A last-minute request to bring groceries and Bennie was made by all of the pogues because it was only safe that Red went considering she was a kook, and Bennie was far too young to go get groceries on her own.
On her way back from the store, Red took down a flyer made for John B. He was now a wanted fugitive, which probably explains why the pogues camped out in a car outside of a shed.
"John B, you're gonna want to see this," Red told him, handing the flyer to JJ and quietly getting in the car.
Now, they were out in a rather public area
"Okay, so bad news, very bad news. The ferry is shut down. And you're living the life of a wanted fugitive now, John B." She told him, hopping into the backseat of the car.
"What is it? What is that, JJ?"
"Well, this is a good framer of you." JJ flipped the paper around, John B taking it from his hands.
"Okay, so the whole island is looking for John B right now?" Asked Pope, not really sounding that surprised.
"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up," Red responded, emptying the shopping back into the car, JJ digging in.
"That's a lot of money." Kie pointed out, looking at the $25,000 reward in bold writing at the top of the flyer.
"Congratulations, John B. You're now famous."
"When I said 'I wish my life was more interesting' this was not what I meant." Bennie beamed, half-kidding. "I mean honestly, are the cops stupid- no offense Red, why would John B of all people shoot the sheriff?"
Kie sat up, worry running through her veins. "Guys, we need to get to the HMS right now, We need small no running lights..."
"It's at the chateau, Kie." JB rolled his eyes.
"And I wonder if the cops have that entire place decked out. Hm... let me think. Oh yeah, no they definitely have that place locked down." JJ lay his head in his hands, letting out a shaky breath.
"Yeah- Copy that." Kie agreed, rolling her eyes as the boy stated the obvious.
"Let me think- Just give me a second," Pope stressed, shooshing people who weren't even talking, including JJ and Bennie, which was a rare occasion. Pope perked up at an idea he was piecing together in his mind. "JJ?"
"What?"
Pope turned his body to face backward, "Does your dad still have that boat? The cigarette boat. The Phantom. The one he used to race."
"Maybe." JJ gulped.
"You could get right up the coast no problem." Pope explained, turning back around, ready to drive away.
"Okay, look-" Kie tried to reason.
"It's not going to be easy, Pope." JJ muttered, leaving Kie to try to convince Pope.
"The surfs running from three to four."
"Pope- I don't know where the keys are-" JJ grabbed teh back of Pope's seat as he put the car into gear.
"Well, find them!"
"Okay, I'm thinking!"
"Why is nobody moving forward!" Pope complained at the line of cars the vehicle was trapped in the middle of. The traffic was understandable considering there was a $25,000 prize for finding John B, but it was still alot.
"Can you relax?" Kie tried to calm teh boy down. "JJ, how much weed did you give him?"
"You guys-" John B called, glaring at his missing poster. "Your car is on here, it's on the poster.
"Can we move it!" Pope honked the horn, gaining the attention of a little boy on teh sidewalk and his mom.
"Mom- Look! It's that guy! That guy right there!" The boy pointed at the honking car, gaining everyone in it's attention.
"We got a snitch, Pope turn the car on." Bennie rushed.
"We get $25,000 if we find him!"
"Hey!" A man came up to the car, banging on the window. "He's right there! I found him!"
"Pope! Step on it!" Red yelled, banging on the back of his seat.
"I found him first!"
"The hell you did!"
"Pope, turn the frickin car on!"
"I am trying!"
Pope was so rushed by the chaotic yelling from pedestrians and his friends in the car, that he ended up rear ending someone, but instead of backing up like a normal person, instead he continued pushing it until he finally backed up, and sped off.
"What are you doing!?" Kie panicked, Pope still driving the car quickly.
"Now we'll back out!" Bennie yelled, grabbing onto the handle above her brother for stability.
"Watch out! Pope watch out!" Kie warned, The car stammering towards a mail box. "Pope, Pope, Pope! Whoa!!"
