To say Elizabeth Routledge was tired was an understatement. Sarah and John B had to drag the teenager out of bed the next morning and force her to get dressed. She threw on a baggy light blue t-shirt and some shorts she had then flopped back onto the bed completely knocked out.
Sarah had smiled softly coming back into the room to check on Liz. Not wanting to wake her up again she decided with the help of John B to carry the smaller girl on her back.
"We're gonna melt down the bricks so they're not traceable." John B whispered to Sarah not wanting to wake his sister. They walked in the garden of the Cameron household discussing their further plans. "This afternoon we're gonna take it to the pawnshop and after that, we'll pay JJ's restitution."
"How many bars?" Sarah turned to look at her boyfriend.
"I don't know. It was all muddy." He shrugged. "It was like 500." They stopped in front of the kitchen window oblivious to their secret listener.
"500?" Sarah's eyes widen.
"I don't know. Could be a thousand." He smiled. "It was all muddy, but it was everywhere. Covered the walls! Four hundred million dollars." He stressed the amount not believing they had managed to find the gold. He looked at his sleeping sister feeling a sense of pride well up inside of him. He knew their father would be so proud of them.
"That's crazy!" Sarah laughed, trying to keep her voice down.
"We did it! Now we just got to get it out of there."
"Right. So how will we do that?" Sarah asked leading the way away from the window.
When they were near the back door Ward suddenly came out of the house smiling at the kids. "Hey."
"Hey." The awardly greeted back, pausing their conversation.
"What are you two plotting?" He smiled looking between the two teenagers.
"Uh...The... usual stuff." John B shrugged.
"World domination," Sarah replied with no hesitation.
"That's my girl, always aiming high." He gave his daughter a proud smile. "It's gonna have to wait a day though, 'cause I'm taking these kids fishing tomorrow morning." He looked at John B and then at the sleeping girl on Sarah's back.
"No, they can't tomorrow." Sarah quickly protested as nonchalantly as she could. She adjusted Liz on her back feeling her stirr slightly.
"Why not?"
"Well, because we have plans." She looked up at John B then back to her dad.
"Oh? What plans are those? Sit by the pool all day?" He retorted.
"No."
"Look, that boat needs a first mate, and they need to start earning they're keep around here, all right?" He pointed to the druthers and then to the lightly snoring girl. John B cleared his throat stepping forward to block Ward's view of Liz.
"Dad?" Sarah rolled her eyes at the man.
"What? Sweetie, I'm kidding. They're new to the family. I wanna take 'em fishing. All right?" He said softly giving her a reassuring smile.
"Okay." Sarah sighed.
"Yeah?" Ward turned his attention to John B who nodded. He held the boy's shoulder smiling. "It's gonna be good." He gave the teenagers one last look before he walked back inside.
+OBX+
Liz had finally woken up for the most part as she sat in the Twinkie with Kie and Sarah listening to them talk about the system Pope had created to get the gold out. She was laid out on the back seat with her black sunglasses on, her feet resting on Sarah's lap.
"Kie I hope you are right about this." JJ walked up to the van throwing down the bar of gold. "We can't pawn this if there's a giant wheat symbol on it." His face had finally started to heal up from all the cuts and bruises he had received recently. He wouldn't admit it but it was mainly because of the ointment Liz gifted him.
"Wow great words of encouragement J." Liz quipped, pushing her sunglasses to rest on top of her head of messy hair. JJ responded by flipping her off. She sat up in mock disbelief watching JJ turn his attention back to Kiara.
Kie grabbed a blue blow torch from the floor holding it up proudly. "It's gonna work." She said confidently.
"Yeah if you don't blow up the Chateau first." She smirked. Kie rolled her eyes flicking the girl on the forehead.
Kie put the gold into a pot while grinning. She put on some safety glasses and started to melt it down. Liz watched sitting on a branch of a tree beside Sarah and John B who were cuddled up on the base of it. JJ and Pope stood in front of Kie doing their handshake as they watched the wheat symbol slowly melt out. They all smiled glad their plan was working.
+OBX+
The Twinkie pulled up in front of an old pawn shop. The Pogues all climbed out of the car. JJ was holding the gold trying to polish it with a rag. "Hell of a job melting it down, Dr. Frankenstein," JJ said sarcastically to Kie. The gold melted down into a blob looking mess unlike how they expected.
"Like you could have done any better." She argued.
"Well...JJ took a welding class." Liz piped in patting her best friend on the back proudly.
John B stepped up stopping the argument that was about to brew between the three. "Hey! Chill out, okay?" They all quieted down.
"Easy for you to say. You're not the one who has to pawn this piece of shit off." JJ held the weirdly shaped piece of gold up. "How did I get this job anyway?" He adjusted the bookbag on his back.
"'Cause you're the best liar," Pope stated simply.
"What about me? Why do I have to help that idiot?" Liz stuck her thump at JJ.
"You're the most persuasive now go." John B grabbed her head turning her in the direction of the door then giving her a small shove on the back.
The bell rang as the two walked into the shop. "Afternoon ma'am!" JJ greeted the black woman with short graying hair at the counter. Liz gave him a weird look at the strange deep voice he had used.
