The plans are being laid for retrieving the rest of the gold. Kie, Sarah, and I are sitting in John B's van looking at the sketch of the rig.
"He said it looked something like this," Kie states.
"So..." Sarah trails off.
I point to the drawing. "That's 50 feet down, and they're using 100-feet rope. So, I guess this little wagon will go..." Sarah laughs. "...straight to the gold room."
"Who drew this?" Sarah asks.
Kie laughs. "Who do you think?"
We laugh as we watch Pope and John B getting the rig ready.
JJ comes out of the house. "Kie! This better work." JJ drops the gold in the van. "We can't pawn this if there's a giant wheat symbol on it."
Kie picks up a blow torch. "It's gonna work."
We watch as Kie uses the blowtorch to melt down the gold. Pope and JJ high five. I can't help but smile. Were really about to be rich.
Once it's all melted, we head to the pawn shop in town.
"Hell of a job melting it down, Dr. Frankenstein," JJ teases.
"Like you could've done better," Kiara states.
"I could have done much better. I took a welding class," JJ counters.
John B steeps between Kie and JJ. "Whoa, whoa. Hey. Sh! Chill out, okay?"
"Easy for you to say. You're not the one that has to pawn this piece of shit off," JJ tells him. "How did I get this job anyway?"
"'Cause you are the best liar," Pope tells him.
We walk into the shop and the bell above the door rings. JJ smiles at the older woman at the counter. "Afternoon, ma'am."
The rest of us mill around the store. John B stays towards the front as I look through a few shelves with Sarah.
"Afternoon," she greets.
"I see you buy gold," JJ says.
"That's what the sign say, don't it?" the woman remarks.
"Well, I sure hope you buy a lot of it, because I'm about to blow your mind," JJ tells her.
"I ain't got much mind left to blow, so have at it," the woman tells him.
JJ takes the gold out of his backpack and plops it down on the counter. "How about them, gold apples?"
The woman chuckles. "That ain't real."
"That ain't real?" JJ asks.
The woman shakes her head. "It can't be."
"Feel how heavy it is," JJ tells her. "Mm-hm. Mm-hm!" The woman picks up the gold. "Let's get some light on that." JJ puts a lamp over the gold.
"Spray-painted tungsten," the woman states.
"Spray-painted tungsten? Really? Okay. Why don't you see how, uh, soft it is?" JJ offers.
"You mind?" the woman asks.
JJ shakes his head. "No, go for it." The woman hits the gold, and it doesn't break. "Wow. Would you look at that?"
"Hold your horses. We ain't got to the acid test yet," the woman tells him.
"Ooh! The acid test." JJ looks around at us. "My favorite, guys."
"Well, it ain't plated, and it ain't painted," the woman states.
"Ma'am, I'm telling ya, this is as real as the day is long," JJ assures her.
"It looks like somebody tried to melt it down," the woman says.
"My mom. She had all this jewelry laying around the house, and she thought it was best to... to melt it down. To 'consolidate' it," JJ explains.
"Seven pounds? That's a lot of earrings," the woman comments.
"Okay, to be honest, ma'am," JJ clears his throat, " ...it's really hard to see my mom fall apart with Alzheimer's."
The woman gives him a look. "Mm-hm. -Alzheimer's? Give me a minute." The woman starts to walk to the back.
"Take your time, ma'am," JJ tells her.
After a minute the woman comes back out. "So, I, uh..." she clears her throat. "I talked to my boss."
"And?" JJ asks.
"And, uh, this is what I can do." The woman hands a slip of paper to JJ.
"Fifty thousand? You think I walked in here not knowin' the spot price? Ma'am, I know for a fact this is worth 140, at least," JJ tells her.
"Well, sweetie, you in a pawnshop. This ain't Zurich. Do I look Swiss to you?" the woman remarks.
"Ninety, or I walk," JJ counters.
"Seventy. Half price... and, um... I don't ask questions about where you got this," the woman offers.
JJ looks at John B and he gives JJ the signal. "I'm gonna need that in large denominations, please."
"Well, here's the snag. I don't have that much denominated, not here anyway. I can write you a cashier's check," the woman offers.
"Cash... No, ma'am. I want the cold hard. That's what that sign says. Cash for gold. And that's what I expect. I'm gonna get it in cold hard," JJ tells her.
"Well, I have to send you to the warehouse. I have the money there. Is that all right?" the woman asks.
"Where's this warehouse?" JJ questions.