Pope laughed like a maniac as he accidentally hit the mailbox Kie had just warned him about.
"Dude! Watch out does not mean Warp speed!?" Bennie shouted, still shaken up.
"I'm living my best life now!" Pope half-joked.
"I should not be the one to tell you this, but you are not okay to drive dude, stop!" JJ requested, Pope, bringing the car to a rough halt.
"John B, get out," Pope told him.
"We'll draw the cops, you run." JJ continued. "I'll get the rig and I'll meet you in the dump tomorrow, alright? Three-o-clock!"
"Yeah." John B panted, quickly exiting the car.
Minutes later, after the sun already started to go down, Kie and Red both seemed pissed, but Bennie, as expected was completely neutral and down to part as the radio played and Pope continued driving, getting higher and higher with JJ.
"Pope, you clocked that car, man! Like that was so bad!" JJ wheezed.
"I'm just glad I'm not driving now." Pope lied from behind the wheel, making JJ laugh.
Kie looked back at JJ in anger. "Pull over!"
Pope took one look at Kie's face and came to a stop.
"JJ, it's not funny. He shouldn't be driving!" Kie scolded, getting out of the car.
"Mama's mad." JJ muttered, making Bennie chuckled, but Red held a straight face. "Where are we going?" He asked, watching Pope and Kie switch spots so she could drive.
"The last place they're gonna look." Kie responded, offroading towards the Cameron house.
"You're sure this is a good idea, Kie?" Asked Red, leaning forward.
"She's the only one who can clear John B." Kie explained getting out of the car alongside Bennie. Kie put her arm out to stop her. "Whoa, where do you think you're going?"
"In. And you know I can also clear him, right?" Bennie crossed her arms. "The only problem is-"
"You don't want to sabotage Rafe?" Red scoffed. "Bennie, he almost killed you."
"It doesn't matter!" Bennie sharply exhaled, looking down at her hands. "Look, I can't tell you how much he's been through the past 8 years. I love John B, but before I turn Rafe in, I need to talk to him. Maybe I can convince him to let Sarah out and turn himself in."
"You think you can convince him to do that?" Asked JJ.
Bennie sighed, "Nope. I don't even know if he's here. But I haven't seen him since he killed the sheriff. It all depends."
"Fine, you can try to find Rafe. Red, You stay here and make sure JJ doesn't do anything stupid."
"Gotcha." Red winked, The three teens left and hopped the fence.
Red climbed up to the passenger seat to have control of the radio, JJ copied her actions into the drivers seat.
"Are you mad at me?" He asked, red snapped her head in his direction, giving him a small smile.
"No. Why would I be mad at you?"
"Because of what I said." JJ brought up. Red let out a small sigh and leaned her head on her fist. "I- I didn't mean it. I was just in a really bad mood and I didn't know-"
"You don't have to explain, JJ. I know." Red told him, looking out the window. "I got over it."
"I know. But... I'm still sorry."
"I think it's funny how often people say that."
JJ tilted his head, his blue eyes glaring at the blonde. "What do you mean?"
"People say 'I'm sorry' so often. And I wonder how many times they actually mean it." Red explained. "I know- Or... I think you do, but words are just words to people now, nobody ever thinks of what they mean."
JJ smiled softly. "I love that you think of things like that."
"Thanks." Red blushed.
"You're beautiful, you know that?" JJ flattered, placing his hand on the side off her face. "I love you."
Again, Red gulped. She still didn't know how tp respond. Her smile slowly faded, JJ removed his hand from her.
"Are you okay?"
Red nodded, "yeah..."
"I take it that you don't want to say it back?"
"No- No, that's not it." Red reassured, looking up trying to keep the tears in. "It's just... People say that all the time too. You're the first person to tell me that in two years."
"Your dad doesn't say it?"
Red shook her head. "He's slow. I just... I need to know that you mean it."
"I mean it. Why is your guard so high?.."