"Afternoon." The lady greeted dryly.
"I see you buy gold."
"That's what the sign says, don't it?" She retorted placing her hands on her hips. Liz chuckled to herself. She liked this lady's spunk.
"Well, I sure hope you buy a lot of it, because I'm about to blow your mind." JJ placed his bag on the ground. Liz smiled sitting on the counter earning a weird look from the lady. JJ put his bookbag on the table digging in it for the gold chunk.
"I ain't got much mind left to blow, so have at it." He placed the heavy gold on the table with a thump.
"How about gold apples?"
The lady looked from the gold and then up at JJ and Liz chuckling. "That ain't real."
"That ain't real?" Liz asked, raising her eyebrow at the woman. "Feel how heavy it is." The woman grabbed the gold chunk struggling to pick it up.
"Let's see some light on that," JJ added. the woman grabbed her mirror light inspecting the gold.
"Spray-painted tungsten." The woman concluded. Liz hopped off the counter glancing at her brother and friends who had come into the store trying to act like they weren't listening in.
"Spray-painted tungsten? Really? Why don't you see how uh soft it is?" JJ suggested. Liz hummed in agreement hiding her grimace at the stupid idea. That seemed to be an actual thing when the women took a hammer and a wedge smashing the gold to see if it would break, of course it didn't. JJ and Liz smirked in truimpt. "Wow! Would you look at that?"
"Hold your horses." The pawnbroker paused their celebration. "We ain't got to the acid test yet." The woman reached behind her to the other counter pouring a drop of acid onto the gold from a small vile. Liz tapped her fingers on the counter leaning on it with her cheek resting on her palm. "Well, it ain't plated, and it ain't painted." The woman muttered.
"Ma'am, I'm telling you this is as real as the day is long," JJ said.
"It looks like somebody tried to melt it down." She observed it.
"Our mother." Lis simply stated making the women look up at Liz and then at JJ.
"She had all this jewelry lying around the house, and she thought it was best to melt it down." JJ pitched in easily. Sarah smirked at the duo from the shelf near the front of the store. They proved exactly why they had been chosen for the task.
"To 'consolidate' it," Liz said giving the woman a soft almost pitiful smile. She nodded placing the gold on a scale.
"7 pounds? That's a lot of earrings."
"To be honest ma'am... it's really hard to see mom fall apart with Alzheimer's." JJ cleared his throat, looking down at the floor his voice slightly breaking. Liz placed a comforting hand on the blonde's shoulder.
"Give me a minute." The women gazed at the 'siblings' blankly then walked off through a doorway in the back.
"Take your time ma'am," JJ replied in his same broken voice. When she was out of sight the two exchanged a handshake, silently cheering at their teamwork.
A few minutes later the woman walked back out They immediately calmed down snapping back into character. "So I uh I talked to my boss. This is what I can do." She walked back behind the counter, handing them a slip of paper.
Liz glanced down at the paper and then back at the woman with a sharp look in her eyes. JJ stepped back slightly. Liz was the best when it came to negotiation. "Fifty thousand?" She spat out like the words itself were disgusting to even say. "You think we walked in here not knowing the spot price?" She scoffed. "I know this is worth 140, at least."
"Well, sweetie you're in a pawnshop. This ain't Zurich. Do I look Swiss to you?" The lady looked the small girl up and down.
"Ninety, or I walk Lady." Liz grabbed the gold. She could practically feel John B's nervousness but she needed him to trust her.
"Seventy. Half price and I don't ask questions about where you got this." The woman placed her hand on Liz's stopping her from taking the gold leaning over the counter trying to get in the girl's face.
Liz kept her straight face not wavering eye contact with the woman. She smirked glancing at John B for a split second, through their eyes they had a conversation. She knew she was about to make the right decision. "I'm gonna need that in large denominations, please." She grinned.
"Well here's the snag. I don't have that much denominated, not here anyway." The woman sighed. "I can write you a cashier's check."
"No ma'am. We want cold hard. That's what the sign says." JJ cut in pointing at the sign above the door that read 'cash for gold'. "And that's what I expect."
"Well, I have to send you to the warehouse. I have money there. Is that alright?" The woman asked.
"Where's this warehouse?" Liz asked.
+OBX+
The Pogues rode in the Twinkie to where the woman at the pawnshop had directed them. After the negotiation, everyone showered Liz in praise for how she handled the situation. She just brushed them off saying she was playing her part. Inside she was buzzing from being able to contribute to their little quest. She hid her smile turning to look out the window of the back of the Twinkie listening to some random raggae music John B had them listening to as they drove.
"So they keep money out here?" Pope asked from Liz's left, visibly skeptical about this whole situation.
"That's what she said." JJ shrugged sitting in the single seat in front of Kie, Pope, and Liz. He looked down in realization giggling at what he just said. "That's what she said!"
"Stop." Pope glared.
"I've never even heard of Resurrection Drive." Sarah turned back from the passenger seat to look at the rest of the Pogues.
"'Cause you're rich." JJ sassed.
