CHAPTER TWO
it's amazing how a person
who was once a stranger
can suddenly mean
the whole world to you
EVERYONE's EYES IMMEDIATELY WIDENED AS THEY approached the place the key led them to. the hotel rooms were definitely not looked after and all the mess from Agatha still roamed the ground, looking like it hadn't been touched.
"i thought the chateau looked bad." JJ whistled, taking in the mess on the ground.
"this place is a shit show," Pope commented.
"motel or meth lab?" kie asked.
"you be the judge," Pope replied.
"this looks like a cosy place to smoke a joint. if only i saved the one i just rolled," Bambi said from the floor. she had just finished a joint and she was definitely already feeling the effects.
"doesn't look like the type of place someone with a Grady-white would stay." John B pointed out, everyone agreed with him.
"no. it looks like the type of place someone with a Grady-white would get killed." Pope corrected him, still staring at the messy building.
"what's with you and death," Bambi raised an eyebrow, genuinely asking.
"this is your captain speaking, HMS pogue comin' in for landing." JJ mimicked a walkie talkie and as soon as the boat came in contact with land, he jumped off and tied it up.
"all right," John B shrugged, getting ready to leave the boat, "here goes nothing."
just before John B got off the boat, pope stopped him, leaning on the metal bars, "don't let them do anything stupid."
Bambi and JJ looked at him for a second whilst they processed what he had just said, John B looked back at them and raised his eyebrows.
"oh, we will."
"sorry we are fun."
"i'm not making promises," John B shrugged, turning back to Pope who already knew that if JJ and Bambi got in trouble, it wasn't on John B.
"be careful." Kie told him, passing the keys to him, "i mean it."
oh? Bambi looked at JJ and raised her eyebrows and since he replied silently with the same expression, she knew he saw what she saw.
"we will." John B nodded, tapping JJ on the shoulder, "let's go!"
John B walked ahead and looked around at how messy the place was, "why are all these mattresses out here?"
"after a hurricane, they have to ditch em because they're all moldy," JJ explained.
the trio walked up steps, ready to possibly break into somebody's room. JJ grabbed onto John Bs shoulder and brought him closer, "just be so careful John B."
"god, your so weird." John B groaned, pushing the blonde off of him and walking ahead.
"what was all that about?" JJ asked, walking beside John B again, "did you see that bambs?"
"i did." Bambi nodded, earning a weird look from John B.
"i don't know, maybe she wants us to be careful." John B suggested.
"she told you to be careful." Bambi corrected, pointing at him, "not us, you."
"yeah and since she heard you're being threatened with exile, shes just been like," JJ started massaging his shoulders, "oh! be so careful, John B."
John B pushed his arms off of him, "get off!"
"oh, just give me that John D already." JJ looked at Bambi to make sure she wasn't listening and when he saw she wasn't, he said, "when are you gonna swoop on that man?"
"bro you know the rule, no pogue-on-pogue macking," John B looked back at him, "besides your the one always hitting on her."
"dude, of course, i'm hitting on her, she's a super-hot, rich, hippie chick slumming with us." Bambi took a little step closer so she could hear them, "why? i cant figure it out either, but who cares, bro, i know that doors locked cause i've tried it, have you?"
Bambi frowned a bit at his sentence. she had never noticed JJ flirt with Kie, was she blind?
"you need help." John B declared, "not like a little bit of help, you need a lot of help. it's just like every girl who has a heartbeat, your like, "uhhh."
"i mean what? it's not a big deal?" JJ looked back at Bambi to see how far away she was.
"is that us? twenty-nine?" John B motioned towards the door, the keys in his hand.
"looks like the same door went just went past, multiple times." Bambi looked back at the row of houses and realised how boring it was.
JJ knocked on the door a couple of times before putting on a high-pitched voice, "Housekeeping!"
after waiting for a couple of seconds and there being no answer, John B decided to put the keys in to see if it was right.
"no power, no security cameras. no one's gonna know." JJ ruled out.
The door creaked as it opened and JJ was the first one to step in. it looked like any normal hotel room, nothing special but still makes the girl question why someone with a Grady white would live here.
the trio closed the door behind them and began searching around the room whilst making sure they checked bags and jackets for names.
Bambi went to the tv cabinet and began opening the drawers, most of them were empty until she opened one and found another jacket, "cheap fabric. you sure we have the right house?"
"i'm sure Bambi, and what does the fabric have to do with anything?" John B asked, turning to her.
"i hope you haven't forgotten that the key in your hands was found on a Grady white, why would someone who owns an expensive boat own cheap fabric." Bambi raised an eyebrow.
when the boys silently looked at her, she smirked, "work smarter, not harder. i've said it before."
JJ looked at the bedside table in between the two beds and pointed at something, "yo, both of you come here. maybe this is where they were fishing, right there."
John B shook his head, "no, that's off the continental shelf. that's big swell, nobody fishes there." he picked up a recipe from the table and looked at it for a second before deciding it wasn't important.
"coffee?" John B shined his flashlight on the table that had a coffee cup.