"I just... I feel like you're making a mistake." Red admitted, JJ shooting her a shocked look.
"Why?"
"Because... My mom was." A tear fell down her face, she was quick to wipe it away. "She said it all the time."
"What happened?" JJ asked gently.
"She committed suicide two years ago. Sometimes... It's just like... I wasn't enough to save her."
"There was nothing you could have done, Red."
"No, I know that. But When you say 'I love you' you're not supposed to just... leave. And... She didn't love me enough to stay."
JJ didn't waste a second leaning over to wrap his arms around the girl. "I promise I'm not going anywhere."
Red tightened her grip on the boy, looking up through the sunroof as if thanking God that she had JJ. Because she would soon find out that he was all that mattered.
"I love you too," Red muttered. "And Sometimes you just can't see what's right in front of you when you need it the most."
After a much-needed hug, the pair finally pulled away, climbing into the backseat until their three friends arrived, driving them to The Wreck where the group laid their heads for the night until the sun rose again the next morning.
That morning, JJ and Red glared out the screen, listening to the sirens.
"He's pinched for sure, man." JJ told Pope, who had just walked over to the pair.
"No, they wouldn't still be patrolling if they caught him." Red explained, still staring out the screen.
"Let's hope." JJ responded.
"You know, we were in that car. They're probably looking for us too." Kie pointed out.
Pope shrugged, turning to Red and JJ. "Well, if we're gonna be outlaws, we might as well help John B."
"He has a point." Bennie nodded in agreement. "But I just don't know how we'll go about finding him before the cops do."
Pope began walking out of The Wreck. "I'm getting gas for the boat."
"Hey, you be careful." Kie told him, Pope stopped to give Kie a confused look. "Okay?"
Pope bit his bottom lip and turned to JJ. "Meet me on the dock at three, don't be late!"
The four remaining in the building exchanged looks, mentally deciding Kie would be the one to go after him, so she did followed by the other three waiting on the porch, Pope rudely riding away while Kie was trying to talk to him.
"Guys, look!" Bennie tapped JJ's shoulder, pointing up at the helicopter flying above them.
"Who the hell is that?" JJ questioned, earning several shrugs from his friends.
"I don't know. But I need to see my dad." Red told them, almost walking off before Kie could grab her wrist. "What?"
"That's not a good idea, Red. He'll lock you down too. I wouldn't be surprised if we never see you again if you go down that road." Kie made a good point, a good enough one to make Red nod and walked to the kitchen with her friends.
"Are you sure he wasn't just being weird Pope?" JJ asked Kie, who handed him food that JJ loaded into a paper bag.
"It wasn't really the kind of thing that needed interpretation." Kie responded. "Is that gonna be enough food for them?"
"I mean, for a couple of weeks, and that's all they need. So..."
"Look, I think I actually hurt his feelings." Kie looked down, sounding genuinely sorry.
"It's not your fault, Kie. You can't change how you feel." Red comforted as Kie walked out of The Wreck in front of the rest of them.
"Yeah, He's completely changed his feelings. The past couple of hours has been Jekyll and Hyde." JJ agreed, continuing to walk to Kie's car.
"How do you know he changed his feelings, JJ?" Bennie questioned from behind the box she carried. "It's not like he goes around shouting who he had a crush on like you."
"No, I don't. In fact, you don't even know who I have a crush on, Bennie."
Bennie scoffed playfully. "You think it's not obvious that your dating Red?"
"Jesus, Jet. You're so nosy!"
"JJ- You're arguing with a 13-year-old." Red laughed at the two.
"Actually, I turn 13 next month, but I'm flattered." Bennie chuckled at the fake complement, making JJ roll his eyes.
"I hate to admit it, but I miss the old Pope." Kie brought the subject back, approaching the car. "At least I knew what to expect from him."
"Where've you been?" Kie's mom, Anna cut infront of her as JJ loaded the car alongside Bennie.