Liz rolled her eyes peeling herself away from the window. "You've never heard of it either stupid." She pointed out. Never in her 15 years of being alive did Elizabeth Routledge think she would be defending Sarah Cameron in any form.
"Thank you." Sarah smiled, glad things were coming together between her and Liz.
"There is nothing but weeds back here." Kie pointed out. Liz looked back at the window noticing how they had started to drive away from busy roads and houses. A pit settled in her stomach. Even as JJ tried to defend the situation she couldn't shake the feeling.
Not even a second later a siren whooped from behind them. "Cops? Out here?" Kie turned around to look out the back window.
"God! Are you kidding me?" JJ groaned.
"What did we do?" Sarah exclaimed looking over her shoulder.
"Why are we being pulled over?" John B began to slow down.
"Does it fucking matter? Just pull the hell over and act like we don't know JJ has a shit ton of weed in his bookbag right now!" Liz snapped at everyone. She didn't mean to yell but the feeling inside was getting worse and the tension in the van was rising. JJ gave her a bewildered look wondering how she knew about all the weed he had on him. She only shook her head disapprovingly watching him scramble to stash the weed and the gold. Her leg bounced anxiously as they pulled over.
"Did you bring the gun?" John B turned around to look at JJ.
"No. Okay? Everybody told me to leave it back at the place." JJ rolled his eyes. Liz released a small sigh of relief at least he didn't have an illegal weapon on him too.
The cocking of a gun silenced the chaos in the van. Liz's breath hitched in her throat. She looked out the driver's seat window to see a gun positioned right at John B's head. Her hand slipped into Pope's hand. She was squeezing the circulation out of his arm but both of them were too terrified to care.
"Why don't I go ahead and see those hands in the air?" The guy holding the gun spoke in a deep voice. Through her now blurry eyes, Liz could make out a skull mask covering the bottom half of his face. The man looked past John B to everyone else in the vehicle. "All y'all hands up in the air now!" He screamed, pointing the gun around. Liz let a squeal escape her lips. She quickly covered it with a hand over her mouth raising the other hand in the air. The man holding the gun smirked. "You. Out of the car, let's go!" He turned his attention back to John B.
The teenager kept his hands up and his eyes locked on the man while he carefully got out of the car. "Let them out!" John B followed the orders slowly walking to the other side of the van. The man kept yelling his voice rising with every sentence. Liz clenched her eyes shut. Pope's leg brushed against the side of hers hoping to give her at least a little comfort.
John B opened the back sliding door allowing Sarah to get out. "There you go, pretty girl. Here we go!" She stepped back with her hands raised. Kie got out next then Pope. The man continued to rush the Pogues out of the van his gun raised to point at every single one of them. Liz got out her legs wobbling with each step. She couldn't even look up, keeping her focus on the rocks below. The man didn't like her lack of eye contact nudging her chin up with the barrel of the gun. "Eyes up here princess!!" Kie was quick to yank Liz back from the gun. JJ hopped out of the van blocking Liz from the line of fire.
"We're broke--" JJ yelled out. Of course JJ knew that they had a block of gold stashed under the seat in the Twinkie but he just needed something to get this guy's attention off of Liz. Sure she wasn't his real sister but she had stuck with him plenty of times throughout their life when no one else dared to. Seeing her petrified in front of that piece of shit struck a cord in him.
"Shut the hell up!" The man cut JJ off thrusting his gun towards his chest.
"All right! Just relax!" JJ screamed back, stepping back.
"Shut the hell up! Shut up!" The man continued to thrust the gun. "I'll blow your damn head off!" Liz stood behind Kie now praying JJ would just stop fighting back so they could have a chance of getting out of there alive. "Lay down in the ditch!" He ordered.
JJ submitted looking away from the man. "On your damn hands and knees!" They all slowly kneeled keeping their hands in the air. They were ordered to keep their heads to the ground. Liz glanced over at Kie the older girl giving her a small but terrified smile. When the masked man was satisfied that they were on the ground and not looking he went inside the Twinkie rummaging around for something.
"It's a setup, guys," Kie spoke up, her voice shaking. If Liz wasn't so terrified she would make a sarcastic quip.
"That old bat shanked us," JJ said. Liz couldn't see him but she knew he was furious. She should have known not to trust that overly spunky lady. She knew JJ being upset about it wasn't good. He never made smart decisions when he was upset. Proving her point, he hit the grass below them cursing.
Liz turned towards her right hearing mumbles mixed with whimpers. John B stood up slowly keeping his eyes on the masked robber. "Wait. No, no, no, no. John B..." Sarah whimpered trying to convince John B to lay back down. Liz's eyes widened.
"Don't be an idiot John B." She hissed quietly. He only shushed them running over to the masked robber's car. Without thinking he got in the back of the man's car. 'He's gonna get himself killed' Liz thought looking back towards the van. If she had to tackle that man so he wouldn't kill her brother she would.
The man came out of the van once again pointing the gun at them but this time he had a rag with something inside in his left hand, the gold. "Ya'll stay just like that! Unless you want your brains blown out all over this road, don't move your heads, okay?" The man got into his car. The Pogues prayed John B had a plan. Knowing the boy he probably didn't have one.