JJ followed and found a box of tissues, "tissues for when you get lonely."
Bambi walked into the bathroom and was soon followed by JJ, "oooh!"
"did you find anything?"
"a really awesome dopp kit you won't let me steal," JJ replied, looking through the bag.
"yeah, 'cause we're not stealing shit." John B told him, turning his back to the boy.
Bambi raised an eyebrow at the blonde as she watched him put things in his pockets, "didn't expect you to listen."
the two carried on searching the bathroom. it was a small bathroom but had lots of cabinets and little drawers but even with so much space, everything was empty.
"punching shit at random, that will...definitely work." JJ looked at John B who was trying to figure out a safe code.
Bambi followed him over to the bedside table again, she had her flashlight in between her teeth as she glanced down at the table and at the white receipt John B had before, "try this,"
John B took the paper from her hands and began typing in the numbers, Bambi didn't expect it to work but when he pressed enter, the light flashed green.
when they opened the door, the twins looked at each other, both had wide eyes. there was money, stacks of it. and a gun?
"JJ, your gonna wanna see this." John B told the blonde who was still staring at the coordinates on the bedside table.
JJ looked at the safe with the exact same expression and since he was JJ, both twins thought he reached his hand out to grab the money but instead, he grabbed the gun.
"this is a SIG Sauer, this is a fucking spendy gatt, man!" he began pretending to shoot the gun, "just, bam! bam!"
"we are not stealing anything!" John B complained, the flashlight in his eyes.
"i don't know about you, JB but the cash is telling me it belongs in my pockets." Bambi shrugged from behind him, holding multiple stacks of cash in her hands.
"you two are just as bad as each other!" The boy threw his head back, a sigh coming from his mouth.
"just, take a picture of me. right here." JJ began posing with the gun in his hands.
"you want me to take a picture of you?" John B scoffed, shaking his head, "make our own incriminating evidence? is that what you're talking about?"
"if your taking the picture, i want in." Bambi moved to stand beside JJ but when John B stared at them with a blank face, she sighed and pulled out her own phone, "guess i'll take it."
JJ held up the gun and stuck his tongue out whilst Bambi winked with her mouth open and showed a block of cash. it was a really cute picture—one of the girl's favourites that she's ever taken.
"what was that?" JJ asked after hearing a tap on the window.
John B rushed and opened the blinds to see what was going on, he didn't expect to see Kie and Pope there telling him the cops were on their way up. that was never a good sign.
"what is it?" Bambi asked her brother who ran to the front of the room to look out the other window.
"cops."
She and JJ looked at each other with a frown. it was an apartment so there was no back door, the cops were at the front door, and the only thing they could use to escape was—the window.
one thing everyone in the crew knew about bambi was her massive fear of heights. if there was no guarantee of her not falling, she would refuse to go, no matter how many times she was asked too.
it would be a boring story to tell people—she wanted to die a fun way, like from smoking to much weed or getting so drunk that she decided to climb on a roof and fell through it. not from falling from a high place.
"i don't think i can do it." Bambi muttered, looking at John B and JJ who had already opened the window and climbed out of it.
"you can, bambs. i've got you." The blonde held his hand out and when she grabbed onto him, he held her so tight that his knuckles were turning white, "i'll make sure you don't fall."
the girl nodded as she took a deep breath, she could hear the cops outside so if she wanted to get make sure they didn't see her—she had to do it right now.
she carefully stepped out of the window and was met with JJ holding her whilst they leaned against the wall, he was behind her so if they fell, he would hit the ground first.
"i don't think i have enough grip." the girl worried, looking up at JJ who was leaning close to her, "i think we're gonna fall."
"your okay, i've got you. i wont let you fall." JJ reassured her, his voice quiet.
John B was looking through the window, JJ was looking at John B and Bambi had her eyes closed whilst she muttered things to herself.
"what the f—" she heard JJ say under his breath.
"what? what happened?" Bambi whispered, her voice slightly panicked.
"shoupe and the other cop took a wad of cash each." JJ told her, making her gasp and open her eyes so she could look in the window.
"what an asshole." She muttered, narrowing her eyes as she watched them both place a stack of cash in their pocket with no care in the world.
"do you belie-" JJs sudden outburst make him move his arm a little and knock it straight out his pocket. Bambi closed her eyes, waiting for the sudden bang and when it came—it was loud.
she felt JJ press his body into hers, trying to block himself from eyesight as the cops approached the window and began looking out of it. she had been this close to JJ before so she didn't know why her cheeks started burning up.
John B put his finger to his mouth, telling the two to shut up and not make a noise because if they did, they would be caught.
once they heard the door of the apartment slam, they all let out shaky breaths and began making their way back into the room.
Bambi was in the room first and as soon as she touched the wooden floor she let out deep breath, "nobody mention how scares i was to Kie or Pope, i have a reputation to live up to."