"I-I'm fine, I slept here." Kie explained.
"Well, we were up half the night, scared to death, looking for you. Were you even gonna tell us?"
"Well, I'm telling you now."
"Alright, what the hell are you four up to?"
"I'm sorry Mrs. Anna, we just gotta go," JJ explained, trying to sound polite.
JJ pushed Bennie and Red into the car before him as Kie and her mom resumed their argument until Kie climbed into the car. The other three just kind of sat there awkwardly.
It made Red sad that Kie was being yelled at. But at least her mom was trying to protect her. Her dad didn't even try to reach out. That hurt.
Finally, Kie was able to drive away and began heading toward where JJ lived, coming to a halt in front of his house.
"Home sweet home," JJ said, hiding his sadness with sarcasm.
"Do you want me to come?" Asked Red, putting her hand on his shoulder as he took his hat off. "Cause I will."
"Nah," JJ muttered. "It's not safe. That'll only take a second." He got out of the car, shooting the group a small nod, leaving them in suspense.
"Poor guy," Bennie muttered, feeling genuinely sorry for him.
"That might be the first nice thing you've ever said about him, Bennie. I'm proud." Red smile softly.
"He knows I love him." Bennie nodded, staring at the door he had just gone in. "If it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't even be here. He convinced John B that day to let me come."
Minutes later, JJ finally came back out of that same door with his head hung low.
"How'd it go?" Kie asked lightly, not wanting to push him.
JJ held the keys in his hand, holding them up for Kie to see before driving away.
Now on the main roads, JJ messed with the key in his hands.
"It'll be fine," JJ spoke up after not talking for a while, making all of them let out a sharp exhale of relief. "It'll be fine with the Phantom. She'll get outta here quick."
Sirens approaching blared, making both Red and JJ hide their faces as they passed, sighing in relief when the cops didn't look back.
"They're still looking, it's a good sign."
Soon, the group would arrive at where JJ's dad kepy the Phantom, JJ pulling the sliding door open.
"There she be." JJ muttered, walking into the shed. "Hey girl." He called, patting the boat making Red noticeably chuckle. "1983 Formula 402 SR1. The Phantom."
Bennie let out a low whistle. "Hot damn."
"First boat to make the run to Bermuda in under 16 hours." He approached the boat further, laying his hand on it. "40 years old! 40. And still the fastest thing that Kildare's ever seen."
"It's kind of a... junker." Kie muttered, not as impressed as JJ was.
"Really? She's right there, Kie. She can hear you." JJ exaggerated, making Red laugh loud enough to make Kie turn to her with a playful scoff. "Let's just put it this way. You would not be smoking weed right now if she never existed, okay?"
Kie put her hand on her hip, "I just hope it runs."
"She." Bennie corrected, for one of the first times, taking JJ's side. "You address boats as she."
JJ smiled at the girl, "Oh she'll run alright. She's faster than any of the cutters the boys in blue got."
Tires could be heard screeching from outside, Kie approached the opening of the shed. "Pope, finally."
But to all of their surprise, as Bennie was watching JJ crank teh boat down, instead of Pope, Rafe came out from around the corner.
"Hey there, what's going on?" Rafe shouted. Bennie whipped her head around at the sound of his voice, too stunned to speak. "JJ, Red. How you guy's doing."
Bennie exchanged wide eyes with the teens around her before Barry whistling was heard, and Barry seen. "Well, well."
Rafe hopped down from the boat, now cornering them.
Barry cocked his gun, pointing it at JJ, who threw his hands up. "See, don't think I forgot about me and you on the side of the road. I'm here because I want my money!" Barry punched JJ in teh side of the neck, Red and Kie going after him.
"Rafe, can you get your psycho friend?!" Bennie yelled, but rafe just shook his head.
Barry was able to get JJ on the ground, and Rafe approached Kie.
"It's not you we want Kie, Where's John B?"