Groaning was heard a second later. Liz raised her head not being able to distinguish who the pained groan was from. "Guys, I got the gun!" John B yelled out. JJ and Liz were the first to spring up from the ground sprinting towards the car. JJ punched the man towards Liz who swiftly kicked him in the gut. Kie came up beside her, punching the man in the face then kneeing him in the balls. John B stumbled out of the car hitting the man in his spine with the butt of the gun. He collapsed to the ground with a thud near Sarah's feet. She shrieked using the open car door to slam into his body.
"I got the gold!" Pope called out. Liz and Kie helped Sarah kick the man as hard as they could while he was down causing him to groan.
"You son of a bitch!" Sarah hissed. The man was now slumped up against the car panting. Now that they had the gun he was defenseless. JJ reached forward ripping his mask down.
"I know this piece of shit! He's a basehead." JJ yelled pointing down at the man. Liz's glare increased hearing that, the man shrunk back. Liz was a pretty girl with a nasty glare.
"Probably knows my brother." Sarah ran her fingers through her sweaty blonde hair.
"He seals coke to my dad." JJ added. Kie had to reach out just in time to grab Liz before she could kick the man in the gut again. Liz slumped in Kie's arm when her attack was unsuccessful but kept her glare pointed at him. She was enraged. This man had held her brother and friends at gun point and he has been sealing drugs to JJ's dad. If she wasn't being held back she would rip his throat out.
"Listen, I couldn't hurt any single one of ya'll--" The man was cut off by JJ hitting him in the chest with the butt of the gun. Liz smirked shaking Kiara off of her as everyone tried to calm him down. The boy reached down to the injured man who was curled up on his side and taking his wallet out of his pocket. JJ took the ID out of the wallet studying it. John B tried to intervene only to be pushed away harshly.
"We got one last stop," JJ said, walking back to the van. Liz was the first to stride after him wordlessly climbing into the passenger seat. "Let's go see where this son of a bitch lives."
Everyone else followed after the two leaving the man they now knew as Berry rithing in pain on the ground. "I'm gonna remember this shit!" He yelled out towards the retreating teens. They had no idea how much of a problem Berry was going to be. "You can't hide from me! I know exactly who ya'll are!"
John B took Barry's car keys out of his pocket throwing them into the trees shaken up by his threats.
+OBX+
Liz wrinkled her nose in disgust as JJ drove the Twinkie through the trailer park glancing down at the ID in his hand every few minutes to make sure he had the right address. She had finally calmed down a bit, now slumped against the window looking around. She wasn't one to judge other people's living conditions, she was in no place to it's not like she was living in some fancy house in Figure Eight. However, this place was different the stench of weed and alcohol filled the air an overwhelming amount. This was the home of a drug dealer.
"Welcome to Crackhead Wasteland," Sarah said, looking around.
"I don't know about this, man," Pope added. Liz agreed she would always be on JJ's side but she didn't even know what his plan was or if he even had one.
JJ parked the car. John B leaned forward between the two front seats shaking his head. "Dude, why are we at Barry's?"
JJ didn't answer getting out of the van. "This will only take a second."
John B opened the sliding door watching JJ walk up to the front door. "Where are you going?"
"Yo soy justicia." Liz squinted her eyes not sure if he used that sentence correctly.
"Did you guys get anything from that?" Pope asked the siblings. They exchanged a knowing look.
"You know somebody should probably--" Kie suggested, being cut off by the Routledge siblings getting out of the car.
"We got it." Liz sighed heading after him. They went inside the house following the noise of crashing and shuffling. Liz held in a gag the stench was even worse inside the house. "Remind me to burn this outfit when we get home." She said to John B. He nodded leading the way through the house.They walked into the kitchen seeing JJ rummaged through the cabinets.
"So what's your plan, slick?" John B watched his best friend bewildered seeing him filtering through the house in search of something.
"Well, as thou hath stealeth from us, we shall stealeth from ye." JJ shrugged. Liz rolled her eyes at the sorry excuse for his actions.
"That kind of got lost in translation."
"An eye for an eye, John B." He moved through the living room flipping over couch cushions. After being unsuccessful in finding what he was looking for JJ returned to the kitchen. John mB stepped in front of JJ determined to talk some sense into him.
"Yeah, that's great JJ but what happens after you rob a drug dealer, huh?" Liz looked between the two knowing that with them things escalated quickly. "He knows who we are!"
"I'm not scared of this guy." JJ scoffed pushing passed John B.
Liz groaned loudly. Sure she was mad that this guy! He managed to make her feel weak and vulnerable, she hated feeling weak but JJ needed to see just how wrong he was being. He marched off into a bedroom scrumaging through the makeshift shelf on the wall.
She followed after him watching as he grabbed a duffle bag out the closet then turned it over to pour stacks of money onto the bed. "J I don't know about this bro..." She was only met with silence.
John B heard her comment from the kitchen. "What are you doing!?"
