Gold Digger// JJ Maybank- OBX

forty eight

THE POGUES all let out a scream as the cross fell from the beam. JJ pulled Scarlett backwards and away from the pile of cushions, where the cross landed. It barely missed Pope, the boy rolling onto the rotted floor just a second before. Scarlett held a hand over her chest as she stared in shock. The cross hand landed right where Pope had been laying, standing on its head. Somehow, Scarlett managed to turn her gaze from the golden object, her eyes focusing on her friend. Her face fell in worry as she looked at Pope curled up in a ball on the floor, her words catching in her throat as she tried to ask if he was okay.

"Pope, are you okay?" Kiara asked him. Both her and Sarah were leaning up against the wall, panting from the shock of it all.

"Hey, are you good?" JJ asked the boy, both him and John B moving over and kneeling down next to him.

Pope nodded as he rolled over onto his back. "Yeah, I'm good. Just give me, like, one second to, like, catch my breath."

John B nodded, patting the boy's leg. "You did it, Pope." He breathed out, staring at the giant cross. He stood up, gently placing his hand on the artifact. Scarlett crossed the room, kneeling down next to Pope, beginning to check him over for any serious injuries whilst the other two boys examined the cross.

"Your eye is a bit swollen." Scarlett observed with a whisper. "You sure you're alright, Pope?" She asked him.

Pope nodded. "Yeah. I'm... I'm okay, thanks Lottie."

JJ's gaze was fixed on the cross in front of him, unable to believe that it was actually real. "Pope, she's... she's beautiful." He commented, running his fingers gently over the base that was stuck in the air.  "Man, the detail's insane."

"I've never seen anything like it." Sarah whispered.

Scarlett watched as John B crouched down, his fingers tracing a small keyhole on one side of the cross. "Well, here's why Limbrey wanted that key so bad." He muttered.

"Whoa." JJ breathed, his eyes fixed on the cross. "Good find. How much do you think she's worth? Like, if we melted her old bones down, dude, I'm talking like high billions."

Scarlett shook her head as she helped Pope up from the floor, holding an arm around him for support. "J, we can't melt it. And we certainly can't sell it. That's not what we're doing."

John B nodded, his arm gesturing to Scarlett. "Lottie's right. It- This belongs in a museum."

"What? So no one sees here?"

"It's a historical artifact, JJ." Scarlett told him. "And it's not our place to decide what we do with it."

"No one's gonna see her if she's in a museum-" JJ exclaimed.

"Hey!" Pope's voice raised suddenly, gaining the attention of the others. "It's my ancestors' cross!"

JJ nodded, taking his hands off the artifact. "Right, okay. All right, all right. Well..." He mumbled.

"This is bigger than money, and the world's gotta know the truth." Pope continued, leaning into Scarlett's arm which was still holding onto him.

"Yes." John B agreed. "If we don't get this shit outta here before Limbrey gets here, nobody's gonna know. So saddle up."

Pope moved Scarlett's arm away from him, reassuring her that he was fine. Scarlett didn't quite believe him, but let go of him all the same. She eyed him carefully as the Pogues positioned themselves around the cross. "Wait. Hold on." JJ said before they could lift it. "John B, you're gonna pull, all right? Pull down."

John B nodded, holding onto the higher end of the cross. "I'm gonna pull down. You guys pull up." He paused, waiting until Scarlett and Pope had ahold of their section of the cross. "Ready? One, two, three."