JJ agrees and we get back into the Twinkie. We start driving to the address the woman gave us. It's in the middle of nowhere.
"So they keep money out here?" Pope asks.
"That's what she said." JJ chuckles. "That's what she said."
"Stop," Pope tells him.
"I've never even heard of Resurrection Drive," Sarah states.
"It's 'cause you're rich," JJ offers.
"You've never heard of it either," Kie counters.
"Thank you," Sarah says.
"There's nothing but weeds back here," I comment.
"All right, just 'cause its just weeds, doesn't mean it's, like..." JJ trails off.
I hear sirens behind us. "Cops? Out here?"
"God! Are you kidding me?" JJ yells.
"What did we do?" Sarah asks.
"Why are we getting pulled over?" Pope asks.
JJ fumbles to put the gold in his backpack.
"Stash that," I tell him.
"Chill, guys," Kie tells us.
Pope points to the seat. "Put it..."
"I hate cops," JJ states.
"Did you bring the gun?" John B asks.
"No. Okay? Everybody told me to leave it back at the place," JJ tells us.
"Thank god," I state.
"Put everything else in your bag," Kie instructs.
"I am! I am, all right?" JJ assures.
"How much weed do you have on you, JJ?" I ask.
"He's walking up," Pope warns.
JJ throws his backpack in the compartment under his seat.
"Nothing better to do..." John B starts.
A guy with a bandana around the lower half of his face cocks a gun and points it at John B. "Why don't I go ahead and see them hands in the air? All y'all's hands up in the air now!" We do as he says. "You, out of the car! Let's go! Out of the car! Let's go! Hurry!" John B gets out of the car with his hands in the air. "Let them out! What are you waitin' on? What are you waitin' on? Let them out! All y'all!" John B opens the back door. "Go on! Go on! Let's get out the car! Let's go! There you go, pretty girl. Here we go!" Sarah gets out. "Get out the car, let's go! Hurry up! There you go!" We all get out of the van one at a time.
"We're broke..." JJ starts.
The guy cuts him off, "Shut the hell up!"
"All right! Just relax!" JJ tells him.
The guy points the gun at JJ. "Shut the hell up! Shut up!"
"Chill!" JJ shouts.
"Blow your damn head off! Lay down in the ditch! Lay down in the ditch! On your goddamn hands and knees! Down!" We all lay down in the ditch not wanting to piss the guy off. "Put your face on the ground! Stay here just like that! Put your head down! Don't let me see you look up! All right? That's all y'all gotta do." The guy starts going through the van.
"It's a setup, guys," Kie states.
"That old bat shanked us." JJ hits the ground with his fist. "Fuck! Goddamn it!"
"Wait. No, no, no, no," Sarah says. John B starts to get up. "John B... No..."
"John B. Don't be a hero, man," Pope tells him.
"Shh," John B says.
John B runs to the car as the guy finds the gold. The guy gets out of the van. "All right, y'all stay like that. Unless you want your brains blown out all over this road, don't move your goddamn heads, okay?"
The guy gets back into this car and John B hits him from the backseat. "Guys, I got the gun!" John B shouts.
JJ takes off running towards him. JJ punches the guy before he throws him to the ground. Sarah hits the guy in the face before he knocks her over. John B hits him with the butt of the gun.
"I got the gold!" Pope shouts.
I hit the guy in the head with the car door while Kie kicks him. Pope gives him a kick and he lands on his back.
"You son of a bitch!" I shout.
JJ rips the bandana off his face. "I know this piece of shit! He's a basehead!"
"Probably knows Hunter," I state.
"He sells coke to my dad," JJ says.
"Listen, I couldn't hurt any single one of y'all..." Barry starts.
JJ picks up the gun and hits him in the head with it.
"JJ!" I yell.
"Dude, chill, man. Come on," Pope tells him.
JJ reaches down and pulls the man's license from his wallet. "We got one last stop."
"Hey!" John B shouts after him.
"Let's go see where this son of a bitch lives," JJ states.
"I'm gonna remember this shit! You can't hide from me! I know exactly who y'all are! Huh? You're gonna see me again! You hear me? I'mma see you again!" Barry shouts.
JJ drives to Barry's house. It's a busted looking trailer in the middle of nowhere.
"Welcome to Crackhead Wasteland," Sarah comments.
"I don't know about this, man," Pope says. "Dude, why are we at Barry's?"
"This'll only take a second," JJ says as he gets out of the van.
"Where you going?" John B asks him.
"Yo soy justicia," JJ states.