"ay ay captain." JJ nodded and saluted her.
once they were all safely on the boat, Bambi decided it was probably the best time to smoke another joint. the water was calm, they were going at a slow paste, nothing could go wrong.
she had started smoking it a couple minutes ago and the effects had already hit her, although her eyes didn't go read anymore, they went droopy and that's how everyone could tell.
she took the last pull of her joint and put it out in a spare ashtray they had on the boat—her and JJ always kept one in case of emergency's.
the girl had already started her stoned phase of going into cloudy daydreams, all she wanted to do was sleep now, and maybe eat.
"well that was fun." JJ chuckled, a beer in his hand, "could have warned us a little sooner."
"we would have except Pope was on the math team?" Kiara sighed, looking at Pope.
"you we're on the math team?"
"the cops took everything like it was a crime scene," Pope explained, "did you guys find anything?"
"did we find anything?" JJ raised an eyebrow and looked at Bambi before going into his pockets, "no, i don't think so. oh, yeah, we did."
"what the hell?" Pope gasped, looking at the gun and money in his hand, "why would you take that from a crime scene?"
"it's better then the cops having it bro!" JJ defended his actions and from beside him, Bambi agreed.
"i second that. they took money of their own and so did we," the girl nodded, pulling out her own wad of cash.
"i'm gonna loose my merit scholarship." pope worried, shaking his head.
"hey, sh, sh, sh." JJ shushed him, placing the gun on his lips only for it to be shoved off, "at least you have us, right?"
"i'm living the nightmare."
the crew were sat down by the docks. somebody had died and they weren't going to miss finding out who it was.
Bambi sat besides John B who was sitting next to Delilah Crosby—a girl Bambi knew a little. she was mainly just one of them girls she seen when she passed through the hallways.
they watched the body roll in and immediately a women ran beside it, sobs escaping her mouth, "who's that?"
"it's Scooter Grubbs, he was out during the storm." she grabbed her phone and got a picture up, "check out this pic i got. dead body."
"wish i didn't have to see that today," Bambi muttered, looking away from the photo.
"what kind of boat did he have?" JJ asked, leaning over Bambi slightly so he could look at the girls phone.
"somehow, that dirtbag copped a brand-new Grady-white." she replied, "everybody's out looking for it."
John B, Bambi and JJ shared a knowing look, the boat they had got the key from, the room they had got the money and gun from, it was Scooters.
POPE RUSHED INTO THE CHATEAU, a worried expression. it was clear to everyone that he regretted this whole day and his whole knowledge on the boat.
Bambi was curled up on the chair, she was bored. she didn't like just sitting around and doing nothing, she wanted to do something fun.
"okay—so um, we didn't see anything, we don't know anything, we need to have total and complete amnesia." Pope declared.
"actually, Popes right, for once." JJ shrugged, standing up, "see i agree with you sometimes, deny, deny, deny."
"guys we can't keep that money," Kie shook her head, looking at everyone.
"okay. not all of us can afford unlimited data plans, kiara." JJ scoffed.
"we have to pass that off to Lana Grubbs otherwise, it's bad karma." Kie said.
"bad karma to be implicated in a felony, too." Pope replied, "we gotta go dark."
"if it means we get to keep that money, then i agree." JJ nodded, standing next to John B.
"i don't agree," John B shook his head.
"what, why?"
"just think about it," John B told him, "this is Scooter Grubbs we're talking about, same dude that's buying individual cigarettes at the porthole. shit, one time i saw this dude begging for change in the save-a-lot parking lot because he needed gas, we're talking about a dirtbag marina rat who's never had more than forty bucks in his pocket and all of a sudden he's got a Grady-White? just saying."
"relatable." everyone turned to look at Bambi who was still curled up on the chair, "i mean, not having more then forty bucks in my pocket is."
the group then went outside to do some fishing, well mainly Pope and JJ, still John B was going on about Scooter, "okay, so. just think about it Pope. how does a marina rat get a Grady-White?"
"prostitution,"
"square groupers, bro." John B corrected him, "okay, flying under the radar, no aerial surveillance. they don't do that stuff during a hurricane, what does that mean? JJ?"
"they were straight smuggling." JJ ruled out.
"smuggling." John B turned back to Pope, "and i guarantee there's a serious amount of contraband in that wreck."
JJs line started getting pulled, indicating he caught something, "fish on."
they then ended up in Bambi's room since it was much cleaner then John Bs. even though she was a heavy smoker and drinker, she liked to keep her things neat.
"for the record, if that is a smuggling ship, with illegal contraband on the inside of it, it probably belongs to someone else, they could come looking for it." Pope explained, "taking it would be catastrophically stupid."
JJ climbed on the bed and beside Bambi, in front of Pope, "right, well stupid things have good outcomes all the time."
Bambi nodded, "that's correct so now all we need to do is figure out a way to get into the cargo hold of that wreck, till then we just lay low, act normal."
"right and how exactly do we do that?" Pope asked.
"easy, kegger."
ELLIE SPEAKS¡
second chapter!!
i have literally been holding off writing
this for days because i have such bad
writers block so if it's bad, i apologise!
don't forget to comment and vote <3