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THE GROUP HAD RAN OUT of the graveyard with flailing arms after Kiara had retrieved the golden prize - a plain, old letter. The Pogues sped down the road with what they thought were the two criminals behind them, which were actually just the local security guards who'd immediately let them be, heading to the Château where they all gathered together in the office.
Renna stepped inside with a shiver. "I still don't like it in here," she mumbled, arms clutching her biceps in an attempt to provide herself warmth.
"You're literally wearing my jacket. How are you cold?" Atticus exasperated with furrowed brows, his eyes trailing up and down her quivering body.
"Probably because it's John's dead father's office!" She whisper-shouted. Kiara, who was standing across from her, cleared her throat, sending the girl a glare from the opposite side of the table. "I mean, did I say dead? I meant totally alive and breathing . . . somewhere."
Atticus stifled a laugh, but John B was too busy opening the package so everyone else could see. Beside her, JJ took a bite out of his sandwich, only to instantly cough it up into his open hand.
"What the hell, JJ!" She groaned in disgust, stepping away from him with a grimace. In doing so, she accidentally backed into Pope, almost immediately turning around and holding the arm she hit with a frown whilst muttering meaningful apologies.
"Careful, Renna. It's okay," he smiled, sparing her a reassuring glance before focusing back in on what was in John B's hand.
"Chuck it, man." Atticus patted the blond on the back before pushing him towards the only bin in the room.
"No, I'll just pull off the bad parts," he shrugged.
John B opened up the envelope to reveal a folded map, and a tape recorder. It was a message from his late father, explaining everything from the missing ship to his missing self. Once it had finished playing, he moved away from the table, collapsing against the doorframe with tears clouding his eyes. Whilst the others conversed behind them, Renna and Atticus shared a look before stepping towards the hysterical boy.
Atticus pulled him into a hug, resting his chin on John B's shoulder as Renna comfortingly rubbed his back. They caught one another's eyes again from over their friends shaking bodies, all their worrying thoughts transferring between each other's minds. They didn't know what was happening anymore.
After he'd calmed down, the group ventured outside for some fresh air. Kiara played her ukulele whilst the others gathered around her in a circle, John B relaxing by himself behind them.
"How much was it again?" JJ asked.
"Six hundred mil," Pope answered bluntly, scratching at the side of the wooden board beneath him with his shoe. The group were sitting either on the floor of the jetty or on the side boards, their feet dangling off the sides as they spoke in the moonlight.
"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 that were after us. Protection? Not cheap, okay?" JJ waved his gun in the air.
"What about the old-fashioned punch to the gut?" Atticus questioned as he teasingly pretended to do the same to the blond. JJ immediately pushed him away with a smirk.
"A shot to the head and you're gone, man. Any other situation, sure, but not this one."
"You haven't trained. You've done zero training," Pope reasoned.
"YouTube, bro! That's at least a five percent bump right there. Any objections? Didn't think so," he ignored Renna and Pope's objections. "I don't hear any, so."
"What are you gonna do with your hundred mil, Pope?" Kiara asked from across the wooden structure.
"Pay for college in advance. And also, textbooks. Those are expensive," he ranted with a hint of a smile.
"What about you, Kie?" JJ asked.
"Yeah, what does a socialist do when she's rich?" Pope added with intrigue, sharing a smile with Renna before both their eyes focused on the curly-haired girl.
"Just wanna make a double album. About OBX, the Pogues. You know, the way Catch a Fireis about Kingston. Record it at Marley Studio, Peter Tosh producing," Kiara said, shrugging and grinning whilst doing so.
"Peter Tosh is dead," Poe countered.
"Peter Tosh is dead, I know that. Spirit of Peter Tosh will never die." Kiara lifted up her can before taking another drink.
"I know what I'll do. I'm gonna get a big ass house on Figure Eight and go full Kook," JJ muttered with a smirk.
"You're gonna go full Kook?" Pope asked suspiciously.
"Yup."
"I can't even picture it," Atticus laughed.
"You know, JJ, it's not all that worthwhile," Renna whispered beneath her breath, JJ sparing her a glance with raised brows. She knew whatever she said wouldn't divert his decision, it never did.
"Nah, I'm gonna get that mansion, looking like a freaking castle or something. Gonna get a marble statue of myself, and then I'm gonna get a koi pond. Put a bunch of those fish-"
"I'm never visiting," Kie chuckled.
"Shush, shush, I don't care. What are you gonna do, Ren?" JJ moved on, leaning forward so his elbows rested against his knees.
"I wanna go around the world, to Europe and South America and Australia. I just wanna go places, instead of being crammed on this tiny island that has no sense of culture-"
"Objection." Pope raised his hand with a grin.
"Other places just seem cooler, okay," she laughed. "What about you?" She questioned as she lightly nudged Atticus' side with her arm. He sent her a soft grin.
"Hear me out, okay? I wanna go to Europe with you-" he pointed to Renna "-but you can leave me there. I wanna race in the Formula One-"
"Here we go again," Kiara rolled her eyes with a laugh.
"Let me guess, you wanna be partners with Hamilton?" Pope added with raised brows. He already knew the answer.
"Of course," he beamed proudly. "We're gonna win all the races, and I'll come back home with a trophy worth more than your house," he made a point to gesture at JJ, who only rolled his eyes. "I'll be more famous than Hamilton himself. Bottas can go suck my-"
"What are you gonna do, JB?" Pope cut him off before Renna smacked Atticus across the shoulder, sending him a meaningful glare. The boy merely laughed it off, not missing the smile that fought its way across Renna's lips as well.
"To going full Kook," he mumbled with a ghost of a smile.
"To going full Kook!" They all cheered, clinking their drinks together, adorning grins.
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