"Getting even!" He answered him. Liz scoffed offended that she didn't get a response but John B did. In all honesty JJ was scared to even look at Elizabeth he knew the moment he actually listened to her he would be placing the money back where it belonged and driving back to the Chateu. He didn't need that right now he needed revenge. He shoved the money into a smaller bag and walked out the bedroom. Liz ran her fingers through her curls in frustration following after him.
"All right, took care of business." He walked towards John B.
The brunette grabbed him by the arm harshly. "Hey if you keep going down this road your going to end up just like your dad, do--" John B was interrupted by JJ snapping up grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. Liz stood up straighter. John B and JJ aren't the best at communicating through their words which often leads to physical fights between the two. She had always been the mediator.
"JB come on bro--"
"You watch your mouth, man. Aren't you tired of being messed with?" JJ stared him in the eyes begging with his best friend to just understand his reasoning.
"That's not the point, JJ."
"Cause I am." JJ let go of John B's shirt marching back out with the bag of money.
"Bloody hell." Liz sighed once again chasing after JJ.
"All right, so we're looking at five grand each for reparations for putting us through that bullshit." JJ announced to the group stepping off onto the porch. "Sorry about that ya'll." He walked down the stairs to his other friends.
"So that's what we're doing now? We're robbing drug dealers." Kie looked at JJ in disappointment and bewilderedness.
"This Barry guy's gonna find out and he's gonna come after us." Sarah added. Liz came to stand between the two girls deciding not to say anything.
"Yes, he will. This is not the time to start wilin' out." Pope sided with the rest of them.
"How'd you like having a gun pulled on you?" JJ snapped.
Liz knew with everyone disagreeing with him he was going to get defensive.
"Relax." John B stepped up to JJ once again getting in his face. Liz nervously played with the hem of her shorts.
"He had it right here on you bro." He pointed his finger at John B's forehead. "Shit bro he had it right here on your sister's face and you didn't do shit about it!" He raised his voice lowering his finger to point at John B's neck.
"Look. We've gotta go get the gold, okay?" John B brushed him off. "Just give me that shit." He snatched the duffle bag. JJ retorted by slamming John B on the van his hands clamped near his throat.
"JJ come on now let's talk this out." Liz stepped up. JJ glanced at her noticing her anxious fidgeting. His grip on John B faltered slightly.
"Do you feel like a tough guy? Huh?" John B yelled back in his face. JJ tensed up turning his focus back on John B. "What are you gonna do when he comes for us?"
"We punch him in the throat."
"Yeah, good fucking idea JJ." John B quipped, unimpressed.
"I'm not putting it back." JJ snatched the bag back getting into the back of the Twinkie. Everyone stayed outside the van avoiding his gaze aside from Elizabeth who pleaded with her eyes for him to listen. "You guys getting in or what?" He asked. After a few seconds of nobody moving, he climbed back out of the van. "What?"
"We're sick of your shit." John B stepped up again. Liz rolled her eyes she wished he would stop trying to be some damn alpha male and try to control the situation.
"Oh my shit?"
"Yeah, your shit."
"Yes." Kie agreed. "Your pulling guns on people's shit."
"You acting like a maniac--" Liz squeezed her eyes shut at Pope's statement after all JJ had done for him JJ wasn't going to appreciate that statement. She knew they all were saying this stuff out of the goodness of their hearts but ganging up on him when he was already distressed wasn't helping.
"Okay, Pope I took the fall for you man! You know how much money I owe because of you?" Liz's heart ripped seeing the betrayal and hurt on JJ's face.
"I'm gonna pay you back, and I didn't want you to do that!" Pope snapped.
"I just did. Pay it back. Right now by myself." Liz's eyes trailed down to the money he was still holding in his left hand. So he was planning on paying the restitution with the money. "You know what. That's exactly what I'm gonna do." JJ grabbed his bookbag from the Twinkie. "Go off by myself."
"JJ please don't!" Liz stepped up making JJ freeze. "Come on J you know that's not what they meant. You are our best friend- you are my best friend. Sure you made some mistakes but I know you JJ. You only do it cause you care."
JJ glances over his shoulder locking eyes with his little sister. "What the hell do you know? You're just a kid." He turned back stomping off.
"J-" Liz went to follow him. John B grabbed her shoulder stopping her.
"Just let him go," Sarah said.
She shrugged her brother off glaring at him. "What the hell is wrong with you guys?" If she was having to defend JJ from the rest of the Pogues then things were starting to go downhill, fast.
+OBX+
The pogues were at the wreck again. The restaurant was closed for the day so Kie had snuck them in so they could hang out and keep cool from the summer heat. Liz sat on the floor against the screen in the windows a good distance from the rest of the group. She was still disappointed they drove JJ off. She threw a tennis ball she had managed to find in the Twinkie against the floor. She was trying to do anything to keep her from worrying about JJ. "Look he'll come around, all right? He's doing a JJ thing." John B said.
"Think he'll go home?" Kie asked.
"There's about a zero present chance that JJ goes home," Pope responded, leaning on the window. Elizabeth scoffed loudly it was immature of them to assume JJ wouldn't go home.
