{ LIVING THE POGUE LIFE }

{11}

"Shit," JJ cursed, hauling the anchor up onto the deck as John B rushed to turn the boat around, "Go, go, go , go ,go."

The boat continued speeding towards them, the men's faces hard to make out in the sun. Brie shrugged the towel off and stood up to get a better view.

"Are they chasing us?" She asked, "What do you think they want?"

"Speed up, man," JJ hissed to John B, urgency clear in his tone. John B nodded and pushed the lever further forwards.

JJ came up beside Brie, landing a hand on her shoulder and raised the other to shield his eyes from the glaring sun. One of the men suddenly lifted something into the air. Fuck.

"Get down!" JJ shouted, grabbing both of Brie's shoulders and tackling her to the ground just as a shot rang out.

She let out a short scream and then looked up at him, eyes wild. He kept an arm over her, pushing her down further. He was not about to let anyone get shot today.

"Oh my god!" Kiara shouted, keeping her head down as much as she could. "Why are they shooting at us?"

Pope, Kiara, JJ and Brie lay flat on the deck whilst John B crouched down low, still trying to steer them to safety.

"Guys!" Pope yelled, "They're getting close!"

John B tried to speed up, but the other boat was gaining on them too quickly. Brie peeked her head over the side, but JJ shoved her back down with a warning glare. She gave him a look, and he knew what she was saying. Trust me.

He didnt know what she was going to do but he didnt like the thought of her doing anything right now, especially with a gun aimed at them. As if confirming his fears, two more bullets whizzed over their heads.

"John B!" Kiara screamed, "Get down! You're going to get yourself killed."

He crouched as low as he could whilst still keeping his hands on the controls, looking around the side as he navigated them through the Marsh. One wrong move and they were dead.

"Kiara!" Brie shouted, wriggling out of JJ's embrace. JJ tried to pull her back down but she shook him off. "Help me with this."

She grabbed one side of the fishing nets and Kie grabbed the other, lifting it up and hauling it over the side. It splashed into the water and the girls tumbled forwards towards the edge.

"Kiara!" Brie shouted, lunging to grab her.

Kiara's foot had been twisted in the nets and nearly dragged her overboard, but Brie managed to wrap her hands around her wrists, keeping her from falling into the water.

Brie's grunted as she struggled to stop Kiara from slipping, another bullet barely missing them. The panic was clear on Kiara's face as Brie's grip loosened, slipping out of her hands.

"Brie!" Kiara yelled desperately as she was dragged down with her, both of them seconds away from hitting the water.

JJ instinctively jumped forward and wrapped his arms around Brie's waist and grabbing Kiara's hands, pulling them both back into the boat. They fell back onto the deck breathlessly and let out a unanimous sigh of relief.

JJ quickly stood to see that Brie's plan had worked out exactly as she had wanted it to. The fishing net had done the trick. The boat that had been chasing them became tangled in the net and shunted to a stop in the water.

JJ almost sighed in relief until he heard another gunshot ring out and then felt a white hot pain searing across his bicep. He cried out in agony and his knees buckled with shock, falling flat on his back onto the deck.