"I don't know!" Kie yelled, slapping Rafe in the face.
Red crouched beside Bennie, "Go outside, Bennie. Go!"
"She's fine, Red!" Rafe growled, watching as Red pulled the girl to her chest, pushing her off to run.
As Rafe continued his conversation with Kie, Barry still had JJ on the ground, pointing his gun at Red, who was backed up to the boat.
"You murdered Peterkin!" Kie shouted, getting Barry's attention, but it was quickly drawn when JJ made a movement, and Barry went back to him.
"JJ!" Red yelped, Barry beginning to punch him as he stood up. Red quickly looked around the room, Pope had finally gotten there, protecting Kie from Rafe.
But it was Red's turn. Red was quick to grab a wrench she had found on a table, and chuck it at Barry, hitting him in the head.
"Oh, you're gonna regret that you little-" Barry began walking towards Red with the gun before JJ could trip him, forcing him to drop it.
"Kie, kick it!"
JJ was finally able to get leverage on Barry, putting up a fight.
On the other side, Pope was still battling it out with Rafe, it was getting hard to tell who was winning at that point. Bennie kept a good distance from Rafe, but continued yelling for him to stop.
Finally, Rafe just stood still, glaring at Bennie who stood across from him as he took the punches from Pope, Kie begging for Pope to stop, and telling him that he did enough, but he kept punching until he knocked Rafe down and pulled him up with his belt, now everyone was begging him to stop, especially Bennie.
"Snap out of it, dude!" JJ told him, blood dripped down from Rafe's mouth.
"Pope, stop that's to much! Let go of him, Pope!" Bennie screamed until JJ had to get involved, grabbing Pope from behind, but Pope still refused to let Rafe escape his grip until he finally let him go.
Now Rafe lay on the floor, couching for breath.
"Okay, we gotta go. We gotta go." Kie panted, Pope stood there, as if in unbelief of what he had just done.
Pope stood above Rafe, recalling what Rafe had told him when finished beating Pope with a golf club days earlier. "Stay off the cut." Pope told him, following the group away.
Bennie still remained still, looking inbetween Rafe on the ground and the rest of the group, loading up into the car.
"Bennie, come on!" JJ called, opening the passenger door for her.
"We can't just leave him here!" Bennie protested, pointing to her friend on the ground.
"He's fine, Jet!" Red assured, JJ getting out of the car, pulling Bennie away as she tried to escape, but didn't have the strength to.
Soon after, they arrived at the junkyard dock where they were planned to meet John B. Bennie had been silent the entire time, but most of them were, so it didn't make much of a difference.
"Dude, where is he?" Asked Kie, annoyed that John B hadn't shown up.
"Give him a second, he'll be here." Pope assured.
"He's coming, don't worry!" JJ shouted, preparing the boat for John B.
Just then, a cop car approached them, sirens on, sending them into a panic, but instead of a cop coming out, it was the one and only, John B Routledge.
"No way." JJ cmiled.
"No effing way."
Bennie rushed over to her brother, engulfing him in a hug, finally speaking. She was probably afraid she would never see him again unless it was behind a jail wall. "Jesus, Where did you get that?"
"Shoupe let me take it for a spin." JB lied, walking towards the pogues.
Red scoffed, giving the boy a sife hug, "I knew I recognized the plates."
"Okay, that's believable. I'll buy that." Kie replied in sarcasm, spreading her arms out for a hug.
"It wasn't easy, bro. But I got the Phantom for ya." JJ reported, standing at the bow anf throwing him the keys. "And she runs like she was made yesterday. You ready to go?"
"Where's Sarah?" Asked John B, realizing she wasn't with them.
"She's not with you?" Asked Kie, clearly in misunderstanding about teh whole thing.
"No, No we got serprated in the swamp. She said she'd meet me here."
"No we haven't seen her man." Pope told him.
"Okay well I'm not leaving without her."