"Really Pope?" She spat. "You think he's not going to return to his own damn home while he's in a vulnerable state? Sure his dad is an asshole but somewhere in the back of his mind that's still home." There was a moment of silence everyone not wanting to believe what she was saying was true. "Or don't listen to me because I'm just a kid, right?" She continued to throw the ball against the floor tuning it back out.
"You okay?" John B asked turning to Sarah.
"Yeah." She shook her head looking down. She was still trying to process everything they had done in the past few hours. Being a Pogue was a lot. "Are you?"
"I mean I'm in one piece so..." Sarah nodded giving him a small smile.
"Okay. It's too dangerous to pawn this thing off piecemeal. Our best bet is to go down there and get the rest of it." Pope began to pace bringing their attention back to what their goal was, the gold. Elizabeth noticed him moving in her peripheral deciding she should probably pay attention. "Bring it all up at once. Could you put it in a safe or vault or something? I don't know. Just until we can find someone who won't rip us off." He turned to John B for input. Liz nodded along while he spoke. It wasn't a bad idea at all. "I can figure it out tonight, get it done and we can be out tomorrow morning."
"All right, let's do it." John B nodded.
"What about that thing with my dad?" Sarah asked looking at John B to Elizabeth. After the younger teen had woken up John B filled her in on their weird interaction with Ward and how he had offered to take them on a fishing trip to bond. She wasn't looking forward to spending a day on a boat with Ward Cameron something felt off.
"Shit." John B sighed.
"What thing?" Pope asked.
"John B promised we would go fishing with Ward." Liz stood up walking over to lean over the back of John B's chair.
"You guys can't get 400 mil because you're gonna go kill fish?" Kie asked.
"Not my proudest moment," Liz muttered.
"Look we have to go." John B said.
"Blow it off! It's 400 million in gold!" Pope exclaimed.
"Make something up!" Kie added.
Liz cringed back noticing how Sarah looked at John B. She wasn't going to tell him to not go but she wanted him to. "Look I have to, okay? He saved me. If it weren't for Ward, we'd be in foster care." John B stuttered out. "So we have to go plus it'll be better to do it at night."
"Right." Liz nodded along looking each of their friends in the eyes. There was no way around it they were going on that fishing trip no matter how unhappy Kie and Pope were about it.
"Fine go fishing." Pope sighed.
"By then JJ will probably have washed up by then," Kie added.
"Atta girl!" Liz smiled ruffling Kie's hair. The victim of the attack swatted her away.
+OBX+
Liz sat laid out in the back of the Twinkie trying to ignore Sarah and John B flirting in the front seat, no matter how hard they tried to hide it she could still see and hear it. She closed her eyes focusing on the raegae music that played from the radio wishing she had brought a book or something to keep her mind occupied. The three teens were driving back into Figure Eight going to the Cameron estate.
A obnoxious blaring of a horn interrupted Liz right as she was about to slip into dreamland. "Oh, shit. That's Rafe." Sarah announced. Liz cracked one eye open, her head leaning back on her arms. She didn't have to energy to deal with Rafe Cameron today. They heard reeving of a motorcycle approaching.
Rafe pulled up beside the driver's window on his bike turning to face John B. If Liz was looking she would have laughed at how odd he looked with his pastel-colored collard tee in contrast to the bulky black helmet on his head. "Hey, pull that piece of shit over!" He yelled out to John B who unfortunately had his window open. They weren't planning to listen to Rafe and pull over but when he slid his bike in front of the van John B had no choice but to slam on the brakes in fear of hitting the psychotic man.
Liz was flung forward onto the floor of the Twinkie with a loud thud. Groaning she pushed herself back onto the seat. "Fucking hell bro." She rubbed her now sore forehead watching as John B opened his door to confront Rafe. Sarah quickly stopped him with her hand on his arm.
"Let me handle him." She gave him a look, getting out of the car. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Liz heard Sarah yell as she approached her older brother.
Liz was more grateful for John B the more she watched Sarah and Rafe argue from her spot in the back of the car. Sure they had their arguments but John B never tried to kill any of her friends with a golf club or swerved his motorcycle in front of a car she was in. Having Rafe as a sibling seemed like a pain in the ass.
John B. got out of the car leaning on the door while he observed their conversation. Liz smiled she didn't know if he had realized it yet but he was painfully head over heels for Sarah Cameron. It was like watching a puppy guard its owner.
Another motorcycle was heard approaching the scene from behind. Liz looked out the back window groaning when she recognized the silhouette of Topper. John B sighed burying his head in his arms. "Stay in the van." He told Liz walking forward to lean on the back side of the vehicle. "Come to kill me again Top?"
"Yeah, here we go it's always the Kook's fault." Topper dismounted his bike walking up to John B.. "Look I'm sorry about your arm man but dude, hardly touched you. "
Liz was listening in on the conversation the two having it right beside her window. She clenched her fist, first he tried to drown her brother, then he pushed him off a 10-story high building now, and he is trying to cover it up as not a big deal. "Fucking Kook." She muttered.
John B scoffed standing up straighter. "I'm not the one corrupting this girl from a prominent family getting her involved in a life of crime--" Topper pointed towards Sarah who was still arguing with Rafe.
