CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
we're cousins
Funnily enough, we strike a deal with Barracuda Mike and he lets us go. We change our flat tire, and we drive as fast as we can to Kitty Hawk. My hands keep shaking on my lap, while i try to clench and unclench my fists.
"What the fuck were you thinking about?" JJ finally breaks the silence.
"I heard the word shoot and I panicked. You think I was gonna stay here and let them take you?"
"I was handling the situation perfectly fine."
"Yeah, sure." I scoff. "I saved your ass, Maybank. You can thank me whenever you feel like it."
I can see that JJ is actually grateful that I helped. He's trying to hold a laugh, and the corners of his mouth are twitching. My face breaks into a grin I can't contain anymore, and I let out a small giggle.
"All right. I'll admit the shit with the spyglass was a smart move."
"Well, thank you, honey." I bow down my head with a smirk.
"How did you come up with that? We don't need that to get to South America."
"Yeah, but he didn't know that. I needed proof that we found the Merchant. I just happened to remember that we kept that shit here."
"See? Not cleaning up the van is not that bad. Told ya." JJ points out, gesturing to the back of the Twinkie, that it's full of shit.
"Shut up. We had luck. We actually shouldn't keep something of historical value in the same place we keep expired cheese-flavored chips."
"Let's be honest, we forgot that even existed." JJ snorts, glancing at the glove box.
"Yeah, that's fair- Oh, shit."
The entrance to Kitty Hawk Camp is guarded by several men, all armed. The first of them raises his hand, ordering us to stop the van. JJ glances at me, says he'll do the talking. I just nod my head. I'm too exhausted to come up with anything right now.
"How are y'all doing?" JJ says cheerfully.
"Can I help you?" The man says, coming up to us.
"Hey there, uh, sir. I... Camp counselor Laura, I'm her... I'm her brother. This is my wife," JJ says, gesturing to me. I plaster a friendly smile on my face and wave my hand, "We were gonna drop off one of these packages back here for her, if that's okay."
The man eyes me carefully, and then his peers inside the van. He doesn't look too sure we're telling the truth.
"It's real quick. I promise, just in and out." JJ insists, gesturing with his hand. "That all right?"
"Yeah," The man exhales, "Go ahead."
"Thank you so much. All right." JJ softly steps on the gas to move further, "Y'all have a good day."
Once we're on the other side, JJ's smile drops as he lets out an exhale. I laugh at his expression, and he joins in. I stretch out my hand, palm straight. JJ crashes the back of his hand against mine, we pull apart and then bump our fists. Lastly, we snap our fingers. Pogues handshake.
There's a clearing where some other cars are parked. I suggest JJ leaves the van there while we try to find out where Kiara is. That is the first part of the plan.
We find out where Kie is, and then, when no one is watching, we break in and rescue her. We'll be long gone deep in South America before her parents find out she's missing from the camp.
We get off the Twinkie. I rush to get to JJ's side and I link my arm with his. He looks down at our arms and smirks.
"What? You're scared they're gonna get ya?" He jokes.
"Actually, yeah." I chuckle, looking around us. "I'm pretty sure I check all the requirements to be here."
"Bosy, bad-tempered, reckless, bullheaded- Ow!" JJ rubs his chest where I've hit him, "I'm just joking. Kinda."
"Shut up already." I say shaking my head with a lopsided smile. "Do we even know where we're going?" I ask, looking around us at the girls passing by in uniform.
"Let's ask." JJ waves his hand at a man that is standing at the top of some stairs. The man looks at us, and tilts his head, "Hi there, sir, uh, we're looking for... We're looking for the office. Is there a main lodge or something?"
The man points to the way right down where we're standing. We thank him and make our way towards the cabin. I unlink my arm from JJ's, allowing him to open the door. We walk inside and it's just us there and a lovely woman who sits behind a desk.
"Hello." I say as the corners of my mouth curve upwards.
"How's it going, ma'am? Um..."
"Can I help you...?" The woman eyes us both curiously.
"We need to talk to one of your campers." I ask, sitting down in the chair in front of her desk.
"Yeah, we have a message for Kiara Carrera. She's here, right?"
"Unfortunately, we're not allowed to do that. You're not even supposed to be here on campus."
"Oh, but, this- This is an emergency, ma'am." I think fast.
JJ sits down beside me on the chair that's free. The woman knits her eyebrows for a second, as her eyes go back and forth between JJ and me. While my eyes travel around the place, I have to do a double take to have a better look at the picture framed on the woman's desk.
There's a picture of a black cat, very cute. Looks friendly. An idea is born in my mind and my face lits up with joy that I have to hide so I don't look suspicious.
"Oh, I'm sure it is, sweetie, but we have a policy." The woman explains, "No contact from the outside world for the first six weeks."
"I, uh... We understand." I say, cracking my voice on purpose. "It's... It's actually a family matter. So..." I whimper, and take my hand to my mouth, covering it.
JJ side eyes me with a frown. I kick his leg down the table, making him flinch, but he gets the idea. He clears his throat, and puts his arm around my shoulder, rubbing my arm in a comforting way.
"It's okay, honey. It's okay." He says sweetly, shaking his head with faked sadness.
"I'm so sorry, ma'am." I sniff, "Kiara's my cousin." I lie to the sweet woman, who looks at me with eyebrows furrowed in worry, "My husband and I-"
"Husband?" She says in a high-pitched voice, whipping his head at JJ.
"Yeah, um... We came all the way here to tell her... Oh," I crack my voice again, letting out a sob. A single tear starts rolling down my cheek.
Out of the corner of my eye I see JJ stare at me with a poker face, and I know him too well to know he's trying to keep calm and not burst out laughing.
"I'm so sorry... It's just so recent..." I sob again, as JJ keeps rubbing my arm up and down.
"Yeah, ma'am. My wife gets very emotional." He nods his head, pursing his lips.
"If you could just let my cousin know that, um..." I hesitate, trying to come up with something to add to the lie, "that Marley didn't make it?"
"Who's Marley?" The woman asks, tilting her head.
"Marley's her best friend," I say, wiping my eyes dramatically, "A lovely Siamese mix. They were very, very close. And, um... Yeah, it was really sudden."
The woman parts her lips, putting her mouth on an o, as her face expresses a deep sadness. I sob louder, turning on my seat dramatically. I throw my arms around JJ, falling into his arms crying loudly on his shoulder.
He holds my head, rubbing his hand lovingly, "It's okay, honey. Just- Just let it all out." He nods his head. "You know... The mailman was coming at 40 miles per hour so..." He says now to the woman behind the desk, snapping his fingers.
Well, that's a little too much. I kick his leg under the table.
"He's in a better place now." He finishes. "Could you just let her know for us? My wife would really appreciate that."
I pull apart from JJ. He stands up, and holds my arms, helping stand as I fake having wobbly knees while I keep sniffing. I give the woman one last smile, before turning away, with JJ's hand on the small of my back, guiding me to the door.
"Thank you, ma'am. You have a great one."
Once we're outside, JJ grabs my elbow and rushes me to run. We break out in a run, hiding behind some bushes beside a cabin. I sniff and wipe my tears off my face, clearing my throat.
"Jeez, do you think she bought it?" I say, wiping my nose with the back of my hand.
"Even I bought it, wifey." JJ winks his eye at me.
"Thank you, hubby." I chuckle.
The woman makes her way followed by a man across the camp, until she reaches one of the cabins. We hear her faint voice from the distance calling for Kiara. We can see our friend coming out of the cabin, and then the voices get softer.
"There she is." I say, smirking seeing Kie.
"Phase one completed."
"Now onto phase two. Let's get out of here."