"John B- look at me." JJ hopped down from the boat, standing in front of his best friend. "I know you feel bad for leaving, but there's no time, man! You've got plenty of gas, you've got plenty of food. Once you get around that point, It's a straight shot across the sound to Dismal Swamp, okay? Once you get there... lay low, alright? Hang out for a couple of weeks, and then go overland, Cross the boarder at Brownsville, you got that? Brownsville." JJ grabbed the side of JB's head, pulling him from where he was staring. "Hey, Got that?"
"Yeah... Brownsville." John B assured, JJ climbing back into the boat.
"Alright, saddle her up saltwater cowboy. Let's do this."
John B climbed onto teh boq of the boat, J Jhoppinf down again. "Hey, hey. I'm sorry for... basically throwing us off a cliff with this whole... treasure hunt thing."
"John B, yo... We're bound to jump off a cliff at some point, right?" Asked JJ, wrapping an arm arounf Red and Pope. "At least we did it together though. Pogue style."
John B nodded, his eyes filling with tears. "Pogue style."
"Be careful, Please." Bennie's eyes filled with tears and she let out a sniffle. "Throwing me off this 'treassure hunt' cliff was like the best thing that ever happened to me. And I can't lose any of you. I just get this feeling... like what if something happens and we never see eachother again."
"We'll always see eachother again, Jet." John B reassured.
"Pinky promise?" Asked Bennie, the group letting out a chuckle, kissing their pinkies and putitng them in the air.
"Pinky promise."
"Alright, not get out of here!" Kie told him, wiping the tears off of her face.
"We'll see you in two months, down in Mexico." Pope smiled.
"Love you." JJ joked, even though he really meant it with all of his heart.
"Hey wait- wait a second." John B turned around, laying his arms on top and putting his fist to his mouth as if holding in a sob. "Tell Sarah I say goodbye, okay?"
"Copy that." Red smiled, waving the boy goodbye.
"Don't forget, cross the boarder as Brownsville, okay?" JJ reminded him for the 100th time.
The pogues broke from their arms and untied the boat from the dock.
"Wait- John B." Bennie called, running over to the edge of the boat to hug her brother one last time. "Thank you. For everything." She muttered, half-smiling before pulling away.
"It's what siblings so. Even if we're only half."
Bennie nodded, assisting in pushing the boat away from them.
JJ pulled Bennie and Red into a tight hug in both sides of his chest, letting out a small sniffle as John B drove away.
JJ and Red walked away from Pope and Kie, as they were about to have a conversation of their own, and Bennie loaded herself back into the car, clearly needing some alone time.
"You gonna be okay?" Asked Red, earning a small nod from the blonde beside her.
"Are you?"
Red nodded before facing the duo again. "I'll live."
JJ furrowed his eyebrows as Pope and Kie broke from a kiss.
"Well that's new." Red mocked Pope from when he had seen JJ and Red kiss at the outdoor movie days earlier.
"Yet I'm not surprised." JJ continued, leaning into Red's side before breaking out and turning around at the sound of sirens. "Hey- guys sorry to run the party but uh- we gotta go right now. Come on!"
Except now, it was too late, the group was already cornered by cop cars, presumably looking for John B.
Shoupe and several other officers climbed out of the vehicle, all armed. JJ pulled Red closer to his side as both of them put their hands up.
"Move- hands up, hands up." One man asked, Pope remained still with his hands at his side.
"Pope, hands." Red warned, Pope putting his hands up finally.
"We're too late, he's gone." Shoupe yelled, not paying any attention to the fact that his daughter stood feet from him. "Bratcher, have your guys stand down. Let me talk to these kids." Shoupe stopped in front of JJ, Pope and Red. "Alright, where the hell is he? Where the hell is he?!"
Red kept her eyes on the floor, not wanting to lay eyes on her father who stood in front of her examining all of them.
"JJ, I see you're living up to your name. Pope, Red, this isn't a game you can do the right thing now, where'd he go?!" The Deputy asked, all of the teens remaining silent.
