Denial || An OBX Story

Chapter Twenty-Two

After a long night of talking, dancing, and eating the Pogues did eventually make it back to the chateau. With their early morning plans in mind, they figured they'd all crash at John B's so that no one could be late.

John B, Kiara, and Pope were the ones to wake everyone up. Everyone meaning JJ and Maddie. They both could've slept until noon. Kiara practically dragged them both from their resting places by their ears, telling them to change and meet their friends out on the dock.

When her and JJ got there, John B and Kie were already in the water with the drone. Pope looked focused and not surprisingly knew everything about the little robot. When JJ and Maddie approached they leaned over Pope's shoulders as they looked at the small screen. John B got a little too close to the camera pretending to brush his teeth with his finger and then giving a thumbs up.

"What's this right here?" JJ asks as his finger hovers above a part of the computer. Keeping his hands off of things wasn't really a specialty of his. JJ always insisted on touching everything in his sights, one of the reasons Kiara would never go shopping with him.

"Don't touch that." Pope tells him, swatting the blonde boy's hand away. Clearly, he did not want to put up with JJ's questions or curiosity. "I'm trying to figure this thing out."

"Oh, so you don't know what you're doing?" Maddie says as she draws her lips into a line. She was just now putting a tank top on over her bikini. "That's just great, Pope."

"I do know what I'm doing." Pope defends himself. He was responding without any thinking, any answer that would require elaboration was not one he'd give either teen. "Just give me a second."

"God bless geeks, Pope. Truly, man." JJ comments. "What would we do without you to control the drones." JJ asks, standing up straight and looking out at Kiara and John B who were still swimming.

"Technically it's not a drone. It's an ROV."

"Shut up. Shut up." Both Maddie and JJ both raise their voices at the same time. It was expected from Pope that he'd give them too literal of an answer. He was going to make them feel dumb by talking smart and neither one of them cared to hear. "It's too early for that." Maddie adds.

Now John B was shouting from the water, trying to get his friends attention. "Hey, once we get footage of the wreck, we'll bring it to a lawyer in town and file a formal claim."

"It's such bullshit. Why do we have to do that?" JJ asks.

Pope tilts his head before standing up and looking at JJ who was leaning on the railing. "Well, there is maritime salvage law. You can't just go to the ocean floor and scoop a bunch of stuff up."

"I know. I know." JJ stops him. "It's just lawyers aren't cheap, bro."

John B nods but already has an answer for his best friend. "Well as soon as they see the footage, they'll work for a comp."

"How do you know all of that?" Kiara asks with a smile, her eyes never really leaving John B's.

"Cause my dad said it, like, a million times." John B responds as he treads water to stay afloat.

Kiara sighs and finally turns to swim to get back on the dock. "Yeah, that's fair."

"This tether is, like, really long." Pope mentions, looking out at John B who was floating on his back in the water. "In the wrong weather, this thing could get pushed around."

"Then we'll go at dead calm." Maddie suggests as thunder rumbles in the distance. She looks up at the storm clouds that are rolling in before picking up Kiara's towel for her. "At slack tide."