"You have no idea what's going on!" John B interjected.
"I have no idea. I know you're stealing 25k from a drug dealer. You get her involved in that shit?" Topper rebutted. John B rolled his eyes yet remained quiet. "I know I'm the one that cares about her okay?"
Liz cracked her knuckles, with a scoff she got out of the van walking around to the side Topper and John B were on. "I'm not going to let you sit here and talk shit about my brother Topper. Why don't you get on your trashy little bike and head back to the country club?" She walked up between them pushing the blonde Kook away.
"Elie-" John B tried to interrupt.
"Or what?" He challenged.
John B grabbed her arm dragging her back away from Topper. He hadn't forgotten that he was there while Rafe slapped her in the face. He wouldn't let anything like that happen again. "Get on the bike." He grits his teeth. Topper smirked slowly walking back towards his bike.
"See you later, princess!" Liz taunted with a dramatic wave.
Rafe and Topper strapped their helmets on, mounting their bikes. "Can you just listen for once!?" John B shoved Liz back towards the van.
"Chill JB I'm not some fragile thing in need of protecting." She crossed her arms.
"Well, neither am I stop pretending you need to stick up for me." He mirrored her crossing his arms over his chest. With a huff, she elbowed him out of the way walking back around the Twinkie and getting back inside, they always had this argument. John B walked up to Sarah standing next to her. "Welp he's a tool."
"Tell me about it. I dated him." She rolled her eyes.
+OBX+
"We picked a good one, didn't we?" Ward asked the next morning. As promised they were out at sea at the ass crack of dawn on Ward's yacht to fish. Liz however sat in a chair a few feet from Ward and John B reading a new novel. She didn't like fishing, the idea of tricking fish into biting onto sharp metal hooks and then holding them like a prize didn't appease her. Something in her stomach was churned in unease preventing her from getting fully absorbed in the book.
"Sure did." John B agreed. They had been out at sea for a little over an hour now and things still felt weird between him and Ward.
"Hit me again." Ward handed him his empty glass patting him on the back. For some reason, Ward thought John B was his bartender. "Hold the grapefruit on this one." John B nodded reaching into the cooler to grab the glass bottle of beer. "You know what? Pour yourself one."
Ward looked over his shoulder at the youngest Routledge. "Would you like one?"
"No sir. I don't drink." She smiled. John B turned towards her with a raised eyebrow, usually, she would jump at the chance to try a sip of alcohol (not that he would let her).
"Smart girl." Ward nodded, smiling back at her then turning his attention back to John B.
"I'm 16 sir." John B chuckled awkwardly. Of course, he had drunk alcohol on many occasions before. His dad never discouraged his underage drinking no matter how bad it was. This was Sarah's dad however and he planned to make a good impression especially after getting fired for stealing from the same man.
"John, I know you're 16, okay? It's okay. It's just one drink." He looked up at the vast crystal blue ocean surrounding them. "We're out here in the ocean. These are almost international waters. We're celebrating. Just one."
John B gave in grabbing the bottle and an extra glass. "All right." He poured Ward a glass, handing it over.
"Here's the thing. I don't know if you both know this, but you're about to be fishing with the Grand Knight of the Rhodendron." Liz set her book down, giving up on focusing on it. She got up standing beside John B as he took a sip of beer. She turned her focus back to Ward having no clue what he was talking about. "I know you don't know what that is," He said noticing the look on her face. "And it doesn't seem like a big deal but to me it does. It means I'm a trusted member of this community." Liz tilted her head from what she had heard around the island people were convinced Ward Cameron was only rich because of some black market deals. Who was she to judge? He was the one with a large Yacht. "Trust means a lot to me."
"Absolutely, yeah." John B nodded.
"Here's to trust." Ward held up his glass.
"To trust." The two cheered before downing the rest of their beer.
"I hear your girlfriend is pretty nice," Ward said. John B bashfully looked down at his feet. Liz smiled noticing the way his eyes lit up at the mention of his girlfriend.
"To Sarah." John B held up his empty glass.
After another hour of driving out into the ocean in search of what Ward claimed was the perfect spot for fishing, they finally decided to anchor the boat. Liz sat on the edge of the boat with her legs dangling just above the water in her white bikini bathing suit. John B was beside her leaning on the edge looking out into the ocean. Ward stood a few feet behind them leaning back on the wall behind the fishing rods they had positioned into the water. "Anything?" The man asked.
"Nothin'" John B was disappointed so far. He knew this was supposed to be bonding time with Sarah's dad but they needed to get back to the Outer Banks and help everyone else plan how to take the rest of the gold out of the well.
"Three hours trawling, one hour out here. We're getting skunked, son. Not a damn fish." He took a swig of whatever alcohol was in his metal chilling cup, walking over to stand in between the siblings. "I guess Guffy was right, huh? Half the time I don't care if I don't find fish." Liz turned her head to look at the man, confused. "Just like being out here." She nodded in agreement. The wind whipping into her light brown curls along with the sun tickling her golden brown skin was something she could get used to. It was just so quiet out on the ocean. She understood why their dad always left to sail the seas.
