𝐋𝐔𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐒. ᵒᵘᵗᵉʳ ᵇᵃⁿᵏˢ ¹

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 39.

"𝐖𝐄'𝐑𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐀 𝐆𝐎, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 we'll melt down the bricks so they're not traceable." John B was saying.

My hand locked with his, we stepped away from the van and headed around the back of the Tannyhill mansion, stepping over bushes and stray branches. There were people still working in the backyard as we approached. Last time I had gone over to Sarah's house, which was a few days before, I told her about the Crain house and the underground well. Together we had talked about the possible gold, and she told me that she would be willing to help in any way possible, even if it meant sitting out, and so we were on our way to collect something for the next step of the project.

    Even though a day had passed, I still couldn't wrap my mind around two things— the fact that we had actually found the Merchant gold, and that John B and I were official. It blew my mind that in a few days, we were going to have all the gold to ourselves.

    "Okay," I nodded with enthusiasm.

    He pulled me past a tall bush, his fingers interlocked with mine, "And then this afternoon we're gonna take it to the pawnshop,"

    "Mhm," I hummed.

    "After that, we'll pay for Jj's restitution!" He smiled over at me.

    I squeezed his hand, "This is crazy," I smiled widely, "You think it'll work?"

    "If we play our cards right," he stopped in front of me as we made it off the path, "That four-hundred million is ours."

    "So, tell me again," I laughed, holding both of his hands, "How many bars?"

    "Five hundred, maybe six," His eyes crinkled from smiling too hard, as he trailed his thumbs on the tops of my hands. He was speaking with a slightly hush tone.

    "Holy shit," I breathed out, still in disbelief.

    "I don't know, could be a thousand," he exclaimed, "it was all muddy, but it was everywhere, covering the walls, stacks of it," he huffed, and the smile wouldn't drop from our faces, "Four hundred million dollars!"

    "That's crazy," I chuckled, my hands rubbing over my head. "Absolutely crazy."

    "We fuckin' did it, and now we just have to get it all out of there," he grinned with excitement.

    I shook his hands, "And Pope has a plan for that?" I questioned, for clarification.

     "Yep." He turned around and let go of one of my hands, guiding me with him towards the back porch of Sarah's home, "It's gonna work perfectly."

    I couldn't help but to let out a laugh of excitement, as I gripped my hand around his forearm, and smiled up at him. just as we neared the porch, the back door opened, and out skipped Sarah.

    "Hey guys," she grinned widely, the glass door closing shut behind her. "I didn't expect both of you to come,"

"Hi, Sarah," I smiled casually, as she approached us, holding a blow torch. I wondered when I would get to tell her about John B and I.

"Hey," John B nodded.

"Is this what you needed?" she held out the blow torch towards us, John B taking it in his hands delicately.

"Yes, oh my god," An even larger smile plastered over my face, "Thank you so much."

"Yeah, no problem," she was still grinning, and shoved both hands into the back pockets of her jean skirt. "So, what's new with the project, you guys find anything yet?" She asked with a kind tone of voice.