Where is the love?// JJ Maybank

Chapter 2.26

"Jesus Christ! I kill you, John B." The mystery woman says as she climbs in.

"Who is she?" I mutter to Pope, confused.

"Who is this?" Kie asks louder.

"Just relax." John B tells us. "Just relax, okay? I told you I had a surprise."

"Who is she? What's going on? John B!"

"Hey. Kie, relax." He says urgently. "Remember I told you about the girl we met in the Bahamas that saved us?"

"Cleo, yeah?"

"Cleo." He motions to the girl. "She's gonna help us, alright?"

"Next time, ask me." Cleo says.

John B fills us in on his trip outside the container. JJ notices that he came back empty handed, we had nothing to defend ourselves with.

"You seriously didn't grab a nothing? Not one single gun?" He asks.

"We tried, okay? I got attacked." John B defends himself.

"This is why i should've gone with."

"Let me get this straight." Cleo speaks up as they begin arguing. "You five, with no weapons, decided you were gonna hijack this tramp steamer on your own? Do you have any idea who there people are? Eberhimi, if he catch you he's gonna kill you. Dead. Cut off your fingers."

"Okay. What about waiting until we get to the port?" I suggest.

"Yeah." Kie agrees. "At least then if something goes wrong, we have a place to run."

"No. We can't do that." Pope says.

"Why?" I question.

"Because I've run this scenario over a thousand times in my head, and our best chances are in this ship. There's fifteen crew members and six of us."

"Exactly." Kie says.

"Three-to-one odds. That's the best it'll get. We wait till we get there, they'll trap us."

"We have no chance."

"No, Kie, there's something else. Wards alive." He says making my stomach drop. "He's alive, and he's on this boat."

"What?" She raises her voice.

"You gotta be kidding me." JJ rolls his eyes.

"Are you serious?" I ask him.

"It was all a setup, blowing up that boat, the confession to Shoupe. Think about it, that was to clear Rafe's name. And he does what? Goes to the Druthers. And what's on the Druthers?"

"Scuba." Kie nods.

"Bingo."

"So, Wards alive, huh" JJ says. "And he has the gold and the cross and Sarah."

"Thanks for rubbing that in."

"So he's just gonna get away with everything again, huh? Not happening. We're not watching this movie again, right, Pope? You said we need the win and with her," He points at Cleo. "We're going to the bridge and we're gonna take it right now. You with me?"

"Let's do it." John B says.

"I'm with you, and I wanna be the one to take that bridge." Pope agrees.

"That's what I'm talking about." JJ says as Cleo chuckles.

"He's gonna take the bridge?" She says.

"Yeah."

"He couldn't even take me."

"Okay first of all, I was going easy on you." Pope tries to defend himself.

"I went easy on you."

"Shut up." John B tells Pope as I shush them.

"Relax, all of you, if you're really with us, if we use that knife, we can go up into the bridge, hold it up against the captain's neck, then we go on the intercom and make him tell the rest of the crew to meet up in the forward hull. Once they're in the same place, bam, we lock them in there and we take back what's ours." JJ explains.

"I like it. It could work." Pope agrees.

"Are you with us, then?" JJ asks Cleo.

"No. This is stupid." Cleo starts before we hear a voice in the distance.

"Alright, let's open these things up."

"They're checking the containers." I say.

"Uh oh."

Cleo climbs up so she can see out the small window.

"Wait. No. Cleo. What are you doing?" I try to stop her.

Cleo jumps out of the window and runs to the men. "Macias!"

"She's gonna tell them." Pope says. "Shit."

"No." I shake my head.

"Hold up!" She yells again. "This one's clear sir."

"You sure?" The man asks.

"Went through it inch by inch." She confirms. "Nothing but the tubing and plastics in there."

"What if the stowaway had been in there?"

"Well, he wasn't, so... Come on man we have work to do. Move your bumper man."

The man leaves and we hear Cleo making her way back.

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A/N😜: Oh my days! 2 things. Number one, sorry I've been MIA, I have no excuse i'm just lazy and it'll probably happen again 🤷‍♀️. Number 2, WHY WAS I STUPID? I just went back and read the first few chapters of this book and that shit is cringe asf. (I was like 14 when I started this bs.). Idk if you guys can tell while reading that I've matured a lot. In the beginning I was trying to make Emilie crazy quirky and funny (she was giving pick me) and now she's chill and I never realized that her personality changed. Anyways love you! Sorry this chapter is short. I'll be rewriting the beginning of this story.