"That's what our dad used to say." John B said.
"John B, I wanna be real honest with you right now. I'm gonna ask you to do the same for me." He nodded. "The first thing I have to do is apologize to you- to both of you."
"For what?"
"Hm?"
"I told you to stop looking for the Royal Merchant gold. And you didn't." John B and Liz exchanged a look wondering how Ward knew that they kept looking for the gold. "God damn it, you found it." He chuckled. Liz fiddled with the pink friendship bracelet she had freshly made for Sarah.
"I wish." John B scoffed in disbelief.
"Yeah, wouldn't that be cool?" She spoke softly making everyone chuckle, the two siblings with more of an awkward chuckle.
"You can play it that way if you want. I won't force your hand but I know that you did." The tone in Ward's voice creepily reminded Elizabeth of how Rafe talks when he is trying to toy with someone. "It's amazing. Sincerely, it's unbelievable." He laughed. "150 years people have been lookin' for that damn gold. None of 'em could find it. You guys found it." He turned his head focusing his attention on John B. Sure Elizabeth was there but he knew who was running the show. "Here's the thing, finding it is where your fun ends. That's where all your problems begin. Ones you haven't thought of. I mean, excavating it. You're probably trying that right now. If it's in water, how do you get it up?"
Liz's body tensed with each sentence Ward said there was more to his intentions and she knew it. "If it's on land on somebody's property, and they catch you trying to take it? That's theft. Son, we are talkin' a massive amount of gold, John. Your 16. How are you gonna transport that gold? How are you gonna turn it into something in your bank account, something that you can spend?" She could tell that with every word John B was spirling into his mind thinking of the possibilities. "See the difficulties? This is what I'm talking about. The hard truth is that you are way over your head. You need me."
John B sighed, Ward was right he was a teenager he didn't know how to get the gold out successfully and even if Pope's pully worked they had no clue how to get the money into a bank account. They needed someone who they could trust. They could trust Ward, right? He said it was important to him. "Let's do this together." Ward interrupted his thoughts. "I can make all those problems go away. That's my job. You and I will figure out an equitable split." Liz wanted to scream. She could hear the reason in Ward's words but something was just itching at the back of her brain. This isn't right. "I know you didn't do this alone. You had a wonderful sister and friends to help you out so we'll cut them in." He gestured to her. "You guys don't be so nervous. It's okay, all right? I'm just here to help you. All you gotta do is trust me. What do you say?"
Liz looked at John B desperately, it was his decision in the end but she prayed he would think about it carefully. Ward rests his hand on his shoulder firmly. "Wanna do this?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." John B sat up straighter, Ward's hand falling off his shoulder. He promised his friends they wouldn't let anyone else in on the gold they had gotten this far without help they could continue to do it.
Ward sighed. "Okay. All right. We can play it that way. I think very quickly you'll come to realize there's no other choice. I know you have it. I know that you've had a little taste of it. I know a submersible went missing from the salvage yard, right? I know maybe that's how you got it out of the water. If it's on land I know you've been around the Eight recently. I know maybe it's something to do with Redfield." Liz clenched her fist at the mention of Redfield, the one message their father had left them. "I know that you asked for the map from Sarah, so I gave you the map from Tannyhill."
"What did you just say?" John B snapped up.
"I know--The map of Tannyhill."
"No no no. What did you say? The other thing."
"How do you know about Redfield?" The last time they saw the compass Officer Peterkin had promised to keep it safe. Ward chuckled looking away. Liz crossed her arms walking to stand beside John B.
"Unless you have our father's compass." She looked up at the man with a glare.
"Um- I don't-"
"And if you have the compass you knew to search for it right?" John B stepped up towards Ward his voice raising. The two went back in forth, Ward trying to convince the siblings that they didn't hear him correctly and were saying nonsense. "Redfield! You said Redfield, did you not?" John B yelled. Ward stayed silent. "Redfield was the last message my father left before he disappeared. You know about his disappearance don't you?" Ward shook his head rapidly a sorrowful look in his eyes as he stared into John B's ablaze eyes. "Don't-- don't you fucking lie to me, Ward. I can see that you do."
Liz's breath was caught in her throat. She felt like she was watching the scene from a third point of view watching as John B got angrier. She started to crumble in realization while the man in front of them stood like a deer caught in headlights. "Let's see what the sheriff has to say about this." He gave one last glare to Ward. Gently he grabbed his frozen sister by the shoulder guiding her to climb back up the stairs. "We're going home." John B yelled out to Ward following Liz up to the top deck.
He went to the wheel steering the boat back towards the Outer Banks. He couldn't believe his girlfriend's father had something to do with his father's disappearance. Liz curled up into herself beside just as struck as he was. Tears started to fall on both of their faces. "It will be okay JB we-we'll go back home and tell Peterkin." Her voice broke, trying to reassure both herself and him.
"Yeah."
A loud clank rang out from behind them. Whipping their heads towards the source of the sound, Ward stood on the ladder a fishing pole with a sharp hook in his hand. What would haunt them forever is the murderous look on his face. The only thing both siblings could think of was 'RUN'.