We got back to John B's house, AKA The Chateau and he sat down at the table while JJ made a sandwich with bread that looked like it should've been thrown away days ago. "That bread had mould on it three days ago," Pope said as he walked in from outside with the light in his hand.
"I'll just pull off the bad parts. Plus, mould is good for you. It's just a natural organism."
"JJ!" I called him over.
"Yup, yup, yup! Hot damn! Let's do it." He took a bite out of the bread and gagged immediately spitting it back into his hand and throwing it away before coming back and trying again. John B opened the map up of the coast with markings on it.
"Holy shit." He said under his breath.
"Oh. X marks the spot." Pope pointed at the X on the map.
"Longitude, latitude. Wait, there's somethin' else in there." He pulled out a tape recorder from the envelope.
"What's that?" JJ asked.
"It's a tape recorder, dumbass," Kie said.
He pressed play on it.
"Dear Bird."
"Who's Bird?" I questioned.
"That's what my dad called me."
"I hate to say, "I told you so," but I told you so. And you doubted your old man. I suspect at this moment, you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either. You were probably right to call me out. Wasn't exactly Father of the Decade. What can I say, kid?" He sighed. "I could smell the barn. And hopefully, we're listenin' to this in our brand new sugar-shackdown in Costa Rica, livin' off past investments and pulling on permits. If not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, well, that's what the map is for. There she is, the wreck of the Merchant. If somethin' happens to me, finish what I started. Go for the gold, kid. I love you, Bird, even if I didn't always act like it. I'll see you on the other side."
The tape stopped and John B got up and walked away sobbing lightly. "Holy shit, he did it! Big John-- He found the Merchant--" JJ started.
"Can you... can you please?" Kiara walked over to him and hugged him from behind and I looked over at JJ.
"Sorry."
***
We were all sitting outside on the pier and Kie was playing the ukelele while I played the guitar which was one of the few things my dad taught me, while the thunder rumbled in the distance, but apart from that, we were in comfortable silence. "How much was it again?" JJ asked.
"Four hundred mil," Pope said.
He sighed, "All right, let's talk the split. Now, before we say "evenly," may I remind you that I am the only one that can properly defend us from those groupers who were after us."
"Groupers?" I questioned and Kie nodded at me.
"Protection? Not cheap, okay?"
"You've done zero training." Pope pointed out.
"YouTube, bro! That's at least a five percent bump right there."
"You haven't--" Pope started before JJ cut him off.
"Any objections? Didn't think so." Kie put her hand up but he just ignored it.
YOU ARE READING
Breathing Blue | OBX | Sarah Cameron
FanfictionShe'd never had a real relationship, the only thing she'd ever had a true passion for was surfing, it could hold her interest longer than anything or anyone else and it made her feel free. That was until she met the pogues, but it just so happened t...