"Fifth amendment." Red reminded the boys beside her in a hushed tone.
After they decided to remain silent, Shoupe decided it would be logical to bring them into custody, aka where tents were set up looking for John B.
He had Pope, Kie and Bennie in his car, and the other man had JJ and Red.
The group began walking in a line, JJ grabbed Red's hand and held onto it as they walked, people all around shining lights at them.
"Right to your left here." Shoupe directed, pointing the teens into a tent where they followed. "Sit down, don't move. We got alot to talk about. Keep an eye on these kids."
The group had been sitting there under watch of a SBI member for a coupe minutes, JJ still hadn't let go of Red's hand and Bennie sat next to Pope with her head in her hands.
Soon, three cops including Shoupe came in in neon yellow vests with hoods, all the teens stood up when they saw them, hoping for good news.
Shoupe remove dhis hood, standing in front of them.
"Did you find them?" Red asked gently, approaching the cops.
Shoupe shook his head. "No."
"So they got away." Kie questioned, still hoping for the best."
Shoupe looked down, almost feeling sorry for the teens. "We uh- We lost them. I'm sorry."
"You lost them?" Pope repeated, all the hope in his voice now drained.
"What do you mean you lost them? Like- they're gone? What are you talking about?"
"They took an open boat into a tropical depression, Pope." Shoupe explained. Red put her hand over her mouth, understanding what her father was saying.
"So they're dead?" Bennie asked, her voice trembeling and tears threatening to spill.
Shoupe shook his head, "We don't know."
"You drove them straight through the storm, man!" JJ yelled, sounding more angry than sad. "Are you kidding me?" JJ jumped forward to Shoupe, needing to be carried away from him by another officer after he tried to attack him.
"JJ!" Red yelled, trying to calm him down.
Red wasn't focused on anything. It was like her mind couldn't process anything. She turned around to see Bennie, beginning to sob into her hands.
"He's gone, Red. He's gone, I knew it." Bennie sobbed into Red's chest, letting her attempt to comfort her.
"I know... it's okay..." Red tried to comfort, glancing back at her had before hugging Bennie enen tighter, because she wasn't the only one who needed it.
All in a moment, Red's brain was flooded with memories, all involving John B and her ears could only hear his voice. She'd lost her friend. And she had no idea how much it would effect her.
Red had lost her friend and Bennie had lost her brother.
"Bennie." A voice called, Red whipped her head up, seeing Topper standing in the doorway.
Bennie pulled away from the hug, surprised to see Topper there.
"Mom... couldn't come." Topper explained. "So they called me."
Bennie didn't need him to explain. All she needed was her brother because she had just lost a half of her life she never even knew of until a week before.
Bennie ran to Topper, engulfing him in a hug until Topper thanked Shoupe and walked her out.
Then, Kie and Pope's parent's came rushing in to make sure they were okay.
Red looked over to JJ, who removed his hat, having nobody there with him.
"Jay." She muttered, hugging him tightly and sobbing into his shoulder, hearing him sniffle into the crook of her neck as well.
After pulling away from the hug, Red needed her dad no matter what had happened. She needed her dad.
She watched as JJ was welcomed into Pope's family's hug, and she was invited as well, but she shook her head and gave them a half-smile.
Red glanced over at Shoupe, who had been staring at her for who knows how long. She gulped, almost walking over there, but by the time she could have, Shoupe had already pulled her into a hug.
Red wrapped her arms around her father's waist, letting out a loud sob as her father rubbed her back and removed his jacket, throwing it on her.
"I'm so sorry." Shoupe muttered, still in the hug. "I should have looked for you."
"I shouldn't have left."
That was that.
John B Routledge was dead.
At least, that's what they thought.
what time is it? Time for
season two!
not the way 'Can't Help
Falling In Love' came on
while I was writing this,
I'm not crying.
See you in season two!