"Did you glean anything from that?" Pope asks.
"You know somebody should probably..." Kie starts.
"Yeah, I got it," I tell her.
I get out of the van and follow JJ into the trailer. It looks exactly how you would expect a crack house to look. JJ is rummaging around.
"Yeah, so what's your plan, slick?" I ask.
"Well, as thou hath stealeth from us, we shall stealeth from ye," JJ says as he tears apart the couch.
"That kind of got lost in translation," I tell him.
"An eye for an eye, Addie," JJ clarifies.
I step in front of him. "Yeah, that's great, JJ. But what happens after you rob a drug dealer, huh? He knows who we are!"
JJ scoffs. "I'm not scared of this guy." He pushes past me.
"JJ, don't..." I start.
JJ goes into another room, and I can hear him throwing things around. "There we go."
"What are you doing?" I ask.
"Getting even! All right, took care of business." JJ walks out of the room, bag in hand.
"Hey, look at me. If you keep going down this road," I shake my head, "It's not going to end well, JJ."
"Aren't you tired of being messed with?" JJ asks.
"That's not the point, JJ," I tell him.
"'Cause I am," JJ tells me. JJ walks out of the house and I follow after him. "All right, so we're looking at five grand each for reparations for putting us through that bullshit. Sorry about that, y'all."
"So that's what we're doing now? We're robbing drug dealers?" Kie asks.
"This Barry guy's gonna find out. And he's gonna come after us," Sarah warns.
"Yes, he will. This is not the time to start wilin' out," Pope states.
"How'd you like havin' a gun pulled on you?" JJ asks.
John B steps up to him. "Relax."
"He had it right here on you, bro," JJ says, pointing his finger in John B's face.
"We've gotta go get the gold, okay? Just give me that shit." John B takes the bag from JJ. "We're putting it back." JJ pushes John B up against the van. "Do you feel like a tough guy? Huh? What are you gonna do when he comes for us?"
"We punch him in the throat," JJ states.
"Yeah, good fuckin' idea, JJ," John B tells him.
JJ grabs the bag. "I'm not putting it back." He hops back into the van. "You guys getting in or what?" No one moves and JJ gets back out. "What?"
"We're sick of your shit," John B tells him.
"Oh, my shit?" JJ asks.
"Yeah. Yeah. Your shit," John B tells him.
"Yes. You're pulling guns on people shit," Kie tells him.
"You're acting like a maniac..." Pope starts.
"Okay, Pope, I took the fall for you, man!" JJ shouts. "Know how much I owe because of you?"
"I'm gonna pay you back, and I didn't ask you to do that!" Pope reminds him.
"I just did! Pay it back. Right here, right now, by myself. You know what? That's exactly what I'm gonna do." JJ grabs his stuff. "Go off by myself." He starts to walk away.
"JJ..." I start.
"Hey, wait, man," Pope calls after him.
"Just let him go," Sarah says.
We head to the Wreck trying to regroup. I sit down at one of the tables next to Kie.
"Look, he'll come around, all right? It's..." John B trails off.
"He's doing a JJ thing," I state.
"You think he'll go home?" Kie asks.
"There's about a zero percent chance that JJ goes home," Pope states.
John B looks at Sarah. "You okay?"
Sarah nods her head. "Yeah. Are you?"
"I mean, I'm in one piece, so..." John B trials off.
Pope sighs. "Okay. It's too dangerous to pawn this thing off piecemeal. So our best bet is to go down there and get the rest of it. Bring it all up at once. Put it in... in a safe or a vault or something. I... I don't know. Just until we can find someone who won't rip us off. I can figure it out tonight, get it done, and we can be out there early as tomorrow morning," Pope explains.
"All right, let's do it," John B agrees,
"Easy," Pope assures.
"Let's go," John B states.
"What about that thing with my dad?" Sarah asks.
"Shit," John B says.
"What thing?" I question.
"I have to go fishing with Ward," John B explains.
"You can't get 400 mil 'cause you're gonna go kill fish?" Kie asks.
"Look, I have to go," John B states.
"Blow it off. It's 400 million in gold!" Pope shouts.
"Make something up!" Kie tells him.
"Look, I... I have to, okay? He... he saved me, all right? If it weren't for Ward, I'd be in foster care. So... I have to go. Plus, it'll be better to do it at night. Right?" John B offers.
Pope thinks for a moment. "Fine. Fine, go fishing."
"And at least JJ will probably have washed up by then," I add.