𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 ᯓ outer banks

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑

     BROOKLYN KICKED HER FEET UP on her bedside table. She had her head leaning back against JJ's chest, and she was toying with his lighter that he handed to her earlier. The others gathered in her room to discuss their plans moving forward because Pope was paranoid.

    "Okay. So, um... we didn't see anything. We don't know anything." He pointed his finger to everyone in the room. "We need to have total and complete amnesia."

     "Actually, Pope's right for once." Brooklyn's surprised to hear those words coming out of his mouth. He, of all people, was agreeing with Pope. "See, I agree with you sometimes."

     "Deny, deny, deny," Brooklyn and JJ say, clapping their hands together at their synchrony.

     "Guys, we cant keep that money."But we can.

     "Okay. Not all of us can afford unlimited data plans, Kiara," he snipes and Brooklyn feels obligated to glare at him alongside Kiara.

     "We have to pass that off to Lana Grubbs. Otherwise it's bad karma." Kiara raises her hands defensively.

     "Bad karma can be implicated in a felony, too. We gotta go dark," Pope says as he places both his hands on his knees and falls back on Brooklyn's chair.

"If that means we get to keep the money, then I agree." Brooklyn nods in agreement. There's no point returning the money now, not when they've already stolen it.

However, her brother was not in agreement. "I don't agree," he says, and Brooklyn can't believe he's against this.

"What? Why?"

"Just think about it. This is Scooter Grubbs we're talking about, right? Same dude that's buying individual cigarettes at the Porthole. Shit, one time I saw this dude begging for change in the Save-A-Lot parking lot because he needed gas. We're talking about a dirtbag marina rat who's never had more than forty bucks in his pocket, and all of a sudden, he's got a Grady-White? Just sayin'."

Brooklyn didn't always agree with her brother but what he was saying was right. It was strange how he had all that money, that gun and that Grady-White. The only explanation for all the luxuries would be that he's either selling his body or doing somebody's dirty work.

"All right, so think about it, Pope. How does a marina rat get a Grady-White?" John B asks.

Pope inhales sharply before answering with, "Prostitution," and Brooklyn silently agrees.

"Square groupers, bro," John B confirms. "Okay, flying under the radar, no aerial surveillance. They don't do that stuff during a hurricane. What does that mean? JJ?" John B snaps a finger towards his best friend, waiting for his response.

"They were straight smugglin'," he replies with a shrug in his shoulders.

     "Smugglin'," John B repeats, facing Pope who still doesn't look convinced. "And I guarantee there's a serious amount of contraband in the wreck."

     "For the record, if that is a smuggling ship with illegal contraband on the inside of it... it probably belongs to someone else," Pope claims.

     "Minor details," Kiara comments.

     "They could come looking for it. Taking it would be catastrophically stupid." Brooklyn snatches the money from Pope that JJ had handed to him previously.