𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚘𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚝 {𝚓𝚓 𝚖𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚔}

𝚜.𝟷 𝚎𝚙.𝟿 -𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚝𝚠𝚘-

"three leagues down / the soft side of where you left my / gold rose crown / you broke down and left me with a / chest hum, a black gun, and forty dollars."

~

"Okay," Pope sighed, jogging back to the car with a white sheet of paper in his hand. "Okay. Alright, no."

From the passenger seat window, Kiara looked unimpressed. "Pope, can you act normal?"

Pope nodded. "Okay, so, um... Okay, bad news." He went around the car to the backseat window where Tate, JJ, and John B were still sitting three in a row. John B was reclined in his seat so nobody could see him and Tate was positioned awkwardly, trying to get comfortable after sitting there for nearly twenty-four hours, but they were relatively in the same spots they'd been the night before. "The ferry's closed, and there is this."

Pope handed the piece of paper through the window to Kiara, who took one look and then passed it back in dismay. "What is that?" John B asked, on edge. "What is this?"

JJ took the paper and Tate leaned over to get a better look at it. "Well, John B," JJ said, "this is a good framer of you." He held the wanted sign up for John B to see. John B simply closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Tate did the same.

"Okay, so the whole island's looking for John B right now," said Pope.

"That's a lot of money," Kiara said, pointing to the ransom sum. Tate took another glance at it and her eyes went wide. She'd never had that much in her life.

JJ took a deep breath and handed the paper to Tate. "Congratulations, John B. You're famous."

"JJ," Tate half-scolded, nudging him in the ribs. "This is one of those moments where you're supposed to, like, take things seriously."

"Guys, we got to get to the HMS," Kiara said quickly, ignoring Tate and JJ. "We need small, no running lights-"

"It's at the Chateau, Kie," John B said drily.

JJ set an arm on the back of Tate's headrest almost comfortingly, but he looked too agitated for it to be much consolation. "And I wonder if the cops got the entire place staked out," he said sarcastically, practically seething. "Let me think. Oh, yeah. No. They definitely have that place locked down."

"Definitely," muttered Tate, setting a would-be-calming hand on JJ's leg.

"Yeah, copy that," said Kiara.

Pope had his face screwed up, thinking hard. "Let me think," he muttered. "Just give me a second." Then, his head popped up and his eyes opened wide. "JJ."

"What?"

Pope turned fully around in the driver's seat so he was facing JJ in the seat behind him. "Does you dad still have that boat? The cigarette boat, the Phantom. The one he used to race."